US Office of Force Transformation to Close Oct. 1, 2006

Arthur K. Cebrowski

Back on September 26, 2005, DID ran “OFT Faces Different Future Without Cebrowski,” describing the difficulties facing the Pentagon’s Office of Force Transformation in the wake of its high-profile and hugely influential founder’s departure. Sadly, the cancer that forced Arthur K. Cebrowski to resign ultimately claimed his life in November 2005. It would appear that his illness has effectively claimed the OFT’s life as well; the office will reportedly shut down on October 1, 2006.

Despite its small size and budget, the OFT managed to champion a number of key projects over its term including “Project Sheriff” (aka. the ‘pain ray’ instead of bullets for riot control), the fast, stealthy, and highly digitized Stiletto special forces ship with its unique M-hull design, case studies covering network-centric warfare, concepts like “operationally responsive space,” et. al.

SEALs into Stiletto

Well-known author and Cebrowski protege Thomas Barnett believes that the OFT’s demise is just the natural order of things as its concepts have become more mainsteam, though others note that its small size and budget made progress difficult and rendered OFT easier prey in turf battles. GCN adds that the OFT’s analysis and studies portions will go to the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy, while the initiatives part will fall under a new office to be headed by John Young, deputy undersecretary of Defense for acquisition and technology.

$3.85B from USAF to Recruit Health Care Workers

The Air Force District Washington at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, DC has awarded a pair of $1.93 billion indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity; fixed price with economic price adjustment contracts. The contractors will recruit, qualify and retain health care workers at 63 Air Force medical treatment facilities in 58 geographic locations. DID covered a similar contract in November 2005, which set out 5 additional winners.

The USAF can issues delivery orders totaling up to the maximum amount indicated above, but they can also issue less if circumstances warrant. Work will be complete in November 2010, and the winners are:

• Magnum Medical Joint Venture, Angleton, TX (FA7014-06-D-0015). This is a partnership between Sterling Medical Associates, Inc. and Magnum Opus Technologies, Inc.
  
• Luke and Associates, Merritt Island, FL (FA7014-06-D-0016)

On June 20, 2006 the US Government Accountability Office sustained Magnum’s protest (B-297687.2) re: the original award of this contract to Luke and Associates.

Rafale Out for Norway

Norway: another one
bites the dust?

In our May 11, 2006 article “Norway’s Future Fighter Competition: A Norwegian View,” Endre Lunde described how the replacement for the country’s F-16 fighters had evolved into a 4-way contest between the Lockheed/BAE/International F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, Dassault’s Rafale, the EADS/BAE EF-2000 Eurofighter Typhoon, and the upgraded Saab/BAE JAS-39N Gripen.

Now Endre Lunde informs DID that the Rafale is no longer in contention, a development reportedly confirmed by Norway’s Deputy Minister of Defense to a leading Norwegian newspaper. The announcement was apparently made during a two-day visit to Saab’s facilities in Linkoping, Sweden. Lunde notes that “…the Gripen so far has been the true outsider compared to the Eurofighter and the F-35 Lightning, but the recent announcements by Gripen on the prospects of a dedicated “N” version, and a long and patient process of building trust and support in Norway seems to be paying off.”

If true, this report means that Dassault’s Rafale is continuing its unbroken string of losses on the export front, a fact which is beginning to have development and budget ramifications for the platform.

EADS Wins EUR 1 Bn National TETRA Radio Contract in Germany

EADS recently announced a contract win of up to EUR 1 billion from the Procurement Office in Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior. The BOS digital radio system for German security authorities and organizations will feature EADS as prime contractor, working together with Siemens to build a nationwide TETRA digital radio network by December 31, 2010. EADS Secure Networks within the Defence and Communications Systems (DCS) Business Unit bears the responsibility for the project within EADS.

TETRA? And how does this relate to the EADS “TETRAPOLBw” military radio contract win in Germany about a year ago?

SBX ABM Radar: Somewhere Over the Rainbow?

SBX radar, Pearl Harbor

All military technologies have their teething periods, and especially advanced examples often have longer ones. The SBX X-band radar offers a quantum leap in capabilities, and can even be floated into position in order to perform its missile-tracking function.

As our June 2005 article noted, the SBX was scheduled to arrive in Adak, Alaska by late December 2005. It remains at Hawaii, however, owing to a number of issues and glitches that have yet to be fully worked out. POGO offers a summary of those issues, via a link to a Chicago Tribune article an a leaked “For Official Use Only” document it was based upon entitled “SBX-1 Operational Suitability and Viability Assessment.”

Seabasing Grant to SeaTech Institute

Seabasing slide

Florida Atlantic University’s SeaTech – Institute for Ocean and Systems Engineering in Dania Beach, which is part of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, has been awarded a $2 million grant by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to investigate, design and build a prototype of a rapidly-deployable, multi-mission platform to be used as an enabling technology for seabasing.

This two-year project is headed by Dr. Frederick Driscoll of FAU’s Department of Ocean Engineering. Driscoll leads a team of researchers from FAU, two Navy laboratories and industry partners Oceaneering International and Marine Applied Physics Corporation. Since its inception in 1997, SeaTech has received 471 grant awards totaling more than $55 million.

India’s CVC Issues Procurement Guidelines for Defense

Independent watchdog agencies are a reliable feature of advanced democracies. Their influence is usually indirect, but occasionally their reports or directives have a more immediate impact on military projects. India’s Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has issued new directives on defence purchases which may seem somewhat familiar to observers in other countries, but may end up having an impact on several high-profile defense contracts.

As this DDINews report at Defense-Aerospace notes, The CVC has asked the Defence Ministry to avoid single-vendor situations unless very exceptional cicumstances exist, include standard contract terms in Request for Proposals, not deviate or dilute qualitative requirements after RFPs are issued, and require performance bonds and warranty bonds. That last requirement has appearently been something of an issue with Russian suppliers. Upcoming deals that could be affected include:

• The MRCA medium combat aircraft fighter deal, for 125-200 aircraft and $10-15 billion.
  
• The $500-700 million contract for new utility helicopters with high-altitude capability
  
• The long, long delayed purchase of new 155mm howitzers, worth up to $2 billion.
  

Boeing’s Solar Subsidiary Adds California Contract

solar concentrator array

DID recently covered an Australian contract to Boeing subsidiary Spectrolab for 500,000 solar concentrator cells to be used in remote areas. This was a particularly significant development given the call from combat commanders for renewable energy sources at American forward operating bases.

In-Q-Tel funded Skybuilt Power remains the front runner, and firms like Global Solar are already working with CECOM on related solar options from man-portable battery rechargers to self-powering tents. Leading defense integrator Boeing appears to have noticed the trend, however, and Spectrolab just announced another win via a 12-month contract from SolFocus, Inc. of Palo Alto, CA. Under this contract 600,000 solar concentrator cells will be built and delivered, with the goal of generating 10 MW of electricity at wholesale energy prices.

$75M for USAF Surgeon General IT Modernization

Karta Technologies Corp. in San Antonio, TX received a $75 million indefinite delivery/ indefinite quantity contract for information modernization technology (ITM) services for the Air Force Surgeon General’s Information Technology (IT) Branch (AF/SGR). At this time $2.5 million has been committed; work will be complete August 2011. The Headquarters Air Force District Washington at Bolling Air Force Base, DC, is the contracting activity (FA7014-06-D-0017).

Karta has had some recent successes in the military IT and e-learning space that are carving it a strong niche as a mid-level player.

Recent Israeli Contracts: ECM to Korea & Portugal, Riot Gear to China

S-92 VIP Transport
(click to view larger)

Israeli firms have recently won a few foreign defense and security contracts around the world. Elbit’s Elisra Group will supply $7 million worth of electronic warfare (EW) systems to the air forces of Portugal and the Republic of Korea. The company will supply EW systems for ROK Air Force Sikorsky S-92 Superhawk helicopters, and radar warning receivers (RWR) for 12 Portuguese Air Force C-295 transport planes which will form part of their integrated protection suites. Three of the planes will reportedly be equipped with the full self-defense suites, while the other planes will have the infrastructure installed so that the systems can be installed later.

Meanwhile, Beit Alpha Technologies of Kibbutz Beit Alpha recently signed a collaboration with a Chinese firm to jointly develop and market vehicles for riot control and dispersal. The vehicles are slated for use during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. See Ha’aretz story.