Battelle Embarks on DARPA ECHO Program

On the same subject

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  November 30, 2020 | International, Land

  Rheinmetall unveils new ground robot for armed reconnaissance

  By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — Rheinmetall has unveiled a new scouting configuration of its Mission Master ground robot, ratcheting up competition in a European market segment that is set to heat up in the coming years. The new version features a suite of sensors mounted on a collapsible, 3.5-meter mast, including an infrared sensor, a surveillance radar and a 360-degree camera. A laser rangefinder and target designator are also included on the vehicle, as is a 7.62mm gun on a remote-controlled weapon station, according to a company statement. “The Mission Master-Armed Reconnaissance is designed to execute high-risk scouting missions and deliver a real-time common operating picture without putting soldiers in danger,” the German company said. The six-wheeled vehicle's autonomous functions are powered by Rheinmetall's PATH kit, which the company advertises as a means to turn any vehicle into an unmanned platform. Multiple vehicles can be combined to operate as part a “Wolf Pack” cluster, a technology enabling communications, cueing and targeting toward a common mission objective, according to Rheinmetall. Ground robots with varying degrees of autonomy are rapidly becoming critical for ground forces worldwide. Cargo transport and surveillance are some of the most obvious applications. While some of the new robots carry weapons, Western manufacturers have shied away from connecting their most advanced autonomy algorithms to the process of firing them. Rheinmetall's Mission Master series is something of a counterpoint to Estonia's Milrem Robotics, which has been making inroads with European ground forces through its tracked THeMIS vehicle. Milrem has advertised its operational experience by way of a THeMIS deployment with the Estonian military to the French-led Barkhane counterterrorism mission in Mali. Milrem also sits atop a smattering of European companies charged with developing a common architecture for unmanned ground vehicles under the umbrella of the European Defence Industrial Development Programme. The effort is named iMUGS, which is short for “integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System,” and it received roughly $36 million in European Union funding over the summer. “The ambition is no less than developing an F-16 [fighter jet] of unmanned ground systems,” Kusti Salm, director general of the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments, was quoted as saying by the Baltic Times website in 2019. The iMUGS effort centers around Milrem's THeMIS vehicle as a prototype platform. Notable European land warfare companies are part of the consortium, including Germany's Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and France's Nexter. Absent from the EU-endorsed roster is Rheinmetall, which has mounted its own marketing and outreach campaign for the Mission Master series. Earlier in November, the company announced it had given a sample vehicle to the Royal Netherlands Army for experimentation. The robot will undergo a two-year evaluation toward what Rheinmetall described as “Future Manoeuvre Elements” to aid Dutch ground forces during operations. The Dutch previously ordered the THeMIS from Milrem. During the spring, Rheinmetall delivered four Mission Master vehicles configured for cargo transport to U.K. forces. “These unmanned ground vehicles will form part of the United Kingdom's Robotic Platoon Vehicle program,” Rheinmetall said in a statement at the time. “This program is designed to determine the extent to which unmanned vehicles can boost the combat effectiveness and capabilities of dismounted troops at platoon level.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/11/29/rheinmetall-unveils-new-ground-robot-for-armed-reconnaissance

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  June 15, 2023 | International, Aerospace

  Six questions with France’s Air and Space Force chief

  Gen. Mille discussed the French military’s efforts toward an all-Rafale fighter fleet, among other capability goals for the force.

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  May 13, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - May 10, 2019

  DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY LiteFighter System LLC,** Canton, Georgia, has been awarded a maximum $200,000,000 firm-fixed-priced, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for commercial-off-the-shelf shelters and tents. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a 12-month base contract with three one-year option periods. Locations of performance are Kentucky, Mississippi and Georgia, with a May 9, 2020, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-19-D-1130). Buffalo Supply Inc., Lafayette, Colorado, has been awarded a maximum $42,422,105 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for medical/surgical supplies. This was a competitive acquisition with 16 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no options. Location of performance is Colorado, with a May 9, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DE-19-D-0008). Varec Inc., Norcross, Georgia, has been awarded a maximum $25,998,175 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for electronic point of sales and supporting services for fixed facility fuel distribution devices. This was a competitive acquisition with four responses received. This is a five-year base contract with 10 one-year option periods. Location of performance is worldwide support, both in the continental U.S. and outside the continental U.S. (OCONUS), with a May 9, 2024, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Guard and Coast Guard. Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Contracting Services Office, Columbus, Ohio (SP4702-19-D-0002). Transaero Inc.,* Melville, New York, has been awarded a maximum $10,504,719 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for air data computers. This was a limited competitive acquisition using justification from Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2), which states only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, and extended to include only one or a limited number of responsible sources. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are New York and the United Kingdom, with a May 10, 2024, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (SPRRA1-19-D-0074). ARMY Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Sierra Vista, Arizona, was awarded a $163,588,331 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Hunter unmanned aircraft system fleet support for operations, maintenance, engineering, re-engineering and remanufacturing. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in Sierra Vista, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of May 9, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $41,883,787 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-19-C-0033). Raytheon Missiles Systems, Tucson, Arizona, was awarded a $101,333,802 modification (P00014) to contract W31P4Q-17-C-0194 to procure Tactically-Launched Optically-Tracked Wireless-Guided missiles. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2017 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $101,333,802 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. HHI Corp.,* Ogden, Utah, was awarded a $48,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract repair and construction at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 9, 2026. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento, California, is the contracting activity (W91238-19-D-0071). G.L.H.C. Services Inc.,* Lumberton, North Carolina, was awarded a $13,000,000 modification (P00003) to contract W912HN-17-D-0004 for general construction and design-build construction. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2022. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity. Trend Construction Inc., Orlando, Florida, was awarded a $13,000,000 modification (P00004) to contract W912HN-15-D-0001 for general construction and design-build construction. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 25, 2020. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $10,508,635 modification (P00049) to contract W31P4Q-16-C-0102 to develop and qualify a modular rocket pod and launch tubes for the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System that will be adaptable to future munitions. Work will be performed in Grand Prairie, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2019. Fiscal 2018 missile procurement, Army funds in the amount of $10,508,635 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Milliman Solutions LLC, Seattle, Washington, was awarded a $9,010,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command a commercial web-based prescription medication reporting system. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2024. U.S. Army Health Contracting Activity, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W81K04-19-D-0017). Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia, was awarded an $8,339,000 modification (0001 34) to contract W31P4Q-18-A-0011 for systems engineering support. Work will be performed in Reston, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of May 3, 2020. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $8,339,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Harris Corp., Clifton, New Jersey, has been awarded $71,761,512 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for engineering services. This contract provides for nonrecurring engineering services for AN/ ALQ-172 countermeasures systems, to include performing a form, fit, function, and interface replacement of the AN/ALQ-172 Line Replaceable Unit (LRU)-2, and LRU-3, documents and/or technical orders. Work will be performed in Clifton, New Jersey, and is expected to be complete by Nov. 9, 2022. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2019 consolidated sustainment activity group-engineering funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Sustainment Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8522-19-C-0003). The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded an $11,205,341 indefinite-delivery requirements contract for F-15 sustaining engineering services. This contract provides for post-production support tasks/services unique to the original equipment manufacturer as required to maintain an adequate level of continuous sustaining engineering and logistics support for the Air Force and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) F-15 fleets. Work will be performed primarily in St. Louis, Missouri, and is expected to be complete by Nov. 9, 2027. This contract involves FMS to Saudi Arabia and Israel. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. No funds are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contacting activity (FA8505‐19‐D-0001). *Small business **Service-disabled veteran-owned small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1844479/source/GovDelivery/