DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. DoD Awarded Contract To General Electric, Lynn Mass., For U.S. Navy F/A 18 A-D Aircrafts Engine Repair, Replacement And Program Support

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. DoD Awarded Contract To General Electric, Lynn Mass., For U.S. Navy  F/A 18 A-D Aircrafts Engine Repair, Replacement And Program Support

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources U.S. Department of Defense No. 941-12 December 03, 2012
(NSI News Source Info) SINGAPORE - December 4, 2012:   General Electric, Lynn Mass., is being awarded a $265,000,000 three year performance based logistics requirements contract to provide repair, replacement and program support of 35 F404 engine (F/A 18 A-D) aircraft components.  

Work will be performed at the Fleet Readiness Center Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2015.  

The applicable Navy Working Capital Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  No funds will be obligated at the time of award. 

This contract was competitively procured with six offers solicited, and one offer received from the solicitation.  

NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (N00383-13-D-001M). 

F/A-18C/D Hornet
Following a successful run of more than 400 A and B models, the US Navy began taking fleet deliveries of improved F/A-18C (single seat) and F/A-18D (dual seat) models in September 1987. These Hornets carry the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) and the infrared imaging Maverick air-to-ground missile. Two years later, the C/D models came with improved night attack capabilities. The new components included a navigation forward looking infrared (NAVFLIR) pod, a raster head-up display, night vision goggles, special cockpit lighting compatible with the night vision devices, a digital color moving map and an independent multipurpose color display.


F/A-18Cs have synthetic aperture ground mapping radar with a doppler beam sharpening mode to generate ground maps. This ground mapping capability that permits crews to locate and attack targets in adverse weather and poor visibility or to precisely update the aircraft's location relative to targets during the approach, a capability that improves bombing accuracy. New production F/A-18Cs received the APG-73 radar upgrade radars starting in 1994, providing more precise and clear radar displays.



The F/A-18C Nigh Attack Hornet has a pod-mounted Hughes AN/AAR-50 thermal imaging navigation set, a Loral AN/AAS-38 Nite Hawk FLIR targeting pod, and GEC Cat's Eyes pilot's night vision goggles. Some 48 F/A-18D two-seat Hornets are configured as the F/A-18D (RC) reconnaissance version, with the M61A1 cannon replaced by a pallet-mounted electro-optical suite comprising a blister-mounted IR linescan and two roll-stabilized sensor units, with all of these units recording onto video tape.

On the first day of Operation Desert Storm, two F/A-18s, each carrying four 2,000 lb. bombs, shot down two Iraqi MiGs and then proceeded to deliver their bombs on target. Throughout the Gulf War, squadrons of U.S. Navy, Marine and Canadian F/A-18s operated around the clock, setting records daily in reliability, survivability and ton-miles of ordnance delivered.

The Navy announced 18 May 1998 that its East Coast F/A-18 squadrons will relocate to Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach VA and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in Beaufort, SC. The jets will move from Naval Air Station Cecil Field in Jacksonville FL which was ordered closed by the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Nine operational squadrons and the Fleet Replacement Squadron -- a total of 156 planes -- will move to Oceana. Two squadrons totaling 24 planes will move to Beaufort. The first squadron will move in the fall of 1998 and all 11 fleet squadrons and the Fleet Replacement Squadron completed their moves by October 1999.

Throughout its service, annual upgrades to F/A-18 weapon systems, sensors, etc. continued. The latest lot of the F/A-18C/D has grown to be far more capable (night attack, precision strike, low observable technologies, etc.) than the original F/A-18A/B; however, by 1991, it was becoming clear that avionics cooling, electrical, and space constraints would begin to limit future growth.

Additionally, another operational deficiency was beginning to develop. As the F/A-18C/D empty weight increased the aircraft were returning to the carrier with less than optimal reserve fuel and/or unexpended weapons. The additional range and "bring back" is not as essential to shore based operations. F/A-18A/B/C/D aircraft will fly for years with the U.S. Marine Corps and eight international customers: Australia, Canada, Finland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand. Although the F/A-18C/D's future growth is now limited, it will also continue to fill a critical role in the U.S. Navy's carrier battle group for many years to come and will be an excellent complement to the larger, longer range, more capable F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.


*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources U.S. Department of Defense No. 941-12 December 03, 2012
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. DoD Awarded Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas Contract For Retrofit of 12 F-16 C/D Block 60 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS:  U.S. DoD Awarded Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas  Contract For Retrofit of 12 F-16 C/D Block 60 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources U.S. Department of Defense No. 814-12 October 12, 2012
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - October 12, 2012: Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, (FA8615-13-C-6048) is being awarded a $94,700,000 firm-fixed-price contract for retrofit of 12 F-16 C/D Block 60 multi-role fighter aircraft.  

The location of the performance is Fort Worth, Texas.  Work is expected to be completed by May 16, 2016.  


F-16E/F Block 60
Based on the F-16C/D Block 50/52, it features improved radar and avionics and conformal fuel tanks; it has only been sold to the United Arab Emirates. At one time, this version was incorrectly thought to have been designated "F-16U." A major difference from previous blocks is the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-80 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, which gives the airplane the capability to simultaneously track and destroy ground and air threats. The Block 60's General Electric F110-GE-132 engine is a development of the -129 model and is rated at 32,500 lbf (144 kN). The Electronic Warfare system is supposed to be quite advanced and includes the Northrop Grumman Falcon Edge Integrated Electronic Warfare Suite RWR together with the AN/ALQ-165 Self-Protection Jammer. Falcon Edge, which was developed by Northrop Grumman specifically for the Block 60, is capable of showing not only the bearing of any threat but also the range. The Block 60 allows the carriage of all Block 50/52-compatible weaponry as well as AIM-132 Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) and the AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM). The CFTs provide an additional 450 US gallon (2,045 L) of fuel, allowing increased range or time on station. This has the added benefit of freeing up hardpoints for weapons that otherwise would have been occupied by underwing fuel tanks. The MIL-STD-1553 data bus is replaced by MIL-STD-1773 fiber-optic data bus which offers a 1,000 times increase in data-handling capability. UAE funded the entire $3 billion Block 60 development costs, and in exchange will receive royalties if any of the Block 60 aircraft are sold to other nations. According to press reports quoted by Flight International, this is "the first time the US has sold a better aircraft [F-16] overseas than its own forces fly".

Like the F-35, the Block 60 F-16 has a built in FLIR/laser targeting system rather than using a dedicated pod that would occupy a hardpoint, increase drag and RCS.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources U.S. Department of Defense No. 814-12 October 12, 2012
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

DTN News: Pentagon Presses UTX To Cut F-35 Engine Costs

DTN News: Pentagon Presses UTX To Cut F-35 Engine Costs

* Lift fan variant blamed for significant past cost growth

* Pratt offers to assume liability for some cost growth

* Pentagon still opposes GE-Rolls alternate engine project

* Recent damage to Pratt engine being investigated

*Source: DTN News / Reuters By Andrea Shalal-Esa (NSI News Source Info) NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland, USA - September 16, 2009: The Pentagon is pressing United Technologies Corp (UTX.N) to cut costs on the engine it builds for Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) F-35 fighter, but said problems with that engine do not justify spending billions on an alternate F-35 engine.

The stealthy, supersonic multi-role fighter was designated the F-35 Lightning II in July 2006. The JSF is being built in three variants: a conventional take-off and landing aircraft (CTOL) for the US Air Force; a carrier variant (CV) for the US Navy; and a short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft for the US Marine Corps and the Royal Navy. A 70%-90% commonality is required for all variants. The requirement is for: USAF F-35A air-to-ground strike aircraft, replacing F-16 and A-10, complementing F-22 (1763); USMC F-35B – STOVL strike fighter to replace F/A-18B/C and AV-8B (480); UK RN F-35C – STOVL strike fighter to replace Sea Harriers (60); US Navy F-35C – first-day-of-war strike fighter to replace F/A-18B/C and A-6, complementing the F/A-18E/F (480 aircraft). Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said a mishap that damaged an F135 engine built by United Technologies unit Pratt & Whitney during testing last Friday raised questions about Pratt's work, not the single-engine approach. "It's a concern with regards to how Pratt & Whitney is developing this engine and with regards to, frankly, how the program office is managing that development," he told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday. "We have all got to focus harder on getting this engine to perform to the level that we know it can," he said. Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter initiated a high-level independent review of Pratt's cost structures that is due to report back early next month. The group visited Pratt's Connecticut facility last Thursday and Friday. Air Force Major General C.D. Moore, the program's deputy executive officer, told Reuters the Pentagon was pressing Pratt for a reduction comparable to the 30 percent cut it achieved for the related F-22 fighter engine. He said work on the short-takeoff, vertical-landing (STOVL) version of the F-35 accounted for a significant part of the $1.9 billion in cost overruns already seen on the engine. The STOVL version includes a lift fan built by Britain's Rolls Royce Group PLC (RR.L), which has experienced significant challenges, Moore told Reuters on the sidelines of the Air Force Association annual conference. Rolls is a supplier to United Technologies' Pratt & Whitney unit for the F135 engine, the primary engine for the F-35. It is also part of a team with General Electric Co that is developing the alternate F-35 engine that the Obama administration wants to terminate. Lawmakers have repeatedly defied the wishes of past administrations to continue funding the project, but President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have dug in their heels on what they call wasteful spending. Congressional aides said the Pratt engine incident could spur support for the second engine. Officials expect to have answers soon, possibly by Friday. Moore said the investigation was ongoing, but initial indications were that the problem did not appear to be caused by a design defect.

William Begert, head of business development for Pratt, told reporters on Tuesday that Pratt had proposed a cost-plus contract for 37 engines that trimmed the cost of the F135 engines from the last batch by at least 10 percent. "This is a major step in the direction of getting down the cost curve to where we want to be," Begert said. Under the proposal, Pratt would also assume responsibility for part of any further cost growth on the program, he said. He said Pratt had offered the F-35 program fixed-price terms in July, but officials opted for a cost-plus structure at this stage of the engine's development. Pratt said it remained ready to offer a firm, fixed-price bid if the program wished. Moore said cost-plus contracts give the Pentagon more insight into a company's cost structure, and that was important at this point, given efforts to get Pratt's engine costs under control. He did not comment on the GE-Rolls bid. GE and Rolls-Royce began discussing a fixed-price proposal with the Pentagon in April and submitted that kind of bid for their next batch of F136 engines on Sept. 1. Officials had been cooperating with the GE-Rolls team and actually initiated daily meetings at one point to help the team structure its proposal, said Jean Lydon-Rodgers, president of the joint fighter engine team, in an interview. She said the Pratt proposal had clearly been sparked by the debate over the second engine: "The fact that they are working to lower their costs is a big victory for competition." Begert said Pratt had invested heavily to drive costs lower and reach a "learned out" cost by 2014 at the 250-engine mark. Begert said Pratt continued to work very closely with Rolls-Royce, whose work on the lift fan has contributed heavily to the cost overruns, on the STOVL version. "That's the part that we continue to struggle with," Begert added.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; editing by Tim Dobbyn and Andre Grenon)

DTN News: General Electric Co, Rolls-Royce Group PLC Offering Fixed-Price On F-35 Engines

DTN News: General Electric Co, Rolls-Royce Group PLC Offering Fixed-Price On F-35 Engines * GE, Rolls scramble to shore up support for 2nd engine

* Offer on about 100 engines in low-rate production run

* 2nd GE-Rolls test engine offline after sensor incident

*Source: DTN News / Reuters By Andrea Shalal-Esa

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON, USA - September 2, 2009: General Electric Co (GE.N) and Rolls-Royce Group PLC (RR.L) representatives met top Pentagon officials on Tuesday to offer a fixed-price deal on about 100 low-rate production engines for the F-35 fighter. GE and Rolls-Royce are scrambling to shore up support for the second F-35 engine program, which Defense Secretary Robert Gates and President Barack Obama have singled out as unnecessary in the tightening budget environment. "We have to demonstrate true savings on the Joint Strike Fighter program. We have to show that by financing a second engine that it will more than pay for itself over time," GE spokesman Rick Kennedy told Reuters. He said the deal would cover low-rate production engines to be built from 2012 to 2015. Without the F-35 business, GE would be out of the large fighter engine business, he said. Gates reiterated his opposition to the second engine on Monday in Fort Worth, Texas where Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) builds the F-35. He said Obama's advisers would recommend a veto if the fiscal 2010 budget had second engine funding. Lawmakers who back the program argue that continuing work on a second engine will provide competition and lower costs on the massive $300 billion fighter program in the long run. Kennedy called the unsolicited fixed-price offer a "huge commitment" for the companies given that the F136 engine is still in development. Under such a deal, GE and Rolls would pay for any unexpected problems that arose, unlike a cost-plus deal in which those costs would be shared with the government. That could be significant, given that Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp (UTX.N), has seen the cost of development on its F135 engine soar by nearly $1.9 billion since 2002, according to the House Armed Services Committee. The F135 engine for the short takeoff vertical landing version of the fighter needed engineering changes after problems arose during testing several years ago. Pratt last week said it was investing a considerable amount in engineering changes and improved production processes to drive the engine's cost lower in the longer term. Marine Corps Brigadier General David Heinz last month cited significant cost growth on the 30-year estimate for the Pratt engine, saying it was slated to rise to $8.3 million per engine from $6.7 million, the biggest increase since 2001. Heinz has said he backs the president's drive to stop funding the second engine, but in June he said competition for the engine could lower costs and bring faster technology development, while averting the risk of fleet-wide grounding.

DTN News: General Electric Accused Of Selling Roadside Bomb Parts

DTN News: General Electric Accused Of Selling Roadside Bomb Parts

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) NEW YORK, USA - August 14, 2009: The US company General Electric has dismissed claims by Fox News that it is involved in supplying roadside bomb parts that ultimately fall into terrorist hands.

The American company on Wednesday described the Fox News report as "irresponsible and maliciously false".

The Fox's Bill O'Reilly in a recent report on Tuesday claimed that according to sources a federal probe was underway to see whether General Electric was providing roadside bomb parts that are used to kill American soldiers.

He said that a US company had supplied Corezing International -- a company in Singapore -- with radio frequency modules, which are among the main components of the roadside bombs.

GE spokesman Gary Sheffer said nobody can confirm such claims, adding that the company does not do business with the Singaporean firm.

"We usually do not respond to the misleading and inaccurate claims made on this program because very few people take them seriously," Sheffer said,

"But tonight's report took this smear campaign to a new low."