DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS: Indian PM Manmohan Singh's $ 5 Billion Shopping List For C-130 J Hercules Aircrafts, Apache Attack + Chinook Heavy Lift Helicopters And More

DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS: Indian PM Manmohan Singh's $ 5 Billion Shopping List For C-130 J Hercules Aircrafts, Apache Attack + Chinook Heavy Lift Helicopters And More

 Sources: K. V. Seth - DTN News and  Sudhi Ranjan Sen
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - September 28, 2013:  India is set to buy American defence equipment worth five billion US dollars and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who left for the United States today, is carrying a long shopping list.

Among the hardware that India is looking to purchase are six additional C-130 J Hercules Medium Lift Aircraft, 22 Apache Attack Helicopters, 15 Chinook Heavy Lift Helicopters and about 140 M-777 ultra-light towed Howitzers. Contracts for all of these are expected to be signed before the current financial year is over.

The US-made Apache Attack helicopters will replace India's ageing fleet of Russian-made M-35 helicopters and will cost India about $1.4 billion.

Although the US lost the $15 billion tender for the supply of Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft or MMRC to France in 2011, it has in the last decade sold weapons systems worth $8 billion to India and is poised to edge out Russia and Israel as New Delhi's biggest defence equipment suppliers.

The US has recently proposed co-producing aircraft like the C-130 J Hercules and the number of joint military exercises that India has carried out with the US in the last 10 years too now exceeds those with traditional defence partners like Russia, UK and France.

It was perhaps this apparent closeness that provoked Victor Komaradin, who headed a Russian delegation at Aero-India 2013, to observe that "although Russia has virtually created Indian Defence industries in the 1960's and 70's, little attention is being given to the Russian contribution in building India's defence capabilities."

The big purchase order also underscores the fact that despite claiming to be a regional power, India still imports about 70 per cent of all its weapons and equipment.

According to a March 2013 report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute - an independent research body that specialises in conflict and arms sales - New Delhi replaced Beijing as the world's top arms importer accounting for 12 per cent of global arms transfers between 2008 and 2012. China accounted for about six per cent.

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth - DTN News and  Sudhi Ranjan Sen
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: US DoD Has Awarded Contracts To Lockheed Martin For F-35 JSF Aircrafts

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: US DoD Has Awarded Contracts To Lockheed Martin For F-35 JSF Aircrafts

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources U.S. DoD #691-13 Dated September 27, 2013 + Baynet.com

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - September 28, 2013: The U.S. Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin signed two F-35 contracts today, valued at $7.8 billion, for a total of 71 F-35 Lightning II aircraft to be produced in the sixth and seventh Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) lots. These agreements are a significant milestone for the F-35 Program, and reflect cost reduction initiatives shared by government and industry.
The LRIP 6 contract, valued at $4.4 billion ($3.7 billion awarded through a December 2012 undefinitized contract action; ref: N00019-11-C-0083, and $0.7 billion awarded through today’s contract) funds production of 36 aircraft, with average aircraft unit cost approximately 2.5 percent lower than LRIP 5 aircraft. LRIP 6 per variant unit prices (not including engine cost) follow:

·   23 F-35As CTOL - $103 million/jet

·   6 F-35B STOVL - $109 million/jet

·   7 F-35C CV - $120 million/jet

The LRIP 7 contract, valued at $3.4 billion, funds the production of 35 aircraft, with average aircraft unit cost approximately 6 percent lower than LRIP 5 aircraft. F-35 LRIP 7 per variant unit prices (not including engine cost) follow: 

·   24 F-35As CTOL - $98 million/jet

·   7 F-35B STOVL - $104 million/jet

·   4 F-35C CV - $116 million/jet

The 71 aircraft are currently in various stages of production. Lockheed Martin will begin delivering LRIP 6 aircraft in the second quarter of 2014 and LRIP 7 jets in the second quarter of 2015. LRIP 6 will mark the first delivery of international F-35 jets for Italy and Australia, and LRIP 7 will mark the first delivery to Norway.

 The LRIP 6 and 7 contract terms reduce the government’s exposure to target cost overruns relative to previous LRIP contracts. In the LRIP 6 and 7 buy, Lockheed Martin will cover all cost overruns. The government and Lockheed Martin will share returns (20/80) derived from any under runs in target cost.

 The LRIP 6 and 7 contracts contain performance-based payments, whereby the contractor will receive incremental payment as measured goals are achieved along the production line until government aircraft acceptance. LRIP 6 and 7 contracts also include a concurrency clause which requires Lockheed Martin to share costs equally with the government (50/50) for known concurrency changes arising from System Development and Demonstration testing and qualification. Newly discovered concurrency changes identified during LRIP 6 and 7 production periods will be authorized via engineering change proposals.

F-35 engines are funded through separate contract actions with Pratt & Whitney.

Lorraine Martin, VP and GM of the F-35 Program, said about the contracts “Lockheed Martin is extremely pleased with the LRIP 6 and 7 contract signing, which represents a significant milestone for the F-35 Program and its path to enhanced affordability. With each successive production lot, unit costs have declined. That’s a trend we look forward to continuing as this program moves toward full rate production and operational maturity. Working together with the Joint Program Office, our entire industrial team is focused on delivering the F-35’s 5th generation capabilities to our Armed Forces and partner nations at a 4th generation price point.”

U.S. DoD #691-13 Dated September 27, 2013

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $3,405,427,661 modification with fixed-price-incentive-firm, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost-plus-incentive-fee line items to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-12-C-0004) for Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lot VII F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft production. This modification provides for the manufacture and delivery of 19 F-35 Conventional Take-Off and Landing (CTOL) for the U.S. Air Force; six F-35 Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps; four F-35 Carrier Variant (CV) aircraft for the U.S. Navy; two F-35 CTOL aircraft for Norway; three F-35 CTOL aircraft for Italy; and one (1) F-35 STOVL for the United Kingdom. This modification also provides for LRIP Lot 7 production requirements, including manufacturing support equipment, diminishing manufacturing sources management, ancillary mission equipment, including Pilot Flight Equipment, and concurrency changes to LRIP Lot 7 aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Navy, and for non-U.S. DoD Participants in the F-35 Program. Concurrency changes are changes to the LRIP Lot 7 configuration baseline resulting from the F-35 development effort. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (55 percent); El Segundo, Calif. (15 percent); Warton, United Kingdom (10 percent); Orlando, Fla. (5 percent); Nashua, N.H. (5 percent); Baltimore, Md. (5 percent), and Cameri, Italy (5 percent). Aircraft deliveries are expected to be completed in October 2016. Fiscal 2013 Aircraft Procurement, Air Force; Fiscal 2013 Aircraft Procurement Navy; and International Partner funding in the amount of $3,405,427,661 are being obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Air Force ($1,823,737,540; 53.55 percent), U.S. Marine Corps ($567,802,742; 16.67 percent), the U.S. Navy ($401,457,402; 11.79 percent); and the Governments of Italy, Norway, United Kingdom, Australia, Turkey, the Netherlands, Canada, and Denmark ($612,429,977; 34.46 percent) The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $742,657,068 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price-incentive (firm target) modification to the previously awarded F-35 Lightning II Low Rate Initial Production Lot VI advance acquisition contract (N00019-11-C-0083). This modification provides for the manufacture and delivery of two F-35 Conventional Take-Off and Landing (CTOL) aircraft for the Government of Australia and three F-35 CTOL aircraft for the Government of Italy. In addition, this modification provides for LRIP Lot VI production requirements, including manufacturing support equipment, diminishing manufacturing sources management, ancillary mission equipment including pilot flight equipment, and concurrency changes to LRIP Lot VI aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy, and the non-U.S. DoD Participants in the F-35 Program. Concurrency changes are changes to the LRIP Lot VI configuration baseline resulting from the F-35 development effort. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (55 percent); El Segundo, Calif. (15 percent); Warton, United Kingdom (10 percent); Orlando, Fla. (5 percent); Nashua, N.H. (5 percent); Baltimore, Md. (5 percent); and Cameri, Italy (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2016. Fiscal 2012 and 2013 Aircraft Procurement, Air Force; Fiscal 2012 Aircraft Procurement, Navy; and International Partner funding in the amount of $742,657,068 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the U.S. Air Force ($130,677,491; 17.60 percent); the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps ($66,199,572; 8.92 percent); and the Governments of Italy, Australia, United Kingdom, Turkey, the Netherlands, Canada, Norway and Denmark ($545,780,005; 73.49 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth - DTN News from reliable sources U.S. DoD #691-13 Dated September 27, 2013 + Baynet.com
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*Photograph: IPF (International Pool of Friends) + DTN News / otherwise source stated
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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