Posts Tagged ‘ americas – usa ’

Back in June 2006, “ Boeing, Raytheon Teams Readying US Border Security Submissions ” covered preparations for a big border surveillance contract. It was all part of the USA’s Secure Border Initiative (SBI), a comprehensive plan to secure U.S. borders and reduce illegal immigration, including an array of technical aids and elements on both the northern Canadian border and the southern border with Mexico. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency would lead and execute both the SBI and related SBInet “virtual fence” efforts, mirroring similar programs underway around the world. As promised, a winner was announced in September 2006 – and it was Team Boeing. Now, however, funding has been frozen. This article reports on current developments, and traces the project’s history through a series of GAO reports… (more…)

View post: The USA’s SBInet Border Security Project

Saudi F-15, refueling (click to view larger) Sniper pods ordered. (March 16/10) On Nov 14/06, a US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notice hinted that Saudi Arabia was about to become the first F-15 operator to switch its Pratt & Whitney F100 jet engines for General Electric’s F110 , as part of a wider-ranging upgrade program for Saudi Arabia’s multi-role air superiority and strike fighters. There’s often a long delay between the DSCA announcement and a contract, let alone delivery. Saudi Arabia’s F-15S variant did become the first fleet to perform a re-engining switch, however, and other upgrades are also underway. The Saudi F-15S, and its Upgrades [NEW] Contracts & Key Events [updated] Additional Readings [updated] (more…)

See the original post here: The 2006 Saudi Shopping Spree: Pimp My (F-15S) Ride

MTN shipboard VSAT The US Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) awarded a contract worth up to $50 million to MTN Government Services (MTNGS), a subsidiary of Miramar, FL-based MTN Satellite Communications (MTN), to provide global broadband satellite services. Under the firm, fixed-price, 5-year contract, MTNGS will supply global C- and Ku-band satellite bandwidth to the agency. The initial 6-month award is for $6.5 million. The contract includes 5 options, which if exercised, will bring the total contract value to $50 million… (more…)

Read this article: Up to $50M to MTN for DISA Broadband Satellite Services

GAO blocks $1 billion contract award to Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater, to train Afghan police, upholding DynCorp protest. Washington Post | Business Week | GovExec | DynCorp release Defense Threat Reduction Agency is looking for industry input for a robotic underground munition that would be an air-dropped mobile platform capable of drilling underground to deliver munitions. FedBizOpps notice | Ubergizmo.com | Tech Journal USJFCOM tests Lockheed Martin’s Valiant Angel system to sort through full-motion video from UAVs and sensors. New T-11 parachute doubles the number of paratroopers that can be deployed, according to US Army testing . L-3 gets $20.9 million order to build 4 F-16 flight simulators for the USAF . Canada awards C$14.9 million contract to M. Sullivan & Son to build a new 6,139 square meter health center at Canadian Forces Base Kingston.

See more here: Rapid Fire: 2010-03-17

India’s new interceptor missile, part of a ballistic missile defense system the country is developing, misses Prithvi II target missile during testing at the Integrated Test Range Complex-3 in the eastern state of Orissa. RIA Novosti | Indian Express | Jakarta Post EADS aims to sell 210 A400M military transport planes to US Department of Defense, expects to start production by end of 2010. Associated Press | Dow Jones | Business Week BAE System makes last minute bid to snag GBP 4 billion UK Scout armored vehicle contract after General Dynamics was rumored to be winner. Reuters | IBTimes | Telegraph DARPA looks to tap quantum mechanics for military application. Frost & Sullivan : Aging land military equipment in Asia Pacific countries fuels growth in upgrades and replacements.

Go here to read the rest: Rapid Fire: 2010-03-16

F/A-18C to Afghanistan (click to view full) Earlier in October 2008, a fleet-wide inspection program and limited grounding became necessary after aileron hinge cracks are discovered in some of the US Navy’s 630 or so F/A-18 A-D Hornet fighters. In March 2010, discovery of new cracks led to a much wider grounding. The USA’s is watching the average age of its fighter fleet rise , and will continue to do so even if all F-22s and F-35s envisioned in current Pentagon plans are purchased. “ Aging Aircraft: USAF F-15 Fleet Grounded ” covered the long saga of the USA’s F-15A-D fleet, which culminated in early retirement for a number of its aircraft. The A-10C re-winging program acquired added urgency with the revelation that wing cracks had been found in active aircraft. Now the US Navy’s long-serving F/A-18A-D Hornet fleet can be added to the list… (more…)

Visit link: Aging Aircraft: Cracks in USA’s F/A-18 fleet

Are trans-Atlantic defense partnerships viable? Wall Street Journal weighs in . India’s air force to pay Euro 560 million for 12 AW101 helicopters made by AgustaWestland. US and South Korea exercises prelude to that country taking over wartime operational control of its forces in 2012. Defense against WMD a focus. DoD article | CCTV.com report | AFP | Korea Herald | JoongAng Daily Navistar expects orders for US military trucks to raise profits in 2010 . L-3’s STRATIS division wins $230.9 million contract recompete to provide intelligence support services to US and multinational forces in Iraq ; division also snags $24.8 million US Special Ops imagery contract. Lockheed Martin gets $36.8 million contract to support night vision systems and components for AH-64 Apache helicopter at the US Army’s Arizona Support Center.

Read the original post: Rapid Fire: 2010-03-12

GBU-39: Gotcha. (click to see results) March 10/09: Boeing subsidiary McDonnell Douglas Corp. in St. Louis, MO won an $8.8 million contract for 100 “focused lethality munition” variants of the GPS-guided Small Diameter Bomb Phase I. At this time, the entire amount has been committed by the 681th ARSS at Eglin Air Force Base, FL (FA8672-10-C-0013, P00002). The GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb is a specially shaped 250-pound bomb. Its thin and pointed shape gives it extra punch against buildings and hardened targets, its pop-out wings give it very good glide range, and its JDAM-like GPS/INS guidance kit gives it precision. GBU-39 Phase II bombs will add the ability to strike moving targets. While there have been true stories of “ cement bombs ” designed to lower collateral damage, “ Focused Lethality Munitions ” take a higher-tech tack. This Small Diamater Bomb variant changes the bomb’s casing and internal fill, in order to produce more devastating effects within a smaller area. A carbon-fiber bomb body disintegrates instead of fragmenting, which adds explosive force nearby but largely removes sharpnel issues beyond. Inside, metal particles turn the explosive material into short-range projectiles. The result is especially useful in urban areas, in situations where friendly elements are close to the impact zone, and in campaigns fought using contemporary American counter-insurgency doctrine.

Read more from the original source: Boeing Wins Initial Contract for “Focused Lethality Munitions”

BAMS Operation Concept (click to view full) FY 2009-2011 budgets, $25 million to Curtiss-Wright. (March 2/10) The world’s P-3 Orion fleets have served for a long time , and many are reaching the end of their lifespans . In the USA, and possibly beyond, the new P-8 Poseidon Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft will take up the P-3’s role. While the P-8’s base 737-based airframe offers strong service & maintenance arguments in its favor, the airframe is expensive enough that the P-3s cannot be replaced on a 1:1 basis. In order to extend the P-8 fleet’s reach, and provide additional capabilities, the Poseidon is expected to work with at least one companion platform under the BAMS (Broad Area Maritime Surveillance) and/or PUMAS (Persistent Unmanned Aerial Surveillance) programs. DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This DID FOCUS Article explains the winning BAMS concept, the program’s key requirements, and its international angle. We’ll also cover ongoing contracts and key events related to the program, which chose Northrop Grumman’s navalized RQ-4N Gloal Hawk. Next-Gen Maritime Patrol Systems: Issues and Options BAMS: Requirements and Missions BAMS: The RQ-4N Maritime Hawk BAMS: The International Angle BAMS: The Program [updated] BAMS: Contracts & Key Events [updated] Additional Readings & Sources (more…)

Excerpt from: Kicking it Up a Notch: Poseidon’s Unmanned BAMS Companion

The May 2008 IEEE spectrum magazine, in “ The Hunt for the Kill Switch ”: “Feeding those dreams is the Pentagon’s realization that it no longer controls who manufactures the components that go into its increasingly complex systems. A single plane like the DOD’s next generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, can contain an “insane number” of chips, says one semiconductor expert familiar with that aircraft’s design. Estimates from other sources put the total at several hundred to more than a thousand. And tracing a part back to its source is not always straightforward. The dwindling of domestic chip and electronics manufacturing in the United States, combined with the phenomenal growth of suppliers in countries like China, has only deepened the U.S. military’s concern.” (more…)

Read more here: Secure Semiconductors: Sensible, or Sisiphyean?