Contracts for June 8, 2021

On the same subject

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  July 3, 2018 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

  US spy planes are breaking down ― and lawmakers want answers

  By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― America's aging C-135 reconnaissance planes keep breaking down, and alarmed lawmakers want the U.S. Air Force to tell them why. Based at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, the 55th Wing's Boeing-made reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering aircraft, all more than 50 years old, are meant to carry out critical missions from operating bases in England, Greece, Japan and Qatar. But an Omaha World-Herald investigative series has found that mechanical problems plague the jets, cutting short 500 of their flights since 2016 and one of every 12 missions since 2015. That's prompted Nebraska lawmakers to write to Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, urging her to probe and report on the health of the 55th Wing's worn-out fleet. Meanwhile, the Nebraska delegation is trying to fend off an effort within Congress to strip funding to recapitalize the OC-135, which conducts overflights of Russia under the 34-nation Open Skies Treaty. Some lawmakers and Pentagon officials have grown skeptical of the treaty, which allows reciprocal surveillance flights, amid alleged Russian violations, but the administration has requested funds for two new airliners to take over the mission. “It has one of the worst maintenance rates in the United States Air Force,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said of the OC-135 on the House floor last week. “It frequently breaks down in Russia, putting us in very hostile, awkward situations with Russians at their bases.” The chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee's Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Deb Fischer, led the letter with Sen. Ben Sasse, a SASC member; Bacon (a retired brigadier general and former 55th Wing commander who sits on the House Armed Services Committee), as well as Reps. Jeff Fortenberry and Adrian Smith. The letter asked Wilson to report on the 55th Wing's safety, security and continued mission effectiveness as well as the Air Force's long-term plans to sustain and recapitalize the wing's capabilities. It referenced the RC-135V/W Rivet Joint, RC-135S Cobra Ball, RC-135U Combat Sent, WC-135 Constant Phoenix, TC-135 Rivet Joint Trainer and the OC-135 Open Skies aircraft. In the current budget season, House and Senate lawmakers have taken divergent approaches to the Trump administration's $222 million request for the two new aircraft. House appropriators and authorizers stripped the funding from their 2019 bills. The authorization bill withholds the funding until Russia adheres to the treaty and agrees to extradite Russians indicted for meddling in U.S. elections in 2016. Fischer helped ensure the Senate-passed 2019 authorization bill did include funding for OC-135 recapitalization, and the bill will have to be reconciled with its House counterpart. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis directed the Air Force to recapitalize the aircraft. He wrote to Fischer in May to acknowledge that unplanned maintenance issues meant the U.S. completed only 64 percent of its scheduled overflights in 2017, while Russia typically completes all of its scheduled overflights. The White House Office of Management and Budget has also issued letters objecting to the absence of OC-135 recapitalization funding in the House bills. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2018/07/02/us-spy-planes-are-breaking-down-and-lawmakers-want-answers/

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  July 25, 2018 | International, Land

  France to hand off 40 percent of land vehicle maintenance to industry by 2025

  By: Pierre Tran PARIS — The French Armed Forces Minister called July 23 for industry to play a greater role in servicing heavily used military vehicles, with companies called to support 40 percent of the mixed fleet by the middle of the next decade. Speaking at Bruz, a base for vehicle support in western France, Minister Florence Parly said the service goal compares to the present 15 percent, with a target of 2025. The minister announced a “transformation plan” for vehicle support based on an official report by defense procurement official Vincent Imbert and Army Gen. Bernard Guillet. "The improvement of our maintenance process and availability of our equipment is one of my priorities,” she said. That call for greater support reflects problems in servicing a highly mixed fleet, including new-generation armored vehicles to be delivered in the Scorpion program, modern VBCI infantry fighting vehicles and Caesar truck-mounted artillery, and an aging park of VAB troop carriers and VBL scout cars. The plan seeks to boost the availability of vehicles by restructuring the industrial and technological base for service, boost a sense of responsibility of the personnel using the vehicles, and reshaping links between the armed forces and industry, the ministry said in a briefing note. There are also plans to increase local support in the deployed theaters and adopt new technology in monitoring and predicting breakdowns. There is a high availability of more than 90 percent for vehicles in overseas operations, but those vehicles return to France in poor condition, with only 65 percent of the various fleets available for use once back on national territory, the ministry said. That availability varies greatly depending on the type of vehicle. That means there is a lack of vehicles for training troops for deployment. Some 3,500 vehicles are broken down and there is a lack of capability to reduce that number. The British and German forces face similar problems, with lower availability and lack of an organization to improve the situation, the ministry said. The modernization plan calls for closer ties between government maintenance organizations, the armed forces and manufacturers including Arquus, Nexter, Safran and Thales, as well as specialist NSE and small- and medium-sized enterprises, the ministry said. Those actors should use more efficient tools and methods, and cut out duplication and waste of resources and time. The official report pointed up a “lack of sense of responsibility” of the users as the vehicles are held in pools rather than assigned specifically, a contrast to an attachment of Air Force and Navy personnel who are closely tied to their aircraft and ships. Companies showed a weak link with service support in the land sector, also in contrast to ties seen between industry and the naval and aeronautical sectors, the report said. There should be greater use of new technology, adopting 3D printing and the use of health and usage monitoring systems (HUMS) to predict breakdowns, the report said. Development under the Scorpion program offered industry an opportunity not to be missed to incorporate such technology. The report called for equipment which was beyond repair to be handed over to industry to repair and resell, with the money to be shared between the government and industry. "This reform requires a mobilization and a greater responsibility of industry in their performance and their capacity to honor the client's needs, whose objective is both to be effective on the ground and to guarantee the safety of soldiers,” Parly said. Some 13,000 personnel are employed on vehicle service, with 11,000 in the armed forces. The balance is split between two government organizations — SMITer and SIMMT. The latter awards service contracts to companies. Some €1 billion (US $1.2 billion) has been earmarked for land vehicle service in the 2019-2015 defense budget law. A plan to improve service of land vehicles follows a program for improved support for military aircraft. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/07/24/france-to-hand-off-40-percent-of-land-vehicle-maintenence-to-industry-by-2025/

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  October 23, 2020 | International, Land

  Elbit, BAE Systems combining forces in US combat vehicle arena

  by Ashley Roque BAE Systems is remaining tight-lipped over whether it will compete in the US Army's revamped M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle replacement competition, but told Janes a newly forged partnership with Elbit Systems could help it outfit such proposals with added capabilities. On 21 October, the two companies announced that they were teaming up to develop and integrate “advanced operational capabilities” for ground combat vehicles. This partnership could lead to Elbit Systems' crew automation, vehicle protection, and other defensive and offensive systems being included on BAE Systems existing and future combat vehicles. “BAE Systems customers, both domestic and international, are looking to modernise their vehicles and enhance their capabilities,” company spokeswoman Amanda Niswonger wrote in a subsequent email. “Forming this partnership will provide more agility in developing solutions that will meet our customers' requirements and timelines.” Niswonger did not directly address which legacy and future programmes this partnership is geared towards, but said “we are discussing the OMFV [Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle] draft RFP [request for proposal] internally and have yet to determine if it is the right programme for BAE Systems to compete for”. BAE Systems dropped out of the army's previous OMFV prototyping competition in 2019 citing programme “requirements” and the “acquisition schedule”. Since then, the army has scrapped the effort and relaunched a new one with seemingly less stringent requirements, though the service has not yet released the final RFP. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/elbit-bae-systems-combining-forces-in-us-combat-vehicle-arena