Lockheed Martin received a $127 million Foreign Military Sale contract from the U.S. Navy to deliver the MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) for three Republic of Korea KDX-III destroyers.

Based on a whole system approach of design and integration, the MK 41 VLS has evolved with changing customers' missions, adding capability to accommodate different types of missiles to meet different requirements. No other existing naval missile launcher is capable of launching missiles for every threat in naval warfare, including anti-air, anti-submarine, ship self-defense, land attack, and missile defense.

Korea's KDX-III ships will feature cutting-edge design and systems integration, including Lockheed Martin's Aegis Weapon System, the most advanced combat system in the world.

Lockheed Martin will issue subcontracts to United Defense of Aberdeen, SD, and Metric Systems of Fort Walton Beach, FL, to produce subassemblies for the MK 41 VLS.

Lockheed Martin has received a US$119 million contract to conduct System Development and Demonstration (SDD) for a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) variant with a single warhead. Work on the contract will be performed at the company's facilities in Dallas, TX, Camden, AR, and White Sands Missile Range, NM.

The program will replace the existing GMLRS payload of multiple submunitions with a single or unitary warhead, enhanced fuzing and an improved rocket motor. GMLRS Unitary is an evolutionary follow-on to the GMLRS system, which will extend the family line of MLRS and Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) technologies.

Primary contract activities will include developing an initial configuration that will provide more immediate capability to the user, and a follow-on configuration that will provide further enhancements. The contract includes 86 rockets, 71 of which are flight articles, with the balance supporting test and other activities. The contract also provides test hardware to support 26 flight tests for the initial configuration and 39 flight tests of the follow-on configuration.

This program was preceded by a successful system demonstration in 2002 of a Quick Reaction Unitary Rocket and a nine-month Component Advanced Development program. The Guided Unitary SDD program will continue through 2007.

Representatives of Alcatel announced that it has been awarded two contracts by Hungarian Railways valued over Euro 22 million in total. Based on the first contract, Alcatel will equip the main line Budapest-Cegléd-Szolnok with most modern electronic interlocking systems. The second contract concerns the line between Budapest and the Austrian border, which will be upgraded with the standardized European Train Control System (ETCS).

For the Budapest-Cegléd-Szolnok line, Alcatel will provide its Alcatel 6131 LockTrac system (Elektra), ensuring a safe and controlled train routing. Alcatel will have a full turnkey responsibility covering the design, the delivery and the installation of the interlocking equipment for the stations Vecses, Üllö and Monor located south of Budapest. In addition, a central traffic control system located in Monor will complement the system in order to monitor efficiently and safely the trains on this railway section.

To control the trains when they roll on the 170 km Budapest-Austrian border section, and to even increase their speed, Alcatel will deliver its Alcatel 6413 AlTrac system which is based on the latest European Train Control standards (ETCS Level1). Seventeen Hungarian locomotives of type series V63-100 will be equipped with on-board systems (driver console, computer, transmitter and receiver, etc.) able to interface with the equipment along the track.

These new contracts from Hungarian Railways follow a contract won by Alcatel in 2000 to equip the Zallövö - Hodos railway line also with Elektra and ETCS train control. Obtained after an open international competition, the contracts reinforce the leading position of Alcatel in Hungary for railway signaling technology.

Representatives of ACS, a provider of business process and information technology outsourcing solutions, announced that the State of Hawaii Judiciary has contracted with ACS to provide the software and services to implement an integrated, statewide justice information management solution for all Hawaii State courts. The contract is valued at approximately US$12 million to ACS, if all modules of ACS' solution are implemented. ACS will provide a comprehensive suite of case management systems, software modifications, training and installation, data conversion, and project management services, as well as imaging solutions from ACS' partner, FileNET.

Currently, the Hawaii State court system utilizes 11 major disparate systems, serving different courts and functions. These systems are antiquated, limited in their applications, unable to share data with each other, and not tied to a fiscal accounting system. The ACS case management system will integrate all the State's appellate, circuit, family, and district courts through a single, unified database, and provide courts and judges with the up-to-date and accurate information they need to make appropriate and timely decisions. ACS' advanced solution will also enable the Judiciary to collect and generate court statistics needed for improving case management and court operations. Additionally, the system will give the public and the legal community increased access to non-confidential court information online, and allow citations to be paid over the Web and documents filed with the court electronically.

In selecting the best technology solution for the State, the Hawaii Judiciary used an extensive nine-month, multi-phased evaluation process that involved hundreds of Judiciary employees Statewide, as well as representatives of the Hawaii bar and government agencies that interact with the Judiciary. ACS was the only vendor that offered a complete case management solution that performed all the court functions needed for the Judiciary's case management system. ACS will use two Hawaii companies, Commercial Data Systems, Inc., and Century Computers, Inc., as subcontractors.

Implementation will begin before the end of this year, with the first module of the project (traffic) scheduled to be completed in approximately 15 months. The remaining phases (criminal, civil, family, appellate) will be implemented over a seven-year period. The Hawaii Judiciary represents ACS' third large, multi-jurisdictional project outside the continental United States. The project will thus require effective planning and coordination of resources across the Pacific and varying time zones. ACS has implemented similar multi-jurisdictional systems for the nation of Singapore and the province of Victoria, Australia, in addition to several statewide projects within the U.S. mainland.

Representatives of EDS and Infineon Technologies AG announced a 10-year, multi-million dollar business process outsourcing contract for payroll accounting and major parts of the recruiting function in Germany and Austria.

Infineon, the world's sixth largest semiconductor company, is continuously working to slim down its corporate structures. Parts of the Infineon workforce will transition to EDS as a result of the agreement.

Effective January 2, 2004, EDS will assume operating responsibility for the areas concerned, with the transfer of all processes to EDS to be completed by October 1, 2004.
The market research company Gartner Dataquest expects the readiness of companies to outsource their human resources administration to an external service provider to increase significantly over the next two years. According to a study released in July 2003, the market for HR business process outsourcing is expected to grow by 11 percent over the previous year, to a total of US$27.9 billion worldwide. The volume is forecast to reach US $37.8 billion in 2007. Moreover, the aim is not only to reduce costs, but also to improve services.

Representatives of Perot Systems Corporation announced that the company has reached agreement with Global Motorsport Group, Inc. (GMG) on an additional contract valued at US$1.9 million to create, enhance and manage GMG's electronic commerce and web-based businesses.

The contract addition requires Perot Systems to develop a market-leading e-commerce platform for the motorcycle parts distribution industry. In addition, Perot Systems will begin hosting GMG's existing Internet hardware and applications from Perot Systems' data center in Plano, TX.

Perot Systems has been providing ERP strategy, implementation and support services to Global Motorsport Group, Inc. since September 2000, and in February 2003 signed a ten-year, $22 million complete information technology outsourcing contract.

As manufacturing firms worldwide continue to seek ways to contain costs and become more agile as market needs change, representatives of EDS announced a series of contracts for information technology (IT) services with three manufacturing firms in the United States.

EDS' relationships with manufacturers, such as Airgas, Exide Technologies and Thomas Built Buses include the development and management of software applications, networks and servers, providing desktop support, hosting critical applications and Web sites, and many other valuable services. Clients are then able to focus on their core business and drive business growth.

The announcements, financial terms of which were not disclosed, include:
-A five-year renewed agreement with Airgas, the United States' largest distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases and related equipment, safety supplies and MRO products and services to industrial and commercial markets. EDS will host its midrange servers.
-A five-year agreement with New Jersey-based Exide Technologies, a leading provider of stored electrical-energy solutions, to provide desktop support, midrange hosting, web hosting, network management and Web applications services.
-A 13-year contract with Thomas Built Buses, the North Carolina-based subsidiary of Freightliner L.L.C. and leading manufacturer of school buses in North America. With this agreement, EDS will add network management services in addition to the application development, desktop support, telecommunications and project management services that EDS already provides. These services have allowed Thomas Built to move to the forefront in the use of technology as a competitive advantage within the bus industry.