French Navy bets on electronic warfare to counter anti-ship threats

On the same subject

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  October 9, 2018 | International, C4ISR

  Google Drops Out of Pentagon's $10 Billion Cloud Competition

  By Naomi Nix Alphabet Inc.'s Google has decided not to compete for the Pentagon's cloud-computing contract valued at as much as $10 billion, saying the project may conflict with its corporate values. The project, known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud, or JEDI, involves transitioning massive amounts of Defense Department data to a commercially operated cloud system. Companies are due to submit bids for the contract, which could last as long as 10 years, on Oct. 12th. Google's announcement on Monday came just months after the company decided not to renew its contract with a Pentagon artificial intelligence program, after extensive protests from employees of the internet giant about working with the military. The company then released a set of principles designed to evaluate what kind of artificial intelligence projects it would pursue. “We are not bidding on the JEDI contract because first, we couldn't be assured that it would align with our AI Principles," a Google spokesman said in a statement. "And second, we determined that there were portions of the contract that were out of scope with our current government certifications.” The spokesman added that Google is “working to support the U.S. government with our cloud in many ways.” The Tech Workers Coalition, which advocates for giving employees a say in technology company decisions, said in a statement that Google's decision to withdraw from the cloud competition stemmed from “sustained” pressure from tech workers who “have significant power, and are increasingly willing to use it.” Read more: Google Won't Renew Pentagon AI Drone Deal After Staff Backlash Google is behind other technology companies such as Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. in obtaining government cloud-security authorizations that depend on the sensitivity of data a service is hosting. The JEDI contract attracted widespread interest from technology companies struggling to catch up with Amazon in the burgeoning federal government market for cloud services. Final requirements for the project were released in July after a months-long lobbying campaign in Washington by tech companies including Microsoft, International Business Machines Corp. and Oracle Corp. that opposed the Pentagon's plans to choose just one winner for the project instead of splitting the contract among a number of providers. “Had the JEDI contract been open to multiple vendors, we would have submitted a compelling solution for portions of it,” the Google spokesman said. “Google Cloud believes that a multi-cloud approach is in the best interest of government agencies, because it allows them to choose the right cloud for the right workload.” In a report to Congress, the Defense Department said making multiple awards under current acquisition law would be a slow process that “could prevent DoD from rapidly delivering new capabilities and improved effectiveness to the warfighter that enterprise-level cloud computing can enable.” The department also said it expects “to maintain contracts with numerous cloud providers to access specialized capabilities not available under the JEDI Cloud contract.” — With assistance by Ben Brody, and Josh Eidelson https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-08/google-drops-out-of-pentagon-s-10-billion-cloud-competition

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  February 16, 2023 | International, Aerospace

  HAL and Safran move forward in the partnership for the IMRH helicopter engine

  This agreement follows the MoU signed on 8th July 2022 and stipulates the sharing of activities within the joint venture where both parties have agreed on an equivalent repartition

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  February 3, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Lockheed Martin receives $2.3B deal for helicopter parts maintenance

  ByChristen McCurdy Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin has received a $2.3 billion contract for parts maintenance for MH-60R and MH-60S helicopters for the U.S. Navy, the Department of Defense announced. The MH-60R -- also called the 'Romeo' aircraft -- has been operational since 2006. The helicopters are jointly built by Lockheed and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. According to Lockheed, MH-60R replaces the SH-60B Bravo and SH-60F Foxtrot, and is equipped for combat duty as well as high-risk rescues. Itcan fly at speeds of up to 180 knots while carrying extra fuel tanks or torpedoes and Hellfire missiles. The MH-60S, also called the Knighthawk, replaced the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters in 2001 and is used seek out and destroy naval mines from the air. Both models have a digital cockpit with four flat-panel color display screens that provide the crew access to advanced surveillance and information on weather conditions. The contract funds approximately 1,049 weapon replaceable assemblies and shop replaceable assemblies associated with both helicopter models. Forty-eight percent of work on the contract will be performed at various contractor supplier locations throughout the U.S., with 38 percent of work taking place in Stratford, Conn., and Owego, N.Y. Work should be completed by January 2025, but the contract does include an option that would extend the work through January 2027. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/01/31/Lockheed-Martin-receives-23B-deal-for-helicopter-parts-maintenance/3901580519254/