Tuesday, March 01, 2011

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Raytheon To Provide Advanced Imaging Sensors To The U.S. Navy

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Raytheon To Provide Advanced Imaging Sensors To The U.S. Navy
(NSI News Source Info)

MCKINNEY, Texas,

- March 1, 2011:

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been awarded a $50 million contract to deliver 50 AAS-44C(V) Multi-Spectral Targeting Systems for use on the U.S. Navy's MH-60R and MH-60S helicopters.

This airborne forward looking infrared targeting system provides video imagery that helps soldiers, intelligence analysts and commanders in the field make critical operating decisions. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2011 and end in 2012.

"This system provides critical information to U.S. and coalition forces," said Capt. Dean Peters, U.S. Navy program executive officer for PMA-299. "The quality of its day and night environment imagery is making a difference in the lives of our troops."

A variant of Raytheon's Multi-Spectral Targeting System deployed with U.S. rapid response forces, the AAS-44C(V) employs a full-motion video camera for long-range surveillance and high-altitude acquisition, tracking and laser designation from a manned or unmanned aircraft. In October 2008, C4ISR Journal ranked the sensor among the top 25 devices making "the biggest difference on the battlefield."

"Our solid partnership with the U.S. Navy has enabled us to develop this unique system to meet defense requirements," said Tim Carey, vice president, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems. "This electro-optical infrared system offers proven reliability and capability that support the warfighter in operations around the world."

Raytheon developed the system for use on the U.S. Navy's MH-60R and MH-60S rotary-wing platforms. The company also supplies it to military forces throughout the world.

Currently, Raytheon is pursuing foreign military sales of its MTS family of sensor solutions with the naval forces of Australia and India. The MTS sensor family recently marked more than 1 million hours of operational flight time.

Raytheon Company, with 2010 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 89 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide.

Contact:

Thais Conway

214.578.6115

SOURCE Raytheon Company

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DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated March 1, 2011

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated March 1, 2011
(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - March 1, 2011: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued March 1, 2011 are undermentioned;

CONTRACTS

MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is announcing the award of a sole-source cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification (HQ0147-09-C-0007, P00031) to The Boeing Co., Huntsville, Ala. The total award value is $109,900,000. Under this contract, Boeing will continue performing operation and sustainment services for two MDA programs: ground missile defense (GMD) and sensors (SN). The GMD portion of the award is $72,000,000 and the SN portion is for $37,900,000. The work will be performed in Fort Greely, Alaska, and Colorado Springs, Colo. The performance period for the GMD portion of the work is from March 2011 through August 2011, and for the SN portion of the work is from March 2011 through December 2011. Fiscal 2011 research, development, test and evaluation funds will be used to incrementally fund this effort in the amount of $10,500,000. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Missile Defense Agency is the contracting activity (HQ0147).

U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND

Raytheon, McKinney, Texas, is being awarded a $48,000,000 maximum value, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide life cycle contractor support for sustainment of the Forward Looking Infrared Radar System (FLIR) and Electro-Optical Sensor System (EOSS) in support of U.S. Special Operations Command, Technology Applications Program Office. The resulting contract will provide life cycle contractor support to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) as well as the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine components, for FLIR and EOSS systems, and subsystems for ancillary equipment. The work will be performed in McKinney, Texas, and El Segundo, Calif. The contract performance period ends Feb. 28, 2015. This contract was awarded through sole source procedures in accordance with FAR 6.302-1. Technical Applications Contracting Office is the contracting activity (H92241-11-D-0002).

NAVY

General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Fairfax, Va., is being awarded a $26,949,460 modification to previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00024-07-D-5222) for the production of the Navy’s Common Display System (CDS), a commercial, off-the-shelf-based, Grade A shock-qualified, display system in support of various Navy platforms. The CDS equipment procurement provides a family of display systems that support the Navy’s implementation of open architecture for Navy combat systems. The CDS is designed around commercially available hardware and software and will provide computer displays to support combat systems on various Navy ships, submarines, and aircraft, with potential for U.S. Marine Corps and allied use. The CDS will meet the computer display requirements of other programs of record, including Aegis modernization. Work will be performed in Fairfax, Va. (61 percent); Tallman, N.Y. (18 percent),; Freemont, Calif. (15 percent); and Smithfield, Pa. (6 percent). Work is expected to be completed by June 2013. 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.

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Alliance Aviation Services*, Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a maximum $19,903,191 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were originally 115 proposals solicited with one response. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2015. The Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-11-D-0045).

GE Datex Obmeda, Inc., Madison, Wis., is being awarded a maximum $19,847,688 fixed-price with economic price adjustment for patient monitoring systems, subsystems, accessories, consumables, spare/repair parts, and training. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were originally 17 proposals solicited with nine responses. This contract is exercising the second option year period. The date of performance completion is March 5, 2012. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM2D1-09-D-8348).

W&G Machine Co., Inc.*, Hamden, Conn., is being awarded a maximum $18,158,656 firm-fixed-price, total set-aside contract for flutter dampeners. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Army. There were originally two proposals solicited with two responses. The date of performance completion is March 1, 2016. The Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (SPRRA1-11-D-0043).

Truman Arnold Cos., dba TAC Air*, Fort Smith, Ark., is being awarded a maximum $14,315,716 fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract for fuel. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were originally 145 proposals solicited with 158 responses. The date of performance completion is March 31, 2015. The Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-11-D-0061).

Cascade Designs*, Seattle, Wash., is being awarded a maximum $6,791,400 firm-fixed-price contract for self-inflating, sleeping mats. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy and Air Force. The original proposal was solicited via the Defense Logistics Agency Internet Bid Board System with two responses. The date of performance completion is Feb. 24, 2012. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM1C1-11-D-1033).

*Small business

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DTN News - INDIA CHINA DEFENSE NEWS: With An Eye On China, India Steps Up Defence Spending

DTN News - INDIA CHINA DEFENSE NEWS: With An Eye On China, India Steps Up Defence Spending
(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - March 1, 2011:

India increased annual defence spending by about 11.6 percent on Monday, aiming to overhaul the military to counter the rapidly growing capabilities of giant neighbour China.

The hefty increase suggests the government plans to move ahead with some of a slew of planned defence acquisitions, analysts said, including a $10.5 billion fighter jet contract, one of the world's largest on offer.

India, among a host of countries wary of China's economic and military heft, is also eyeing surveillance helicopters, transport aircraft and submarines to beef up defences in the air as well as in the Indian Ocean.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, presenting the 2011-2012 budget to parliament, set the military budget at just over 1.64 trillion rupees ($36.28 billion), up from last year's 1.47 trillion rupees. Last year the increase was about 4 percent.

"China is the real long-term challenge on the strategic horizon and India's security planning is geared toward it," said retired brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal who heads the government-funded Centre for Land Warfare Studies.

China, which considers the U.S. military as its main rival, set its defence spending at $78 billion last year. It is expected to announce a defence budget for 2011 later this week ahead of an annual session of parliament.

The core U.S. defense budget -- not including war funding -- was $530 billion in 2010.

More than 40 percent of the Indian defence budget for 2011 will be spent on capital expenditure, Mukherjee said, while the rest will go toward maintaining one of the world's largest standing armed forces.

"Needless to say, any further requirement for the country's defence would be met," he said seeking to assuage concerns that the rise in spending was short of the military's expectations.

Old rival and neighbour Pakistan, which like India, also has nuclear weapons, is also a factor in India's defence planning.

DEALS

Indian officials expect to conclude negotiations to buy 126 combat aircraft by the end of the current fiscal year, the country's largest-ever defence order.

Saab's JAS-39 Gripen is competing with Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet, Dassault's Rafale, Lockheed's F-16 and Russia's MiG-35 to win the fighter contract which Indian officials said can eventually go up to 200 aircraft.

Kanwal said the defence allocation was enough to proceed with the fighter aircraft deal, although it may not leave much room for other arms imports.

"In the first year there is a signing amount you have to pay which shouldn't be a problem," he said.

India, which traditionally has had an edge over China in terms of combat air superiority with more modern planes, has in recent years seen the gap closing as Beijing modernised its air force.

China's plans for a stealth aircraft, designed to rival the U.S. F-22, have in particular unnerved Indian security planners prompting a race to overhaul the air force with its Soviet-era planes.

India, which long focused its military planning on Pakistan, is also scrambling to modernise its navy to counter China's influence in the Indian Ocean through its "string of pearls strategy" of developing a network of friendly ports from Gwadar in Pakistan to Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka.

Another military expert said given the scale of the challenge facing India, the increase in defence expenditure was modest.

"It's not a dramatic increase if you take inflation into account. Military inflation will be even higher," said Ajai Sahni, director of the New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management.

"It doesn't really demonstrate a will to completely overhaul the armed forces to meet the challenges." ($1=45.2 rupees) (Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Robert Birsel) REUTERS as

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DTN News - AEROSPACE NEWS: EADS Loss Of U.S. Tanker Deal Threatens Plan To Reduce Airbus Jet Exposure

DTN News - AEROSPACE NEWS: EADS Loss Of U.S. Tanker Deal Threatens Plan To Reduce Airbus Jet Exposure
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 1, 2011:

European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co.’s rejection for a $35 billion U.S. tanker contract threatens its goal to cut reliance on commercial aircraft and may force it to seek acquisitions at

home to build up defense operations.

EADS, based in Paris and Munich, relies on its Airbus SAS civil aircraft unit for two thirds of all sales. Chief Executive Officer Louis Gallois had aimed to balance that distribution by 2020, partly by gaining more access to the U.S. military market, the world’s largest. After Boeing Co. yesterday beat EADS on the tanker bid, achieving that goal may take longer, analysts said.

“It’ll be very difficult,” said Nick Cunningham, an analyst at London-based Agency Partners. “The U.S. accounts for 50 percent of defense spending in the West, and EADS has very limited access to that.”

EADS has sought for years to crack the U.S. defense market with orders and acquisitions. The company has failed to date to derive a meaningful portion of revenue from that region, with less than 2 percent of EADS’s military revenue stemming from the U.S. Gallois today called the tanker loss a “missed opportunity,” saying he would look elsewhere for growth.

Targeting Purchases

One option may be for EADS to consider acquisitions in France, where the defense market is fragmented, said Cunningham, who has covered the aviation industry for more than two decades. Among possible targets is defense electronics maker Thales SA, a maker of military electronics and security equipment, he said.

EADS, which had 42.8 billion euros ($60 billion) in sales in 2009, has several times in recent years expressed an interest in Thales, a 13-billion-euro company. The French government, which controls 27 percent of Thales, has rejected those overtures. Instead, family-controlled Dassault Aviation, which makes the Rafale combat jet, built up a 26 percent stake. EADS owns 46 percent of Dassault.

Gallois has said repeatedly that EADS would be willing to spend as much as $1.5 billion on an acquisition in the U.S. to help increase its footprint there. So far, the company, with about 10 billion euros in cash, has made very few purchases. Its biggest acquisition in the U.S. was Plant CML, an airport security business based in California, for $350 million in 2008.

Shrinking Budgets

The U.S. has become even more critical for EADS as home markets have begun to shrink. Spending in the U.K., where EADS has won numerous defense contracts including a tanker competition, will be reduced by 8 percent over four years, Prime Minister David Cameron said Oct. 19. As pressure increased last year to cut spending amid an unfolding European debt crisis, the German government ordered cumulative savings of 8.3 billion euros ($11.43 billion) in the defense budget by 2014.

EADS is best known for its Airbus aircraft, which include the A320 family of single-aisle jets and the A380 double-decker, the world’s largest passenger jet. Airbus leapfrogged Boeing as the largest maker of commercial aircraft in 2003, a lead the European manufacturer has retained to this date.

EADS’s tanker was modeled on its A330 wide-body aircraft, while Boeing’s successful bid used the older and smaller 767 jet. Airbus is also developing the wide-body, long-range A350 with 300 to 350 seats that is scheduled to begin service in late 2013, competing against Boeing’s 777 and 787 models.

Naked Run

Gallois said he was “disappointed” and “perplexed” by the Pentagon’s decision. Until the U.S. Defense Department debriefs EADS next week about the reasons for its choice, EADS won’t comment on immediate next steps, and whether it will seek to formally challenge the decision, Gallois said.

“I would have run naked down Fifth Avenue” if EADS had won the tanker bid, given the political obstacles in the Air Force to choose a French- and German company over a U.S. manufacturer for the tanker, said Sandy Morris, an analyst at Royal Bank of Scotland in London.

EADS had earlier been optimistic about its chances, given that its Airbus A330-200 was chosen as platform for the tanker in 2008. The victory was short-lived after Boeing successfully challenged the decision and forced a rematch.

While EADS has won some business in the U.S. military market, including a $2 billion contract to supply the U.S. Army with a fleet of light-utility helicopters, the tanker would have been by far the most prized order to date for the company.

The “contract loss is a clear disappointment given that it would have provided EADS with a greater US footprint, and therefore lower currency risk, and increased exposure to defence, a stated management ambition,” Morgan Stanley analyst Rupinder Vig said in a note to clients today.

To contact the reporters on this story: Andrea Rothman in Paris at aerothman@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Benedikt Kammel at bkammel@bloomberg.net.

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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Sikorsky Awarded Contract For UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopters.

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS:
Sikorsky Awarded Contract For
UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopters.
(NSI News Source Info)
STRATFORD, Conn.,
- March 1, 2011:
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., was aw
arded on Feb. 24 a $22,710,077 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the procurement of two UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters.
Work will be performed in Redstone Arsenal, Ala., with an estimated completion date of March 30, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received.
The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aviation & Missile Contracting Center, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-08-C-0003).

The UH 60 Black Hawk is a utility tactical transport helicopter that replaces the UH-1 "Huey". The versatile Black Hawk has enhanced the overall mobility of The Army, due to dramatic improvements in troop capacity and cargo lift capability, and will serve as The Army's utility helicopter in the Objective Force.

On the asymmetric battlefield, it provides the commander the agility to get to the fight quicker and to mass effects throughout the battlespace across the full spectrum of conflict. An entire 11-person, fully-equipped infantry squad can be lifted in a single Black Hawk, transported faster than in predecessor systems, in most weather conditions. The Black Hawk can reposition a 105 mm Howitzer, its crew of six, and lift up to 30 rounds of ammunition in a single lift. The aircraft's critical components and systems are armored or redundant, and its airframe is designed to progressively crush on impact to protect the crew and passengers.

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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing Awarded Contract From U.S. Navy For F/A-18E/F Super Hornet And EA-18G Growler Aircrafts.

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing Awarded Contract From U.S. Navy For
F/A-18E/F
Super Hornet And EA-18G Growler Aircrafts.
(NSI News Source Info)
St. LOUIS, Mo.,
- March 1, 2011:
The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $29,500,000 modification to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-fee contract (N00019-09-C-0019) for the procurement of aircraft armament equipment for F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft, including jumper bundles, pylon attach fittings, sensor well covers, adaptors, and plyons.
Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo., and is expected to be completed in December 2014. Contract funds in the amount of $27,210,466 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Related Info:

On September 28, 2010, Boeing announced it had been awarded a new multi-year procurement contract valued at $5.297 billion from the U.S. Navy for 124 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft. Under the terms of the agreement, Boeing is to deliver 66 Super Hornets and 58 Growlers to the Navy from 2012 through 2015.

The E/A-18G is the Navy's replacement for the EA-6B Airborne Electronic Attack aircraft and represents an entirely new way of looking at legacy aircraft replacement. Leveraging existing production capabilities at Boeing and Northrop Grumman, the Navy is using the F/A-18E/F MYC to buy an additional quantity of 'F' Aircraft, and marrying those airframes with Northrop Grumman's in-production Improved Capabilities (ICAP)- III Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) system to produce the E/A- 18G to replace the aging EA-6B aircraft. This allows for the next generation Airborne Electronic Attack capability to be delivered at reduced cost and in the shortest possible timeframe. The Marine Corps is examining a range of possibilities that will provide the needed capability.

In late September 2006 the Boeing Company delivered the first EA-18G Growler airborne electronic attack (AEA) aircraft to the US Navy test site at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD. The first EA-18G, known as aircraft EA-1, made the two-hour flight from St. Louis to Maryland with U.S. Navy pilot Lt. Matt Doyle and weapons system operator U.S. Navy Cmdr. Jamie Engdahl on board. EA-1 is the first of two test aircraft built under a System Development and Demonstration contract Boeing signed with the Navy on Dec. 29, 2003. In addition to flight testing, EA-1 will undergo extensive ground testing in the Patuxent River anechoic chamber to assess on-board radar, receiver and jammer compatibility and performance. The second EA-18G will join the flight test program at Patuxent River later this year.

The E/A-18G is the fourth major variant of the F/A-18 family of aircraft. The EA-18G will serve as the Navy’s replacement for the EA-6B providing a capability to detect, identify, locate, and suppress hostile emitters. The EA-18G will have the capability to operate autonomously or as a major node in a network-centric operation and will provide accurate emitter targeting for employment of onboard suppression weapons such as the High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM). Prime contractors are Boeing Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis, MO for the airframe and General Electric Company, Aircraft Engine Division of Lynn, MA for the engines. Northrop Grumman Corporation, Bethpage, NY is a major subcontractor.

The EA-18 will perform full-spectrum electronic surveillance and electronic attack of enemy threat radars and communications nets. The EA-18 leverages the U.S. Navy's investment in the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet platform. A derivative of the two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet - a platform which is in production today - the EA-18 is a highly flexible design that enables the warfighter to perform a broad range of tactical missions, operating from either the deck of an aircraft carrier or land-based fields. The EA-18 is 99 percent common with the Super Hornet and would be expected to significantly reduce support and training costs for the US Navy.

The EA-18G’s electronic attack upgrades will meet EA-6B (ALQ-218, ALQ-99, USQ-113) Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) capability to detect, identify, locate and suppress hostile emitters; provide enhanced connectivity to National, Theater and Strike assets; and provide organic precision emitter targeting for employment of onboard suppression weapons High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) to fulfill operational requirements. The man in the loop operation and advanced information display system will allow real time assessment of the tactical situation and the appropriate response executed in accordance with the rules of engagement. The performance of the aircraft is compatible with the primary strike/fighter aircraft projected to be in the inventory in the 2010 time period, allowing it to be fully integrated into specific strike packages. It will also have the capacity to provide broad area coverage for extended periods of time to support numerous strikes or other air operations in a federated context. The EA-18G is being designed to perform a range of Electronic Warfare/Electronic Attack functions either simultaneously or independently.

The F/A-18G had minor shortcomings relative to the EA-6B ICAP-III baseline of the Advanced Electronic Attack (AEA) Analysis of Alternatives study. By incorporating alterations, such as inclusion of a digital receiver system, complete communications electronic attack system, and routable network information system, this valid core can become a viable force for the future. The mission radius and time on station figures with typical air defense suppression loads are nearly identical. AEA system components designed for the EA -6B ICAP-III were easily adaptable for use in the F/A-18G. An initial study of the electro-magnetic interference susceptibility for the F/A-18G was concluded with favorable results. Although the LR-700 can be adapted for use in this airframe, a digital implementation revolutionizes electronic surveillance with low probability of intercept radar and complex modulation waveform detection, coherent jamming capability, active cancellation look through, and specific emitter identification. An internet protocol routable network approach is introduced as a possible means to seamless connectivity and fully integrated data picture. The multi-role capability of the F/A-18G will provide synergistic strike and survivability advantages as well as training and readiness challenges. A quantification of overall effectiveness demonstrates the F/A-18G is a viable EA -6B follow-on and AEA platform.

The EA-18 was the only alternative to the EA-6B based on a derivative from an in-production, aircraft carrier adept aircraft. It has the basic tactical capabilities of the F/A-18F Super Hornet coupled with the enhanced electronic attack capability of the ICAP III Prowler. The EA-18 will eliminate the type model series airplane off the flight deck. The configuration of the airplane in terms of capability will be equivalent to what is anticipated in the EA-6B with ICAP III installed, and a concentration on the LR-700 receiver, which will allow tracking of threats. Instead of pre-emptive jamming it will provide selective reactive jamming.

The airplane, though dedicated to the electronic attack mission, can be changed from an EA back to an 'F' with relative ease and vice versa. It allows flexibility on the flight deck. You can use up a certain portion of the life of the airplane flying it as an electronic attack airplane, and then shift missions, and use another section as a fighter. There is certainly a big difference in fighting Iraq with a strong integraded jamming system compared to fighting in Afghanistan.

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