Leap Forward for Artllery Improvement Programme

BAE Systems, FARNBOROUGH, UK: As part of an incremental programme to deliver increased artillery capability to the British Army for the next two decades (Indirect Fire Precision Attack (IFPA)), BAE Systems Future Systems has been awarded a £30 million contract to manage the second Assessment Phase and the Loitering Munition Capability Demonstration (LM CD). 
 
The assessment phase will be carried out by a joint BAE Systems/MoD team and will assess and review maturing munitions and technologies and associated performance, time and cost envelopes against future Defence Planning Assumptions. 
 
Successful completion of the assessment phase and capability demonstration will inform future developments on the IFPA programme. 
 
“This contract recognises BAE Systems’ expertise and knowledge of the modern defence environment and its valuable contribution to the first assessment phase,” said Simon Jewell, Director of Strategic Business Development. “The joint team will provide detailed analysis and will examine how loitering munitions can be integrated into the existing British Army infrastructure and the wider network enabled battlespace.” 
 
Throughout the assessment BAE Systems will partner with the UK MoD and some of the UK’s leading defence companies including MBDA UK, QinetiQ, and HVR Consulting Services. In addition, the company’s own Land Systems and Integrated System Technologies businesses will also contribute to the assessment. 
 
For the LM CD subcontract, a representative loitering munition system is being delivered by the Battlefield Loitering Artillery Directed Effect (BLADE) team, led by Ultra Electronics. The LM CD contract is expected to run for up to two years. 
 
“The Capability Demonstration, along with the ongoing Assessment Phase for IFPA, will reduce technical and operational risk for the potential future Loitering Munition Demonstration & Manufacture phase,” said Brigadier Mark Milligan, artillery systems IPT leader.  
 
BAE Systems is a global defence and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. With 88,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems' sales exceeded 13.7 billion pounds sterling (US25.4 billion dollars) in 2006.