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July 31, 2020 | International, C4ISR

Exclusive: As Japan weighs missile-defence options, Raytheon lobbies for Lockheed's $300 million radar deal

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. defence company Raytheon (RTN.N) is lobbying Japanese lawmakers to replace Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) as the supplier of powerful radars as Tokyo reconsiders plans for two Aegis Ashore missile defence sites, three sources said.

“It's game on,” said one of the sources, who has direct knowledge of Raytheon's lobbying campaign. Raytheon's pitch includes a proposal to put its SPY-6 radar on refitted destroyers, as the U.S. Navy plans to do. The company says that would save money and time as Japan tackles new missile threats, drones and stealth aircraft.

Lockheed Martin has a contract with Japan to build its $300 million SPY-7 radars at the two cancelled Aegis Ashore sites, but says other sites or ships are possible.

But critics say dedicating ships to missile defence pulls them away from other duties, and new destroyers can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. And Japan could face financial penalties if it pulled out of its contract with Lockheed Martin.

“We are looking at the various options available to us,” a defence ministry spokesman said.

A key battle for the two companies will be winning the support of former defence ministers and deputy ministers who as early as next week will make recommendations to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

That group, led by former defence minister Itsunori Onodera, formed in June after current defence chief Taro Kono suspended the Aegis Ashore plan. It has weighed in on missile defence and discussed proposals that Japan acquire strike weapons for that mission, Japanese officials have said.

The group of lawmakers will release their recommendations on Friday after they present them for approval to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's defence policy committee, Onodera told reporters after the group met on Thursday.

Japan under Abe has beefed up its military with stealth fighters designed to fly off carriers, longer-range missiles, new amphibious units and stronger air defences meant to deter threats from neighbours, including North Korea and China.

Kono said he ordered the Aegis sites relocated because rocket boosters that accelerate interceptor missiles into space could fall on residents. But concern over mounting costs was the main reason for that decision, according to the three sources.

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China is rapidly expanding and improving its ballistic missile arsenal, and in 2017 North Korea tested a missile that flew over the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

With around three times the range of radars currently used by Japan, both SPY-6 and SPY-7 would greatly enhance Japan's ability to detect multiple attacks.

One option for Japan that would avoid any political fallout would be to buy both radars, using SPY-6 on Aegis ships and deploying Lockheed's SPY-7 as an early warning radar, one of the sources said.

CHOICE

Onodera's backing would make that change more likely because he approved the Lockheed Aegis radar acquisition two years ago. At the time he was unaware that testing in Hawaii could add at least $500 million to Aegis Ashore's $4 billion budget, separate sources told Reuters last year.

In an interview in the Asahi newspaper on Thursday, Onodera said the “ideal option” for Japan would be to find a safe ground-based location. He also noted that building Aegis ships would cost both money and manpower.

Onodera's office declined an interview request, but one source familiar with his position on the radars described him as “flexible.”

Masahisa Sato, a former deputy defence minister who also served as a deputy minister of foreign affairs, said Japan's choice is between SPY-7 at new sites, with the missile launchers deployed elsewhere, or building Aegis ships equipped with SPY-6.

“I am recommending an increase in Aegis ships,” he said. “SPY-7 is under development and there is a question about how it would perform in a new configuration,” Sato added.

Lockheed Martin said its system could be adapted to ships, and disputed questions about performance.

“SPY-7 radar is the most advanced radar in the world today and we believe it is the best solution for Japan's defence needs,” the company said in an e-mail.

For its part, Raytheon said the SPY-6 will be deployed on 50 U.S. Navy ships, calling it the “most advanced radar technology in production today.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-defence-aegis-exclusive/exclusive-as-japan-weighs-missile-defence-options-raytheon-lobbies-for-lockheeds-300-million-radar-deal-idUSKCN24V0VQ

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  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - August 26, 2019

    August 27, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - August 26, 2019

    ARMY AECOM International Inc., Neu-Isenburg, Germany (W912GB-19-D-0028); Atkins-UC JV,* Alexandria, Virginia (W912GB-19-D-0029); Exp-Onyx JV LLP, Chicago, Illinois (W912GB-19-D-0030); HDR Engineering Inc., Colorado Springs, Colorado (W912GB-19-D-0031); Jacobs Government Services Co., Arlington, Virginia (W912GB-19-D-0032); Louis Berger U.S. Inc., Washington, District of Columbia (W912GB-19-D-0033); Michael Baker-Cardno JV, Moon Township, Pennsylvania (W912GB-19-D-0034); Parsons Government Services Inc., San Antonio, Texas (W912GB-19-D-0035); and Woolpert-Black & Veatch JV, Beavercreek, Ohio (W912GB-19-D-0036), will compete for each order of the $94,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect, engineering, master planning and design services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 11 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 25, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wiesbaden, Germany, is the contracting activity. QED Systems LLC, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, was awarded a $9,616,948 modification (P00041) to contract W15P7T-14-C-C012 for program management, engineering, logistics, business, administrative, operations and security services. Work will be performed in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 26, 2020. Fiscal 2019 Foreign Military Sales; and operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $9,616,948 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE UES Inc., Dayton, Ohio, has been awarded a $90,300,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for molecular assessment sensing technologies. This contract provides for basic, applied and advanced technology development research, as well as development and demonstration of discovery of molecular signatures of Airman performance and the operational environment and sensing of these signatures in Air Force relevant scenarios. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be complete by Aug. 31, 2027. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $2,222,857 on three task orders are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-19-D-6109). PAE Aviation and Technical Services LLC, Marlton, New Jersey, has been awarded a $19,156,738 modification to previously awarded contract FA4890-15-C0018 for the Aerial Targets Program. The contract modification provides for the exercise of an option for an additional year of service under the multiple year contract, which directly supports live-fire weapons system testing and enables the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group to perform developmental and operational weapons testing for all air-to-air missiles for the F-15, F-16, F-22, and F-35 aircraft. Work will be performed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida; and Holloman AFB, New Mexico, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds are being used and no funds were obligated at the time of award. The Air Combat Command, Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Sonalysts Inc., Waterford, Connecticut, is being awarded a $14,516,477 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification (P00008) to the previously awarded contract FA8806-19-C-0002 for Standard Space Trainer Mission-Specific Vendor Plug-in (MSVPs) for the Upward Early Warning Radar. The contract modification provides for future development of MSVPs. Work will be performed at Waterford, Connecticut, and is expected to be completed by July 31, 2022. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $7,300,000 are being obligate at time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $35,209,586.00. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, California, is the contracting activity. NAVY Raytheon Co., El Segundo, California, is awarded $74,091,217 for cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee modification P00055 to a previously awarded contract (N00019-16-C-0002). This modification procures pre-operational support for the Next Generation Jammer-Mid Band pod through the completion of the engineering, manufacturing and development (EMD) phase as well as development, test and evaluation (DT&E) activities. Procured support includes organizational-level maintenance, repair, supply chain management, and material support for equipment delivered under the EMD contract, and associated peculiar support equipment/test, measurement, and diagnostic equipment to support DT&E. Work will be performed in Forest, Mississippi (39%); Dallas, Texas (35%); El Segundo, California (16%); Andover, Massachusetts (8%); and Fort Wayne, Indiana (2%), and is expected to be completed in December 2021. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,228,948 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. 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  • Britain unveils new operating concept for a ‘fundamental transformation in the military’

    October 2, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Britain unveils new operating concept for a ‘fundamental transformation in the military’

    Andrew Chuter LONDON — The British military and government must “fundamentally change” the way they counter the political and military ambitions of authoritarian rivals, or risk being overwhelmed, warned the country's top soldier. Gen. Nick Carter's speech at the Policy Exchange think tank Sept. 30 coincided with the publication of Britain's new “Integrated Operating Concept.” The chief of the Defence Staff said key changes backed by the concept include improved integration of effort across government and with allies, equipment modernization, and constant competition with adversaries below the threshold of war. The concept says the strategy rethink “represents the most significant change in UK military thought in several generations. It will lead to a fundamental transformation in the military instrument and the way it is used.” Carter said one of the “big ideas” in the operational concept was that it makes a distinction between “operating” and “war fighting." “In an era of persistent competition, our deterrent posture needs to be more dynamically managed and modulated. This concept therefore introduces a fifth 'C' — that of competition — to the traditional deterrence model of comprehension, credibility, capability and communication,” he said. “This recognizes the need to compete below the threshold of war in order to deter war, and to prevent one's adversaries from achieving their objectives in fait accompli strategies, as we have seen in the Crimea, Ukraine, Libya and further afield. “Competing involves a campaign posture that includes continuous operating on our terms and in places of our choosing. Carter also identified the nature of the growing threat driving Britain to rethink its strategy. “Our authoritarian rivals see the strategic context as a continuous struggle in which nonmilitary and military instruments are used unconstrained by any distinction between peace and war. These regimes believe that they are already engaged in an intense form of conflict that is predominantly political rather than kinetic,” he said. “Their way of warfare is strategic, it is synchronized and systematic, and our response must be too.” The new concept comes ahead of the government's Integrated Defence Review, expected in the second half of November. The review is planned to bring together British policy thinking across defense, security, foreign policy and overseas development spending. Government ministers and advisers previously signaled the review would see the military effort pivot away from conventional military capabilities and move toward a greater focus on space, cyberspace and artificial intelligence. Carter's speech and the new strategy document are the best evidence to date of where the government's plan for change is heading. “We must chart a direction of travel from an industrial age of platforms to an information age of systems,” Carter said. “Some industrial-age capabilities will increasingly have to meet their sunset to create the space for capabilities needed for sunrise. The trick is how you find a path through the night. We know this will require us to embrace combinations of information-centric technologies. But predicting these combinations will be challenging." The concept identified some capabilities it expects will be in demand in the future, including smaller and faster capabilities to avoid detection; trading reduced physical protection for increased mobility; an increasing dependence on electronic warfare; stealth technology; and evermore sophisticated networks of systems. Carter made no mention of how the cash-strapped country will find the resources for a strategy rethink that requires substantial spending in sectors like space and cyberspace. Analysts here reckon the early disuse of conventional capabilities, like much of the main battle tank force, may be one way of balancing the books. Last week, the Ministry of Defence confirmed it is considering cutting an order to buy five Boeing Wedgetail command-and-control aircraft to three platforms as part of its cost-cutting effort. Completion of the new aircraft expected around 2030. The new operating concept document said it's impossible to immediately abandon the current force structure and create a bespoke one from scratch, noting that important operations must continue and that legacy programs and platforms should retain utility. Carter reinforced that message, saying it is “important to emphasize that the willingness to commit decisively hard capability with the credibility to war fight is an essential part of the ability to operate and therefore of deterrence.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/09/30/britain-unveils-new-operating-concept-for-a-fundamental-transformation-in-the-military/

  • L3Harris sees opportunities in Pentagon’s growing responsive space business

    March 18, 2021 | International, Aerospace

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