President Obama names Leon Panetta as the new US defense secretary and Gen. David Petraeus as the new CIA director, replacing Panetta. Tom Ricks sees Panetta’s appointment as the precursor to large budget cuts.
The general’s shift to the CIA is especially interesting, given the growing intelligence role carved out by the US military and special forces since 2001. One early flashpoint: Petraeus’ optimism about Afghanistan reportedly isn’t shared at the CIA.
Middle East military air market is predicted to triple between 2011 and 2020, says Frost & Sullivan.
US Customs & Border Protection gets its 2nd re-winged P-3C, of 14 planned. Unlike Navy P-3s, some USCBP aircraft (P-3 AEW vs.P-3 Tracker) have a distinctive AWACS radome on their backs.
The SRCTec CREW Duke system is a vehicle-mounted electronic jammer designed to prevent the remote detonation of land mines. The CREW Duke V2 is the US Army’s CREW 2.0 system, comparable to the Joint CREW (JCREW) 2.1, according to Lisa Mondello, a SRCTec spokesperson. The Duke V3 Upgrade improves the Duke’s capability to the level of the JCREW 3.2 system, she added.
The CREW Duke system was developed to provide US forces protection against a range of land mine threats. The field-deployable CREW Duke system uses jamming technology, and the design has been engineered to keep weight, size, and power requirements at a minimum. CREW Duke mounts into HMMWVs and other military vehicles.
The Clark/ Balfour Beatty JV in Bethesda, MD a $7.5 million firm-fixed-price modification to increase the maximum dollar value of a previously awarded firm-fixed-price design-build contract for an in-vitro fertilization clinic and stem cell laboratory at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.
After award of this modification, the total cumulative contract value will be $741.1 million – but that’s for the massive construction underway at the NNMC generally, not just the clinic. Work will be performed in Bethesda, MD, and is expected to be complete by July 2011. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington in Washington, DC (N40080-08-C-0007).
Raytheon sees strong Q1 growth in its ace and Airborne Systems (SAS) business thanks to its acquisition of Applied Signal Technology. Meanwhile ManTech had a mix of organic and external growth through the quarter.
Oshkosh’s Q2 finds the company in the middle of M-ATV to FMTV transition.
GAO finds flaws in DoD’s contingency contracting, which amounted to $367 billion in FY 2010.
The Pentagon is launching a preferred supplier program. Companies who receive high marks in the Defense Department’s performance-tracking system may see better performance payments and other rewards. The Pentagon will also encourage more use of contract provisions that provide companies a share of any savings they produce on existing programs, under its broader “Better Buying Power Initiative.” If they have not yet taken an in-depth look at Chrysler’s 1990s supplier initiatives, they ought to.
Lockheed Martin’s net income fell slightly to $530 million for the first quarter of 2011, despite a 3% increase in sales.
April 25/11: Raytheon in Tucson, AZ receives an $8.3 million firm-fixed-price contract from Canada for its GPS-guided M982 Excalibur Block LA-2 155mm artillery shells. Canada has been using earlier Excalibur versions in Afghanistan, firing them from its new ultra-lightweight M777 155mm howitzers. Their $100,000+ cost per shell has attracted some criticism, but the reality is that current Rules of Engagement leave almost no other options for artillery support of troops in contact. That becomes even more important for a country like Canada, with no armed airpower in theater other than its CH-146 twin-Huey helicopters, and no movement on its expression of interest in other options like MLRS rocket launchers.
Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ; McAlester, OK; Farmington, NM; Niceville, FL; Healdsburg, CA; Anniston, AL; Cincinnati, OH; Anaheim, CA; Williamsport, PA; Joplin, MO; Lowell, MA; Baltimore, MD; Kariskoga, Sweden; and the United Kingdom, with an estimated completion date of March 31/13. One bid was solicited with one bid received. by the U.S. Army’s Contracting Command in Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, on behalf of its foreign customer (W15QKN-07-C-0100).
Latest updates: OC2 upgrades: good news, bad news?
High-end Hawk
In 2006, Great Britain signed a GBP 450 million contract to buy another 28 advanced Hawk trainers, as the first step toward a public-private partnership that would provide military flight training to the RAF, Army Air Corps, and Royal Navy for the next 25 years.
Britain already had plenty of trainers designed to train pilots, and many of them are earlier version of the successful Hawk jet trainer that also serves with at least 14 other countries around the globe. So what makes this contract significant, and why are Hawk LIFT aircraft different?
Final update: article wrap-up as this fiscal period has come to an end.
USMC M1A1 settles a firefight in Fallujah
The RESET process takes used vehicles apart, inspects the parts, then replaces any defective parts and refurbishes the equipment to like-new condition. Sometimes upgrades are also performed. RESET and related processes like remanufacture/upgrades are being performed on M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley IFV/CFVs, HMMWV jeeps, and even helicopters. It usually takes place when the vehicles return from the front lines in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations, where sand damage and increased wear have taken their toll.
In truth, many of these vehicles were produced in the 1980s, and are reaching an age where “deep maintenance” is a wise and necessary measure. Note that this is not a complete list of RESET contracts.
DoD issues 27 contracts totaling $191 million under the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative program for academic research projects [PDF] with potential military applications.
DARPA is looking for industry help in developing “flexible/robust energy storage systems” that can use renewable energy sources for forward operating bases.
Up to $163 million [PDF] to General Dynamics for demilitarization of 8 munitions families including high explosive bombs, improved conventional munitions, fuzes, Explosive D bombs and ammunition ranging for 25mm to 106mm calibers at the US Army Contracting Command in Rock Island, IL.
Calibre gets contract worth up to $45 million contract to provide IT and program management support services to the Army National Guard’s Logistics and the Aviation and Safety Divisions.
