September 22, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence
NAVY
Heffler Contracting Group,* El Cajon, California (N62473-20-D-1122); HHI Corp.,* Ogden, Utah (N62473-20-D-1123); I.E.-Pacific Inc.,* Escondido, California (N62473-20-D-1124); Peter Vander Werff Construction Inc.,* El Cajon, California (N62473-20-D-1125); and R. A. Burch Construction Co., Inc., Ramona, California (N62473-20-D-1126), are each being awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award construction contract for new construction, renovation and repair of general building construction at various government installations located in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. The maximum dollar value including the base period and one option period for all five contracts combined is $495,000,000. The work to be performed provides for new construction, renovation and repair of administration buildings, armories, auditoriums, bachelor enlisted quarters, child care centers, fire stations, gymnasiums, hangars, hospitals, maintenance/repair facilities, warehouses and other similar facilities. The initial task orders will be to issue minimum guarantees in the amount of $5,000 for all five offerors. All work on these contracts will be performed at various government installations within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest area of responsibility including, but not limited to, California (90%); Arizona (6%); Nevada (1%); Utah (1%); Colorado (1%); and New Mexico (1%). The terms of the contracts are not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of September 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (O&M) (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $25,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy); O&M (Navy); O&M (Marine Corps); and Navy working capital funds. This contract was competitively procured as a small business set-aside procurement via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with 16 proposals received. These five contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts. NAVFAC Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.
Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News, Virginia, is awarded a $351,810,277 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-4314 for the USS Boise (SSN 764) early production period that encompasses continued advance planning, execution services, production and availability preparations for the USS Boise engineered overhaul. This contract modification includes options, which if exercised, will bring the cumulative value of this action to $355,015,496. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by May 2023. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $351,810,277 will be obligated at time of award, of which, funds in the amount of $351,810,277 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Mississippi, is awarded a $21,747,155 modification (P00014) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost reimbursable, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N61340-17-D-0005. This modification exercises options to provide intermediate-level maintenance, repair and logistics support services to include labor, direct and indirect material for Chief of Naval Air Training aircraft. Additionally, this modification procures tooling and equipment required to support and maintain four aircraft intermediate maintenance departments and related support equipment. Work will be performed in Pensacola, Florida (47%); Corpus Christi, Texas (40%); Whiting Field, Florida (10%); and Meridian, Mississippi (3%), and is expected to be completed in September 2021. No funds are being obligated at time of award, funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity.
USA Waste of California Inc., doing business as Waste Management, Los Angeles, California, is awarded a maximum amount of $21,658,159 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract for integrated solid waste management services at various Navy and Marine Corps installations within the San Diego metropolitan and San Diego County areas. The work to be performed provides for labor, supervision, management and materials to perform various integrated solid waste management service functions as follows: refuse and recycling collection and disposal services. An initial task order is being awarded at $2,317,525 for integrated solid waste management services at Naval Base, San Diego, California (45%); Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar, California (24%); Naval Base Point, Loma, California (24%); Marine Corps Recruit Depot, California (6%); Camp Michael, Monsoor, California (less than 1%); Remote Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Camp, Warner Springs, California (less than 1%); and Camp Morena, California (less than 1%). Work for this task order is expected to be completed by September 2021. The term of the contract is not to exceed 96 months with an expected completion date of September 2028. Fiscal 2021 operations and maintenance Navy (O&M, N); operations and maintenance Defense Health Program (O&M, DHP); and Navy working capital funds (NWCF) in the amount of $2,317,525 will be obligated at the beginning of the fiscal year and will expire at the end of that fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by O&M, N; O&M, DHP; and NWCF contract funds. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website with two proposals received. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N62473-20-D-1128).
Management Services Group Inc., doing business as Global Technical Systems,* Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded a $21,580,941 firm-fixed-priced modification to previously awarded contract N63394-19-C-0008 to exercise options for the production of ordnance alteration kits, on-board allowance spares and installation and checkout kits for Technical Insertion 12H of the Common Processing System. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by April 2021. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy); fiscal 2019 procurement (defense-wide) funding; and fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $21,580,941 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Georgia, is awarded a $12,772,525 modification (P00012) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00019-19-D-0014. This modification exercises options to procure consumable parts and material in support of the C/KC-130J aircraft for the Marine Corps, Marine Corps Reserves, Coast Guard and the government of Kuwait. Work will be performed in Marietta, Georgia (66.5%); Palmdale, California (15.5%); Abdullah Al-Mubarak Air Base, Kuwait (2.5%); Iwakuni, Japan (2.5%); Miramar, California (2.5%); Cherry Point, North Carolina (2.5%); Elizabeth City, North Carolina (2.5%); Fort Worth, Texas (2.5%), Newburgh, New York (2.5%); and Greenville, South Carolina (0.5%), and is expected to be completed by December 2023. No funds are being obligated at time of award, funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Alexandra Construction Inc.,* Newton, Massachusetts, is awarded an $11,213,400 firm-fixed-price contract for the renovation of the communications building at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine. The work to be performed will consist of a total interior and partial exterior renovation of Building 13, including abating hazardous materials; a new stair and elevator tower; upgrading the building's structural support system; restoring original window openings; providing offices, conference and break areas; providing accessibility via ramp and elevator; and completely overhauling the building's mechanical, electrical, data and fire protection systems. Work will be performed in Kittery, Maine, and is expected to be completed by November 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $11,213,400 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Contract Opportunities website with three proposals received. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-20-C-0071).
L3Harris Technologies Inc., North Amityville, New York, is awarded a $7,363,788 firm-fixed-price contract that continues efforts associated with Small Business Innovation Research Phase III Topic Number 9895 titled “MIL-STD-1760A Compatible Multiple Smart Weapon Employment Mechanism.” This contract provides for the production and delivery of 1,168 umbilical cables and attaching hardware for use on the Bomb Rack Unit (BRU)-55. Work will be performed in Brighton, United Kingdom (79.13%); Franklin, Pennsylvania (10.51%); and Amityville, New York (10.36%), and is expected to be completed by May 2022. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,363,788 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(5). The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N68335-20-C-0368).
Delphinus Engineering Inc.,* Eddystone, Pennsylvania (N55236-18-D-0001); Q.E.D. Systems Inc.,* Virginia Beach, Virginia (N55236-18-D-0002); Epsilon Systems Solutions Inc.,* National City, California (N55236-18-D-0003); Tecnico Corp.,* Chesapeake, Virginia (N55236-18-D-0004); Southcoast Welding and Manufacturing LLC,* Chula Vista, California (N55236-18-D-0005); Bay City Marine Inc.,* National City, California (N55236-18-D-0006); Pacific Ship Repair and Fabrications Inc.,* San Diego, California (N55236-18-D-0007); and Miller Marine Inc.,* San Diego, California (N55236-18-D-0008), are each awarded firm-fixed-price contract modifications with a combined overall ceiling increase of $7,208,259 to exercise Option Year Three of their respective previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contracts to provide depot level repairs, interior and exterior preservation, barge modernization upgrades, dockside and dry dock services for Navy barges. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by October 2021. No funding is being obligated at time of award. Each contractor was awarded one contract and subsequently will compete for each delivery order when a requirement is identified. The Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.
AIR FORCE
The MITRE Corp., Bedford, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $463,002,062 cost reimbursement option contract for support to the Air Force from MITRE as the administrator of the National Security Engineering Center Federally-Funded Research and Development Center. Work will be performed in Bedford, Massachusetts; McLean, Virginia; and various locations throughout the continental U.S. and outside the continental U.S., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2021. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $158,100 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8702-19-C-0001).
L3Harris Technologies Inc., Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been awarded a $119,172,657 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification (P00007) to contract FA8823-20-C-0004 for the Ground-Based Electro Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) System upgrade on Ground-Based Optical Sensor System (GBOSS) engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) pre-priced option. This modification provides for the exercise of an option for the GBOSS EMD Phase to complete the design for the integrated system; develop and/or modify software required to support the system; design and build new European and Pacific sites and add an additional sensor tower enclosure to the GEODSS White Sands Missile Range site; upgrade and/or acquire, integrate, test and field the 12 GEODSS Enhanced Technology sensor towers; and design, develop and/or acquire, integrate, test and field the three Advanced Technology Sensor towers. Work will be performed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is expected to be completed by June 27, 2024. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $12,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $218,167,008. The Space and Missile Systems Center Directorate of Contracting, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity.
PAR Government Systems Corp., Rome, New York, has been awarded an $11,972,009 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for software deliverables. This contract provides for the research, design, development, assembly, integration, demonstration, experimentation, analysis, testing and further development of innovative technologies, concepts, architectures, capabilities and a concept of operations using the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Integrated Information Management System Cyber Technology Maturation Framework Form, Fit, and Function prototype environment and other relevant frameworks. Work will be performed in Rome, New York, and is expected to be completed by October 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $190,000 are being obligated at the time of award. AFRL, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-20-C-1545).
Rockwell Collins Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been awarded an $8,714,641 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Software Programmable Agile Radio for Tactical Connected Ubiquitous Systems software/hardware system prototype. This contract provides for the communication challenges of multi-domain operation by combining the Software Programmable Agile Radio next program's true Software Defined Radio approach with low-cost, state-of-the-art, digital hardware and front-end modularity, to develop a low-cost, high-performance ground radio that supports multiple waveforms. Work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is expected to be completed Sept. by 21, 2023. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $530,000 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-20-C-1542).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Alliant Enterprises LLC,* Grand Rapids, Michigan, has been awarded a maximum $225,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for patient monitoring and capital equipment systems and accessories. This was a competitive acquisition with 50 offers received. This is a five-year base contract with one five-year option period. Location of performance is Michigan, with a Sept. 20, 2025, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D1-20-D-0012).
ARMY
BAE Systems Ordnance Systems, Kingsport, Tennessee, was awarded a $17,470,393 modification (P00727) to contract DAAA09-98-E-0006 to complete the modernization of existing neutralization basins and upgrade clarifiers at the industrial wastewater treatment facility and complete facility maintenance at Holston Army Ammunition Plant. Work will be performed in Kingsport, Tennessee, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2023. Fiscal 2020 procurement of ammunition (Army) funds in the amount of $17,470,393 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.
BAE Systems Ordnance System, Kingsport, Tennessee, was awarded a $17,211,588 modification (P00716) to contract DAAA09-98-E-0006 to complete the design of the Filter Wash Facility Building E at Holston Army Ammunition Plant. Work will be performed in Kingsport, Tennessee, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 procurement of ammunition (Army) funds in the amount of $17,211,588 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.
*Small business
https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2355497/source/GovDelivery/
April 20, 2023 | International, C4ISR
Tucson, Ariz., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX) was awarded a $237 million U.S. Army contract for Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensors (KuRFS) and Coyote? effectors to detect...
July 3, 2018 | International, Aerospace
By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia ― Singapore will decide in the next few months on a new fighter to replace its fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16 multirole fighters, with the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter from the same manufacturer seen as the prime candidate. In an interview with media ahead of the southeast Asian island nation's Armed Forces Day, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said that despite ongoing upgrades, the F-16s face obsolescence beyond 2030. He added the country will make a definitive decision on its replacement in the next few months based on interoperability with Singapore's current systems and platforms as well as the price. Ng refused to be drawn into further details as to which fighter platforms Singapore is looking at, only saying that the BAE Systems Typhoon, the F-35, Russia's Sukhois, and Chinese-made stealth fighters are “the usual suspects that you have to look at” when air forces are choosing a new combat platform. However, Singapore has been evaluating the F-35 since 2013 and Ng had previously suggested that the type was suited to be the replacement for Singapore's F-16s. Earlier reports suggested Singapore is keen on acquiring the F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing variant, with the B-model's STOVL capability seen as useful for Singapore, whose main island has an area of a mere 277 square miles and whose air bases are seen as vulnerable to a first strike. Nevertheless, former head of the F-35 program Christopher Bogdan, said Singapore requested information on all three variants of the F-35, and the possibility of Singapore opting for the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A variant cannot be ruled out. Singapore is a security cooperative participant of the F-35 program and is believed to have an eventual requirement of between 40 and 60 new fighters to replace its F-16s. The Republic of Singapore Air Force, or RSAF, currently operates a fleet of 60 F-16C/D Block 52 and Advanced Block 52 aircraft delivered between 1998 and 2005. Twelve aircraft are currently assigned to a joint continuation training unit between the U.S. and Singapore air forces at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, while the remaining are split between three Singapore-based squadrons. Singapore's F-16s are currently being upgraded by Lockheed Martin with the upgrade program, which started in 2016 and is expected to be completed in 2022, including the addition of Northrop Grumman's AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array radar, an improved identification, friend or foe system, as well as Link 16 data links. During the interview, Ng also outlined some of the other upcoming procurement programs Singapore is looking at. These include new multirole combat vessels to replace six corvettes and new joint multimission ships to replace four amphibious ships in Singapore's Navy, while the Army will replace its towed 155mm howitzers with a new self-propelled high-mobility artillery system in the 2020s. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/07/02/will-the-f-35-beat-out-the-usual-suspects-in-singapores-search-for-f-16-replacement/
June 23, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
By: Andrew Chuter LONDON — Producing a promised new defense and security review was never going to be straightforward for the British government, but the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and the fast-evolving geostrategic position has muddied the waters even further, leaving open the question of future investment priorities. The integrated defense, security and foreign policy review ordered by Prime Minister Boris Johnson soon after he entered office last December was meant to provide answers to how Britain would make its way in the world post-Brexit. That exercise is partly, but not entirely, on ice as the government focuses its attention on trying to control COVID-19 without putting the economy back in the Stone Age. Completion of the review has been pushed back from this summer to sometime next year. Stephan Lovegrove, the Ministry of Defence's permanent secretary, told the parliamentary public accounts committee recently that some work on the review was ongoing, with early results expected to emerge this year. “There will potentially be something direction-setting later this year. Exactly how full that is, I do not know. Our view is that the fuller it can be, the better,” Lovegrove said. One MoD official, who asked not to be named, said one of the key items now being worked on was a look at the balance of economic priorities versus national security priorities. It's a key question, the answer to which will likely set the scene for decisions on defense investment priorities for years to come. Johnson's original claim that the review would be policy driven, not financially compelled, is no longer the case — if it ever was. Independent analyst John Louth says that post COVID-19, it's going to be all about the money. “Without doubt the pandemic has changed everything. It [the review] is going to be driven by affordability,” Louth said. Defense commentator Howard Wheeldon of Wheeldon Strategic Advisory said funding was going to be a big problem across the West. “Pressures on Western governments in relation to defense spending have probably never been greater. But while we are seeing a significant awareness of the need to invest in activities like cyber, space and ISTAR we cannot afford to ignore the ongoing need to invest in conventional weapons,” he said. “China is investing heavily in air and maritime, and Russia, despite economic pressures, is increasing spend on conventional weapons. Given that COVID-19 has impacted on virtually every nation we must expect that defense spending will be impacted in the medium term,” Wheeldon said. “For the UK we must anticipate cuts in legacy systems across all three services but I am of the view that the army will bear the brunt when it comes to capacity reduction,” he added. It's not just affordability that is the issue. The pandemic is focusing the minds of parliamentarians and others on issues like homeland resilience. The military here have been lauded for their efforts supporting the fight against COVID-19 but it could eventually come at a cost, according to Doug Barrie, a senior analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank in London. “The recognition for greater societal resilience, and the associated cost of this, as a result of the pandemic threatens to be a draw on the U.K.'s armed forces in terms of personnel and future investment — this will put pressure on defense expenditure across the board,” Barrie said. “A neutral budget would be a success for MoD, but I can see some projects being postponed and platform capabilities trimmed as a near term measure,” he added. It wouldn't be so bad if the defense equipment budget was currently under control, but it's not. The National Audit Office, the government's financial watchdog, reckons the current equipment plan has been unaffordable for several years. The worst-case scenario puts the 10-year equipment budget shortfall at £13 billion (U.S. $16 billion) says the NAO. While a decision by Johnson and his advisors on Britain's strategic road map is thrashed out the MoD is living pretty much hand-to-mouth, balancing the books annually by in-year reductions in equipment spending and other measures. Lovegrove told the parliamentary committee the MoD is focusing on smaller programs to cut to leave the government with space to make decisions on more strategic issues during the defense review. Such an approach does have financial consequences, though. “What we typically seek to do is to look at some of the less strategic capabilities, which we are capable of making decisions on outside of a full-blown, multi-year strategic review, and ask difficult questions of those for the [Service] Commands. Ultimately, we would like the Commands to make their own decisions. Sometimes those are cut; more often, they are deferred and descoped,” he said. “Deferring programs in order to give ministers proper choices within a strategic context has the result of pushing the bow wave of the unbalanced budget out a year or two, making it a bit bigger,” the permanent secretary said. “There is a cumulative effect of doing what we have to do to maintain the integrity of the program of record when the balance is out of whack, in that we defer for a year, then defer for a year, then put projects on shorter rations. The bow wave becomes bigger. You see that in the nature of the more difficult financing position that we have for the next three or four years. ... So, yes, I think that the program is very tight and getting tighter,” Lovegrove warned. Without the results of the review the defense sector is operating in a bit of a vacuum on the equipment front. Louth said that ultimately what the MoD spends its money on will be dictated by an as yet unknown view of Britain's foreign policy goals in a post-coronavirus, post-Brexit era. “Where the money is invested depends what they [the government] want to do. The problem is can anybody put their hand up and say ‘we understand what theUK strategic ambition is at the moment,” he said. Despite the strategy vacuum the review likely heralds significant change to investment priorities, according to Wheeldon. “I see a huge change of approach emerging in the UK — one that will concentrate more resources on internal defense, cyber and space and less on conventional armies and battlefield activities. The UK will remain committed to air and maritime and in particular ISTAR and carrier strike. Whilst retaining the overall air and maritime commitment to the NATO alliance I envisage a shift away from front-line land systems support to that of increased ISTAR, space and cyber,” Wheeldon said. Which sectors will see the money invested ? “My money would remain very much on ensuring we have sufficient air and maritime capabilities, particularly ISTAR, and fast jet and surface and sub-surface maritime capability. Investing in space is crucial, investing in cyber is hugely important. I also remain committed to replacement of our nuclear deterrent capability,” Wheeldon said. Barrie agreed about the key requirement to invest in sectors like cyber, space and ISTAR, but cautioned that even here “ambitions will have to be shaped by budgetary reality.” In a paper published in March as the COVID-19 crisis took hold, the Royal United Services Institute's deputy director-general, Malcolm Chalmers, and Will Jessett, a former strategy director at the MoD, offered a view of Britain's defense priorities should be in the future. Britain's new policy should be encapsulated in a new doctrine of enlightened national interest, they said. “Under such an approach, the first priority for the armed forces should be the defense of the UK homeland and its immediate neighborhood. ... The shape of expeditionary forces should now be determined primarily through the need to work closely with NATO allies in defense of Europe and its immediate neighborhood,” the two analysts said. The analysts' view of local and regional defense is partly reflected in their equipment list for Britain's future forces. “Defence priorities over the coming decade need to include robust air defense of the UK (and the Republic of Ireland), strengthened coastal defenses against limited incursions, protection of infrastructure (defense and civil) against virtual and physical attack, and maintaining the ability to provide adequate support to the civil power in national emergencies,” they said in their RUSI paper. A move towards defense of the U.K. and, through NATO, its immediate neighborhood, would represent a significant shift. Just a little over 15 months ago then-Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson was making the case for Britain competing for its interests on a global playing field. “In an era of great power competition we cannot be satisfied simply by protecting our own backyard” Williamson said in a speech at RUSI. Britain has spent billions of pounds building two new F-35 equipped aircraft carriers as part of that policy and needs to invest heavily to buy additional jets and carrier strike support vessels. But a swing towards beefing up defenses in Europe may gain more traction following U.S. President Donald Trump's recent announcement he was withdrawing thousands of troops from Europe. Whether or not Trump means it, or is playing to the gallery ahead of the U.S. elections in November, is unclear, but a significant reduction in U.S. manpower would go right to the heart of NATO planning assumptions. Causing European powers like Britain to rethink how they address the need for their forces to maneuver against a potential adversary like Russia without significant US military support. Louth said the Russian's pushing west to regain territory lost since the end of the Cold War is not as unthinkable as it once was. “We have to be able to address that level of uncertainty and in defense that must be about protecting Europe's borders. What it means is you have to have an investment strategy and a capability generation process that allows you to protect those borders by being able to maneuver across a highly amorphous battlefield across a number of domains.The physicality of force goes to the heart of deterrent,” the analyst said. https://www.defensenews.com/smr/transatlantic-partnerships/2020/06/22/defense-planning-takes-a-back-seat-in-britains-struggle-to-shake-the-coronavirus/