The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is moving forward with the first phase of its Organic Air Vehicle II (OAV-II) program, with the ultimate goal of developing a prototype Class II unmanned aerial vehicle for Units of Action in the Army's Future Combat Systems.
Armored vehicle maker Force Protection Inc. of Ladson, S.C., has been awarded an $11.8 million contract by the U.S. Army to provide 15 Buffalo mine-clearance vehicles for use in Iraq, the company said Nov. 29. The Buffalo can clear anti-tank mines and smaller anti-personnel mines and can be repaired quickly in the field, the company said. The Army Corps of Engineers already is using the Buffalo in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. commanders want the number of armored utility vehicles in Iraq doubled to 8,000 to help defeat the insurgency, the company said.
Continuing a string of recent acquisitions, New York-based L-3 Communications said Nov. 30 that it will buy General Dynamics' Propulsion Systems business unit for $185 million in cash. Propulsion Systems engineers, designs and builds engines, transmissions, suspensions and turret drive systems for combat vehicles.
RESIGNING: Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge will resign, the former Pennsylvania governor announced Nov. 30. His resignation will be effective Feb. 1 unless no successor has been confirmed. Ridge announced his departure at Department of Homeland Security headquarters.
The V-22 Osprey program is studying ways to fine-tune how it operates its airborne de-icing equipment after a rotor blade on a test aircraft was damaged, apparently by a piece of ice that formed on the tiltrotor transport and broke off during flight, a program spokesman said Nov. 30.
MTC Technologies Inc. of Dayton, Ohio, will try to improve the systems interface between F-15 aircraft Fighter Data Link (FDL) and Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) transmission signals, the company said Nov. 30. ARINC of Annapolis, Md., and Sensor Systems Inc. of Chatsworth, Calif., will support the work, which is being done under an Air Force task order that could be worth up to $6 million, MTC said.
NASA and the UAV National Industry Team (UNITE) recently conducted their first formal review of the Access 5 Project, which is aimed at opening civil airspace for routine operations by remotely operated aircraft (ROA), the organizations announced Nov. 30.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is urging the Pentagon to give the RAND Corp. more time to finish a study of options to modernize the Air Force's aging fleet of tanker aircraft.
The sudden loss of Intelsat's Americas-7 satellite on Nov. 28 due to an electrical anomaly is not expected to seriously threaten the proposed sale of Intelsat to Zeus Holdings Ltd., according to a space analyst. Bermuda-based Zeus Holdings is a company formed by private equity firms Apax Partners, Permira, Apollo Management and Madison Dearborn Partners. Under the terms of the proposed sale, Zeus has the right to back out following the spacecraft's loss.
MISSILE AWARD: Raytheon Co. has won a $24.5 million contract modification from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command to produce 500 TOW 2B AERO GEN 2 missiles, the Defense Department said Nov. 24. The work will be performed in Tucson and is expected to be completed by Aug. 31, 2006.
BODY ARMOR: Ceradyne Inc. of Costa Mesa, Calif., has received two orders worth $6.4 million to provide elite U.S. military personnel with ceramic body armor, the company said Nov. 29. The orders are set to be shipped in the first nine months of 2005.
ARMY Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Austin, Texas, was awarded on Nov. 22, 2004, an $84,276,830 firm-fixed-price contract for design, construction, renovation, and alteration projects. Work will be performed at Fort Hood, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Feb. 25, 2006. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were 25 bids solicited on Aug. 24, 2004, and two bids were received. The U.S. Army Engineer District, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-05-C-0001). ARMY
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to release a broad agency announcement (BAA) this week soliciting proposals for technologies to help satellites receive signals from ground users who are located close to multiple jammers. In phase II of the Novel Satellite Communications (NSC) program, the contractor will develop signal processing algorithms and coding techniques. The contractor also will have to consider how the processing and coding techniques used affect the rest of the satellite, according to DARPA.
Rolls-Royce has been awarded a contract worth more than $40 million to supply nine gas turbines for the South Korean navy's KDX III destroyer program, the company said Nov. 29. The AG9140RF ship service gas turbine generator sets will provide the main electrical power system and combat system power for the three ships, the company said. The AG9140RF is already in service on the U.S. Navy DDG 51 ship class. Similar equipment is also being used by the Japanese Defense Agency.
The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is trying to determine the fate of programs exploring new and upgraded nuclear weapons, now that its fiscal 2005 budget request for those efforts has been denied by Congress.
Rockville, Md.-based BAE Systems Applied Technologies Inc. has won a $62.1 million contract to provide system integration support for the Trident I (C4) and Trident II (D5) Fleet Ballistic Missile Programs, the Defense Department said Nov. 24.
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., which was recently tapped by the U.S. Air Force to upgrade a sensor that tracks laser-designated targets for the A-10 Warthog, plans to test two prototypes on the aircraft in roughly two years, a company official said Nov. 29.
The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence has purchased 108 Viking armored land vehicles from Sweden-based Hagglunds Vehicles for the U.K.'s marine corps, the U.K. navy said Nov. 24. Financial terms were not disclosed. Hagglunds Vehicles is a subsidiary of the Alvis plc group of London. The buy was made following a two-year trial and development program. The first prototype Vikings were delivered in June 2001 and successfully completed trials in arctic and desert weather in Norway, the U.K., Sweden and Oman, the U.K. navy said.
Bulgaria has chosen French aircraft maker Eurocopter to build a squadron of Cougar transport helicopters for the country's air force, the Sofia News Agency reported Nov. 24. Bulgaria Defence Minister Nikolay Svinarov signed an initial protocol after a 15-member panel chose Eurocopter over Stratford, Conn.-based Sikorsky and AgustaWestland, which is jointly owned by Italy's Finmeccanica and the United Kingdom's GKN, the news agency said. Svinarov declined to reveal financial terms. The contract is expected to be signed by December.
Fairfield, N.J.-based research and engineering firm Science Applications International Corp. has completed its purchase of ProcureNet Holdings Inc., SAIC said Nov. 29. Financial terms were not disclosed. ProcureNet Holdings, also of Fairfield, N.J., provides logistics, electronic procurement, and supply chain management services for the Defense Department and other federal agencies.
Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc. and Rheinmetall Defence Electronics GmbH of Germany are teaming up to market unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems to the U.S. government, the companies announced Nov. 29. Teledyne Brown will adapt Rheinmetall's UAV technology into two UAV battlefield surveillance systems - Prospector and Thunder. Both UAVs will be produced at Teledyne Brown manufacturing facilities in Huntsville, Ala. The first U.S.-made system is expected in 2005.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has won a $954,160 contract for dry docking work on the Military Sealift Command ammunition ship USNS Mount Baker (T-AE 34), the company said Nov. 29. The work will be performed in Newport News, Va.
Sweden-based Saab AB and Airbus of Europe have signed an agreement for the development and production of the crew entrance door for the A400M military transport aircraft. The contract's value could reach 400 million kronors ($59.6 million), Saab AB said Nov. 29. Swedish high-technology company Saab Aerostructures will be responsible for development, production, and support of the crew door for the A400M. The first unit will be delivered to Airbus in 2006.
