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July 16, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Security

Airbus US pivots business strategy away from selling big platforms to the Pentagon

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WASHINGTON — After decades of trying to break into the U.S. military aircraft market, Airbus is shifting course with a new strategy that prioritizes selling off-the-shelf sensors, data, space and intelligence capabilities that have been customized for U.S. government buyers.

During a Wednesday discussion with reporters about the new direction for the business, Chris Emerson, the new chief executive of the Airbus U.S. Space and Defense division and formerly the president of Airbus Helicopters, said he wanted to move the company's focus in the United States away from the major fixed-wing platforms that are the company's bread and butter in Europe.

Instead, he hopes to expand the company's presence in the growing space and intelligence markets, particularly with low-cost satellites like those made by its joint venture One Web, geospatial intelligence and imaging, and space-based sensors.

“We know the Air Force needs an A400M, but I can spend 10 years trying to convince the Air Force and all the politicians that they should buy an A400M. And ultimately they will buy C-130s,” Emerson said.

“So let me focus this energy, this great leadership team, on achieving something that is tangible today that the customer really needs. Yes, it's not traditional for Airbus, but it will bring the value and we'll have a better foundation if one day my successor says, ‘You know, I want to be a big platform competitor.' At least we'd have built up trust and proven that we could really meet the requirements that are demanded of it.”

Although Airbus is a juggernaut in the international military and commercial aerospace market, it has always struggled to find its place among the U.S. defense prime contractors as major aircraft manufacturers. It famously lost the KC-X contract to Boeing in 2011 after a bloody and prolonged battle. Since then, the company's biggest procurement victory has been continued sales of its UH-72A Lakota helicopter to the Army.

“I remember I spent eight years thinking we could bring real value on air-to-air refueling for the Air Force. But I spent eight years, and I'm frustrated because I look at it and we didn't succeed,” Emerson said. “I've asked the team, ‘Let's find a roadmap where we can actually make a mark with the customers.' And that means, I'm not going to go look at competing with Boeing and the Lockheeds and Northrop, but I'm going to look at other areas.”

The U.S. customer is increasingly making investments into technologies that can augment or accelerate decision-making, he said.

“That's where we start to look everything beyond an air breathing platform. We started to look at the data, the intelligence, that they need,” he said. “It could be intelligence that is geospatial-related, either Earth observation, or electro-optical, or synthetic aperture radar, or a blend that we're pulling in multi-source information.”

Airbus already develops those types of capabilities in its commercial air and space businesses, and could quickly adapt them to U.S. demands, he said.

When there are opportunities to offer Airbus aircraft to the U.S. military, the strategy will be to partner with American primes, Emerson said. For instance, last year Airbus and Lockheed signed a memorandum of understanding to market aerial refueling services to the U.S. Air Force using the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport.

Asked on Wednesday whether the two companies planned to compete for tanker leasing opportunities currently being considered by the Air Force, Emerson said Lockheed takes the lead on interactions with the U.S. military on aerial refueling.

He added that UH-72s will continue to be manufactured alongside Airbus's commercial H125 helicopter in Columbus, Miss., but modifications, support and contracting will be performed by the Airbus U.S. Space and Defense.

In addition to naming Emerson as head of the company's U.S. defense and space business, Airbus also appointed a five-person board of directors — which includes former National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency director Letitia Long and William Shelton, a retired Air Force four-star and former head of Air Force Space Command — aimed at deepening ties with the U.S. military, space and intelligence agencies. It also named a seven-person team of advisers made up of former national security officials.

https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/07/15/airbus-us-pivots-business-strategy-away-from-selling-big-platforms-to-the-pentagon/

On the same subject

  • L3Harris pushes advanced autonomy for unmanned maritime vehicles

    July 8, 2020 | International, Naval

    L3Harris pushes advanced autonomy for unmanned maritime vehicles

    by Gerrard Cowan L3Harris has set its sights on the intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance (ISR) market for unmanned maritime systems, identifying opportunities to combine the legacy unmanned surface vehicle (USV) technologies of ASV Global with the communications and sensor specialisms of the wider company since the latter was acquired in September 2018. These changes have brought a range of technological opportunities for the former ASV Global business, including the platforms it had originally developed before the acquisition, said James Cowles, business development manager at L3Harris. Cowles told Janes that L3Harris' ASV technology is suited to three major applications: mine countermeasures (MCM), where it has for example worked on the Anglo-French Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) programme with Thales; anti-submarine warfare (ASW), through such vehicles as its C-Worker USV; and ISR. He added that the integration of L3Harris and ASV's technologies is still at an early stage, although this effort is expected have a significant effect on its systems, particularly in ISR. L3Harris has several communication arms focused on high-bandwidth line-of-sight communications and satellite communications (satcom), he noted. “While we did have some excellent radios in the past, I think that some of the radios that we can now access for our military customers will really enhance our capability to move data in a safe and efficient way,” he said. Additionally, he said L3Harris is exploring internal collaboration, utilising the technologies of L3Harris Wescam in terms of integrating electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) sensors into the ASV platforms. Beyond this, the company is potentially looking to work with TRL – an L3Harris-owned cyber security and electronic warfare specialist – on areas like cryptography. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/l3harris-pushes-advanced-autonomy-for-unmanned-maritime-vehicles

  • BAE successfully tests ground-launched APKWS rockets for first time

    June 2, 2020 | International, Land

    BAE successfully tests ground-launched APKWS rockets for first time

    By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — BAE Systems has completed a successful ground-to-ground test of its Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System rocket for the first time, the company announced Monday. The test, conducted at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, involved “several successful shots” of the APKWS rockets out of a launcher, built specifically for ground vehicles by Arnold Defense, according to BAE. The weapon has traditionally been launched from rotary or fixed-wing aircraft. A ground-based APKWS, delivered via the Arnold Fletcher launcher, was first unveiled in 2018. “Demand is growing for ground-to-ground precision munitions that provide a safe standoff distance for small ground units,” Greg Procopio, director of precision guidance and sensing solutions at BAE Systems, said in a statement. “We're working closely with our customer and partners to deliver that capability.” The APKWS laser-guided rocket is used by the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The Navy holds the program of record. The rockets have also spread via foreign military sales to more than a dozen foreign nations. However, the U.S. Army decided to end procurement of the rockets as a result of its “night court” budget review. In its fiscal 2021 budget request, the service said it redirected $122 million in funding from the rockets toward higher priorities. Even before the Army's decision was official, BAE was working to increase the flexibility of APKWS as a low-cost, precision-strike option. Late last year, the Air Force successfully tested it for missile defense, and the ground-to-ground version would add to the military options for the weapon. The company delivered more than 35,000 APKWS units by the end of 2019 and expects to deliver 18,000 in 2020. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/06/01/bae-successfully-tests-ground-launched-apkws-rockets-for-first-time/

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - May 27, 2020

    May 28, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - May 27, 2020

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General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, is awarded a $7,432,050 modification (P00006) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N00019-18-C-1063. This modification provides for Group 5 unmanned air system intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services. These services are in support of outside the continental U.S. (OCONUS) Task Force Southwest and Marine Corps operations utilizing contractor-owned/contractor-operated MQ-9 unmanned air systems. Work will be performed in Yuma, Arizona (35%); Poway, California (15%); and various OCONUS locations (50%), and is expected to be complete by July 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,432,050 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. ARMY Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control, Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $106,282,221 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price) contract for industrial engineering services for programs supporting international contractor logistics services related to the Multiple Launch Rocket System. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Grand Prairie, Texas, with an estimated completion date of May 26, 2023. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $ 9,553,209 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-20-C-0032). EXP Federal, Chicago, Illinois, was awarded a $25,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect and engineering services for construction and renovation projects in the Republic of Korea. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. 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