July 24, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
By: Joe Gould
WASHINGTON ― The White House and Senate Republicans are nearing an agreement on a $1 trillion-plus economic rescue proposal that would also seek $21 billion for defense, according to a draft obtained by the New York Times on Thursday.
The emerging GOP proposal would include $11 billion in payments to contractors under the Section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which allowed firms serving the federal government to seek reimbursement for pandemic-related expenses.
However, amid reports of internal divisions―over the defense money and other aspects―Republicans delayed the rollout to at least next week.
Defense trade associations, along with dozens of industry executives, have conducted a vocal lobbying effort across government to secure the money as they grapple with the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic.
It was unclear from the draft document — essentially a list of priorities and amounts — what the remainder of the defense funding would be for. The line item in the draft read only: “$20 billion — Defense total ($11 billion of which is for 3610 payments to contractors.” The funding follows $10.5 billion the Pentagon previously received under the CARES Act.
The emerging proposal would include another round of stimulus payments to individuals, additional aid to small businesses and a partial extension of enhanced unemployment benefits, according to a summary circulating on Capitol Hill that was obtained by the New York Times.
The defense portion would be a boon to the Pentagon and its suppliers, but it's by no means a done deal. The White House and Senate Republicans, which took months to draft the proposal, faced more delays this week over internal disagreements ― as well as coming negotiations with Democrats, who have sought as much as $3.5 trillion for coronavirus relief.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, told reporters that staff are working to finalize text of the agreement, which was expected to be released as a group of bills instead of one piece of legislation.
Underscoring the difficulties, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Thursday rejected the GOP's “piecemeal” approach, saying the proposal fell “very short.” It omits Democratic priorities like food assistance, aid to prevent evictions, hazard pay for essential workers, and aid to states and communities, they said.
Since officials with the Department of Defense have called for defense reimbursements in the low double-digit billions, warning that they would otherwise have to raid modernization and readiness accounts for the funding, some analysts have predicted Congress would address the need.
“We expect the Senate's version of the next COVID-19 relief package to include money for Section 3610 impacts and related cost impacts,” Roman Schweizer of the Cowen Group wrote Thursday in a note to investors. “We think this money will be small compared to the total cost of the bill (~$1T+) and will be included in the final bill. This will be positive for defense [firms] and allow DoD to protect investment accounts. We expect a lengthy, complicated process for cost recovery.”
In a Senate floor speech earlier in the week, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe said Congress ought to follow through on Section 3610 with appropriations, or risk delays and cost overruns in weapons programs as well as attrition in the defense industry's workforce.
“Defense industrial companies have done a great job in ensuring that their suppliers — primarily thousands of small businesses — stay open and keep their employees paid,” said Inhofe, R-Okla. “In the CARES Act, we gave DoD the authority and the tools to reimburse these companies to keep the defense workforce strong. But the DoD needs money to use these tools.”
https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/07/23/21b-for-defense-in-draft-covid-aid-proposal-report/
June 10, 2022 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
“Reducing America’s dependence on gas and oil is critical to U.S. national security,” DepSecDef Hicks said.
January 18, 2021 | International, Aerospace
Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — The Missile Defense Agency awarded L3Harris Technologies a $121 million contract to build a prototype satellite capable of tracking hypersonic weapons, the agency announced Jan. 14. Under the contract, L3Harris is tasked with building an on-orbit prototype demonstration for the agency's Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor, a proliferated constellation in low Earth orbit that is capable of detecting and tracking hypersonic weapons. The constellation is designed to fill the gap in the country's missile defense architecture created by hypersonic weapons, which are dimmer than traditional ballistic missiles, making them harder to see with the nation's infrared sensors based in geosynchronous orbit. In addition, they are able to maneuver around terrestrial sensors. With China and Russia developing these weapons, the Department of Defense is eager to develop a new constellation that can detect and track the threats anywhere in the world. And so is Congress — in December lawmakers set aside $130 million to fund the project. The HBTSS design solves the hypersonic weapon problem by placing the sensor much closer to the Earth's surface in the lower orbit, making it easier to see the threat. But because the sensors are closer to the Earth, they have a far more limited field of view than the sensors in geosynchronous orbit. In order to achieve global coverage, the Missile Defense Agency wants a proliferated constellation made up of dozens of satellites on orbit. L3Harris was one of four companies awarded $20 million contracts in 2019 to develop a prototype payload design and risk reduction demonstration for HBTSS, along with Northrop Grumman, Leidos and Raytheon Technologies. According to the initial contract announcements, work on those designs was due Oct. 31, 2020. With this most recent award, L3Harris has won the subsequent competition between the four companies to build the actual prototype. The company has also been selected to build satellites for the Space Development Agency that will track hypersonic threats and feed data to HBTSS. In October, L3Harris won a $193 million contract to build four of the agency's eight wide field of view (WFOV) satellites, with SpaceX building four more. According to Space Development Agency leaders, their satellites will work in conjunction with HBTSS satellites to track hypersonic threats. The WFOV satellites will provide initial detection and tracing of the weapons, passing custody from satellite to satellite as the threats traverse the globe. Then, the WFOV satellites will pass custody to the medium field of view HBTSS satellites, which can provide targeting solutions with their more accurate sensors. The WFOV satellites are scheduled for launch as early as September 2022. Work on the HBTSS prototype contract will be complete in July 2023. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2021/01/14/l3harris-to-build-prototype-satellite-capable-of-tracking-hypersonic-weapons/
July 30, 2019 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
HERNDON, Va. – July 30, 2019 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has received a $44 million contract award for the Electronic Attack Pod Upgrade Program (EAPUP) from the U.S. Air Force. Placed under an existing contract, this third production order will significantly increase the number of EAPUP systems for the Air Force. Operating in the modern air warfare environment with advanced, rapidly proliferating electronic warfare systems and radar-guided weapons requires an equally sophisticated level of protection and proven technology. The EAPUP — an upgraded, digital AN/ALQ-131 pod — will replace the Air Force’s current electronic attack pods. The AN/ALQ-131A is currently available to international partners. “The new technology in EAPUP will protect U.S. Air Force pilots and coalition partner aircraft from modern and future threats,” said Michelle Scarpella, vice president and general manager, global logistics and modernization, Northrop Grumman. Northrop Grumman received the order following a series of rigorous tests designed to verify the system’s capabilities and readiness for operations. The tests were representative of modern combat scenarios and involved multiple, simultaneous threats. The pod demonstrated the ability to identify, locate and counter sophisticated threats and keep aircrews safe during missions in contested airspace. “The advanced electronic warfare capability integrated in EAPUP is mature, scalable and in production today. Available globally, it is ready to give aircrews the protection they need in dense electromagnetic spectrum environments,” said Brent Toland, vice president, land and avionics C4ISR, Northrop Grumman. EAPUP will bring the Air Force’s electronic attack pod inventory into the digital age, delivering fifth-generation capability to fourth-generation aircraft and making it among the most capable electronic warfare pod in the Department of Defense inventory. At the core of EAPUP is Northrop Grumman’s advanced electronic warfare technology, built upon the expertise gained from the company’s broad portfolio of programs for multiple services. Northrop Grumman has more than 60 years of experience delivering electronic warfare systems for a wide variety of fighter, bomber and transport aircraft. Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, space, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide. Please visit news.northropgrumman.com and follow us on Twitter, @NGCNews, for more information. https://www.intelligent-aerospace.com/military/article/14037164/usaf-electronic-warfare-pods