PROVIDING SYSTEMS: Elbit Systems Ltd. said Feb. 14 that it has won a $32 million contract to supply unmanned turret systems, fire control systems and land systems to the Portuguese army. The contract was awarded by Austria-based Steyr, a part of the General Dynamics European Land Combat Systems Group, which is the program's prime contractor. The systems will be integrated into Steyr-built Pandur II 8X8 light wheeled armored vehicles, helping the Portuguese army to deploy quickly, the company said.
STRYKER REPAIRS: GM GDLS Defense Group L.L.C. of Sterling Heights, Mich., has been awarded an $18 million contract modification to repair Stryker Combat Vehicles, the Defense Department said Feb. 14. The work will be performed in Qatar and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2006. The contract was awarded by the Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich.
The Marine Corps Systems Command has chosen General Dynamics Corp.'s Armament and Technical Products unit to provide 3,858 radio-controlled Ground Mobile Electronics Counter Measure Systems to be used against improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The $289 million, competitive contract was awarded to General Dynamics after two offers were received. The jammers are headed for Iraq, where IEDs have become insurgents' deadliest weapon, and Afghanistan, where they are becoming increasingly prevalent (DAILY, Jan. 30).
Northrop Grumman Corp. received a contract in December for the presystem development and demonstration and initial design review for the E-10A Multisensor Command and Control Aircraft program, according to the Defense Department. The $280 million award, through May 2007, was made Dec. 23, 2005, but announced Feb. 13 by the DOD due to "administrative oversight and change of personnel."
CAE, which provides simulation and modeling technologies for civil aviation and military customers, said Feb. 14 that its revenue and net earnings improved in both the third quarter of fiscal 2006 and for the year to date. The Montreal-based firm reported that revenue grew from 257.5 million Canadian dollars to 276.6 million dollars for the three-month period ending Dec. 31, a 7.4 percent gain. The company posted net earnings of 17.6 million dollars for the third quarter of FY '06 after suffering a loss of 347 million dollars the year before.
PURCHASE: Moog Inc. said Feb. 14 that it has agreed to buy California-based infusion pump maker Curlin Medical LLC and two affiliated firms for $75 million. The purchase is expected to close in the first quarter of 2006. Moog makes precision control components and systems for commercial and military aircraft, satellites and space vehicles.
DATALINK THROUGHPUT: L3 Communications has won a $7.1 million contract from the Air Force to increase the production throughput of datalink systems that support the Predator, Global Hawk, MP-CDL, and TARS platforms, the company said. L3 said the work will reduce testing bottlenecks and supplier material shortages that are common to the systems. The work is set to be finished by June 2008. The contract was awarded by the Headquarters Air Force Research Lab, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Utah.
Democrats on the House Science Committee are highly critical of the Bush administration's fiscal 2007 budget request for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in a report on federal research and development (R&D) spending released Feb. 14.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Aeronautics unit a $136.4 million contract modification to convert the C-130J multiyear contract from a commercial-item deal to one that must meet regular military guidelines and scrutiny.
The U.S. Air Force has asked bidders for the Combat Search-and-Rescue (CSAR-X) aircraft program to amend their proposal documents to discuss how they would spend a proposed $849 million over five years, as well as improve the program's development and testing, an industry representative said. Answers are due March 27, three days before an expected review of the CSAR-X by top Pentagon acquisition officials as outlined Feb. 10 by Ken Krieg, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics (DAILY, Feb. 13).
LONDON -- The British Defense Ministry on Feb. 14 down-selected to three bidders for a key naval support-ship program. AMEC, KBR, and Raytheon have been chosen to compete for the next phase of the U.K.'s $3.5 billion Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) program to provide a new-generation support vessel fleet for the Royal Navy. One of the three will be chosen as the "integrator" for the program. The three were chosen from nine bidders, which also included BAE Systems, General Dynamics, Thales, and the VT Group.
Undersecretary of the Air Force Ronald Sega is "hopeful" that the Defense Department's formal recommendation on the proposed United Launch Alliance (ULA) merger will be given to the Federal Trade Commission within a month. FTC then will make the final decision on ULA, which would merge production of Lockheed Martin's Atlas and Boeing's Delta rocket fleets while still maintaining two distinct families of vehicles. DOD's recommendation is expected to play a crucial role in FTC's ruling.
SEA SKIMMERS: Orbital Sciences Corp. said Feb. 13 that it was now under "firm" contract to build and deliver 39 GQM-163A "Coyote" Supersonic Sea-Skimming Target missiles through early 2008, of which four vehicles have already been delivered to the U.S. Navy. The Naval Air Systems Command recently awarded Orbital the program's first full-rate production contract following a two-year development and flight-test program. Six previously delivered vehicles were launched in the test program from 2003 to 2005.
The European Space Agency will provide data from Japan's new Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) to users in Europe and Africa under an agreement approved by the ESA Council in December and awaiting signature. Data from the spacecraft will be made available to commercial distributors and the scientific community, as well as to Europe's Global Monitoring for Environment and Security Network.
ARMY AM General L.L.C., South Bend, Ind., was awarded on Feb. 2, 2006, a $42,852,720 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for the M1114 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles. The work will be performed in South Bend and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2007. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on July 17, 2000. The U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (DAAE07-01-C-S001). AIR FORCE
ASSAULT SHIP: Northrop Grumman Ship Systems has been awarded a $93.8 million contract modification to perform engineering and detail design for the LHA(R) Flight 0 Amphibious Assault Ship and to buy more long lead time material for ship construction, the Defense Department said Feb. 13. The LHA(R) Flight 0 Ship will be a variant of the LHD 8 Amphibious Assault Ship now being built by NGSS and will have enhanced aviation capabilities. The work will be done in Pascagoula, Miss., and is expected to be completed by December 2006.
