Log Ops
Under a six-year contract potentially worth as much as $72 million, Lockheed Martin Corp. will provide logistics and other technical support to the U.S. Navy. The agreement calls for Lockheed Martin to provide performance-based logistics support for the Navy’s Q-70 Advanced Display System workstations.
The Q-70 family of workstations is the first fully implemented standard combat computer system that uses state-of-the-art open system architecture. The Q-70 can be installed in airborne, surface and submarine platforms to fulfill multiple combat system tasks, company officials said. Q-70 systems are widely used by the Navy at sea, on land and in the air, as well as in the naval systems operated by Australia, Germany, Japan, Norway and Spain, the officials said.
New Name
Global Aviation Holdings Inc. is the new name recently announced to replace Global Aero Logistics Inc. “We are focused on growing our commercial cargo and passenger business, and the new name and identity will better represent the leading role we play in the charter aviation transport industry,” said Rob Binns, chief executive officer. “This is also an appropriate time to launch our marketing and branding efforts in a much more structured way that will be meaningful to our customers.”
“We are all in a tough economic climate right now, but we have built the Global Aviation Holdings fleet to accommodate future demand,” Binns said. “We have two excellent fleets at our subsidiaries, World Airways and North American Airlines. We now have more than 30 aircraft ready to serve passenger and freight needs, in addition to supporting our extensive U.S. military business. Under the new holding company name, World Airways and North American Airlines will continue to provide customized air transport for all of our customers, just as they do today.”
Army FCS RFID Solution
XIO Strategies Inc., a supply chain management and c o m m u n i c a t i o n s consulting firm, today announced that it has been awarded a contract to provide passive RFID and UID consulting services to the U.S. Army Future Combat Systems (FCS). FCS is the Army’s cornerstone modernization effort to deliver improved capabilities to soldiers by delivering leading-edge technologies.
The outcomes for this program will include ruggedized wireless and hardwired solutions that track material movement with traceability and accountability in remote environments. Solutions will include scanning item UID or pRFID marked assets by the soldier with a user-friendly interface, and then providing networked linkage to a central logistics data center to confirm delivery. XIO will be working on this project with the Wright Brothers Institute and Alien Technology’s RFID Solutions Center.
Pure Water
Reverse Osmosis (RO) desalination has become the Navy standard for shipboard production of freshwater since its introduction into the Navy in the early 1990s. RO plants have provided significant operational and cost benefits over conventional distillers which have been used on Navy ships since before the introduction of steam propulsion. These benefits include reduced monitoring and manpower requirements and significant reductions in operational costs including: reduced power requirements, independence from ship steam systems, reduction in the use of chemical additives, and large improvements in reliability and maintainability.
Over the past two decades, there has been a large increase in the use of membrane-based separations for both liquid and gas streams, much of this due to technical advancements such as improved membranes and pumps, novel membrane topologies and operational approaches, and staged separation processes. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has encouraged such technology development through the expeditionary unit water purification research program. Through a solicitation, ONR seeks to further develop promising water purification and desalination technologies, on a component and not a complete system level, over a two year period to a readiness level that would be appropriate for consideration for use in a robust shipboard desalination system (technical readiness level 4 or 5).
Aerial Refueling Services
Omega Aerial Refueling Services Inc. of Alexandria, Va., has received two follow-on contracts in support of the U.S. Commercial Air Services Program to provide aerial refueling services to the U.S. Navy and other government agency aircraft. The program is administered by NAVAIR SYSCOM PMA-207.5. ♦