Smiths Detection to Provide Detection Equipment for Airport in Turkmenistan
Smiths Detection says it has won a “significant contract” to provide a range of advanced detection systems for the new Ashgabat International Airport in Turkmenistan. The value of the award was not disclosed. The contract is with Polimeks Construction. Smiths says it will be providing advanced X-Ray systems for carry-on baggage screening at security checkpoints, millimeter wave scanners for people screening, and explosives trace detection systems. The contract also includes out-of-gauge baggage systems to screening on-board catering for passengers and air cargo consignments. The company will also supply systems for screening checked baggage for automated explosives detection and meet ECAC Standard 3 requirements. “The Ashgabat contract is the largest that Smiths Detection has won in the Central Asia region and we are very proud to have prevailed in a highly competitive environment,” says Tony Tielen, vice president EMEA for Smiths Detection. Deliveries of the systems will be completed by June.
CBP Awards Northrop Grumman Extension to Continue TARS Support
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has awarded Northrop Grumman [NOC] a potential one-year, nine-month extension to an existing contract to continue to provide support for the Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) that provides long-range search and track of air and surface targets. The value of the extension was redacted in a CBP announcement. The contract extension is necessary while CBP completes the acquisition of a follow-on contract, which is expected in April 2017. Under the bridge contract Northrop Grumman will provide technical advice and logistical support to ensure processing and distribution of radar surveillance data via an IP network. CBP operates eight TARS sites, six over the U.S.-Mexico border, one over the Florida Straits, and one in Puerto Rico to cover the Northern Caribbean.
Moldova Selects Vision-Box to Modernize Identity Documents Issuance Process
Vision-Box says it has won a tender by the Republic of Moldova to update and modernize the identity documents issuance process across the country’s offices for citizen documentation and records with an integrated biometric enrollment solution. The company says it will deploy is solution across 55 registration offices. Vision-Box will supply its vb e-pass desktops, which include an automated height adjustment camera for an ICAO compliant facial image, and a NIST compliant easy to use fingerprint capture. The system will integrate with the state-owned company Registru’s infrastructure. The value of the award wasn’t disclosed.
State Dept. Awards MorphoTrust Unit $60M for Passport Printer Services
The Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs has awarded a business unit of MorphoTrust USA a $60.5 million to continue providing materials and services related to the department’s fleet of 603 MP300US passport printers. The award was made to Trans Digital Technologies, which is a subsidiary of MorphoTrust USA. The contract will allow the department to continue to rely on the timely and uninterrupted delivery of printer consumable materials, spare parts, and printers, technical support and maintenance services while it transitions to newer, more efficient and more secure printers, which is expected to take multiple years. Requirements established in 2006 for the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative resulted in an historical demand for passports in 2007. In 2017 the majority of these passports will expire and new ones will be needed, which is why the State Department has to sustain uninterrupted issuance of passports during the contract period. MorphoTrust USA is part of Safran Group.
SRC Says Bio-Defense System Selected for Next Phase of JUPITR Program
SRC Inc. says its Aklus Shield J-Model bio-surveillance system has been selected for initial fielding at Busan, Pier 8, South Korea, as part of the Joint United States Forces Korea Portal and Integrated Threat Recognition (JUPITR) program. In the first phase of the program, the J-Model systems underwent testing in a variety of location, including Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, and Key West Naval Air Station in Florida, with live agent testing. SRC says it is also working on a lighter, smaller and more affordable biological threat detection system called the C-Model, which will be available to customers needed bio-surveillance capabilities for open or closed-air environments. The C-Model will be available for sale this month.
Coast Guard Awards Bollinger $1.4B to Complete FRC Buy
The Coast Guard on Wednesday has awarded Bollinger Shipyards a potential $1.42 billion contract to acquire up to 26 Fast Response Cutters (FRC), which would complete plans to buy 58 of the vessels that are the service’s primary near-shore surface assets. Bollinger is already under contract to build and deliver the first 32 FRCs under a Phase 1 contract for which the Coast Guard has obligated $1.48 billion. The service recompeted the FRC contract under Phase 2 but Bollinger was the only bidder. The unit cost for the first 32 vessels is $46.3 million and for the vessels under Phase 2 $54.6 million. A Coast Guard spokesman says that the new contract includes price escalation from the start of Phase 1 in FY ’08 through FY ’17 “and includes additional changes with cyber security and interoperability.” Otherwise, he says, the capabilities and performance of the FRCs under the Phase 1 and 2 contracts are “identical.” Under the Phase 2 award, the Coast Guard let $318.6 million in FY ’16 funds to Bollinger with delivery of the first FRC, which would be the 33rd overall in the program, is slated for FY ’19. So far 16 FRCs have been commissioned into service and the 17th vessel is slated for commissioning on May 20.The 154-foot Sentinel-class FRCs are replacing the same number of 110-foot Island-Class cutters of which 27 are still operating.