GovExec.com has been offering an excellent set of briefings that cover the key decision makers in a number of defense-related U.S. government departments. Who are they? What’s their background? What role do they play, and is there anything special they are known for? It’s a very fine series, though readers are advised to use the included contact numbers at their own risk. Coverage includes:
Political efforts are underway to integrate the European defense industry. As one might expect, these efforts are most politically controversial in Britain, which has substantial defense industry ties to the USA as well.
A recent article in The Sunday Telegraph illustrates some of the political tensions and procurement issues that must inevitably accompany these efforts. It highlights broader trends that will accompany these integration efforts throughout Europe.
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The Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD recently issued a pair of contracts that provide for low-rate initial production of six H-60R helicopters, and provide the R&D required to integrate critical electronics like Link 16, SINCGARS communication, and the Downed Aircrew Locator System Personnel Locator System into the MH-60R and MH-60S.
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Northrop Grumman Defense Mission Systems Inc. in Reston, VA received a $9.4 million modification to previously awarded contract N00178-04-C-2006, exercising an option for continuing engineering support for the development, installation, integration, maintenance and testing of Combat System Simulation and Stimulation Equipment for the AEGIS Program. This modification combines efforts for the U.S. Navy (92%) and the Governments of Japan (4%); Spain (2%); Korea (1.5%) and Norway (.5%). As DID has noted in the past, AEGIS is both a naval radar system and a battle management software combat system. As such, simulations are a key aspect of effective training.
Work on this contract will be performed in Dahlgren, VA (60%); Mount Laurel, NJ (20%); Arlington, VA (10%); San Diego, CA (5%); and New Church, VA (5%), and is expected to be complete by September 2006. The Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, VA issued the contract modification.
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L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC in Madison, MS received a $36.2 million firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursable, indefinite-delivery requirements contract to provide additional logistics support for approximately 121 TH-57B/TH-57C Sea Ranger helicopters based at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Whiting Field, FL, and two TH-57C aircraft based at the NAS Patuxent River, MD.
The TH-57 is more commonly known as…
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Insight Technology Inc. in Londonderry, NH received a $32.5 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for a minimum of 50 each Special Operations Peculiar Modification (SOPMOD) Visible Bright Light III (VBL III), and a maximum of 92,877 each production quantity of VBL III and associated data for the M4 Carbine in support of the United States Special Operations Command. “VBL” is acronym-speak for “flashlight-like device that mounts to a gun to keep soldiers’ hands free”. Insight Technology’s M6X is one example, though not necessarily the subject of this contract.
Work on this contract will be performed in Londonderry, NH and is expected to be complete by August 2010. This contract was competitively procured, with 2 offers received via Navy Electronic Commerce on-line and the Federal Business Opportunities website. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division in Crane, IN issued the contract (N00164-05-D-8568).
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Small business qualifier Global Food Services (DBA GFS) in Baltej Pavillion, Tamuning, Guam received a $5.2 million firm-fixed-price contract for Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) services provided in Guam for Commander, Navy Region Marianas. This contract contains options that, if exercised, will bring the total estimated value of the contract to $26.8 million. Work will be performed in Guam, and is expected to be complete by August 2010. This contract was a small business set aside, with five offers received. The Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Pearl Harbor issued the contract (N00604-05-C-A006).
As DID has noted, Guam’s air base and naval base have recently been a focus of a number of ongoing improvements, including an OC-12 bandwidth contract. Of course, if GFS really want to boost morale and do something useful, maybe they ought to organize tree snake hunts.
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Small business qualifier McTech Corp. in Cleveland, OH received a $6.7 million firm-fixed-price contract for Construction of a new Logistics Complex. Work will be performed in Swanton, OH and is expected to be complete by Dec. 5, 2006. There were seven bids solicited on May 6, 2005, and three bids were received. The National Guard Bureau, Swanton, OH issued the contract (W91364-05-C-0015).
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Switzerland Economics Minister Joseph Deiss said on Aug. 15/05 that the country would freeze a deal to send 180 armored personnel carriers (APCs) to Iraq until Baghdad guarantees that the APCs will only be used for “police services, border protection and transport of material.” To Defense Industry Daily’s deep annoyance and considerable regret, our article on the subject has become part of that debate after it was used to assert that the M113 armored personnel carriers would become part of Iraq’s new armored division. To reiterate what we’ve told several Swiss journalists, and what we added on Aug. 13/05 to the very article the Basler Zeitung (wrongly) cited as support for this thesis:
DID did not mean to imply that the M113s are destined for Iraq’s armored division – we had no information to that effect. We used the term “join” only in the sense that these are the first 2 major armored assets purchased by the elected Iraqi government. Which does indeed intend to use the T-72s as part of an armored division. DID could have worded that better, and we apologize for any confusion.
We wish the Basler Zeitung had contacted us in some way (editorial@… works) before running this story – and we wish even more fervently that national and international media like Associated Press and Agence France Presse had either contacted us or gone online to the purported source when dealing with a major political issue, and noted our clear explanation that Basler Zeitung’s claim was based on a misinterpretation. Especially after this fact was published in Berne’s NZZ am Sonntag on Aug 14/05. We have contacted them to set the record straight in no uncertain terms, and we will continue to do so with any other media that get this story wrong. Nevertheless, our article was written in a way that someone, for whatever reason, misunderstood. DID is responsible for writing it that way, which means we screwed up, and we apologize.
N.B. With respect the plausibility of M113s for police departments et. al, see the photo at left from the Doraville, Georgia, USA police department. More examples of American police with M113s can be found here. Their Iraqi counterparts, who face much bigger threats due to regular attacks by Islamist paramilitary death squads armed with RPGs and explosives, could probably put M113s to very good use.
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Intelsat, Ltd. Of Pembroke, Bermuda and PanAmSat Holding Corporation of Wilton, CT, USA have signed a definitive merger agreement under which Intelsat will acquire PanAmSat for $25 per share in cash, or $3.2 billion. Using a combined fleet of 53 satellites, the company will serve customers in more than 220 countries and territories.
PanAmSat brings a strong, video-centric customer base, including leading providers of cable TV programming, while Intelsat’s historical strength has been in providing core telephony and advanced data services to developing and underserved regions around the world. Over the long term, the company intends to consolidate best practices from the two respective organizations.
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