BUSINESS BYTE

Signal, Dec 2006

USVS for Lengthy Missions-The U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center has granted a $12.7 million contract for the development of four unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) for the littoral combat ship (LCS) antisubmarine warfare mission module. The goal of the contract is to equip the LCS with a USV that is capable of greater efficiency during longer duration missions. General Dynamics Robotic Systems, Westminster, Maryland, will design and develop command and control and systems integration for the 11-meter craft, which will feature towed arrays and dipping sonar sensors and will employ acoustic surfaces as payloads while performing its antisubmarine warfare missions. The company will partner with Navatek Limited, Honolulu; Alion Science and Technology, Boulder, Colorado; Signal Systems Corporation, Severna Park, Maryland; International Logistics Systems Incorporated, Glen Rock, Pennsylvania; and Chesapeake Sciences Corporation, Millersville, Maryland.

Pocket-Size Prototypes Detect Radiation-The U.S. Department of Homeland security's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office has awarded contracts to develop and test advanced pocket-size radiation detection units for its Intelligent Personal Radiation Locator program. The detection systems will autonomously sense the source of radiation and will distinguish among normally occurring radioactive elements, background and threats. Each small detector will determine the direction, flux, energy and isotope of detected radiation as well as its location and orientation. The contracts, worth a total of $22 million for 27-month terms, have been presented to General Electric Global Research, Niskayuna, New York; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California; and Smiths Detection, Pasadena, California.

Terminals Provide Remote Communications-Datapath Incorporated, Duluth, Georgia, has won a $181 million contract to provide satellite communications earth terminals, software, additional satellite broadband and baseband systems and services for the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command Joint Network Node program. The contract includes the delivery of 300 portable satellite terminals, four unit hub satellite communications trucks and hundreds of spares kits. The equipment will allow commanders to establish communications in remote areas. In addition, DataPath's Integrated Logistics Support team will provide personnel for field operations, maintenance and training. The production work is scheduled to take place through 2007, but services are planned to continue until 2008.

Reception Equipment for Vessel Tracking-The first phase of the U.S. Coast Guard's Nationwide Automatic Identification System (NAIS) program will feature automatic identification system (AIS) reception equipment provided by Shine Micro Incorporated, Port Ludlow, Washington. The program supports craft identification, tracking and information exchange for waterways and coastal security, port security, search and rescue missions, collision avoidance and the aids to navigation system. AIS transponders, installed on some self-propelled vessels as well as passenger and commercial craft, make this tracking possible by broadcasting vessel identity, speed and heading at fixed intervals. The company's RadarPlus SM1610 AIS receiver base station features a rugged, mast-mounted, low-noise amplifier and a house-mounted receiver for maritime surveillance. The station achieves cost-effective monitoring beyond the line of sight, reducing the number of base stations required to protect the U.S. coastline, which is approximately 95,000 miles long. The three phases of the contract may reach a combined total of $50 million.

New Terminals for the NRO-New transportable multiband earth terminals will be designed and produced for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Globecomm Systems Incorporated, Hauppauge, New York, will build terminals that function in three frequency bands and can operate with commercial and government satellites. The system is packaged to allow field deployment in one, two or all three frequency bands. The terminals will help the NRO's mission to monitor the environment and problematic regions and to plan military missions. The $1.1 million contract may include an additional $3 million option for production units.

Overseas DOD Schools Obtain Computers-TO provide destop computers, laptops and tablet computers to its students, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Dependents Schools-Europe has awarded three blanket purchase agreements worth $12.7 million to GTSI Corp., Chantilly, Virginia. The agreements contract GTSI to deliver and install approximately 8,000 computers to more than 98 schools in Europe and the Middle East during the next five years. In addition, the company will offer services to the DOD Education Activity such as imaging and asset tagging. GTSI's project partners include Gateway Incorporated, Irvine, California, and Prism Pointe Technologies, Fayetteville, Georgia. Gateway is supplying the computers.