EADS Signs its Own Titanium Deal with Kazakhstan

Titanium

In January 2008, Boeing signed a billion-dollar titanium deal with Russia’s Rosoboronexport military export agency, which had acquired top global titanium producer VSMPO-Avisa. While the 1973 Berry Amendment tends to exclude this titanium from the US defense market, its use is rising on both the defense side (fighters, armored vehicles, howitzers, body armor, et. al.) and the civilian size (esp. new passenger jets like Boeing’s 787). Titanium is the longest lead-time item, and a major cost factor, in the production of F-22 Raptor stealth fighters, for instance. When GKN Aerospace bought Stellex, DID noted this passage in their release:

Combat Support Associates Go Postal in Kuwait

Feb 20/08: Combat Support Associates in Orange, CA a $30.9 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for contract modifications for expansion of postal operations support at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Work is expected to be complete by Sept 30/09. This web solicitation was posted on Oct 30/98, and 4 bids were received by the U.S. Army Sustainment Command at Rock Island, IL (DASA02-99-C-1234).

This is actually part of a much larger effort, wherein CSA provides services to U.S. Army troops and Allied Forces at Camps Arifjan, Buehring, Virginia, and Ali Al Salem in Kuwait, under a 10-year effort with a base year and 9 option years that run through September 2009. (Unsurprisingly, the firm is hiring in the Middle East)…