BAE Systems Survivability Systems, Inc. in Fairfield, OH received a $52.7 million firm-fixed-priced requirements contract for 6,000 improved turret drive system retrofit kits, and field service representative support.
Note the picture above, of a Humvee with the latest “Frag 7” armor kit. As the protection around the topside machine gunner grows more comprehensive on Humvees and on related vehicles, the whole assembly gets heavier. That makes the turret and gun harder to move – an especial problem in urban areas, or when trying to move the turret against gravity when the vehicle is on an incline. Adding electrical assist to the turret drive solves this problem.
Work will be performed in Fairfield, OH, the kits are expected to be delivered by Dec 26/10, and final fit-outs will be done in Afghanistan. This contract is a sole-source procurement. USAF-related funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/10, but US Navy and Army funds will not. The Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, VA manages this contract (M67854-10-C-5063).
Greece made an about face on half of its future fighter order, switching from a EUR 4.9 billion contract (about $5.8 billion) for 60 EADS Eurofighters to a roughly $2 billion contract for 30 F-16C/D Block 50/52s as a partial replacement for its old A-7 Corsair and F-4/RF-4 Phantom jets. Even so, defense ministry spokesman Stefanos Gikas has said that their “…next order [in 2009] for fourth-generation jets will be reviewed by another military council meeting. It does not exclude any company from Europe or the U.S.” Possible contenders like Dassault (Rafale), EADS (Eurofighter), Lockheed (F-35 Lightning II), and Saab/BAE (JAS-39 Gripen) were all looking forward to that next phase.
Exactly when those jets might arrive is a subject of some debate, because Greece’s plans seem appear to be vacillating. By July 2006, with orders for new F-16s and Leopard tanks in hand, Greece’s Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence (KYSEA) approved a EUR 11.39 billion procurement program for 2006-2010… and new fighters aren’t on the list. Or weren’t. Could that be changing, now that Turkey has committed to 100 F-35s? And what about the rest of Greece’s aviation and modernization plans?
