DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated March 1, 2010

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated March 1, 2010 Source: U.S. DoD issued March 1, 2010 (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - March 1, 2010: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued March 1, 2010 are undermentioned;

CONTRACTS

ARMY ~Weeks Marine, Inc., Covington, La., was awarded on Feb. 25, 2010, a $58,509,050 firm-fixed-price contract for work consisting of mechanical and hydraulic construction of containment levees requiring deep excavation to minus-70 feet, shoreline protection, and spillbox rehab to increase the capacity of Placement Areas 14 and 15; and maintenance and new work dredging of the Houston Galveston Navigation Channel Bayport to Morgans Point with four options. Work is to be performed at Harris County, Texas, and Chambers County, Texas, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2012. Thirty-four bids were solicited with four bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District Galveston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W912HY-10-C-0016).

~Watterson Construction Co., Anchorage, Alaska, was awarded on Feb. 25, 2010, a $26,451,500 firm-fixed-price contract for a Warrior Transition Complex that is a design-build construction project. Work is to be performed at Fort Richardson, Alaska (91.2 percent), and Anchorage, Alaska (8.8 percent), with an estimated completion date of Dec. 26, 2011. Bids were solicited on the Web with 10 bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Alaska, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, is the contracting activity (W911KB-10-C-0011). ~Davis Constructors & Engineers, Inc., Anchorage, Alaska, was awarded on Feb. 25, 2010, a $19,839,494 firm-fixed-price contract for design and construction of the Air Force aero-medical services/mental clinic. Work is to be performed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 26, 2012. Bids were solicited on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site with nine bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Alaska, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, is the contracting activity (W911KB-10-C-0012). ~Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Orlando, Fla., was awarded on Feb. 25, 2010 a $14,869,000 firm-fixed price contract, Task Order Number #0001, for construction of Battalion Dining Facilities. The project consists of a standard design two battalion 1,300 person, stand-alone dining facilities for a Training Battalion Complex. Install intrusion detection system (IDS) and connect energy monitoring and control system (EMCS). Supporting facilities include electrical, water, sewer, and natural gas services; security lighting; exterior communications; fire protection; storm sewer system and detention structure; paving, striping, curb and gutter, and sidewalks; site preparation, erosion control/grassing, landscaping; and signage. Work is to be performed at Fort Benning, Ga., with an estimated completion date May 20, 2011. Four bids were solicited and four bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Savannah, Ga., is the contracting activity (W912HN-07-D-0050). ~Hensel Phelps Construction, Co., Orlando, Fla., was awarded on Feb. 25, 2010, a $14,850,000 firm-fixed-price contract, task order #0002, for construction of battalion dining facilities. The project consists of standard-design, two-battalion, 1,300 person stand-alone dining facilities for a training battalion complex with the installation of an intrusion detection system and a connect energy monitoring and control system. Supporting facilities include electrical, water, sewer and natural gas services; security lighting; exterior communications; fire protection; storm sewer system and detention structure; paving, striping, curb and gutter, and sidewalks; site preparation, erosion control/grassing, landscaping; and signage. Work is to be performed at Fort Benning, Ga., with an estimated completion date of May 20, 2011. Four bids were solicited and four bids received. U.S. Army Engineer District, Savannah, Ga., is the contracting activity (W912HN-07-D-0050). NAVY ~Koam Engineering Systems, Inc., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a potential $51,146,913 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for tactical data link (TDL) systems support of a range of Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force and Foreign Military Sales Programs including airborne tactical data systems; ballistic missile defense; command and control processor; common link integration processing; dynamic net management; joint tactical radio system; tactical systems (engineering, integration, test, evaluation, fleet) support; and associated subsystems, network, process, and capability maturity model integration support. Support efforts include the maintenance and modification of the TDL computer programs; life cycle functions of systems; research and requirements analysis; systems engineering; software design and engineering; configuration management; modeling and simulation; and human factors engineering. This contract is one of three contracts awarded; all awardees will compete for task orders during the ordering period. All work will be performed at government and contractor sites in the San Diego area, and is expected to be completed Feb. 28, 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via publication on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site and posting to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems e-Commerce Central Web site, with three viable offers received. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N66001-10-D-0027). ~Odyssey Systems Consulting Group, Wakefield, Mass., is being awarded a $47,788,003 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for tactical data link (TDL) systems support of a range of Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force and Foreign Military Sales Programs including airborne tactical data systems; ballistic missile defense; command and control processor; common link integration processing; dynamic net management; joint tactical radio system; tactical systems (engineering, integration, test, evaluation, fleet) support; and associated subsystems, network, process, and capability maturity model integration support. Support efforts include the maintenance and modification of the TDL computer programs; life cycle functions of systems; research and requirements analysis; systems engineering; software design and engineering; configuration management; modeling and simulation; and human factors engineering. This contract is one of three contracts awarded; all awardees will compete for task orders during the ordering period. All work will be performed at government and contractor sites in the San Diego area, and is expected to be completed Feb. 28, 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via publication on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site and posting to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems e-Commerce Central Web site, with three viable offers received. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N66001-10-D-0028). ~Computer Sciences Corp., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a potential $46,911,088 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for tactical data link (TDL) systems support of a range of Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force and Foreign Military Sales Programs including airborne tactical data systems; ballistic missile defense; command and control processor; common link integration processing; dynamic net management; joint tactical radio system; tactical systems (engineering, integration, test, evaluation, fleet) support; and associated subsystems, network, process, and capability maturity model integration support. Support efforts include the maintenance and modification of the TDL computer programs; life cycle functions of systems; research and requirements analysis; systems engineering; software design and engineering; configuration management; modeling and simulation; and human factors engineering. This contract is one of three contracts awarded; all awardees will compete for task orders during the ordering period. All work will be performed at government and contractor sites in the San Diego area, and is expected to be completed Feb. 28, 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via publication on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site and posting to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems e-Commerce Central Web site, with three viable offers received. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N66001-10-D-0026). ~Insight Technology, Inc., Londonderry, N.H., is being awarded a $34,080,706 firm-fixed-price contract for the Fusion Goggle System Version 4 (FGS V4). U.S. Special Operations Command requires the FGS V4 for special operations force elements currently engaged in the overseas contingency operations. The application for this item is combined thermal imaging and image intensification which provides increased situational awareness. Work will be performed in Londonderry, N.H., and is expected to be completed by March 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, Ind., is the contracting activity (N00164-10-D-JQ58).

~Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors, Syracuse, N.Y., is being awarded a $14,700,000 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-09-C-6238) for the production of five TB-29A thin line towed arrays (TLTA). The TB-29A TLTA is a passive underwater acoustic sensor utilizing a thin line towed body. Work will be performed in Syracuse, N.Y. (62 percent); Salt Lake City, Utah (15 percent); Millersville, Md. (15 percent); Mauldin, S.C. (4 percent); and Cambridge, Mass. (4 percent). Work is expected to be completed by March 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. ~Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $12,303,065 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus fixed-fee delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-06-G-0001) to provide systems engineering and program management services in support of the H-1 upgrade production program. Work will be performed in Hurst, Texas (70 percent), Amarillo, Texas (15 percent), and New Bern, N.C. (6 percent). Work is expected to be completed in December 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. ~SmithGroup, Inc., Phoenix, Ariz., is being awarded a $6,046,433 modification to increase the maximum dollar value under a firm-fixed-price architect-engineer contract (N62742-10-C-0001) for design and engineering services for the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command at Hickam Air Force Base. The work to be performed provides for design and engineering services, environmental field investigation, soil investigation, and topographic survey to develop design-bid-build documents for construction of a multi-story facility which includes a central identification laboratory, administrative office spaces, and a warehouse. After award of this modification, the total cumulative contract value will be $7,120,509. Work will be performed in Oahu, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by December 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity. ~The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $5,820,084 firm-fixed-fee delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-05-G-0026) to provide integrated logistics services in support of Harpoon and SLAM-ER programs for the Navy and for the governments of Korea, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Egypt, Japan, Turkey, Pakistan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Israel, Singapore, Canada, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Chile, Malaysia, Oman, and Bahrain.. Work will be performed in St. Charles, Mo., and is expected to be completed in November 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $2,083,931 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This order combines purchases for the U.S. Navy ($2,083,931; 35.8 percent) and the governments of Korea ($694,901; 11.9 percent); United Kingdom ($283,542; 4.9 percent); Taiwan ($279,606; 4.8 percent); Egypt ($262,530; 4.5 percent); Japan ($245,231; 4.2 percent); Turkey ($234,045; 4.0 percent); Pakistan ($200,610; 3.5 percent); Australia ($195,660; 3.4 percent); Saudi Arabia ($190,438; 3.3 percent); Greece ($174,978; 3.0 percent); Israel ($166,927; 2.9 percent); Singapore ($163,710; 2.8 percent); Canada ($136,710; 2.3 percent); Thailand ($116,168; 2 percent); UAE ($88,178; 1.5 percent); Kuwait; $64,890; 1.1 percent); Chile ($62,415; 1.1 percent); Malaysia ($60,683; 1.0 percent); Oman ($59,445; 1.0 percent); and Bahrain ($55,486; 1.0 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND ~Crowley Liner Services, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., has been awarded a sole-source letter contract to obtain emergency port related services in Haiti. The contract has a not-to-exceed amount of $22,000,000. The contract is for services required to restore cargo delivery capability and support Haiti port operations at Port-au-Prince. Services include surveying damaged ports and beaches; establishment of beach landing operations; cargo lightering operations to establish a link between deep draft cargo vessels and beach landing facilities; warehousing; cargo consolidation; trucking; placement of docking barges with cranes to function as temporary piers and removal of various obstructions in the water, to include a large gantry crane. Work will be performed in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and the performance period is from Jan. 16, 2010, to April 15, 2010. This was a sole-source procurement executed under the authority of FAR Part 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency. The U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., is the contracting activity (HTC711-10-C-W001).

DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY March 1, 2010 ~ Car Bombs Kill NATO Soldier, Five Afghans

DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY March 1, 2010 ~ Car Bombs Kill NATO Soldier, Five Afghans Source: DTN News / AFP By Nasrat Shoib (NSI News Source Info) KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - March 1, 2010: Bombers targeted the police headquarters in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar and a NATO convoy Monday, detonating car bombs that killed six people including a foreign soldier.U.S. soldiers walk around a wrecked armored personnel carrier of the NATO forces after it was targeted by a suicide attacker in Kandahar south of Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, March 1, 2010. A suicide car bomber attacked a NATO convoy Monday outside the major southern Afghan city, killing one NATO service member and four Afghan civilians, officials said. The violence brought to three the number of bomb attacks to strike southern Afghanistan in 24 hours, marking a surge in Taliban-linked violence more than two weeks after thousands of US-led troops launched a major offensive. A suicide bomber drove his car into a NATO convoy on the main highway from Kandahar towards the district of Spin Boldak on the border with Pakistan, sending an armoured vehicle plummeting into a river, an AFP reporter said. Hours later, a station wagon packed with explosives blew up outside the main provincial police headquarters in Kandahar city -- the spiritual capital of the Taliban movement -- killing one person and wounding 16 others, police said. The Taliban, waging an insurgency to evict the more than 120,000 NATO and US-led troops now in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the first attack at Tarang, about 12 kilometres (eight miles) outside the city of Kandahar.Afghan police officers and the U.S. soldiers, bottom, gather at the scene of a suicide attack in Kandahar south of Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, March 1, 2010. A suicide car bomber attacked a NATO convoy Monday outside the major southern Afghan city, killing one NATO service member and four Afghan civilians, officials said. The bombings highlighted the threat posed by the militia across much of the south and underscored the challenge facing a "surge" of US and NATO troops executing a last-ditch strategy to bring an end to the eight-year war. Foreign troops cordoned off the scene as helicopters flew overhead after the convoy attack. Sergeant Jeff Loftin, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said one foreign soldier was killed and "a few" injured but did not disclose their nationalities. The Afghan interior ministry said the attacker drove a car bomb into a NATO convoy killing "four of our innocent civilian compatriots". "All the dead are burned from the blast flames," said Doctor Mohammad Ibrahim from the main civilian hospital in Kandahar. Speaking to AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location, Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the convoy attack and alleged that 11 foreign soldiers died. The Taliban routinely exaggerate the impact of attacks on US-led and NATO troops, whose numbers are set to rise to 150,000 by August as part of a new war strategy adopted by US President Barack Obama and key allies. Another vehicle blew up in the car park of the Kandahar provincial police headquarters later Monday, shattering windows in nearby buildings for up to several hundred metres. "In the remote controlled car bomb explosion at Kandahar police HQ car park, one civilian working for the police headquarters was killed and 16 others were wounded," said deputy provincial police chief Fazel Mohammad Shairzad. Nine of the wounded were policemen and seven civilians, he said. Monday's attacks come a day after a bomb planted by the Taliban killed 11 civilians, including women and children, in Helmand, the province neighbouring Kandahar and where 15,000 troops have been waging a massive offensive. The Taliban, their affiliated networks and loyalists have focused their fight to bring down the Western-backed Afghan government on the south but are said to have a significant presence across virtually the entire country. Since February 13, US, NATO and Afghan troops have been fighting to drive the Taliban from the Marjah and Nad Ali areas of Helmand, where Afghan authorities say they are in control since hoisting the national flag last week. In what has been billed as the biggest military assault since the 2001 invasion, Operation Mushtarak ("Together") is aimed at driving the Taliban from their strongholds and is part of Washington's new strategy to end the war. Although commanders say the fighting is now winding down and Kandahar will be next on the list, authorities have been reluctant to return thousands of displaced villagers because of innumerable mines left by the Taliban. The new US-led counter-insurgency strategy, designed to allow Western troops to be drawn down by mid-2011, entails carrying out military operations then establishing civilian security and services such as hospitals and schools.

DTN News: India TODAY March 1, 2010 ~ IAF Stages Fire Power Demonstration Exercise In Pokharan

DTN News: India TODAY March 1, 2010 ~ IAF Stages Fire Power Demonstration Exercise In Pokharan Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - March 1, 2010:The Indian Air Force (IAF) yesterday (Feb.28) staged a breathtaking display of rapid air power dominance in a representative battlefield area and blasted away targets by day, dusk and night in a fire power demonstration exercise, Vayu Shakti 2010, at Pokharan in the Rajasthan desert. This was the first ever dusk and night phase display by the IAF. As many as 107 IAF aircraft, including frontline fighters – Mig-21 Bison, Mig-27, Mig-29, Mirage-2000, Su-30 MKI, Jaguars; transport aircraft - AN-32, IL-76, Embraer and helicopters – Mi-17 1V, Mi-35 gunships participated in the exercise. Other unseen force multipliers included IL-78 MKI mid-air refuellers, AWACS and UAV. According to an official press release issued here, the day phase displayed the strike capability of ground attack fighter aircraft. The dusk phase displayed the war-waging capabilities of helicopters. The final phase by night showcased two major aspects of air power – counter air operations and counter surface force operations. President Pratibha Patil, who is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, was the chief guest at the display. Others who witnessed the exercise included Rajasthan Governor Prabha Rau, Defence Minister A K Antony, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju, Marshal of the IAF Arjan Singh, the three Service Chiefs, senior Defence Ministry officials, military attachés of various countries and other senior members of the Government of India and the armed forces. A Mig-29 flying low and supersonic at 1250 kmph, leaving in its wake a deafening sonic boom, provided an explosive start to the proceedings. This was followed by a photo-reconnaissance run by a formation of three Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft. Three waves of fighter fly-past by a combination of Jaguar, Mig-21 Bison, Mig-27, Mig-29 and Mirage-2000 fighters followed before the armament delivery phase. An array of targets including mock radar sites, tanks, marshalling yards, terrorist camps, runway, BMP (infantry fighting vehicles), blast pens and convoys were selectively destroyed in the precision attacks by IAF pilots using bombs, rockets and missiles. Both, PGMs (precision guided ammunitions) and conventional armament were used in the display. Besides witnessing obliteration of ground-based targets, CAP (combat air patrol) versus Strike (intruding enemy force) was among the most stimulating sights on display. An adrenaline-pumping aerial combat scenario of 2vs2 (Su-30 MKIs hunting in pair against an intruding pair of Mirage-2000) was demonstrated. Firing of R-73 infrared (heat seeking) air-to-air missiles by Su-30 MKIs on an aerial flare at the end of their simulated encounter was a rare sight to witness. As daylight transcended into the realm of twilight zone and darkness in the desert expanse, more devastating effect followed with relentless pounding of rockets, bombs and guns blazing from the turrets of fighters and helicopters even as the night sky glowed intermittently with IR flares dispensed by the attacking aircraft. The other highlights that enthralled onlookers against the desert landscape at dusk included displays by aerobatics team of Surya Kirans and Sarang, skydiving display by Akash Ganga and compositions by IAF’s Symphonic Orchestra.

DTN News: EADS Confident On A400M, Seeks Clarifications

DTN News: EADS Confident On A400M, Seeks Clarifications Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) PARIS, France - March 1, 2010: Airbus parent EADS expressed confidence in the chances of a positive outcome in the final stretch of talks to rescue the delayed A400M troop plane and said it was seeking clarifications before a final deal. Seven European nations agreed in principle on Thursday to pump in 3.5 billion euros ($4.7 billion) to save the troubled project and said they would evaluate a letter they had received from EADS in the hope of finalising the long-awaited deal. "EADS welcomes the joint statement by defence ministers of the nations in charge of the A400M and is confident that a positive outcome will be reached with a final agreement that is acceptable to all parties," an EADS spokesman said on Friday. "However there are still certain clarifications that need to be finalised," he added without elaborating. The EADS letter seen by Reuters called for assurances on three fronts -- that individual nations should not weaken their commitment on orders, buyers should limit requests for optional extras and that they should clarify the status of 1.5 billion euros of guarantees that form part of the bailout package. EADS is anxious to avoid classifying the 1.5 billion euros as a loan, which would force it to increase provisions in its 2009 accounts due on March 9. Ministers from purchasing countries -- Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Turkey and Spain -- are due to meet again on March 8.

DTN News: Boeing Seeks Foreign Buyers For C-17 Planes, Made In Long Beach

DTN News: Boeing Seeks Foreign Buyers For C-17 Planes, Made In Long Beach Source: DTN News / LA Times By William Hennigan (NSI News Source Info) - March 1, 2010: The cargo plane's assembly plant is scheduled to close in two years. Boeing slows production to extend the life of the plant and work on sales. For sale: a mammoth four-engine plane that can haul 60-ton tanks, troops and medical gear across continents and still land on short, shoddy runways. Price: about $240 million; volume discounts are available. If interested, please contact Boeing Co. at your nearest air show. That's the sales pitch that Boeing officials have been making worldwide recently, in hopes of keeping its sprawling C-17 assembly line in Long Beach from closing in two years.The plant, adjacent to Long Beach Airport, employs about 5,000 people and is one of the last remaining aircraft plants in Southern California. With slowing orders from the Pentagon, the Chicago-based aerospace giant said last week that it would cut the C-17 production rate by a third, from 15 aircraft a year to 10, so it could extend the life of the line by several months. It would also buy time for the company to sell more planes to foreign buyers, Boeing said. "We have intensified our focus on marketing the C-17 overseas," said Tommy Dunehew, Boeing's vice president for business development. "The slowdown gives us time to work on these deals and make some sales." One of them -- the sale of 10 C-17s to India -- could help the line stay open an additional year. In a complicated process, India's purchase request must first pass muster with the State Department and Congress. India's interest in the C-17, first revealed last year, is a potential game changer because it showed that there was a robust international market for the plane, analysts said. "We now have proof that there's substantial interest out there," said Loren Thompson, a defense policy analyst with the Lexington Institute. "With careful marketing and a little bit of time, the international market for the C-17 could double or triple."

Boeing has sold the aircraft to foreign governments in the past, but mostly to close allies and in small batches. Britain, Australia, Canada and Qatar have C-17s in their fleets. And workers at the Long Beach plant will fill the United Arab Emirates' order for six planes by 2012.

But because these orders are small -- about five planes at a time -- they have not been enough to sustain the production line, Boeing said. The company has relied on the Air Force to extend its orders every year since 2006. The C-17 program accounts for about 14,000 jobs in California.

New orders, like the one India is proposing, could help shift the program's reliance away from the U.S. government. Foreign customers say they like the four-engine aircraft because it can carry bulky battle gear and use substandard runways. It can take off and land quickly despite its massive size.

The plane has been key in hauling supplies to Iraq and Afghanistan and on humanitarian missions in Haiti and elsewhere.There is an increasing need for aircraft with heavy-lift capabilities, said Tom Captain, principal and vice chairman of Deloitte's aerospace and military practice, which has Boeing as a client.

"These kinds of planes have found a niche and a market that is growing," Captain said. "The foreign market for heavy-lift aircraft has become quite substantial in size."

The C-17, which costs more than other cargo planes, faces stiff competition from smaller and less expensive transports such as Lockheed Martin Corp.'s C-130J and an upcoming A400M that is being developed by Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co. But the A400M program has been delayed and has gone billions of dollars over budget.

Boeing hopes to snap up some of that business. "Sales with foreign customers don't happen overnight," said Boeing's Dunehew, noting that foreign sales can take anywhere from one to five years. "

We're hoping that the production slowdown will give us the time make those sales happen." william.hennigan@latimes.com

DTN News: U.S. Patriot Missiles In Poland Early April ~ Report

DTN News: U.S. Patriot Missiles In Poland Early April ~ Report Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) WARSAW, Poland - March 1, 2010: The first batch of U.S. Patriot missiles will be deployed in Poland in April, defense ministry spokesman Janusz Sejmej said Feb. 27. U.S. troops tasked with operating the missiles will arrive at the same time, the PAP news agency quoted Sejmej as saying. The surface-to-air missiles are to be deployed in northern Poland, 35 miles from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Poland Defense Minister Bogdan Klich said last month that the choice of the site close to Kaliningrad had "no political or strategic meaning - its good infrastructure is the only reason." Polish President Lech Kaczynski on Feb. 26 ratified an agreement on the future status of U.S. troops in Poland, opening the way for the missile deployment. President Obama in September scrapped a plan agreed in 2008 to install a controversial anti-missile shield system in Poland and the Czech Republic that had enraged Russia.