Mar 08, 2012 07:00 UTC
Latest update: Critical Design Review, milestone schedule.
Looking a little dated
In March 2010 the Navy awarded an $83 million contract for e-CASS development, production and testing. The AN/USM-636(V) Consolidated Automated Support System (CASS) is the US Navy’s standard automatic test equipment family. It provides intermediate, depot and factory level support, both ashore and afloat, for testing all Navy electronics, from aircraft to ships and submarines.
CASS has been around since 1990, and it’s time for an upgrade. The Navy is planning to replace the existing 5 CASS mainframe systems with the next-generation electronic CASS (e-CASS) system. US Naval aviation currently uses 713 CASS stations for testing of aircraft electronics. CASS is also used at the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and in 9 foreign countries. As of early 2012 events appear to proceed according to plan.
Continue Reading… »
Feb 08, 2012 17:02 UTC
Polish F-16C,
air display
F-16C/D Block 52 aircraft serve as the backbone of Poland’s air force. In February 2012, the USA’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced [PDF] Poland’s official request for F-16 weapons, as well as a 5 year fleet support contract that includes associated equipment, parts, and training. They will be bought using the USA’s Foreign Military Sales process, and the requested items are expected to cost up to $447 million.
If a contract is negotiated after the 15-day FMS wait period for NATO members, the prime contractors are listed as Raytheon in Tucson, AZ and Waltham, MA; Boeing in St. Charles, MO; McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in McAlester, OK; and United Technologies Corporation in Hartford, CT. Poland’s specific request includes:
Continue Reading… »
Aug 20, 2011 14:31 UTC
Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) has recently disclosed the following Requests for Proposals (RFP), modifications and notifications:
- The US Air Force releases a Statement of Work, Questions and Answers and additional documents in relation to the purchase and installation of a Lawful Intercept (LI) capability for the Government of Iraq (GOI). LI will provide the GOI with enhanced communications intelligence to support a range of security operations.
Continue Reading… »
Apr 18, 2011 18:58 UTC
“Where does it hurt?”
The US military is a military on the move. It also is a military on the computer and the network. Linking those two aspects together are notebook computers that can be taken on patrol as well as used on the flight line, at a command post, or in a field hospital.
But US military’s notebooks are not like everyday laptops. They are built to withstand the harsh conditions of Afghanistan or the demanding conditions of flight-line maintenance. They need to be rugged and able to withstand sand, water, wind, heat, cold, jarring impacts, and various chemicals and fluids.
This article examines the US military’s standards and criteria for rugged notebook computers, the environmental and work environments that the rugged computers must be able to endure, as well as assessments of how rugged computers respond in practice. But first, let’s examine what we mean by the term “rugged.”
Continue Reading… »
Jun 29, 2010 08:16 UTC
APX-117, APX-118 transponders
Article closed.
Identification friend or foe (IFF) systems enable forces to recognize friendly aircraft, surface vessels, and submarines to avoid inadvertent firing on friendly forces. The technology, in use since World War II, has two main components: interrogators, which ask the questions, and transponders, which provide the responses.
BAE Systems supplies its AN/APX-117, AN/APX-118, and AN/APX-123 common digital transponders (CXP) for IFF systems, as well as associated equipment and components to the US Army, US Navy, US Coast Guard and a number of foreign countries. This article explains the products, and covers sales over a defined window from 2008-2010…
Continue Reading… »
Jun 22, 2010 16:49 UTC
C-2A Greyhound
(click to view larger)
In June 2010, Michelin Aircraft Tire Corp. in Greenville, SC received a $101.1 million firm-fixed-price performance based logistics contract that supports 23 separate tire types aboard V-22 family tilt-rotors; H-60, H-46, and H-53 family helicopters; AV-8B Harrier II and F/A-18 family fighters; EA-6B Prowler jamming aircraft; P-3 Orion maritime patrol planes; and E-2/C-2 family cargo and AWACS planes.
The original contract was competitively awarded, with 11 firms originally solicited and 2 offers received by the US Naval Inventory Control Point in Philadelphia, PA (N00383-00-D-042G). The base contract was issued for $70.3 million and up to 163,581 tires in October 2000, and Option 1 was exercised for $92.9 million in July 2005. The June 2010 Option 2 award brings the announced total to $264.3 million, of a total value that was originally announced as $366.5 million maximum with all options exercised.
USN F/A-18C, Italian AV-8Bs
Work on Option 2 will be performed in Greenville, SC (100%), and the contract will run to January 2016. Funding is provided by the Defense Business Operating Fund and Navy Working Capital Funds, and will not expire before the end of the fiscal year. Most of this option is expected to support American needs, but this announcement also includes foreign military sales support for Australia (F/A-18, H-60, P-3); Egypt (E-2, H-60); Italy (AV-8B); Japan (E-2, H-46, H-60); Kuwait (F/A-18 C/D); Malaysia (F/A-18 C/D); New Zealand (P-3); Spain (AV-8B, H-60); and Taiwan (E-2, H-60, P-3 coming), who had participated in previous contracts at a 90/10 USA/FMS split. Previous announcements added H-3 Sea King helicopters, which are used by some of these countries, but this announcement does not. Previous contracts also covered F-14 Tomcat fighters, S-3 Viking sea control aircraft, and T-2 Buckeye trainers, all of which have joined the Sea King in withdrawal from US Navy service.