Rapid Fire: 2010-04-01

• US GAO releases 2010 Assessments of Selected Weapons Programs – about 70. The summary is finally up, and there is a lot of reading after that. Note that the GAO sets the bar higher for system development readiness – TRL(Technology Readiness Level) 7, not the Pentagon’s TRL 6.

• Newsweek calls Afghanistan’s police force a “$6 billion fiasco” that could cost us the war.

• EADS Defense and Security unit has war chest to expand abroad, invest in Talarion UAV development. Reuters | Dow Jones

• President Obama nominates California CIO Takai to head Pentagon’s IT operations. InformationWeek | National Journal | Government Technology | Computer World

• The USAF now has an “operationally significant quantity” of MALD air-launched decoys.

• The Pentagon is mulling sending surveillance UAVs and other military support to the Somali government for offensive against al-Qaida-linked insurgents, the Associated Press reports.

• Britain’s Nimrod MR2 maritime patrol planes end their service, though Nimrod MRA4 replacements aren’t yet ready.

• AeroVironment, maker of the Raven, Dragon Eye, Puma AE, and Wasp [pdf] small UAVs, says CFO has resigned to “pursue other business interests.” AeroVironment release | Associated Press

• You don’t have to speak Na’vi to use Northrop Grumman’s avatar training tool for the US Army’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System.

• Rrrrolll up the rrrim to win? Tim Hortons’ employees at Kandahar Airfield are now eligible for Canadian war medals.

US Navy Accounting Service Contracts Total up to $569.1M

The US Navy Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Norfolk’s Philadelphia Office awarded 3 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity multiple-award contract to provide accounting and financial management service to the Navy Office of Financial Operations.

The contracts will assist the office in implementing the Department of the Navy’s financial improvement program, which is design to improve the efficiency of the US Navy’s and USMC’s business processes and systems.

These contracts include a base ordering period with 4 one-year option periods. The maximum total value of all 3 contracts is $569.1 million.

The winners are:

Big Pharma: US Orders $3B+ for the Troops

$442 million in follow-on US military pharma contracts. (March 31/10)

Troops require medication of all kinds as a way of managing chronic conditions, handling the wear and ills that are a constant risk on military deployments, etc. Unsurprisingly, militaries tend to buy in bulk, often through middle-men offering wholesale margins on a wide variety of treatments.

In 2007, US DoD issued $3 billion in contracts for bulk pharmaceutical purchases, many of which are option periods from an original award…

Up to $300M to 7 Firms for US Navy Wet Utilities Construction

Puttin’ in a sewer line

The US Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest awarded 7 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity multiple award construction contracts for wet utilities construction at various US Navy facilities in the US Southwest.

The maximum dollar value, including the base period and 4 option years, for all 7 contracts combined is $300 million.

Wet utilities construction involves work, additions, alteration, and repair of water, steam, and sewer networks. The 7 winners of the construction contracts are…