Deals to provide fuel for the U.S. military's fleets of ships and aircraft topped the list of contracts announced by the Pentagon last week.
The Defense Department awarded 78 contracts potentially worth $5.6 billion in the week ending Aug. 15, according to a Military.com analysis.
More than half of that value, or $3.5 billion, came from almost a dozen contracts for "aviation turbine fuel and naval fuel" from such companies as ExxonMobile Corp. and BP plc, according to the Aug. 11 announcements by the Defense Logistics Agency.
Excluding those deals and others for construction and logistics services, the biggest awards went to prime contractors for aircraft or aviation-related components.
General Electric Co. also on Aug. 11 landed a $311 million contract modification with the Navy for 75 F414 engines for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jet, including 48 engines for the Navy and 27 propulsion systems for the government of Australia. (The latter includes 24 engines and three spares.)
Boeing Co. on Aug. 14 won a $296 million deal with the Navy for parts in advance for a dozen P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft, including eight for the sea service and four for the government of Australia.
Northrop Grumman Corp. on Aug. 15 received a $241 million pact with the Air Force for three Block 30M RQ-4B Global Hawk drones with enhanced integrated senor suites and airborne signals intelligence payloads. The Air Force in recent years had wanted to stop buying the Block 30 because it was costlier to fly than the U-2 spy plane with comparable performance, but lawmakers disagreed and ordered continued procurement of the drone.
Lockheed Martin Corp., the world's largest defense contractor, on Aug. 15 received a $233 million contract modification with the Navy for 19 training devices and other support equipment as part of the Lot VI low rate initial production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the fifth-generation stealth fighter jet.
