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June 16, 2020 | International, Land

GDLS secures USD2.5 billion contract for US Army Stryker DVHA1

by Ashley Roque

The US Army has awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) with a USD2.5 billion contract to produce Stryker Double V-Hull A1 (DVHA1) vehicles.

Service plans call for fielding 331 Stryker DVHA1s to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division and this new contract covers seven years of work that will be completed by May 2027, according to Ashley John, the public affairs director for the army's Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems.

“[This contract] includes a new hull configuration, increased armour, upgraded suspension and braking systems, wider tyres, blast-attenuating seats, and a height management system,” John told Janes on 15 June.

In addition to increasing the chassis payload capacity from 55,000 to 63,000 lb, the DVHA1 upgrades include replacing the 350 horsepower Caterpillar C7 engine with a 450 horsepower Caterpillar C9 engine, replacing a 570 amp alternator with a 910 amp alternator capable of supporting electrical power required for future network upgrades, and more, according to the 2019 Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) report.

Meanwhile, the army is also in the midst of a competition to pick a vendor to outfit Stryker DVHA1 vehicles with 30 mm cannons under the Medium Calibre Weapons System (MCWS) effort.

Last year, the army awarded six companies – EOS Defense Systems, GDLS, Kollsman, Leonardo DRS, Pratt Miller, and Raytheon – with contracts valued at up to USD150,000. Each company was also given a Stryker DVHA1 and an XM813 cannon, and tasked with building a ‘production-representative vehicle' that integrates a government-provided weapon station onto the vehicle.

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/gdls-secures-usd25-billion-contract-for-us-army-stryker-dvha1

On the same subject

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - December 17, 2018

    December 18, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - December 17, 2018

    AIR FORCE Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Rolling Meadows, Illinois, has been awarded a $3,600,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Large Aircraft Infrared Counter Measures (LAIRCM) equipment and support. This contract provides for LAIRCM line replaceable units, support equipment, logistics support related activities, systems and sustaining engineering, program management, and other efforts necessary supporting efforts specified in each task/delivery order. Work will be performed in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, and is expected to be completed by December 2025. No funds are being obligated at the time of award. This contract involves numerous foreign military sales requirements and is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8638-19-D-0001). L-3 Technologies, Greenville, Texas, has been awarded an $8,600,988 firm-fixed-price contract modification to previously awarded contract FA8620-16-G-3027/FA8620-18-F-4816 for management support services. The contract modification provides for the exercise of an option for additional services being produced under the basic contract. Work will be performed in Greenville, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2019. This contract involves 100 percent Foreign Military Sales and is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $8,600,988 are being obligated at the time of award. The 645th Aeronautical Systems Group, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. CORRECTION: The contract announced on Dec. 14, 2018, to Peraton Inc., Herndon, Virginia (FA8750-19-F-0003) for Xdomain technology through research, evolution, enhancement, maintenance, and support software and report, was actually awarded today, Dec. 17, 2018. All other information in the announcement is correct. ARMY BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP, Sterling Heights, Michigan, was awarded a $375,932,453 hybrid (firm-fixed-price and fixed-price-incentive) contract for Mobile Protected Firepower middle tier acquisition and rapid prototyping effort with low-rate initial production options. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 15, 2025. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $175,974,048 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-19-C-0035). General Dynamics Land Systems Inc., Sterling Heights, Michigan, was awarded a $335,043,086 hybrid (firm-fixed-price and fixed-price-incentive) contract for Mobile Protected Firepower middle tier acquisition and rapid prototyping effort with low-rate initial production options. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 15, 2025. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $175,011,179 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-19-C-0036). Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, Florida, was awarded a $91,250,000 modification (P00069) to contract W31P4Q-15-C-0102 for procurement of Joint-Air-to-Ground missiles under the initial phases of the Low-rate Initial Production 3. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2022. Fiscal 2017, and 2018 other procurement Army funds in the amount of $91,250,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Foster-Miller Inc., doing business as QinetiQ North America, Waltham, Massachusetts, was awarded a $90,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the reset, sustainment, maintenance and recap to support the overall sustainment actions of the Tactical Adaptable Light Ordnance Neutralization family of robotic systems. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 16, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-19-D-0024). Gilbane Building Co., Providence, Rhode Island, was awarded a $12,651,574 firm-fixed-price contract for modifications to an operational training facility, Marine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni, Japan. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Iwakuni City, Japan, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 3, 2019. Fiscal 2016 and 2017 military construction funds in the amount of $12,651,574 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Camp Zama, Japan, is the contracting activity (W912HV-19-C-0002). NAVY Lockheed Martin Corp., Owego, New York, is awarded a $92,500,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for technical, management, and process support to maintain, upgrade, and deploy software and systems configurations for all H-60 variants in support of the Navy and the governments of Denmark, Australia, and Saudi Arabia. Work will be performed in Owego, New York, and is expected to be completed in September 2023. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,392,660 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This contract combines purchases for the Navy ($70,010,000; 75.68 percent); and the governments of Australia ($15,430,000; 16.68 percent); Denmark ($3,530,000; 3.82 percent); and Saudi Arabia ($3,530,000; 3.82 percent), under the Foreign Military Sales program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-19-D-0005). Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Mississippi, is awarded a $39,395,512 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N0024-16-C-2415 to exercise Option Year 3 for life cycle engineering and support services for the LPD 17 class amphibious transport dock ship program. The services include post-delivery planning and engineering; homeport technical support; class integrated product data environment; data maintenance and equipment management; systems integration and engineering support; LPD 17 class design services; research engineering; obsolescence management; class material readiness; emergent repair provision; training and logistics support; ship alteration development and installation; material management; operating cycle integration; availability planning; and configuration data management. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi (96 percent); Norfolk, Virginia (1 percent); San Diego, California (1 percent); Mayport, Florida (1 percent); and Sasebo, Japan (1 percent), and is expected to be complete by December 2019. Fiscal 2012, 2016, 2017, 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy); and fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $19,057,104 will be obligated at time of award and contract funds in the amount of $18,017,669 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Mississippi, is awarded a $28,573,043 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-17-C-2473 to exercise options for the accomplishment of the industrial post-delivery availability and planning, engineering and management efforts for the post-delivery planning yard services in support of the LHA 7 amphibious assault ship. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and is expected to be completed by December 2019. Fiscal 2012 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $21,200,000; and fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $2,355,011 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Space, Sunnyvale, California is awarded $21,987,176 for cost-plus-fixed-fee modification P00017 under a previously awarded contract (N00030-17-C-0100) to exercise options for Trident II (D5) missile production and deployed system support. The work will be performed in Sunnyvale, California (61.25 percent); Denver, Colorado (36.04 percent); and Titusville, Florida (2.71 percent), and is expected to be completed Dec. 30, 2019. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $21,987,176 are obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. B.E. Meyers and Co. Inc.,* Redmond, Washington, is awarded a $10,348,345 delivery order (M67854-19-F-1529 0002) from a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (M67854-14-D-1040) for the purchase of 917 Ocular Interruption Systems. Work will be performed at Redmond, Washington, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2019 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $10,348,345 will be obligated at the time of award and no funds will expire the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Harris Corp., Clifton, New Jersey, is awarded $9,835,000 for firm-fixed-price delivery order modification 000105 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00016-16-G-0003) for production and qualification of ten Digital Receiver/Technique Generator Gen2 shipsets for the ALQ-214A(V)4/5 on-board jammer system in support of Foreign Military Sales (FMS) requirements. Two system spread benches are also being procured and delivered under this modification. Work will be performed in Clifton, New Jersey, and is expected to be completed in April 2020. FMS funds in the amount $9,835,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona, is awarded $8,988,458 for modification P00007 to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N0001917C0059) for engineering and technical support for the flight test demonstration of an extended range capability in support of the Joint Stand Off Weapon extended range Phase 3b development effort. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed in January 2021. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Strategic Capabilities Office) funds in the amount of $661,621 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Rockwell Collins Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is awarded $8,704,807 for delivery order N0001919F0273 against a previously issued firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost basic ordering agreement (N00019-14-G-0021) in support of the E-6B Mercury aircraft. This order provides for non-recurring engineering for the installation of the Digital Red Switch System (DRSS) kits into the Mission Avionics Systems Trainer (MAST), as well as the procurement of six DRSS kits for the aircraft and one for MAST. Work will be performed in Richardson, Texas, and is expected to be completed in September 2022. Fiscal 2018, and 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,704,807will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Northrop Grumman Corp., Aerospace Systems, Melbourne, Florida, is awarded $7,993,664 for modification P00004 to cost-plus-fixed-price delivery order 0027 previously issued against a basic ordering agreement (N0001915G0026). This modification provides for the procurement of additional organic depot and intermediate level repair publications in support of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft, including the structural repair manual and organic depot and intermediate level repair publications. Work will be performed in Melbourne, Florida (79.6 percent); St. Augustine, Florida (11.6 percent); Menlo Park, California (7.3 percent); and Bethpage, New York (1.5 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2020. Fiscal 2017 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,993,664 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. TKH-ASI LLC,* Kahului, Hawaii, is awarded $7,744,000 for firm-fixed-price task order N6247819F4034 under a previously awarded, multiple award construction contract (N62478-16-D-4016) to repair unaccompanied housing Building 2, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Wahiawa Annex, Hawaii. The work to be performed provides for repair of Station B1 (located in Facility S1104) and interconnecting Station B1 with Station B29. Project work will include replacing old and deteriorated components in Station B1, adding a primary circuit and circuit breaker to Station B29, and installing underground feeder cables to interconnect and consolidate Stations B1 and B29. Work will be performed in Oahu, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by February 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $7,744,000 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Three proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Hawaii, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Honeywell International Inc., Phoenix, Arizona, has been awarded an $11,499,928 firm-fixed-price delivery order (SPRPA1-19-F-KQ1B) against a five-year basic ordering agreement (SPE4A1-17-G-0017) with no option periods for 11 auxiliary power units for the P-8 aircraft. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulations 6.302-1. This is an 11-month contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Arizona, with a Nov. 11, 2019, performance completion date. Using customers are Navy and the United Kingdom. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019, Navy working capital funds and Foreign Military Sales funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1716020/source/GovDelivery/

  • US Navy’s aging surface fleet struggles to keep ships up to spec, report shows

    October 6, 2020 | International, Naval

    US Navy’s aging surface fleet struggles to keep ships up to spec, report shows

    David B. Larter WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy's aging surface fleet is getting harder to maintain, and overall is showing declining health in several key areas, such as its main propulsion systems, electrical systems and Aegis combat systems, according to an annual report of the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey submitted to Congress earlier this year. The so-called INSURV inspections found that over five years, the surface fleet found big dips in the main propulsion systems — the plants that produce the power to push the ship through the water — as well as in the electrical systems and aviation systems. The Aegis systems, a collection of sensors and software that protects the ship primarily from air threats, has also shown some signs of slipping over the last half-decade. The declining trend comes after years of intense focus on readiness inside the Defense Department, but the Navy says that recent changes to how the Navy conducts the notoriously intrusive INSURV inspections are making the fleet more ready. Still, the slipping scores do raise questions about whether the Navy's much-in-demand surface combatants are getting adequate time in maintenance. For INSURV, ships are graded across a wide variety of systems, with scores adding up to a “figure of merit” where perfect equals 1.0. Over more than 30 surface ship inspections in 2019, the Navy tracked a 20 percent drop in scores between 2014 and 2019 in the main propulsion plant and another 20 percent drop in scores for the ships' electrical systems. Aegis, which is the beating heart of the combat systems on cruisers and destroyers, saw a slight but concerning drop from a figure of merit of 0.88 in 2017 to 0.77 in 2019. Aviation systems, the systems concerned with launching and recovering rotary wing aircraft, dropped from 0.77 in 2014 to 0.68 in 2019. By contrast, scores from submarine main propulsion — governed by strict Naval Reactors guidelines and inspections — scored figures of merit of 0.94, submarine electrical systems scored 0.90, and submarine combat systems scored a 0.84. Overall, the Navy's surface fleet got high marks in navigation systems, medical systems, anti-submarine warfare systems and preservation. INSURV changes The Navy accounts for its drop in scores by pointing to a recent change in how the service conducts the inspections. In 2019, the chief of naval operations ordered that INSURV be conducted once every three years, the length of one deployment readiness cycle where the ship is maintained, the crew is trained, and the ship deploys. The inspections were also changed from an event that is planned for well in advance, to an event that comes with little notice, and requests for delays to the inspection were prohibited. The short-notice INSURV inspections are designed to get a more accurate picture of ships' readiness, instead of allowing sailors ample time to borrow parts from other ships and make temporary fixes that can boost the overall score on the inspection, according to Naval Surface Force Pacific. “Because ships knew exactly when the inspection would occur, they were able to put their best foot forward during the exam,” said SURFOR spokesperson Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman. "Over time, it became clear the (consistently good) INSURV scores ships were receiving did not accurately capture the material condition of the surface fleet. “As a result, Navy leadership directed that future INSURV inspections be performed at any time during a ship's [deployment cycle], and with minimal notice. At the same time, the Board of Inspection and Survey eliminated the possibility of ships receiving a delay to their inspection date due to a late occurring equipment casualty. The inspection is therefore more ‘come as you are' than it has been in the past.” SURFOR has also directed that ships conduct more rigorous and regular shake-out tests, such as directing the ships to max out their propulsion system in what's known as a “full power run,” and has increased the frequency of inspections of the ship's transmission, known as the main reduction gear, and monitoring of the health of the ships' SPY-1 radar system, Schwegman said. The surface fleet has made investments in increasing self-sufficiency of sailors so they can fix their own gear and made sure they have the right spares on board their ships to make sure they can fix broken gear, Schwegman said. The goal is to make sure the fleet gets away from relying too heavily on technical experts employed by the companies who make the gear on ships. “While we have the funding and availability of technical representatives (and we send them, to include with COVID-19 protocols in place), we will continue to ensure that ships are able to maintain most if not all of their equipment should technical assistance not be immediately available,” Schwegman said. Lingering questions Part of the issue, of course, is that the Navy's surface fleet is getting older. The cruisers are all closing in on their expected 35-year expected hull lives, and the first 27 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are not far behind them. Keeping the radars going in earliest ships has been a particular challenge, as has maintaining the aging engineering plants. There remain questions, however, about how much the roughly 10-to-20 percent drop in scores across critical areas inspected by INSURV is attributable to the change in the inspection regime that SURFOR points to, said Bryan Clark, a retired U.S. Navy submarine officer and senior fellow at Hudson Institute. “Probably part of that 10-20 percent is a function of just not being able to prepare as much as you would in the past,” Clark said. "The way you'd do it in the past is you'd see you had INSURV coming up and you'd have a bunch of [preventive maintenance checks] you'd perform to make sure the equipment they were going to test was in working order. You'd go run things that are almost never run and see, ‘Oh, I need to go fix that.' “So, really the old system was to both test the ship as well as force the ship to make sure all of its systems were working at the right level of capability. Now it's much more of a test where they come on board, test a bunch of stuff and they see if it works or not.” But given that the downward trends go back so far, it's also likely that the high demands placed on the force continue to degrade the material condition of the ships without adequate time for maintenance, Clark said. “Part of it has to be that the Navy continues to struggle to put the time and money into maintenance availabilities that they need to,” Clark said. “Particularly in the surface fleet, the ships' schedules have just not been able to be freed up they way they need to be, and in some cases they've had to manage costs and growth, which meant they couldn't do all the maintenance they needed to.” The move to schedule more INSURV inspections will likely yield good results over the long term, he added, but said the whole outlook on how the Navy deploys must change if any significant progress is to be made. “Doing INSURV more frequently is a good time, especially since it is pretty much the most comprehensive inspection your ship is going to get,” Clark said. "You test things that you use infrequently so that you don't need to find out they don't work in extremis. “But I suppose I question how much the Navy really has taken a turn on readiness. They've put more money into it due to supplemental funding. They've done a much better job managing availabilities. But Navy-wide, you need to complement that with a supply-based model where you tell combatant commanders ‘We just can't get you the forces you want because they need to go into maintenance and they have to be there for as long as they need to be there.'” https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/10/05/the-us-navys-aging-surface-fleet-struggles-to-keep-ships-up-to-spec-report-shows/

  • Le portefeuille de participations financières de l'État dans l'aéronautique et la défense a été peu affecté par la crise sanitaire, selon la Cour des comptes

    February 10, 2022 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Le portefeuille de participations financières de l'État dans l'aéronautique et la défense a été peu affecté par la crise sanitaire, selon la Cour des comptes

    La Cour des comptes révèle, dans un rapport publié dimanche soir et consacré à la gestion des participations financières de l'État durant la crise sanitaire, que l''impact de celle-ci sur le patrimoine de l'État dans le secteur de l'aéronautique et de la défense a été très limité. Ce secteur « a bien résisté à la crise en se maintenant à une valeur globale de 8,4 Md€ », indique le rapport. L'évolution du portefeuille de participations financières de l'État dans l'aéronautique et la défense n'a baissé que de 46 M€, passant entre 2019 et 2020 de 8,466 Md€ à 8,420 Md€. Les sociétés du secteur aéronautique ont toutefois enregistré des baisses de leur chiffre d'affaires et de leur résultat opérationnel. La Cour des comptes observe la mobilisation de l'État pendant la crise pour préserver ses intérêts stratégiques dans certaines filières critiques : « Au-delà des entreprises à participation publique, l'État semble désormais élargir son action à la sauvegarde d'entreprise stratégiques dont il n'est pas actionnaire et à la garantie d'une autonomie plus grande dans certaines filières stratégiques, dans une logique de souveraineté économique », souligne le rapport. La Tribune du 7 février

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