April 14, 2020 | International, Land
By: Jen Judson
WASHINGTON — The Army's acquisition chief, Bruce Jette, has directed the Army's Expeditionary Technology Search program to hold a competition for solutions to rapidly build ventilators to support the COVID-19 virus emergency response, according to an April 9 service statement.
Addressing the United States' ventilator shortage needed to treat severe cases of COVID-19, the xTechSearch team will tap industry for innovative approaches to building an inexpensive, emergency ventilator “that requires minimal components and is designed for simplified mass production,” the statement reads.
The competition will be open to “any American business, regardless of size,” the statement notes.
The team will begin accepting virtual pitches from competitors starting April 13. “Novel solutions” will win a prize of $5,000 to present pitches of the concepts virtually to a panel of judges, according to the statement. The Army will then award $100,000 cash prizes to winning solutions to develop concept prototypes, it adds. Some technologies could receive follow-on contracts for further production and deployment.
"The technology solution must provide a rapid-response breathing apparatus capable of short-term, rugged field operation in a small footprint that will support field hospitals," Zeke Topolosky, the Army xTechSearch program manager, said in the statement.
The statement did not detail how rapidly technologies should move from concept to prototype to production.
xTechSearch is a competition sponsored by the Army's acquisition branch “targeting small businesses to uncover novel dual-use science and technology solutions,” according to the program's website. “The competition aims to tackle the Army's most critical modernization challenges supporting the top Army focus areas.”
February 16, 2022 | International, Land
Lawmakers are also debating whether to add six new Rafale fighter jets to an existing order for 18 planes ' six of them newly built and 12 that were previously in service in the French air force.
November 26, 2023 | International, Aerospace
Airline operator Virgin Australia on Friday said it has added six Boeing MAX-8 aircraft to further expand its fleet and meet travel demand, taking its total order for the planes to fourteen.
September 26, 2018 | International, Land
DALLAS, Sept. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) a $289 million contract to produce High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers and associated hardware. The contract calls for the production of 24 HIMARS launchers and associated equipment by July 2022. Lockheed Martin has delivered nearly 500 launchers for the U.S. Army and international customers. The HIMARS vehicles will be produced from the ground up at Lockheed Martin's award-winning Camden, Ark., Precision Fires Center of Excellence. HIMARS is a lightweight mobile launcher, transportable via C-130 and larger aircraft for rapid deployment, that fires Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rockets and Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles. HIMARS consists of a launcher loader module and fire control system mounted on a five-ton truck chassis. A specialized armored cab provides additional protection to the three crew members that operate the system. Lockheed Martin's effectiveness and reliability combined with performance, interoperability, joint coalition operations and the added value of joint munitions procurement make HIMARS a sound option for nations seeking effective precision fires option for missions. For more than 40 years, Lockheed Martin has been the leading designer and manufacturer of long-range, surface-to-surface precision strike solutions, providing highly reliable, combat-proven systems like MLRS, HIMARS, ATACMS and GMLRS to domestic and international customers. For additional information, visit our website: www.lockheedmartin.com. About Lockheed Martin Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 100,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. This year the company received three Edison Awards for ground-breaking innovations in autonomy, satellite technology and directed energy. https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2018-09-25-Lockheed-Martin-Receives-289-Million-Contract-for-High-Mobility-Artillery-Rocket-System-Launchers