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U.S. Army Orders 63 Raven Unmanned Aircraft Systems for $11 Mln

AeroVironment, Inc. has received an order valued at about $11 Mln under an existing contract with the U.S. Army. The order comprises 63 new digital Raven® small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), services supporting the Army’s evaluation of the small UAS Family of Systems concept and additional engineering services. This order follows two recent orders: On March [...]

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Market Research Media presents: U.S. Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Market Forecast 2010-2015 Deep Packet Inspection (DPI): U.S. Government Market Forecast 2010-2015 Worldwide Defense High Performance Computing (HPC) Market Forecast 2010-2015 U.S. Government Wireless Voice and Data Spending Forecast 2010-2015 U.S. Federal Cybersecurity Market Forecast 2010-2015 U.S. Federal IT Spending Forecast 2010-2015 U.S. Federal Cloud Computing Market Forecast 2010-2015 Market Research Media Ltd, [...]

Featured Defense Conferences

Military Airlift Rapid Reaction & Tanker Operations, December 6-7th, 2010, Vienna, Austria - This year the conference will feature a special focus on airlift operations ranging from recent humanitarian engagements in Haiti to tactical airlift manoeuvre in Afghanistan. Attend the conference and hear the latest from EU and NATO airlift agencies on their [...]

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• Textron Systems acquired Crane Wireless Monitoring Solutions (WMS), a leading provider of wireless sensor networks for force protection, border and base security applications, servicing the U.S. Military as well as homeland security and commercial customers. Known for its MicroObserver(R) unattended ground sensor (UGS) system, VantedgePoint(R) Remote Monitoring System, and its work for the U.S. Army, U.S. Air National Guard, U.S. Department of Energy and other customers, WMS will become part of Textron Defense Systems, an operating unit of Textron Systems. The Richardson, Texas-based team of approximately 25 people will be an operation within Textron Defense Systems' Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) business line. #
• URS Corporation has been awarded a contract to provide Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) communications and maintenance support to the Air Force’s 432nd Wing at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada and the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. The five-year contract is valued at just over $95 million to URS. The U.S. military UAV market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10% between 2010 and 2015, says U.S. Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Market Forecast 2010-2015, a new research report from Market Research Media. The report finds that the annual U.S. military UAV market will surpass $12.7 Billion by 2015. Under the terms of the contract, URS will provide communications, operations and maintenance support, and design, development and sustainment services for Unmanned Aircraft System Operations Center Support (UASOCS) mission systems. This program provides critical data, voice interconnectivity and video relays to enable pilots and sensor operators to fly and control UASs from centers worldwide. URS Corporation (NYSE: URS) is a leading provider of engineering, construction and technical services for public agencies and private sector companies around the world. The Company offers a full range of program management; planning, design and engineering; systems engineering and technical assistance; construction and construction management; operations and maintenance; and decommissioning and closure services. URS provides services for power, infrastructure, industrial and commercial, and federal projects and programs. URS Corporation has approximately 42,000 employees in a network of offices in more than 30 countries. #
• AAI Corporation, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company begins deliveries of the new extended wing kit for its Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (TUAS). The U.S. Army has ordered 100 extended wing kits for distribution to Army and Marine Corps units. With this enhancement, the Shadow aircraft’s wingspan increases from 14 to 20 feet. This additional wingspan increases aircraft endurance from six to nearly nine hours and also allows to carry additional payloads. #
• Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc., an industry leader in passive millimeter wave security checkpoint screening systems, announces today a contract award with a value of $3,651,000 from the Air Force Material Command, USAF located in Hanscom AFB, MA. Brijot will develop and deliver a prototype Long-Range Personnel Imager (LORPI). This contract award and project is sponsored by the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO). #
• MineWolf Systems demonstrated a new mechanical solution developed specifically to meet the requirements of the US Army for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The solution is described in the company's press release as "a machine robust enough to survive blasts from heavy anti-tank mines, yet mobile enough to be transportable in a 20ft ISO container or on a C-130 plane". The "Medium MineWolf" machine (MW 330) was presented for the first time in Munich’s city centre at the Military Engineering Summit, Europe's largest gathering of military engineers, procurement officers and equipment and technology providers with over 150 attendees from all over the world looking for latest developments in military engineering. This machine is the latest addition to the MineWolf product range, built in Germany in response to a specific requirement from the US Army for an area mine clearance system for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. US forces are looking for a capability to safely and quickly clear open ground of land mines and unexploded ordnance while minimizing the risk to soldiers. MineWolf Systems also demonstrated a sophisticated robotic arm attachment which can be mounted on any of their mine clearance vehicles to remotely deal with IED threats. Summit participants saw the robotic arm mounted on their smaller, remote controlled "Mini MineWolf" machine. #
• U.S. Marine Corps completed the integrated test phase of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) program Jan. 5, firing five rounds against stationary and moving targets. All five shots hit their intended targets within 2 meters of the laser designator’s spot. APKWS is a low-cost, low-yield alternative to other air-launched munitions currently in inventory. The system transforms a standard 2.75-inch unguided rocket into a smart, highly precise laser-guided missile. Because it uses standard launchers, APKWS requires no platform integration or aircraft modifications, and because it is loaded and fired just like a standard 2.75-inch rocket, very little additional aviator or ordnance crew training is required. Its design enables use of existing warheads, fuzes, and rocket motors, thus protecting government investment in existing inventory. APKWS has been demonstrated off Marine Cobra and Army Kiowa helicopters, and can be fired from any helicopter that can launch 2.75-inch rockets, including the UH-1 Huey, and AH-64 Apache. The Navy recently announced its intention to investigate, in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force, the deployment of APKWS from fixed-wing platforms. The Navy assumed acquisition executive oversight of the program in 2008 and has fully funded it for production. BAE Systems has been the APKWS prime contractor since 2006. #
• Elbit Systems Ltd. was awarded contracts in an aggregate amount of approximately $50 million to supply various types of laser based systems to the Israeli Ministry of Defense and to North American customers. The Israeli MoD will be supplied with laser systems, while in North America, Elbit Systems will supply two different customers with airborne laser systems. The orders were received by Elbit Systems Electro-Optics Elop Ltd. (Elop) and are to be delivered over the next two years. #
• General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products has been awarded an order of approximately $33 million to produce reactive armor tile sets for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle by the U.S. Army. General Dynamics' reactive armor system is composed of tiles that fasten to the exterior of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, allowing it to better withstand direct hits from a variety of anti-armor munitions. "Our reactive armor package is a light-weight solution that can defeat full-scale, shape-charge threats of modern, long-range anti-tank missiles. Our team in McHenry is proud to produce reactive armor tiles that save lives and prevent severe damage to combat vehicles in Iraq," said Russ Klein, vice president and general manager of weapon systems for General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products. Work will be performed at the General Dynamics' facility in McHenry, Miss., and deliveries are expected to be completed in November 2010. The program will be managed from General Dynamics' Burlington Technology Center in Vermont. The order is an extension of a contract awarded in 2006. A strategic partner, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., Ordnance and Protection Division, will share the production workload in Haifa, Israel. General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products is a business unit of General Dynamics (GD). #
• LaBarge, Inc. has been awarded a $2.6 million contract from Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) to continue to provide electronic subsystems for the MESA (Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array) radar system. The MESA radar is an advanced airborne surveillance radar system used in military aircraft with airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platforms. Currently flying in the next-generation 737-700 series aircraft produced by The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA), the radar is mounted atop the fuselage and has a long detection range with a 360-degree electronic scan that can simultaneously track air and sea targets, covering the entire operational area with an integrated identification friend or foe (IFF) mode. The MESA radar allows the AEW&C aircraft to operate farther back from the battle lines while it detects and tracks targets in high threat areas. #
• BAE Systems will provide U.S. Army soldiers with handheld laser target locators that will enable them to identify target locations while on foot, in daylight or at night, and in obscured-visibility conditions such as fog and smoke. The company has partnered with Vectronix Inc. to produce, maintain, and provide logistical support for up to 200 laser target locator modules (LTLM) per month under a five-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract worth up to $347 million. Weighing less than 5.5 pounds, the LTLM consists of a direct-view optic system, a night-vision camera derived from the thermal cameras used in BAE Systems’ advanced thermal weapon sights, a laser range finder, a digital compass, and a GPS receiver. The system will allow users to recognize targets more than 4.2 kilometers away in daylight and 900 meters in total darkness. Deliveries are scheduled to begin this year. #