General Atomics, Raytheon contracted for Reaper drone support

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  March 25, 2020 | International, Land

  Leonardo DRS receives contract for Army mortar Fire Control Computers

  Arlington, VA, March 23, 2020 ̶ Leonardo DRS, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a contract by Elbit Systems of America to provide advanced rugged tablets as the Fire Control Computer Two (FCCII) for U.S. Army Mortar Fire Control Systems. The $20.6 million contract, was awarded in October 2019. The FCCII hosts the software which enables the warfighter to interact with the overall system designed to reduce the time it takes soldiers to prepare and fire rounds. The FCCII is a rugged computer tablet from the Leonardo DRS Land Electronics business. When loaded with Mortar Fire Control software, it is capable of computing firing solutions for 120mm mounted and dismounted mortar systems, processing digital call for fires messages from battlefield's Fire Support Network, and providing technical manual reference to the user. The FCCII is being fielded to Infantry Brigade Combat Teams, Armored Brigade Combat Teams and Stryker Brigade Combat teams. “These tablets are providing advanced ruggedized multi-touchscreen technology so warfighters can have the most advanced and reliable digitized equipment for more effective protective fire missions,” said Bill Guyan, senior vice president and general manager of the Leonardo DRS Land Electronics business. “We are proud to be working with Elbit Systems of America on this program and are dedicated to the support and fielding of these proven digital fire control computers for our warfighters.” Manufacturing of these FCCII rugged tablets will be conducted by the Leonardo DRS Land Electronics business unit in Melbourne, Florida. About Leonardo DRS Leonardo DRS is a prime contractor, leading technology innovator and supplier of integrated products, services and support to military forces, intelligence agencies and defense contractors worldwide. The company specializes in naval and maritime systems, ground combat mission command and network computing, global satellite communications and network infrastructure, avionics systems, and intelligence and security solutions. Additionally, the company builds power systems and electro-optical/infrared systems for a wide range of commercial customers. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Leonardo DRS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Leonardo S.p.A. See the full range of capabilities at www.LeonardoDRS.com and on Twitter @LeonardoDRSnews. For additional information please contact: Michael Mount Senior Director, Public Affairs +1 571 447 4624 mmount@drs.com View source version on Leonardo DRS, Inc.: https://www.leonardodrs.com/news/press-releases/leonardo-drs-receives-contract-for-army-mortar-fire-control-computers/

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  October 2, 2019 | International, Land

  Multimillion-euro order from Hungary

  September 30, 2019 - Rheinmetall to manufacture main armament and hulls for PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzer and Leopard 2 main battle tank. Rheinmetall is taking on an important role in the modernization of the Hungarian Army. The Düsseldorf-based Group is producing the main armament and fire control technology for forty-four Leopard 2 main battle tanks as well as the main armament, fire control technology and chassis for twenty-four PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers. The package also encompasses thirteen HX and TGS logistic trucks. The contract, worth around €300 million, was recently signed. Delivery begins in 2021 and will be completed in 2025. Rheinmetall has partnered with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) to carry out the project. In December 2018 KMW won an order from the Hungarian armed forces for forty-four new Leopard 2A7+ tanks and 24 new PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers. This will make Hungary the 19th Leopard 2 user nation and the eighth nation to opt for the PzH2000. As well as having design authority, Rheinmetall is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the 120mm smoothbore technology used in all versions of the Leopard 2 tank. The same is true of the 155mm L52 main gun of the PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzer. Tried and tested around the globe, the Group's 120mm smoothbore gun and ammunition have been continuously perfected right from the start. The higher-pressure 120mm L55A1 gun earmarked for the Leopard 2A7+ was successfully qualified at the end of 2017, and already supplied and installed for two Leopard 2 user nations in mid 2018. Moreover, the L55A1 tank gun is capable of firing the programmable DM11 multipurpose round. In addition, Rheinmetall possesses comprehensive expertise in the field of tracked armoured vehicles, including as an OEM. The Group developed the chassis of the PzH self-propelled howitzer. https://www.rheinmetall-defence.com/en/rheinmetall_defence/public_relations/news/latest_news/index_21504.php

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  March 18, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Army selects companies to continue in long-range assault aircraft competition

  By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The Army has selected Bell and Sikorsky to enter into a competitive demonstration and risk reduction effort ahead of the start of the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, or FLRAA, program of record. The service is on a tight timeline to field a new long-range assault aircraft by 2030. The CDRR will consist of two phases that will last roughly one year each. The companies will deliver initial conceptual designs, an assessment of the feasibility of requirements and trade studies using model-based systems engineering. The competition for the program of record will begin in 2022 with a plan to field the first unit equipped in 2030. Congress added $76 million in funding to the aircraft program's top line in fiscal 2020 to drive down technical risk and speed up delivery. The money, which Congress approved as part of its FY20 appropriations bill signed into law in December, will fund the CDRR effort. The Army completed its Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstration, or JMR TD, for which Bell and the Sikorsky-Boeing team each built aircraft to help the service understand what is possible for a future aircraft — mainly to replace the UH-60 Black Hawk. “These agreements are an important milestone for FLRAA,” Patrick Mason, the Army's aviation program executive officer, said in a statement issued March 16. “The CD&RR continues to transition technologies from the JMR-TD effort to the FLRAA weapons system design. We will be conducting analysis to refine the requirements, conceptual designs, and acquisition approach. Ultimately, this information and industry feedback are vital to understanding the performance, cost, affordability, schedule risks and trades needed to successfully execute the FLRAA program.” Bell has flown its V-280 Valor tilt-rotor demonstrator for two years in the JMR-TD and has logged more than 160 hours of flight time on the experimental aircraft. Sikorsky and Boeing's SB-1 Defiant coaxial demonstrator had a more difficult time getting off the ground due to issues in manufacturing its rotor blades. Its first flight was in March 2019. Even though Defiant has flown for a significantly reduced amount of time, the Army has determined it has enough data to move forward on its FLRAA program rather than extend the JMR TD to wait for the Sikorsky-Boeing team to log flight time. Brig. Gen. Wally Rugen, who is in charge of the service's future vertical lift modernization efforts, said last spring that because of the data collected through the JMR TD process as a well as additional studies and modeling, the service now thinks it has enough information to move more quickly into a full and open competition for FLRAA. Lt. Gen. Paul Ostrowski, the military deputy to the acquisition chief, said in a Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee hearing around the same time that the Army is presenting an acquisition strategy to the Pentagon's acquisition chief focusing on a nondevelopmental item approach to procuring FLRAA. That route, Ostrowski said, could lead to a competitive downselect by FY22. The extra funding provided by Congress will give the service the ability to continue to fly and burn down that inherent risk in developing a new helicopter. “What [that] may do as we hit those gates, is allow us to take what was going to be a primary budget, really a starting budget for the Army in ‘23 and ‘24, and potentially move that selection back to ‘23,” Rugen said recently. “We are not going to go to selection if, number one, we don't have requirements stable, we don't have resources stable, and, number two, the technology is not there.” The Army already has had a robust technology demonstrator program, including an extension, Rugen said, but that type of effort doesn't garner the same data as a prototype demonstration or a full-up weapon system. “In the CDRR [competitive demonstration and risk reduction], we're really trying to develop a weapons system, not the tech demonstrator,” Rugen said. “So we're trying to take it to the next level.” The CDRR will assess a laundry list of technologies identified through an Office of the Secretary of Defense-conducted independent technology readiness assessment, which would require additional evaluation to reduce risk, according to Rugen. Some of these technologies include the powertrain, drivetrain and control laws of the aircraft. “When we look at the software involved in flight controls, we have to really reduce risk there,” Rugen noted. The CDRR will also allow the Army to work on the integration of its mission systems. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/03/16/army-selects-companies-to-continue-on-in-long-range-assault-aircraft-competition/