“Emergency Preparedness and Crisis Management” is part of a series of Workshops titled “Share Best Practices across the Atlantic” organized by SELEX SI. The 3rd Workshop guest speaker, the Hon Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of the US DHS speaks about The Five Lessons learned. Download the document 091201 Chertoff here
Archive | February, 2010
NATO Contract to SELEX Sistemi Integrati
SELEX Sistemi Integrati has received a Contract of 15 M€ for the integration of about 230 Sensors on new implemented Air Command and Control (ACCS) Sites, hosted by eleven NATO Nations: Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, Hungary, Norway, Portugal, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece and France. The Contract has been awarded to SELEX Sistemi Integrati, through the ACCS [...]
Thales caught in all too familiar French political trap
The EADS story is all too familiar. For years, the European aerospace and defence group has been hamstrung by its French and German political masters. But these days it seems that the French government has decided to delegate responsibility to its French and German core industrial shareholders – Lagardère and Daimler – put in place [...]
Equatorial Guinea Maritime Security: 250 M$ potential value to L-3 Communications
L-3 Communications announced that its MPRI division has been awarded a $58 million firm-fixed-price task order with the government of Equatorial Guinea to establish a Maritime Security Enhancement Program (MSEP). This task order is the first part of a multi-year contract, with a potential value of approximately $250 million. The MSEP is designed to provide nationwide [...]
EUROSAM bids for Turkish Air Defence System
Turkey’s defence procurement office removed MBDA from a blacklist last month after an international legal dispute between the Ankara government and the French missile maker ended amicably. One immediate effect: Eurosam, whose shareholders include MBDA, Thales, Finmeccanica and BAE Systems, will be allowed to bid next month against Chinese, U.S. and Russian rivals for Turkey’s multibillion-dollar [...]
FEMA wasted millions: report
FEMA didn’t do a heckuva job on its contracts under President Bush. The “disaster” agency spent twice as much as it needed to for a building in Tennessee that smelled like sewage and had insects, roaches and bullet casings strewn over its floors, according to Department of Homeland Security Inspector General’s report conducted by Foxx [...]
Border Patrol Agents Intercept Migrants After Landing by Boat in Florida
On Feb. 22, at approximately 7:15 a.m., Border Patrol agents from the West Palm Beach Station responded to a call from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office which reported a landing of migrants in the area of Sewall’s Point, Fla. Border Patrol agents interviewed and processed four Haitians and one Dominican. The subjects are adult males [...]
EU ministers to explore common defence strategy
EU defence ministers, meeting in Spain, will consider increased military ties authorised by the bloc’s Lisbon Treaty, but with EU diplomatic chief Catherine Ashton notable by her absence. The two-day meeting will not be the baptism of fire which some had been predicting for Ashton, the EU’s High Representative for foreign affairs and security policy [...]
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: 3550 M$ assigned
DHS GSA CPB TSA ICE USCG FEMA 405 850 420 1000 20 240 615 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is an effort to jumpstart our economy, create or save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century. With [...]
Thales Stock Tumbles After Surprise 2009 Loss
Shares in Thales fell sharply Feb. 19 after the French systems company posted an unexpected 2009 net loss of 128 million euros ($173 million), halved its dividend and issued a gloomy outlook for orders. The net loss followed a 2008 net profit of 650 million euros. Sales rose 2 percent to 12.88 billion euros from [...]
BAE loses US battle and takes £592m hit
BAe Systems suffered another major blow today, saying that it will incur a £592 million writedown after it failed to overturn the Pentagon’s decision to award a trucks and vehicles contract to a US supplier. BAE had challenged the award of the £2 billion contract to Oshkosh but its appeal was rejected. The UK company [...]
U.S DHS Customs and Border Protection: Light Enforcement Helicopter Contract
From the Eurocopter booth at Heli-Expo, American Eurocopter announced that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has entered into the first option year on the Light Enforcement Helicopter (LEH) contract and placed an order for six AS350B3s. This is the second order on the LEH contract that was awarded to American Eurocopter by the Department of [...]
NATO will operate from Poggio Renatico the control of NATO air forces in Europe.
By March 2010, NATO will rely on the radar base at Poggio Renatico (Ferrara) control of the airspace between the Atlantic Ocean and the Danube delta. The decision to strengthen and expand geographically functioning of the Italian military was announced at the conclusion of the annual conference of the commanders of NATO’s Southern Region, held [...]
100215 US DHS ST Directorate
Science and Technology Directorate The Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate is the primary research and development arm of the Department of Homeland Security. Mission The S&T Directorate’s mission is to improve homeland security by providing to customers state-of-the-art technology that helps them achieve their missions. S&T customers include the operating components of the Department, state, local, [...]
Miami Sector Border Patrol Agents Intercept Migrants After Landing by Boat in Florida U.S. Citizen Suspected of
Smuggling On Feb. 22, at approximately 7:15 a.m., Border Patrol agents from the West Palm Beach Station responded to a call from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office which reported a landing of migrants in the area of Sewall’s Point, Fla. Border Patrol agents interviewed and processed four Haitians and one Dominican. The subjects are adult [...]
MoU between UK and France on urgent operational requests
The Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with his French counterpart, Laurent Collet-Billon, which enables the potential for closer co-operation on the procurement of urgent operational equipment. It follows the signature of the Statement of Intent between the Minister of Defence of the French Republic and [...]
Contracts loss forces BAE to restructure armaments
BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defence company, has begun to restructure its once-lauded land and armaments division after losing key armoured vehicle contracts. The company said that it would cut thousands of jobs in the division but refused to give exact numbers. It also closed ten sites in the UK and United States last year as [...]
Navy Shifts Focus To Lower-end Threats
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead has signed off on the Navy’s “Vision for Confronting Irregular Challenges.” The Navy will buy ships and aircraft that provide “broadened” and “balanced” capabilities to deal with a range of irregular opponents, including pirates, terrorists, criminal organizations, insurgents and other state and non-state actors, the document says. By [...]
Harris: 25 M$ for Communications Backbone of Army Battle Command System
Highband networking radios from Harris Corporation will form the communications backbone of the U.S. Army’s new Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS). Harris will supply its radios to carry critical battle-command information, and will provide system and network engineering services over the five-year life of the program. IBCS will integrate the fire-control [...]
BAE Systems dives into the red
BAE Systems has said it will writedown $929 million (592 million pounds, 681 million euros) on 2009 earnings after failing to win a US military contract. BAE Systems on Thursday announced it had fallen into a loss last year after a major write-down linked to its purchase of US military group Armor Holdings. BAE Systems [...]
Cost is critical factor in LCS competition-US Navy
* Navy aims to move away from system integrators * Could stage competition for combat systems later Cost will be the critical factor the U.S. Navy uses to judge competing designs from General Dynamics Corp and Lockheed Martin Corp for a new class of fast, flexible, shallow-water warships, a top admiral said. Rear Admiral William Landay, program [...]
Large Worldwide Cyber Attack Is Uncovered
More than 75,000 computer systems at nearly 2,500 companies in the United States and around the world have been hacked in what appears to be one of the largest and most sophisticated attacks by cyber criminals discovered to date, according to a northern Virginia security firm. The attack, which began in late 2008 and was [...]
Project Vigilare Command and Control System Passes Factory Acceptance Testing
Boeing Defence Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company, this week announced that Project Vigilare, a Network Centric Command and Control System (NC3S) solution for the Royal Australian Air Force, has passed factory acceptance testing. The system, already installed at the Northern Regional Operational Centre (NROC), will undergo on-site acceptance testing in March [...]
US CG Cutters debate: the beginning of a “never-ending story”?
WH ‘Hammered’ Allen on CG Woes White House officials pressured the Coast Guard commandant to tone down comments that his service faces serious threats to its ability to respond to emergencies such as the Haitian earthquake disaster, DoD Buzz has learned. A source with close ties to the Coast Guard told us this morning that the [...]
Secretary Napolitano Highlights Strengthened Aviation Security
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano yesterday toured Transportation Security Administration (TSA) explosive detection technologies and canine program operations in Virginia and Texas—highlighting $576 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds and other security investments devoted to securing the U.S. aviation system and creating jobs in local communities across the country [...]
SBInet program on delays
SBInet director shares frustrations and progress on delays, tests and Boeing But Mark Borkowski remains hopeful that SBInet will be a success As executive director of the Homeland Security Department’s Secure Border Initiative, Mark Borkowski is in the unenviable position of overseeing SBInet, the border protection system that is as noteworthy for technical glitches and [...]
US Navy Awards 92.5 M$ in Net-Centric Ops Support
The US Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific) awarded $92.5 million in contracts to support net-centric operations, information management, and decision support operations of the US military services. The contracts focus on the command and control (C2) interfaces between the services and civil agencies and nongovernmental organizations. The contractors will provide [...]
EADS DS to Extend Bulgarian Security Forces’ Tetra Network
EADS Defence & Security has been awarded a contract by the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance to extend the TETRA network for the security forces. This complementary contract will achieve almost full TETRA network coverage of Bulgarian territory. Under the contract, EADS Defence & Security will deliver 50 TB3 base stations, an Automatic Vehicle Location system [...]
Thales: 51 MAuD ADF Command & Intelligence Systems
Thales Australia will provide computer support services for a range of Australian Defence Force (ADF) command and control systems under a $51m contract, according to Defence Minister Greg Combet. "The command and control systems support military planning and the conduct of ADF operations and exercises," he said. The systems are used at the strategic and [...]
GD Awarded 387 M$ Training Support Contract by US Army
General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics, has been awarded a contract for Constructive Training Systems support by the U.S. Army's Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI). The total potential value of this single-award, five-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract is $387 million if all options are exercised. [...]