Rapid Fire 2011-03-25: Top Aerospace/Defense Emerging Markets

• Pentagon chief Robert Gates says US $1.5 billion in annual military aid to Egypt will continue during democratic transition.

• EADS to cut 600 jobs at its Cassidian defense unit in an effort to reduce costs by EUR 400 million over 3-4 years.

• Iranian government suspected of being behind counterfeiting of digital certificates used to secure Internet traffic.

• The top 5 emerging markets in aerospace and defense – Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa – should see robust 15.2% annual growth, reaching $260.1 billion in 2014, predicts Datamonitor.

• German Bundeswehr approves EADS Cassidian’s ParaLander GPS-guided cargo paradrop system for deployment in Afghanistan. The system is part of the same trend as JPADS.

• German Army receives 1st Boxer MRAV wheeled APCs for training, as they prepare to deploy it to Afghanistan later in 2011. One more piece of the puzzle, as Germany keeps adding better protected vehicles there.

• Austria’s defense expenditures are expected to decline at a 5.32% annual rate, dropping from $2.7 billion in 2011 to $2.2 billion in 2015, says iCD Research.

• LaBarge gets $4.5 million US Navy contract to provide cable harnesses for the tactical Tomahawk cruise missile.

USAF Awards MPEC-I & II for Mission Planning Electronics & Support

Latest updates[?]: Northrop Grumman gets $26M order to provide B-1 bomber aircraft mission planning capability.

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In some core ways, mission planning hasn’t changed all that much since World War 2. The technology has changed radically, however, and now involves loading computerized data sets into mission planning systems, with data showing up on moving map displays for use and even pre-flight rehearsal. In June 2010, the 951st ELSG/PK at Hanscom Air Force Base, MA handed out a 10-year, $919.6 million multiple-award contract called Mission Planning Enterprise Contract-II (MPEC-II).

The USAF began the original MPEC program in 2004, to shift from existing USAF, Navy and Army systems into a single Joint Mission Planning System (JMPS). The USAF is moving to JMPS from its PC-based PFPS(Portable Flight Planning System) and Unix-based MPS(Mission Planning System), while the Navy will move from its TAMPS(Tactical Aircraft Mission Planning Systems) and the Army from its MPS(Mission Planning System).

MPEC-II extends that effort. Major MPEC I/II awards, and some delivery order examples, include: