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June 29, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - June 26, 2020

MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY

Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, Woburn, Massachusetts, is being awarded a sole-source contract in the amount of $2,271,181,543 under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The contract type will be a hybrid firm-fixed-price, fixed-price-incentive-fee, cost-plus-award-fee and cost-plus-incentive-fee contract. Under this production contract, the contractor will provide seven Army/Navy Transportable Surveillance and Control Model 2 radars, radar spares, obsolescence design, sustainment services and initial contractor logistics support for KSA. The work will be performed in Woburn, Massachusetts. The performance period is June 26, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2027. KSA FMS funds in the amount of $2,271,181,543 will be used to fund this effort. The Missile Defense Agency, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (HQ0862-20-C-0002).

AIR FORCE

L3 Technologies Inc., Arlington, Texas, has been awarded a $900,000,000 ceiling, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for simulator common architecture requirements and standards (SCARS). This contract provides for the definition, design, delivery, deployment and sustainment of a simulator common architecture across the Air Force's training portfolio, along with the creation of a security operations center and library and the execution of SCARS management services. The SCARS initiative will also incrementally implement a modular open systems approach, as well as a set of common standards for Air Force simulators. The primary location of performance is Orlando, Florida. SCARS has a 10-year ordering period through June 2030. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and six offers were received. Fiscal 2020 other procurement funds in the amount of $1,216,598; and fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $14,278,992 are being obligated under the first task order. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8621-20-D-0013).

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Azusa, California, has been awarded a $222,507,873 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Defense Support Program (DSP) Operations, Mission Threat Analysis and Engineering Sustainment (DOMES). This contract provides on-orbit satellite and anomaly resolution support, root cause analysis, mission threat analysis, mission test bed and space awareness and global exploitation as key components of the lifetime extension of the DSP. Work will be performed in Azusa, California; Redondo Beach, California; Aurora, Colorado; and Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is expected to be completed March 31, 2030. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $18,000,000 is being obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity (FA8823-20-C-0002).

VectorCSP LLC, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, has been awarded a $16,286,599 firm-fixed-price contract for Combat Air Force (CAF) Fighter Squadron (FS), U.S. Air Force Warfare Center (USAFWC) and Air Support Operations Squadron (ASOS) support services to Air Combat Command. This contract provides in-garrison active fighter squadron's functional support for typical additional duties assigned to squadron personnel, such as operations scheduling, training, standards and evaluations, weapons and tactics, mobility, non-aviation programs and readiness, equipment managers and armorer support. Work will be performed at various locations throughout USAFWCs, ASOSs and CAFs in the U.S., and is expected to be completed June 25, 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and seven offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $8,920,289 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Management and Integration Center, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity (FA4890-20-F-0048).

Apogee Research LLC,* Arlington, Virginia, has been awarded a $13,398,315 cost-plus-fixed-fee completion type contract for SymLang, an invariant driven approach to software via symmetries and software. The objective of this effort includes developing novel software systems that enable automated adaptation of the resulting software system to radical changes in requirements and computational environments. SymLang, new programming language and its associated toolchain will allow for the rapid development and adaption of code that is efficient at run-time over a wide range of operating conditions. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia; Menlo Park, California; and Medford, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by June 26, 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and 20 offers were received. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $766,404 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-20-C-0520).

GrammaTech Inc.,* Ithaca, New York, has been awarded a $12,220,510 cost-plus-fixed-fee completion contract for Artemis Framework prototype software. This contract provides for research, design, development, demonstration, test, integration and delivery of the Artemis Framework that will enable rapid adaptation of software to changes in requirements, platforms and computational resources at a scale and speed appropriate for the complex software ecosystem. Work will be performed in Ithaca, New York, and is expected to be completed June 26, 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and 20 offers were received. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $750, 818 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-20-C-0208).

Raytheon Technologies, Woburn, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $9,223,822, firm-fixed-price modification (P00052) to contract FA8730-17-C-0010 for the Qatar Early Warning Radar (QEWR). This modification is for the construction of the communications infrastructure at the QEWR site. Work will be performed in Woburn, Massachusetts; and Qatar, and is expected to be completed by December 2020. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $1,117,574,971. This modification involves 100% Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to the country of Qatar. FMS funds in the amount of $9,223,822 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity.

ARMY

JCB Inc., Pooler, Georgia, was awarded a $269,425,883 firm-fixed-price contract for electric over hydraulic High Mobility Engineer Excavators, related hardware and ancillary services. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 23, 2028. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-20-D-0084).

GM Defense LLC, Detroit, Michigan, was awarded a $214,297,869 firm-fixed-price contract for acquisition of the Infantry Squad Vehicle, installation kits, ancillary hardware and logistical support. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 24, 2028. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-20-D-0066).

Walsh Federal LLC, Chicago, Illinois, was awarded a $38,027,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of an information system facility at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Tacoma, Washington, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2020 military construction (Army) funds in the amount of $38,027,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle, Washington, is the contracting activity (W912DW-20-C-0007).

KT Consulting, Phoenix, Arizona, was awarded a $12,235,930 firm-fixed-price contract for logistics research and analytic support. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., with an estimated completion date of Aug. 3, 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $6,142,964 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-20-F-0465).

GM Defense LLC, Detroit, Michigan, was awarded an $8,580,666 firm-fixed-price contract for initial delivery of Infantry Squad Vehicles and integrated product support. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 24, 2021. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-20-D-0066).

MCR Federal LLC, McLean, Virginia, was awarded an $8,579,438 modification (000127) to contract W31P4Q-16-A-0016 for technical engineering services in support of the Fixed Wing Project Office. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of July 28, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds; and 2018 aircraft procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $8,579,438 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., McLean, Virginia, was awarded an $8,440,579 modification (P00019) to contract W15QKN-17-F-0006 to accelerate enhancements to the identity, credential and access management system, as well as continuation of the Army Knowledge Online enterprise services modernization. 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 March 26, 2021. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Newark, New Jersey, is the contracting activity.

Aerovironment,* Monrovia, California, was awarded a $7,596,820 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to exercise an option for repair, maintenance, training, flight support and field service representatives. Work will be performed in Simi Valley, California, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $7,596,819 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-17-C-0171).

NAVY

Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, is awarded a $132,000,000 cost modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-2305 to fund capital expenditure projects for shipbuilder and supplier industrial base efforts in support of the USS Arleigh Burke DDG-51 class destroyer program. This modification will fund shipbuilder and supplier base efforts to address supply chain fragility and to ensure future readiness for the fleet. Work will be performed in Bath, Maine, and is expected to be completed by June 2028. Fiscal 2013, fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $132,000,000 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, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Didlake Inc., Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $62,116,404 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for annual custodial services at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNS) and annexes; the Portsmouth and Little Creek site; and the Naval Amphibious Base (NAB) Little Creek-Fort Story. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Virginia (75%); and Portsmouth, Virginia (25%). The work to be performed provides for annual custodial services, but is not limited to all management, supervision, tools, materials, supplies, labor and transportation services. They are necessary to perform custodial services for office space, restrooms and other types of rooms at the NNS and annexes, Portsmouth and Little Creek site and NAB Little Creek-Fort Story. Work is expected to be completed by June 2025. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $12,128,835 for recurring and non-recurring work will be obligated on individual task orders issued during the base period. This contract was procured as a sole-source AbilityOne requirement. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-20-D-0055).

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Mississippi, is awarded a $62,000,000 cost modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-2307 to fund capital expenditure projects for shipbuilding supplier industrial base efforts in support of the Arleigh Burke DDG 51 class destroyer program. This modification will fund supplier base efforts to address supply chain fragility that ensures future readiness for the fleet. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and is expected to be completed by April 2029. Fiscal 2013 and fiscal 2014 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $62,000,000 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, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Baldi Bros Inc.,* Beaumont, California, is awarded a $50,630,423 firm-fixed-price task order N62473-20-F-4817 under a multiple award construction contract for the construction of a runway and taxiway extension at the Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, California. Work will be performed in Ridgecrest, California. The work to be performed provides for the construction of extending and widening of Runway 08/26, the construction of Taxiway H and two aircraft arrestor systems, the installation of taxiway lighting on Runway 03/21 and the storm drainage to support the runway and other incidental related work. The runway and taxiway extension project includes, but is not limited to demolition, earthwork, provide drainage, paving, arresting gear, two concrete pads, lighting, airfield signage, power circuitry and control circuitry. Work also provides temporary construction that includes a temporary water line, jersey barriers and access roadwork. Work is expected to be completed by April 2022. Fiscal 2020 military construction (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $50,630,423 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Three proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N62473-19-D-2438).

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News, Virginia, is awarded a $22,791,081 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-4314 for the USS Boise (SSN 764) Smart Start that encompasses continued advance planning, execution services, production and availability preparations for fiscal 2020 USS Boise engineered overhaul. This contract modification includes options, which if exercised, will bring the cumulative value of this action to $22,999,003. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia. The contracted requirements also include continued advance planning, execution services, production and availability preparations necessary to repair and maintain unrestricted operation of the submarine. It also includes upgrades and modernization efforts required to ensure the submarine is operating at full technical capacity as defined in the availability work package during the chief of naval operation's scheduled availability. Work is expected to be completed by September 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funding in the amount of $22,791,081 will be obligated at time of award, and funding in the amount of $22,791,081 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Embree Machine Inc.,* Springville, Indiana (N00164-20-D-JN88); J&R Tool Inc.,* Loogootee, Indiana (N00164-20-D-JN89); Loughmiller Machine, Tool & Die,* Loogootee, Indiana (N00164-20-D-JN90); MSP Aviation Inc.,* Bloomington, Indiana (N00164-20-D-JN91); Specialty CNC Inc.,* Bloomington, Indiana (N00164-20-D-JN92); and United Support Solutions – LMT Inc.,* Cedar Grove, New Jersey (N00164-20-D-JN93), are awarded a $17,500,000 five-year, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contracts for build-to-print machined parts for military projects. These contracts includes options which may bring the cumulative value of each contract to $35,000,000, if exercised. Work will be performed at various locations across the U.S. based on each individual task order. These build-to-print machined parts are used for military projects including, but not limited to, the fixed forward firing weapons and interface unit automatic processor systems that are utilized on the MH-60R Seahawk and MH-60S Knighthawk helicopters. Work is expected to be completed by June 2025, or June 2030 if all options are exercised. Working capital funding of a $3,000 minimum contractual award for each vendor ($18,000 total) will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract were competitively procured via the beta.SAM.gov website and 11 offers were received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana, is the contracting activity.

Poole Fire Protection Inc.,* Olathe, Kansas, is awarded an $10,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity architect-engineer contract for architect-engineer services for fire protection testing, inspection, studies and surveys at various locations in all areas under the cognizance of Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Pacific. No task orders are being issued at this time. Work will be performed at various Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and other government facilities within the NAVFAC Pacific area of operations including, but not limited to Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (40%); Japan (40%); Australia (10%); and Diego Garcia (10%). The work to be performed provides for the following services final acceptance testing and inspection of all types of installed fire protection systems, fire protection and life safety studies, surveys and water flow testing. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months and work is expected to be complete by June 2025. Fiscal 2018 military construction (MILCON) (planning and design) contract funds in the amount of $10,000 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by MILCON (planning and design). This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website and four proposals were received. The NAVFAC Pacific, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-20-D-0005).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

U.S. Foods Inc., Port Orange, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $28,710,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. 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 262-day bridge contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Florida; Cuba; and the Bahamas, with a Nov. 8, 2020, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 and 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-20-D-3279).

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Melbourne, Florida, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $26,696,992 undefinitized delivery order (SPRPA1-20-F-M40H) against a five-year basic ordering agreement (SPE4A1-16-G-003Z) for aircraft rotodomes. 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 nine-month contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Florida, with a March 31, 2026, performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 Navy working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Merchants Foodservice, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, has been awarded a maximum $16,160,350 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. 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 241-day bridge contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Louisiana and Mississippi, with a Feb. 21, 2021, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-20-D-3280).

Fort Riley Utility Services Inc., Fort Riley, Kansas, has been awarded a maximum $9,461,376 modification (P00026) to a 50-year contract (SP0600-17-C-8328), with no option periods for water and wastewater utility services at Fort Riley, Kansas. This is a fixed-priced with economic-price-adjustment contract. This modification increases the obligated value from $33,267,059 to $34,393,260. Locations of performance are Kansas and California, with a June 30, 2068, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2018 through 2068 Army operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

International Business Machines Corp., Reston, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $7,635,577 modification (P00005) exercising the second one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SP4701-18-C-0048) with four one-year option periods for technical and functional services for the Defense Agencies Initiative. This is a firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-incentive-fee contract. Locations of performance are Virginia and other areas in the continental U.S., with a July 31, 2021, performance completion date. Using customer is Defense Logistics Agency. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 operations and maintenance funds; and research, development, test and evaluation funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Contracting Services Office, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

American Water Operations and Maintenance LLC, Camden, New Jersey, has been awarded a $15,943,623 modification (P00161) to a 50-year contract (SP0600-08-C-8250) with no options periods for the ownership, operation and maintenance of water and wastewater utility systems at Fort Hood, Texas. This is a fixed‐price with prospective-price-redetermination contract. Locations of performance are New Jersey and Texas, with a Jan. 8, 2059, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2059 Army operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. (Awarded June 23, 2020)

U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND

Arcticom LLC, Anchorage, Alaska, was awarded an $18,772,155 maximum single award “C” type contract (H92240-20-C-0004) with options included to extend services in support of Naval Special Warfare Command (NSWC) enterprise requirements for NSW Preparatory Course training and support services. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $3,329,539 are being obligated at the time of award. The work will be performed in Great Lakes, Illinois, and may continue through fiscal 2026 if all options are exercised. The contract was awarded competitively using Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 15 procedures with eight proposals received. NSWC, Coronado, California, is the contracting activity.

*Small Business

https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2234393/source/GovDelivery/

On the same subject

  • At a budgetary crossroads, the US Navy’s aviation wing must choose between old and new

    June 2, 2020 | International, Naval

    At a budgetary crossroads, the US Navy’s aviation wing must choose between old and new

    By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — In the coming years, the U.S. Navy will be faced with a decision that will radically shape the carrier air wing: Is the service willing to sacrifice dozens of new Super Hornet jets for the promise of a sixth-generation fighter in the 2030s? The Navy is opting to buy a final 24 F/A-18E/Fs in fiscal 2021, slashing a planned purchase of at least 36 Super Hornets that would have spanned FY22 through FY24. The move will save $4.5 billion, which the service plans to redirect to its sixth-generation fighter program, known as Next Generation Air Dominance, or F/A-XX. However, the decision may not be as clear cut — or final — as budget documents make it seem. The Navy is at the very start of the NGAD development process, having completed an analysis of alternatives in June 2019, as well as broad requirements and guidance for a concept of operations. The effort is now in the concept development phase, during which defense companies explore ideas “that balance advanced air dominance capabilities and long-term affordability/sustainment,” said Navy spokesman Capt. Danny Hernandez. But with an economic downturn potentially leading to even more pressure on the defense budget, the Navy may not have the funds to proceed with NGAD as a clean-sheet fighter jet. “Although the Navy would like to start developing the next generation of aircraft ... I just don't think — and increasingly people in the department are thinking — there's not going to be the money to devote to this next generation of fighter,” said Bryan Clark, an analyst with the Hudson Institute and a retired naval officer. “I think they are going to fall back to looking at F/A-XX as a modification or an evolution of the F-35,” he said. “Instead of the other half of the air wing being some new aircraft, you'll have a combination of F-35Cs and then some modified version of the F-35 or a modified Super Hornet." Jerry Hendrix, a retired Navy captain and an analyst with the Telemus Group, said the service's enthusiasm for F/A-XX is a sign of a continued preference for manned aviation as well as a desire to shut out any hope of fielding a long-range, penetrating strike drone. “I've always been in favor of extending the Hornet production line because it is solid and stable,” Hendrix said. “But the extension was based on the proviso that we're extending in order to get to an unmanned combat aerial vehicle. If it was an extension to get to the next manned fighter ... we're missing the idea of what the future competitive environment, or really the present competitive environment, is all about.” A tightrope of risk The Navy has grappled in prior years with the question of whether to cease production of the Super Hornet in favor of a future fighter, and it is an argument that lawmakers are wary of. The Navy first planned to stop buying the F/A-18 in its FY15 budget — a decision made to fund the transition to the F-35. But technical issues and delays pushed out the fielding of the Navy's F-35C takeoff-and-landing model for aircraft carriers to 2018, leaving the service dependent on a fleet of aging, battle-worn F/A-18s in need of a service-life extension. The Navy ended up listing the F/A-18 on its unfunded priorities list, and Congress followed by funding enough Super Hornets to keep Boeing's line running. “If we go back a few years and we look at what happened when we thought we were going to plant the F-35, we let the F-18 slide down,” Rep. Donald Norcross, D-N.J., said in a March 10 hearing. Norcross is the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces. The process of standing up the F-35C was much slower than expected, and the Navy ended up buying additional F/A-18s to bridge the capability gap, he said. “Yet, here we are getting ready to curtail 36 Super Hornets because we are expecting, you know, the F/A-XX to come online,” he added. Asked how he could be confident that F/A-XX would stay on schedule, Rear Adm. Gregory Harris, the Navy's director of air warfare, said he could provide lawmakers a more detailed defense of the Navy's Next Generation Air Dominance family of systems in a classified setting. “We're working closely with the Air Force to ensure the systems that we put on that have the [technology readiness level] that gives us confidence that we can achieve that aircraft on time in the early 2030s to replace the F/A-18E/F as it reaches the end of its service life,” Harris said. Missouri Rep. Vicky Hartzler, the subcommittee's top Republican, pointed out that the Navy already has a fighter shortfall of about 49 aircraft, with additional F/A-18s being pulled from the operational fleet into a service-life extension period that will take at least a year. “I feel like this is too much operational risk,” she said. “If you add all those up, this is a severe shortage that we are experiencing, and if you don't account for the attrition rate, actually in combat we would have a very large gap there potentially.” James Geurts, the Navy's assistant secretary for research, development and acquisition, said there is always risk when transitioning from legacy to new aircraft, but that improved mission-capable rates and a steady flow of jets moving through upgrades will help balance the shortfall. “We're taking risk until the late 2020s. I think 2029 is when we will get to the full fighter inventory, and so we had to take some risk as we balance that,” he said. The most likely scenario is that, as the Navy presses forward with its plan to curtail funding for F/A-18s, Congress will simply continue buying more of them, Hendrix said. But one unanswered question is whether lawmakers will also intervene to force the Navy to consider a wider range of aviation options that could give the carrier air wing longer legs. “I'm hopeful that there will be a broader conversation, led by Congress and the administration, perhaps together, to say: ‘We are looking at the future security environment. We are looking at the Chinese threat. We are looking at what's happening in Taiwan, what's happening [in] Hong Kong and within the first island chain, and we really need to have this new capability of long-range, penetrating strike,' ” Hendrix said. “What I do realize is that because the Navy is very conservative right now in how it's approaching its procurement programs, the Navy will not be the one to say we need this mission.” No matter what the Navy decides, it could impact its procurement of the MQ-25 unmanned tanker drone currently under development by Boeing. Hendrix sees the MQ-25 program as a likely bill payer, particularly if the service continues to buy Hornets. “What was the reason for the MQ-25? It was to take the strain off from the Hornets,” which were being used to refuel other F/A-18s and burning through their service lives faster than anticipated, Hendrix said. “When you reopen the Hornet production line and you add 120-something new Hornets, you actually took that strain off the Hornet fleet. So there really isn't a requirement now for a recovery tanker.” Clark agrees that the Navy should develop a long-range unmanned combat aircraft but is unlikely to do so. But should the Navy choose not to proceed with an F/A-XX program, Clark believes the service could funnel some of that money into modifying the MQ-25 to supplement strike, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capacities, and could even end buy more MQ-25s than planned. “The MQ-25 program, once it gets fielded and proven out, I could see the Navy expanding it,” he said. “I think the operational and programmatic pressures have driven the Navy to embrace the MQ-25, and because it's a complement to the manned aircraft, it's generated less resentment among the manned aviation community.” https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/06/01/at-a-budgetary-crossroads-the-us-navys-aviation-wing-must-choose-between-old-and-new/

  • Peraton Awarded $185.8 Million Tactical Aerostat Systems Contract

    July 3, 2019 | International, Other Defence

    Peraton Awarded $185.8 Million Tactical Aerostat Systems Contract

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  • Lockheed hypersonic weapon moves to next phase after US Air Force test success

    July 15, 2022 | International, Aerospace

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