Cohort Regulatory News (CHRT)

12 May 2008 06:00

12 May 2008 COHORT PLC £6.9m worth of new defence contracts secured Cohort plc today announces that its wholly-owned subsidiaries, MASS Consultants Limited ("MASS"), Systems Consultants Services Limited ("SCS") and Systems Engineering and Assessment Limited ("SEA") have been awarded contracts totalling 6.9m as follows: ·;MASS - £1.2m contract for RAF Tornado equipment ·;SCS - £2.9m contract for the second phase of delivery on LEAPP ·;SEA - £2.75m contract for Merlin Helicopter vibration monitoring Commenting on developments, Stanley Carter, Chief Executive of Cohort plc said: "These wins reflect the Cohort group's wide engagement with the defence industry and demonstrate its ability to build on its existing expertise, now and in the future." MASS has been awarded a contract with value in excess of £1.2m by Ultra Electronics Sonar and Communication Systems. This contract is for the design and manufacture of electronic equipment for the RAF's Tornado aircraft. Work will start immediately, to be completed in the first half of next year. MASS will provide new cockpit control units to allow the crew to operate the upgraded radios on the Tornado. These units will provide secure communications within and outside the aircraft, and will enable the aircraft to operate with coalition forces. SCS has been awarded, as part of Team Athena, the UK Ministry of Defence's Land Environment Air Picture Provision (LEAPP) Demonstration and Manufacture contract. The value to SCS, from manufacture until delivery in 2011 will be £2.9M and follows on from SCS successful participation in the preceding two year Assessment Phase. The contract award comes through the Lockheed Martin led Team Athena, of which SCS is an integral part. This project will provide: ·;a greatly enhanced Air Picture for the Land environment (a representation of the air space above a battlefield); ·;new software tools to plan the successful deployment of LEAPP assets; ·;additional ground based sensors providing a local air picture (LAP); ·;interfaces to existing Tactical Data Links; ·;control nodes and air picture trailers to effectively coordinate and manage the distribution of the Air Picture. SCS' role within the contract will be to provide the training solution with the assistance of Training Systems Technology Ltd and Allan Webb Ltd. In addition to this SCS will provide technical and domain expertise across the length and breadth of Team Athena. SEA, has been awarded a contract by AgustaWestland Helicopters, valued at circa £2.75M. The contract is for the design, development and delivery of flight recorders, ground-based analysis workstations and rota track and balance equipment. This equipment is for the UK-deployed Merlin Mk1 and Merlin Mk3 aircraft and is intended for operational use by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. SEA's new equipment will continuously record vibration data on-board the platforms for the pilot and maintenance crews to monitor and control aircraft vibration. Levels of vibration on-board rotorcraft need to be carefully monitored in order to avoid platform and equipment damage, unnecessary wear and tear, extended maintenance and reduced platform life. This contract follows on from the previously successful supply of new Vibration Recorder Monitor systems for the Canadian Cormorant fleet of EH101 helicopters. For further information, please contact Cohort plc 014 9184 5626 Simon Walther, Finance Director Investec 020 7597 5970 Michael Ansell Hogarth Partnership Limited 020 7357 9477 Julian Walker, Andrew Jaques, Vicky Watkins Notes to Editors Cohort plc (www.cohortplc.com) is a technology group working primarily for defence (air, land and sea), wider government and industry clients, through three market-facing subsidiary companies: ·; MASS (www.mass.co.uk) - a specialist defence and aerospace systems developer focused mainly on Electronic Warfare, Information Systems, Managed Services and Secure Communications. Acquired by Cohort in August 2006 for an initial consideration of £12.5m. ·; SCS (www.scs-ltd.co.uk) - primarily an independent defence consultancy, combining technical expertise with practical experience and domain knowledge. ·; SEA (www.sea.co.uk) - an advanced surveillance systems and software house with hardware development capability operating in the defence, space, transport and offshore market sectors. Acquired by Cohort in October 2007 for an initial consideration of £20.7m. Cohort (AIM: CHRT) was admitted to London's Alternative Investment Market in March 2006. It has its headquarters in Oxfordshire and, through its operating companies, employs in total around 450 staff there and at bases in Bristol, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Lincolnshire and Somerset. ENDCNTFKCKDABKDCPK