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July 6, 2020 | International, Aerospace

F-35, F-22, F-16 and E3 Sentry Planes Linked in Multiplayer Combat Simulator

Lockheed Martin, the Joint Program Office and the U.S. Air Force successfully connected the F-35, F-22, F-16 and E3 Sentry in a “highly contested simulated environment” during a Distributed Mission Training (DMT) final acceptance test at Nellis AFB, Nevada.

This simulated training event was the first time these platforms were connected virtually. Additional platforms such as the F-15 can also connect into this shared virtual environment.

The F-35 DMT capability creates interoperability across military platforms for continuation training and large force exercises. The initial delivery at Nellis AFB is a major step forward as it establishes the framework for F-35 simulators around the world to interconnect, Lockheed said in a release Wednesday.

Previously, F-35 simulators allowed up to four pilots at a facility to fly together in simulated combat. DMT links pilots at Nellis AFB to pilots at other bases through an existing distributed network enabling simulated training events with existing 4th generation and 5th generation platforms. This is the first of many fielded DMT solutions for the F-35 training enterprise.

“This base capability lays the foundation for pilots to truly train like they fight by enabling advanced tactics training through multi-domain operations in a simulated environment,” said Chauncey McIntosh, Lockheed Martin, vice president of F-35 Training and Logistics.

As a next step, the DMT capability is expected to be rolled out to other USAF bases worldwide. The Navy is expected to receive the DMT capability through an accelerated delivery at NAS Lemoore by the end of the year.

https://www.defenseworld.net/news/27334#.XwNVpyhKg2w

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  • BAE Makes Big Bet On Small Companies: FAST Labs

    May 22, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

    BAE Makes Big Bet On Small Companies: FAST Labs

    By THERESA HITCHENS BOSTON: BAE Systems, the third-largest defense contractor in the world, is funding innovative small startups to get innovative technology quickly to its Defense Department customers. Through an initiative called FAST Labs, BAE is both providing seed capital directly to startups and funding a number of accelerators to widen the potential market. The standard tactics include simply buying a smaller company to gain its technology or investing in a startup in order to control the direction of its research. Instead, BAE's FAST Labs is attempting to serve as a middle man connecting startups with DoD customers and BAE's various units. “By giving [the startups] the feasibility money, we can expose them to those harsh requirements that exist in the aerospace and defense world, but we can also in turn do social engineering inside our company,” Jerry Wohletz, the vice president and general management of BAE FAST Labs, told me. The idea is to introduce the startups' designs to BAE's factory and engineering work force, he said, “because we need to get it out of R&D land and get it into those products and services” that BAE knows its defense customers are looking for. FAST Labs is focused on research related to next-generation electronics, intelligent autonomous systems, cyber, electronic warfare, and sensors and processing. Wohletz explained that BAE does in-house research on capabilities that are solely of interest to DoD and the Intelligence Community, but it is reaching out to startups in order to partner on products and services based on commercial market needs. “A lot of aerospace and defense companies have venture capital funds,” Wohletz said. “That's not what we are trying to do. This is not an equity play to drive bottom line performance. We talk here about innovation velocity. We want speed to market.” Therefore, BAE is also putting its money — but more importantly its time — into a number of technology accelerators, such as Techstars in Boston, Capitol Factory in Austin, Texas, and MASSChallenge with hubs in both cities. FAST Labs has a team of scouts whose job is to attend pitches all across the country. “This is not based on ownership. We leave them their freedom,” Francesca Scire-Scappuzzo, who heads the scout team, told me. “We want innovation not just to support our market, we want to support their own innovation” for the commercial market. “Other defense contractors are trying to get involved with venture capital, but they for the most part don't really get it. BAE was in early, and they had the benefit of being linked with us,” Lt. Col. Dave Harden, chief operating officer of AFWERX, the Air Force's innovation hub, told me during the Techstars Air Force Accelerator Demo Day here last Thursday. Indeed, BAE cosponsored the event, and put upfront investment in at least three of 10 start-up companies participating. Neither Wohletz or Scire-Scappuzzo would tell me the size of BAE's budget for startup investment, but Wohletz said “it's getting bigger every year.” Further, the company is using accelerators not just to help itself innovate, Wohletz said, but also to find foreign companies to partner with in bids where the buying country requires offsets, such as India. “It's a completely different way of looking at this than we have done in the past,” he summed up. https://breakingdefense.com/2019/05/bae-makes-big-bet-on-small-companies-fast-labs/

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - March 15, 2019

    March 18, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - March 15, 2019

    ARMY Sevenson Environmental Services Inc.,* Niagara Falls, New York, was awarded a $99,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for remedial action at the Raymark Superfund Site in Stamford, Connecticut. Bids were solicited via the internet with eight received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 15, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Concord, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (W912WJ-19-D-0012). Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Orlando, Florida, was awarded a $59,456,363 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of Advanced Munitions Technology complex. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 11, 2021. Fiscal 2017 military construction funds in the amount of $59,456,363 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W91278-19-C-0006). SourceAmerica, Vienna, Virginia, was awarded a $24,969,056 firm-fixed-price contract to re-purpose legacy body armor vests into the newly-designed Modular Scalable Vest configuration. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in Lansing, Michigan; Miami, Florida; and Austin, Texas, with an estimated completion date of June, 30, 2020. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $24,969,056 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911QY-19-C-0043). Wara Construction Company LLC, Tustin, California, was awarded a $22,206,641 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of unaccompanied officer's quarters for the Kuwait Ministry of Defense. Bids were solicited via the internet with nine received. Work will be performed in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 9, 2021. Fiscal 2016 military construction funds in the amount of $22,206,641 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Winchester, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W912ER-19-C-0004). California Department of Rehabilitation, Sacramento, California, was awarded a $19,865,600 firm-fixed-price contract for full food service operations at Fort Irwin, California. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2024. U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9124J-19-D-0006). Anthony Allega Cement Contractor Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, was awarded a $13,770,342 firm-fixed-price contract for the repair of airfield paving, taxiways D & B2 and short runway at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Fairborn, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 3, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $13,770,342 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-19-C-0013). Aerovironment,* Simi Valley, California, was awarded an $11,176,242 modification (P00014) to contract W31P4Q-17-C-0193 for All Up Rounds. Work will be performed in Simi Valley, California, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2019. Fiscal 2018 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $11,176,242 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. NAVY Sentient Digital Inc., doing business as Entrust Government Solutions,* of New Orleans, Louisiana, is being awarded a $49,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for information technology (IT) engineering support services. IT services in this contract will assist Military Sealift Command's (MSC) Command, Control, Communications, And Computer Systems (C4S) Division (N6) in providing and sustaining Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of the Navy (DoN) compliant technical C4S solutions. Additionally, this contract will satisfy emerging requirements, enhance and develop IT capabilities in support of MSC's mission, and assist in the development of governance to ensure IT capabilities align to MSC N6's strategic business support plan, MSC N6's technical architecture road maps, DoD, and DoN mandates. The solutions primarily satisfy emergent cyber security mandates and technical refreshes for end of life hardware and software. Work will be performed at Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by April 2024. This contract includes a five-year ordering period. Fiscal 2019 Navy Working Capital funding in the amount of $10,000 will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was a small business set-aside, with more than 10 companies solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website, and 10 offers received. The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220519D1003). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Bethpage, New York, is being awarded a $45,529,117 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-17-C-6311) for engineering services to support the Littoral Combat Ship Mission Modules Program. Engineering services will be provided to support the existing efforts of the Littoral Combat Ships Mission Modules Program. Incidental other direct cost items are also provided in support of said engineering services. Work will be performed Bethpage, New York (34 percent); Mayport, Florida (19 percent); San Diego, California (17 percent); Port Hueneme, California (14 percent); Pittsfield, Massachusetts (8 percent); Panama City, Florida (3 percent); Washington, District of Columbia (1 percent); Dahlgren, Virginia (1 percent); Newport, Rhode Island (1 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (1 percent); and various other locations less than one percent (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by March 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy); fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy); and fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); and weapons procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $24,194,392 will be obligated at time of award, and funds in the amount of $19,575,683 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Ultra Electronics Ocean Systems, Braintree, Massachusetts, is being awarded a $27,978,119 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost contract for the development and production of Next Generation Surface Search Radar qualification systems (NGSSR). The primary objective of NGSSR is to find a replacement for legacy systems due to current military threats and obsolescence issues. The contract aims to outline the requirements and approach for NGSSR development, production, integration, test, demonstration, product support, and systems engineering. The new NGSSR system will then replace all variants of the current AN/SPS-67, AN/SPS-73, BridgeMaster E series, and commercial-of-the-shelf radar systems. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $34,563,961. The primary objective of NGSSR is to find a replacement for legacy systems due to current military threats and obsolescence issues. The contract aims to outline the requirements and approach for NGSSR development, production, integration, test, demonstration, product support, and systems engineering. The new NGSSR system will then replace all variants of the current AN/SPS-67, AN/SPS-73, BridgeMaster E series, and commercial-of-the-shelf RADAR systems. Work will be performed in Chantilly, Virginia (58 percent); Wake Forest, North Carolina (39 percent); Braintree, Massachusetts (3 percent); and is expected to be complete by July 2021. Fiscal 2018 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $5,500,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 15 U.S. Code 638(r)(4) (under the SBIR Phase III program/2018 National Defense Authorization Act). The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity (N6339419C0007). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum Heights, Maryland, is being awarded an $8,542,569 modification to the cost-plus-fixed-fee portion of a previously awarded contract (M67854-16-C-0211) for software release and advanced electronic protection required to support ongoing Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) Gallium Nitride (GaN) efforts in support of Program Executive Office Land Systems, Quantico, Virginia. 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This is a two-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Mississippi, with a Sept. 14, 2021, performance completion date. Using military services are Army and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-19-D-1138). AIR FORCE Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Information Systems, Chantilly, Virginia; and Redondo Beach, California, has been awarded a $16,271,270 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification (P00079) to previously awarded contract FA8808-13-C-0001 for post operational support for the Enhanced Polar System Control and Planning Segment. This modification provides for factory expertise/support to ongoing operations, support transition from development to sustainment activities, and the delivery and installation of two software updates. Work will be performed in Redondo Beach, California, and is expected to be complete by January 2020. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $221,970,679. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Military Satellite Communications Directorate, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Jan. 31, 2019). DEFENSE HEALTH AGENCY B.E.A.T. LLC., San Antonio, Texas, was competitively awarded a firm-fixed-price contract for a potential period of performance of 60 months and a total estimated value of $10,441,035 if all options are exercised. This award provides a non-personal services contract to provide Infrastructure Testing Center (ITC) management services and support for the day-to-day operations of all ITC infrastructure applications, networks, and environments. These services include systems management; system, application, and database administration; environment configuration, monitoring; management; and other support services. The place of performance is Joint Base San Antonio (Ft. Sam Houston), San Antonio, Texas. This contract is an acquisition under GSA's IT Schedule 70, obligating $1,027,347 in fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds at time of award. Six quotes were received in response to the solicitation. The Defense Health Agency, Health Information Technology-Contracting Division, San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity (HT0015-19-F- 0038). DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY Siemens Government Technologies Inc., Arlington, Virginia (HC1028-19-C0006), was awarded a competitive, single award, firm-fixed-price contract on March 15, 2019 for commercially available off-the-shelf brand-name Siemens software licenses and support in support of the Navy. The face value (and total cumulative face value) of this action is $8,324,661 funded by fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds. Performance will be at a Navy facility in Norfolk, Virginia. Proposals were solicited via Federal Business Opportunities, and two proposals were received. The period of performance is March 15, 2019, through March 14, 2020. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity (HC1028-19-C0006). DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY Agile Defense Inc.,* Reston, Virginia, has been awarded a $7,157,890 modification (P00042) to previously awarded task order HR0011-15-F-0002 for unclassified information technology services. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the task order to $139,054,004 from $131,896,114. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, with an expected completion date of June 2019. Fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $7,157,890 are being obligated at time of award. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1786958/source/GovDelivery/

  • Contracts for October 7, 2021

    October 8, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contracts for October 7, 2021

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