Rapid Fire 2011-04-29: Naval Undersea Naval Warfare Center

• President Obama names Leon Panetta as the new US defense secretary and Gen. David Petraeus as the new CIA director, replacing Panetta. Tom Ricks sees Panetta’s appointment as the precursor to large budget cuts.

• The general’s shift to the CIA is especially interesting, given the growing intelligence role carved out by the US military and special forces since 2001. One early flashpoint: Petraeus’ optimism about Afghanistan reportedly isn’t shared at the CIA.

• Middle East military air market is predicted to triple between 2011 and 2020, says Frost & Sullivan.

• Contractors could take hit from US Navy’s decision to suspend the contracting authority of the Naval Undersea Naval Warfare Center (NUWC) in Newport, RI due to alleged bribery scandal involving a NUWC engineer.

• DoD lacks plan to replace National Security Personnel System, GAO warns.

• Boeing and the U.S. Navy celebrate the induction of the 500th Super Hornet family fighter (F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers) into the US Navy. It would have been ordered under the previous MYP-II multi-year contract, not the current MYP-III deal.

• US Customs & Border Protection gets its 2nd re-winged P-3C, of 14 planned. Unlike Navy P-3s, some USCBP aircraft (P-3 AEW vs.P-3 Tracker) have a distinctive AWACS radome on their backs.

• ATK gets $80 million order from General Dynamics to produce MK90 propellant grains for the MK66 rocket motor used in the Hydra-70 rocket systems.

• Latest military activity in Libya from Reuters.

Up to $700M to SRCTec for US Army CREW Duke V2 Upgrades

Latest updates[?]: Contracts to date hit $278M; 40,000th delivered.

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CREW Duke V2 System

The SRCTec CREW Duke system is a vehicle-mounted electronic jammer designed to prevent the remote detonation of land mines. The CREW Duke V2 is the US Army’s CREW 2.0 system, comparable to the Joint CREW (JCREW) 2.1, according to Lisa Mondello, a SRCTec spokesperson. The Duke V3 Upgrade improves the Duke’s capability to the level of the JCREW 3.2 system, she added.

The CREW Duke system was developed to provide US forces protection against a range of land mine threats. The field-deployable CREW Duke system uses jamming technology, and the design has been engineered to keep weight, size, and power requirements at a minimum. CREW Duke mounts into HMMWVs and other military vehicles.

India’s Fighter Modernization: Add MiG-29s to the List

IAF MiG-29B

The Indian Air force is dealing with the same fighter modernization numbers crisis that affects a number of air forces around the world. Its MiG-21s are retiring fast, and so are the subsequent generation of MiG-23/27 and MiG-25 aircraft. At the same time, India’s locally-developed Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas) program has been beset by numerous problems and ongoing delays, raising questions concerning its readiness and ability to begin filling some of that void in time. India’s MMRCA light-medium fighter competition will fill other gaps with 126 imported fighters, but it has yet to produce a winner, let alone a delivery date.

As the timelines for replacements stretch, India’s defense planners are concluding that more upgrades will be necessary in order to keep their existing fleet viable. February 2006 reports discussed a decision to upgrade India’s existing fleet of MiG-29B, MiG-29S, and two-seat MiG-29UB “Baaz” (Falcon) aircraft as well, in order to give them multi-role capabilities and improve their ability to carry advanced weapons. December 2006 reports from MosNews et. al. indicated that a contract has been signed, but it wasn’t until March 2008 that a deal was finalized. Instead of arriving by 2010, therefore, they began arriving in 2013, at the MiG-29 fleet’s air base in the Punjab region, overlooking Pakistan and Kashmir.

• The Numbers Problem
  
• Wanting a New Baaz: The Upgrades
  
• A Better Baaz: Program Updates [updated]
  
• Additional Readings
  

$7.5M for… an In-vitro Fertilization Clinic?

The Clark/ Balfour Beatty JV in Bethesda, MD a $7.5 million firm-fixed-price modification to increase the maximum dollar value of a previously awarded firm-fixed-price design-build contract for an in-vitro fertilization clinic and stem cell laboratory at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.

After award of this modification, the total cumulative contract value will be $741.1 million – but that’s for the massive construction underway at the NNMC generally, not just the clinic. Work will be performed in Bethesda, MD, and is expected to be complete by July 2011. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington in Washington, DC (N40080-08-C-0007).

Rapid Fire 2011-04-28: Vigilare for Australian Air Force

• General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, and Boeing all beat Wall Street first quarter results estimates.

• Raytheon sees strong Q1 growth in its ace and Airborne Systems (SAS) business thanks to its acquisition of Applied Signal Technology. Meanwhile ManTech had a mix of organic and external growth through the quarter.

• Oshkosh’s Q2 finds the company in the middle of M-ATV to FMTV transition.

• GAO finds flaws in DoD’s contingency contracting, which amounted to $367 billion in FY 2010.

• Russia successfully test fires second RSM-54 Sineva SLBM (SS-N-23 Skiff) from a Delta-IV class submarine, according to the defense ministry.

• The Royal Australian Air Force completes testing of Boeing’s Vigilare command and control system.

Rapid Fire 2011-04-27: Tactical Cryptologic Systems

• The Pentagon is launching a preferred supplier program. Companies who receive high marks in the Defense Department’s performance-tracking system may see better performance payments and other rewards. The Pentagon will also encourage more use of contract provisions that provide companies a share of any savings they produce on existing programs, under its broader “Better Buying Power Initiative.” If they have not yet taken an in-depth look at Chrysler’s 1990s supplier initiatives, they ought to.

• Lockheed Martin’s net income fell slightly to $530 million for the first quarter of 2011, despite a 3% increase in sales.

• India is reportedly getting close to awarding $1 billion contract for intermediate trainers. Of course, “close” is a relative term when we’re talking about India. The contenders include turboprops like Embraer’s EMB-314 Super Tucano, Pilatus’ PC-7 Mk.II, KAI’s KT-1, and the side-by-side Grob 120TP; and Alenia Aermacchi’s M-311 jet.

2011-04: Canada Orders More GPS-guided Excalibur Shells

Canadian M777s

April 25/11: Raytheon in Tucson, AZ receives an $8.3 million firm-fixed-price contract from Canada for its GPS-guided M982 Excalibur Block LA-2 155mm artillery shells. Canada has been using earlier Excalibur versions in Afghanistan, firing them from its new ultra-lightweight M777 155mm howitzers. Their $100,000+ cost per shell has attracted some criticism, but the reality is that current Rules of Engagement leave almost no other options for artillery support of troops in contact. That becomes even more important for a country like Canada, with no armed airpower in theater other than its CH-146 twin-Huey helicopters, and no movement on its expression of interest in other options like MLRS rocket launchers.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ; McAlester, OK; Farmington, NM; Niceville, FL; Healdsburg, CA; Anniston, AL; Cincinnati, OH; Anaheim, CA; Williamsport, PA; Joplin, MO; Lowell, MA; Baltimore, MD; Kariskoga, Sweden; and the United Kingdom, with an estimated completion date of March 31/13. One bid was solicited with one bid received. by the U.S. Army’s Contracting Command in Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, on behalf of its foreign customer (W15QKN-07-C-0100).

Britain Orders 28 Hawk LIFT Advanced Fighter Trainers

High-end Hawk

In 2006, Great Britain signed a GBP 450 million contract to buy another 28 advanced Hawk trainers, as the first step toward a public-private partnership that would provide military flight training to the RAF, Army Air Corps, and Royal Navy for the next 25 years.

Britain already had plenty of trainers designed to train pilots, and many of them are earlier version of the successful Hawk jet trainer that also serves with at least 14 other countries around the globe. So what makes this contract significant, and why are Hawk LIFT aircraft different?

• The Hawk Mk.128/ RAF Hawk-T Mk2
  
• Contract & Key Events
  
• Additional Readings
  

Rapid Fire 2011-04-26: Cloud Computing Limitations

• USAF announces acquisition strategy to recapitalize its HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter and to replace the UH-1N fleet with the Common Vertical Lift Support Platform.

• Teri Takai, DoD’s CIO since October 2010, is cautious about cloud computing and its security drawbacks. Seems timely when some of Amazon.com’s web services were out for several hours last week. Meanwhile Takai’s deputy Robert Carey calls on industry to provide cybersecurity solutions for the military’s new information-sharing enterprise network.

• Iran endures second cyber attack against nuclear facilities, Iranian military officials acknowledge.

RESET of the US Army’s Vehicle Fleet, 2005-2010

USMC M1A1 settles a
firefight in Fallujah

The RESET process takes used vehicles apart, inspects the parts, then replaces any defective parts and refurbishes the equipment to like-new condition. Sometimes upgrades are also performed. RESET and related processes like remanufacture/upgrades are being performed on M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley IFV/CFVs, HMMWV jeeps, and even helicopters. It usually takes place when the vehicles return from the front lines in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations, where sand damage and increased wear have taken their toll.

In truth, many of these vehicles were produced in the 1980s, and are reaching an age where “deep maintenance” is a wise and necessary measure. Note that this is not a complete list of RESET contracts.

• RESET Programs and Procedures
  
• RESET Contracts, Delivery Orders & Developments, FY 2006-Present [updated]
  
• Vehicle Fleets and Maintenance Overhangs
  
• Additional Readings