Coast Guard Awards Bollinger $180 Million for Four FRCs
The Coast Guard last Thursday said it has awarded Bollinger Shipyards a $179.7 million contract to produce four more Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs), bringing to 12 the number of FRCs under contract with the Louisiana-based ship builder. Bollinger Shipyard’s is under contract to build up to 34 FRCs for $1.5 billion if all options are exercised. The four vessels awarded under the latest contract option are scheduled to be delivered to the Coast Guard in 2014 and homeported in Key West, Fla. The 154-foot FRCs are replacing the 110-foot Island-class patrol cutters. Separately, the Coast Guard last week awarded a $24 million delivery order to Marinette Marine Corp. (MMC) for the production of 11 additional Response Boats-Medium, bringing to 126 the number or RB-Ms the service has contracted for production. Since 2008, 68 RB-Ms have been delivered to Coast Guard stations around the country to meet requirements for search and rescue, ports, waterways and coastal security, and drug and migrant interdiction. MMC is a Wisconsin-based division of Italy’s Fincantieri.
Rapiscan Nabs $98M Award under Army Entry Point Control Contract
OSI Systems [OSIS] Rapiscan Systems division has received a $97.9 million contract from the Army for a range of surveillance and screening equipment under the Entry Control Point program to meet non-intrusive inspection requirements. The order is the second for the company under the program. In August it received $7 million to supply its whole body imagers to the Army (TR2, Aug. 17). The multiple award ECP contract is worth up to $248 million over three years. So far only Rapiscan has received awards under the program. Under the latest award Rapiscan will serve as the prime contractor and a hardware systems integrator.
Michael Baker, Inc., Nabs Potential $50M US-VISIT Support Contract
The General Services Administration has awarded Michael Baker Jr., Inc., a potential five-year, $50 million contract for providing program and project management, and internal logistics support services for the US-VISIT program. Task orders may include providing program managers, planners, architects, engineers, inspectors, GIS specialists, modelers, budget analysts, database developers, public affairs specialists, asset managers and more. The maximum ordering period per year is $10 million. The company currently provides support to the US-VISIT program. Michael Baker Jr. is a unit of Michael Baker Corp. [BKR].
AS&E Nabs $35M Order for Z Portals; Small Order for ZBV Mil Trailer Work
American Science and Engineering [ASEI] has received a $34.9 million order from an undisclosed customer for multiple Z Portal vehicle screening systems for border security applications. Although the company did not disclose the customer, it is likely Customs and Border Protection, which acquired multiple Z Portals last year and was expected to place another order for the systems with FY ’11 funding. A key feature of the Z Portal is that it safely scans a vehicle with multiple views while the occupants remain inside, allowing for higher throughput. Separately, the U.S. military has awarded the company a $2.3 million contract to provide service and maintenance for Z Backscatter Van Military Trailers. The ZBV Mil Trailers are used in war zones to find bombs hidden in vehicles and cargo.
DNDO Awards Contracts for Exploratory Research in Nuke Detection Technology
The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office has awarded seven firms a combined 10 contract for exploratory research in nuclear detection technology. The firms and their contract amounts are: OSI Systems [OSIS] Rapiscan Laboratories, $3.3 million for low exposure neutron-based special nuclear (SNM) material detection, $1.8 million for He-4 fast neutron detection for SNM detection, and $1.3 million for second generation Auto-Z; NOVA R&D, $1.4 million; Passport Systems, $751,408; Physical Sciences, Inc., $625,510 for advanced detection algorithms and signal processing; SCI Technology, Inc., $2.6 million; Science Applications International Corp. [SAI]; and The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior Univ., $1.1 million. The awards were made in response to proposals solicited under Broad Agency Announcement 11-101.
Lockheed Moves Forward On Development of National Cyber Range
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded Lockheed Martin [LMT] a $10.8 million contract to move into Phase II-B of development of the National Cyber Range (NCR). According to DARPA’s NCR web site, Phase II-B will involve operation and beta testing of the prototype range, enhancing existing software tools to ensure that the range hardware and software are stable and to allow for a seamless transition. The phase will also include the development of a business model for sustainable range operation beyond fiscal year 2012 and to transition the range and associated technologies to U.S. Cyber Command and other government organizations.
In Jan. 2010 DARPA awarded Johns Hopkins Univ. Applied Research Laboratory and Lockheed Martin each contracts to move into Phase II of the NCR development. Moving forward Lockheed Martin is the sole contractor working on the NCR, DARPA says in response to questions. The NCR is meant to provide a capability for the Defense Department and other federal agencies to emulate secure, large-scale complex networks to allow realistic testing and evaluation of new cyber space concepts, policies and technologies.
New York Military Facility Selects Intellicheck Mobilisa’s Fugitive Finder
Intellicheck Mobilisa says it has received a contract from a New York-area military base for its Fugitive Finder handheld identification reading device that scans various forms of identification and instantly compares the information to over 100 government databases to perform background checks. The contract, from the undisclosed customer, builds on the company’s growing list of contracts with military and government facilities in New York for Fugitive Finder. Some of the customer’s include the Army’s Fort Drum, the U.S. Military Academy, and the Ports of New York/New Jersey. Separately, the company has received a $3 million contract from the Navy to expand its wireless security buoy program as the company works to transition the effort from research and development to commercialization. Currently the company has seven of its buoys deployed to Puget Sound and one in the Potomac River. The buoys can be used to provide support to the Navy and Department of Homeland Security by detecting for dirty bombs, oil spills, and salinity levels and dissolved oxygen.
Israel Ports Awards Elbit Perimeter Security Contract for Haifa Port
Israel’s Elbit Systems [ESLT] has received a contract from the Israel Ports Development & Assets Company for the supply and installation of a perimeter security system at the Haifa port. Elbit says the contact value is not material. The perimeter security solution will include a command and control system to enable the interoperability of various security systems such as CCTV with advanced image processing and electronic fences. The existing security systems at the port will be integrated with the new solution.