June 27, 2018 | International, Land
Gabriel Dominguez
BAE Systems has been awarded a USD83.6 million contract to provide to Taiwan the “necessary material and technical engineering to build, integrate, test, and deliver” 36 AAV7A1 Assault Amphibious Vehicles.
The contract is for 30 AAVP7A1 personnel carriers, four AAVC7A1 command post vehicles and two AAVR7A1 recovery vehicles, according to a 22 June announcement by the US Department of Defense (DoD).
This deal, which involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) under the Taipei Economic Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) – FMS case TW-P-SEQ – also includes support and test equipment, spares, publications, training, engineering services, logistics, and other technical support required.
All work will be performed in York, Pennsylvania, and is expected to be completed by 22 July, 2020, said the DoD, adding that this contract “was not competitively procured in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii) - only one responsible source and no other supplies or services that will satisfy agency requirements”. The contracting authority is the US Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Virginia.
Once delivered, the AAV7A1s are very likely to be used by the Republic of China Marine Corps (RoCMC), but will not be the first ones to be operated by the Corps. In 2003 Taiwan signed a contract for 54 ex-US Marine Corps AAV7A1-series vehicles that have begun replacing the LVTP5 series of amphibious fighting vehicles used by the RoCMC.
The latest contract announcement comes a few weeks after Taiwan said it welcomed a potential shift in policy by the United States' government to facilitate military sales to the island on a case-by-case basis as opposed to the current approach of ‘bundling' several defence deals together, as Jane's reported.
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) in Taipei said in comments reported by the state-owned Central News Agency on 5 June that any US transition to approving FMS requests separately would improve its ability to plan and budget military modernisation requirements.
http://www.janes.com/article/81335/bae-systems-to-supply-assault-amphibious-vehicles-to-taiwan
June 3, 2021 | International, Naval
The Marine Corps says additional funding in fiscal 2022 could support four key areas of investment that will set up the service for success in a fight against a peer adversary like China.
April 22, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The coronavirus pandemic has rattled Lockheed Martin's aeronautics business, with the F-35 joint strike fighter program facing the prospect of a slowdown in deliveries, company executives said Tuesday. “The disruptions introduced by the virus have caused us to reduce our 2020 sales expectations as production and supply chain activities have recently slowed in our aeronautics business area,” Lockheed CEO Marillyn Hewson said during an April 21 earnings call with investors. The company now projects its total sales for 2020 will amount to anywhere from $62.25 billion to $64 billion dollars — down from the the $62.75 billion to $64.25 billion it had previously estimated in January. Production of the F-35 has been the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic so far, said Ken Possenriede, the company's chief financial officer. “There's more analysis that we're going to do over the next couple of weeks working with our supply chain, our Fort Worth production line to determine — if any impact — to what extent it will be, including deliveries,” he said. Lockheed's acknowledgement of COVID-19 related challenges comes a day after the Pentagon disclosed schedule delays across its major weapons acquisition efforts, with aviation programs hit particularly hard by the effects of the pandemic. “We believe there will be a three-month impact that we can see right now. So we're looking at schedule delays and inefficiencies and so forth. That isn't a particular program, that's [major defense acquisition programs] in general,” Ellen Lord, the Pentagon's top acquisition official, told reporters Monday. While Lord did not name specific programs that could be delayed, Possenriede said Tuesday that disruptions to the F-35 program were likely due to pressures faced by domestic and international companies within the jet's global supply chain. “There are local distancing requirements that are being more stringently applied across the globe. There is workforce disruption,” he said. “We've actually had some issues with shipping constraints.” Most recently, Lockheed's supply chain team discovered an issue with suppliers' performance-based payment invoices, which get delivered to Lockheed after certain milestones are completed, Possenriede said. “There are a couple suppliers that are going to be delinquent in April. Some of them are for administrative reasons — we'll work through that. That's just timing. Some of them is due to them not achieving their milestones,” he said. “Most of it is going to be COVID-related. We're looking at that.” Despite the challenges in keeping F-35 production smooth, there has been little change to other aspects of the program, Possenriede said. Development and follow-on modernization activities have continued with “little to no impact.” And while Lockheed contractors have faced some barriers reporting to work at certain bases where they help perform repairs or stand up maintenance operations, Possenriede said there has been minimal impact to F-35 sustainment. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/04/21/f-35-deliveries-could-slow-down-as-covid-19-jolts-lockheeds-supply-chain/
June 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
Arlington, Va., June 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Intelligence and Space, a Raytheon Technologies business (NYSE: RTX), was awarded a multiple award IDIQ to participate in the Air Force's development of the Advanced Battle Management System, a future command and control network that will connect military platforms across the globe, giving military commanders the ability to make decisions faster. Under a multiple award, IDIQ contract valued up to $950 million over the next five years with options beyond, RI&S will participate in the support of the maturation, demonstration and proliferation of capability across platforms and domains to enable Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2). "ABMS will transform the future battlespace for the U.S. Air Force by delivering the right data at the right time to the right people so they can make the right decisions fast," said Barbara Borgonovi, vice president of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems, at Raytheon Intelligence & Space. "This is the first step to delivering the Air Force's vision of JADC2, which will link capabilities across all domains – air, land, sea, cyber and space." To support this effort, RI&S has the opportunity to contribute open systems design, modern software and algorithm development for the future system. Under the terms of the multiple award contract, the Air Force will run competitions under each category that will be issued as task and delivery orders. RI&S will be supported by Raytheon Missiles & Defense. About Raytheon Intelligence & Space Raytheon Intelligence & Space delivers the disruptive technologies our customers need to succeed in any domain, against any challenge. A developer of advanced sensors, training, and cyber and software solutions, Raytheon Intelligence & Space provides a decisive advantage to civil, military and commercial customers in more than 40 countries around the world. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the business generated $15 billion in pro forma annual revenue in 2019 and has 39,000 employees worldwide. Raytheon Intelligence & Space is one of four businesses that form Raytheon Technologies Corporation. About Raytheon Technologies Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. It comprises four industry-leading businesses – Collins Aerospace Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense. Its 195,000 employees enable the company to operate at the edge of known science as they imagine and deliver solutions that push the boundaries in quantum physics, electric propulsion, directed energy, hypersonics, avionics and cybersecurity. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Media Contact Tamar Brill +1 520. 269.5697 Tamar.Brill@rtx.com SOURCE Raytheon Technologies View source version on Raytheon Company,: https://raytheon.mediaroom.com/2020-06-15-Raytheon-Intelligence-Space-selected-to-participate-in-development-of-the-Advanced-Battle-Management-System