Incoming

Some forward-operating bases in Afghanistan are about to get new occupants. Northrop Grumman today announced a contract for "providing personnel for operating" counter-rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM) systems in that country.

The deal comes in the form of a $68 million task order under the Defense Information Systems Agency's Encore II contract. The task order has a potential value of $219 million over a one-year base period and two one-year options, according to the company's Aug. 31 statement.

The C-RAM capability in question has been fielded "to multiple FOBs in Iraq and is in the process of being installed in Afghanistan," the company said.

Army officials are eying an experimental C-RAM program, the Extended Area Protection and Survivability (EAPS), as a potential workplace for the Container Launch Unit of the canceled Non-Line of Sight Launch System, Inside the Army reported this week.

C-RAM capabilities are bound to become more important in the future if the conclusions of a recent Defense Department wargame hold true. The drill concluded that the increasing availability of precision weapons to potential foes could pose serious problems for U.S. forces.