Sunday, January 23, 2011

DTN News - AFGHAN WAR: U.S.-Led NATO Coalition Forces In Afghanistan - By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News - January 23, 2011

DTN News - AFGHAN WAR: U.S.-Led NATO Coalition Forces In Afghanistan - By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News - January 23, 2011
Source: DTN News - - by Roger Smith
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 23, 2011: A French armoured vehicle (VAB) from the 2nd RIMA (Regiment Marine Infantry) drives past Afghan women and children near the Forward Operating Base Tora in Surobi province on January 21, 2011. France has around 3,750 soldiers in Afghanistan fighting Islamist insurgents and training Afghan forces as part of the US-led NATO coalition.
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com

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  • DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: General Dynamics Awarded $44 Million For Saudi Tank Work

    DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: General Dynamics Awarded $44 Million For Saudi Tank Work
    Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources General Dynamics - January 18, 2011
    (NSI News Source Info) STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. - January 23, 2011: General Dynamics Land Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), was recently awarded two contracts worth $44 million for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s tank program. The contracts were awarded by the U.S. Army TACOM Lifecycle Management Command on behalf of the Royal Saudi Land Forces. This work is part of a plan by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to upgrade its entire fleet of 314 tanks.
    The first contract of $37.1 million is to provide materials and labor for the conversion of 42 M1A2 tanks to an M1A2S configuration for the Kingdom. The M1A2S will possess defined capabilities that increase lethality while limiting obsolescence. The conversion work will be performed by current employees at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of September 20, 2012. The second contract, worth $6.9 million, will provide the tools and equipment needed to outfit a production facility in Saudi Arabia for future conversion of M1A2 tanks to the M1A2S version. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Mich., with an estimated completion date of August 1, 2012. These contracts extend work started in 2008 to design, develop, convert, implement and test a hybrid configuration of the M1A1, M1A2 and M1A2 System Enhancement Package (SEP) tank variants for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. More information about General Dynamics is available online at www.generaldynamics.com.
    Contact: Robin Porter Tel: (586) 825 - 7141 Email: porterr@gdls.com

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    • DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: General Dynamics Awarded $41 Million To Supply Next-Generation Deep Space Network Antennas For NASA

      DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: General Dynamics Awarded $41 Million To Supply Next-Generation Deep Space Network Antennas For NASA
      **Two 34-meter (112-foot wide) antennas are part of a NASA plan to replace large, aging antennas that currently enable communications with NASA’s interplanetary flight missions.
      2011
      (NSI News Source Info) NEWTON, N.C. - January 23, 2011: General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies received a $40.7 million contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to build two additional 34-meter (112-foot wide) beam waveguide antennas as part of NASA’s modernization and transformation plan to continue scientific studies of the Earth as well as explore distant bodies in the solar system. The new antennas will be located at the Deep Space Network (DSN) facility in Canberra, Australia.

      Gary Kanipe, vice president of General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies, said, “This contract, combined with General Dynamics’ continuing work to modernize the space administration’s ground systems, meets NASA’s critical need for seamless upgrades to communications and network infrastructure, while maintaining mission critical operations.” Originally designed by JPL and built by General Dynamics, the antennas enable the Deep Space Network to communicate with existing flight missions such as the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spitzer Space telescope, Saturn explorer Cassini, as well as support future NASA space missions. The company has built nine 34-meter antennas for NASA’s Deep Space Network. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Deep Space Network for NASA Headquarters, Washington. Beam waveguide-style antennas house sensitive electronics and systems in a room that is inside of the antenna’s ground-based pedestal rather than in the center of the dish or reflector. This design makes it easier for technicians to maintain the equipment as well as implement technology upgrades. Construction, integration and testing for the two new antennas, designated Deep Space Stations 35 and 36, are scheduled for completion by 2014 and 2016, respectively. NASA’s Deep Space Network is an international collection of antennas that support NASA’s spacecraft missions as well as radar and radio observatories that explore the solar system and universe. There are three Deep Space Network facilities, located 120 degrees apart, in California, Spain and Australia. This strategic placement enables constant observation and communication as the Earth rotates, making the Deep Space Network one of the largest and most sensitive scientific telecommunications systems in the world. General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies is a part of General Dynamics C4 Systems. More information is available at www.gdsatcom.com and www.gdc4s.com. More information about General Dynamics is available on the Internet at www.generaldynamics.com.

      Contact: Fran Jacques Tel: (480)-441-2885 Email: Fran.Jacques@gdc4s.com

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