Australia’s 8 ANZAC Class (MEKO 200 ANZ) frigates entered service from 1996 – 2006. In June 2012, Australia signed a repair and maintenance contract for its fleet that has an expected value of around A$ 300 million over its 5-year term, with the potential for additional rolling year-on-year contract extensions out to 10 years. The contract will cover a wide variety of systems, but Australia’s DoD says they won’t involve the the major radar and air defense system upgrades trialed on HMAS Perth, which are about to be added to the other 7 ships.
In June 2012, Oshkosh Corp. in Oshkosh, WI won a maximum $382 million fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for “commercial type fire and emergency vehicles” on behalf of the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. The contract will run from FY 2012 – 2017, using Defense Working Capital Funds, and will end on June 5/17. The USA’s Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support division in Philadelphia, PA will place orders as needed (SPM8EC-12-D-0009).
Oshkosh Fire & Emergency has slid from sales of over $2 billion per year in 2007, to under $1.5 billion in 2011, even as its operating income turned negative. A 5-year order that maxes out at under $400 million will put a dent in that decline, but won’t reverse it by itself. A failed Board proxy battle by Icahn Group also highlighted past Oshkosh’s moves to bid below its own costs, in order to secure defense work. The question for Oshkosh investors, and for new President Wilson Jones, is what margin Oshkosh managed to retain on this contract, lest it contribute to operating income issues without changing total sales trends.
The bill to fix the USS Miami SSN after it caught fire last month could amount to $400M. Another fire was reported this morning but thankfully it turned out to be a false alarm.
Mike Petters, President and CEO of Huntington Ingalls Industries answers a good question: how long would it take the shipbuilding industry to grow throughput if the US faced a naval conflict? Shipbuilding is itself a big, slow ship to steer.
The people behind the Air-Sea Battle concept come to its defense and try to clarify its intent and meaning.
