Boeing completes critical design review for protected satellite communications payload

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  May 3, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Contracts for April 30, 2021

  Today

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  December 4, 2019 | International, Naval

  Navy awards $22.2B contract for nine Virginia-class submarines

  The General Dynamics subsidiary Electric Boat has been awarded a 10-year contract for design and construction of the vessels. By Christen McCurdy Dec. 3 (UPI) -- General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp. has been awarded a $22.2 billion contract modification to build nine Virginia-class submarines for the U.S. Navy. The deal covers the nine vessels of Block 5, eight of which contain the Virginia Payload Module, to be designed and built over the next decade, the Department of Defense announced on Monday. The contract also includes an option for spare materials and an additional submarine to include the VPM, which, if exercised, would push the total value of the deal over $24 billion. Virginia-class submarines are built to conduct anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface-ship warfare, strike warfare and special operations support as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. To date, the Navy has 18 Virginia-class submarines, with James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, calling the VPM and other Block 5 design changes "a generational leap in submarine capability for the Navy." "This team developed a Block V multi-year contract which provides significant increases in lethality and performance for the fleet to support the National Defense Strategy while also ensuring we are maximizing the use of taxpayer dollars," Geurts said in a press release. "The multi-year contract also provides the stability needed in this critical industrial base to ensure we can continue to maintain our competitive advantage in undersea warfare while also providing a solid foundation for the Columbia program to build upon." This contract continues a teaming arrangement between Gorton, Conn.-based GDEB and Huntington Ingalls in Newport News. Under the modification, Block V submarines will incorporate improved acoustic design changes and increase Tomahawk strike capacity from 12 to 40 missiles per boat. "Our submarine force is fundamental to the power and reach of our integrated naval force," said acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas B. Modly. "Today's announcement affirms our commitment to the future strength of our nation, undersea and around the world." The first Block 5 Virginia-class submarine is expected for delivery to the Navy in fiscal year 202 https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/12/03/Navy-awards-222B-contract-for-nine-Virginia-class-submarines/3281575400735/

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  January 3, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Army's Decision On Huge Helicopter Engine Program Will Impact GE, Honeywell, United Technologies

  Loren Thompson Sometime in the very near future, probably this month, the U.S. Army will announce the winner of a competition to develop a new engine for most of the service's helicopters. Called the Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP), it is a multibillion-dollar effort that has often been described as the Army's top aviation modernization priority. It isn't hard to see why. The weight of Army light and medium helicopters has been growing by 70-100 pounds per year since they debuted in the last century as new equipment, munitions and armor were added. As a result, both the Black Hawk utility helicopter and the Apache attack helicopter are under-powered when operating in “high-hot” conditions, meaning above 6,000 feet in temperatures of 95 degrees or greater. Such conditions are common in places like the Persian Gulf, and pose a challenge to conducting missions successfully. In 2006, the Army launched an effort to develop an engine that could provide 50% more power than the existing General Electric T700 engine (3,000 versus 2,000 shaft horsepower), while reducing fuel consumption by 25% and extending the life of the engine 20%. That in itself was a tall order, but the new engine also had to fit into thousands of fielded helicopters with minimal modifications, and it couldn't weigh more than 500 pounds (the current engine weighs 456 pounds). The Army also wanted each engine to cost much less than the T700–not just in the cost of manufacturing the new engines, but in the cost of maintaining them across a multi-decade service life. Given these very demanding requirements, and a dearth of money for modernization during the Obama years, it isn't surprising that a dozen years passed before the Army felt it was in a position to pick a design that met all the service's needs. But now it is. The choice is between a successor to the T700 built by General Electric Aviation, and a competing design offered by a joint venture of Honeywell and Pratt & Whitney (a unit of United Technologies, and contributor to my think tank). The decision has probably already been made, and simply awaits formal announcement later this month. Full article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthompson/2019/01/02/armys-decision-on-huge-helicopter-engine-program-will-impact-ge-honeywell-united-technologies