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USA Looks to Bridge FMTV Truck Orders Until 2011

20-Apr-2009 15:38 EDT

Related Stories: Americas – USA, BAE, Contracts – Awards, Contracts – Modifications, Official Reports, Trucks & Transport

FMTV Family
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Amateurs discuss tactics, professionals discuss logistics. A military force can have all of the flashy combat vehicles it wants, but without a solid underpinning of medium and heavy trucks to handle logistics, that combat force is either dependent or hollow. This truth has been vividly illustrated in Iraq, where the priority level placed on raising the Iraqi Army’s combat power has made it dependent on the mature American logistics force in theater. Discussions of “independent operational capability” for Iraqi units revolve primarily around this logistics gap. While some units are capable now, Iraq is just beginning to implement the logistics tail that will give most of its units this ability to operate independently.

The 14 variants in the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) form the core of the USA’s new state-of-the-art medium military transport truck fleet. Which in turn forms the core of the “mature logistics capability” seen in the Iraqi theater and elsewhere. FMTV trucks are all automatic transmission, and range from 2.5-ton cargo and van models to 5-ton cargo, tractor, van, wrecker, tanker, specialty, and dump-truck models in various 4×4 and 6×6 configurations. Some models also have attached trailers that increase their carrying capacity. Even so, the use of common engines, transmissions, drivelines, power trains, tires, cabs, et. al. create over 80% parts commonality between FMTV models. Where possible, commercial components are used for added savings.

In addition to their role as the backbone of the US Army’s truck fleet, FMTV trucks serve as the base for key weapons systems like the future MEADS air-defense system and the new HIMARS air-portable multiple rocket launchers. They also serve as the base for BAE’s Caiman MRAP blast-resistant vehicle, which adds armor and a blast-resistant capsule for carrying troops. As of June 1/08, the US military has ordered 2,862 Caimans for use on the front lines.

There have been 3 main phases of the FMTV program, including the last “SO23” open competition in 2003. All told, approximately 48,000 FMTV trucks in various models have been delivered to the US Army. As a 4th phase re-compete looms, a multi-billion dollar order will bridge the gap and inaugurate the US Army’s Long Term Armoring Strategy (LTAS) for its vehicle fleets. Recent news includes a substantial order of improved dump trucks…

• FMTV Features and Developments [updated]
• FMTV Program: Long-Term Future [updated]
• FMTV Program: Production and Sustainment [updated]
• Contracts & Key Events
• Additional Readings

A Punch in the Face to Consumerism: The Art of Free Exchange Networks

Written by Sabrina Bowman

Thursday, 08 January 2009

It will be post-Christmas by the time you read this – amidst piles of credit card bills, discarded wrapping paper, half-finished bottles of eggnog and questions as to where your sanity went.  But right now it is December, a few weeks before Christmas, and despite the bad economic news, the disarray of the government, and the auto manufacturers asking for 6 billion dollar bailouts, the malls and stores are just as crowded as always, with harried shoppers buying cheap, sugary chocolates and shiny quickly-breaking toys for children who will find more joy in the paper they were wrapped in than the gizmo itself. Year after year during Christmas, I reflect on the amount of stress, money and time that is spent on buying useless gifts for people who don’t really want or need them.  Christmas is symptomatic of a societal cycle of rampant consumerism, fueled by advertising and subtle, though incessant, marketing.  The result of this is a society-wide addiction to buying, which contributes to the perceived importance of massive wealth and allows us to downplay our addiction’s destructive forces on environmental and labour conditions worldwide. But fear not, my friends!  There are alternatives to mindless purchase of goods.  Alternatives that say “pow!” to advertising, “bam!” to marketers and “shazam!” to monetary commerce.  Welcome to the world of non-monetary exchange – aka a punch in the face to consumerism. All over the world, free-exchange networks are setting up online, the most well-known of which is “freecycle.”  This network allows members to make web postings for goods they want to give away, and allows them to get things they need for free.  These networks challenge the idea that everything has a set value: one person’s unloved couch becomes the showpiece in a newlywed’s first apartment.  It keeps these items out of the landfill and gives them a second life. There are also bartering networks, an historic concept currently experiencing a reemergence, in which goods or services are exchanged for other goods and services.  These transactions occur at many levels, from informal bartering on sites such as Craigslist to business-oriented bartering brokers that connect businesses interested in trading their services with others. One of my favorite means of non-monetary commerce occurs at a much smaller scale:  the clothing exchange.  The basic premise is that one person hosts the event, and invites their friends to bring all the old stuff they don’t want, particularly clothing (although the exchange can include books, decor, art, etc.). During the exchange, otherwise reasonable individuals turn into treasure-hunting virtuosos.  Pants go flying amid flailing arms and excited laughter.  Old purses are tossed aside by one person, only to be jumped upon by two others.  When more than one person wants an item, the dispute is resolved either through calm, collected discussion or through more fun means such as fashion shows or arm wrestling matches. The clothing exchange also provides a bonus that you don’t get at the mall:  almost guaranteed public humiliation of your dearest friends.  Someone always has an item purchased during their misguided youth.  Whether it’s a monstrous collection of Seventeen magazines or a special edition Backstreet Boys unitard, the clothing exchange is rife with mockable items. At a deeper level, the exchange attaches interaction and humanization to commerce, the opposite of our in-and-out, don’t talk to the cashier, hurry, hurry, hurry approach to shopping. By the end of the exchange, everyone has gotten rid of their old stuff, acquired some “new” goods, and whatever’s left over goes to the local charity.  In some ways, the clothing exchange plays scavenger to our wastefulness.  There’s nothing inherently wrong with the clothes we are giving away, but, like so many good things, we’ve grown tired of them.  Nonetheless, the exchange, like other forms of money-free commerce, allows us to recycle old items rather than seeing them go to the landfill, and associates the concept of worth to the item based on what the receiver thinks it is worth, rather than what the market reflects. Despite all the money-free options, avoiding monetary-commerce can be difficult.  It’s much easier to go to Zellers and pick up what you need than to try and hunt it down at a clothing exchange or through a freecycle network.  But the reward is great – money saved, unique items found, human interactions encouraged, and mindless buying drop-kicked to oblivion. Besides, can you really put a price on a Backstreet Boys unitard? culturemagazine.ca

Korea Aerospace likely to be offered to foreign investors

South Korea is set to offer foreign investors a stake in KAI, which, among other things, produces the T-50 Golden Eagle (Jane’s/Patrick Allen)

A major stake in Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is likely to be offered to foreign investors under an “asset sale privatisation” plan currently being formulated by the government, Jane’s has learnt.

The plan will allow foreign investors to become the second largest shareholder in KAI, which produces the T-50 Golden Eagle advanced trainer; KT-1 ‘Woong-Bee’ intermediate trainer; as well as helicopters and satellites, primarily for the South Korean market.

The project – which will see shares sold only to strategic investors and not through a public share offer – also includes the sale of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME). Jane’s understands that DSME is now less likely to be offered to foreign investors, because the South Korean government feels the country’s strength in shipbuilding might be compromised by such a move.

The sales of both companies will be managed by the Korea Development Bank, which holds shares of state-owned companies on behalf of the government.

janes.com

April 10th, 2009 from India: A billion aspirations: Fraud-hit Satyam pins hopes on shaky white knights

Posted by: Anshuman Daga

Tags: India: A billion aspirations, DealZone, Satyam

Three months after its founder Ramalinga Raju shocked markets by disclosing India’s biggest corporate scandal, Satyam Computer Services is desperately pinning its survival hopes on its auction set for April 13.

But only a handful of bidders are in the race due to lack of clarity over Satyam’s accounts and potential legal liabilities from U.S. lawsuits. Even if the company manages to find a buyer for a 51 percent stake, it’ll take a long time to instill confidence among employees already jumping shipand nervous clients.

What about the role of the government, whose appointed-board is due to choose the buyer the same week the country heads for national elections? Will the government remove its handpicked board or continue to keep a watchful eye on any new strategy chalked out by the new buyer?

Some finance industry players point out the similarity between Satyam’s deal and the deal for top Chinese electronics retailer GOME. The Chinese company is in talks with potential investors, while its founder and ex-chairman is under potential police investigation. There is a lot of uncertainty about both deals and government support, temporary or long-term, is key to shoring up both high-profile firms.

Satyam’s former chairman, former managing director and former chief financial officer are all being held in jail in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad.

Satyam has not reported earnings since October as the new auditors are still in the process of restating accounts. Local media report the final tally of likely bidders for Satyam is shrinking.

Will the auction be the first step in a much-needed recovery for a company once ranked as India’s fourth-biggest IT services exporter or spell more pain ahead?

deal zone blogs/reuters

a 1,500-slip marina is taking shape as the island’s tourism industry braces for what could be its biggest challenge yet

By Jeff Franks

VARADERO, Cuba (Reuters) – Behind the mangroves that skirt the blue waters of Cuba’s Bay of Cardenas, a 1,500-slip marina is taking shape as the island’s tourism industry braces for what could be its biggest challenge yet.

The Americans are coming – or they may be, soon.

Rock jetties jut out into the bay and beyond them a plot of land the size of several football fields is taking shape, reclaimed from the water as part of a big new marina project at Varadero, a beach resort 80 miles east of Havana.

“The Americans will come here in their yachts and they’ll put them in the marina,” said a security guard, gesturing to the earth-moving and sand-dredging behind the mangroves.

“It’s so close, they’re expecting a lot of them,” he added, referring to the United States just 90 miles away.

The United States and Cuba have been separated by a wide ideological gulf since Fidel Castro’s 1959 Revolution.

For most of that time, Americans have been prohibited by their own laws from traveling to the communist-led Caribbean island under a 47-year-old U.S. trade embargo.

But that may change. Legislation to free travel by Americans to Cuba is pending in the U.S. Congress, and backers expect it could be approved in what they see as a developing thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations under U.S. President Barack Obama.

“If the travel ban is lifted, you’ll probably see hundreds, hundreds of American yachtsmen going to Cuba the next day,” said Timothy Ashby, a former U.S. Commerce Department official who studies Cuban commercial issues.

Cuba’s government and people have been anticipating this moment for a long time, but questions about their readiness for an onslaught of American visitors are being raised.

The doubts focus on the capacity and quality of Cuba’s tourist infrastructure, but also on possible political effects on an island that has resisted U.S. influence for 50 years.

After years of animosity with the United States, Cuban leaders do not like to say that developments such as the Varadero marina, and other big golf and leisure projects, are being built with the American market in mind.

The official line is that Cuba is preparing for visitors from the whole world and if that includes Americans, so be it.

But the United States is the natural market for Cuba, whose economy is reeling from the damage inflicted by three hurricanes last year and the ongoing global financial crisis.

CONTROLLING A TOURISM BOOM

reuters.com

The Beauty of Recession – A Quick Guide on How to Capitalize on the Bear Market

Written by Kendall R. Giberson, Illustrations by Adrian Steeves

Friday, 30 January 2009

Economists in Canada have finally confirmed that the country is officially in a state of recession. As usual, Canada lagged a bit behind the United States in actually taking an economic downturn. Now, the official definition of a recession is negative economic growth for two or more fiscal quarters, but I’m sure if you spoke to anyone who works in any industry related to the automotive sector, they could have told you that things took a major dive a long time ago. However, the forecast is not doom and gloom, as these tough times present a few opportunities for those of us fortunate enough to still have our jobs. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you want to make lemonade from this economic lemon: 1) Invest in Real Estate – For much of the past decade, the housing market in Canada’s urban centres has grown exponentially. Just when you think you’ve found a place you like, the value shoots up in just a few weeks or months and all of a sudden it’s out of your price range. During the last recession in the early 1990s, the housing market crashed, particularly in Southern Ontario. This was bad news for existing homeowners and real estate agents who lost their shirts in the process. However, anyone who bought during that time has likely seen their property value at least double, if not triple or quadruple. Watch for something similar to happen in the upcoming months, as we are seeing prices of new homes plummet by as much as 25% since last year in a lot of areas. This is a great time to snag a deal on a new home whose value will greatly appreciate once the economy picks up again. 2) Diversify your Investment Portfolio – The bad news is that many people saw their investment portfolios shrink as the stock market crash took a chunk out of people’s nest eggs. If you were planning on retiring in the next year or two or just recently retired and saw your mutual funds lose 30-40% of their value in just a few weeks last fall, there’s not much you can do besides start over. However, if you happen to be in the under-35 demographic and you want to start seriously planning for the future, consider this time the Boxing Week Sale for the investment market. If your current portfolio is limited to low-risk ventures such as savings bonds, it is the perfect time to take a walk on the wild side and play the stock market. There are several strategies here you can use, depending on how risky or safe you feel like investing (although you should consult an investment specialist first!). For one, you can look at those companies whose stocks have been relatively unaffected by the recent crash, as they would be the safest bets for long-term investing – for example, banks and insurance companies. Also, you can look at well-established companies whose stocks have plummeted, as they would be the most likely to recover when things get better again, such as commodities. Thirdly, you could really roll the dice on companies forced to restructure due to heavy losses and hope they get it together and see their values take off once again, such as the manufacturing or tech industries. Or, you could look at diamonds in the rough and invest in new companies gutsy enough to go public when everyone else is looking for a window to jump from. Just imagine if you had invested in companies like Pfizer or Research in Motion when they were in their infancies! If you wanted to really play it safe, precious metals like gold are known to be good places to keep your money safe during tough times. 3) Time to Buy a Car – For many young people less than five years into their careers, a car purchase may not be high on the list of priorities, especially if you’re doing all you can to stay ahead of your current bills, which may or may not include a hefty student loan. However, now is the time to buy a new car, as dealerships are scrambling to sell off their inventories. Many dealerships were still reeling from the dip in sales of larger vehicles such as full-size trucks and SUVs, mainly due to astronomical fuel costs. This, combined with dealers eliminating the lease option due to the credit crunch in the United States, has created the perfect buyers’ market for new vehicles. The best bet would be to get an unsold vehicle from last year’s model, as the price would be knocked down 20-25% but still be in mint condition with all the same warranties and guarantees. Don’t forget to ask about recent graduate discounts that can save you even more money if you’re eligible. Depending on the dealer, you could be considered a recent graduate even if you have been out of school for three years. If you require financing, you can still get a favourable rate if you managed to keep a good credit rating, but it is good to shop around just in case. These are but a few tips to follow if you want to be proactive and make the most of the recession. Of course, doing nothing is another option, but five to ten years down the road, you may end up kicking yourself for passing up these opportunities once the market recovers. At the very least, you would be able to say that you did your part in stimulating the country’s economy when it needed such contributions from its citizens the most http://culturemagazine.ca/politics/the_beauty_of_recession_a_quick_guide_on_how_to_capitalize_on_the_bear_market.html

Kazakhs want to buy Israeli surveillance technologies

ASTANA, Apr 05, 2009 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) –

Kazakhstan wants to buy surveillance satellites from Israel, director of the Aerospace Agency of Republic of Kazakhstan, Talgat Amangeldyuly Musabayev, told.

During his visit to Israel, Musabayev met with defense officials and politicians in a bid to prepare a basis for cooperation which the Kazakhs hope would help them set up a space industry. “We want to use the vast and highly-esteemed experience that the Israel’s space industry has acquired, which is very advanced,” Musabayev said.

http://www.individual.com/storyrss.php?story=98994445&hash=e65dcdc88ab8e1b5dd4b1a2edeee121d

Emerging Electric

April 3rd, 2009 by David Kampf

Shortly after the Tato Nano was launched in India, the New York Times published an article detailing how China is vying to be the world’s leader in electric cars.

“Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning the country into one of the leading producers of hybrid and all-electric vehicles within three years, and making it the world leader in electric cars and buses after that.

“The goal, which radiates from the very top of the Chinese government, suggests that Detroit’s Big Three, already struggling to stay alive, will face even stiffer foreign competition on the next field of automotive technology than they do today.”

foreignpolicyblogs.com

Spotlight: The US Military’s March 2009 Fuel Contracts

31-Mar-2009 20:09 EDT

Related Stories: Americas – USA, Contracts – Awards, Fuel & Power, Other Corporation, Small Business

C-17: Fill ‘er up!
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Fuel is a big issue to the US military.

While there are some contracts issued throughout the year, the US military typically issues large sets of contracts over concentrated periods. In March 2006, for instance, DID covered over $3 billion in contracts issued within a week. The Defense Energy Support Center estimates that the US military paid more than $10 billion for over 130 million barrels of fuel in 2006, compared to $6.7 billion for 144.8 million barrels in 2004. No wonder energy conservation is on the Pentagon’s agenda, while DARPA researches alternative fuels for B-52 bombers.

It would appear to be that time of year again. Here are all of the American military’s fuel contracts for March 2009, along with descriptions of key fuel types and explanations of the contract language. The final tally was $5,693,595,745 – plus any economic price adjustments, a term we explain below….

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/

Defence Daily Industry

$73.2M to Extend Caterpillar Equipment Life

22-Mar-2009 14:59 EDT

Related Stories: Americas – USA, Contracts – Awards, Engineering Vehicles, Other Corporation, Support & Maintenance

D7Gs in Ramadi, Iraq
(click to view full)

Caterpillar, Inc in Mossville, IL received a $73.2 million cost plus, no fee, firm-fixed-price contract with options. They will provide services to the Life Extension Program for Program Executive Office (PEO) Combat Support/Combat Service Support’s Caterpillar equipment, which includes the D7F Dozer, the 130G Grader and the 621B Scraper. Note that the D7Fs were first introduced in 1969, and the 621Bs are also several generations old.

This umbrella contract simply sets the terms and the maximum ceiling; each request will be taken care of by a task order between March 4/09 and Feb 20/12. One bid was solicited and one bid received by US Army TACOM in Warren, MI (W56HZV-09-D-0027).