Rapid Fire 2010-02-01: QDR 2010

• In the Quadrennial Defense Review 2010 the Pentagon seeks to rebalance the US military and to institutionalize DoD reforms.

• President Obama FY 2011 budget contains a record $708 billion in defense spending, including a 3.4% increase in the Pentagon’s base budget and $159 billion to fund US military missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Reuters reports. At the same time, the Pentagon may be targeting at least 7 programs for cancellation.

DMSP: Tempest Tracker for the US Military

DMSP: points of light

Military commanders have always been subject to the whims of mother nature. Napoleon’s attempt to take Moscow stalled in the bitter cold and snow of the Russian winter. The D-Day invasion was postponed because of a poor weather forecast.

To better predict the weather, the US Department of Defense began an effort in the 1960s called the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) to use satellites to monitor weather from space. Data from DMSP satellites are used for strategic and tactical weather prediction to aid the US military in planning operations at sea, on land and in the air.

The aging DMSP is being replaced by the National Polar-orbiting Observing Satellite System (NPOESS); however, that system is $3 billion over budget and is not expected to be ready until 2012. In the meantime, DMSP replacement satellites are being launched to keep the system functioning. On Oct 18/09, the DMSP F-18 satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. 2 more DMSP satellites – F-19 and F-20 – are expected to be launched before the program ends…

NORAD Beefs Up Capabilities to Monitor Domestic Air Traffic

(Old) NORAD Opcenter

Buried deep beneath Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has monitored the skies above North America for more than 50 years. During the height of the Cold War, NORAD was the US and Canada’s early warning system for a Soviet 1st nuclear strike.

Following 9/11, NORAD moved to improve its ability to detect and monitor aircraft originating from within the US and Canada. One of those efforts, funded by the US Air Force, is development of the Battle Control System-Fixed (BCS-F). BCS-F integrates data from civil air traffic sensors, as well as airborne, ground and naval sensors, into an integrated air picture that allows commanders to better monitor the North American airspace.

BCS-F prime contractor ThalesRaytheonSystems in Fullerton, CA recently received an $8 million contract (FA8722-10-C-0001) to provide interim support for the program…

Rapid Fire: 2010-01-29

• Forecast International: Gulf States will continue to drive Middle Eastern defense spending. See also Documental’s 2008 forecast.

• A Greener American Quadrennial Defense Review?

• From offshoring, to the business case for “backshoring” manufacturing.

• Australia’s difficult FFG-7 frigate upgrade: that’s a wrap.

• Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling wants bayonet training dropped – but the British had to use them in Iraq. See the US Army’s own assessment of that fight.

• Blimpgate? Former USAF official alleges USA was deprived of counter-IED monitoring when a former Space Command General illegally countermanded a direct order by former USAF chief of staff Gen. Jumper.

• More on LPD-17 San Antonio Class failures: full statements from Northrop Grumman & US Navy offices.

• US Navy releases RFP for yet another Littoral Combat Ship program revision.

• Congressional statement of Congressional Budget Office’s Eric J. Labs, on the Long-Term Outlook for the U.S. Navy’s Fleet.

• USAF Gen. Chilton: Space debris “out of control.”

• Japan’s C-X/ XC2 aerial transport flies. See video.

• Canada’s SAR aircraft competition: progress in the spring?

• Russia still trying to develop a MALE (Medium Altitude, Long Endurance) UAV, while hedging its bets with Israel.

Plug and Play Satellites: Short Order Space Capability

PNP Satellite Concept

The era of the huge military satellite programs that cost tens of billions of dollars appears to be over. At least as far as the US Congress is concerned. Last year, lawmakers shut down the $20 billion plus Transformational Communications Satellite (TSAT) System program after huge costs overruns and skepticism about the system’s unproven technology.

At the same time, the US Air Force is moving ahead with development of small satellites that can be developed quickly in response to tactical needs and launched within days. These small satellites would be constructed using preexisting modules to meet the communications and ISR needs of commanders in the field. They are called plug-and-play (PNP) satellites and are being developed by the US Air Force Research Lab (AFRL).

AFRL recently awarded a contract worth up to $200 million for work on the PNP satellite architecture…

Finnish Army Buys More RBS-70 MANPADS

RBS-70, Australian Navy

The domain of man-portable air defense missile systems (MANPADS) has 4 major competitors around the world. Saab’s RBS-70 is used by 18 countries, and Finland continues to raise its order. Sweden’s Nordic next-door neighbor uses the RBS-70 in 2 modes: as a dispersed, soldier-carried system, and as a vehicle-mounted VSHORAD(Very Short Range Air Defense) system.

A 2009 purchase will complement these dispersed, short-range RBS-70 systems with a wider air defense net based on Sentinel radars, and ground-launched AMRAAM missiles. This combination is intended to make Finland’s airspace dangerous enough to deny enemies full air dominance, while its difficult terrain and mobile land forces bleed any future invasion until it quits. If that strategy sounds improbable, recall that Finland forced Stalin’s Russia to settle for a qualified draw in the 1939 Winter War, when Hitler’s ally attacked Finland per the terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

• The RBS-70
  
• Contracts & Key Events
  
• Additional Readings
  

$13.9M to DRC for LMSS Work Supporting F-16 Program

USAF F-16s, Iraq

Dynamics Research Corp. (DRC) in Andover, MA received a task order valued at $13.9 million under the DoD’s Logistics, Maintenance and Supply Support (LMSS) contract to support the F-16 System Program Office in the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

Under the terms of the task order, DRC will provide program management and technical services assisting with the modernization and maintenance of the F-16 weapon system. The work also includes supporting the USAF and various foreign military sales F-16 programs.

DRC is 1 of 6 prime contractors awarded the LMSS contract in March 2008 to provide lifecycle management services across DoD. The contract ceiling is $300 million. The other prime contractors are…

$202.7M to Raytheon for 196 Tomahawk Block IV Missiles

Tomahawk Launch
From USS Farragut

Raytheon Co. in Tucson, AZ received a $202.7 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract for procurement of 196 FY 2010 Tomahawk Block IV all-up-round (AUR) missiles.

The Tomahawk AUR missile includes the missile that flies the mission, the booster that starts its flight, and the container (canister for ships and capsule for submarines) that protects it during transportation, storage and stowage, and acts as a launch tube.

The Tomahawk Block IV missile is capable of launch from surface ships equipped with the vertical launch system (VLS) and submarines equipped with the capsule launch system (CLS) and the torpedo tube launch system (TTL)…

Washington DC Area Benefits from US Military Construction Funds

US military construction money usually flows out from Washington, DC, to various parts of the country and the world. The amounts are often large and can have a major impact on a community’s economy.

However, there has been a growing trend for that same money to go into the communities surrounding the Washington, DC area. Just in the last month, the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Washington has awarded up to $1.25 billion in construction contracts for work in Washington and the Maryland and Virginia suburbs.

In early January 2010, NAVFAC awarded up to $750 million to 5 firms for DC area construction, and on Jan 27/10, 4 small business qualifiers received construction contracts from NAVFAC Washington worth up to $500 million…

T-AOE-6-class Supply Ships: Keeping Up with US Navy Carrier Battle Groups

T-AOE-6 & CG-72

When US Navy carrier battle groups are rapidly deployed to hot spots, they need supply ships fast enough to keep up with them. That is the purpose of the US Military Sealift Command’s T-AOE-6-class fast combat support ship.

The T-AOE-6-class, which is the MSC’s largest combat logistics ship, can carry more than 177,000 barrels of oil; 2,150 tons of ammunition; 500 tons of dry stores; and 250 tons of refrigerated stores. There are currently 4 in service.

L-3 Systems in Camden, NJ recently won a contract worth up to $44.7 million to design and produce the ships’ machinery control systems…