CARBINES ORDER: Colt Defense L.L.C. of Hartford, Conn., has been awarded a $53.8 million delivery order as part of a $242.4 million contract to produce M4/M4A1 carbines for the U.S. Army, the Defense Department said July 26. The work will be performed in Hartford, Conn., and is expected to be finished by Sept. 30, 2007. The contract was awarded by the Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, Rock Island, Ill.
O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt Armoring Co. of Fairfield, Ohio, has been awarded a $5.8 million contract modification to perform work on U.S. Army M1114, M1116, and M1145 vehicles, emergency rescue wrenches, traversing units, and the integration of an engineering change proposal, the Defense Department said July 24. The work will be done in Fairfield, Ohio, and is expected to be finished by Jan. 30, 2007. The contract was awarded by the Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich.
The commander of the 920th Rescue Wing at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida, which was involved in the Hurricane Katrina rescue effort, underscored the need for the Combat Search and Rescue-X (CSAR-X) and Combat Rescue Tanker Replacement (CRT-X) programs during a presentation July 25. "I'm a big believer in those programs," U.S. Air Force Col. Steve Kirkpatrick said during the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement's Joint Search and Rescue conference in Arlington, Va. "Both of them are much needed programs for the future of CSAR."
The Congressional Electronic Warfare (EW) Working Group is pushing hard to make sure Air Force EC-130 Compass Call aircraft get the support and funding the service wants. The EW Working Group co-hosted the Air Force's Compass Call Awareness Day July 13 to recognize the Compass Call community and to educate members of Congress on the importance of the community's work, according to members and staff of the group, which was started by U.S. Rep. Joseph Pitts, R-Pa.
SALES UP: Ladish Co., which produces jet engine and aerospace metal components, said July 25 that its second quarter 2006 sales were up 36 percent from 2005, growing from $66.5 million to $90.2 million. The Cudahy, Wis.-based firm also reported second quarter '06 net income climbed to $8.5 million compared to net income of $4.6 million in the same period of '05.
Net earnings jumped 26 percent for Lockheed Martin Corp. in the second quarter of 2006 and 41 percent for the year to date, the company said July 25. Second quarter net earnings were $580 million, or $1.34 per diluted share, compared to $461 million or $1.02 per diluted share, in 2005. For the year to date ending June 30, net earnings were $1.2 billion, or $2.68 per share, compared to $830 million, or $1.85 per share, in 2005.
Mark Brown has been appointed chief operating officer, effective Aug. 14. Don Weisert, executive vice president and current chief operating officer, will retire on Dec. 31.
Raytheon has won a $96 million contract to provide additional advanced self-protection integrated electronic warfare (EW) suites for F-16s in Greece, the Air Force announced July 21. This is a separate deal from the $242 million contract Raytheon has to provide similar EW suites for earlier block Greek Block F-16s. The new contract will buy the upgraded suites for more planes and is being awarded under foreign military sales provisions, the Air Force said.
The Pentagon plan to save $225 million by spreading the procurement of 60 F-22A Raptors over three years could actually wind up costing taxpayers as much as $1.7 billion, a congressional study found July 25. The Bush administration's fiscal 2007 defense budget request sought to spread out the procurement of the last 60 F-22As in three lots over three years, which the Air Force says will save money and keep the nation's jet fighter industrial base going until the newest jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), begins production.
The Air National Guard (ANG) should expand its operations in foreign military sales training and space missions, Air Force Lt. Gen. Craig R. McKinley, the new director of the Air National Guard, said July 24.\ Meanwhile, the ANG has started supporting U.S. border operations and will provide up to 25 percent of the National Guard force involved in those operations. The ANG will be able to sustain this level of involvement for about two years, he said.
The Bush administration's dramatic increase in border security does not include unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for now and may be able to call upon only one of the accident-plagued Predator B drones in the near future. The White House-directed push in border security, called Operation Jump Start, does not include military UAV tasking, according to a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) representative.
William Melvin has been named director of the Sensors and Electromagnetic Applications Laboratory (SEAL). Robert N. Trebits, who retired in May, is being replaced by Melvin.
MARINE AIR: CACI International Inc. said July 25 that it was awarded a new, five-year, $15.6 million prime contract to provide aviation logistics support services for the U.S. Marine Corps Atlantic Forces, marking an expansion for the Arlington, Va., government contractor. CACI workers will be based along the East Coast and abroad. CACI has supported these Marine operations on numerous other contracts.
CONFIRMATIONS: The Senate on July 21 confirmed several new leaders to their Defense Department posts, including the assistant secretary of the Air Force and the director for testing and evaluation, while granting another star to the admiral tapped to take over the Naval Air Systems Command. Rear Adm. David Venlet was confirmed for vice admiral and has been named to succeed Vice Adm. Walter Massenburg. At the same time, Sue Payton was confirmed for the Air Force slot, while Charles McQuery will fill the long vacant DOT&E chair.
The British air force's airborne standoff radar (ASTOR) program passed its halfway mark recently when the third of five aircraft was fitted with its surveillance radar. Raytheon and the RAF expect the delayed in-service date to be achieved this November with two Sentinel R.1s and two ground stations, followed 15 months later by initial operational capability. Full operational capability would come 12 months after that.
