Defense Industry News

DAILY NEWS SUMMARY – 02 June 2011


Army-Wide Shuffle Of Maneuver Battalions Would Mean 10 Fewer BCTs - An Army reorganization plan up for decision later this year would result in more maneuver combat forces inside the service's brigade combat teams, but it also would mean the service will have fewer BCTs overall, Inside the Army has learned.
At issue is whether the Army should outfit all BCT variants -- infantry, Stryker and heavy -- with three maneuver battalions. The move would entail adding third maneuver battalions to the infantry and heavy BCTs. Stryker brigades already have three.
The end result would be a total of 63 BCTs drawn from across the active and reserve component, compared with the post-modularity inventory of 73, according to an official who discussed the analysis on background. Decisions could follow the ground service's Total Army Analysis for the budget years 2014 to 2018 this summer, the official said.
The expected number of BCTs is based on an end strength of 520,000, taking into account the end of a temporary 22,000-personnel increase and the planned cut of 27,000 by fiscal year 2016, according to the official.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey helped hatch the plan during his tenure as Training and Doctrine Command chief, which ended in April. When he rose to become the chief of staff, the thinking in the Army was that he would implement the plus-up of BCT maneuver forces and others moves related to tweaking the design and mix of the Army.
Sources said it remains to be seen if the proposal would enjoy the same momentum under an Army chief other than Dempsey, who is widely reported as the administration's pick for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "It would require educating a new set of eyes to all these ideas," said the official, speculating on such a scenario.
The number of Army BCTs is a fundamental yardstick in a defense-wide strategy for the employment of land power. Internally, the figure is tied into the Army Force Generation concept, equipping strategies, and it plays a role in the tempo of unit rotations in and out of warzones during extended conflicts.
According to the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, the Army currently has 40 infantry, eight Stryker and 25 heavy brigade combat teams. Of those, 45 are active-component formations, 28 are provided by the Reserves.
Word of more muscular but fewer BCTs comes as defense leaders begin to think about the shape of the U.S. military in the face of what many observers believe will be declining defense budgets. Outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said a decades-old requirement to have sufficient forces for fighting two major wars at the same time should be reassessed as part of a Pentagon-wide review.
"[A]bove all, if we are to avoid a hollowing effect, this process will need to address force structure: the military's fighting formations such as Army brigades, Marine expeditionary units, Air Force wings, Navy ships, and supporting aviation assets," Gates said on May 24 at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. "The overarching goal will be to preserve a U.S. military capable of meeting crucial national security priorities, even if fiscal pressure requires reductions in that force's size.
The Army official acknowledged that a smaller number of BCTs could "narrow the strategic flexibility of the force." At the same time, the official added, this would be offset by a plus-up in maneuver capability.
"If you think in terms of combatant commanders who request an Army brigade to come serve in theater X or Y or Z, if they would in the past have requested three light brigades for a total of six battalions, now they can ask for two and still get six battalions," the official said. "But the employment of those battalions is much more effective in terms of the flexibility that the brigade commander has, whether it's a combat operation or a stability operation."
According to supporters of the BCT reorganization, brigade commanders returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan expressed a preference for maneuver forces when asked to what kinds of forces they would have liked more of.
But a RAND report circulated among lawmakers and defense officials in March casts doubt on the need for the third maneuver battalion, as Inside the Pentagon reported earlier this month. "The Army has been aware, almost from the beginning of the move to the brigade-centric force, of the limitations that the missing maneuver battalion imposes on the force, and it has crafted compensating tactics, techniques and procedures," the report states.
"Former BCT commanders with whom we spoke would surely prefer a third maneuver battalion, but none believed that the two-battalion organization has led to greater risk in current operations. If circumstances changed and more capable adversaries appeared, the Army could reorganize to provide a smaller number of larger, three-battalion BCTs with the same end strength if it concluded that doing so would provide a clear advantage," states the document.
Questions over the Army's evolving BCT structure led the Congressional Research Service to suggest a "more measured and introspective pace" for the Army's Ground Combat Vehicle program and infantry brigade modernization effort.
A second Army official said any service reorganization plan likely would be heavily scrutinized on Capitol Hill because it comes after the service has received tens of billions of dollars for its modularity initiative over the past decade. The modularity drill gave rise to the brigade combat team as the Army's premiere land-based contribution to joint operations. – (Source: Inside the Army, by Sebastian Sprenger)


Army Looks To Textron For Armored Vehicles For Afghan Army - The Army yesterday said it has taken an undefinitized contract action (UCA) with Textron [TXT] to produce up to 440 Medium Armored Security Vehicles (MASVs) for the Afghanistan National Army (ANA). The UCA has a potential value of approximately $543 million, and authorizes initial funding of $125.9 million to begin work leading to the delivery of 240 MASVs and associated support equipment, spare parts, field service representatives, training and training aids. The first vehicle is expected to be delivered in November.
The contract includes an option to produce an additional 200 vehicles with a potential value of approximately $286 million, which would complete by December 2012.
The MASV, manufactured by Textron's Marine and Land Systems, is based on the Army's M1117 Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) platform. Sharing approximately 70 percent commonality with the ASV, the MASV consists of nine different variants, each designed to meet specific combat roles and enhance the quick reaction capability of the ANA, the service said in a statement.
The nine variants include the ASV and armored personal carrier configurations, as well as the command and control, ambulance, engineering, maintenance, mortar, and reconnaissance variations. "This is a big step forward for the Afghanistan Army," said Col. David Bassett, the Army's project manager for tactical vehicles. "The design of the MASV will provide the ANA with a level of MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) protection in a combat vehicle platform." (Source: Defense Daily)


Copyright 2011 Atkins & Assoc. All Rights Reserved.

Sketch drawing of a C-141 Star-Lifter

C-141 on Tarmack | $1,500



Sketch drawing of a C-141 Star-Lifter on the runway with Mt. Rainier in the background at McChord Air Force Base.

The detail in this artwork will catch any persons eye who enters the room. Warm and friendly yet not over detailed although a tree line may be seen in the background of the airstrip.

Mt Rainier outlines the entire sketch. The detail done to the mountain makes it appear 3D.

This art measures 24in. in height x 32in. in width. Its incased in a beautiful gun metal looking frame and matted.

This drawing was produced by artist Art Chase.

Photos available upon request.
84th at Hosmer Ave 98444

C-141 Sketch Drawing by Artist Art Chase
Phone 253.987.6261


Source;

http://bit.ly/j5i57M


Copyright 2011 Atkins & Assoc. All Rights Reserved

DAILY NEWS SUMMARY – 01 June 2011

Defense Industry News
June 1, 2011


World Energy Solutions Helps General Dynamics Land Systems With Its Renewable Energy Commitment - World Energy Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: XWES), a leading energy management services firm, today announced that it helped General Dynamics Land Systems successfully procure power -- 50 percent from renewable sources -- for its division headquarters over the World Energy Exchange®. World Energy also helped procure electricity and green power procurement for its Scranton, Pennsylvania facility, which secured 25 percent renewable energy for the plant.
The contracts, which will commence January 1, 2012, deliver more than $150,000 in combined annual energy cost savings while significantly deepening General Dynamics Land Systems' commitment to renewable power. By investing aggressively in green energy, General Dynamics Land Systems will reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by more than 6,450 metric tons each year. This reduction is the equivalent of each of the following:
Annual greenhouse gas emissions from 1,265 passenger vehicles
CO2 emissions from 15,004 barrels of oil consumed
Greenhouse gas emissions avoided by recycling 2,248 tons of waste instead of sending it to the landfill
Carbon sequestered annually by 63.9 acres of forest preserved from deforestation
"Going green doesn't have to come at a big premium -- or any premium for that matter," said Phil Adams, President, World Energy Solutions. "We've run hundreds of auctions now for C&I, institutional and government customers, where suppliers are willing to provide renewable energy at reasonable rates in order to win a customer's electricity business. General Dynamics Land Systems is a great example of this, and we're pleased to continue to provide the company a strategic and cost-effective means to source their power."
General Dynamics Land Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD). (Source: pr-inside.com)


Defense Spending No Longer ‘Sacred Cow’ to Republicans Searching for Cuts - As the House Budget Committee worked on a Republican plan to cut more than $6 trillion of government spending over a decade, the panel’s senior Democrat proposed a symbolic amendment saying national security costs should be included in any responsible deficit-reduction effort.
Seventeen of 22 committee Republicans, including Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, joined all 16 Democrats in an April 6 vote backing Maryland Representative Chris Van Hollen’s measure.
For the party of Ronald Reagan, who made bountiful Pentagon budgets a cornerstone of his “peace through strength” foreign policy, it was a telling vote: As anti-tax, small-government Tea Party sympathizers gain influence, defense is no longer sacrosanct for Republicans.
“Historically, you’ve had a lot of Republicans who have refused even to consider the possibility of cuts in the area of defense,” said first-term Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah. “I don’t think we have that luxury anymore.”
That makes the Pentagon budget -- more than half of federal discretionary spending -- a target for potential compromise as Congress and the White House seek a package of cuts before voting to raise the government’s $14.3 trillion debt limit. How much is cut hinges on how much freshly elected deficit-busters can win over earlier generations of defense hawks.
“A lot of the new members recognize that if we are going to be serious about deficit reduction, you can’t have any sacred cows and you have to take a hard look at defense,” said Van Hollen, a member of a bipartisan group negotiating a debt- reduction plan with Vice President Joe Biden. “The budget committee vote was a clear indication that there’s a lot of room for discussion.”
Budget Grows
Annual defense spending has grown every year since 1998, rising 155 percent to $690 billion in 2010 from $270 billion. That tops a 147 percent jump in annual Medicare outlays and an 86 percent increase in Social Security payments over the same period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates in January proposed a five- year spending plan with $78 billion of net savings from canceling some programs, reducing troop numbers and cutting overhead. Republicans backed Gates’s goal in a budget plan that passed the House in April.
“We’re not just talking about cutting things that we don’t like, while not cutting things that we like,” said South Carolina Republican Mick Mulvaney, a budget committee member.
‘Aggressive Group’
First-term Republican Representative Joe Walsh of Illinois said he’s among lawmakers pushing Republican leaders to cut even deeper. “There’s a fairly aggressive group of us that wants us to take a close look at defense,” he said.
On April 13, President Barack Obama proposed an additional $400 billion in national security cuts over 12 years. Gates has ordered a Pentagon-wide spending review to identify potential savings.
After dropping on news of Obama’s plan, most defense contractor stocks have recovered ground. The 13-member Standard & Poor’s 500 Aerospace and Defense Index, which fell 1.2 percent in two days after the announcement, has since risen 3.1 percent. Raytheon Co. (RTN) slid 3.8 percent on April 13-14 and has since gained 3.7 percent; Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC), after a 2.5 percent two-day fall, has rebounded 5.9 percent. Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), the biggest defense contractor, fell 3.3 percent over two days and has since gained 0.6 percent.
Investor Confidence
The cost of insuring bonds sold by Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics Corp. (GD) and Boeing Co. (BA) has fallen, a sign of rising investor confidence in their creditworthiness. On average, the annual cost for five-year credit default swaps on those companies fell to 46.88 basis points, or about 47 cents per $100 of debt, on May 27 from 51.23 on April 14, according to CMA, which is owned by CME Group Inc. (CME) and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the privately negotiated market. One basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
Gates has said Boeing’s new Air Force refueling tanker, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, plans to build more Navy ships and new ballistic missile submarines are among programs that should be funded.
Unless Congress slashes more deeply than Obama has talked about, weapons makers may not be hurt as much as investors initially feared, said Byron Callan, a defense analyst with Capital Alpha Partners LLC in Washington.

‘More Resilience’
“Those stocks could hold up with a little more resilience than people had expected,” Callan said.
The challenge of trimming weapons programs was illustrated in a 2012 defense authorization bill that the House approved on May 26, with Republicans voting 227-6 in favor. The bill includes $272 million more than the Pentagon requested for the General Dynamics Abrams battle tank and would keep alive -- ignoring Obama’s veto threat -- General Electric Co. (GE) and Rolls- Royce Group Plc’s work on a second engine the military says it doesn’t need for Lockheed’s F-35 fighter.
Republican leaders so far haven’t committed to cutting deeper than Gates’s initial $78 billion recommendation. “I would not be for that,” said Arizona’s Jon Kyl, the second- ranking Senate Republican and a participant in Biden’s negotiations.
That view could cost some Republican lawmakers, said former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey, who started the Washington-based group FreedomWorks, which backs Tea Party goals of low taxes and less government.
“If you think you can sit in office and be a zealot on cutting everything except your pet projects, it don’t work that way,” Armey said. “An awful lot of activists in the Tea Party movement are veterans who had hands on experience with wasteful and inefficient spending in the Defense Department.”
‘Light Cut’
Gates’s proposed reduction represents about 2.5 percent of Pentagon spending over five years and is little more than a “light cut,” said Todd Harrison, a defense analyst with the nonpartisan Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment research group in Washington.
Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, said even national security hawks should be open to considering cuts “because our economic picture is so serious.” he said. Still, he said defense cuts “entail risk” and lawmakers should spread reductions to include entitlement programs such as Medicare.
As leaders from both parties say some areas are off limits in the debt talks, including higher taxes and Social Security changes, defense may emerge as a key to any deal. Lawmakers in the Biden negotiations have so far identified about $200 billion of savings they can agree on, Van Hollen said -- nowhere close to trillions of dollars Republicans say they want in exchange for raising the government debt limit.
Higher Up Tree
Advocates deep deficit cutting. “They need to climb higher up the tree.”
Oklahoma Republican Representative Tom Cole, whose district includes the Army’s Fort Sill and Tinker Air Force Base, said savings beyond the Gates plan aren’t popular in his party and, at the least, would require concessions by Democrats on domestic-spending cuts.
“To further reduce defense while you’re spending more in other areas, I think that would certainly be a tough sell to those Republicans who are security hawks, and that’s a big part of the Republican base,” Cole said. (Source: Bloomberg)


Defense Watch - Through Life Fleet Support. General Dynamics Land Systems-Australia (GDLS-A), receives a five year, $47.8 million Through Life Support contract from Australia. The work is to deliver enhanced fleet availability of the Army’s ASLAV wheeled armored fighting vehicles, M1A1 Abrams tanks, and M88A2 Heavy Recovery vehicles. Ongoing spare parts, repairs, maintenance and engineering tasks will be ordered as required through this integrated support contract. The contract is expected to change the mechanisms and business processes between the Commonwealth and General Dynamics in Australia to improve efficiency, reduce costs and promote value. The contract also includes implementing a performance management framework for the services, which contributes toward the Commonwealth Strategic Reform Program (SRP). This provides the basis for awarding up to 15, one-year contract extensions based on performance. (Source: Defense Daily)


Information Systems group leads General Dynamics growth - Unit continues to be revenue leader for defense contractor. General Dynamics Corp. had a respectable year in 2010. Revenues were up, albeit slightly, and contracts steadily rolled in.
The company, based in Falls Church, Va., brought in $32.5 billion in 2010, up 1.6 percent from $32 billion in 2009. Its net income was $2.6 billion, up 8.3 percent from $2.4 billion the year before. Those accomplishments earned it the No. 5 spot on the Top 100 list with $5.5 billion in prime contracts.
A major contributor to its success was the company’s Information Systems and Technology group, which earned the highest level of revenue in its history – about $11.5 billion – and retained top billing as GD’s revenue leader. It grew 7.5 percent from $10.8 billion in 2009.
One of the wins that contributed to its growth last year is a $228 million contract, awarded in March, to modernize the Federal Aviation Administration’s Voice Enterprise Services program, which involves moving the system to voice-over-IP and IP telephony technology. In June, NASA awarded General Dynamics C4 Systems, a part of IS&T, $642.2 million to modernize its Satellite System Ground Segment. That means GD will implement a new architecture to ensure global space-to-ground telecommunications and tracking coverage for the space network, which supports all NASA flight missions, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station.
Gerard DeMuro, GD's executive vice president in charge of IS&T, attributes the division’s success to the sum of its parts.
“If I had to cite one thing, I think it’s a demonstration of the relevance of our portfolio, domain expertise that our teams have and understanding customer needs, and fashioning very cost-effective, high-value solutions for those customers,” he said.
GD’s progress on the military’s Joint Tactical Radio System and Warfighter Information Network-Tactical will also continue to be key contributors to the group’s success, DeMuro said, but the company is also looking to areas of growth potential. (Source: Washington Technology)


General Dynamics adds 100 Pittsfield, Mass. Jobs - General Dynamics Corp. has hired more than 100 employees to help work on a defense contract it was awarded by the Navy in December.
General Dynamics (GD - news - people ) Advanced Information Systems ultimately hopes to hire 500 workers over the next five years to build, test and deliver the electronics systems for the Littoral Combat Ships.
Officials from the Pittsfield-based unit said half of the new workers came from inside Berkshire County. The other half is split between other Massachusetts residents and those living outside Massachusetts
Gov. Deval Patrick joined workers and company officials on Tuesday to mark the job growth.
The Littoral Combat Ships are estimated to cost $500 million each to build. The Navy wants 55. (Source: Forbes.com)


EB honored for its healthy initiatives - The Electric Boat shipyard has again been honored by a national business group for promoting a healthy workplace and lifestyle among its employees.
The Groton-based company, owned by General Dynamics in Falls Church, Va., was named one of the "Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles" by the National Business Group on Health.
This is the second consecutive year that Electric Boat has received "Gold" honors from the national organization.
The Washington, D.C-based National Business Group on Health honored a total of 48 large employers this year for their various programs that encourage healthy workplaces and healthy employees. The nonprofit organization represents large employers on various national health-care issues, focusing on health benefits, disability, productivity and other issues.
The organization (www.businessgrouphealth.org) says that its 326 members, including a majority of the nation's Fortune 100 companies, provide health-care coverage for more than 55 million workers, retirees and families in this country.
Electric Boat has instituted a health-and-wellness program that is integrated into all the company's various business units. Besides the company's health insurance offerings, the program includes "house calls" where the shipyard's medical/health/wellness teams visit employee workstations, along with biometric screening stations, health counseling and motivational interviewing.
This year's winners were honored in two categories, the health-care business group said: Platinum winners include employers with established workplace well-being programs that show measurable successes and outcomes, and Gold winners are honored for creating cultural and environmental changes for employees committed to long-term behavioral changes.
Among the Platinum winners were Hartford-based Aetna insurance company and CIGNA, which has extensive operations in the Hartford area. Other Gold category winners were American Express, General Mills, Sprint, Target Corp. and Unilever. (Source: The Day)


Army Targets Battle Damage And Orders More Armor-Kitted M-ATVs - The Army recently ordered 177 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicles with additional underbody armor kits from Oshkosh Defense to address the number of vehicles that have been damaged in the Afghan theater, according to the MRAP program office.
The $97 million order is in keeping with the Army's latest trend of buying additional underbody armor kits for the M-ATV, one of the service's newest vehicles. This latest order, though, will have the kits already integrated on the vehicles as they roll off the line, rather than have them installed in theater.
Oshkosh Defense was awarded a $100 million contract to provide the Army with more than 2,000 underbody armor kits for the M-ATV in February. An $80 million award was also made in January for 800 kits. Both orders were in response to a Joint Urgent Operational Needs Statement from Afghanistan.
Barb Hamby, spokeswoman for the MRAP program office, wrote in a May 27 email that the "purpose of putting the 177 M-ATVs on contract was to augment battle damage losses."
Work on the 177 M-ATVs will be performed in McConnelsburg, PA, Milwaukee, WI, and Oshkosh, WI, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2011, according to the Defense Department. (Source: Inside the Army)


Copyright 2011 Atkins & Assoc. All Rights Reserved.

DAILY NEWS SUMMARY – 31 May 2011

DAILY NEWS SUMMARY – 31 May 2011


Big Debates Ahead For U.S. Army In Congressional Budget Season - The defense budget season kicks into high gear next week, doubling down on existing fights over U.S. Army vehicles and missile defenses.
The House Appropriations defense subcommittee takes up its version of the defense spending bill June 1. Though members remain mum about the details, it will cut $9 billion from President Obama’s $553 billion request. “It will be somewhat difficult,” says Rep. C.W. “Bill” Young (R-Fla.), the subcommittee chairman. “But we will not affect the soldier. We will not affect readiness.”
Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) is more optimistic in his outlook, saying staff will certainly be able to trim $9 billion and add funding for other programs that sustained cuts in the president’s budget.
Asked whether the committee planned to increase funding for programs as the House Armed Services Committee did – providing more than $400 billion for Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles – Dicks indicates it is possible. “We’ll have to see the chairman’s mark, but I think there will be a few of those,” he says.
That points to a major dustup ahead over funding for Army vehicles and other programs, says Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the industry-funded Lexington Institute. “The Army’s plan to close the [Abrams] tank plant has generated huge controversy,” Thompson says. “What that means for other next-generation programs is not yet clear.”
Look to Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and other rust belt members of the appropriations committee to possibly add back funding for ground vehicles. She noted in a recent hearing that Pentagon cancellations of the Joint Strike Fighter’s alternate engine and Boeing’s Future Combat Systems, along with the recommended halt in production of the General Dynamics’ Abrams tank, are impacting jobs in the region.
And though the government is continuing to fund development of the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) missile defense program at $804 million for one more year, senators – particularly those in New England, where Raytheon, the maker of the system’s Patriot missiles, is headquartered – are rumbling about its problems.
Army Secretary John McHugh told senators recently that funding can’t simply be cut off, because of the program’s international partners, Italy and Germany. But that rationale doesn’t appear to be stopping efforts by lawmakers to de-fund the missile. “It’s clear that few members understand the Pentagon’s logic,” Thompson says.
Despite the $9 billion cut, or a potential larger one coming from the Senate side, some say supplemental funding will ease the pain and continue to do so until large reductions to the U.S. presence in Iraq and Afghanistan come in 2014.
This allows lawmakers to pick up a headline promoting a $9 billion cut to defense that may not materialize, says Greg Kiley, a consultant with Potomac Strategic Development. “Cutting it out of the base [budget request] with an open-ended supplemental is really disingenuous,” he says. (Source: Aerospace Daily & Defense Report , by Jen DiMascio)


Dodging the bullet: Small contractors say cuts spare infrastructure, parts market - Prime defense contractors may have seen better days, but some component suppliers may have new revenue streams in the offing as federal spending shifts from new equipment to repair and maintenance.
Small Southeast Michigan defense contractors and service companies don't expect to be impacted much by impending U.S. military defense spending cuts because they primarily manufacture much-needed repair parts for aging military equipment, said Dan Raubinger, director of defense and manufacturing for Troy-based Automation Alley.
"Military equipment that is coming back from Iraq needs to be (repaired)," said Raubinger, who works in Sterling Heights, adding that the parts are used on airplanes, ships and tactical vehicles. "And the repair parts we make here are highly valued."
Defense contractors that provide military infrastructure, such as Detroit-based Lakeshore Toltest Corp., don't expect to be hurt by cuts. The company continues to hire new employees, and its revenue hit $600 million last year.
The general contractor builds air installations and bases in 10 to 15 countries for the U.S. Air Force and the Army Corps of Engineers, said Executive Vice President Kevin Parikh. Recent projects include building a two-mile runway in Afghanistan, construction at the Dover Air Force Base and military family housing in Alaska.
"(U.S. Defense) Secretary Robert Gates' 20 percent cuts on the defense side will affect defense and missile systems as opposed to infrastructure," he said, adding that companies such as General Dynamics Corp. and Lockheed Martin will be more impacted.
Robert Bloom, CEO of Madison Heights defense supplier SSI Technology Inc., said he also expects an ebb in major purchases from prime contractors in favor of repair and upgrade contracts on existing equipment.
The maker of customized electronic and electromechanical devices has been a parts supplier on the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, the M1 Abrams main battle tank and High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (or military Humvee.)
SSI has averaged more than $2 million in annual direct defense contracting revenue the past two years, according to the Federal Procurement Data Systems, and Bloom expects repair and maintenance orders will drive future business.
"We are looking at (future) requests put out by Tacom; if the current major (contractors) are cut back then we anticipate the reset programs will come along to keep vehicle fleets current," he said. "We're constantly looking at that and believe that's what will happen."
"Those maintenance opportunities are going to be there," said George Ash, partner and chairman of the regulated industries practice department at Foley & Lardner LLP in Detroit. "Vehicles like MRAPs are very expensive. They may not be the latest and greatest new technology, but they're still better than most anything now in the field. The government will want to maintain them."
Ash and others said a repair and maintenance contract request for MRAP components may be under development from the U.S. Army Tacom Life Cycle Management Command in Warren over the coming months. Steve Cassin, Macomb County director of planning and economic development, said his office will also hire a defense industry expert to work with defense companies on marketing products and help startup companies, to weather the downturn.
Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel also recently launched a formal Joint Defense Task Force, composed of business owners, executives, elected officials and military leaders. The group seeks to boost regional economic development potential in the defense industry.
More than 7 percent of all national defense contracts and 65 percent of all Michigan contracts were awarded within Macomb County, which is home to more than 500 defense-related companies.
The House of Representatives will vote on a bill that pegs the Department of Defense base budget at $553 billion, a drop of $24 billion or 5 percent from 2011 spending levels. Tacom officials also expect total contract spending this year to be just above $15 billion, compared with more than $30 billion in 2008.
But Ron Lamparter, owner and president of the Defense Corridor/Center for Collaboration and Synergy, said all the retrenchment in government budgets has a silver lining for suppliers.
At least 11 out of his 35 defense industry tenant businesses have set up new local offices at his defense center in Sterling Heights since the beginning of the year, including the new U.S. offices of British armor maker NP Aerospace Inc. with four employees, and Great Falls, Va.-based robotic software and imaging systems maker Robotic Vision Technologies LLC. Automation Alley has also doubled its office space at the center in recent months, he said.
He believes much of that growth is tied to out-of-state component supplier interest in future maintenance and upgrade contracting.
"That's sort of the upside of the downward (spending) trend," he said. "If there's a vehicle they've built 1,000 units a year for 20-30 years ... and you supplied one component, then your market was 1,000 units. But if they stop building and need to reset 30,000 old vehicles, suddenly your rebuild market is much bigger than your original equipment market would be."
Raubinger said his position requires that he meet with small Detroit-area business owners every week. What they tell him is the auto industry is back, and they are busy keeping up with demand for manufacturing tools and machines.
"A lot of these companies went out of business, but the ones that survived, because they operated smarter, more conservatively, they are leaner and healthier. There is still a healthy and robust manufacturing community in Southeast Michigan." (Source: Crain’s Defense Business, by: Marti Benedetti and Chad Halcom)


General Dynamics NASSCO Awarded $744 Million Contract to Build Mobile Landing Platform Ships - General Dynamics NASSCO announced today that it has received from the U.S. Navy a $744 million modification to its Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) contract to fully fund construction of the first two ships of the new ship class. Construction of the first ship will begin immediately, with delivery to occur by the spring of 2013. The contract includes an option for the construction of a third MLP which, if exercised, will increase the total contract value to approximately $1.3 billion.
“With the Mobile Landing Platform Program, NASSCO will continue our tradition of building high-quality ships for the U.S. Navy,” said Fred Harris, president of General Dynamics NASSCO. “The first MLP ship will start production with more design, engineering and planning work complete than any ship that NASSCO has constructed since World War II.”
The Mobile Landing Platform is a new class of auxiliary ship for the Navy. Once delivered to the fleet, these ships will join the three Maritime Prepositioning Force squadrons that are strategically located around the world to enable rapid response in a crisis. These vessels will change the way the Maritime Prepositioning Force operates. MLPs will provide a “pier at sea” that will become the core of the Navy and Marine Corps seabasing concept. This capability will allow prepositioning ships like LMSR’s and T-AKE’s to offload equipment and supplies to the MLP for transshipment to shore by LCACs or other vessels. MLP ships will be 233 meters (765 feet) in length and 50 meters (164 feet) in beam, with a design draft of 12 meters (29 feet). The deadweight tonnage is in excess of 60,000 metric tons.
This new contract will significantly reduce the number of employees affected by the previously announced potential layoffs at General Dynamics NASSCO. As ship construction gets underway in earnest, the total number of employees at the shipyard may increase by the end of 2011. (Source: PRNewswire, General Dynamics NASSCO)


GULFSTREAM RESUMES G650 FLIGHT TESTING - Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has resumed the G650 flight-test program, following a temporary suspension of flying after an April 2 accident. The first flight since the accident took place May 28, with Serial Number 6001 flying for 1 hour and 39 minutes. The crew included senior experimental test pilots Jake Howard and Tom Horne and Flight Test Engineer Bill Osborne.
“We have conducted all the necessary reviews to assure ourselves that we can safely resume the flight-test program at this point,” said Pres Henne, senior vice president, Programs, Engineering and Test, Gulfstream. “We have worked closely with the Federal Aviation Administration in this process and received the agency’s concurrence to resume flight testing. It is our responsibility to move forward with the flight-test program, and we will do so in a safe and prudent manner. The G650 will enter service as the flagship of our product line, where it will represent the very best in business aviation technology.”
To date, the G650 flight-test program has accomplished 470 flights, accumulating 1,560 hours towards the estimated 2,200 hours required for certification. Gulfstream resumed flying with the four remaining flight-test aircraft. The company still anticipates certification in 2011, with service entry in 2012, as was originally planned at the aircraft’s public launch in 2008.
Gulfstream continues to cooperate with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in its investigation. (Source: PRNewswire)


Business Jets Take Off in China - The world's makers of executive jets are pinning their hopes for sales growth on the swelling ranks of China's super-rich.
The Chinese market is booming while mature markets in Europe and North America remain lackluster after nose-diving last year. For example, half of new orders for Dassault Aviation SA's Falcon jets since the beginning of this year have come from China.
"China has become a very important part of our business," John Rosenvallon, head of Dassault's Falcon division, said at the annual European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition here last week.
What the business-jet builders like about the Chinese market is that it is virtually untapped. Almost all the new orders are from customers who have never owned an aircraft before, unlike in the U.S., where some two-thirds of new orders are from repeat customers. And unlike in the West, Chinese buyers are jumping in at the top end of the market, buying planes with sticker prices over $50 million.
"In the U.S. business-aviation market, people tend to start with a small aircraft and then graduate to bigger aircraft—for example, going from a Cessna to a Hawker Beechcraft to a Gulfstream, and finally they get to a Boeing business jet," says Li Bing, head of Boeing Co. business-jet sales for China and South Korea. Boeing has sold eight business jets to Chinese buyers in the past four years and is aiming to retain its 50% share of the Chinese market for large business jets.
Meanwhile, Airbus, of Toulouse, France, expects to continue selling about five corporate-jet versions of its commercial aircraft a year to Chinese customers. These top-of-the-market jets typically sell for $65 million or more apiece.
Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co., has sold 25 corporate models of its commercial airliners in China, Hong Kong and Macau over the past eight years. Both Airbus and Boeing offer cabin designs tailored to Chinese customers, including a circular dining table with a lazy Susan, to allow passengers to eat "family style" or play mahjong.
"The potential for long-term growth in China is huge," says Charles Edelstenne, chief executive of Dassault Aviation. (. . . )
The current leader in the Chinese market is Gulfstream, a division of General Dynamics Corp. It has close to 40% of the Greater China market, with sales of more than 58 planes, half of which are based in Hong Kong. "The Chinese market barely existed 10 years ago," says Jeff Miller, Gulfstream's head of communications. But, he adds, it would be a mistake for the company to embark on a major sales push before it has established a proper infrastructure offering quality after-sales service. "We're being realistic. We don't have stars in our eyes," he says. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)


Copyright 2011 Atkins & Assoc. All Rights Reserved.

Bomb-tough London Strykers delivered to U.S.

DAILY NEWS SUMMARY
31 May 2011


Bomb-tough London Strykers delivered to U.S. - MANUFACTURING: New hulls on light armored vehicles engineered in Forest City.
The U.S. Army has received its latest Stryker, with a new, made-in-London bomb-resistant hull.
General Dynamics Land Systems has delivered 150 of the armored vehicles ahead of schedule and will see action in “theatre of operations” later this year, said Lori Grein, public affairs official with the U.S. Army.
“The Stryker double-v hull (DVH) is a robust program that has the full support of the army and OSD (Office of the Secretary of Defense). It is truly a good-news story for the Army,” she said in an e-mail interview.
“The first 150 production models have been delivered slightly ahead of schedule . . . The last of the DVH vehicles should be delivered in the spring, 2012.”
A total of 450 Stryker DVH vehicles will be shipped to the army, by the spring of 2012.
GDLS engineers in London designed the hull to better protect against improvised explosive device, commonly known as the roadside bomb, in Afghanistan.
In addition to the new hull design, other improvements include:
- Improved suspension to accommodate additional weight.
- Higher weight class tires.
- Blast-attenuating seats for all positions.
- Integrated kits.
- A height management system designed to improve protection by allowing the vehicle to ride higher off the ground.
“The rapid turnaround of the DVH is responsiveness at its best,” said Col. Robert Schumitz in a release.
“Soldier survivability is the army’s No. 1 priority. Once we determined that the DVH effort was an achievable and acceptable risk, we swiftly engaged in executing the . . . program.”
The new Strykers were tested extensively by GDLS and the army at Yuma Proving Grounds, Ariz., Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., and the Army’s National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif. The armored vehicles went through live fire testing concentrated on protection, safety, performance, reliability and durability.
“This was designed by one of our young engineers here in London,” said Ken Yamashita, GDLS-Canada spokesperson.
“We are very proud of its survivability that is a key focus for us because of the dangerous mission soldiers are facing in Afghanistan. To be able to develop this significant leap in technology in London makes us very proud.”
The double-v hull will also be featured on LAV III upgrades GDLS in London is making for the Canadian armed forces.
Production of the new Strykers took less than one year.
The next Stryker brigade deploys to Afghanistan in July. GDLS makes 10 different versions of the Stryker, of which the double-v hull will be integrated into eight. (Source: The London Free Press – by Norman DeBono)


Copyright 2011 Atkins & Assoc. All Rights Reserved.

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins
(born 5 May 1988), known professionally as Adele.

Adele is the first living artist to achieve the feat of two top five hits in both the Official Singles Chart and the Official Albums Chart simultaneously since The Beatles in 1964.



Next song Chasing Pavements | Album 19 | Adele radio

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By the beginning of 2009 listeners and critics started to describe Adele as unique. AllMusic wrote that "Adele is simply too magical to compare her to anyone."


Source;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adele_(singer)



Copyright 2011 Atkins & Assoc. All Rights Reserved.

Today's Featured Music: Grace: Jim Brickman radio

Today's Featured Music: Grace: Jim Brickman radio
5.30.2011
Listen now!

If you'd like to view this music to some very powerful photos please click below and mute the slideshow.
youtube.com/atkinsp22




Source;

http://www.bit.ly/jimbrickman
http://grooveshark.com/#/user/atkinsp/8842490/music?src=5


Copyright 2011 Atkins & Assoc. All Rights Reserved.