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)


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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

* Buy CD

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.

A Season of Passion (Box Set) [Box Set]

A Season of Passion (Box Set) [Box Set]
© 2004 St. Clair Entertainment Group Inc.

Anton Bruckner (Composer), Gregorian Chant (Composer), Franz [Vienna] Schubert (Composer), Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Georges Bizet (Composer), Charles Gounod (Composer), George Frederick Handel (Composer), Giuseppe Verdi (Composer), Giovanni Pergolesi (Composer), Anonymous (Composer), John Stainer (Composer), Franz Joseph Haydn (Composer), Johann Hermann Schein (Composer), Serge Baudo (Conductor), Claudio Abbado (Conductor), Rome RAI Orchestra (Orchestra), The Hollywood Symphony Orchestra Chorus (Orchestra), Luciano Pavarotti (Performer) | Format: Audio CD


Listen to samples

Luciano Pavarotti Biography

Pavarotti's popularity was arguably bigger than that of any other living tenor in the world. His 1993 live performance in the New York's Central Park was attended by 500,000 fans while millions watched it on television. Pavarotti was blessed with a voice of a rare range, beauty and clarity, which was best during the 60s, 70s and 80s. In 1966 he became the first opera tenor to hit all nine "high C's" with his full voice in the aria 'Quel destin' in 'La Fille du Regiment' (aka The Daughter of the Regiment) and was nicknamed "King of the High C's" in rave reviews.

Luciano Pavarotti was known for his humanitarian work. He was the founder and the host of the 'Pavarotti & Friends' annual charity concerts and related activities. There he sang with international stars of all styles to raise funds for several worthy UN causes. Pavarotti sang with Bono and U2 in the 1995 song Miss Sarajevo and raised $1,500,000 in his charity project.
In March 2004 Pavarotti gave his last performance in an opera as the painter Mario Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini's 'Tosca' at the New York Metropolitan Opera. Legendary tenor passed away on September 6, 2007, at home in Modena, Italy, where he was surrounded by his family.

This biography was provided by the artist or their representative.


Copyright 2011 Atkins & Assoc. All Rights Reserved.

General Dynamics Land Systems Australia Awarded Contract to Deliver Through Life Support for ASLAV, M1A1 and M88A2 Fleets

General Dynamics Land Systems Australia Awarded Contract to Deliver Through Life Support for ASLAV, M1A1 and M88A2 Fleets
27 May 2011

General Dynamics Land Systems-Australia (GDLS-A), a business unit of General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada in London, Ontario,

received a five year, AU$44.8m Through Life Support contract today. The contract also includes a one year phase-in period.
The Through Life Support services will deliver enhanced fleet availability of the Army’s ASLAV wheeled armoured 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. It also provides the opportunity for stronger relationships with the

Commonwealth and local industry.
The contract will 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 the implementation of 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. The low risk Through Life Support solution is founded on local

and experienced capability; leveraging the full range of original equipment manufacturer engineering, technical support network and

product service centres.
Gary Stewart, Managing Director of General Dynamics Land Systems - Australia, said the performance-based contract provides an

adaptable framework to ensure sustainable, dependable and high quality service delivery.
“We have leveraged our extensive experience in implementing and executing performance-based support contracts for other

customers, which has enabled us to incorporate attributes such as cost transparency, continuous improvement and application of lean

initiatives,” Stewart said. “Our service delivery model is flexible, enabling effective change and ongoing service delivery in response to the

Commonwealth’s constantly changing operational and support environments.”
Stewart added that the contract enables the repair, maintenance and upgrade of combat vehicle fleets to remain a strategic industry

capability within Australia.
“The long range focus of this program also presents the opportunity for Australian industry to participate in General Dynamics’ global

supply chain,” Stewart said. “We look forward to engaging with Australian companies as part of our design, manufacturing and

sustainment transfer initiatives for this contract and other programs.”
More information about the company is available at www.gdlsaustralia.com.
(Source: PRNewswire, General Dynamics Land Systems-Australia (GDLS-A),)


Copyright 2011 Atkins & Assoc. All Rights Reserved.

U.S. House Passes Defense Bill as White House Threatens Veto

U.S. House Passes Defense Bill as White House Threatens Veto
27 May 2011

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a $690 billion defense bill even as the Obama administration is threatening a veto over

lawmakers’ support of a plan by General Electric Co. (GE) and Rolls-Royce Group Plc (RR/) to self-fund the development of a

secondary engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The House voted 322-96 to pass the fiscal 2012 defense authorization bill, which sets spending targets and military policy. The bill

authorizes $553 billion for the Department of Defense’s base budget and $119 billion for overseas operations including the wars in Iraq

and Afghanistan. It also authorizes $18 billion for the Department of Energy’s atomic weapons programs.
The bill would require the secretary of defense to allow continued development and testing of the secondary engine for Lockheed

Martin Corp. (LMT)’s F-35 jet if it is self-funded and would not incur any cost to the federal government.
The Defense Department last month terminated the second engine program, which Defense Secretary Robert Gates says is unneeded

and wasteful spending. Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (UTX) of Hartford, Connecticut, is the primary engine

supplier for Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin’s F-35 jet.
“If the final bill presented to the president includes funding or a legislative direction to continue an extra engine program, the

President’s senior advisers would recommend a veto,” the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a statement today.
$100 Million Self-Funding
GE, of Fairfield, Connecticut, and U.K.-based Rolls Royce said that they are willing to self-fund development of the alternative engine

for the rest of this year and next year. That would cost more than $100 million, GE Aviation spokesman Rick Kennedy said. The

company’s goal is to compete with Hartford- based Pratt & Whitney starting in 2016, Kennedy said.
The House bill is the first step in a several-months-long process to approve Pentagon policy and spending for the fiscal year starting

Oct. 1. The House and Senate will have to negotiate the final defense authorization bill to be sent to President Barack Obama for his

signature.
As part of the bill, the House approved adding $272 million to the Pentagon’s requested $181.3 million for Abrams battle tank

production, to help General Dynamics Corp. (GD) avert an Army plan to temporarily shut down the plant.
Lawmakers are also mandating that the Pentagon hold a competition for the Air Force’s new bomber propulsion system, instead of

having the airplane’s maker choose the subcontractor.
Future Bomber
The U.S. Air Force is requesting $3.7 billion in its five- year budget for research and development of a new class of long- range strike

systems that may include a bomber, missiles and drones. The Air Force budget request for fiscal 2012 includes $197 million to begin

developing a bomber.
The new bomber design would be the first in almost three decades, since Northrop Grumman’s B-2 was designed. Lockheed Martin

and Boeing Co. (BA), based in Chicago, said in 2008 that they would form a partnership to compete against Los Angeles-based

Northrop.
The White House’s Office of Management and Budget also opposed the requirement for the bomber-engine competition in a

statement of administration policy issued on Tuesday.
“The prime contractor’s design concepts may differ so widely that it would be impractical to have a separate engine competition and

then insert the winning engine into the winning airframe,” it said. “Mandating such development would likely result in increased cost and

risk.”
War Debated
Both Republicans and Democrats tried to use the defense authorization bill to force the Obama administration to speed up the troop

withdrawal from Afghanistan. Measures introduced by Representatives Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts and Walter Jones,

Republican of North Carolina, as well as one introduced Republican Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Democrat Peter Welch of Vermont

failed.
“If you get a decent vote it’s wind at the president’s back that come July when he makes his announcement” about the future of

Afghan deployment “that he can do more than just offer a token drawdown, that it’s actually a meaningful drawdown in terms of our

troops,” McGovern told reporters yesterday. His amendment failed by a vote of 204 to 215.
Apart from the engine issues, the defense authorization bill has also triggered White House veto threats over provisions that challenge

administration policies regarding nuclear weapons and military detainees.

To contact the reporter on this story: Roxana Tiron in Washington at rtiron@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net

(Source: Bloomberg)


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Pentagon calls for 3-year shutdown of Abrams production by General Dynamics

Pentagon calls for 3-year shutdown of Abrams production by General Dynamics
25 May 2011

It seems like old times. Old times — but not good times.
Once again, defense contractor General Dynamics and dozens of area industrial suppliers are trying to convince Congress not to pull

the plug on the U.S. Army’s Abrams tank program. At a town hall meeting on Friday held at a Roseville factory, the suppliers pleaded

with U.S. Rep. Sander Levin to convince more members of Congress that a three-year shutdown proposed by the Pentagon would be

disastrous.
“Sure, this affects all of us in this room. But what about that poor grunt who needs a part for his tank in Afghanistan?” said Bob

Easterbrook, who served on an Army tank crew during the Cold War and now serves as president of East-Lind Heat Treat Inc. in

Madison Heights.
General Dynamics Land Systems, headquartered in Sterling Heights and the main contractor on the tank program, has warned that a

halt in production will jeopardize tens of thousands of jobs at more than 560 businesses across the country. Michigan would be affected

far more than any other state.
In Michigan, the move to idle the program from 2013-17 could affect jobs at more than 200 Michigan defense industry suppliers. The

cost-cutting plan sparked Levin to initiate a campaign that led to a bipartisan letter of protest from 136 House members to Army

Secretary John McHugh.
The manufacturers on hand for the town hall meeting said that a lengthy pause would cause such a permanent loss of workers and

skills — essentially a Michigan brain drain — that an extraordinarily difficult re-start would be required in the future. In the interim, the

Army could face problems supplying replacement parts for tanks deployed overseas in combat areas.
“Even if somehow all of the same people at all of these companies are still here three years from now, and they had some parts to get

started three years from now, they would have to have all of those parts recertified (by the Pentagon),” said Mark Roualet, president of

GD Land Systems.
Levin, a Royal Oak Democrat who represents most of Macomb County, told the business people on hand to write letters to Congress

explaining the “symmetry” that is involved among suppliers. Also, present pertinent information, he said, such as the astounding statistic

presented to Levin on Friday that the Abrams tank has more than 12,000 parts.
Easterbrook’s small firm relies upon business that is related — directly or indirectly — to tank production as it struggles with a work

force that has dropped from 36 employees 2½ years ago to 26 now. But he said he is currently unable to quantify the importance of the

tank program to his firm because some of the work done by the steel-treating company is conducted as a subcontractor, with the finished

material shipped to GD contractors. (Source: Macomb Daily)


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