April 21, 2024 | International, Security
August 20, 2020 | International, Naval
Britain moves to boost Ukraine’s naval chops
By: Andrew Chuter
LONDON — Britain is stepping up its military support in Ukraine with an announcement that the U.K. will lead a multinational maritime initiative to train the Ukrainian navy.
During a visit to Ukraine on Aug. 17 British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed the Royal Navy is coordinating a training initiative which also involves Canada, Denmark and Sweden.
The training initiative will be complemented by U.S. security assistance support, said the British Ministry of Defence in a statement.
Other nations are expected to join the naval training effort, said the MoD.
The British-led training will focus on areas such as navigation, operational planning, military diving, sea surveillance, firefighting and damage control.
The Royal Navy also plans to deploy warships to the region later in the year, Wallace said.
Last year the Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan visited Ukraine as part of the NATO's Sea Breeze exercise. That followed a visit by the survey ship HMS Echo.
The U.K. has been conducting maritime training with the Ukraine for a while. Last year the British announced they were enlarging the scope of a wider military training effort, known as Operation Orbital, by deploying training teams from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines to boost a Ukrainian Navy facing increasing threats from Russia in the Sea of Azov.
The Ukrainians are trying to rebuild a maritime presence following Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Ukraine lost most of its navy, including 75 percent of personnel, 70 percent of ships and key infrastructure.
It faces a rising number of threats from the Russians in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, and its armed forces continue to counter Moscow-backed separatists in the Donbass region of the country.
Last year the Ukrainian navy unveiled a 15-year, three-stage strategy to rebuild naval capabilities starting with the aim of developing capabilities to establish control over territorial waters and beyond by 2025.
Britain announced late last year it was extending Operation Orbital by three years to March 2023, and despite a COVID-19 enforced suspension, now lifted, the U.K. armed forces have trained over 18,000 Ukrainian military personnel.
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/08/19/britain-moves-to-boost-ukraines-naval-chops/
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Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - October 23, 2018
U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND Wyle Laboratories Inc. (KBRwyle), Houston, Texas, has been awarded a $500,000,000 maximum ceiling value, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (H92400-19-D-0001) for contractor-provided personal services and expertise to U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to support the Preservation of the Force and Family Program. The support will be provided at 26 geographic locations inside and outside of the continental U.S. The contract has a base period of five years with one three-year option period for a total ordering period of up to eight years. This contract was awarded through full and open competition with eight proposals received. USSOCOM, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity. ARMY General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, was awarded a $192,660,310 modification (P00071) to contract W58RGZ-17-C-0018 for Gray Eagle performance-based logistics. Work will be performed in Poway, California, with an estimated completion date of April 23, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $41,825,728 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. NAVY Konecranes Nuclear Equipment and Services LLC, New Berlin, Wisconsin, is awarded a $54,928,445 firm-fixed-price contract to provide one 140-ton portal crane at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The work to be performed provides for the contractor to design, fabricate, assemble, shop test, deliver, install, inspect, field test and make ready for use one 140-ton portal crane. The crane shall be a portal type with a rotating superstructure, luffing boom, main hoist and an auxiliary hoist designed to meet the dimensional and functional requirements of the specification. Crane installation and utilization will be performed in Kittery, Maine, and is expected to be completed by May 2021. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $54,928,445 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with two proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N62470-19-C-1000). General Dynamics Mission Systems, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is awarded a $18,537,696 cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for research and development, and sustainment efforts for the U.S. SSBN Fire Control Sub-system (FCS); the United Kingdom FCS; and the U.S. SSGN Attack Weapon Control System, including training and support equipment and U.S./UK Shipboard Data System. Work will be performed in Pittsfield, Massachusetts (98 percent); Kings Bay, Georgia (1 percent); and Dahlgren, Virginia (1 percent), with an expected completion date of September 2019. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,904,897; United Kingdom funds in the amount of $2,635,000; and fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $406,801 are being obligated on this award. Funds in the amount of $406,801 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Subject to the availability of funding, fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,590,998 will be obligated which will also expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00030-19-C-0003). Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded $8,700,187 for cost-plus-fixed-fee order N0001919F0276 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-14-G-0020). This order provides support services to design a non-Department of Defense (DoD) participant strategic facility in support of the F-35 aircraft. Work will be performed in Kansas City, Missouri (72 percent); and Fort Worth, Texas (28 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2020. Non-DoD participant funds in the amount of $8,700,187 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics, Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut, is being awarded a $7,316,141 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-15-C-4305) to exercise a priced option to maintain Navy certification, protect and operate the Navy floating dry dock, ARDM-4 Shippingport. The contractor will also accomplish organizational level repairs and preservation to the government furnished dry dock. Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut, and is expected to be completed by October 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,900,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair, Groton, Connecticut, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Unimed Government Services,* Lakeville, Minnesota, has been awarded a maximum $25,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for hospital equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency electronic catalog. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with 58 responses received; 17 contracts have been awarded to date. Using customers are Department of Defense and other federal organizations. Location of performance is Minnesota, with an Oct. 22, 2023, performance completion date. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2018 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DH-19-D-0005). *Woman-owned small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1669872/