October 8, 2020 | International, C4ISR
WASHINGTON ― The live-fire and virtual weapons training company Meggitt Training Systems is rebranding to InVeris Training Solutions, the company announced Wednesday.
The Suwanee, Ga., firm, is shedding the name of its former parent company, Meggitt Plc., which sold the former subsidiary to private investment firm Pine Island Capital Partners LLC for $146 million in July. The new name is meant to connote trust and integrity, the company said.
Pine Island's partners include former former U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, former House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt and former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy.
Partner Clyde Tuggle, a former Coca-Cola executive, serves as interim CEO for InVeris, and Chambliss ― a partner at Pine Island ― is non-executive chairman for InVeris.
Chambliss, now with Washington law firm DLA Piper, represented Georgia as a Republican and served on the armed services and intelligence committees before retiring from Congress nearly six years ago. He became aware of the company now known as InVeris while serving in Congress and said it was a natural fit for Pine Island because of his partners' backgrounds in the defense space.
“We clearly understood at the time of the purchase back on July 1 that we were buying a company that is the gold standard when it comes to providing training for the United States military as well as to international clients in the same arena,” Chambliss said.
“Going forward, we think that clearly we have the opportunity, number one, to provide the resources to what is now known as InVeris to expand from a technology standpoint the products that we have been making for years, and to further develop and bring those products into the 21st Century.”
The company, which employs roughly 450 people, will retain its ownership of its legacy brands, FATS (a line of virtual systems) and Caswell technologies.
The company continues to work on the U.S. Army's Engagement Skills Trainer II contract and Squad Advanced Marksmanship-Trainer program, as well as the U.S. Marine Corps' Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer, according to Vice President of Strategy, Sales and Marketing Andrea Czop. It's also fielded derivatives of those systems to the Navy and Air Force.
The company has fielded over 15,000 live-fire ranges and 5,100 virtual training systems globally in its 90-year history. It also has clients in more than 55 countries―including programs of record in Canada, Australia and the U.K. for more than 25 years.
Foreign sales are key to its growth plans, company executives say.
“We continue to be very active with all those international customers, and we're growing,” said Czop. “There are a lot of opportunities for us right now, and the focus is our international strategy.”
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July 23, 2020 | International, Naval
Andrew Eversden WASHINGTON — ManTech has won an $87 million contract for IT work on U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command's ship maintenance mission, the company announced July 22. Under the five-year contract, ManTech will support the Navy Maritime Maintenance Enterprise Solution, or NMMES, run by NAVSEA. ManTech will provide the command with advanced IT software research, development and engineering, according to a news release. The defense contractor will “accelerate cost-efficient software development cycle times, speeding maintenance activity access to the highest quality high-technology solutions with greater leverage on an expansive data library,” the release said. “ManTech will improve the quality, integration and efficiency of the NMMES architecture to enhance ship maintenance operations and improve readiness for the Navy's most critical surface and submarine platforms,” said Andy Twomey, ManTech executive vice president and general manager of the defense sector. The executive added that the solutions include robotic process automation, agile DevSecOps software modeling and artificial intelligence-automated cybersecurity. NNMES is an IT system used for ship repair at its four public shipyards: Norfolk, Virginia; Portsmouth, Virginia; Puget Sound, Washington; and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The award was made under the Department of Defense Information Analysis Center's multiple award contract vehicle, which is awarded by the Air Force Installation Contracting Center for work with various military organizations https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2020/07/22/mantech-wins-it-contract-to-support-us-navy-ship-maintenance/
June 22, 2020 | International, Land
Rheinmetall has won another major order for logistic vehicles. Germany's Federal Office for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) has entered a framework contract with Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) for delivery of up to 4,000 swap body systems, many of which will feature armoured driver's cabs. Running from 2021 to 2027 for Rheinmetall the framework contract represents around €2 billion in total sales volume. To begin with, the Group will supply the Bundeswehr with an initial tranche of 540 vehicles. Worth around €348 million including VAT, they have now been taken under contract. Of these 540 vehicles, 230 will be protected. Delivery will start early next year, making sure that the Bundeswehr has an adequate number of vehicles in 2023 when Germany takes over leadership of NATO's spearhead: the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, or VJTF. The protected swap body systems enhance the survivability and sustainment capability of the Logistics Corps, as well as strengthening its tactical flexibility. Unlike the Unprotected Transport Vehicle (UTF), likewise supplied by RMMV, these systems will be predominately deployed in forward operating areas, where, for instance, they will be used for supplying ammunition to frontline combat units, e.g. artillery batteries. Assuring excellent off-road mobility, RMMV's robust, all-terrain-capable HX 8x8 vehicles can be optionally fitted with a protected cab. Standard features include a hook loader developed by the Hiab company, which can quickly lift and set down the accompanying flat racks. In addition, the vehicles can accommodate an interchangeable platform or a container via the standardized 20-foot ISO interfaces. Identical operator interfaces and a high degree of commonality and component uniformity with the UTF vehicle family facilitate training, operations and logistics. Owing to the significant reduction in training time for crewmembers and maintenance personnel as well as the extensive commonality of spare parts and special tools, full utilization can be achieved faster – coupled with greater economic efficiency for the procurement authorities and user alike. This new order widens Rheinmetall's lead as one of the world's foremost makers of logistic systems and vehicles. Since the award of the 7-year UTF framework by BAAINBw on 5 July 2017, 1,250 out of a total of 2271 vehicles have already been shipped. Most of the principal components – the engines, axles, transmissions and build-ons – are made in Germany; assembly of the vehicles takes place at the RMMV plant in Vienna. Especially when it comes to multinational operations, the extensive global presence of RMMV vehicles offers major advantages with regard to interoperability and logistics. The current circle of user nations includes – among others – the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark. Norway and Sweden have also placed substantial truck orders with Rheinmetall. https://www.rheinmetall.com/en/rheinmetall_ag/press/news/latest_news/index_20736.php