Emissions monitoring campaign kicks off over the Baltic Sea using specially equipped drones

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  April 22, 2020 | International, Naval

  Kratos Wins Place on U.S. Navy Unmanned Surface Vehicle Family of Systems in $982.1 Million IDIQ Multiple Award Contract

  San Diego, April 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS), a leading National Security Solutions provider, announced today that its Kratos Unmanned Systems Division (KUSD) has been selected, and will participate in the Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite Quantity - Multiple Award Contract (IDIQ-MAC) to support the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) Family of Systems (FoS). The USV FoS includes platforms and systems that comprise the U.S. Navy's future unmanned surface fleet. With a contract ceiling for all orders under this IDIQ-MAC of $982.1 million, the government intends to support, maintain and modernize USV systems and subsystems to meet current and future operational requirements for Unmanned Maritime Systems under Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants. Under the contract KUSD is eligible to compete for individual tasks and/or delivery orders. The USV FoS IDIQ-MAC base contracting vehicle has an initial ordering period of 60 months after date of contract award. If options are exercised the base contracting vehicle will extend to an ordering period of 120 months. Steve Fendley, President of Kratos Unmanned Systems Division, said, “Kratos Unmanned is excited to extend its unparalleled experience in fielding unmanned systems for air, land, and sea applications further into the unmanned surface vessel domain. KUSD has a unique combination of expertise in the design, engineering, integration, and manufacturing of affordable unmanned system components, which will bring innovative, responsive, and best-value solutions to FoS customers.” Kratos Unmanned Systems Division is a leading provider of high performance unmanned aerial drone and target systems for threat representative target missions to exercise weapon, radar, and other systems; and tactical aerial drone systems for strike/ISR and force multiplication missions. About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) develops and fields transformative, affordable technology, platforms and systems for United States National Security related customers, allies and commercial enterprises. Kratos is changing the way breakthrough technology for these industries are rapidly brought to market through proven commercial and venture capital backed approaches, including proactive research and streamlined development processes. Kratos specializes in unmanned systems, satellite communications, cyber security/warfare, microwave electronics, missile defense, hypersonic systems, training, combat systems and next generation turbo jet and turbo fan engine development. For more information go to www.KratosDefense.com. Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Kratos and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Kratos undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Although Kratos believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve many risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from what may be expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. For a further discussion of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of Kratos in general, see the risk disclosures in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Kratos for the year ended December 29, 2019, and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings made with the SEC by Kratos. Press Contact: Yolanda White 858-812-7302 Direct Investor Information: 877-934-4687 investor@kratosdefense.com View source version on GlobeNewswire: http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/04/16/2017266/0/en/Kratos-Wins-Place-on-U-S-Navy-Unmanned-Surface-Vehicle-Family-of-Systems-in-982-1-Million-IDIQ-Multiple-Award-Contract.html

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  August 9, 2018 | International, Land

  Missile defense info sharing with allies still a challenge as need to operate together grows

  By: Jen Judson HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The U.S. is seeing the need more and more to become increasingly interoperable with allies when it comes to missile defense, but there are many challenges still to overcome, according to a panel of former and current missile defense stakeholders at the August 7 Defense News Missile Defense Networking Reception. “Probably the challenge that we struggle with the most with regards to our foreign partners is increasing and enhancing our cross-domain solution capability,” Col. Francisco Lozano, the Army's project manager for the service's Lower Tier Project office within the Program Executive Office Missiles and Space, said. “So not only just the ability to share information between our international partners in a given combat scenario but actually to do it at a high enough fast data rate so that the information is relevant and actionable.” The Army has worked toward this in exercises in Europe specifically, not just focusing on missile defense, but all levels of information sharing as it attempts to tie together systems and networks so, if the coalition had to respond in a crisis, information would flow more freely and in a more timely fashion for allies and partners to fight together. “So that becomes important for us to continue to improve, especially as just U.S. defense systems in general proliferate across multiple different countries” Lozano said. The colonel noted that the Army is finding ways to learn from its partners and allies that are involved in regular combat operations even if they are not directly connected system-to-system. “We stay tied in very closely with them and it has become a great partnership situation where we are continuing and able to work very closely in their country to understand the execution of engagements, what impacts are on certain systems and certain environments operated 24/7 for very long periods of time, understand the relevancy of certain threats and how those threats are employed and then improve those through [tactics, techniques and procedures] and [concepts of operations] not only for a given country but also for ourselves,” Lozano said. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/smd/2018/08/08/missile-defense-info-sharing-with-allies-still-a-challenge-as-need-to-operate-together-grows/

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  June 2, 2020 | International, Naval

  Pandemic Hits Navy’s New Nuke Submarine Program

  Work on the missile tubes for the Navy's part of the nation's nuclear triad is months behind schedule after Babcock was smacked hard by the pandemic. By PAUL MCLEARYon June 01, 2020 at 5:23 PM WASHINGTON: The Navy's top priority — its new nuclear-powered Columbia-class submarine — has been struck by the COVID-19 virus. Workers' absences at a critical supplier have delayed construction and welding of the boat's missile tubes by several months a senior Navy official said today, and the service is scrambling to make that time up. While the service and its contractors are looking for ways to reclaim that time, the situation is something that Navy and Pentagon officials have most feared. Large-scale work on the first of the twelve planned Columbia submarines is slated to kick off in 2021, with deliveries starting in 2030 — just in time to begin replacing the Cold War-era Ohio-class subs as the Navy's leg of the nation's nuclear triad. The subs will carry 70 percent of the warheads allowed by the New Start treaty with Russia. Head of the Columbia program, Rear Adm. Scott Pappano, said during a video conference sponsored by the Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance today that the work experienced “a hiccup” earlier this year when less than 30 percent of workers at UK-based Babcock Marine showed up for work during the height of the COVID outbreak, leading to setbacks in the work schedule. “There was an interruption in our ability to do work,” Pappano said, calling the delay of several months a “worst case” scenario that would stick if no actions were taken to speed up work going forward. “We're analyzing the plan right now,” he added. “Prioritizing what tubes go where and then coming up with mid-term and long-term recovery plans to go deal with that.” Pappano said the Navy and industry may hire more workers and bring in more vendors to buy that time back. The missile tubes have already caused the service some pain. In 2018, contractor BWX, contracted to deliver three tubes to Electric Boat, discovered problems before the tubes were delivered, eventually paying $27 million to fix the problems. The company later said it is considering getting out of the missile tube business with the Navy, leaving BAE Systems as the only US-based company capable of doing the work. The Navy is walking a tightrope on its Virginia and Columbia programs, and any slip on one program will affect the other. The two share the same missile tube design, which will also be fitted onto the UK's forthcoming Dreadnaught class of submarines. “One of the biggest risks to Columbia is if Virginia gets out of its cadence,” James Geurts, the Navy's acquisition chief, told reporters late last year. Once the Columbia subs begin rolling out of Electric Boat's shipyard, the Navy will have to produce one Columbia and two Virginias per year, a pace of submarine building the service has not seen in decades. But Columbia will remain the Navy's top focus. Geurts said he's structured both programs in a way that the shared supplier base is aware of what's needed well in advance, but “if not, we can back off a little to make sure Columbia is successful.” Despite the setback, Babcock's workforce has recovered in recent weeks, “and essentially they're above 90% capacity” on the production line, Pappano said. “So my assessment is they're essentially back up — or close to it — not where they were before” the virus struck. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/06/covid-19-hits-navys-newest-nuke-submarine-program/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EBB%2006.02.20&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Early%20Bird%20Brief