September 28, 2023 | International, Naval
SECNAV aims to help programs of record adjust to changing fleet requirements, and to go outside the acquisition process to solve the most urgent needs.
February 27, 2023 | International, Aerospace
Lockheed Martin Corp hopes Australia wants to buy more of its F-35 fighter planes after the country completes an ongoing defence review, an executive at the U.S. manufacturer said on Tuesday.
July 23, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Olivier James Lors de la présentation des résultats semestriels de Dassault Aviation, son patron, Eric Trappier, a estimé que les Britanniques "se réveillaient". Des propos teintés d'ironie, alors que leur appareil va concurrencer le projet franco-allemand... sur lequel il en dit un peu plus. "Je peux vous dire que c'est une bonne nouvelle !". Voilà la réponse livrée jeudi 19 juillet par Eric Trappier lorsqu'on lui demande de réagir à l'annonce par les Britanniques, effectuée lundi 16 juillet lors du salon aéronautique de Farnborough, de lancer un nouvel avion de combat, dénommé Tempest. Des propos émis lors de la présentation des résultats semestriels de l'avionneur teintés de sincérité, alors qu'Eric Trappier défend une industrie européenne de défense face aux Etats-Unis : "je vois qu'ils ne se satisfont pas du F-35 américain". Des commentaires également chargés d'ironie, dans la mesure où cet appareil entre en concurrence directe avec l'autre projet européen d'avion de combat franco-allemand, le Système de combat aérien du futur (Scaf), dont Dassault Aviation est le chef de file aux côtés d'Airbus. https://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/quand-le-patron-de-dassault-raille-le-projet-d-avion-de-combat-britannique.N722409
January 11, 2021 | International, Aerospace
Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — Following a protest by Raytheon Technologies, the Space Development Agency has reevaluated awards it made for eight satellites capable of tracking hypersonic weapons, opting to stick with its original vendors: SpaceX and L3Harris. “The reevaluation confirmed the original selection decision announced in October and concluded that [SpaceX] and L3Harris Technologies' proposals offered the best value to the government,” said SDA spokesperson Jennifer Elzea in a Jan. 7 statement. The agency initially announced contracts Oct. 5 for the eight satellites. L3Harris and SpaceX were awarded $193 million and $149 million respectively to each design and develop four satellites equipped with wide field of view (WFOV) overhead persistent infrared (OPIR) sensors. Those satellites would make up the agency's inaugural tracking layer, a low Earth orbit constellation capable of detecting and tracking ballistic and hypersonic weapons. Shortly thereafter, competitors Raytheon Technologies and Airbus U.S. Space and Defense individually filed protests against the award with the Government Accountability Office. A stop work order was put in place, preventing L3Harris and SpaceX from moving forward with the contracts. In response to the protests, SDA elected to reevaluate proposals. Raytheon filed another protest Dec. 17 claiming the agency's corrective was inadequate, but the GAO dismissed that action as premature. SDA completed its reevaluation in late December, confirming its original awards, and on Dec. 28 the stop work order was lifted. “SDA is confident that reevaluation resulted in a fair outcome for all involved parties,” said Elzea. “The agency continues to make all efforts to keep the tracking layer of the National Defense Space Architecture on schedule.” In dismissing Raytheon's protest as being premature, GAO did note that the company could still protest the agency's actions following the corrective action. Neither Raytheon nor Airbus immediately responded to inquiries as to whether they would file more protests. Back in October, SDA Director Derek Tournear told C4ISRNET the contracts were the result of a full and open competition based purely on technical merit. “SpaceX had a very credible story along that line — a very compelling proposal. It was outstanding,” he said. “They are one of the ones that have been at the forefront of this commercialization and commodification route.” In addition, “L3Harris had an extremely capable solution. They have a lot of experience flying affordable, rapid, small satellite buses for the department,” he said. “They had the plant and the line in place in order to produce these to hit our schedule.” The tracking layer is just one facet of the agency's National Defense Space Architecture, a planned mega-constellation that will eventually be made up of hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit. SDA is using a spiral development approach to build out that constellation, by adding more satellites every two years. These eight satellites in question will be part of the first tranche, which is set to launch starting in 2022. More tracking layer satellites will be launched in later tranches. Tournear has previously stated that one of the agency's priorities is avoiding vendor lock, hosting an open competition for tracking layer satellites for future tranches. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2021/01/07/space-development-agency-confirms-spacex-l3harris-awards-following-protest