Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems, Missile Defense Division in San Bernardino, CA received an $8,.7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to investigate a concept for a conventional ballistic missile capable of destroying targets at global range in less than one hour flight time. Northrop Grumman will deliver: (1) a delivery vehicle parametric design study, (2) a mission/program planning study. It will be interesting to see how the latency issues are addressed in NGC’s studies.
At this time, all funds have been obligated. Solicitations began April 2007, negotiations were complete May 2007, and work will be complete June 2009. The Headquarters Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles Air Force Base, CA (FA8814-07-C-0005).
After: BLU-108s
In order to make maximum use of existing system elements and reduce the cost and development risk associated with a future acquisition, Northrop Grumman will make use of Orbital’s Minotaur rocket, and a delivery vehicle designed to carry and dispense multiple BLU-108B/B sensor fused weapons to the target area. DID has covered these BLU-108 “cans of whup-ass” before; they’re tuna-can shaped explosively-formed penetrators (EFP) with millimeter-wave sensors that use parachutes to spread out in the air, then fire downward through the thin top-armor of enemy vehicles to kill those in their coverage area.
Granite Construction Co. in Watsonville, CA received an $8 million modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for flood control and ecosystem restoration along Tucson Arroyo/Arroyo Chico Watershed in Tucson, AZ. Work is expected to be complete by Oct. 1, 2008. Bids were solicited via the World Wide Web on Oct. 12, 2006, and 1 bid was received by The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Los Angeles, CA (W912PL-07-C-0014). Pima Country’s Regional Flood Control District adds more details:
“The Arroyo Chico/Tucson Arroyo and its tributaries – High School Wash, Railroad Wash, Citation Wash, Paseo Grande Wash and Naylor Wash – drain an area of 11.4 square miles located in central and downtown Tucson. These ephemeral watercourses drain a watershed which is fully developed and contains a mix of residential, commercial and industrial areas. A segment of the lower watershed main channel is conveyed through an underground two-barrel, 10 feet wide by 8 feet high concrete box culvert for approximately 1.7 miles that was originally constructed in the 1920s. Because of the increased runoffs due to urbanization of the contributing watersheds, the capacities of the open channel/culvert sections are generally inadequate to convey the peak flows caused by intense thunderstorm events, resulting in frequent and severe flooding of residential, commercial and industrial areas along the entire length of the arroyo. Flood damages to both private properties and public infrastructures are estimated by the Corp of Engineers at $3.2 million annually.”
