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• CRS (Congressional Research Service) analyst Ronald O’Rourke, who has often been right about shipbuilding programs when the US Navy was wrong, releases his August 2010 report on Navy shipbuilding plans [PDF, link fixed].

• Meanwhile, Maritime Professional delivers an equally hard-hitting analysis of the fast-dwindling US Merchant Marine, and MARAD: “The Emperor Has No Clothes.” Taken together, these analyses are not encouraging.

• PricewaterhouseCoopers: The value of mergers and acquisitions in the aerospace and defense sector dropped to $2.2 billion in the second quarter of 2010 from $5 billion in the same quarter last year, despite significant M&A activity in the middle-market segment.

• Show Me the Money: A slew of private equity firms line up to buy McKechnie Aerospace, an Irvine, CA-based supplier of aerospace components for commercial and military customers, for around $1.2 billion. This is part of a broader PE trend.

• Turkey plans to keep on spending on major equipment buys. Its 2010 budget is 1.8% of GDP rather than the 2% commitment for NATO members – but that’s almost double the level for many European NATO countries.

• Rent-a-Cop: Private contractors will take up much of the security work in Iraq as US troops pull out, the New York Times reports.

• Cardinal Health in Dublin, OH snags DoD contracts worth a total of $206.6 million for medical supplies and services.

• US Customs and Border Patrol takes delivery of 3 Huey-IIs, upgraded from Bell UH-1Hs by ARINC. Meanwhile, 14 USCBP P-3 Orion maritime surveillance aircraft will keep flying, thanks to Lockheed Martin’s re-winging service.

• ManTech in Fairfax, VA gets a $23 million contract to provide security and operations management support to a new Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) facility at Fort Meade, MD, to accommodate the BRAC-mandated closure of DISA’s Arlington, VA facility.

• Former US Representatives from Virgina Davis and Pickett to head commission set up to assess the impact of defense budget cuts on the state.

MLP concept
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The MLP is intended to be a new class and type of auxiliary support ship, as part of the US Navy’s Maritime Prepositioning Force of the Future (MPF-F) program. They’re intended to serve as a transfer station or floating pier at sea, improving the U.S. military’s ability to deliver equipment and cargo from ship to shore when friendly bases are denied, or simply don’t exist.

It’s an interesting and unusual concept, one closely connected to the au courant concept of “seabasing”...

• The MLP Concept
• Contracts & Key Events
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

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F910 Wielingen
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Bulgaria’s government recently allocated BGN 256 million (about EUR 131M/ $174M) from the country’s fiscal reserve in order to complete a number of arms deals, lest it find key defense items repossessed.

Bulgaria is actually one of the few NATO countries to meet the agreed 2% of GDP threshold for defense spending. The problem is a low base. Decades of communist rule left Bulgaria poor, and even among its peers in the former Warsaw Pact, its economic ranking was and is low. The recent financial crisis has hit the country hard, and left a number of key arms deals short on cash. While these deals are small in the context of global arms flows, they loom large in the context of Bulgaria’s overall military capabilities…

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“Need a tow?”
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Now it’s new problems with USS Green Bay [LPD 20]; Shipyard shifts. (July 29/10)

Problems with USS New York [LPD 21] reportedly have the US Navy scrutinizing every ship built in the class’ 2 shipyards. Unfortunately, it’s just the latest installment in a long string of basic workmanship issues. In March 2005, “Cost Overruns, Budget Uncertainties Hurting USN and Contractors” noted:

“With the help of a $50 million grant from the state of Louisiana, Northrop Grumman has modernized production at Avondale, and the company is now projecting completion of future amphibious ships at a much faster pace than in the past. Nevertheless, scathing Navy inspector general reviews that detailed shoddy construction and basic workmanship problems at Avondale are cause for legitimate concern in areas that will not be fixed by modernization alone.”

While some teething problems are not uncommon for first ships of a new class, The new San Antonio Class stands out for their number and severity. All in a ship whose costs rose from about $700 million when the program was sold, to over $1.7 billion – then stayed at that drastically elevated level through subsequent vessels…

• Fundamental Problems
• A Failed First Deployment
• Updates and Key Events [updated]
  
  Continue Reading… »

1991: HMCS Protecteur &
USS Wisconsin battleship
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Letth try that again… (July 14/10)

The Canadian supply ships and oilers HMCS Protecteur, and HMCS Preserver have contributed to humanitarian aid missions in Florida and the Bahamas, peace-making off Somalia and East Timor, and have been poised for the evacuation of non-combatants from Haiti, to name but a few of their recent endeavors.

As part of its spate of military modernization announcements issued just before Canada Day (July 1) 2006, the Canadian government issued an RFP that began the process of defining and building 3 “Joint Support Ships.” The aim was to deliver 3 multi-role vessels with substantially more capability than the current Protecteur Class oiler and resupply ships. In addition to being able to provide at-sea support (re-fueling and re-supply) to deployed naval task groups, the new JSS ships were envisioned as ships that would also be capable of sealift operations, as well as amphibious support to forces deployed ashore.

JSS
(click to view larger)

This was expected to be a C$ 2.9 billion (USD $2.58 billion) project. DID describes the process, the 4 pre-qualified industry teams participating, and some of the issues swirling around Canada’s very ambitious specifications. Specifications that ultimately sank the whole project, in a manner that was predictable from the outset. Leaving Canada’s navy with a serious problem. Will a second go-round in 2012-13 help any?...

• JSS: Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Appendix A: The JSS v1.0 Procurement Process
• Appendix B: DID Op-ed/Analysis – June 30, 2006
• Appendix C: Additional Readings [updated]
  
  Continue Reading… »

• Financial historian Niall Ferguson discusses American debt, the effect on American defense, and the way out.

• The Pentagon has more immediate concerns, however, like what to do if/when supplemental funding bills aren’t passed.

• Shipwreck: Northrop Grumman is considering spinning off its shipbuilding business as it moves ahead with plans to close down three Louisiana shipyards – Avondale, Tallulah and Waggaman. NG plans to shift production of the LPD-17 class amphibious assault ships being built at Avondale to its Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, MS after completing construction of the LPD-23 and LPD-25 for an extra $210 million.

• Special Ops?: Over 3,000 laptop computers were stolen from iGov Technologies’ facility in Tampa, FL, according to a St. Petersburg Times report; as DID reported, iGov supplies IT support, hardware, and software for the US SOCOM’s Tactical Local Area Network (TACLAN), although a SOCOM’s spokeswoman said none of the laptops contained military information or software.

• Billion Dollar Buyback: L-3 Communications is buying back up to $1 billion worth of its common stock through Dec 31/12; this marks the company’s 4th stock repurchase plan.

• AugustaWestland & Thales unveil an AW101 airborne early warning helicopter, in hopes of replacing the aging Sea King ASaC Mk7 fleet on Britain’s new carriers.

• GD NASSCO delivers the new T-AKE supply ship USNS Charles Drew [T-AKE 10] to Military Sealift Command.

• AEHF communications satellite launch delayed to Aug 10/10.

• Northrop Grumman’s MQ-8B Fire Scout helicopter UAV completes desert trials in the United Arab Emirates, which is interested in the platform.

• Clean-up on Berth 5: Emcor Government Services secures a contract worth up to $179 million to provide a broad range of services, include janitorial work and pest control, at 16 mid-Atlantic US Navy facilities.

• Exoskeleton in the Closet: Lockheed Martin is developing the HULC anthropomorphic exoskeleton to help US soldiers carry heavy loads over rough terrain under a contract with the US Army Natick Soldier Center. Not sure what the heck an exoskeleton is? Check out this photo.

• Harris snags $11 million US DoD order for the Falcon III AN/PRC-117G multiband manpack radio system for tactical communication.

• Defense Centers of Excellence’s National Center for Telehealth and Technology to unveil iBreathe iPhone/Android app, to help troops fight stress and PTSD.

USNS Patuxent
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Oilers do what their name suggests: provide fuel to Navy ships at sea, and jet fuel to aircraft assigned to aircraft carriers. They’re often overlooked, or considered secondary, but the truth is that the number, quality, and capacity of a fleet’s oilers determines its ability to deploy on distant missions, especially in surge scenarios. They work alongside fast replenishment ships and other vessels that also have fuel-carrying capabilities, and generally shuttle fuel to Navy ships and to a strike group’s accompanying T-AOE station ships.

USNS Patuxent is one of only 3 Henry Kaiser/ T-AO Class oilers to include the double-hull design that’s required under MARPOL standards, though the USA does operate 4 Champion/T-AOT Class tankers with the double-hull feature…

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MHFCS Fixed Network Nodes
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Boeing announces completion of the final milestone for the MHFCS project. (July 8/10)

To provide Australian armed forces with an integrated communications system, the Australian Defence Force contracted with Boeing Defence Australia, a subsidiary of US-based Boeing, to deploy an integrated HF communications system throughout the country, replacing the separate HF communications systems operated by each service.

The A$628 million (US$547 million) system – called the Modernized High Frequency Communications System (MHFCS) – provides the ADF with a nation-wide secure command and control network for all of the armed forces. The project is divided into two phases [pdf] – the MHFCS core system and the final system. The core system was delivered in October 2004, and the final system was introduced into service on Sept 24/09. The Australia Minister of Defence Material and Science formally accept the final system from Boeing on May 13/10.

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USNS Sgt. Matej Kocak
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Small business contract awarded. (July 1/10)

The USA’s Maritime Prepositioning Ships serve as vast, floating stocks of equipment, ammunition, and supplies that can be sailed into friendly ports to meet up with flown-in Marines. This critical but often-unrecognized force includes a combination of U.S. government-owned ships and chartered U.S.-flagged ships, and can also include ships activated from the Maritime Administration’s Ready Reserve Force. They are not crewed by US Navy personnel, but use U.S. civilian mariners (“CIVMARs”), who work for ship operating companies under contract to the federal government.

Most of MSC’s prepositioning ships are able to discharge cargo pierside, or use shallow-draft barges (lighterage), that are carried aboard in case ports are non-existent or in poor condition. In May 2010, US Military Sealift Command made one of the largest buys in its history – and the final contract in that set has now been awarded…

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• Run down: The Balisle Report offers an alarming picture of a US Navy whose readiness and reliability issues extend far beyond just its new multi-billion dollar LPD-17 program.

• Help Wanted: President Obama calls on the private sector to take on more of the civilian tasks in Afghanistan and Iraq, such as building schools and establishing a justice system. Perhaps one day they’ll also get to take on more civilian tasks in America.

• Yard Sale: US military sells surplus items to Iraqis, such as trailers, refrigerators, and latrines, as US troops prepare to withdraw. A slew of more serious military stuff is also on the way.

• Early Warning: Iran has sent advanced radar systems to Syria to provide early warning for Israeli air sorties against Iranian nuclear facilities, the WSJ reports. That won’t help much if they go through Saudi Arabia.

• On the Block?: Applied Signal Technology, a Sunnyvale, CA-based C4ISR supplier to the US military, is seen as the next possible takeover target following Boeing’s agreement to buy Argon ST.

• Eurohawk UAV: First flight for Northrop Grumman/EADS RQ-4 ELINT variant.

• Laser mine-hunter: ALMDS flight tests have begun.

• Can You Hear Me Now?: iGov snags contract worth up to $25 million to supply an expeditionary computer network that can be used for collaboration by US Marines in the field.

• Chillin’: Todd Shipyards in Seattle, WA gets $12.9 million contract modification to support reactivation of the icebreaker USCG Cutter Polar Star (WAGB-10); last year the shipyard got a similar order to repair the icebreaker USCG Cutter Healey (WAGB-20).