ULA gets $149.4 million for NROL-68 | DOS approves Apache Sale to Qatar | Leonardo reports strong Numbers for first Quarter

Americas

United Launch Services won a $149.4 million modification in support of National Security Launch delta IV heavy launch services. The modification is for the National Reconnaissance Office mission NROL-68, the second of three missions awarded to ULA under the Launch Vehicle Production Services contract in October 2018. The deal provides for a Delta IV heavy-lift rocket variant for the US Air Force’s National Security Space Launch program. ULA was awarded three NRO missions in October— NROL-91, NROL-68, and NROL-70 — scheduled to launch in fiscal year 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively. Work under the modification will take place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and company sites in Colorado and Alabama. The scheduled completion date is in December 2022.

The Navy awarded Rolls-Royce an $8.6 million contract modification in order to procure 10 MT7 marin turbine installation parts kit shipsets for the Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) 100 class craft. The LCAC 100 will enhance the US amphibious force’s ship-to-shore capacity with a rated load capacity per craft of 74 short tonnes. LCAC-1s have a 60-short tonne-rated payload. The landing craft was originally designated the Ship-to-Shore Connector and is intended to support the rapid movement of Marine expeditionary forces from naval vessels to shore and will be able to tactically deliver personnel and heavy equipment. The LCAC 100 craft consists of four MT7 turbines. The Rolls-Royce MT7 delivers between 4 to 5 MW and shares common core architecture with the AE1107C-Liberty aero engine. The procurement is in support of the Ship-to-Shore Connector Program. An MT7 installation parts kit is one “shipset” consisting of four engine intakes, two right-hand engine exhausts and two left-hand engine exhausts. Work will take place in Indiana and is expected to be finished by January 2021.

Middle East & Africa

Northrop Grumman won a $7.2 million modification for the procurement of up to 42 additional technical refresh mission computers for the AH-1Z aircraft in support of the government of Bahrain. In November, Bahrain confirmed an order of 12 Bell AH-1Z Vipers worth $912 million. Along with the helicopters, which will be delivered starting in late 2022, the US government also gave the go-ahead for a series of munitions to be supplied. The modification of the Foreign Military Sale includes trainer units and spare units. Northrop will perform work in Utah, Maryland, and California and is expected to finish work in December 2023.

The State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Qatar for 24 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. The deal is worth $3 billion. The proposed sale would double Qatar’s previous procurement of AH-64Es, which are used for close air support, armed reconnaissance, and anti-tank warfare missions. Included in the sale are the 24 helicopter bodies; 52 T700-GE-701D engines; 26 AN/ASQ-170 Modernized Target Acquisition and Designation Sight; 26 AN/AAQ-11 Modernized Pilot Night Vision Sensors; 2,500 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles; 28 M230 30mm automatic chain guns; and other equipment and training. The notification does not guarantee a final sale. Congress can still weigh in, and once cleared by Capitol Hill, negotiations between customer and supplier often lead to different prices or quantities.

Europe

Leonardo had a strong start into the 2019 financial year, according to a report published by the company on May 8. The most striking contributor to Leonardo’s improved first quarter performance was its Defence Electronics and Security division. Revenues generated in the period rose to $3.1 million, a year- on-year increase of 11.2%, while the company’s earnings before interest, tax, and amortization (EBITA) were up 6.5% at $183.1 million. In particular, defense electronics and security business secured orders worth $1.7 billion, up 56 percent year-on-year, while helicopters won contracts for $773 million, with an increase of 13 percent.

Asia-Pacific

The first batch of four Korean amphibious assault vehicles (KAAVs) arrived in the Philippines. The Philippine’s Department of National Defense ordered the Hanwha Defense Systems KAAV7A1 vehicles for the Philippine Marine Corps. The vehicles that have arrived in the Asian country are part of a $46 million contract that was signed between the Philippine government and South Korean defense firm Hanwha Techwin in April 2016. The firm, which was formerly known as Samsung Techwin, confirmed the contract after it emerged as the sole bidder for Manila’s AAV procurement program. The next batch of four more KAAV7A1 is said to be delivered by August this year, and are in advanced stages of construction.

Today’s Video

Watch: Boeing Unveils New Version of F/A-18 Super Hornet Developed for U.S. Navy

The Rockets’ Red Ink: from EELV to a Competitive Space Launch Future

The EELV program was designed to reduce the cost of government space launches through greater contractor competition, and modifiable rocket families whose system requirements emphasized simplicity, commonality, standardization, new applications of existing technology, streamlined manufacturing capabilities, and more efficient launch-site processing. Result: the Delta IV (Boeing) and Atlas V (Lockheed Martin) heavy rockets.

Paradoxically, that very program may have forced the October 2006 merger of Boeing & Lockheed Martin’s rocket divisions. Crosslink Magazine’s Winter 2004 article “EELV: The Next Stage of Space Launch” offers an excellent briefing that covers EELV’s program innovations and results, while a detailed National Taxpayer’s Union letter to Congress takes a much less positive view. This DID Spotlight article looks at the Delta IV and Atlas V rockets, emerging challengers like SpaceX and the new competition framework, and the US government contracts placed since the merger that formed the United Launch Alliance.

LCAC Hovercraft: US Navy’s Champion Schleppers Get SLEPped

The US military calls them Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC). They’re high-speed, fully amphibious hovercraft capable of carrying a 60-ton payload (75 tons in overload) over water and land at speeds in excess of 40 knots and a nominal range of up to 200 nautical miles. Carrying equipment, troops, and/or supplies, the LCAC launches from inside the well deck of an amphibious warship, then travels the waves at high speed, runs right through the surf zone near the beach, and stops at a suitable place on land. Its cargo walks or rolls off. The LCAC returns to the surf to pick up more. Rinse. Agitate. Repeat.

A total of 91 LCACs were built between 1984-2001, and their design itself dates back to the 1970s. They require regular maintenance, refurbishment, upgrades, and even life extension programs to keep them operational into the future. This free-to-view Spotlight article will covers the program from 2005 forward, tracking contracts and key events.