France is facing an airlift crunch. In addition to the delays created by the A400M program’s cost growth and technical challenges, France will be receiving fewer A400Ms by 2020, in order to keep the program within existing budgets. With the air force’s Transall C-160s near the end of their useful life spans, and the existing fleet of 52 C-160s, 2 Airbus A310-304s, 14 aging but upgraded C-130H-30s, and 19 CN-235-200s able to meet just 25% of the airlift requirements set out in France’s defense white paper, stopgap solutions are clearly necessary.
Space and Naval Warfare Systems (SPAWAR) Center Atlantic awarded M.C. Dean Inc. in Dulles, VA a $75 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N65236-07-D-5884) to support SPAWAR command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) initiatives and programs in Europe and Southwest Asia.
The cumulative value of this contract, including this modification, is $239 million.