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November 15, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

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  • US Air Force : un appel d'offre pour un avion léger en fin d'année

    August 30, 2018 | International, Aerospace

    US Air Force : un appel d'offre pour un avion léger en fin d'année

    Par Emmanuel Huberdeau L'US Air Force a annoncé son intention de publier fin 2018 un appel d'offre pour un avion d'attaque léger. Celui-ci pourrait être commandé en fin d'année fiscale 2019. L'US Air Force a publié le 3 août 2018 un document officiel annonçant son intention de solliciter en décembre 2018 des offres de la part de l'industrie pour l'acquisition d'un avion léger d'attaque. Il s'agira d'un avion déjà développé conçu pour les conflits irréguliers précise le document. L'US Air Force estime déjà que seul Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) et Textron Aviation sont en mesure de répondre à son besoin. SNC produit en partenariat avec Embraer l'A-29 Super Tucano et Textron propose l'AT-6 Wolverine via sa filiale Beechcraft. Ces appareils ont été testés par l'US Air Force lors de campagnes d'essais réalisés avec plusieurs types d'avions d'attaque légers. Malgré cette déclaration de l'USAF, la société Stavatti Aerospace Ltd espère pouvoir faire participer à l'appel d'offre son concept d'avion d'appui aérien rapproché le SM-27 Machete. Ce concept qui semble sortir tout droit d'une bande dessinée a été imaginé pour succéder à l'A-10. Il s'agit d'un appareil doté d'un turbo propulseur "pousseur" avec une voilure droite, des plans canards et deux dérives. Ses concepteurs annoncent une vitesse maximale de 400 noeuds. L'armement comprendrait un canon de 30 mm et 3600 kg de munitions. Le cockpit serait dérivé de celui du F-16. Stavatti annonce avoir envoyé un document de 80 pages à l'USAF le 17 août pour expliquer son offre. Pas sûr que cela suffise à convaincre l'armée de l'air américaine qui cherche un appareil disponible sur étagère. http://www.air-cosmos.com/us-air-force-un-appel-d-offre-pour-un-avion-leger-en-fin-d-annee-114427

  • US Army and South Korea’s Hanwha will research projects together

    December 17, 2020 | International, Land

    US Army and South Korea’s Hanwha will research projects together

    By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — Hanwha, South Korea's largest defense company, and the U.S. Army have signed an agreement to research and develop defense systems and technologies together, according to a statement from the Asian firm. The Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) was signed Dec. 10 by Hanwha Corporation and Hanwha Defense and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center (DEVCOM AC). Hanwha is the first Korean company to enter into a CRADA with the U.S. Army, according to the statement. “This is a historic and exciting opportunity,” Ret. U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Bernard Champoux, head of Hanwha's US defense operations and former 8th Army commander, said in the statement. “It not only acknowledges the quality of the Republic of Korea's growing defense sector, but also further strengthens the bilateral US-ROK relationship and the Alliance.” A senior delegation from DEVCOM AC visited South Korea in November 2019 to discuss possible collaboration with Hanwha. “Both parties shared their interest in jointly developing capabilities for the U.S. and other international military markets, with potential commercial spin-off applications,” the statement notes. The agreement will allow the company and DEVCOM AC to exchange resources, technical expertise and intellectual property. Efforts may include extensive simulation, modeling and prototyping throughout the design, development and testing of a wide range of defense solutions such as fire armaments systems, ammunition, vehicle and armaments system interfaces, protection systems, propulsion and robotics. “For Hanwha, this agreement is yet another step in demonstrating its commitment to US defense stakeholders and the US economy by facilitating transfer of technologies that can be incorporated into the American industrial base,” the company states. Hanwha is hoping to build off the momentum from recent international success including competitive participation in Australia's LAND 400 and LAND 8116 programs. Hanwha's Redback Next-Generation Infantry Fighting Vehicle is a top contender for the LAND 400 competition while its K9 Huntsman Self-Propelled Howitzer has been chosen for Australia's LAND 8116 program set up to build 30 new howitzers with upgrade plans in the 2030s. Hanwha is teaming up with Kongsberg Defence Australia on the effort. Australia's LAND 400 program is an effort to procure a new combat reconnaissance vehicle. Hanwha's Redback is going head-to-head in trials with Rheinmetall's KF41 Lynx Infantry Fighting Vehicle. Australia will evaluate the offerings in trials over the next year. In the U.S., many close to or directly involved in the Army's Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle competition to replace its Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle are keeping an eye on Hanwha as a possible competitor. The Army is expected to release its request for proposals for the competition Dec. 18. The Army is embarking on its second attempt to hold a competition for the OMFV program after receiving just one bid sample by its deadline. A physical bid sample is not a requirement in the new competitive effort. Sources confirmed to Defense News at the time that Hanwha had seriously considered a bid, but decided against it. BAE Systems also chose not to compete. Rheinmetall, Hanwha's LAND 400 direct competitor, is expected to submit a proposal to participate in the OMFV competition with a team of Raytheon and Textron. General Dynamics Land Systems and BAE Systems are also expected to submit proposals. The Army is also gearing up for a future mobile howitzer shoot-off in 2021. It is unknown whether Hanwha plans to enter the competition, which is expected to have a deep pool of competitors. The company also demonstrated its BIHO “Flying Tiger” air defense system as a possible Short-Range Air Defense System as the U.S. Army scrambled to develop an interim SHORAD capability in response to an urgent operational need from the European theater just a few years ago. Hanwha “has its foundation in the development and production of energetics with 68 years of accumulated expertise,” the statement says. “The company is recognized for its modernized production of explosives propellants, and advanced precision guided munitions for the Republic of Korea and numerous allied nations.” The company is also a “leading combat ground vehicle and weapons systems developer” in South Korea with almost 50 years of technology development and production, according to the statement. Norway, Finland, Estonia, Poland, India and Turkey have all been customers of Hanwha's self-propelled howitzer solutions, the statement notes. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/12/16/us-army-and-south-koreas-hanwha-solidify-joint-defense-research-pact/

  • NATO’s ‘startup’ charts a bold future in maritime unmanned systems

    April 21, 2020 | International, Naval

    NATO’s ‘startup’ charts a bold future in maritime unmanned systems

    By: Michael D. Brasseur , Rob Murray , and Sean Trevethan Last December, at their meeting in London, NATO leaders declared: “To stay secure, we must look to the future together. We are addressing the breadth and scale of new technologies to maintain our technological edge, while preserving our values and norms.” These two sentences were, in part, a nod to a significant piece of work the alliance is undertaking within the broader mandate of alliance innovation — NATO's Maritime Unmanned Systems Initiative. Granted, on its own this sounds both technical and narrow within the context of emerging technology, a context that includes: artificial intelligence, data, space, hypersonic weapons, bio technologies, quantum research, autonomy and more. So why are maritime unmanned systems relevant now? Simply put, developing the numbers of manned submarines, aircraft and ships required to keep pace with potential adversaries is simply not economically viable (almost $3 billion per Virginia-class U.S. submarine). Not since the Cold War has NATO needed the volume of maritime forces to protect our seas and oceans from would-be foes. NATO's areas of interest are expanding. As climate change affects the Arctic, new maritime routes are being created, which Russia in particular is exploiting with its submarines and ships. This matters because it exposes a new flank on NATO's high-north periphery, and if left unchecked is a potential vulnerability whilst also being a potential opportunity; this, coupled with an increasing need to protect our undersea data infrastructure means NATO's geostrategic responsibilities continue to grow. Therefore, if allies are to reinforce NATO's maritime posture, deter Russian aggression, guard against Chinese activity, and protect both critical national infrastructure and our sea lines of communication, NATO must do things differently and at the speed of relevance. NATO's Maritime Unmanned Systems Initiative was agreed by 13 defense ministers in October 2018. Since then, the initiative's success has attracted the participation of three more allies and garnered significant interest from all of NATO's maritime nations. The political agreement struck in 2018 provided the mandate for NATO to bring together disparate strands of common work ongoing within nations. NATO, acting as a network, enabled allies to become greater than the sum of their parts. The focus is threefold: utilize world-leading research to increase allied interoperability between conventional forces and unmanned drones; establish new tactics for our sailors to truly leverage these technologies; and develop secure digital communications for military drones across all domains (air, sea and land). Addressing these priorities together will enable this effort to be scaled across the alliance, at pace. To date, the speed of this effort has been breathtaking. So much so that even the United States and the United Kingdom — two allies who have invested the most in this area — are using the NATO initiative as a catalyst for their own national efforts. The last 12-plus months has seen the creation of a NATO project office, a governance body, as well as the planning and successful execution of the world's largest and most complex maritime unmanned systems exercise off the Portuguese coast in September 2019. This event brought together the very best from our navies, industry, scientific institutes and academia. The results were hugely impressive, with many “world firsts” including maritime unmanned systems augmenting conventional forces through multiple scenarios. We now have vast swaths of insight and information to start achieving those three goals of improving interoperability, enhancing our tactics and developing secure communications. The goal of improving allied interoperability is actually about enhancing standards. A topic often overlooked at the policy level but critical to the DNA of the NATO alliance. Standards drive interoperability, which in turn drives readiness, which ultimately aids deterrence. As NATO leads the development of new technologies, so too must come new standards that our industries and military can implement. Open architectures will be key, but allies and industry need to realize that we need to solve problems — not address requirements. No perfect solution will ever be delivered on the first attempt. The alliance will need to both innovate and iterate on operations in order to maintain advantage. This may be a cultural shift to some acquisition purists who are used to developing complex warships over 20-plus-year time frames. However, the challenge remains our ability to scale. With this project we have an agile global team functioning across multiple national and allied bureaucracies, each with their own culture and ways of working. Through engagement and investment, this team is yielding disproportionate results. Indeed, 2019 demonstrated what can be done with some imagination, effort and focus. But continual growth at speed will require faith by allies to maintain the course. Such is the nature of true change and innovation. There is a lot to do, and the stakes are high. Near-peer competitors are once again very real. Despite the global lockdown caused by the new coronavirus, COVID-19, the initiative continues to progress through synthetic networks and simulation, driven by passion and intent. Our economy, our data and its infrastructure still need protecting, now more than ever. This effort strives to accelerate maritime unmanned systems into NATO's arsenal to patrol the vast swaths of ocean and offset evolving threats. Success will be seen because it is being built on allied nations' shared values and norms, the same values and norms that NATO leaders recognized in London last year. Michael D. Brasseur is the director of naval armaments cooperation for the U.S. mission to NATO. He is also the first director of NATO's “startup,” the Maritime Unmanned Systems Innovation and Coordination Cell. Rob Murray is the head of innovation at NATO Headquarters. Sean Trevethan is the fleet robotics officer of the British Royal Navy, working in the future capability division at Navy Command Headquarters in Portsmouth, England. https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/04/20/natos-start-up-charts-a-bold-future-in-maritime-unmanned-systems/

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