10-Yr., EUR 100M to Alenia for NE-3A AWACS Maintenance

NE-3A AWACS

NATO’s shared NE-3A Sentry AWACS fleet act as flying command posts and radar stations, directing aerial operations and providing an overall picture of activity in the air and on the sea. They are crewed by multinational teams, made up of all 16 (soon 15) participating countries. The 18-plane acquisition was signed in 1978, and remains the largest single joint purchase ever made by the alliance. Today, 17 of the 707-based NE-3As remain in operation, flying out of their main base at NAB Geilenkirchen, Germany, and other locations as needed. Ongoing upgrade programs have worked to keep them relatively current.

Finmeccanica’s Alenia Aeronautica recently announced a 10-year, estimated EUR 100 million contract with the IAMCO joint venture, to supply a range of maintenance and upgrades for NATO’s NE-3A AWACS fleet. Within the contract…

SAIC’s WikiCaulking Research: Do Insider Threats Leave Routine Clues?

Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) in McLean, VA recently won a $9 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for an unusual effort:

“…research in the detection of insider threats based on sensor data from routine activities of members of a group, and possibly social networks.”

Call it the WikiCaulking contract. Work will be performed in McLean, VA; Amherst, MA; Corvallis, OR; Pittsburgh, PA; and Atlanta, GA, with an estimated completion date of May 31/13. Bids were solicited through a broad agency announcement, with 7 bids received by U.S. Army Contracting Command in Durham, NC (W911NF-11-C-0088).

Rapid Fire Evening 2011-06-27: Withdrawal Management

• UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox is confident that the findings of the Defence Reform Unit’s report [PDF] will help tackle the financial and structural problems endemic across the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The Opposition gives its tacit support to the review of senior officer’s posts.

• Outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates reiterates concerns made at a speech in Brussels by repeating his call that NATO’s European partners pool their defense funds to bolster declining military power. Last Friday French President Nicolas Sarkozy attributed Gates’ statement to the bitterness of a retiring man (official Elysée statement, in French).

• L-3’s new majority shareholder, Relational Investors, is keen on breaking the company into smaller pieces, a trend which may be replicated across the industry as the downturn in defense spending gathers momentum.

Rapid Fire Morning 2011-06-27: State of Australian Defense

• UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox is due to unveil the findings of the Defence Reform Unit’s Report. It is likely the report will lead to an overhaul in the number of Armed Forces senior officers and a radical shake-up of the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) senior decision making body, the defence board.

• The Pentagon is to send almost $45 million in aid to Burundi and Uganda to help tackle the growing terrorist threat in Somalia. Items being shipped out include four Raven shoulder-launched unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), body armor and surveillance systems.

• Russia is to resume test launches of its Bulava submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) on June 28. At least four test launches are scheduled for this year.

• Australian think tank the Lowy Institute releases a report examining maritime security issues in the Asia Pacific region. Crisis and confidence: major power and maritime security in Indo-Pacific Asia argues that the changing maritime strategies of the region’s major powers are increasing the prospect of Asia becoming a danger zone for conflict at sea.

• Another Australian think tank says that a combination of scandals and equipment-related problems have left the nation’s defense in a ‘beyond tolerable’ condition.  The Australian Strategic Policy Institute advocates improving civilian influence within the Ministry of Defence and making the services more accountable when problems occur.

• Israel’s Defense Ministry clears its authorities of any wrongdoing after Spanish businessmen attempted to sell to Iran Bell B-112 helicopters previously used by the Israeli Air Force.

• South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration among the government agencies to be targeted by the Ministry of National Defense’s new inspection system. The Ministry’s plans form part of attempts to curb corruption and promote military reform.

• Debate regarding China’s fighter aircraft program continues unabated. A recently-published report [PDF] predicts that China is 5-10 years away from from being able to consistently mass produce turbofan engines for a fifth-generation fighter.