October 19, 2022 | International, Aerospace
Space Force may seek commercial fleet to augment wartime needs
The service will hold an industry day in January to hear feedback on its concept for a Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve.
September 26, 2019 | International, C4ISR
A new contract offers on-demand support for cyber missions
By: Mark Pomerleau
The government has selected Parsons for a $590 million cyber contract called Combatant Commands Cyber Mission Support (CCMS). The contract, run out of the General Services Administration, will support cyber capabilities — both hardware and software requirements — across the government to include geographic and functional combatant commands, the interagency and federal/civilian agencies.
“The contract, the way it was structured was to be able to develop and deliver capability multidomain capability across the services, both defensive, non-defensive capabilities, as well as open-source, intelligence analytics through this contracting mechanism,” Paul Decker, executive vice president and head of cyber and intelligence business for Parsons, told Fifth Domain.
“The intent of this is for it to be a multiuse contract to serve both the DoD, as well as interagencies across the department ... A key takeaway is as organizational requirements continue to get fed up through the various different tactical organizations, it is all going to be about having technology that is interoperable, integrateable and that can be used at each echelon at an organization.”
More specifically, according to a source, the contract seeks to provide cyber research, development, test and evaluation, training and cyber tools. It will provide rapid capabilities and is thought to strengthen cyber operations for forces.
Decker said that this could be one of many vehicles used by U.S. Cyber Command to procure capabilities.
“This contract, CCMS, will likely be utilized as a means to help support additional requirements that the command could have, as well as any of the geographical commands and functional commands,” he said.
“They're an organization that can absolutely utilize this vehicle, this acquisition vehicle to get their rapid needs serviced through this vehicle.”
He also noted that the Department of Homeland Security could also use the contract, potentially, for election security needs.
On the same subject
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February 3, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Lockheed Martin receives $2.3B deal for helicopter parts maintenance
ByChristen McCurdy Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin has received a $2.3 billion contract for parts maintenance for MH-60R and MH-60S helicopters for the U.S. Navy, the Department of Defense announced. The MH-60R -- also called the 'Romeo' aircraft -- has been operational since 2006. The helicopters are jointly built by Lockheed and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. According to Lockheed, MH-60R replaces the SH-60B Bravo and SH-60F Foxtrot, and is equipped for combat duty as well as high-risk rescues. Itcan fly at speeds of up to 180 knots while carrying extra fuel tanks or torpedoes and Hellfire missiles. The MH-60S, also called the Knighthawk, replaced the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters in 2001 and is used seek out and destroy naval mines from the air. Both models have a digital cockpit with four flat-panel color display screens that provide the crew access to advanced surveillance and information on weather conditions. The contract funds approximately 1,049 weapon replaceable assemblies and shop replaceable assemblies associated with both helicopter models. Forty-eight percent of work on the contract will be performed at various contractor supplier locations throughout the U.S., with 38 percent of work taking place in Stratford, Conn., and Owego, N.Y. Work should be completed by January 2025, but the contract does include an option that would extend the work through January 2027. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/01/31/Lockheed-Martin-receives-23B-deal-for-helicopter-parts-maintenance/3901580519254/
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December 17, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Modernization top priority in FY20 budget, Pentagon’s No. 2 official says
By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — As the Trump administration and Congress deliberate the Defense Department's top-line budget for fiscal 2020, safeguarding the military's weapons programs and funding technology development is taking precedence over growing the force, the Pentagon's No. 2 official said Thursday. “At the end of the day, the national defense strategy puts a priority on modernization,” Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told reporters Dec. 13. “The trick then becomes, when you talk about force structure, how much risk do you take given the world's environment?” Shanahan's comments come at a time of back-and-forth between President Donald Trump, Defense Department leadership and Congress about the size of the FY20 defense budget. Pentagon budget makers had been planning for a $733 billion budget request — a modest increase over the $716 billion budget for FY19 — when Trump announced in October that the Defense Department's budget would instead be cut to $700 billion. The move surprised many, as Trump had frequently touted his administration's efforts to grow the size of the military and invest in new defense technology. The announcement raised questions about what the Pentagon would have to cut in order to meet the lower number, but it appears that those concerns may have been premature. Earlier this week, Politico and other outlets reported that congressional Republicans and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had convinced Trump to raise the top line to $750 billion. Shanahan on Thursday downplayed the reports, saying that a final top line had yet to be determined. "We're looking at numbers above $733 [billion], and as you know, we looked at numbers below $733 [billion]. I think everybody recognizes that this is a discussion that will go on in terms of what is the right number. The process we have is very robust,” he said. No matter what the top line ends up looking like, the goal will be “anchor[ing] line items to the National Defense Strategy. That's the rigor we put in place,” he added. With a top line above $733 billion, it's possible the Defense Department will be able to grow both its modernization accounts as well as funding for improving readiness and increasing force structure. But Shanahan, who spoke at a National Defense Industrial Association event on hypersonics on Thursday, tried to quell defense contractors' concerns that funding for hypersonic technologies, and science and technology development in general, could suffer under a budget that rings in at $733 billion or below. Asked by one Lockheed Martin employee whether funding for hypersonics programs would remain reliable in light of budgetary fluctuations, Shanahan said his level of confidence was high it would. “We've prioritized amortization,” he said. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/budget/2018/12/14/modernization-top-priority-in-fy20-budget-pentagons-no-2-official-says/