Sample Issue|Defense Daily International

The Australian Industry Capability (AIC) program, initiatives to assist the Australian defense industry were launched Feb. 26 by the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement, Greg Combet during his keynote address to the 5th annual Australian Defence Magazine Congress in Canberra.

"The announcement of these programs fulfils Labor’s election commitment to emphasise preference for Australian content and require tenderers to develop detailed strategies for involving Australian industry to the greatest possible extent," Combet said.

The AIC program is to ensure Australian companies can access the global supply chains of large prime contractors.

"To help enable this, contractors will be required to demonstrate in their tenders how they will give opportunities to involve Australian companies–including how they will be able to gain access to the global supply chains of the large prime contractors," he said.

"The successful companies will be required to implement these strategies and this will form part of their contractual obligations."

Key elements launched were the update to the Defence Policy Procurement Manual (DPPM) and the electronic publication of the AIC Practitioner’s Information and Tool Kit, which is available through the Defence Materiel Organisation website (http://www.defence.gov.au/dmo).

The tool kit provides guidance to defense and industry stakeholders on how to implement, monitor and report on their AIC obligations. Users include companies creating an AIC plan and Ministry of Defence project teams who release tender documentation and evaluate responses.

The information provided in the DPPM and tool kit was largely shaped by industry input during the AIC policy development.

Combet assured industry the AIC policy was not set in stone.

"The policy will be shaped over the next six to 12 months with further consultation and by the new Defence White Paper," Combet said.

Britain’s BAE Systems recently said net income last year fell 44 percent due to a one time benefit the company received in 2006 related to the sale of its stake in jet plane maker Airbus, which is owned by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.

Net income last year was $1.8 billion versus $3.2 billion in 2006. However, excluding the gain from the Airbus related sale, operating profits from continuing operations managed a nearly 10 percent gain to $2.3 billion driven by results at the company’s United States-based Land and Armaments Division and the Programmes and Support division. Free cash flow was $3.9 billion.

Sales for the year climbed 14 percent to $30.8 billion from $27 billion in 2006, driven mainly by gains at Land and Armaments and to a lesser extent at Programmes and Support. The results benefited from five months of sales related to the acquisition of Armor Holdings last summer, which contributed $1.4 billion in that period.

BAE’s U.S.-based businesses accounted for 47 percent of sales. Sales at Land and Armaments increased 68 percent to $6.9 billion, driven by strong organic growth combined with the Armor Holdings purchase. Operating profits at the division soared 86 percent on improved margin performance, higher sales and help from Armor Holdings.

BAE continues to like the organic growth prospects in 2008 at Land and Armaments, saying requirements in Iraq and Afghanistan will continue to help drive sales related to reset and upgrade work for military vehicles, and for medium caliber ammunition.

Sales at Programmes and Support increased 14 percent to $10.4 billion while operating profits jumped 33 percent to $894.4 million. Income was boosted in part by a one time gain related to arbitration on a patrol vessel program.

Sales declined at the Electronics, Intelligence and Support business to $7.7 billion due to foreign currency translation stemming from the weak dollar while operating profits were flat at $841.5 million. BAE said operating profits in the division also suffered due to accounting for the weak dollar.

Sales also declined at the International Business segment to $6.6 billion due to the sale in 2006 of the former Atlas Elektronik business. Excluding the Atlas results, sales would have eked out a 1 percent gain. Profits at the division grew 5 percent to $853.1 million on higher margins.

General Dynamics [GD] United Kingdom Limited has begun rolling out enhanced communications and data capabilities for the Bowman tactical communications system.

The U.K. Ministry of Defence has formally accepted the latest increment of Bowman, BCIP5, which stands for Bowman and ComBAT, Infrastructure and Platform BISA (CIP).

Bowman is used by all three of the armed services, and BCIP4 is already providing battle-winning capability on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan by improving the speed, quality and security of tactical communications and enhancing situational awareness.

General Dynamics UK has already integrated the Bowman system into more than 12,000 British Army vehicles, from Challenger tanks to Land Rovers, enhancing the communications abilities of soldiers on foot, ships, helicopters, and operational headquarters.

The Acceptance and Release decision for BCIP5 was made on Jan. 31 and gave the approval to commence fielding.

The BCIP5 will:

deliver an enhanced robust, resilient and mobile tactical internet with improved situational awareness for commanders at all levels;

increase use of data-networking, in conjunction with new Battlespace Management tools, enhancing the information flow between units and headquarters staff; and

enable each Bowman radio fitted with GPS to send its Own Station Position Report (OSPR), to produce a picture of where friendly forces are in the battlespace, improving situational awareness.

Following a successful Operational Field Trial and formal acceptance meetings with the MoD, the roll-out of BCIP5 has begun with the uplift of the Royal Navy’s Type 22 frigate HMS Chatham and Type 23 frigate HMS Monmouth.

A three-year roll-out will enable the armed services to train soldiers and update practices to get the best use of BCIP5 and absorb the new capability, while continuing to deliver operational commitments.

Speaking for the MoD, Commodore Jay Hart, Bowman And Tactical Communications & Information Systems (BATCIS) Integrated Project Team leader, said: "Bowman is already proving its worth on operations, and we are very pleased that BCIP5 has achieved acceptance. When it is rolled out the new Bowman increment will help our armed forces improve the way they share information and work together on operations."

Sandy Wilson, president and managing director of General Dynamics UK, said: "Since we took on Bowman in 2001 we have delivered significant and vital capability to the soldiers on the ground. We are pleased that BCIP5 has been given the thumbs-up, and we will continue working closely in partnership with the MoD to roll it out to our armed forces over the next three years."

General Dynamics UK has been established as a prime contractor and systems integrator in the United Kingdom for over 40 years, employing about 1,700 people at eight facilities. General Dynamics UK leads a key MoD Defence Technology Centre research consortium and, together with a growing C4I export programme, plays a central role manufacturing and developing technology to deliver Network Enabled Capability and ISTAR in the battlespace.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last Thursday fully accepted the first installment of an integrated electronic border security system that includes a common operating picture for Border Patrol agents responsible for manning a 28-mile stretch of the United States border with Mexico, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said on Friday.

Final acceptance by DHS had been delayed since last summer due to difficulties in integrating the various sensors and creating the common operating picture that is expected to allow border security officials to spot illegal immigration activity and respond quickly. Project 28, as the first installment of the Secure Border Initiative integrated technology (SBInet) installment is known, covers a section of the Border Patrol’s Tucson, Ariz., sector.

Despite the delays in the official handoff of the system from Boeing [BA], which is developing SBInet for DHS, the system has been in operational use.

"I have personally witnessed the value of this system and I have spoken directly to Border Patrol agents who are involved in operating that system over the last few months and who have seen it produce actual results in terms of identifying and allowing the apprehension of people who are illegally smuggling across the border," Chertoff said.

Due to the delays in meeting the original contract delivery milestones, Boeing agreed to a $2 million credit refund to DHS. The original P28 task order was for $20 million but Boeing’s take is now $18 million, DHS said.

Chertoff noted that SBInet is not a "once size fits all" solution for every section of the U.S. border, north and south. He said the P28 model will have to be adjusted depending on the unique requirements of each stretch of border. In some places ground-based radar will be sufficient, he said. Chertoff added that this year DHS plans to add 34 more ground based mobile surveillance systems throughout the border from the current six.

Before DHS and Customs and Border Protection decide which stretch of border Boeing will have to address next under SBInet, the company is expected to make some spiral upgrades to P28, including going from the current eight mobile sensor towers to fixed sites. Moreover, companies that believe they have technological solutions, such as imaging sensors, that could improve on the current P28 system, will have their technology examined at Boeing’s system integration laboratory in Huntsville, Ala., as possible upgrades to P28 in the coming months.

In addition to the integrated electronic fencing, DHS is in the process of installing physical fencing along the southwest U.S. border. So far, 302 miles of vehicle and pedestrian fencing has been installed and by the end of this year that will stretch to 670 miles, Chertoff said.

DHS is also buying additional General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to help patrol the borders, Chertoff said. Right now, CBP has three of the air vehicles with plans to buy three more.

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) ongoing rollout of an upgrade from two to 10-fingerprint collection for foreigners arriving at U.S. airports as part of the U.S. VISIT program is proceeding well, according to the program manager for the industry team leading the effort.

The upgrade is being done first on a pilot basis at 10 airports, with plans to roll out at remaining airports, seaports and land ports of entry this year. So far, DHS has implemented the 10-print collection at eight of the airports with two more expected to be completed shortly. The initial rollout is limited at the pilot airports to gather enough data to credibly test the technology and processes and at the same time ensure that if problems arise, huge bottlenecks wouldn’t be created for arriving foreigners.

Once various lessons are learned, then all foreign visitors arriving in the United States will have 10 fingerprints collected and then searched against a database to ensure that each person arriving is the same person that received a visa from the State Department overseas.

"What we’ve really been paying attention to is two things," Jim Stolarski, who heads the Accenture [ACN]-led team developing and deploying U.S. VISIT for DHS, told sister publication TR2 in a recent interview. "Is the process of having to do the four fingers twice and the two thumbs really taking a lot more time, and the answer is no it’s not taking a lot more. It’s in seconds and not minutes. Is the processing time behind the scenes to do the matching taking a lot more time and there, too, the answer is no, it’s actually taking about the same amount and in some cases less based on some of the rearchitecting that was done in the back."

In migrating from two to 10-fingerprint collection, DHS is using livescan fingerprint capture devices provided by Cross Match Technologies and L-1 Identity Solutions [ID]. For those foreign travelers arriving at a pilot airport now that are directed to the 10-print lanes, Customs and Border Protection officers use the livescan devices in a three-step process capturing four fingerprints at once per hand and then two thumbprints simultaneously.

Using 10 fingerprints instead of two for match searching increases the quality of the matching process and makes it less likely incorrect, and even multiple, matches will occur. The upgrade also improves interoperability with the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System.

Once the pilot phase ends, DHS is expected to select a single biometric supplier, Cross Match or L-1, to provide livescan devices for the remaining ports of entry.