From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Oct 3 19:50:46 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2005 15:50:46 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] County likely will pony up for expansion Message-ID: <20051003154952.D673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 2 October 2005 ; Orlando Sentinel County likely will pony up for expansion http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/columnists/orl-clarke0205oct02,0,4862604.column --- BUSINESS COMMENTARY Susan Strother Clarke Sounds like an expansion is in the works at Science Applications International Corp., one of the leading simulation companies in Orlando. The San Diego-based company, which already employs 400 at the Central Florida Research Park, is looking to add 300 people -- some new, some through the consolidation of offices -- into a second building that will start going up at the park next spring. Orange County records indicate the average salary for the positions will be nearly $69,000 a year. Employees in SAIC's Orlando operations include engineers and computer programmers who work on simulation and training projects for the government. Like a lot of big companies adding jobs, SAIC is asking for goverment incentives of $1.5 million for the expansion. Orange County's share would be $300,000, with the remainder coming from the state. County commissioners are expected to approve the incentives at their meeting Tuesday. These sorts of high-wage, high-tech jobs -- double the current average salary of Orange County residents -- are just the types of positions that county Mayor Rich Crotty has said he wants to see. The expansion is no huge surprise. SAIC has owned a 9-acre lot in the east Orange County research park next to its current building for years. The new building is expected to be between 70,000 and 80,000 square feet and should be completed by the fall of 2007. The company's existing building is about 85,000 square feet. NEW FACE. Look for Ilene Rubio, who's been a manager with the Small Business Administration in Miami, to take over Monday at the Disney/SBA National Entrepreneur Center in Orlando. Rubio will be interim director until a replacement is found for Debbie Brown -- who resigned last week to start her own business. Sounds like the SBA has given itself a built-in deadline for finding a permanent director: Rubio's assignment is for no more than four months. Orlando's National Entrepreneur Center is one of only two such centers in the country that provide assistance to business owners. TALKING THE TALK. Lots of you wrote in response to my outside-the-box, results-driven column last week -- on business jargon. More folks than I realized seem ready to give up their roles as proactive stakeholders and start talking like normal people again. My favorite piece of mail had to be from the woman who was so taken with the piece, that she offered to contact my boss so that I can be "incentivized for my performance with the appropriate fiscal remuneration." I'll let you know how that goes. BOTTOM LINE. A team from Disney Cruise Lines won last week's Great Grown-up Spelling Bee sponsored by the Orlando Adult Literacy League. The winning word? Appropriately, "yachtsman," spelled correctly -- and emphatically -- by Julie Murphy. Her teammate was Kim Leahy. The team from Accredited Surety & Casualty was the runner-up. The event raised $25,000. . . . Speaking of Disney, a fan I know recently contacted the National Hurricane Center with this suggestion: Name storms after Disney villains. The center didn't exactly jump on this idea -- but I think Hurricane Cruella has a nice ring to it. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Oct 3 19:52:27 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2005 15:52:27 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Awarded Navy Automatic Identification Technology Program Office Contract Message-ID: <20051003155057.L673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 3 October 2005 ; SAIC SAIC Awarded Navy Automatic Identification Technology Program Office Contract http://www.saic.com/news/2005/oct/03.html --- (SAN DIEGO and MCLEAN, VA) -- Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced today that it has been awarded an $8,529,727 cost--plus--fixed--fee, indefinite--delivery/indefinite--quantity contract for program management, engineering, and technical services in support of the Navy Automatic Identification Technology (AIT) Program Office. The contract includes four one--year options, which, if exercised, would bring the total estimated value of the contract to $104,920,784. "SAIC and its subcontractor team bring valuable Navy logistics experience and practical integration expertise in AIT technical development and insertion," said Jim Cuff, general manager of SAIC's Logistics and Engineering Solutions Business Unit. "Our team has had a key role in the Department of Defense's Unique Identification (UID), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Common Access Card implementations. Our success has resulted from maintaining close liaison with the commercial community, engaging with industry standards organizations and bringing a high level of quality management and operational analysis." Automatic Identification Technology (AIT) is a basic building block in the Department of Defense's (DoD) efforts to provide timely total asset visibility. AIT gives the DoD the capability to track and control items over their lifecycle, support knowledge--enabled logistics and readiness, increase inventory accuracy and reduce redundant requirements. As stated in its contract, SAIC will provide all necessary personnel, management, administrative and technical services and incidental materials required to meet the requirements of the Navy AIT Program Office. SAIC team members include AMSEC, Norfolk, Va.; WFI Government Services, Manassas, Va.; RFID Global Solutions, Rogers Ark.; Target Systems, Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Coalescent Technologies Corporation, Orlando, Fla.; LogCon Group, Davenport, Iowa; Information Control, Gaithersburg, Md.; Key Logic Systems, Columbia, Md.; Veterans Enterprise Technology Solutions, Reston, Va.; Commerce Events, Cupertino, Calif.; Mississippi Valley State University, Itta Bena, Miss.; United Negro College Fund Special Programs, Fairfax, Va.; UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Alpharetta, Ga.; Genco Distribution Systems, Blawnox, Pa.; Symbol Technologies, Holtsville, N.Y.; Navigational Sciences, North Charleston, S.C.; PRINTRONIX, Irvine, Calif.; Intermec Technologies Corporation, Everett, Wash.; Alien Technology Corporation, Morgan Hill, Calif.; SAVI Technology, Sunnyvale, Calif.; Avery Dennison, Strongsville, Ohio. Work, which is expected to be completed by September 2006, will be performed in Mechanicsburg, Pa., and Washington, D.C. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Oct 4 01:51:25 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2005 21:51:25 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Deal Could Be Worth $105M Message-ID: <20051003214950.F673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 3 October 2005 ; San Diego Business Journal SAIC Deal Could Be Worth $105M http://www.sdbj.com/article.asp?aID=95463343.45525202.1205919.8781668.6400169.823&aID2=92754 --- The Navy Automatic Identification Technology Program Office is about to get an $8 million technical support boost from Science Applications International Corp. The San Diego-based company, known as SAIC, announced Oct. 3 that it has landed an $8,529,727 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with the naval office to provide program management, engineering and technical services support. The contract includes four one-year options that could bring the total price tag to $104,920,784. "SAIC and its subcontractor team bring valuable Navy logistics experience and practical integration expertise in (automatic identification technology) technical development and insertion," said Jim Cuff, the general manager of SAIC's Logistics and Engineering Solutions Business Unit. "Our team has had a key role in the Department of Defense's unique identification, radio frequency identification and common access card implementations. Our success has resulted from maintaining close liaison with the commercial community, engaging with industry standards organizations and bringing a high level of quality management and operational analysis." Work, which is expected to be completed by September, will be performed in Mechanicsburg, Pa., and Washington, D.C. SAIC has more than 43,000 employees spread throughout more than 150 cities worldwide. For now, it is the largest employee-owned research and engineering company in the United States, with annual revenues of $7.2 billion. SAIC plans an initial public offering next year. -- Jessica Long From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Oct 5 22:36:41 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 5 Oct 2005 18:36:41 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Two companies snare Navy automatic ID program support work Message-ID: <20051005183526.A673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 5 October 2005 ; Washington Technology Two companies snare Navy automatic ID program support work http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/1_1/daily_news/27111-1.html --- By Roseanne Gerin Staff Writer CACI International Inc. and Science Applications International Corp. have both won contracts totaling $211 million to provide program management engineering and technical services for the Navy's Automatic Identification Technology Program Office, the companies said in separate announcements. CACI of Arlington, Va., won an award worth $107 million over five years to continue supporting the program office. SAIC of San Diego won an award totaling $104.9 million over five years to provide similar services. The award increases the size and scope of CACI's work with the program office, which began under a separate contract in 1996, the company said late last month. CACI will provide program management, engineering and technical services. SAIC will provide personnel, management, administrative and technical services and incidental material required to meet the program office's requirements, the company said this week. The Automatic Identification Program employs technologies that facilitate the capture, organization and transmission of machine-readable data to automated information systems. The technologies involved include bar codes, radio-frequency identification and smart cards. The program allows the Defense Department to better track and control items while reducing logistics and administrative costs and speeding data collection and transmission. The Navy's Program Office develops policies and standards that establish and maintain an Automatic Identification Program infrastructure within the Navy. CACI has about 9,500 employees and annual sales of $1.6 billion. The company ranks No. 17 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list, which measures federal contracting revenue. SAIC has about 43,000 employees and annual revenue of $7.2 billion. The company ranks No. 3 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Oct 6 22:35:16 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 18:35:16 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Contracts, Thursday, October 6, 2005 Message-ID: <20051006183411.G673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> CONTRACTS from the United States Department of Defense No. 1014-05 FOR RELEASE AT Oct 06, 2005 (703)697-5131(media) (703)428-0711(public/industry) Thursday, October 6, 2005 - 5:00 PM Contracts, Thursday, October 6, 2005 [...] ARMY Science Applications International Corp., Chantilly, Va., was awarded on Sept. 30, 2005, a delivery order amount of $7,383,829 as part of a $7,383,829 time and materials contract for Services to Collect Geospatial Intelligence Data. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., and is expected to be completed by July 26, 2006. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were an unknown number of bids solicited via the World Wide Web on July 21, 2005, and one bid was received. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, St. Louis, Mo., is the contracting activity (NMA302-03-D-0007). [...] From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Oct 6 23:22:05 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 19:22:05 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] WTC terrorism risk report author says his recommendations were rejected Message-ID: <20051006192105.B673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 6 October 2005 ; Newsday (AP) WTC terrorism risk report author says his recommendations were rejected http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--1993wtcbombing1006oct06,0,5947744.story --- By SAMUEL MAULL Associated Press Writer NEW YORK -- The author of a report that called the World Trade Center a "most attractive terrorist target" testified Thursday that executives who ran the building complex rejected recommendations he made to reduce the risk of an attack. Edward O'Sullivan, 66, was appointed in 1984 by the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, to set up the Office of Special Planning to do a security assessment of 16-acre building complex, and write a report. O'Sullivan said he presented the OSP report in November 1985. Its recommendations included closing the 400-slot public parking garage under the WTC's 110-story twin towers because public parking there was "a definite security risk." Shortly after noon on Feb. 26, 1993, terrorists detonated 1,200 pounds of explosives in a rented van in a public parking garage under the twin towers. The blast killed six people and injured more than 1,000. "Your recommendation to close the garage was rejected by your superiors, wasn't it?" plaintiffs' lawyer, David J. Dean, asked O'Sullivan. "Yes," the witness replied. "That was your clear recommendation, wasn't it?" "Yes." At another point, Dean asked, "Would you agree that one of the reasons that you recommended that the garage be closed was the threat of a car bomb?" "Yes," answered O'Sullivan. Dean asked whether the PA executive's rejected the OSP's recommendations because it would mean inconvenience to tenants and a loss of revenue, and the witness agreed that those reasons had been cited. O'Sullivan, a mechanical engineer who worked in several jobs during his 29-year Port Authority career that ended in 1997, was testifying at the trial of a lawsuit that accuses the agency of negligence that led to the 1993 bombing of the trade center. Dean represents more than 400 people who say the agency negligently failed to heed its own officials who warned that the underground public parking garage was not secure, and failed to take steps to thwart a possible terrorist assault. Lawyers for the Port Authority say the bombing was unforeseeable, and said the OSP report said that an attack was "possible" but that the risk was low. They say no government intelligence agency foresaw an attack in New York. O'Sullivan was appointed to create the OSP by Peter Goldmark, the PA's executive director from 1977 to mid-1985. Goldmark left before the OSP report was published. O'Sullivan said Stephen Berger, the PA executive director from 1985 to 1990 who replaced Goldmark, reacted to the OSP report by saying its recommendations would not be implemented, and another study would be done by a different group. Berger hired the Science Applications International Corp., a private consulting group, to do a second risk assessment study. O'Sullivan said in a sworn pretrial deposition that Harvey J. McGeorge, an explosives expert and an SAIC consultant, agreed with the OSP recommendations. However, he testified, the garage closing suggestion did not appear in the SAIC report. The current trial is to determine whether the Port Authority was negligent and therefore liable for damages. If the Port Authority is found liable, several separate trials will be held to determine money damages. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Sat Oct 8 14:01:02 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2005 10:01:02 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Audit criticizes bonuses paid Message-ID: <20051008095958.H673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 7 October 2005 ; Las Vegas Review-Journal YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Audit criticizes bonuses paid http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Oct-07-Fri-2005/news/3731716.html --- Inspector general targets Energy Department's incentive fees to contractor By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- The Department of Energy paid incentive fees to Yucca Mountain management contractor Bechtel SAIC for work that was found to be late or unacceptable, government auditors said in a report Thursday. The company was awarded payments by the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management "even though Bechtel delivered poor quality work and missed deadlines," the Energy Department inspector general said. The inspector general challenged $3.99 million out of $43.4 million in incentives for work performed on the proposed Nevada nuclear waste repository between February 2001 and September 2004. "The total costs of inappropriate incentive fees cannot be determined," the audit report said. The payments questioned by auditors included $2 million with work Bechtel performed on a license application for the Yucca repository. The findings are the latest blow to the nuclear waste project, which is years behind schedule and faces continued legal, political and technical challenges. Nevada critics of the Yucca Mountain project seized on the audit. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., called on Bechtel SAIC to give back the challenged money and for the Department of Energy to cease awarding bonuses. "I can't understand how DOE could not ask for the money back," Berkley said. "If a bank accidentally gave you money that is not in your account, you must return it. Same thing here, except Bechtel knew about it. This is a rip-off pure and simple." The audit illustrates shoddy DOE management, Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., said in a statement. And Rep. Jim Gibbons, D-Nev., said: "To pay out millions upon millions of dollars in bonuses for incomplete work, poor performance, and unacceptable products is the height of government waste and mismanagement." Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., said similar activity in the private sector would be a firing offense, "no questions asked." Paul Golan, the principal deputy director of the Yucca project, said he accepted the audit findings. "I will use this report to develop a comprehensive corrective action plan that will provide clearer and more objective performance standards," he said in a letter responding to the audit. A DOE spokesman declined to comment further. Jason Bohne, a spokesman for Bechtel SAIC in Las Vegas, said the audit was being reviewed. "We stand by the work we have performed under the contract," Bohne said. "We take the report seriously and will review it carefully." The incentives were written into the Bechtel SAIC contract, which was valued at about $3.2 billion for five years. Bechtel SAIC and the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, which operates the Yucca program, signed a "cost plus incentive fee" contract, an arrangement designed to reward companies for meeting goals and performing work to required quality levels. The contractor was offered an additional "super stretch incentive fee" if it would complete pre-license application technical documents ahead of schedule. The contract contained opportunities for Bechtel to earn $50.9 million in "performance based incentives" in the deal's early years. But auditors concluded that DOE managers failed to identify acceptable quality levels or specify how the contractors performance would be measured. Also, no procedures existed to adjust the fees when deadlines were missed, the report said. The investigators challenged incentives that the department paid in cases in which Bechtel needed more time to correct poor quality work and in which work scope was reduced because of poor performance. As an example, auditors said DOE paid most of a $17.7 million incentive fee for work on documents supporting the Yucca Mountain site recommendation in December 2001 though Bechtel needed more time to correct inconsistencies. The extra work caused a 22-day delay, auditors said. DOE paid all but $125,786 of the incentive fee, they said, and reported that the delay "was due to events beyond the contractor's control." From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Sat Oct 8 14:02:18 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2005 10:02:18 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Awarded Egyptian Armed Forces Combat Training Center Contract Message-ID: <20051008100130.P673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 7 October 2005 ; SAIC News SAIC Awarded Egyptian Armed Forces Combat Training Center Contract http://www.saic.com/news/2005/oct/07.html --- (SAN DIEGO and MCLEAN, VA) - Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced today that it has been awarded a contract by the Training Authority of the Egyptian Armed Forces for implementing Helicopter and Air Defense Upgrade (HADU) training enhancements for the two existing Egyptian Armed Forces Combat Training Centers (AFCTC), which previously were supplied by SAIC. The HADU upgrade will consist of instrumentation for both Apache and Gazelle helicopters to provide Global Positioning System tracking and laser-based Weapon Engagement Simulation training. The HADU contract also will instrument various Egyptian Army air defense weapons, allowing both ground air defense units and helicopter pilots to receive realistic air-to-ground and ground-to-air training during the AFCTC training rotations. "The HADU enhancement to the combat training centers will continue SAIC's long association with the Egyptian Training Authority and the AFCTC program," said Telal Wassel, SAIC senior vice president and operations manager. "Beyond that, and most importantly, the HADU instrumentation system can help the Egyptian Army maintain and improve its readiness." Work for this upgrade will be performed at SAIC in San Diego, Calif.; the Inter-Coastal Electronics (ICE) facility in Mesa, Ariz.; and the OSI Defense Systems facility in Orlando, Fla. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Sat Oct 8 14:04:08 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2005 10:04:08 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Energy Dept. Chief Slams Yucca Spending Message-ID: <20051008100251.N673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 7 October 2005 ; New Brisbane's News 1 Energy Dept. Chief Slams Yucca Spending http://www.leadingthecharge.com/stories/news-0082960.html --- By ERICA WERNER WASHINGTON - The Energy Department paid incentive money to its managing contractor on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump, Bechtel SAIC, even though Bechtel turned in late and low-quality work, an Energy Department inspector general report said Thursday. "While the total cost of inappropriate incentive fee payments cannot be determined, we estimate that (the Energy Department's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management) paid approximately $4 million even though Bechtel delivered poor quality work and missed deadlines," said the report. Paul Golan, director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, said in a letter to the inspector general that he agreed with the report's findings and would take corrective action. A DOE spokesman on Thursday declined comment beyond Golan's letter. In one example, the report said Bechtel was paid the full fee to develop a system for tracking management issues and corrective actions, even though the system was determined to be unacceptable because it was not user-friendly. The total value of Bechtel's contract was $3.2 billion; it was eligible for $50 million in incentives and received $43.4 million of which the inspector general questioned $4 million. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Sat Oct 8 14:07:56 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2005 10:07:56 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Energy unit paid contractor award fees despite poor performance Message-ID: <20051008100610.O673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 7 October 2005 ; Government Executive Energy unit paid contractor award fees despite poor performance http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=32512 --- By Kimberly Palmer kpalmer at govexec.com The Energy Department paid a contractor working on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project millions of dollars in incentive fees even though the company failed to meet performance requirements, the agency's inspector general reported Thursday. Energy's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management paid the award fees to Bechtel SAIC Co., a joint venture between the global construction company Bechtel Corp. and the information technology company Science Applications International Corp., even though the company had to take extra time to "correct poor quality work" and delivered unacceptable products, according to the report [1]. Bechtel SAIC won the five-year, $3.2 billion contract to manage and operate the Yucca Mountain Project in February 2001. Energy is preparing Yucca Mountain in Nevada as a site to store and safely dispose of nuclear waste. The contract specified that if Bechtel SAIC helped Energy give a nuclear waste site recommendation to President Bush by Dec. 18, 2001, then it would receive an incentive award of $17.7 million. According to the IG report, the site recommendation documents provided by Bechtel SAIC were deemed unacceptable. The needed corrections delayed the recommendation by 22 days. Still, Energy paid Bechtel SAIC $17.5 million of the incentive fee. The report blamed the lack of a plan clearly identifying the level of performance required for each incentive and how that performance would be measured, as well as a lack of documentation on the decision to award the fees. "It was unclear what rationale the fee determining official used when deciding the appropriate fee," the report stated. The Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management agreed with the report's findings and said it would develop a corrective action plan. Bechtel did not return a call seeking comment. An SAIC spokeswoman deferred calls to Bechtel SAIC Co., which did not return messages. [1] http://www.ig.doe.gov/pdf/ig-0702.pdf From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Oct 10 00:43:59 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 20:43:59 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] EDITORIAL: News flash: More Yucca blunders Message-ID: <20051009204303.E673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 9 October 2005 ; Las Vegas Review-Journal EDITORIAL: News flash: More Yucca blunders http://www.commonvoice.com/process.asp?type=h&id=19428 --- DOE paid bonuses to contractor for shoddy or late work To the old adage about nothing being certain in life but death and taxes, perhaps it's now time to add "bungling by Department of Energy bureaucrats." Ongoing problems with the DOE's Yucca Mountain project have been well-documented for years. And now a government audit has added another log to the raging fire. The audit found that the DOE paid millions in incentive bonuses to Yucca management contractor Bechtel SAIC for work that was either late or unacceptable. From February 2001 through September 2004, the DOE paid $43.4 million in incentives. The audit challenged $3.99 million of that as being awarded "even though Bechtel delivered poor quality work and missed deadlines." Among the dubious payments cited was $2 million for work Bechtel did on a license application for the nuclear repository. The waste could even be more significant the audit found, concluding that "total costs of inappropriate incentive fees cannot be determined." Bechtel officials, of course, may have a different perspective. They said they "take the report seriously and will review it carefully." Good. But the fact that DOE officials accepted the findings lends credence to criticism that the agency is rife with mismanagement. For instance, the audit found DOE managers failed to identify acceptable performance levels or even how to measure the quality of the contractor's work. There were also no procedures to adjust the awards for late or poor work. Who needs standards, after all, when millions of taxpayer dollars and the safety of a potential nuclear waste dumping ground are at stake? Paul Golan, the principal deputy director of the Yucca Mountain report, didn't dispute the audit's conclusions. "I will use this report to develop a comprehensive corrective action plan that will provide clearer and more objective standards," he said in a letter responding to the audit. Mr. Golan ought to do much more than that. First, some of those involved in the problems documented should be terminated. The failure of DOE managers to implement even basic safeguards would never be tolerated in a private-sector project of this magnitude. Second, the DOE should demand that Bechtel reimburse taxpayers for any inappropriate financial awards the company received. Third, the DOE should reconsider the entire incentive program, given that it doesn't seem to have had any affect on the quality or timeliness of the work produced. Yucca Mountain is years behind schedule, for goodness sake. On the bright side, however, the constant DOE bumbling offers more and more hope to Nevadans that this dubious project will never ever come to fruition. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Oct 10 17:17:44 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 13:17:44 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Acquires IMAPS, LLC Message-ID: <20051010131607.C673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 10 October 2005 ; SAIC News SAIC Acquires IMAPS, LLC http://www.saic.com/news/2005/oct/10.html --- (SAN DIEGO and MCLEAN, VA) - Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) today announced that it has completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of IMAPS, LLC, based in Columbia, Ill. IMAPS is a leading provider of Geographic Information Systems and marine navigation, aviation flight planning, and navigation software products to government and commercial customers. The acquisition enhances SAIC's capability to support key customers in the national security and intelligence community. SAIC also gains the ability to provide navigational aid to both the aeronautical and marine communities by acquiring IMAPS. Web sites, www.AeroPlanner.com, and www.MarinePlanner.com. "Joining SAIC provides an opportunity to apply IMAPS' technology and services to a broad customer base while strengthening our services to common customers," said Mark Munsell, former president of IMAPS. "Our customers can still expect an innovative and flexible approach, but now it is combined with the strength, depth, and reputation of SAIC." In connection with the asset acquisition, 67 former employees of IMAPS have joined SAIC's Mission Integration Business Unit. IMAPS' role in aeronautical and marine navigation has helped make commercial and military travel safer and more efficient, and has provided critical assistance to the intelligence community in waging the global war on terror. "In its brief history, IMAPS has distinguished itself as a center of innovation for the development and application of geospatial technologies," said Leo Hazlewood, SAIC general manager of the Mission Integration Business Unit. "IMAPS' leadership team and talented workforce augments SAIC's growing business in these areas. The addition of IMAPS' technology and workforce can allow us to strengthen and broaden our offerings in the geospatial information market." From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Oct 10 20:11:01 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 16:11:01 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Completes IMAPS Acquisition Message-ID: <20051010161022.I673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 10 October 2005 ; San Diego Business Journal SAIC Completes IMAPS Acquisition http://www.sdbj.com/industry_article.asp?aID=324585302.74297202.1209143.1557852.5884116.634&aID2=93002 --- Science Applications International Corp. announced Oct. 10 that it had completed the acquisition of nearly all assets of IMAPS, an Illinois-based company specializing in geographic software. San Diego-based SAIC did not disclose terms of the deal. Based in Columbia, Ill., IMAPS offers geographic information systems, plus marine navigation and aviation flight planning software, to government and commercial customers. In connection with the asset acquisition, 67 former employees of IMAPS have joined SAIC.s Mission Integration Business Unit. SAIC has more than 43,000 employees worldwide. For now, it is the largest employee-owned research and engineering company in the United States, with annual revenues of $7.2 billion. SAIC plans to conduct an initial public offering early next year. -- Jessica Long From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Oct 10 20:12:44 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 16:12:44 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC finishes IMAPS acquisition Message-ID: <20051010161110.W673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 10 October 2005 ; Washington Technology SAIC finishes IMAPS acquisition http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/1_1/daily_news/27177-1.html --- By Roseanne Gerin Staff Writer Science Applications International Corp. completed its acquisition of assets of geospatial technology firm IMAPS LLC, the company said today. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Based in Columbia, Ill., IMAPS offers geographic information systems, marine navigation, aviation flight planning and navigation software products to government and commercial customers. The acquisition boosts SAIC's ability to provide services to customers in national security and intelligence communities, the company said. Also, it can now offer navigational aids to the aeronautical and marine communities through IMAPS' Web sites www.AeroPlanner.com and www.MarinePlanner.com. SAIC has added 67 IMAPS employees to its mission integration business unit. Headquartered in San Diego, SAIC is an employee-owned research and engineering company with more than 43,000 workers and 2005 revenue of almost $7.2 billion. The company is No. 3 [1] on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 [2] list of federal prime contractors. [1] http://www.washingtontechnology.com/top-100/2005/3.html [2] http://www.washingtontechnology.com/top-100/2005 From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Oct 11 12:43:50 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 08:43:50 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Four FCS UAV Sub-Contracts Awarded Message-ID: <20051011084333.T673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 11 October 2005 ; Defense Industry Daily Four FCS UAV Sub-Contracts Awarded http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2005/10/four-fcs-uav-subcontracts-awarded-updated/index.php Notes: Original source has many reference links. --- Lead Systems Integrators (LSI) Boeing and SAIC awarded four contracts to three premier industry partners for the first phase of development for two classes of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as part of the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. The contracts range in value from $3 million to $5 million, and the UAVs are slated for fielding in 2014 with the first fully-equipped FCS brigade-sized combat teams. The contracts were based on technical, management, schedule, past performance and cost criteria following a thorough source selection process in which the Army and the LSI acted as 'honest brokers' to ensure fairness in the review process and to secure the most qualified contractors. Boeing noted that the comprehensive process was accomplished in record time. The contracts include: Class II UAV system: * Piasecki Aircraft Corp. received a contract [PDF format] for development of its Class II UAV Air Scout system that would equip company-size units. Its twin rotors are designed to provide improved stability and control, while its exceptionally low cross-section is designed to help make it harder to see while it's observing and designating targets for attack. The Air Scout is a scaled down unmanned version of PiAC's PA-59H Air Geep technology demonstrator vehicles. Team Air Scout includes Piasecki as Prime Contractor with responsibility for air vehicle development. Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, NY provides subcontractor support for systems engineering, mission systems integration, software development, integration and test. Sparta, Inc. provides subcontractor support for logistics and training, Drexel University for the collision avoidance sensor system, and Georgia Institute of Technology for the UAV's autonomy programming. Despite its sci-fi appearance (see graphic below), the manned Air Geep II program dates back to 1962. * Air Scout will compete against DARPA's OAV-II, which will use ducted fan technology to achieve similar performance. Aurora Flight Sciences' team (GoldenEye UAVs) includes Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics Robotic Systems as subcontractors. OAV-II competitor Honeywell International leads a team with subcontractors AAI, AVID and Techsburg Inc. BAE Systems is the third competitor bidding to field DARPA's OAV-II platform contender. As C4ISR Journal notes, Class II UAV designs will be considerably larger than the 4.5-pound RQ-11 Raven UAV currently used by Army battalions in Iraq. The UAV is designed to be be deployed from and return to one of the FCS' armored personnel carriers or related vehicles. AIR_UAV_RQ-7A_Shadow_200.jpg RQ-7A Shadow 200 UAV (click to expand) Contracts for development of the larger Class III UAV system were also awarded by the Lead System Integrator (LSI) team. Contestants for the Class III UAV include: * Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc. for its Prospector UAV, based on the Rheinmetall KZO UAV system entering service with the German Army. * AAI Corp. for its Shadow III UAV, an updated version of the Shadow UAV family currently in service with the U.S. Army (see field report). * Piasecki Aircraft Corp. for its Air Guard autogyro UAV. Autogyros are a sort of cross between fixed wing aircraft and helicopters, and are also called gyroplanes or gyrocopters. Piasecki Aircraft Corp's news release has more details [PDF format]. Class III Team Air Guard includes Piasecki as Prime Contractor with responsibility for air vehicle development. Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, NY provides subcontractor support for systems engineering, mission systems integration, software development, integration and test. Belzon, Inc. provides subcontractor support for logistics and training, Drexel University for the collision avoidance sensor system, and Georgia Institute of Technology for the UAV's autonomy programming. What Are "Class II" and "Class III" UAVs? The Army's concept of FCS comprises various systems linked through the network including four UAV platform types, which are integral to the FCS system-of-systems idea. UAV classification is determined by platform capability, mission and operational requirements. The Class II UAV system will provide reconnaissance, security/early warning, target acquisition at the company level in support of line-of-sight, beyond-line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight engagements including target designation for beyond-line-of-sight engagements. The new Class II UAV's weight limit is 112 pounds, which must include a suite of electro-optical sensors, a laser designator and the Future Combat Systems network communications package. Other requirements include a 16-km range and the ability to hover and watch a target for up to 2 hours. It will be vehicle mounted, capable of taking off and landing without an airfield and providing enhanced dedicated imagery. The UAV should have the ability to accomplish its mission either under its own control, but with a manual override that would let it be cued remotely by Army personnel. Some observers have expressed concern that company-size units are better off with smaller, man-portable units, especially given the air-mobility constraints imposed on the force if its critical UAVs must be launched from platforms like tanks, APC, or even HMMWVs that cannot fit into many US helicopters. These constraints may well make Class II UAVs unavailable to American forces in key situations. Some experiments have been carried out in which UAVs fly from smaller robotic ground vehicles (UGVs); these AUMS technologies are still in their infancy, however, and the smaller size of UGVs gives them mobility and control burden issues of their own. FCS does envisage Class I UAVs down at the platoon level, which may be able to take the RQ-11 Raven's place and pick up the slack. At 40 pounds, even these Class I options will be significantly less portable than existing Raven and Dragon Eye UAVs. The larger Class III UAV system will have greater endurance and a larger payload-carrying capacity than the Class II system. The Army's requirements for these battalion-level UAVs state that, in addition to the electro-optical sensor package, it must be able to carry payloads up to 215 pounds that will let it perform targeting, act as a local communications relay node, and detect minefields. It must have a 40-km range and be capable of staying aloft for six hours. The Class III UAV will also provide remote reconnaissance and terrain information, and must be capable of taking off and landing without an airfield. At the brigade level, meanwhile, the MQ-8B Fire Scout helicopter UAV has already been selected as the Class IV UAV platform of choice; they will also serve aboard the USA's new Littoral Combat Ships. It is anticipated at this point in time that combined orders from the US Army and Navy will total 192 Fire Scouts. How Does the Class II & III Selection Process Work? Class II and III UAV development will be carried out in three phases, with the FCS LSI team and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) developing different technologies in tandem until a final candidate system is selected for both FCS UAV classes. For the Class II solution, DARPA initiated the Organic Air Vehicle II (OAV II) program, strictly focused on ducted fan technology, while the LSI team will evaluate an alternative non-ducted fan approach. Similarly, for Class III, DARPA is investing in rotorcraft technology while the LSI teams will be investigating gyrocopter and fixed wing designs. Phase 1, lasting approximately 10 months, will include requirements assessment and risk reduction trade studies on initial UAV concepts. This will lead to a down-select in mid-2006 to one candidate for the Class III system and a decision on how best to proceed with development of the Class II system. Selected LSI and DARPA candidates will then be evaluated for their suitability to meet FCS requirements during a 24-month concept maturation phase, culminating in a flight assessment of developmental prototypes in 2008. A down-select will then occur for the final System Design and Development (SDD) phase when the LSI, Army and DARPA will select the best-value solutions for each class of UAV. Initial delivery of FCS integrated UAV systems to support wider system-of-systems testing with other FCS components is slated to occur in 2010, with operational fielding of Class II and III UAV systems slated for 2014. See also DID (June 6/05) - U.S. FCS Program May Be Opened to Britain, Australia... and all DID FCS coverage. (Earlier versions of this article were published on July 28, 2005 and August 15, 2005. The most recent additions were made possible by additional material from Piasecki Aircraft Corp., and research into coupled UAV/UGV platforms.) From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Oct 11 12:47:28 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 08:47:28 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] U.S. Military Moves Toward Networked War Model Message-ID: <20051011084538.O673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 9 October 2005 ; PC Magazine U.S. Military Moves Toward Networked War Model http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/ZDM/story?id=1199643 --- Improved information management will mean more effective military action and disaster relief efforts, according to a speaker at the RoboNexus conference. Chris Preimesberger PC Magazine Oct. 9 - SAN JOSE, Calif..All branches of the U.S. military are well into the process of designing their future combat systems to connect every soldier and piece of mobile equipment into a mammoth network-centric system in order to enable better coordination of resources, a former Army general told a conference audience Friday. "About 360 companies and about 6,000 employees are currently working on our Joint Warfighters/Best Capability projects right now," said Daniel Zanini, a former Army lieutenant-general now serving as senior vice president and program manager of SAIC (Science Applications International Corp.), one of the federal government's largest defense contractors. Zanini spoke in a keynote session on Day 2 of the second annual RoboNexus conference, billed as the largest robotics event in North America. About 2,000 robotics engineers and enthusiasts have gathered at the downtown Marriott Hotel here for the four-day conference. Click here to read about humanoid robots being developed for NASA space missions. Zanini said advancements in information technology will eventually make "each soldier, each tank, ship and plane, just another node on a huge integrated, interoperational network system." Robotics also will play a major role in these new fighting forces, Zanini said, operating drone aircraft, submarines and land vehicles. "As a former officer commanding ground forces, I spent much of my time on the phone asking three basic questions: 'Where are you?' 'What are you doing?' and "What is the enemy doing?'" Zanini said. "With a connected fighting force, you eliminate most of those questions, because all you need to do is look at a computer screen and see the answers to what you need to know," he said. "In this way, the soldier becomes an output agent rather than an input agent, and only has to worry about doing his job correctly.not about spending time reporting information." Zanini used the 2003 invasion of Iraq as an example of the inefficiency of a disconnected fighting force. "We had our best ground force, the 4th Infantry Division, sitting in ships offshore for days, waiting for the signal to land," Zanini said. "They waited and waited, because the communication about conditions and coordination with other nations' forces was not forthcoming quickly enough. They ended up landing weeks later than planned, leaving the northwestern quadrant of Iraq wide open for far too long." Zanini said a "connected" force would have been moved into position far sooner and would have made the invasion and trek into Baghdad in less time and with fewer casualties. Read more here about robotics in the military. "The Abrams and Bradley tanks we use are the finest fighting vehicles in the world," Zanini said. "But at the end of the day, it takes a lot of time and fuel to get them anywhere. It takes time to get them focused on the required level of combat. You also need highly trained people to run them. "With a connected force, you don't need to have as many people in the field, nor as many highly trained people, because a lot more people are able to look at computer screens and make strategic and lower-level decisions based on what they see," he said. Zanini, whose company is coordinating the overall effort to modernize the military, offered a glimpse of some of the new unmanned fighting vehicles that are currently being developed. Those include: - The ARV (Armed Robotic Vehicle), a 10-ton tracked or wheeled tank-like vehicle to be used in either assault or reconnaissance missions; - The MULE (Multifunctional Utility Logistics Equipment vehicle), an autonomous wheeled tractor-like machine used to automate transport of munitions and supplies; and - The MAV (Micro Air Vehicle), a small, robot-operated hovering reconnaissance aircraft without wings controlled from the ground. Zanini said that this idea of a connected fighting force also translates directly to disaster rescue efforts. "If we had had a more connected military rescue force in the Gulf Coast after the hurricanes, we could have moved out a lot more people quicker and more efficiently, and the loss of life would have been less," Zanini said. The RoboNexus conference continues through Sunday and includes an exhibition of robot-related products and services. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Oct 11 12:49:50 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 08:49:50 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] DoD demontrates Future Combat Systems Message-ID: <20051011084729.K673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 30 September 2005 ; Around the Army DoD demontrates Future Combat Systems http://tradoc.monroe.army.mil/casemate/stack/093005armyfcs.htm --- BY STEVE HARDING ARMY NEWS SERVICE FORT BELVOIR, Va. -- The Army initiative to transition to a new modular force took a step forward last week with the first comprehensive public demonstration of several Future Combat Systems technologies at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. The demonstrations included flights of unmanned aerial vehicles, live firings of the 120mm Breach-Loaded Mortar, 120mm Light-Weight Cannon and, via video feed from Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., the 155mm Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon. The events also included in-the-field demonstrations of the Stryker Leader-Follower, the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle and the Manned Ground Vehicle Chassis Testbed. Reporters, congressional staffers and senior military and industry leaders watched the demonstrations Sept. 21. They also viewed static displays that included the Non-Line-of-Sight Launch System, Intelligent Munitions System and Unattended Ground Sensors, among others. Beyond drawing-board The systems showed the lethal power, speed and survivability capable of supporting a modular force of 43 brigades, designed to rapidly deploy for any combat operation, officials said. In his remarks to reporters, Army Secretary Dr. Francis J. Harvey said the presentations of FCS component systems were "a clear demonstration that the Future Combat Systems program is no longer just a drawing-board concept." And while Harvey noted that the combination of the Army's modular-force initiative and the FCS program forms the basis of the service's future-combat-force strategy, he pointed out that FCS is not being implemented solely to equip a future force. Spiraling FCS technologies "The Army is taking full advantage of FCS technologies as they are developed in the near term, and expeditiously putting them into the hands of Soldiers," Harvey said. "We are inserting advances in active protection, networking, unattended sensors, precision munitions, and unmanned aerial and ground vehicles into the current force as soon as they are ready." One of the most impressive demonstrations at Aberdeen, judging by guests' enthusiastic response, was that of the unmanned RQ-8 Fire Scout UAV. The diminutive helicopter took off, flew a pre-set search pattern over APG's Phillips Army Airfield and then landed, all by remote control. Built by Northrop Grumman Corp., the Fire Scout can carry a variety of sensors, and is currently under joint operational testing by both the Army and Navy. iRobot awes crowd Equally popular with onlookers was the Paot Explorer, built by iRobot Corp. of Burlington, Mass. Compact and man-portable, the small tracked vehicle is an outgrowth of earlier variants that are already in service in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Remotely guided by a technician, the small camera-carrying robot demonstrated its ability to climb stairs, maneuver over and around obstacles, and flip itself back upright after taking a tumble. Company representatives also displayed larger variants capable of carrying a broader range of sensors. Sensor network "What we've seen demonstrated here is nothing less than the future of ground combat," said Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker during a post-demonstration news conference. "These systems, and the technologies they incorporate, will allow the Army to remain the world's dominant land power well into the 21st century." The delivery of the first FCS systems will mark the introduction of the next-generation of combat systems and sensors, and of a network that will for the first time link all the sensor pictures gathered across the modern battlefield, said Brig. Gen. Charles Cartwright, the Army's unit-of-action program manager. What that means for Soldiers and joint forces, he said, is that all units and all systems at virtually every level will benefit from vastly greater situational awareness and coordination of operation planning and execution. As impressive as the FCS demonstrations were, their demonstrators were quick to point out that the FCS program supports the Army's larger vision of building modular forces that will play a key role in joint operations. "The overall purpose of the FCS family of systems is, quite simply, to provide an organization that is mobile, agile and protected, and which provides the joint combatant commander a multitude of options that he doesn't have today," said Al Resnick, director of requirements integration at U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. "If you go back and look at the Army's mission-needs statement when it started down the path toward FCS, you see that the Army had -- and still has -- a critical need to be able to take units, like brigades, anywhere at any time and have them be combat-capable when they get there," said retired Lt. Gen. Dan Zanini, the FCS deputy program manager for SAIC, Inc., which, with Boeing, is lead FCS system integrator. "The Army also needs the ability to dominate across the full range of military operations, from peacekeeping to full-out combat, and FCS will allow it to do that." Systems already saving lives Schoomaker pointed out that FCS-generated technologies -- most notably the portable Paot robot -- are already saving Soldiers' lives in Afghanistan and Iraq. "Spinning out" other technologies as they mature will both enhance current-force units' combat capabilities and reduce Soldiers' risks, he said. Given the vital importance of FCS to the Army's current and future capabilities, Harvey said, "it is critical that we keep the FCS program intact, and that it is not fragmented with the associated changes in funding." "Modernizing without the complete FCS program complicates management, could sacrifice capabilities, decreases integration and increases costs," Harvey said. "Ultimately, changes to the program will cause greater development and life-cycle costs, and will push full fielding of the FCS further down the road at a time when our Soldiers need it most." From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Oct 11 12:53:10 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 08:53:10 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Traction Drive Subsystems for Future Combat Systems Manned Ground Vehicles Message-ID: <20051011085248.H673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 19 September 2005 ; The Auto Channel Traction Drive Subsystems for Future Combat Systems Manned Ground Vehicles http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005/09/19/143320.html --- SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Sept. 19, 2005--A BAE Systems-led team has been selected by the Future Combat Systems (FCS) One Team to develop the common Traction Drive Subsystem (TDS) for FCS Manned Ground Vehicles (MGVs). The FCS Lead System Integrator (LSI) -- The Boeing Company and SAIC -- recognized the source selection team for its detailed analysis of all TDS proposals. The analysis was conducted by integrated MGV One Team partner evaluation panels led by LSI personnel. Following the analysis, a team led by BAE Systems, along with QinetiQ and Honeywell, was recommended and selected to develop the TDS system. The selection was announced by BAE Systems' firewalled FCS MGV program, which issued the TDS request for proposal in January. The TDS is a series-hybrid drive system that will provide vehicle propulsion, steering and braking, and regenerate electrical power from braking and downhill grades for use in vehicle electrical systems. Initial deliveries of the objective TDS design are due in October 2006, with deliveries for 45 total TDS units and follow-on support running to 2011. "We are pleased the FCS One Team selected our approach as the best-value solution for the Manned Ground Vehicles," said Matt Riddle, BAE Systems' director of Advanced Development at Santa Clara, Calif. "Our development and integration experience with hybrid systems, combined with QinetiQ's compact E-X-Drive tracked vehicle transmission and Honeywell's expertise in power electronics, motor manufacture and controls, will advance this key technology for FCS and other vehicle systems." Under the award, the TDS Team will join the MGV Propulsion Integrated Product Team to work in conjunction with BAE Systems and General Dynamics to develop and fully integrate the propulsion system for the common chassis. BAE Systems, as part of the firewalled FCS One Team, teamed with General Dynamics, is already working to develop and field a family of highly deployable Manned Ground Vehicles that will be key supporting systems linked through the overarching network that will enable the FCS-equipped Units of Action to effectively complete their missions. The two companies have formed integrated design teams to develop and demonstrate the family of eight manned ground vehicles featuring a common platform design with common components and subsystems, such as TDS, with unique mission modules and all the variants linked together by networked battle command. Under the FCS MGV contract, BAE Systems has responsibility for five MGV variants: Non-Line-of-Sight Cannon (NLOS-C); Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV); Medical Vehicle (MV); Non-Line of Sight Mortar (NLOS-M), and FCS Recovery and Maintenance Vehicle (FRMV). BAE Systems is an international company engaged in the development, delivery, and support of advanced defense and aerospace systems in the air, on land, at sea, and in space. The company designs, manufactures, and supports military aircraft, combat vehicles, surface ships, submarines, radar, avionics, communications, electronics, and guided weapon systems. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Oct 11 12:55:45 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 08:55:45 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Industry Leaders Predict Surge in Robotics Message-ID: <20051011085334.S673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 6 October 2005 ; PC Magazine Industry Leaders Predict Surge in Robotics http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/ZDM/story?id=1192568 --- At the second annual RoboNexus conference, robotics experts said the field will undergo explosive growth in the next decade. Chris Preimesberger - PC Magazine Oct. 6 - SAN JOSE, Calif.--The robotics industry is certain to experience "exponential growth" over the next decade and beyond, due to an "explosion in new commercial and military application requirements," the director of the world's most prominent robotics research institution said Thursday. Matt Mason, director of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa., was one of two keynote speakers at the opening of the second annual RoboNexus conference, billed as the largest robotics event in North America. Some 2,000 robotics engineers and enthusiasts have gathered at the downtown Marriott Hotel here for the four-day conference. "There's no question the field is going to grow, and we'll be building applications soon that we can't even imagine now," Mason said. Does the robotics industry need to grow up? Click here to read more. Mason said he really did not know the number of robotics projects that are currently in process at the institute he heads, which has a $50 million annual budget, 65 faculty members, 189 technical staff and 136 graduate students. "I went to our Web site and looked in 'Projects' under the letter 'A,' and I counted 36 there. There are simply too many to mention here--which means there is a lot of need for good robotics applications in the world," Mason said. The U.S. military is embarking on a $40 billion dollar modernization project over the next 10 to 20 years, Mason said, that eventually will automate as many as one-third of its land, sea and air vehicles. "Most all of these will involve some sort of robotics--whether it's a drone aircraft, an unmanned sub or an automated tank," he said. "The opportunities are wide open for new ideas and companies here." Robotics will continue to play a major role in the aerospace industry. Newsmaking robots, such as the Mars Explorer and the robotic arm used on the space shuttle for docking to the international space station, have been high-profile examples, he said. Mason said robotics will also play a major role in the continuing development of commercial technologies such as facial recognition, for identification and law enforcement purposes; image-guided surgery; biomedical experiments; workplace assistants; hospital patient rehabilitation; outer space and exploratory missions, and entertainment. "Robotics is where computing meets the real world," Mason said. "And the work we do in the real world is quite relevant to the virtual world." Walter Weisel, chairman and CEO of Innova Holdings Inc. and former president of the Robotics Industries Association, described how his company is now working with NASA to design and build a sophisticated robotic arm designed specifically to repair and maintain the Hubble Space Telescope. That robot will be launched sometime in 2007. It will dock itself to the telescope, and perform a number of maintenance and repair jobs to keep the $14 billion (and counting) telescope in operation. "Think of all the work that has to go into making sure it all works correctly; then think about having to make it work in a weightless state, with incredible temperature variations, and in a vacuum," Weisel said. The project will take "most of 2006" to build, he said. The Hubble Space Telescope is expected to stay in operation until 2020, when it will be ditched in the Pacific Ocean, Weisel said. A number of workshops and seminars are on the RoboNexus schedule, including several dealing with mobile robotics, autonomous robotics, tools to build robots and robotic programming. Click here to read about how robotics may drive chip innovation. Rob Ambrose, director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, will speak Friday about robots and space exploration. Daniel Zanini, senior vice president of SAIC (Science Applications International Corp.), one of the federal government's largest defense contractors, will speak about future combat systems on Friday. The RoboNexus conference continues through Sunday and will include an exhibition of robot-related products and services Friday through Sunday. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Oct 12 22:23:27 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2005 18:23:27 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] A-bomb system can warn of tsunami Message-ID: <20051012182137.X673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 12 October 2005 ; BBC News A-bomb system can warn of tsunami http://news.bbc.co.uk./2/hi/science/nature/4330286.stm --- By Richard Black Environment Correspondent, BBC News website Monitoring stations set up to detect atomic explosions could help predict the path of a tsunami, research shows. Californian scientists have analysed sound waves produced in the Indian Ocean by last December's Asian tsunami. Writing in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the team says the tsunami produced a "unique" signal. This indicates, they say, that stations set up to implement the A-bomb test ban treaty could be involved in the new Indian Ocean tsunami warning system. Nuclear ban Adopted by the United Nations in 1996, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty seeks to eliminate experimental nuclear explosions. Although it has not been ratified by sufficient countries to bring it into force, a preparatory commission of the treaty organisation (CTBTO) based in Vienna has already established a global network of monitoring stations that could detect and pinpoint tests. These work in several ways. Some measure seismic activity - movements in the ground - while others look for infrasound, very low frequency soundwaves in the atmosphere. A third set use hydrophones, underwater soundwave transducers, which are similar to the detector component of submarine sonar systems. On 5 Jan, CTBTO reported that it had "...recorded the earthquake west of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, on 78 of its waveform monitoring stations within seconds to minutes of the event on 26 December, 2004. "Of the 78 stations, 71 were using the seismic, six the hydroacoustic and one the infrasound technologies," it said in a statement. Jeffrey Hanson and Roger Bowman from the Science Applications International Corporation (Saic) in San Diego have now analysed the signals coming from the hydroacoustic detectors, or hydrophones. Tell-tale chirp "After the quake on 26 December, all geophysical researchers were looking for signals in their data," Roger Bowman told the BBC News website. "One of the common ways was to make spectrographs - looking at how the spectrum of sound waves developed over time - and in this we saw the unique signal." The two researchers describe the unique signal found on spectrograph plots recorded by Indian Ocean hydrophones as a "chirp". What it means is that low-frequency vibrations are arriving before those of higher frequencies, producing a distinctive upward curving slope. "In this frequency range - and these are very low frequencies, well below 1Hz - this is a unique signal," said Dr Bowman. Most of the hydrophones are arranged in sets of three, called triads. This enables them to pick up with considerable precision the direction from which the tsunami is coming, meaning that using several different arrays, the location of the earthquake which caused it could be determined easily, and projections made about which areas would also be at risk. Predict and survive In the weeks following the 26 December earthquake, moves began to establish an integrated warning system for Indian Ocean tsunamis, replicating the Pacific Ocean system co-ordinated from Hawaii. A number of monitoring stations were envisaged, using a mix of water pressure sensors on the ocean floor, tidal gauges, and seismometers, perhaps augmented by satellite observations. On 20 January, the United Nations agreed to oversee the scheme, and despite some early political squabbling, elements are now being built. Could the nuclear test-ban stations add anything to what is already envisaged? Roger Bowman believes so, though there may be political obstacles. "Until this earthquake killed 200,000 people, the data was only made available to the CTBTO itself and to state signatories," he said, "and not to any hazard-warning organisation. "I think there is going to be a loosening of data restrictions for this purpose, and I think the kind of data interpretation we have done could be folded into a hazard warning system." From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Oct 13 02:40:54 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2005 22:40:54 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Awards WFI Subcontract Message-ID: <20051012223933.H673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 12 October 2005 ; San Diego Business Journal SAIC Awards WFI Subcontract http://www.sdbj.com/industry_article.asp?aID=82454987.6682703.1209988.7233807.7752736.405&aID2=93067 --- San Diego-based companies Wireless Facilities, Inc. and Science Applications International Corp. will join forces to fulfill a $104.5 million defense contract designed to help the Navy keep track of its stuff. The announcement was made Oct. 12 and involves Wireless Facilities serving as a subcontractor on SAIC's recently awarded contract with the Navy Automatic Identification Technology Program Office. Under the arrangement, Wireless Facilities will provide program management and engineering and technical services in support of the Navy project, with an emphasis on logistics and identification labeling for in-transit tracking purposes. Wireless Facilities trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol WFII. It opened trading Oct. 12 at $6.49. Last year, the company reported $397 million in revenues. For now, SAIC is the largest employee-owned research and engineering company in the United States, with annual revenues of $7.2 billion. Early next year, SAIC plans to conduct its initial public offering. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Oct 13 12:37:57 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2005 08:37:57 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] WFI Government Services, Inc. Awarded Subcontract From SAIC for Navy Automatic Identification Technology Message-ID: <20051013083620.E673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 12 October 2005 ; PR Newswire WFI Government Services, Inc. Awarded Subcontract From SAIC for Navy Automatic Identification Technology http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-12-2005/0004166328 --- AN DIEGO, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wireless Facilities, Inc. (WFI) (Nasdaq: WFII), a global leader in the design, deployment, and management of wireless communication networks, technology networks and security systems, announced today that it has been selected as a subcontractor to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to provide program management and engineering and technical services in support of their recently awarded $104.5 million Navy Automatic Identification Technology (AIT) Program Office contract. As part of the contract with SAIC, WFI will provide expertise in logistics, RFID, and Unique Identification Labeling solutions to ensure compliance with in-transit and total asset tracking. The award is for a one-year base period with four additional one-year options. "As a leading global RF engineering company, we have a well established team of engineers, AIT technicians and logisticians that deliver leading-edge solutions to our customers," said Eric DeMarco, WFI's President and CEO. "Operational excellence in supply chain management for tracking and protecting valuable assets is becoming an increasingly critical function within the DoD. It is an ideal alliance when two leaders leverage their expertise to provide best-value solutions. We are pleased that SAIC has chosen us as their technology teammates, providing another opportunity for us to expand our service offerings with the U.S. Navy." Automatic Identification Technology was put into affect by the DoD to improve the timeliness and accuracy of asset visibility, whether in process, in storage, or in-transit. AIT consists of a selection of asset tracking and supply chain technologies and processes, including bar coding technology, Active and Passive RFID technology, Smart Cards technology, Contact Memory Buttons, and Unique Identification technology to reduce logistics processing and provide the ability to identify, track, and control the deployment of personnel and material in real time. WFI Government Services, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, with offices and project locations throughout the United States. Areas of expertise in this division of the Company include technical resources consulting, logistics and RFID solutions, homeland security and public safety applications and communications technology services. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Oct 14 02:55:16 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2005 22:55:16 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC To Host MILCOM 2005 Message-ID: <20051013225431.V673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 13 October 2005 ; SAIC News SAIC To Host MILCOM 2005 http://www.saic.com/news/2005/oct/13.html --- Annual Convention to Draw Military Communications Industry.s Thought Leaders (SAN DIEGO and MCLEAN, VA) - Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced today that it will host one of the largest industry conferences in the world, Military Communications (MILCOM) 2005. For more than 20 years, MILCOM has been the premier international conference for military communications, averaging over 3,000 attendees every year. As this year.s corporate host, SAIC is responsible, in coordination with the conference co-sponsors, for organizing the entire conference. Several SAIC employees serve on the MILCOM 2005 Executive Steering Committee. MILCOM 2005 will be held at the Atlantic City Convention Center in New Jersey, October 17-20, with exhibits running from Tuesday, October 18 through Thursday, October 20. The theme for MILCOM 2005 is "Innovation...Fueling the Transformation." The technical sessions and exhibits will focus on information relevant to communication and information systems capabilities that address the 21st century challenges of national defense and homeland security. SAIC Group President and MILCOM Executive Committee Chair Mark Hughes said, "MILCOM 2005 presents a terrific opportunity for SAIC. We will draw attendees from 26 different countries, select peer-reviewed papers for presentation, facilitate all sessions, and provide the IT and physical security for the event. In short, MILCOM will give SAIC the chance to highlight, very publicly, the quality service and support we have provided to our customers over the years." MILCOM attracts decision makers from government, military, academia and industry, including the heads of multinational forces who contribute to key technology investments for their agencies and organizations. Attendees therefore have the chance to interact with some of the best and brightest communication subject matter experts, and have in-depth discussions on the latest advances in technology. According to Hughes, .more exhibit space, papers, and attendees have been sold, submitted and registered than for any other MILCOM event in their 20-year history.. Exhibitors at MILCOM 2005 also will have the opportunity to demonstrate how new technologies have been implemented and to promote products and services that provide existing and potential customers with solutions to mission-critical challenges. SAIC, in addition to its duties as host, will be the premier exhibitor at the conference. The conference is co-sponsored by the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Communications Society and the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) International. Team C4ISR at Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey, serves as the MILCOM 2005 Department of Defense advisor. On Monday, October 17, attendees can participate in the MILCOM 2005 Golf Tournament, which will be held at Blue Heron Pines East in Cologne, N.J. Professional golfer Billy Casper will attend the awards luncheon and visit each golf foursome during the event. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Sat Oct 15 04:11:33 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 00:11:33 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Rogers Company To Help U.S. Navy Message-ID: <20051015001037.M673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 15 October 2005 ; The Morning News Rogers Company To Help U.S. Navy http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2005/10/14/business/06rfidgrant.txt --- RFID Global Solution of Rogers has been selected as a subcontractor in a multimillion deal to provide radio frequency identification expertise to the U.S. Navy. The Navy awarded a contract to Science Applications International Corp. of San Diego for a base value of $8.5 million for the first year. The total four-year contract would be worth more than $104 million if all options are exercised. Science Applications chose RFID Global as a subcontractor to provide RFID services. The pact is the second RFID defense contract for RFID Global this year, a release says. The Department of Defense is aiming to move critical assets such as troop or tanks to the battlefield rapidly and more efficiently by using RFID. "RFID Global Solution is honored to be working with such an incredible teammate as (Science Applications) to help improve logistics and operations support systems throughout the U.S.," said RFID Global CEO Tom Manzagol. RFID technology uses a system of tags which emit signals read by readers and is used in, among other uses, tracking items or humans. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Oct 18 01:50:40 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2005 21:50:40 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Round Britain And Ireland Challenge 2005 Message-ID: <20051017214921.T673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 17 October 2005 ; International Sailing Federation Round Britain And Ireland Challenge 2005 http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j1qFh0ukr&format=popup --- Spirit of Sark is out in the lead of the Round Britain And Ireland Challenge fleet with skipper Des HARVEY putting a fragile two nautical mile gap against nearest competitor, SAIC skippered by Martin WILD. Another two miles behind again is Samsung, skippered by Will OTTON. It has been a very calm first couple of days for the crews, Spirit of Sark describing how they are not on a race but rather a "nature watch!" with a chaffinch, a selection of moths and a hitchhiking bat onboard! In the water the current lead boat was even privileged to be escorted for a while by a pod of dolphins, later replaced by a playful group of porpoises. The yachts have been changing sails in a desperate attempt to get some boat speed, ever mindful of what they were told at the crew briefing, "races are won and lost in light airs". Spirit of Sark's mate, Andy BUCHANAN expands, "While the morning ran slowly with sail change after sail change at one point we had half the watch packing the Yankee 1 and the other half packing the 1.5 kite downstairs. After this it went really light with the wind ranging from two knots right up to five knots with the swell we had left over from yesterday this meant a boat speed off 0.00 knots. For most of the afternoon the only thing actually moving us was the tide to keep ourselves going in this time with no wind and fog we started racing the seaweed floating on the water we were doing OK till the tide turned and sent us backwards. "We finally found some breeze at about 0700 meaning another sail change from spinnaker to Genoa and at long last we were moving again." Crew Volunteer, David LACEY, a Solicitor from London, descried similar frustrations onboard SAIC, "Lifejackets on, spinnaker down, headsails raised, we wait. "The rain comes, but not the winds for which we had hoped. Instead, the fog closes in: a warm damp fog, clinging to the seas and wrapping itself around us." However, the fog made it difficult for the crew to see what was around them. They continued, "The radar gives some comfort, but nothing replaces the old-fashioned methods - sharp-eyed lookouts posted all round and the regular moan of our quite amusing manual fog horn." They were not alone as they deciphered, "a steady staccato beat reaches us, muffled by the fog. We wait and watch the radar as the unseen intruder passes close across our bows, hoping that our own radar reflector hoisted in the rigging means he sees us on his radar as clearly as we see him." It appears that SAIC are picking themselves up having destroyed their 1.5 oz race spinnaker on the first night. They explain, "A gust of 27 knots hit and it was goodbye to that. Bit of a blow. The crew responded well and the heavier Flanker spinnaker was up in five minutes flat. Fingers crossed we may not need it again." There has been a similar incident onboard Me to You, as described by Mate, Corrie MCQUEEN, "The wind was building and we were pushing the boat as hard as we could but unfortunately we hadn"t accounted for the fragile state our well used kite was in and suddenly, without warning, it just popped, and tore, along the length of the foot and one of the side edges!! The entire crew of Me To You sprung into action and the kite came down in one piece (albeit one piece with an enormous gaping hole)! "Before you could say "spinnaker pole" the Me to You saloon was converted into a sail loft and damage assessment begun. Of course, as with all little pickles aboard sailing yachts, things are easier said than done: the kite is the size of a tennis court and the saloon is a bit smaller: lots of wind means charging along with the boat heeled over and even balancing yourself down below can be interesting, let alone balancing yourself with a pair of scissors, sticky back sail repair tape and sewing needles. "Fearless members of each watch took on this onerous task of apprentice sail makers to the skipper John QUIGLEY and together they worked through the rest of yesterday evening and throughout the night to get our spinnaker back together. "We had the ceremonial rehoisting of our mended kite, which stayed up and everyone"s hard work was proved worthwhile!! "We are now moving again slowly but surely and while we might be playing catch up, the others might yet be surprised to see us creep up on them with our race kite back in one piece!!" The fleet is now finding more wind . around and about ten knots - as it charges through the Irish Sea. There are still only 14 miles between the front and back yachts so the Round Britain and Ireland Challenge is still anyone's race. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Oct 19 12:56:57 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 08:56:57 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Round Britain And Ireland Challenge 2005 Message-ID: <20051019085432.M673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 18 October 2005 ; International Sailing Federation Round Britain And Ireland Challenge 2005 http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j1qFh0uvD&format=popup --- The yachts competing in the Round Britain And Ireland Challenge are making good speed now, around the tip of Southern Ireland and up the west coast of the emerald isle, having passed Waypoint Alpha, a mark they have had to race round to keep them away from the Irish fishing nets. Des HARVEY may have been a little too confident yesterday about striding into the lead as Spirit of Sark has now fallen to second place and Martin WILD's team aboard SAIC have picked up the baton and taken a three mile lead. Me to You have charged into third place, following what Samsung called a, "considerable drama over the last 24 hours." Yesterday mate Ricky CHALMER had to rush into action as the yacht broached leading to a broken spinnaker pole. Skipper Will OTTON picks up the story this morning, "Some important equipment had been damaged which may effect our chances later on, especially in light airs. After sitting around talking to the crew and having a cup of tea we came over all "can do" and positive. Four hours later with the help of some 2x2 timber, four poles from the pipe cot bunks, lots of gaffer tape, two baking trays and some cutlery the whole crew were delighted with their handywork. A FUNCTIONING (but not pretty) spinnaker pole." The same as been reported from aboard Pindar, "The breeze picked up steadily, and we made excellent progress with the full main and heavy spinnaker, achieving over 16 knots of boat speed at one point. However, the wind continued to increase and suddenly it was too much for the spinnaker. An 'all hands' call went out, and when we broached we managed to save the sail. The same cannot, however, be said for the pole, which fell victim to a freak gust and shattered against the forestay. It is small comfort for us to know that others have had similar difficulties. "It is not all bad news. We may not be leading, but we are now making excellent progress, changing headsails and reefs to keep up with the varying wind speeds." Mate, Adam TUFFNELL concluded saying, "It has been one sail change followed by another, along with some rather speedy kite packs." Cal TOMLINSON, Challenge Business' Sailing Manager explains what is happening onboard whilst flying sails the size of tennis courts, "This damage might sound alarming (and it is) but it's due to the heavy downwind sailing conditions necessitating the deployment of the spinnaker (and associated equipment such as the spinnaker poles to keep the sails 'poled out'). "These huge sails are made from cloth a quarter that of conventional sails - (making them extremely delicate), and are flown attached only by their three corners, (making them difficult to control) as opposed to the length of the edges. "Part of the skill with flying spinnakers is knowing when enough is enough and it's time to execute a bit of cowardice and take them down." The lead yacht SAIC look like they are getting it right, as Crew Volunteer Lesley MARCHANT explains, "The scariest thing we"ve done so far? A call for "ALL HANDS ON DECK!" to assist with a rapid spinnaker drop with the boat heeling (leaning over) at what felt like 90 degrees! Of course it was all controlled and part of yacht racing, but for first timers it was a bit of an adrenaline rush. Not least for Rob, our 'spike man', who was hoisted out on the end of the pole above the sea and was left dangling whilst the sail came down." From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Oct 19 13:28:01 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 09:28:01 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] DARPA Micro Air Vehicle Passes Key Milestone Towards Future Combat System Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Message-ID: <20051019092511.X673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 19 October 2005 ; noticias.info DARPA Micro Air Vehicle Passes Key Milestone Towards Future Combat System Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle http://www.noticias.info/asp/aspComunicados.asp?nid=109875&src=0 --- /noticias.info/ The Future Combat Systems (FCS) program has passed a significant milestone in its progress toward selecting a Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system. The announcement was made today by Boeing [NYSE: BA] and partner Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), the Lead Systems Integrator team for the U.S. Army's FCS program. The Micro Air Vehicle (MAV), developed by Honeywell under a two-phased Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency advanced concept technology development contract, has achieved a technology readiness level 6. The readiness level is based on recent successes during government acceptance tests and pre-experimentation flights. The level 6 designation is consistent with FCS requirements to begin transitioning the technology to the FCS program. "The Micro Air Vehicle has flown more than 200 successful flights, including flying in a representative urban environment," said Mark Franzblau, director, FCS Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system development. "We are confident it will continue to meet or exceed the goals of DARPA's contract and eventually transition to FCS as the preferred Class I UAV platform." The Micro Air Vehicle contract provides critical development in two key technology areas essential to meeting FCS Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle requirements: a ducted fan design providing hover and stare capability coupled with a small heavy fuels engine. The FCS program will continue to work with DARPA and Honeywell to transition the heavy fuel engine technology as it matures through the remainder of the DARPA contract. Leveraging DARPA's investment in the Micro Air Vehicle technology, Boeing issued a system engineering contract in December 2004 to Honeywell to conduct a gap analysis identifying what additional development was required to transition the DARPA vehicle to an FCS-compliant Class I UAV system. Under the extended, nearly-three-million-dollar contract announced this week, Honeywell will continue the systems engineering analyses leading to a System Functional Review in March 2006. Following a successful review, Boeing intends to award a Class I UAV System Development and Demonstration contract to Honeywell. The development and demonstration phase will continue through FY2014 and will include the development and flight test of unmanned, autonomous vehicle prototypes. The FCS Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is one of four classes of FCS Unmanned Aerial Vehicle systems that are organic to platoon, company, battalion and brigade echelons and form the airborne component of the FCS network providing protection and information for troops on the ground. Together, they constitute four of the 18 systems, which, together with the network and the soldier, will make up FCS. The FCS Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle will be used for reconnaissance, security and target acquisition operations in open, rolling, complex and urban terrain. Each system -- comprising two air vehicles, a dismounted control device and associated ground support equipment -- will be carried by selected platforms and dismounted soldiers, and will use autonomous flight and navigation with vertical take-off and landing and recovery capability. A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $30.5 billion business. It provides network-centric system solutions to its global military, government, and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems; the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest satellite manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in sustainment solutions and launch services. SAIC is the largest employee-owned research and engineering company in the United States, with annual revenues of $7.2 billion and more than 43,000 employees in over 150 cities worldwide. SAIC engineers and scientists solve complex technical problems in national security, homeland security, energy, the environment, space, telecommunications, health care, and logistics. SAIC: FROM SCIENCE TO SOLUTIONS(tm). From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Oct 20 02:16:23 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 22:16:23 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Awarded Contract From Office of the Secretary of Defense Message-ID: <20051019221418.F673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 19 October 2005 ; SAIC News SAIC Awarded Contract From Office of the Secretary of Defense http://www.saic.com/news/2005/oct/19.html ------ (SAN DIEGO and MCLEAN, VA) -- Science Applications International Corporation.s (SAIC) Engineering, Test and Analysis Business Unit announced today that it has been awarded a contract to provide scientific, engineering, technical and administrative support to the Office of the Director, Systems Engineering, Office of the Secretary of Defense. The cost-plus-award-fee systems engineering contract is for one year with four additional option years, which has a total contract value of $39 million if all option years are exercised. Work will be performed primarily in Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Va. "This is a key customer and this win is extremely important to our strategic business plan," said Chuck Zang, SAIC senior vice president and a general manager in the Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Group. "SAIC is pleased to have the opportunity to support the systems engineering director in his mission to apply sound systems engineering development, test and evaluation and related technical disciplines to the department.s acquisition programs." The director of systems engineering promotes the technical approaches across the department.s acquisition community. This office raises awareness of the importance of effective systems engineering and drives the state-of-the-practice into technical planning and execution. The office establishes systems engineering policy, guidance, best practices, education and training through collaboration across academia, industry and government communities. It also provides technical insight to Department of Defense leadership to support decision-making. SAIC teammates and subcontractors include Northrop Grumman Corp., based in Los Angeles, Calif.; Quadelta, Inc., based in Alexandria, Va.; DDL OMNI Engineering LLC., based in McLean, Va.; Innovative Management Concepts, Inc., based in Dulles, Va.; Suh.dutsing Technologies, LLC, based in Cedar City, Utah; Simulation Strategies Inc., based in Washington, D.C.; John H. Northrop & Associates, LLC, based in Burke, Va.; and SAM, Inc, based in Silver Spring, Md. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Oct 20 02:19:19 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 22:19:19 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Round Britain And Ireland Challenge 2005 Message-ID: <20051019221625.J673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 19 October 2005 ; International Sailing Federation Round Britain And Ireland Challenge 2005 http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j6~Fh0u1~&format=popup --- There is a tussle at the head of the Round Britain And Ireland Challenge fleet with SAIC and Spirit of Sark neck and neck and just four miles now between the back yacht, Pindar, and the lead yachts. They have packed away the spinnakers and are reaching towards St. Kilda in Scotland with yankee and staysails up and some with reefs in their main sails (to reduce size of sail as the wind has been fairly strong). Last night the crews reported some fast action onboard as Pindar CV, Mary GOLCHER, a 56 year old social worker from Greens Norton, explained, "Now steaming along with 30 knot winds, max 35 knot last night, waves coming over the side and everybody beginning to get cold, wet and tired. Rain too. Morale however remains high." Fiona CAMPBELL, a 29 year old lawyer from London substantiates similar conditions aboard Spirit of Sark, "With gusts of up to 28 knots it was all hands on deck for a sail change from the no 1 to the no 2. Things were pretty wet and windy on deck. Waves were crashing over the foredeck submerging the crew. This was our first experience of working in heavy weather and I think everyone enjoyed it!" So what is next with the weather as the fleet crosses into Scottish waters and on towards the Northern-most tip of the British Isles, Muckle Flugga? We caught up with Cal TOMLINSON, Challenge Business. Sailing Manager who explained, "In the last 24 hours they've seen some pretty fast reaching conditions towards the North East across some substantial south East breezes. "This won't hold and will be diminishing for the fleet as you read this report. With the breeze going light and more variable it will possibly fill in from the south again by this evening. "The reason for this is a shallow, very large low pressure system currently South West of the fleet which is moving Eastwards. This low will intensify as it moves Eastwards and, as it passes over the fleet, will cause variable winds but mainly from the South and then South West. "But, here's the catch! By Friday afternoon this low pressure system will have moved East of Scotland causing strong winds from the North East directly from where the yachts want to go! "So the race is on to get to Muckle Flugga before this happens! The fleet has 426 miles to get there which represents the end of the Northwards passage where they turn and head South again. Hopefully they should be there by Friday, midday in time for when the wind turns to the north." The tactics and navigational skills that the skippers need to employ on this race is highly complicated. Echoing back to an interview with Me to You skipper, John QUIGLEY on race start day he explained the toughest part for him would be the tactics required on such a difficult race course. In fact, one of the most famous sailors in the world -- Ellen MACACRTHUR -- was quoted in Yachting World as saying, "Round the world, across the Atlantic, round Britain... many sailors who have done these three might suggest that the rocky shores of the British Isles pose perhaps the greatest challenge of all." If it has not been trying enough for the skippers and their mates over the past few days -- flying the huge spinnakers and shaking off the competition -- then it will perhaps be even more trying for them now as they negotiate their way round Scotland and the Western Isles. This is where the cold, the wet and the dark will set in, requiring teams to dig deep, physically and psychologically, to get them through. With the yachts so close together the pressure is on -- day and night -- the skippers renowned for their competitive streaks and the yachts a matched, one design fleet. The intensity of the racing is described by Will OTTON, skipper of Samsung, "All last night we tussled with Me To You, keeping them at bay with both yachts trimming like mad. This morning we are again within a quarter of a mile of each other. We did a smooth headsail change from our number 2 to the larger number 1, which they have since matched. There is nothing like a little one-on-one boat competition and rivalry to lift the spirits on a cold and damp Atlantic morning." Martin WILD aboard SAIC continues, "I still find it amazing after so many miles we are this close. It"s good motivation for the team to be this close, although for me, it felt much easier when were ahead by a bit more." However, the yachts are one another's safety nets, in the event of assistance being needed and as WILD concludes, "There is a good sense of camaraderie amongst the other boats, with handy hints being swapped on how to fix things and offer knowledge where possible, which is a good sign." From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Oct 20 02:20:38 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 22:20:38 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC wins Defense systems engineering support work Message-ID: <20051019221931.L673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 19 October 2005 ; Washington Technology SAIC wins Defense systems engineering support work http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/1_1/daily_news/27218-1.html --- By William Welsh Deputy Editor Science Applications International Corp. won a five-year, $39 million contract from the Office of the Secretary of Defense to provide support services for systems engineering efforts, the company announced today. SAIC of San Diego will provide scientific, engineering, technical and administrative support to the Office of the Director for Systems Engineering. The company will work in Arlington, Va., and Washington. SAIC's team includes Northrop Grumman Corp., Quadelta Inc., DDL OMNI Engineering LLC, Innovative Management Concepts Inc., Suh'dutsing Technologies LLC, Simulation Strategies Inc., John H. Northrop & Associates LLC and SAM Inc. The director of systems engineering promotes the use of technology across the Defense Department's contracting community. The office seeks to raise an awareness of effective systems engineering and instill the latest innovations into technical planning. SAIC is an employee-owned research and engineering company with more than 43,000 employees and annual sales of $7.2 billion. The company ranks No. 3 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list, which measures federal contracting revenue. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Oct 20 13:16:17 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 09:16:17 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Round Britain And Ireland Challenge 2005 Message-ID: <20051020091435.N673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 20 October 2005 ; International Sailing Federation Round Britain And Ireland Challenge 2005 http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j1,Fh0u7w&format=popup --- In some respects it is a little hard to tell what is going on with the Round Britain And Ireland Challenge this morning - every report seems to contradict something else that has come in to the race office. However, it is certain that the fleet have experienced a change of winds, and that, having split overnight, the two westerly yachts, Pindar and Samsung, have lost the wind this morning, although they have recorded significantly better 24 hour runs. Pindar's skipper Marcus CHOLERTON has reported on the reasoning behind their navigational choice to the west, "Experimented a lot with different sail combos until we found the best for the angle of wind. Averaged over nine knots between Alpha and Beta and aimed off the direct track to St. Kilda on rounding beta so that we could crack off and hoist flanker when the wind decreased, which we did to great effect. Still chasing the fleet to make up the ground we lost approaching Alpha but constantly narrowing the gap." Will OTTON, skipper of Samsung, filed his report a little later this morning, and it is less optimistic reading, "Seem to have hit a significant wind hole, along with Pindar. We are stationary while the rest of the fleet report breeze 30 miles east". The weather on the race viewer shows that there is a depression centred over the fleet, and this has emphasized the differences in position, leading to a huge change from front to back - from four miles to 41 in 24 hours. Samsung reports that they are hard on the wind, flying full main and their genoa headsail. Spirit of Sark, in comparison, says they have full main and flanker in 16 knots of breeze. Spirit of Sark appears to have worked hard for their slim four mile lead, only filing a very short log today. Mate Stephen DURKIN says, "It has been very hard on the crew of Sprit of Sark with cold and wet weather and the need for relentless sail changes leading them all to become very tired." He also says that tactically, they have decided to stick as close to the rhumb line as possible - taking the shortest possible route between St. Kilda and the infamous Muckle Flugga. Me to You's tactical report is just in stating, "Staying south paid off last night when we tacked on the wind shift. Samsung and Pindar look to have got on the wrong side or too close to the centre of the low and should now be beating. The wind is southerly at the moment and the plan is to stay on the wind for our next waypoint and ease sheets as the wind continues to veer." Martin WILD from SAIC has called in to race headquarters on the satellite phone and has reported that SAIC and Me to You are currently less than a mile apart, and the can see Spirit of Sark ahead of them, so the racing is close in this group despite having covered over 800 nautical miles. Everyone on shore will be waiting with bated breath for the next poll at 1600 BST to see what the day has brought. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Oct 20 22:43:08 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 18:43:08 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC to Provide IT Support to Defense Logistics Agency at the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center Message-ID: <20051020184125.T673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 20 October 2005 ; SAIC News SAIC to Provide IT Support to Defense Logistics Agency at the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center http://www.saic.com/news/2005/oct/20.html --- (MCLEAN, VA) - Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced today a task order award to support the Defense Logistics Agency's (DLA) activities inside the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center in Battle Creek, Mich. Awarded by the GSA Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (FEDSIM) under GSA's Millennia [1] contract vehicle, SAIC will provide first and second level helpdesk support known as "Tier 1 and Tier 2" services, as well as mid-tier (HP Unix type devices), asset management, telecommunications, and support for local area network operations and limited information assurance in support of the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) and Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS) personnel. The task-order award has a base year value of $7,655,870 with an additional option year valued at $7,388,809 for a potential total of $15,044,679. "This important win allows SAIC to continue a proud tradition of over 20 years of service to the Defense Logistics Agency," said Jim Cuff, SAIC senior vice president and manager of the Logistics and Engineering Solutions Business Unit. "This contract positions SAIC as a premier provider of information technology program support services to the DLA." With over 1,100 employees and contractors DLIS provides support to the military services, other Defense Department agencies, federal civil agencies, industry, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other foreign governments for the management of assigned logistics information. The DLIS and DRMS IT activities have been merged into one, DLA J6B. This new organization resides in the HDI Federal Center and supports DRMS remote offices around the world. [1] http://www.saic-millennia.com/ From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Oct 21 02:16:39 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 22:16:39 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Deal Could Be Worth $15M Message-ID: <20051020221558.M673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 20 October 2005 ; San Diego Business Journal SAIC Deal Could Be Worth $15M http://www.sdbj.com/industry_article.asp?aID=81111305.849451.1213498.59561.6612712.989&aID2=93337 --- By JESSICA LONG San Diego Business Journal Staff A $7.7 million contract to provide technical help desk support at the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center in Michigan has been awarded to Science Applications International Corp. The San Diego-based company could also receive an additional $7.4 million for a total of $15 million, if options of the newly announced deal are later exercised. The task order deal was announced Oct. 20 and will directly impact Defense Logistics Agency activities at the center, which is in Battle Creek. The agency has more than 1,100 employees and contractors who support military services, other U.S. Department of Defense agencies, federal civil agencies, industry, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other foreign governments for the management of assigned logistics information. For now, SAIC is the largest employee-owned research and engineering company in the country with more than 43,000 employees worldwide and $7.2 billion in annual revenues. But the company is expected to make its initial public offering early next year. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Oct 21 12:40:10 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 08:40:10 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Deborah Alderson Named Group President for the System and Network Solutions Group Message-ID: <20051021083851.B673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 21 October 2005 ; PR Newswire Deborah Alderson Named Group President for the System and Network Solutions Group http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-21-2005/0004174538&EDATE= --- SAN DIEGO and MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced today that Deborah Alderson is the new president of the System and Network Solutions Group, replacing the current group president, Mark Hughes, who is retiring. In her new role, Alderson will provide leadership to operating units that will be composed of more than 10,000 employees located both in the U.S. and overseas. Major customers include the U.S. Navy, Defense Information Systems Agency, other Department of Defense components and NASA. "Deb Alderson has the leadership skills, customer expertise and technical credentials to marshal the talent, expertise and creativity in this key group," said Ken Dahlberg, SAIC chairman and chief executive officer. "I'm pleased to announce her promotion and look forward to working with her as she brings extensive knowledge and experience to this key leadership position. "Mark Hughes retires as an industry leader after 35 years in ever-increasing positions of responsibility," Dahlberg added. "Mark's successes will be remembered by his industry colleagues, his valued customers and fellow SAIC employees." Alderson joined SAIC on August 1 of this year with 23 years' experience in program and engineering management, most recently as group president for the Systems Engineering Group at Anteon Corporation. While at Anteon, she led a staff of professionals in providing information technology and engineering support to a wide range of government and industry clients, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and NASA. Alderson joined Anteon as a result of the acquisition of Techmatics in 1998, where she had served as senior vice president and managed over 90 percent of the company's total annual revenue. While at Techmatics she played a key role in transitioning the company from a small business classification to a large business and also served as a member of the board of directors. Prior to joining Techmatics, Alderson served in program management on assignments for Scientific Management Associates and Advanced Technology. Alderson entered the defense industry after earning her bachelor's and master's of science degrees from Virginia Polytechnic University. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Oct 21 23:27:07 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 19:27:07 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC to Provide IT Support to Defense Logistics Agency Message-ID: <20051021192618.Q673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 21 October 2005 ; Business Intelligence Network SAIC to Provide IT Support to Defense Logistics Agency http://www.b-eye-network.com/view/1806 --- SAIC will provide first and second level helpdesk support known as "Tier 1 and Tier 2" services. Science Applications International Corp. announced recently a task order award to support the Defense Logistics Agency's (DLA) activities inside the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center. Awarded by the GSA Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (FEDSIM) under GSA's Millennia contract vehicle, SAIC will provide first and second level helpdesk support known as "Tier 1 and Tier 2" services, as well as mid-tier (HP Unix type devices), asset management, telecommunications, and support for local area network operations and limited information assurance in support of the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) and Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS) personnel. With over 1,100 employees and contractors DLIS provides support to the military services, other Defense Department agencies, federal civil agencies, industry, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other foreign governments for the management of assigned logistics information. The DLIS and DRMS IT activities have been merged into one, DLA J6B. This new organization resides in the HDI Federal Center and supports DRMS remote offices around the world. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Oct 21 23:28:38 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 19:28:38 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Round Britain And Ireland Challenge 2005 Message-ID: <20051021192735.J673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 21 October 2005 ; International Sailing Federation Round Britain And Ireland Challenge 2005 http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j1/Fh0u%60r&format=popup --- The Round Britain and Ireland Challenge fleet are now halfway though the race and positions continue to swap daily with Me to You now in second place, with one time leaders SAIC now in third. Overnight and further back, Samsung and Pindar have been locked in a duelling battle as Pindar mate, Adam TUFFNELL explains, "Close quarter windless action with Samsung overnight. They took masses from us, but with a little skill we took it all back and left them standing." Yesterday the fleet split and the two yachts gambled with a westerly stance, which lead to a huge change from front to back - from four miles to 41 in 24 hours. They have now turned back and made up some miles overnight with Pindar 34 miles back and Samsung 35. The fleet is currently approaching Muckle Flugga, which they should reach this weekend. Here they will turn south and start heading home, via a few obstacles such as the oilrigs of the North Sea and the traffic separation system around the Dover Straits! Once again the heavy weather has temporarily abated as Spirit of Sark wrote, "Scottish weather was nowhere to be seen in this part of the Hebrides; a beautiful sunrise and a visit from a dolphin made this a memorable morning. The afternoon was spent basking in sunshine with a fine array of shorts on show further north than Cape Horn is south!" Me to You have been analyzing strategies, Corrie MCQUEEN, mate onboard wishing for a crystal ball or some powers of a "weather guru" to move them into first place, which certainly seems possible now they have claimed second, "Yesterday we pushed and pushed the boat to try and make as much North as possible and ensure we stayed on the right side of the low pressure system sitting almost on top of us. "We needed to stay above and to the right of it to get the most from the wind as it veered round to the south east so as not to get stuck out to the north or west. Lots of quick reactions and tactical decisions meant that we managed this by the skin of our teeth! The pressure dropped to 992 millibars, which means that we had the centre of the low pretty much on top of us!" The low however has pretty much stayed put making for these light and variable winds. MCQUEEN continues, "For over 24 hours we have been battling it out with Spirit of Sark and SAIC, concentrating intensely to get 45 tons of boat moving faster than the next one. Spirit of Sark has just managed to get away a bit but we are hoping that the time and effort taken to repair our race kite will be worth it and, with a bit of luck we might just manage to pull away from SAIC. It really is incredible that we are so close after six days at sea and really very exciting even though we only have three knots of boat speed! At the moment we need to keep focused and fingers crossed that the weather Gods look down on us favourably!" Despite the lighter conditions causing frustrations onboard it does bring with it a silver lining for the crews as Martin WILD, skipper of SAIC explains, "The unseasonable weather gave us all time to recharge our batteries and dry out our wet kit, some even took the chance of a "shower" - actually a hose out of the tap. It was also the first time that both watches had been on deck together, other than for handover, since we left the Solent and the banter continues apace!" However, none of the crews can afford to rest on their laurels as north easterlies are due this evening which will mark an end of their easy ride and a delve back into some heavy weather for at least 24 hours. Pindar is well aware of this as skipper Marcus CHOLERTON explains, "The weather forecast is for some pretty rough stuff over the next 24 hours, so we have also been preparing for all eventualities, and mentally steeling ourselves for some pretty busy watches as we continue to race whatever the weather. Muckle Flugga here we come!" From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Sat Oct 22 14:03:20 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2005 10:03:20 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC awarded five-year contract Message-ID: <20051022100149.T673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 21 October 2005 ; North County Times SAIC awarded five-year contract http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/10/22/business/news/21_01_1510_21_05.txt --- North San Diego County business briefs SAN DIEGO (CNS) ---- Science Applications International Corp. announced Wednesday that it was awarded a five-year, $39 million contract to provide engineering work to the Department of Defense. The contract was awarded to SAIC's Engineering, Test and Analysis Business Unit. The company will provide scientific, engineering, technical and administrative support to the Office of the Director, Systems Engineering, Office of the Secretary of Defense. SAIC, a San Diego-based research and engineering company that has an office in Rancho Bernardo, will conduct the work primarily in Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Va. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Sat Oct 22 14:05:55 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2005 10:05:55 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Round Britain and Ireland Challenge 2005 Message-ID: <20051022100349.F673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 22 October 2005 ; International Sailing Federation Round Britain and Ireland Challenge 2005 http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j6fFh0u%602&format=popup --- The yachts have had a very bumpy ride indeed overnight and closed up, with SAIC now in the lead, and Spirit of Sark and Me to You, neck-and-neck just one mile behind. Pindar and Samsung have had a cracking ride overnight with a west and east assault respectively and are now just 27 and 31 miles away from the leader. They're back and striving to catch up with the front-runners. They've all really hit the big stuff overnight as CV Richard Halls, a 26 year old Corporate Relationship Manager from London explains in SAIC's log, appropriately entitled 'sodden and icy crew!' "Today has been a day of contrasts and testament that life at sea can be totally unpredictable. From bobbing around yesterday in calm waters, we were awoken this morning by finding ourselves stuck to the ceiling as we dropped over the crest of a 20ft wave! "After working our way through reefs 1,2 and 3 (reduces size of main sail) then changing the foresails to the storm staysail and yankee 3 we continued to beat our way through gusts of up to 35 knots of wind onwards towards the Muckle Flugga milestone. Sail changes can be eventful in the lightest of conditions so hats off to all crew especially the foredeck teams who spent most of the time air born!" Lugging heavy sails around the yacht is exhausting due to their sheer size and weight. Added to this are the mountainous seas, soaking the sails through and you can see what the crews are up against it. All of this, of course, whilst trying to hang onto what has been likened to a human washing machine . on a freezing cycle! However, this is what the crews have signed up for the . adventure and the thrill of racing aboard a 72ft yacht that has withstood some of the harshest environments on the planet. Richard continues: "Despite the aggressive sea and wind state that most of the crew have not experienced before, any initial apprehension was soon overcome by the assurance of the skipper and mates, as well as the burning drive to be the first to round the corner and make our way back home. "The wind is bitterly cold and it seems that no matter how many layers are put on, it still manages to find it's way through to your bones. Still, that's nothing a nice cup of tea won't sort out!" On a tactical note Martin WILD, skipper of SAIC made a move East last night into Fair Isle Bay to find slightly calmer waters and to get a good angle of attack to the top. He told Race HQ this morning: "We are eagerly awaiting today's poles to see where it has left us with the other two boats near the front." He should be pleasantly surprised this morning when he concludes that he's back out in the lead. On Samsung there's a similar story and a real affection for the yachts it seems, which are keeping the crews safe and providing the vehicle for their impressive rides: Ken Douglas, a 44 year Technology Director from Hertfordshire explains: "We saw our beloved Samsung in a new and wonderful light last night. The forecast gale bore down upon us with winds gusting to near 40 knots and waves 5 to 6 metres in height. What a ride! Better than any fairground - exhilarating and just a wee bit scary! "This yacht is awesome; the way she powers through these conditions is inspiring and gives her whole crew a sense of safety and confidence. On occasion she'd launch off the top of a large wave, followed by a moment of 'weightlessness' before crashing soundly into the trough below sending a huge V-shaped plume of spray out from her bows. When the moon came out, the foamy wash streaming down her sides and the long wake behind were quite beautiful and it was easy to forget the cold and the wet!" Safety in these conditions, where 72 ft yachts are free falling is, of course, paramount and underpins everything Challenge Business does as Ken continues: "The skipper and mates have made sure that everyone knows what they are doing, with safety in these conditions being especially key. We rotate the crew on deck every hour and those on deck make sure that they 'clip on' their replacement's safety lines before they step into the cockpit from below." The harnesses they wear with their lifejackets enable the crew to "clip on" to jackstays, which run the length of the yacht and keep the crew on the right side of the boat. The skippers and mates in the race will insist that crew are lifejacketed and clipped on which enable them to enjoy the 'rough stuff' in the knowledge that they're safe if they are washed down the deck. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Sun Oct 23 12:26:13 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2005 08:26:13 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Round Britain and Ireland Challenge 2005 Message-ID: <20051023082414.C673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 23 October 2005 ; International Sailing Federation Round Britain and Ireland Challenge 2005 http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j62Fh0u%60B&format=popup --- Spirit of Sark have waited longer to tack as they approach the next waypoint and in so doing clinched first place once again from SAIC, putting nine miles between them and their nearest rivals. Me to You and SAIC are now back fighting for second but as they all approach the next Waypoint and Muckle Flugga, in the freezing cold and fighting through the heavy seas, this could all so easily change. One mistake on any of the skippers' parts could seriously jeopardise their positions with such close racing meaning that other yachts would manoeuvre in and take their spot immediately. Despite the heavy weather, which the crews are right in the midst of, it's still 24 hours a day racing, non-stop and with no let up amongst any of the crew. The pictures, which have been coming into the gallery from the yachts have been outstanding, showing just what the conditions are like. They'll be sailing with reduced sail area, to keep the yacht upright and to optimise speed as well as safety. They'll also be sailing with special storm sails -- the very bright orange sails you see in the pictures. This is also a good excuse for the crews to stock up on chocolates and snacks as the conditions and their racing tasks will be zapping energy and calorie requirements will shoot up. Will OTTON, skipper of Samsung, rang in to tell us what the weather's looking like: "We're anticipating the wind backing to the North West which will benefit progress to the mark. Come on Muggle, you'll not elude us for long!" Event Website - http://www.roundbritainchallenge.com/ From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Oct 24 12:47:58 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 08:47:58 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] DARPA Micro Air Vehicle Passes Key Milestone Towards Future Combat System Class I UAV Message-ID: <20051024084617.H673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 24 October 2005 ; Shephard Group DARPA Micro Air Vehicle Passes Key Milestone Towards Future Combat System Class I UAV http://www.shephard.co.uk/UVOnline/default.aspx?Action=-187126550&ID=a7a8f829-94df-40ed-9b77-e70609e3b02d --- ST. LOUIS, October 2005 . The Future Combat Systems (FCS) program has passed a significant milestone in its progress toward selecting a Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system. The announcement was made today by Boeing [NYSE: BA] and partner Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), the Lead Systems Integrator team for the U.S. Army's FCS program. The Micro Air Vehicle (MAV), developed by Honeywell under a two-phased Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency advanced concept technology development contract, has achieved a technology readiness level 6. The readiness level is based on recent successes during government acceptance tests and pre-experimentation flights. The level 6 designation is consistent with FCS requirements to begin transitioning the technology to the FCS program. .The Micro Air Vehicle has flown more than 200 successful flights, including flying in a representative urban environment,. said Mark Franzblau, director, FCS Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system development. .We are confident it will continue to meet or exceed the goals of DARPA's contract and eventually transition to FCS as the preferred Class I UAV platform.. The Micro Air Vehicle contract provides critical development in two key technology areas essential to meeting FCS Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle requirements: a ducted fan design providing hover and stare capability coupled with a small heavy fuels engine. The FCS program will continue to work with DARPA and Honeywell to transition the heavy fuel engine technology as it matures through the remainder of the DARPA contract. Leveraging DARPA's investment in the Micro Air Vehicle technology, Boeing issued a system engineering contract in December 2004 to Honeywell to conduct a gap analysis identifying what additional development was required to transition the DARPA vehicle to an FCS-compliant Class I UAV system. Under the extended, nearly-three-million-dollar contract announced this week, Honeywell will continue the systems engineering analyses leading to a System Functional Review in March 2006. Following a successful review, Boeing intends to award a Class I UAV System Development and Demonstration contract to Honeywell. The development and demonstration phase will continue through FY2014 and will include the development and flight test of unmanned, autonomous vehicle prototypes. The FCS Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is one of four classes of FCS Unmanned Aerial Vehicle systems that are organic to platoon, company, battalion and brigade echelons and form the airborne component of the FCS network providing protection and information for troops on the ground. Together, they constitute four of the 18 systems, which, together with the network and the soldier, will make up FCS. The FCS Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle will be used for reconnaissance, security and target acquisition operations in open, rolling, complex and urban terrain. Each system . comprising two air vehicles, a dismounted control device and associated ground support equipment . will be carried by selected platforms and dismounted soldiers, and will use autonomous flight and navigation with vertical take-off and landing and recovery capability. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Oct 24 12:52:45 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 08:52:45 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Announces Team to Bid on NATO Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence Contract Message-ID: <20051024085026.O673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 24 October 2005 ; PR Newswire SAIC Announces Team to Bid on NATO Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence Contract http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=156594 --- What: Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), together with teammates from companies representing five other alliance nations, will announce its intention to pursue the NATO active layered theatre ballistic missile defence systems engineering and integration (SE&I) contract, scheduled for an invitation for bid in March of 2006. When: Wednesday, 26 October 2005 (11:30 - 12:30) Where: International Press Centre, Residence Palace, Maelbeek Room Rue de la Loi 155, 1040 Brussels, Belgium Background: NATO's SE&I contractor will assist the alliance in integrating NATO and national weapons systems, sensors and battle management, command, control and communications (BMC3) into a coherent, capable architecture of theatre ballistic missile defences. The industrial team will provide systems engineering, test and validation support and develop and operate an integration test bed. Team SAIC is an international consortium of firms with significant experience in ballistic missile defence architecture, design, development, production and integration. Its members have developed and produced the majority of the world's active layered ballistic missile defence weapons systems and sensors as well as the BMC3 baone NATO will use to integrate them. Members of Team SAIC have collaborated for nearly four years to analyze NATO's ballistic missile defence architecture requirements and offer a mature capability to support alliance integration needs. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Oct 26 10:31:24 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 06:31:24 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] UAVs get smaller: the Micro Air Vehicle nears readiness Message-ID: <20051026062733.R673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 26 October 2005 ; Gizmag UAVs get smaller: the Micro Air Vehicle nears readiness http://www.gizmag.com/go/4779/ --- October 26, 2005 As the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have unfolded, one of the new stars in the theatre of battle has been the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). As each new conflict redefines war based on the technologies coming of age at that time, the Iraq campaign has seen the coming of age of the UAV in its many wonderous forms. It is the most-requested capability among combatant commanders and in the last 18 months, UAV numbers in Iraq have jumped from fewer than 100 to more than 400 and there are now nearly 600 UAVs in the Afghanistan and Iraq theatres. Even more interesting is the dizzying array of unmanned aircraft used in traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance UAV roles. Now we're set to see UAVs get smaller -- much smaller. The United States Future Combat Systems (FCS) program recently passed a significant milestone in its progress toward selecting a Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system. The MAV has achieved a technology readiness level 6 and is now ready to begin transitioning the technology to the FCS program as an affordable backpackable systems suitable for dismounted soldier, Marine, and Special Forces missions. It will focus on the development of lift augmented ducted fan MAVs to accomplish unique military missions, particularly the hover and stare capability in restricted (e.g urban) environments to provide real-time combat information. The system will also be employable in a variety of warfighting environments (for example: in complex topologies such as mountainous terrain; urban areas; confined spaces; and high concentrations of civilians). The initial MAV technology development program focused on the technologies and components required to enable flight at small scales, including flight control, power and propulsion, navigation and communications. The MAV ACTD program is intended to get DARPA-developed small, VTOL UAVs rapidly into the hands of the users for evaluation and evolution of the technologies; development of tactics, techniques and procedures; and to provide a residual operational capability to active duty forces. The FCS MAV technology is planned for transition to the Army during FY 2007. The unique attribute of the system is the ability to "perch and stare," which is the ability to land and continue to collect data. These systems are a cross between an unmanned air vehicle and an unattended ground sensor. While the vehicle is sitting collecting data (like an unattended ground sensor), it uses two orders-of-magnitude less fuel than while flying (i.e., one hour flight time uses the same fuel as one week of "perch and stare"). However, unlike unattended ground sensors, the MAV retains the ability to take-off and fly to another location, or to follow something of interest that is moving. The announcement was made last week by Boeing and partner Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), the Lead Systems Integrator team for the U.S. Army's FCS program. The Micro Air Vehicle (MAV), developed by Honeywell under a two-phased Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency advanced concept technology development contract, has achieved a technology readiness level 6. The readiness level is based on recent successes during government acceptance tests and pre-experimentation flights. The level 6 designation is consistent with FCS requirements to begin transitioning the technology to the FCS program. "The Micro Air Vehicle has flown more than 200 successful flights, including flying in a representative urban environment," said Mark Franzblau, director, FCS Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system development. "We are confident it will continue to meet or exceed the goals of DARPA's contract and eventually transition to FCS as the preferred Class I UAV platform." The Micro Air Vehicle contract provides critical development in two key technology areas essential to meeting FCS Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle requirements: a ducted fan design providing hover and stare capability coupled with a small heavy fuels engine. The FCS program will continue to work with DARPA and Honeywell to transition the heavy fuel engine technology as it matures through the remainder of the DARPA contract. Leveraging DARPA's investment in the Micro Air Vehicle technology, Boeing issued a system engineering contract in December 2004 to Honeywell to conduct a gap analysis identifying what additional development was required to transition the DARPA vehicle to an FCS-compliant Class I UAV system. Under the extended, nearly-three-million-dollar contract announced this week, Honeywell will continue the systems engineering analyses leading to a System Functional Review in March 2006. Following a successful review, Boeing intends to award a Class I UAV System Development and Demonstration contract to Honeywell. The development and demonstration phase will continue through FY2014 and will include the development and flight test of unmanned, autonomous vehicle prototypes. The FCS Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is one of four classes of FCS Unmanned Aerial Vehicle systems that are organic to platoon, company, battalion and brigade echelons and form the airborne component of the FCS network providing protection and information for troops on the ground. Together, they constitute four of the 18 systems, which, together with the network and the soldier, will make up FCS. The FCS Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle will be used for reconnaissance, security and target acquisition operations in open, rolling, complex and urban terrain. Each system -- comprising two air vehicles, a dismounted control device and associated ground support equipment -- will be carried by selected platforms and dismounted soldiers, and will use autonomous flight and navigation with vertical take-off and landing and recovery capability. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Oct 26 19:41:00 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 15:41:00 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Teams With Companies From Five Alliance Nations to Support NATO Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence System Engineering and Integration Contract Message-ID: <20051026154015.L673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 26 October 2005 ; PR Newswire SAIC Teams With Companies From Five Alliance Nations to Support NATO Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence System Engineering and Integration Contract http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=156878 --- BRUSSELS, Belgium, October 26 /PRNewswire/ -- A team led by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), the NATO prime contractor for missile defence architecture and requirements analysis, announced today that it intends to pursue the NATO active layered theatre ballistic missile defence (ALTBMD) systems engineering and integration (SE&I) contract, scheduled for an invitation for bid in March of 2006. SAIC's team is comprised of U.S. and European air and missile defence development companies as well as companies with large-scale systems integration capabilities. To complement these capabilities, SAIC has added defence research organisations who are leaders in distributed integration of missile defence weapon systems and command and control capabilities. If selected, the SAIC team will provide systems engineering support to NATO's ALTBMD program organisation in Brussels, Belgium and will design, develop and operate a testbed in Europe that will help integrate and test missile defence capabilities from NATO and member nations. SAIC's European teammates include France's Thales Group and European Aeronautics and Defence Space (EADS SPACE); Germany's Industrieanlagen-Betriebsgesellschaft mbH (IABG); Britain's QinetiQ; and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), as well as SAIC's U.K. subsidiary, SAIC Ltd. The Raytheon Company (U.S.) and ThalesRaytheonSystems, a transatlantic joint venture between Thales and Raytheon, complete the team. "SAIC is committed to bringing world-class systems engineering and integration to what is one of the most technically complex and militarily important programs NATO will ever undertake," said George Singley, president of SAIC's Transformation, Training and Logistics Group. "Missile defence is one of the key capabilities that will transform the Alliance in the 21st century. Our multinational consortium is committed to effectively integrating TMD assets from individual NATO allies with NATO's command and control capabilities in an architectural solution tailored to the Alliance's unique needs." In 2001 NATO awarded an ALTBMD feasibility study contract to SAIC and an international team to conduct performance evaluations at the system and architecture levels, which, in turn, formed the groundwork for the Alliance's new ALTBMD SE&I activity. In 2004, NATO awarded a second contract to SAIC and an international team to identify and thoroughly assess options to protect NATO territory, forces and population centres against the full range of missile threats. The core members of these past industrial teams have joined SAIC to pursue this new effort. "As the indispensable security alliance of the transatlantic community of nations, NATO is focused on pursuing a transformational agenda, which at its core includes missile defence," said Robert Bell, SAIC senior vice president and former NATO Assistant Secretary General (ASG). "The SAIC team's direct experience in missile defence systems analysis and large-scale systems integration, based objectively on platform-neutral, best-of-breed technologies can add significantly to accomplishing that agenda." From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Oct 27 02:39:57 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 22:39:57 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC-led Team Enters NATO Theater Missile Defense Contest Message-ID: <20051026223946.S673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 26 October 2005 ; Defense News SAIC-led Team Enters NATO Theater Missile Defense Contest http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=1198749&C=europe --- By BROOKS TIGNER, BRUSSELS Sharing ultra-sensitive technology and data will be the ultimate political test for NATO members regarding their plan for a new theater ballistic missile defense (TMD) system, said TeamSAIC, a new trans-Atlantic team of defense companies that intends to bid for the NATO work next year. "Sharing data is the most complex technical issue facing NATO regarding TMD," said Norman Ray, president of Raytheon International here, whose company is among the TeamSAIC members. Announcing TeamSAIC's decision here Oct. 26 to chase after the bid, Robert Bell, SAIC senior vice president and international account executive, said his San Diego-based company and the others "form the perfect dream team" for tackling the design of TMD's future architecture and carrying out its integration work. SAIC previously won a contract from the alliance in 2001 to evaluate how the system might look and function. NATO is expected to call for bids in March 2006 for the multibillion-dollar project, widely considered to be the largest in its history. The European members of TeamSAIC are France's Thales Group and the space segment of EADS, the German modeling and simulation company IABG, Britain's QinetiQ, the Dutch national research laboratory known as TNO, and ThalesRaytheonSystems, a trans-Atlantic joint venture between Thales and Raytheon. Also pursuing the contract will be a consortium led by Chicago-based Boeing, including U.S. firms Lockheed Martin and Teledyne Brown Engineering, the United Kingdom's BAE SYSTEMS, Europe's MBDA, Italy's Finmeccanica, Turkey's Havelsan, Poland's Przemyslowy Instytut Telekomunickacji, and a team of Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman, Europe's EADS and Spain's Indra. Asked whether most of the expected TMD work would center on creating the core of a new allied system or -- as NATO also requires -- on integrating the new TMD system with existing national theater missile defense systems, TeamSAIC members were equivocal. There are approximately 10 national systems that will have to be grafted onto NATO's own TMD system. "The [technological] path NATO has laid out before us is not an easy one," admitted George Singley, president of SAIC's transformation, training and logistics group. "To integrate NATO and national theater defense systems into a seamless one that performs flawlessly will be a major challenge. Let's just say there will be a lot of integration work." Just as problematic, however, could be the political challenge of getting U.S. and European companies to share leading-edge sensor technologies and classified data. "The question of sharing this kind of data is going to be an issue for all the team's members" due to their various nationalities, said Susan Pederson, head of NATO policy at SAIC. "But I also think there is strong political will among NATO countries to move ahead on TMD -- without the delays we've seen on this subject in the past." From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Oct 27 02:46:12 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 22:46:12 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] K. Stuart Shea Joins SAIC's Intelligence Group Message-ID: <20051026224502.O673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 26 October 2005 ; SAIC News K. Stuart Shea Joins SAIC's Intelligence Group http://www.saic.com/news/2005/oct/26.html --- (SAN DIEGO and MCLEAN, VA) - Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced today that K. Stuart Shea has joined SAIC's Intelligence Group as senior vice president and general manager for the Space and Geospatial Intelligence Business Unit. The Intelligence Group provides technology services and products for customers in signals intelligence, operational intelligence and geo-intelligence; in civil and national security; and in defense and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technology. "Throughout his career, Stu Shea has focused on missions that are critical to the intelligence community," said Lawrence Prior, president for SAIC's Intelligence Group. "Stu is an internationally recognized expert on the vital role of intelligence and technology in the protection of U.S. interests across the globe. His dedication to the advancement of technology to detect, assess and combat national security threats further strengthens SAIC's deep intelligence and security domain expertise." Previously, Shea served as vice president and executive director for the TASC, Inc., Space and Intelligence Business Unit with Northrop Grumman Corporation's Information Technology Sector. In 2003, he was named as one of the 12 members of the National Commission for the Review of the Research and Development Programs of the United States Intelligence Community, a national commission established by the U.S. Congress to review the full range of current research and development programs in the intelligence community. Shea previously held several positions with PAR Technology Corporation and served as an imagery analyst and remote sensing specialist with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Space Technology Center. Shea is the founder and chairman of the board for the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) and the GEOINT Symposium. In addition, he is a former national director of the Cartography and Geographic Information Society, was awarded the distinction of Fellow with the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, and served on the Sustaining Member Council for the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Shea is an advisory board member for the University of Virginia's Department of Systems and Information Engineering, and is a member of national associations, including the Security Affairs Support Association (SASA), Association of the United States Army (AUSA), the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association (AFCEA), among others. Shea received a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York at Albany and his Master of Arts degree from the University of Kansas. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Oct 28 12:48:22 2005 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 08:48:22 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Spirit of Sark wins Round Britain and Ireland Race Message-ID: <20051028084532.U673-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 27 October 2005 ; Sail World Spirit of Sark wins Round Britain and Ireland Race http://www.sail-world.com/indexs.cfm?nid=19711 --- Spirit of Sark has won the Round Britain and Ireland Challenge 2005 coming in just 15 minutes in front of Me to You, with SAIC just ten minutes back again. As the sun was coming up this morning Spirit of Sark crossed the line with spinnaker up before gybing to a finish line at Netley at 07.11.25 BST. It was a nail-biting conclusion to a hard fought race. A jubilant Des Harvey, winning skipper of Spirit of Sark, recounted the final couple of days: "We'd been racing Me to You for days but SAIC came out of nowhere and tacked right across our stern - no more than 100 metres behind us. It was then that we realised there was another boat in this race and suddenly there was a third boat right there trying to get first place." Des then went onto recount the final few hours which shows how close the racing actually became: "It all came to a head off Beachy with SAIC behind us and Me to You to leeward. We had a three-mile lead and suddenly half an hour later and our lead had decreased to a mile and half. John Quigley (skipper of Me to You) had put his up kite earlier than we did and suddenly he was right with us." "We raised our kite up and managed to hold them there. It was certainly very touch and go to get round St Katherine Point but we just did our best. In the Solent and the final two miles, Me to You, were no more than half a mile behind us and SAIC just behind them. However, at the finish line there was no more than 400 metres between us and Me to You and just 400 metres between them and SAIC." "I can't believe that a race of nearly 2000 miles can finish with just 400 metres between first and second . a phenomenal event. It is without doubt the closest and hardest race I've ever done in my life!" Despite the early morning arrival into Ocean Village the place was alive with friends, families and well-wishers on the hottest October day in Southampton for 117 years! Yachts played their team songs as they came triumphantly to their resting places before crew jumped out and congratulated one another, as three cheers mixed with the pop of champagne bottles and the opening of beers filled the air! Des Harvey was first to congratulate second placed skipper, John Quigley hugging him and telling him: "You gave me one hell of a race; that's the hardest thing I've ever done!" John Quigley, delighted to have nailed second place said: "I've only had 4 hours sleep and a couple of cat naps at the chart table since 2pm Tuesday afternoon when I got up to do a storm staysail change!" "I've got around 70,000 sailing miles, I've raced in the Round Britain and Ireland Challenge as a mate, I' ve skippered in the Fastnet and I've even raced around the world but this was the hardest race. It was just never ending; so close all the time; just amazing." "We nearly had them. We were third around Margate. We caught SAIC and managed to pass them but we just couldn't quite get past Spirit of Sark. So close though, such close racing." It was unclear right until the end who would win the Round Britain and Ireland Challenge. SAIC, who were taking the lead in stages at the start of the race, dropped back but came in as a dark horse near the end. Skipper Martin Wild explains his decision: "We were 28 miles back at Muckle Flugga so decided to cut down through the sand banks near Great Yarmouth, with Me to You choosing to go on the outside. We took the most direct route and subsequently really made up the miles and probably gave the other yachts a bit of a surprise when we tuned up out the blue." "It's disappointing but a third is still a good result. We had such a short time to prepare and I was really lucky to get such a fantastic crew. We were just so close at the end that I couldn't step away from it and I just pushed the guys as hard as I could to get the best result." Stuart Jackson, skipper of second placed Global Challenge 2004/05 yacht, Barclays Adventurer jumped onboard as soon as SAIC arrived to congratulate skipper Martin Wild, his friend who he mentored prior to the race. The Round Britain and Ireland Challenge has seen major extremes of weather, which all the crew and skippers have commented on. From virtually no wind, becalmed in what the crews were calling the Irish Doldrums the wind picked up around Muckle Flugga and the crews found themselves battling gale force conditions of 45 knots, as they made their way down the North Sea. However, it's the one design fleet, which makes for such close racing, keeping spectators on the edge of their seats and the crews never actually sat anywhere very stationary in a bid to keep moving the yacht as fast as possible 24/7. Will Otton skipper of fifth place Samsung, who came in three hours after the first three yachts confirmed: "It's really frustrating at times that the boats are the same because you can feel you're doing everything perfectly and yet not getting any closer. You just have to wait and wait and wait until someone makes a mistake and then go for it." "I took a bad decision by going north instead of tacking back into the Rhumb line and that's where we hit the wind hole, which turned out to be expensive. Beating up to the North of the Shetlands, knowing that other boats had rounded, was really tough particularly when we were pounding and pounding into strong winds and big seas." The yacht to get the biggest cheer today was fifth placed Pindar, who arrived at 12.05.15 BST. The lead boats had already had a couple of hours of celebration and were keen to welcome the last yacht home. Confetti canons and champagne corks sprung into the sun filled sky as the crew, adorned in Hawaii flower necklaces, looked delighted to be back. Marcus Chorlerton explained their final frustrating few hours: "We missed the tidal gate at Dover so we were against the tide through the Dover Straits. We were against the tide as we raced passed Dungeness, against it round the back of the Isle of Wight and still against it through the needles! It's been emotional!" "I've had a fantastic team and we've had a fantastic time. We played a bit of a weather gamble near the start, which didn't pay off for us but everyone knew we were there and we were coming up against them all the time!" For as long as the crew can stay awake the celebrations will continue as another Round Britain and Ireland Challenge comes to a highly successful conclusion and a phenomenally close finish, once again. Finishing Positions: 1 Samsung 11d 20h 11m 45s 2 Me To You 11d 20h 20m 26s 3 SAIC 11d 20h 36m 17s 4 Samsung 11d 23h 23m 12s 5 Pindar 12d 1 h 5m 11s