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April 28, 2024 | International, Land

Army officials question plan for future attack reconnaissance

The service did away with the pursuit of a new manned armed scout helicopter and is grappling with how to fill the gap using a network of smart drones.

https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/aaaa/2024/04/26/army-officials-question-plan-for-future-attack-reconnaissance/

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  • Proposed rule banning Chinese tech needs to consider small contractors, senators warn

    May 6, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Proposed rule banning Chinese tech needs to consider small contractors, senators warn

    Andrew Eversden Two U.S. senators called on the Office of Management and Budget to ensure that federal regulation banning the government's use of Chinese telecommunications technology include “explicit processes” to help small businesses with compliance. In a May 4 letter sent to acting OMB Director Russ Vought, Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Ben Cardin, D-Md., asked Vought to carefully consider to the needs of small businesses while the agency reviews a proposed rule. The senators' concern is in response to a proposed rule under review by OMB implementing Section 889(a)(1)(B) of the fiscal 2019 defense policy law — a provision that bans federal agencies from procuring or doing business with companies using “covered telecommunications equipment or services" in an effort to block Chinese tech companies like Huawei and ZTE from entering the U.S. government's supply chain. Rubio and Cardin are the top two senators on the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. According to the letter, OMB is currently reviewing the draft proposed rule, statutorily required to be implemented Aug. 13. Because smaller companies don't have access to the same resources as larger suppliers, they may need “more assistance and time,” the senators wrote. The pair called the guidance for small businesses “vita,l” given that small businesses make up about one-quarter of federal procurement, worth $120 billion. “By providing these small firms with a clear path toward compliance and a reasonable time frame, we believe that the goal of securing the United States supply chain will be better achieved,” Rubio and Cardin wrote. Outside interest groups representing federal contractors have also pushed Congress to delay the implementation of Part B of Section 889. In a joint letter in late March, the National Defense Industrial Association and the Professional Services Council asked Congress to delay the Aug. 13 date to February 2021. They also cited the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as reason for a delay. “Part B will impose significant financial and operational costs on medium and small-sized firms at a moment of substantial uncertainty and hardship. While we agree that Part B addresses a significant problem in defense supply chains, and that additional measures are needed to protect [Department of Defense] information assets from covered equipment, COVID-19 has made the current implementation timeline infeasible,” the groups wrote. The United States government alleges that Huawei's 5G technology allows for Chinese government espionage and poses a threat to national security. Senior U.S. officials have traveled the globe, urging allies not to include Huawei's technology in their 5G networks. But the effort has been largely unsuccessful, particularly after the United Kingdom announced in January it would allow Huawei to build noncritical pieces of its 5G network. That decision was met with scorn by lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Still, Rubio and Cardin warned that OMB needs to produce the regulation cautiously and carefully. “We are concerned that if the regulatory implementation language fails to adequately consider small businesses, this process could not only result in an ineffective implementation of the prohibition, but also be both harmful and costly to thousands of small federal contractors,” they wrote. https://www.fifthdomain.com/congress/capitol-hill/2020/05/05/proposed-rule-banning-chinese-tech-needs-to-consider-small-contractors-senators-warn/

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - August 13, 2020

    August 14, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - August 13, 2020

    NAVY BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair, San Diego, California, is awarded a $103,590,841 firm-fixed-price contract to prepare for and accomplish repair and alteration requirements for USS Preble (DDG 88) Chief of Naval Operations scheduled depot maintenance period. This contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $117,754,630. The purpose is to maintain, modernize, and repair the USS Preble. The USS Preble will receive comprehensive modernization for DDG-51 class ships to ensure a mission relevant service life. This is a “long-term” availability and was solicited on a coast-wide (West Coast) basis without limiting the place of performance to the vessel's homeport. BAE Systems will provide the facilities and human resources capable of completing, coordinating, and integrating multiple areas of ship maintenance, repair, and modernization for USS Preble. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be complete by February 2022. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) (89.8%); and operations and maintenance (Navy) (10.2%) funding in the amount of $103,590,841 will be obligated at time of award, of which $10,553,208 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured using full and open competition via the Federal Business Opportunities website with two competitive proposals received in response to Solicitation No. N00024-20-R-4400. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-20-C-4400). Ribcraft USA LLC,* Marblehead, Massachusetts, is awarded a $38,608,278 firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, single award contract for construction of 132 seven-meter (7M) Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs). The total contract is for the construction and delivery of up to 278 7M RHIBs. The base contract also included options for associated support efforts related to the construction and delivery for engineering and industrial services, and provisioned items orders. At the time of contract award, 48 7M RHIBs are being purchased. Work under the first order will be performed in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and is expected to be complete by March 2023. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $78,241,197. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) (69%); and other procurement (Navy) (31%) funding in the amount of $12,649,937 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was procured as a small business set-aside. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-20-D-2210). RQ Construction LLC, Carlsbad, California, is awarded a $33,602,000 firm-fixed-price contract for 5th Battalion, 10th Marines High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) located at the Marine Corps Base in Camp Lejeune. Work will be performed in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and is expected to be completed by March 2023. The construction project will result in an operations complex for the activation of 5th Battalion, 10th Marines HIMARS. The work to be performed provides for construction of a battalion/company headquarters, automotive vehicle maintenance shop, humidity-controlled warehouse, electronics communications maintenance shop, combat vehicle maintenance shop, armory addition, and a high-explosive magazine to comply with UFC 4-420-01 ammunitions and explosives storage magazines. All structures will be low-rise steel frame with reinforced concrete masonry unit with reinforced masonry walls, brick veneer, reinforced concrete floors, and standing seam metal roof. The battalion/company headquarters facility includes the necessary administrative space to conduct the day-to-day operations of both the battalion and its companies. The automotive vehicle maintenance shop includes administrative and support space, work bays for inspection, maintenance and repair of transportation equipment, classrooms, and storage areas for parts and supplies. The humidity-controlled warehouse will be a high bay facility that will house a 10-ton capacity overhead crane. The facility includes administrative and support space, storage bays, secured storage, and shipping/receiving area. The electronics communication maintenance shop includes administrative and support space, equipment maintenance and training areas, and storage areas for parts and supplies. The combat vehicle maintenance shop includes administrative and support space, work bays for inspection, maintenance and repair of transportation equipment, classrooms, and storage areas for parts and supplies. The armory addition includes administrative and support space for armorers/custodians, secure space for storing and maintaining weapons and a covered outdoor weapons cleaning area. The magazine will be used for the storage and handling of reduced range practice rounds to support live-fire HIMARS training. Fiscal 2020 military construction, (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $33,602,000 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Government Point of Entry Contract Opportunities on beta.SAM.com with 10 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-20-C-0145). Pacific Maritime Industries Corp.,* San Diego, California (N00189-20-D-0021); Tri-Way Industries Inc.,* Auburn, Washington (N00189-20-D-0022); and Spec-Built Systems Inc.,* San Diego, California (N00189-20-D-0023), are awarded an estimated $25,938,325 multiple award, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract that will include terms and conditions for the placement of firm-fixed-price task orders to provide a means to purchase of light weight modular berths and related materials in support of the Shipboard Habitability Improvement Program at competitive prices in accordance with the delivery schedules listed on the statement of work. The contracts will run concurrently and will include a 60-month base ordering period with an additional six-month ordering period option pursuant of Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.217-8, which if exercised, will bring the total value of this contract to $28,996,501. The base ordering period is expected to be completed by August 2025; if the option is exercised, the ordering period will be completed by February 2026. Specific requirements for habitability support cannot be predicted at this time; therefore, the various locations of where the supplies will be delivered cannot be determined at this time. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,500 ($2,500 on each of the three contracts) will be obligated to fund the contracts' minimum amounts, and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Individual task orders will be subsequently funded with appropriate fiscal year appropriations at the time of their issuance. This contract was competitively procured with the solicitation posted on beta.sam.gov as a small business set-aside, with four offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department Norfolk Office, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity. PTC Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, is awarded a $17,131,314 firm-fixed-price contract modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6121 to exercise and fund an option for integration and development efforts in support of Model Based Production Support. This option exercises and funds an option for Model Based Production Support integration and development support. Work will be performed in Boston, Massachusetts, and is expected to be complete by June 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $370,949 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C. is the contracting activity. Boston Ship Repair LLC, Boston, Massachusetts, is awarded a $16,567,594 firm-fixed-price contract (N3220520C4002) for a 64-calendar day shipyard availability for the mid-term availability of the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO 193). The $16,567,594 consists of the amounts listed in the following areas: Category “A” work item cost, additional government requirement, other direct costs and the general and administrative costs. Work will include main and emergency switchboard cleaning; lifeboat and rescue boat davit maintenance and testing; 6,000-hour overhaul of port and starboard main engine exhaust valves, port and starboard main engine fuel injection pumps; annual firefighting inspection and certification; inspection and overhaul of shaft brakes; preparation and paint saltwater ballast tanks 10 port and starboard; preparation and paint fore peak tank; preparation and paint distillate fuel marine cargo tank seven port; preparation and paint jet propellant 5 contaminated tank; preparation and paint distillate fuel marine contaminated tank; tank deck non-slip renewal frames 20 through 40; miscellaneous steel repairs; miscellaneous valve and actuator repairs; tank deck overhead preservation; bi-annual gauge calibration; blast and paint 02 Level lifeboats; pump room bilge preservation; number one and two constant tension winch overhaul; refrigeration plant room; tank deck sprinkler system flush; inspection and painting of the distillate fuel marine piping; sea valve and waster piece overhaul; replace anti-slip on 05, 06 and 07 Levels, various pump overhauls; underway replenishment station permanent repairs to Stations Three, Four and Eight; various steel deck renewals; miscellaneous pipe repair; and underway replenishment gear maintenance. The contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the total contract value to $17,860,194. Funds will be obligated Aug. 12, 2020. Contract completion will be Dec. 4, 2020. Work will be performed in Boston, Massachusetts, and is expected to begin Oct. 1, 2020. Contract funds in the amount of $16,567,594, excluding options, are obligated for fiscal 2021 using working capital funds (Navy). This contract was competitively procured, with proposals solicited via the beta.sam.gov website and three offers were received. The U. S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220520C4002). GM/Bulltrack JV LLC,* Clackamas, Oregon, is awarded firm-fixed-price task order N6247820F4221 at $9,165,646 under a multiple award construction contract for Wharf 2 structural repairs at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The work to be performed includes performing spall and crack repairs to concrete pile caps, beams, curtain wall, utility vault, deck (above and below), deck curbs, and mooring foundations; replacing timber deck curbing with concrete; repairing concrete piles by installing epoxy-filled fiberglass jackets; installing a cathodic protection system for the steel sheet piles; replacing timber fender piles with precast concrete fender piles with rub strips; replacing timber wales and chocks at the deck level and timber framing near the waterline with plastic lumber; refurbishing steel cleats and connection hardware; replacing potable water piping and deteriorated utility hangers. Work will be performed in Oahu, Hawaii and is expected to be completed by September 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $9,165,646 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Four proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Hawaii, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62478-18-D-4027). Katmai Integrated Solutions LLC, Anchorage, Alaska, is awarded an $8,004,940 hybrid firm-fixed-price, time and materials, and cost reimbursement contract for a wide range of experimentation, business, and operational support services in support of the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Development Command Warfighting Laboratory. This contract includes a 12-month base period, four 12-month option periods, and one six-month option period which, if exercised, could bring the cumulative value of this contract to $59,492,149. Work will be performed in Quantico, Virginia (92%); and with the Marine Corps Expeditionary Forces (8%). Work is expected to be completed Aug. 14, 2021. If all options are exercised, work will continue through Feb. 14, 2026. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Marine Corps); and research and development (Navy) funds will be utilized to award this contract. The contract will be incrementally funded at award with $670,000 in fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds; and $2,291,661 in fiscal 2020 research and development (Navy) funds, for a total of $2,925,825. This amount will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively solicited via beta.SAM.gov, with 10 proposals received. The Marine Corps Installations National Capital Region-Regional Contracting Office, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M00264-20-C-0006). ARMY Power and Instrumentation Service Inc.,* Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for numerous rapid-response temporary roofing projects in the U.S. Virgin Islands in the event of an emergency. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2027. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-20-D-0044). KBRwyle Technology Solutions LLC, Columbia, Maryland, was awarded a $23,727,971 modification (000274) to contract W52P1J-12-G-0061 for maintenance, supply, transportation and other logistics functions for the Army Prepositioned Stock-3 Charleston Afloat Program. Work will be performed in Goose Lake, South Carolina, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 14, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $4,462,109 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Native American Services Corp.,* Kellogg, Idaho, was awarded an $8,315,231 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a standard design general purpose storage building. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed at Fort Hood, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 21, 2020. Fiscal 2020 military construction, Army funds in the amount of $8,315,231 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-20-C-0005). Barnett Southern Corporation Inc.,* Washington, Georgia, was awarded a $7,775,643 firm-fixed-price contract for furnishing all plant, equipment, labor, transportation, fuel, lubricant, supplies and materials; and performing all operations in connection with raising dikes and berms, and installation of new spillway systems in the Atlantic Intercoastal Water Way in South Carolina. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Charleston, South Carolina, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 29, 2022. Fiscal 2020 civil operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $7,775,643 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston, South Carolina, is the contracting activity (W912HP-20-C-0005). R&D Maintenance Services Inc.,* Tulsa, Oklahoma, was awarded a $7,146,969 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price) contract for operation and maintenance of government-owned facilities and equipment at Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and Okatibbee Lake projects in Alabama and Mississippi. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Columbus, Mississippi, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2025. Fiscal 2020 civil operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $364,430 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W91278-20-C-0018). AIR FORCE First RF Corp.,* Boulder, Colorado, has been awarded a maximum $24,900,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with cost-plus-fixed-fee completion orders for radio frequency electronic antenna cancellation/beamforming technology software/hardware prototypes. This contract provides for research, development, testing, evaluating and deploying advanced radio frequency (RF) systems. These systems may support any of the various RF functions such as radar, communications, electronic warfare, signals intelligence, direction finding, etc. Work will be performed in Boulder, Colorado, and is expected to be completed Aug. 13, 2026. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $300,000 are being obligated at the time of award on the first task order. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-20-D-0500). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2312498/source/GovDelivery/

  • DIUx wants drones that are out for blood

    May 4, 2018 | International, Aerospace

    DIUx wants drones that are out for blood

    By: Kelsey Atherton For drone delivery to make sense, with existing capabilities of drones, the cargo needs to be relatively light, it needs to have tremendous value, and it needs to urgently travel the last mile by air. This is why, to the extent we've seen drones used for delivery in the wild, it's more likely as a means to carry contraband into a prison than it is a practical alternative to the postal service. But there's one other cargo that fits the description, and that's blood itself. Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, the Pentagon's stand-up Silicon Valley-focused acquisition house, is looking for a drone that can carry a modest cargo of blood, through the dark of night toward where it's most needed. Call it “Dronesferatu.” From FCW: The specs of the solicitation from the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental -- the ability to deliver a 5-pound package over 100 kilometers in “austere environments” -- strongly suggest that they're looking at an unmanned aerial vehicle system that supports refrigeration or other means of temperature control. “These deliveries, ideally automated, will provide essential items to critically wounded military personnel as quickly as possible after an injury occurs,” the April 23 solicitation states. “Ability to sustain a very high frequency of operations over an extended period of time is critical. Speed of delivery, reliability and robustness to failure and interference, response time, and overall delivery throughput are critical.” Getting the right blood to the right people as fast as possible means saving lives. To that end, DARPA's funded research into metabolic rate reduction to see if there's a way to make people bleed out more slowly, or into using female hormones to similarly prolong the survivable time without transfusion. In 2013, the U.S. Army conducted a study on pre-hospital transfusion for battlefield casualties being medically evacuated in Afghanistan, and in 2012 Canadian Blood Services even tested the viability of paratroopers transporting blood for transfusion. Consider blood drones complementary to this field of work. Early tests by researchers at Johns Hopkins and Uganda's Makerere University proved that small vials of blood transported by drone were just as viable as blood transported by car. Those same researchers followed up with a test of blood delivery from ship-to-shore, for possible use in response to coastal areas hit by natural disasters, where the roads are impassable but drones could still safely fly. The American startup Zipline demonstrated its own blood delivery drones in 2016, and has for a year and a half worked on delivering blood by robot to parts of Rwanda. DIUx's ask, that a drone fly over 60 miles and carry 5 pounds of blood, is not far off from what Zipline's drones can already do, with the company stating a range of 100 miles and a cargo capacity of just under four pounds. Weight and range tradeoffs are at the heart of aviation design, so it's likely that vendors have already pitched something within the bounds of the solicitation. Should that drone make a fast turnaround from ask to prototype to useful tool, the troops fighting abroad may gain a better shot at surviving otherwise-fatal blood loss. Unlikely that the reverse-vampire drones will look like bats, though. https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2018/05/03/diux-wants-drones-that-are-drones-out-for-blood/

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