Rapid Fire 2010-04-06: Venuezuela to Spend Billions in Russian Equipment

• RIP Dr. Ed Roberts, the USAF officer who became the father of the personal computer.

• Venezuela negotiating to buy $5 billion in military equipment from Russia, including T-72 tanks and S-300 long-range anti-aircraft missile systems. Reuters | Russia’s Itar-TASS news agency | China’s Xinhua news service.

With A400M Delayed, France Beefs up CN-235 Fleet

French AF CN-235

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.

In 2010, France signed a EUR 225 million (about $303 million) contract to add 8 more EADS-CASA CN-235-300M light transport aircraft to its existing fleet, in order to help the Armée de l’Air handle the country’s needs while the future A400M transport is delayed…

Up to $239M to M.C. Dean for SPAWAR C4ISR Support in Europe, Asia

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.