May 31, 2011 15:42 UTC
Iraqi Policeman,
Baghdad
$146M order. (May 27/11)
Global Fleet Sales, Inc. is a member of the RM Asia Group of Companies, and has a long history of working in “difficult market situations” to produce modified and baseline Ford vehicles for companies and organizations involved in Humanitarian, Aid, Relief and Development Projects, and Police services around the world. The firm has been tapped for a number of US government contracts beginning in 2005, such as one for Afghan Police vehicles. GFS maintains all of the vehicles used by the Afghan National Army, with maintenance facilities in Mazar-e-Sharif, Herat, Kandahar, Kabul and Gardez; its parent firm RM Asia has a full country office in Afghanistan.
Recent awards fall under a 3 year firm-fixed-price contract with the US military to provide modified vehicles for customers like the Afghan and Iraqi police, and for other foreign military sales customers who might choose to order under the set contract terms and advantageous prices the US military has negotiated.
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May 30, 2011 15:01 UTC
Searcher II with SAR
For the past couple of years, there has been ongoing speculation about Syria buying MiG-31s and MiG-29s with Iranian financing. Some reports even placed the Islamic Republic of Iran as the ultimate recipient, but the deal itself was mired in confusion until recently. Other reports claimed delays in delivery of advanced S-300 long-range anti-aircraft missiles to Iran, which eventually became a cancellation and refund.
What was even more interesting were the parallel reports that Israel may be selling UAVs to Russia, and speculation that these sets of events may be related. The UAV sale turned out to be true.
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May 29, 2011 17:44 UTC
Honor & Reflect
(click to view cartoon)
Monday, May 30th is Memorial Day in the USA. DID honors those who have given all of their tomorrows in American military service; we will not be publishing.
Readers are reminded that in America, the Memorial Day moment of silence takes place at 3:00 pm. It seems that lots of reminders are needed elsewhere in America; a survey commissioned by The National WWII Museum in Washington had only 20% say they were very familiar with the day’s purpose, which is to honor those who have fallen in America’s wars. This function is served by Remembrance Day/ Armistice Day (Nov. 11th) in the British Commonwealth and elsewhere, but in America, that day is Veteran’s Day, and honors all who served in the military.
For additional resources, USAA has a full video that includes Hugh Ambrose (Band of Brothers, The Pacific, etc.), and the American National WWII Museum’s MyMemorialDay.org offers some ideas for honoring this day. One more idea might to be teach our fellow Americans. Email a good treatment of the day to people you know outside the national security field, and encourage them to forward it on.
May 26, 2011 14:28 UTC
Apaches head out
(click for full view)
May 25/11: Radiance Technologies, Inc. in Huntsville, AL receives an $8.8 million sole-source, firm-fixed-price contract from the US Army. They’ll produce the hardware needed to equip a full battalion of AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters with “the Ground Fire Acquisition System special mission kits.” Radiance seems to have a product that fits:
“Employing a powerful infrared camera and high-speed 5th generation data processing technology, WeaponWatch recognizes and analyzes in real time the heat signatures of fired weapons. WeaponWatch’s speed and accuracy make it possible to detect and respond to enemy weapon fire – by alerting soldiers, by communicating the type and location of the weapon, even by returning fire – before the sound of the enemy weapon reaches the sensor.”
That would certainly make it very dangerous to fire on equipped Apaches. Work will be performed in Huntsville, AL, with an estimated completion date of May 20/12. One bid was solicited by the U.S. Army in Fort Eustis, VA, with 1 bid received (W911W6-11-C-0043).
May 26, 2011 12:43 UTC
CBU-97 & BLU-108s
Integration contract. (May 26/11)
Going after a vehicle such as a surface to air missile launcher, or a cluster of vehicles like a formation of enemy tanks, can be a tricky business for a fast jet pilot. Vehicles hide, they shut off their radars, or there are just too many of them to effectively target and destroy en masse. Weapons like ATK’s AGM-88E AARGM and MBDA’s Brimstone missile can help, but there’s another solution. Textron’s Sensor-Fuzed Weapon (SFW) bomb scatters 40 projectiles, to cover 30 acres. The “skeet” projectiles, which look like tuna cans, will search for targets as they descend, then fire the equivalent of a tank shell through the target’s top armor. If no targets are found, 3 safety modes ensure that the area is safe for troops to move through within several minutes – which means it’s also safe for civilians years later. See “$108.1M for 13,280 ‘Cans of Whup-Ass’ ” for more.
On Sept 30/08, the US DSCA conveyed India’s formal request for a variant of the SFW with GPS guidance… but which IAF aircraft will carry them?
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