B-21 bomber program survives pandemic disruptions

On the same subject

• 

  January 12, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - January 11, 2021

  DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Beacon Point Associates LLC, Cape Coral, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $49,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for medical and surgical supplies. This was a competitive acquisition with 65 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no options. Location of performance is Florida, with a Feb. 28, 2026, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DE-21-D-0002). Unimex Corp.,** Sterling, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $12,000,000 firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for environmental controllers. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. This is a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods. Location of performance is Virginia, with a Jan. 10, 2022, ordering period end date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE8EG-21-D-0127). AIR FORCE Haight Bey & Associates, West Haven, Utah, has been awarded a $35,888,778 firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursable, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for AN/TMQ-53 Tactical Meteorological Observing System contractor logistics support. This contract provides spares, repairs, obsolescence management, engineering change proposals and special projects in support of the TMQ-53 system. Work will be performed in West Haven, Utah, and is expected to be completed July 2027. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $578,060 are being obligated with the first delivery order at the time of contract award. The Aerospace Management Systems Division, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8730-21-D-0003). Merrill Corp., doing business as Mission Support Inc., Clearfield, Utah, has been awarded a $10,123,784 firm-fixed-price contract for B-52 strut repair. Work will be performed in Clearfield, Utah, and is expected to be complete by Dec. 28, 2021. The award is the result of a sole-source solicitation. Fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $2,885,422 are being obligated at the time of the award. The Air Force Sustainment Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (FA8119-21-C-0001). WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES Boston Consulting Group, Bethesda, Maryland (HQ0034-16-A-0003), has been awarded a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum amount of $29,978,698. This contract is to provide Marine Corps programs and resources support for their organizational requirements, resourcing, risk and reporting requirements (similar to a 10-K). Work performance will take place at the Mark Center, Alexandria, Virginia. Appropriate fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds will be obligated at time of the award. The expected completion date is Jan. 10, 2022. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. NAVY American Superconductor Corp.,* Devens, Massachusetts, is awarded a $14,940,659 hybrid firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract in support of the supplies and services required to deliver a high temperature superconducting degaussing system (HTS). This procurement is for the delivery of an HTS, in accordance with the landing platform docks-class configuration. This includes the fabrication, testing and delivery of a ship's set of components/materials; the analysis of configuration based engineering change proposals; and vendor representative support during installation. The HTS degaussing system components/materials include a control unit, power modules, junction boxes, cryo-coolers, accumulation tanks, HTS degaussing cable assemblies and cold gas lines. Work will be performed in Ayer, Massachusetts (95%); and Pascagoula, Mississippi (5%), and is expected to be completed by September 2023. Fiscal 2021 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,497,232 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N64498-21-D-4011). Raytheon Missiles and Defense, Tucson, Arizona, is awarded an $8,520,414 cost-type undefinitized contract for procurement of long lead material in support of Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) Foreign Military Sales (FMS) production requirements to include all up rounds, instrumental kits, engineering services and spares. This contract involves FMS to Korea, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Taiwan and Japan. Work will be performed in Hengelo Overijssel, Netherlands (51%); McKinney, Texas (32%); and Tucson, Arizona (17%), and is expected to be completed by March 2023. FMS Korea funding in the amount of $1,807,362 (42%); FMS Denmark funding in the amount of $1,073,800 (25%); Memorandum of Understanding Netherlands funding in the amount of $494,872 (12%); FMS Spain funding in the amount of $451,840 (11%); FMS Taiwan funding in the amount of $344,259 (8%); and FMS Japan funding in the amount of $86,064 (2%), will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with the authority from 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c) (4) (international agreement). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-21-C-5411). ARMY Eastman Aggregate Enterprises LLC,* Lake Worth, Florida, was awarded an $11,013,889 firm-fixed-price contract for shore protection and beach renourishment. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2022. Fiscal 2018 flood control and coastal emergencies funds in the amount of $11,013,889 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity (W912EP-21-C-0004). *Small business **Women-owned small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2468302/source/GovDelivery/

• 

  December 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval

  Israel launches first-ever multitier missile defense test

  JERUSALEM — The Israel Missile Defense Organization and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency for the first time demonstrated a multilayered air defense system using the Iron Dome, David's Sling and Arrow weapon systems in a recent series of tests. “Using this approach, a variety of threats may be identified and intercepted via full coordination and interoperability between the systems,” Moshe Patel, the head of IMDO, said Monday. The organization falls under the purview of the Ministry of Defense, whose minster, Benny Gantz, praised the “development of a multilayered air defense system [that] secures us from threats near and far.” The Iron Dome system has been used against rockets and other threats for the last decade, and joint development with the U.S. has supported the Arrow and David's Sling programs. Israel delivered the first of two Iron Dome batteries to the U.S. Army earlier this year. The Israeli tests, which took place within the last few weeks but were announced Dec. 15, saw the systems deploy against cruise missile, UAV and ballistic missile targets. While Israel said the results of the tests will enable industry engineers to evaluate and upgrade the capabilities of the system, the wider context is that the announcement comes amid tension with Iran as well as improved relations between Israel and a number of Gulf states, according to experts. “U.S.-Israel cooperation on multilayered missile defense technologies continues to advance and is a critical factor in ensuring Israel can defend itself from a diverse array of threats posed by Iran and its proxies,” said Dan Shapiro, a visiting fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, who served as U.S. ambassador to Israel in the Obama administration. Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the ability of Israel's Iron Dome system to hit guided munitions is significant, “particularly as Iran increasingly seeks to arm its terrorist proxies with weapons that [have] evasive qualities. Has Israel developed tech to counter Iran's lethal precision-guided munitions effort? It certainly seems so.” The changing geopolitical environment in the region — particularly improved Israeli relations with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in recent months — is important, according to Udi Evental, a colonel in Israel's reserve-duty service and a senior fellow with the Institute for Policy and Strategy at the higher-education institution IDC Herzliya. “The normalization process opens new opportunities both for Israel, Arab states in the Gulf and the U.S.,” Evental said. “Israel might be able to deploy sensors and other means closer to Iran in a way that could offer more and better interception opportunities. ... The U.S. could lead the command and control of such an architecture and integrate into it some American assets as well.” Dan Feferman, a former strategic planner with the Israel Defense Forces and a fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, pointed out that “Iran spent a lot of money developing [its strike] capabilities. So [Israel] is testing [its weapons systems] out, and it is an attempt to show Iran and its proxies that [Israeli] capabilities will soon be neutralized and they might as well not bother trying.” In addition to challenging the effectiveness of Iran's regional strategy, the tests also serve as a model for how Israel's neighbors can enhance their own defenses against Iranian threats, according to Shapiro, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel. The tests, he explained, serve as “a source of deepened Israeli-Arab security coordination.” Gulf states could benefit from Israel's defense capabilities, especially in light of the drone and cruise missile attack on Saudi Arabia's Aramco facility in September 2019. Israel's MoD said the drill was in the works for a year, indicating that the planning came after the attack in Abqaiq. Shapiro's colleague, Yoel Guzansky, added that recent reports noted one Gulf state is interested in buying air defense technology from Israel. He also described the Abqaiq attack as a motivator for the recent tests. “For years, cruise missiles were a problem that had to be addressed: Like drones, they fly at low altitudes.” Patel indicated that any cooperative program like David's Sling and Arrow must be approved by the U.S. to market and export to Gulf customers. But Israel has more independence when it comes to Iron Dome, despite Raytheon's involvement in the system's U.S.-based manufacturing. Although it's too early to assume much, he said, “there is a lot of advantage like sharing information and sensors in those countries because we have the same enemies and launchers and more — but it is too early. We begin to build our defense cooperation; this could be considered in the future.” Israel's MoD said the tests indicate the systems are capable of simultaneously intercepting threats. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is the prime contractor for the development of the David's Sling weapon system, in cooperation with the Raytheon. Israel Aerospace Industries' Elta Systems subsidiary developed the Multi-Mission Radar, and Elbit Systems developed the Golden Almond battle management system, both of which were involved in the tests. “When the different systems in the multilayered mechanism are combined, they may face a variety of simultaneous threats and defend the citizens of the state of Israel,” said retired Brig. Gen. Pini Yungman, executive vice president and head of Rafael's Air and Missile Defense Division. The tests were carried out at sea for safety reasons. The Iron Dome has been integrated with Israel's Navy in the form of the C-Dome, which is to be deployed with the service's new Sa'ar 6-class corvettes. Officials said David's Sling can also be used at sea. During the tests, Iron Dome was used to intercept cruise missiles — a new capability for a system that has historically been deployed against unguided rockets, drones and mortars. Israel has generally used Iron Dome against short-range threats around the Gaza Strip and Golan, while Arrow was used for the first time in 2017 and David's Sling for the first time in 2018 against threats from Syria. The Israel Defense Forces also integrated the multitiered system and sensors into a common air picture, tracking threats, sharing data and launching different interceptors with one command-and-control system for the first time. Combining multiple technologies using open architecture and sensors to create a kind of “glass battlefield” digital picture is a technology Rafael has been working on. This is also part of Israel's multiyear Momentum plan that foresees multilayered air defense as key to success in future wars against local adversaries and what Israel calls “third circle” threats like Iran. https://www.defensenews.com/training-sim/2020/12/16/israels-launches-first-ever-multitier-missile-defense-test/

• 

  August 16, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  USAF Takes Delivery Of A Rebuilt U.S. Army Black Hawk

  Program Will Restore The Pave Hawk Operational Loss Replacement Fleet To Its Authorized Size The first Operational Loss Replacement HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter has been delivered to the U.S. Air Force by the U.S. Army by Alaska Air National Guard Maj. Paul Rauenhorst and Capt. Seth Peterson pilots on Aug. 5, 2019, to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Defense Blog reports that the aircraft is a rebuilt low-hour U.S. Army UH-60L Black Hawk aircraft. “It's a much younger airframe,” Rauenhorst said. “These airframes are from 2001 to 2004 models, where ours sitting on the ramp are 1992 models. These are Army Limas rebuilt to be Golf models.” The HH-60 is the primary SAR helicopter deployed by the Department of Defense. Multiple aircraft have been lost in nearly 18 years deployed in combat operations, and the OLR program is designed to bring the Pave Hawk fleet back to its authorized size, according to the report. Chief Master Sgt. Eric Chester, 176th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron superintendent, said that the OLRs will significantly increase the availability for the fleet, as they are lower-time aircraft that will require less maintenance. “The impact of the OLR coming into our wing is huge,” Chester said. “It's a big opportunity for everyone here to be able to take advantage of these new aircraft and reset across the board.” http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=ee00b374-5f9e-4eeb-8664-300e8851226e