“In terms of long term trends, it’s also worthy of note that a combination of narrowband satellites and MARTS-type communications aerostats for theater communications, wideband AEHF satellites for mission-critical high-bandwidth transfers like UAV video, encrypted communications via commercial satellite carriers, and laid fiber-optic cables for strategic communications are already appearing on the scene… Throw in the possibility of finding new ways to leverage existing systems, and this constellation definitely represents a potential “incremental competition” threat to TSAT.”
Textron sees continued strong demand for its M1117 Armored Security Vehicle. Just not as part of the MRAP program. DID has covered the M1117, which remains popular with US Military Police in theater. Based on current and pending U.S. Department of Defense budget requests, Textron Systems Corporation says it expects to deliver about 530 M1117 ASV units in 2007, and “at least as many in 2008… despite recent notification from the U.S. Marine Corps that the company will not be receiving any additional delivery orders for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAP) program.”
Boeing subsidiary McDonnell Douglas Corp. in St. Louis, MO received a $7.4 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014) for the redesign of 5 monolithic microwave integrated circuits used in the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet Block II’s AN/APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array radar.
Work will be performed in El Segundo, CA (95%) and St. Louis, MO (5%), and is expected to be complete in December 2008. Contract funds in the amount of $6 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD issued the contract.
In April 2006, “Hello, Moto” covered the US Marines’ $76 million purchase of “intergrated, intra-squad” (IISR) secure 2-way radios from Motorola. Now Motorola, Inc. in Columbia, MD has received an $8.5 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract to provide ancillary equipment for the IISR. Work will be performed in Columbia, MD and is expected to be complete by April 2010. This contract was procured as a sole source by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in Charleston, SC (N65236-07-D-6306).
As National Defense Magazine’s September 2005 issue notes, the Corps realized it lacked small squad-level communications for urban operations after the invasion of Iraq. Marines liked the British Army’s “personal role radio” and bought 10,000 Selex PRRs from Britain’s war reserve. The PRR is a small transmitter-receiver similar to civilian two-way radios, which allows infantry soldiers to communicate over short distances. Meanwhile, some soldiers and Marines were buying related civilian systems like Motorola’s TalkAbout series – something that should have been anticipated after the USMC’s “Urban Warrior 98” exercise [PDF]. The Corps belatedly made procurement a priority, but wanted a longer range than the PRR’s 500 meters and more secure encryption.
