Raytheon Wins $642M For F135 Support | BAE Systems Wins $3.2B For British Munitions | Australia Partners With US To Develop Hypersonic Missiles

Americas

Raytheon and Pratt and Whitney Military Engines won a $642 million deal, which provides for the procurement of performance-based logistics activities including maintenance of support equipment, common program activities, unique and common base recurring sustainment, repair of repairables, field service representatives, common replenishment spares, conventional take-off and landing/carrier variant F135 unique maintenance services and short take-off and landing F135 unique services in support of the F-35 Lightning II F135 propulsion system for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-Department of Defense participants and Foreign Military Sales customers. Pratt & Whitney’s F135 propulsion system powers all the three variants of F-35, the combat-proven fighter jet developed by defense major Lockheed Martin LMT, with BAE Systems BAESY and Northrop Grumman NOC being the co-manufacturers. Notably, F135 delivers more than 40,000 lbs. of thrust and unmatched advances in safety, design, performance, and reliability. An initial contract obligation amounting to $215.5 million will come from the US military’s fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds. Work will run at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida; Hill AFB in Utah; Edwards AFB in California; Luke AFB in Arizona; Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station in South Carolina; Oklahoma City; East Hartford, Connecticut; and Camari, Italy, through November 2021.

IAP Worldwide Services won a $11 million contract modification, which increases the contract value and provides additional funding for inventory replenishment, operational and depot spare parts in support of the E-6B Mercury airborne command post take charge and move out aircraft. The Boeing E-6 Mercury is a command post and communications relay aircraft manufactured by Boeing for the US Navy. The aircraft relays communications for ballistic missile submarine forces and provides airborne command and control for strategic forces. Work will take place in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Patuxent River, Maryland; Bellevue, Nebraska; and Fairfield, California. Expected completion will take place in January 2021.

Middle East & Africa

Leidos Inc. won a $38.4 million modification for contractor logistics support services supporting the Afghan Air Force. Leidos had also received a multi-million contract modification in support of the Afghan Air Force and the Special Mission Wing of the Afghan armed forces back in March. The Department of Defense awarded a $728 million contract to Leidos Inc. in support of the Afghan Air Force in late in late 2018. Work under the current modification will take place in Kabul, Afghanistan. Estimated completion date is February 28, 2021.

The US Army awarded AITC-Five Domains JV LLC a $36 million contract to provide train, advise, assist and mentor services to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Fiscal 2021 Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $36,000,547 were obligated at the time of the award. Work will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Estimated completion date is November 30, 2024.

Europe

BAE Systems won a $3.2 billion munitions contract for Britain’s Next Generation Munitions Solution program, the defense ministry announced. The British-based company will manufacture 39 different munitions for the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and Strategic Command for front-line use, including small arms ammunition, mortars, medium-caliber gun rounds and large-caliber artillery and tank shells. The 15-year contract calls for manufacturing improvements in five BAE facilities in Britain, and is part of a $22 billion, four-year increase in British defense spending announced on November 19. “This vital multi-billion-pound contract will provide our service men and women with fire power on the front line for years to come whilst investing in British industry, British jobs and British infrastructure,” Defense Minister Jeremy Quin said in a press release.

Asia-Pacific

The United States and Australia, in an agreement announced on November 30 by the US Defense Department, will soon start speeding the development and testing of hypersonic weapons, officials of both governments said. The process of certifying the missiles capable of flying five times the speed of sound, or up to 6,000 mph, has been accelerated by a regional arms race involving China and Russia, each working on hypersonic missile programs of their own. The interest in air-launched missiles comes after defense strategists warned that a planned 10-year schedule of development is inadequate against potential threats.

Today’s Video

Watch: It Could Nuke a Country: The E-6 Mercury is America’s Deadliest Plane Ever

JSF’s F135 Engine Meeting Milestones

Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney have successfully performed the first start of an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft test engine, using an integrated power package (IPP) that the functions traditionally performed by the auxiliary power system, emergency power system, and environmental control into a single system. The system was used to start a Pratt & Whitney F135 short-takeoff/vertical-landing (STOVL) engine at the company’s advanced test facility in West Palm Beach, FL. The IPP is a subsystem of the F-35 Power and Thermal Management System (PTMS).

The JSF program has targeted the successful IPP engine start as a major milestone since the beginning of the System Development and Demonstration phase of the program in 2001. The achievement paves the way for additional development testing in preparation for the F-35’s first flight in 2006, and comes about a month after the Pratt & Whitney F135 System Development and Demonstration (SDD) program successfully completed the post test Critical Design Review (CDR) by the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Joint Program Office (JPO). The JPO review found that the F135 propulsion system has met all review objectives and is on track to deliver the first flight test engine later this year.

The USA’s E-6 Fleet: Take Charge, And Move Out!

The USA’s E-6 Mercury (aka. TACAMO, as in TAke Charge And Move Out) “survivable airborne communication system” airplanes support their Navy’s SSBN ballistic missile submarine force and overall strategic forces. With the advent of the new “Tactical Trident” converted Ohio Class special operations subs, their unique capabilities become even more useful. The E-6B version also has a secondary role as a “Looking Glass” Airborne National Command Post, and in recent years they have seen use as communications relay stations over the front lines of combat.

Delivery of the first production E-6 aircraft took place in August 1989, with delivery of the 16th and final airplane coming in May 1992. This is DID’s FOCUS Article concerning the E-6 system, which includes details concerning the capabilities and associated contracts. The latest contracts involve important fleet upgrades, as the Navy tries to drag the jet’s systems into the 21st century.