Mil-Tech

General Dynamics Awarded $48 Million by U.S. Army for Reactive Armor Side Skirt Tiles

The U.S. Army, Army Contracting Command, Joint Munitions and Lethality, in Picatinny, N.J., has awarded General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products an order valued at approximately $48 million to produce reactive armor side skirt tiles for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle System. Deliveries are expected to begin in February 2011 and be completed in September 2011. General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products is a business unit of General Dynamics.

The reactive armor system is composed of tiles that fasten to the exterior of a vehicle, allowing it to better withstand direct hits from a variety of anti-armor munitions.

Production work will be performed at the General Dynamics facility in McHenry, Miss., and the program will be managed from General Dynamics’ Burlington Technology Center in Vermont. A strategic partner, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., Ordnance and Protection Division, will share the production workload in Haifa, Israel.

“Our reactive armor technology adds a valuable level of vehicle protection against shaped-charge threats and explosively-formed projectiles,” said Russ Klein, vice president and general manager of weapon systems for General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products. “Designed specifically for the U.S. Army’s Bradley Fighting Vehicle, reactive armor prevents severe damage to combat vehicles in Iraq, and more importantly saves lives.”

In addition to manufacturing the reactive armor tiles for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, General Dynamics provides complete assembly, integration and storage capabilities for the U.S. Army’s reactive armor tile program.

General Dynamics Canada to supply Smart Displays for U.S. Army MRAP vehicles

General Dynamics Canada won an order to supply more than 1,000 Smart Display Units (SDU) for installation in U.S. Army Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. The order represents the first use of General Dynamics Canada’s technology on the MRAP platform, expanding the reach of the company’s suite of vetronics, or vehicle electronics, currently embedded in the U.S. armored vehicle fleet.

The MRAP vehicles’ command, control, communications, and computer, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities are being upgraded to support future growth and improve operational capability for the crews.

General Dynamics Canada will provide the SD7310, its latest-generation smart display designed specifically for on-the-move operation in armored fighting and tactical vehicles. The SD7310 integrates a 10.4-inch ruggedized computer and high-resolution, touch-screen display into a single device, eliminating the need for a separate and dedicated computer processing unit. It is designed to address the critical size, weight, and power, and cost (SWAP-C) requirements of space-constrained vehicle platforms.

“The migration to next-generation smart displays on combat vehicles provides warfighters with increased operational capability and improves their ability to communicate on the battlefield,” says David Ibbetson, general manager of General Dynamics Canada. “Establishing this footprint on MRAP is strategically important to General Dynamics Canada and the future of our vehicle electronics business.”

There are more than 16,000 MRAP vehicles in service with the U.S. Army. The current order reflects requirements of a first phase program in which 500 MRAP vehicles will be upgraded and each will be equipped with two SD7310 displays.

General Dynamics Canada received the order from WestWind Technologies Inc., which was awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract by the U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command (TACOM LCMC) to supply the C4ISR digital backbone B-Kits. TACOM is the acquisition and support center for all of the Army’s ground vehicles.

U.S. Navy's Mobile User Objective System

A team led by General Dynamics C4 Systems has successfully completed the second of three incremental ground segment tests for the U.S. Navy’s Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), the U.S. military’s next-generation narrowband satellite communications system. The company will provide the user entry and integrated ground segments to Lockheed Martin, prime contactor for the MUOS program. MUOS will provide cell phone-like services to ground-based warfighters, enabling users to communicate directly with each other and their commanders virtually anywhere in the world.

There are three ground system builds that incrementally will deliver the MUOS Ground System. Ground System Build 1 was successfully completed in April 2008 demonstrating the capability to command and control the MUOS satellite. It was installed and tested at the Naval Satellite Operations Centers (NAVSOC) in Point Mugu, Calif., and Colorado Springs, Colo.

The recently completed Ground System Build 2 will be tested with the first MUOS satellite at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Sunnyvale, Calif., where final integration of the satellite is underway. Build 2 installation supporting the first MUOS satellite launch and on-orbit testing will occur at the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Pacific (NCTAMS PAC) in Wahiawa, Hawaii.

Ground System Build 3 will complete the remaining ground systems capabilities. Deploying to four sites around the world, including Wahiawa, to provide global coverage for the MUOS constellation, it will complete testing during the fourth quarter of 2010.