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November 29, 2021 | International, Aerospace

China’s mysterious hypersonic test may take a page from DARPA’s past

"Calling it 'breaking the laws of physics' does not lead to rational scrutiny," Secure World's Victoria Samson said of the recent Chinese hypersonic test.

https://breakingdefense.com/2021/11/chinas-mysterious-hypersonic-test-may-take-a-page-from-darpas-past

On the same subject

  • Kaman Announces Sale of Distribution Segment to Littlejohn & Co. for $700 Million in Cash

    June 26, 2019 | International, Aerospace

    Kaman Announces Sale of Distribution Segment to Littlejohn & Co. for $700 Million in Cash

    BLOOMFIELD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kaman Corporation (NYSE:KAMN) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Distribution segment to affiliates of Littlejohn & Co., LLC (Littlejohn) for total cash consideration of $700 million subject to customary closing conditions and working capital adjustments. The transaction value represents a multiple of 10.4 times trailing twelve-month (TTM) Segment Adjusted EBITDA* for the Distribution segment. Full article: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190626005336/en

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - June 20, 2019

    June 21, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - June 20, 2019

    MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY Coleman Aerospace, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne, Orlando, Florida, is being awarded a $140,184,433 firm-fixed-price modification (P00114) to a previously awarded contract (HQ0147-14-C-0001). The value of this contract is being increased from $366,376,257 by $140,184,433 to $506,560,690 by exercising this option. Under this modification, the contractor will provide six additional Medium Range Ballistic Missile targets and associated nonrecurring engineering. The work will be performed in Orlando, Florida. The performance period is from June 2019 through December 2027. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $22,469,742 are being obligated on this award. One offeror was solicited and one offer was received. The Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity. NAVY BAE Systems Land and Armaments L.P., Sterling Heights, Michigan, is awarded a not-to-exceed $67,000,000 modification for firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract line item numbers 8000, 8001, 8002, and 8100 to a previously awarded contract (M67854-16-C-0006), for the development of engineering drawings, manufacture, and test support for three Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) command and control Mission Role Variants (MRVs), and the development of engineering drawings for the ACV medium caliber cannon MRV. The ACV program is managed within the portfolio of Program Executive Officer Land Systems, Quantico, Virginia. Work will be performed in York, Pennsylvania (85 %); and Aiken, South Carolina (15 %), and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2022. Fiscal 2018 research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) funds in the amount of $2,500,000; and fiscal 2019 RDT&E funds in the amount of $20,075,743 will be obligated at the time of award, and funding in the amount of $2,500,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract modification was not competitively procured, in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1 and 10 U.S. Code § 2304(c)(1). The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Leidos Innovations Corp., Gaithersburg, Maryland, is awarded a $29,962,608 cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-only modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-16-C-5202 to exercise the options for integrated logistic support, fleet support and life cycle sustainment of the Navy's AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 surface ship Undersea Warfare (USW) Systems. The AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 is the USW combat system, with the capabilities to search, detect, classify, localize and track undersea contacts and to engage and evade submarines, mine-like small objects and torpedo threats. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia (61 %); San Diego, California (18 %); Pascagoula, Mississippi (6 %); Bath, Maine (4 %); Manassas, Virginia (4 %); Yososuka, Japan (2 %); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (2 %); Everett, Washington (1 %); Mayport, Florida (1 %); and Rota, Spain (1 %), and is expected to be completed by June 2020. Foreign Military Sales; fiscal 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019 other procurement (Navy); and fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $15,418,688 will be obligated at time of award, and $2,846,455 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. General Electric Co., Lynn, Massachusetts, is awarded $24,891,442 for modification P00020 to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-17-C-0047) to procure 72 F/A-18 F-414-GE-400 install engines devices for the Navy (24); and the government of Kuwait (48). In addition, this modification provides for two spare and six test F414-GE-400 install engines devices for the government of Kuwait. Work will be performed in Evandale, Ohio, and is expected to be completed in December 2020. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy); and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds in the amount of $24,891,442 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Navy ($7,316,280; 31 %); and the government of Kuwait ($17,575,162; 69 %) under the FMS program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama, is awarded a $13,197,241 cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-17-C-2301 for littoral combat ship class design services and integrated data and product model environment (IDPME) support. Austal USA will provide efforts to support littoral combat ship class ships, including but not limited to technical analyses, non-recurring engineering, configuration management, software maintenance and development, production assessments, and diminishing manufacturing sources and seaframe reliability analysis. Austal USA will also maintain an IDPME that will enable the Navy to access enterprise data management, visualization, program management applications, and network management and control. Work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama (60 %); and Pittsfield, Massachusetts (40 %), and is expected to be complete by June 2025. Fiscal 2016 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); 2018 other procurement (Navy); and 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $13,197,241 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Gravois Aluminum Boats LLC, doing business as Metal Shark Boats,* Jeanerette, Louisiana, is awarded a $12,818,790 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00024-17-D-2201 to exercise options for the construction of Near Coastal Patrol Vessels in support of U.S. Southern Command partner nations and Foreign Military Sales program. Work will be performed in Jeanerette, Louisiana, and is expected to be complete by August 2021. No funding will be obligated at this time. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Fairmount Automation Inc.,* West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, is awarded a maximum value $12,439,633 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, supplies/services contract for the commercial procurement of Fairmount Automation's G4 Design Pad family of controller models and accessories, Windows based configuration software package licenses and engineering services to work with the government design teams to assist in programming and troubleshooting network interfaces. The services under this contract cover system design, software programming, program logistic support, and equipment analysis and repair. Work will be performed in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania (90 %); and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (10 %), and is expected to be complete by June 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $261,175 will be obligated at time of award and will 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 (N64498-19-D-4023). SR Technologies Inc., Sunrise, Florida, is awarded a $12,360,400 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price contract for engineering services, materials, and support for integration and operation of information operations payloads into multiple unmanned aerial vehicles used by the U.S. Special Operations Command and Navy. This two-year contract includes one three-year option which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to an estimated $23,433,021. All work will be performed in Sunrise, Florida. The period of performance of the base period is from June 20, 2019, through June 19, 2021. If the option is exercised, the period of performance would extend through June 19, 2024. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using operations and maintenance (Navy); other procurement (Navy); and research, development, test and evaluation (Navy). This sole-source procurement is issued using other than full and open competition in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3404). Bell Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is awarded not-to-exceed $7,458,000 for modification P00005 to a delivery order N0001918F0016 previously issued against basic ordering agreement N00019-17-G-0002. This modification provides for non-recurring engineering to facilitate additional structural improvements, tooling assessment, and test aircraft retrofit tooling in support of theV-22 Nacelle Improvement effort. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (84 %); Ridley Park, Pennsylvania (5 %); Patuxent River, Maryland (4 %); Fort Walton Beach, Florida (4 %); and Amarillo, Texas (3 %), and is expected to be completed in August 2020. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,923,688 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. DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY DRS Global Enterprise Solutions Inc., Dulles, Virginia, was awarded a firm-fixed-price task order to support the Army's Wideband Enterprise Satellite Systems Commercial Satellite Communications (COMSATCOM) Network. The face value of this action is $23,756,299 funded by fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds. The total cumulative face value of the task order is $127,496,857. Proposals were solicited via the General Services Administration's Complex Commercial SATCOM Solutions (CS3) multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts, and two proposals were received from the 20 proposals solicited. Performance will be at the contractor's facility in Dulles, Virginia. The period of performance is June 24, 2019, to June 23, 2020, with four one-year options. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. (GS00Q17NRD4006 / HC101319F0092). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Oshkosh Defense LLC, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, has been awarded a maximum $10,200,705 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for vehicular axle assemblies. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Wisconsin, with a June 20, 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 Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-19-D-0129). ARMY Longbow LLC, Orlando, Florida, was awarded a $9,267,724 modification (P00087) to contract W31P4Q16-C-0035 for Laser and Longbow Hellfire engineering services. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, with an estimated completion date of June 19, 2020. Fiscal 2017 and 2018 missile procurement, Air Force funds in the amount of $9,267,724 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. *Small business

  • US approves $7.5 billion in foreign weapons sales in one day

    July 7, 2020 | International, Land

    US approves $7.5 billion in foreign weapons sales in one day

    By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — It was a happy Independence Day for American defense companies, with the U.S. State Department announcing Monday it has approved almost $7.5 billion in potential foreign military sales to five different countries. The potential sales, announced on the website of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, involve UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters for Lithuania, E-2D Hawkeye aircraft for France, MV-22 Osprey aircraft for Indonesia, Stryker infantry vehicles for Argentina and aviation fuel for Israel. DSCA announcements mean that the State Department has decided the potential FMS cases meet its standards, but is not a guarantee the sales will to happen in their announced forms. Once approved by Congress, the foreign customer begins to negotiate on price and quantity, both of which can change during the final negotiations. Israel: The biggest price tag, at $3 billion, is 990 million gallons of petroleum-based fuel for Israel, including JP-8 aviation fuel, diesel fuel and unleaded gasoline. Vendors will be selected “using a competitive bid process through Defense Logistics Agency Energy for supply source,” according to the announcement. Israel operates the American-made F-35I Joint Strike Fighter, among other aviation assets. France: The French request to purchase three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft comes with an estimated price tag of $2 billion. The aircraft is to replace France's legacy E-2C Hawkeye fleet. In addition to the aircraft, the country wants 10 T-56-427A engines, three AN/APY-9 radar assemblies, four AN/ALQ-217 electronic support measure systems and one Joint Mission Planning System, among other technologies. “The E-2D aircraft will continue and expand French naval aviation capabilities and maintain interoperability with U.S. naval forces,” the DSCA announcement read. “As a current E-2C operator, France will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment and support into its armed forces.” Primary work will be done at Northrop Grumman's Melbourne, Florida, location. There will be industrial offsets required in the future, but those have not been defined at this point. This is the first DSCA notification of an arms sale to France since at least September 2017, as the country prefers to rely on its domestic arms industry. Indonesia: Indonesia was cleared to spend an estimated $2 billion to buy eight MV-22 Block C Osprey aircraft. Also included are 24 AE 1107C Rolls-Royce engines; 20 each of the AN/AAQ-27 forward-Looking infrared radars, AN/AAR-47 missile warning systems and AN/APR-39 radar warning receivers; and 20 each of the M-240-D 7.64mm machine guns and GAU-21 machine guns, among other gear. The potential sale is announced at a time when the U.S. is seeking to beef up both its presence and the capabilities of partner nations in the Pacific in order to blunt Chinese interests in the region. This is the first DSCA notification of an arms sale to Indonesia since at least September 2017. “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of an important regional partner that is a force for political stability, and economic progress in the Asia-Pacific region. It is vital to U.S. national interest to assist Indonesia in developing and maintaining a strong and effective self-defense capability,” the DSCA notification read, adding the sale will “enhance Indonesia's humanitarian and disaster relief capabilities and support amphibious operations.” Primary work will be done by Bell Textron in Amarillo, Texas, and Boeing in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania. Lithuania: The Baltic nation of Lithuania plans to spend $380 million to procure six UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters. The standard U.S. configuration requested includes 14 T700-GE-701D engines, 12 M240H machine guns, night vision goggles, a number of radios and thousands of rounds of ammunition. “The proposed sale of these UH-60 helicopters to Lithuania will significantly increase its capability to provide troop lift, border security, anti-terrorist, medical evacuation, search and rescue, re-supply/external lift, combat support in all weather,” per the DSCA. “These UH-60 helicopters will allow for interoperability with U.S. and NATO forces in rapid response to a variety of missions and quick positioning of troops with minimal helicopter assets. Lithuania intends to use these defense articles and services to modernize and expand its armed forces to provide multi-mission support in its region and combat terrorism threats.” The Black Hawks will replace the nation's Soviet-made Mi-8 fleet. The U.S. is helping fund Lithuania's purchase through the European Recapitalization Incentive Program, or ERIP, a tool developed in 2018 alongside U.S. European Command to speed up the process of getting allied nations off Russian gear. The State Department kicked in $30 million of ERIP funding to help complete that deal. So far, three of the eight countries to receive ERIP funds have used them to purchase Black Hawk helicopters. Work will primarily be done at Sikorsky's Stratford, Connecticut, location and General Electric Aircraft Company in Lynn, Massachusetts. Argentina: The South American nation seeks 27 M1126 Stryker infantry carrier vehicles, with an estimated $100 million price tag. In addition to the vehicles themselves comes a pile of equipment, including 27 M2 Flex .50-caliber machine guns, radios and smoke grenade launchers. In addition, the vehicles come with special de-processing services outside of the continental United States as well as contractor-provided training. “The proposed sale will improve Argentina's capability to meet current and future threats by increasing operational capabilities and force availability,” per DSCA. “Argentina will use the Stryker vehicles to conduct stability operations in support of disaster relief and international peace keeping obligations.” Primary work will occur at the General Dynamics Land Systems facility in Anniston, Alabama. This marks Argentina's second FMS request of the fiscal year, after a December request for $70 million worth of support for its aging P-3C fleet. https://www.defensenews.com/global/the-americas/2020/07/06/us-approves-75-billion-in-foreign-weapon-sales-in-one-day

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