HII warns of potential carrier, amphib issues in FY25 budget request

On the same subject

• 

  January 2, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - December 31, 2018

  ARMY Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. LLC, Oak Brook, Illinois, was awarded a $92,551,470 firm-fixed-price contract for channel improvement project, entrance channel with extension, and dredging. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Corpus Christi, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 operations and maintenance; general construction; and non-federal funds in the combined amount of $92,551,470 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W912HY-19-C-0002). BAE Systems Ordnance Systems Inc., Radford, Virginia, was awarded an $89,520,585 modification (0053 09) to contract W52P1J-11-G-0053 for operations and maintenance of Radford Army Ammunition Plant. Work will be performed in Radford, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2019. Fiscal 2010, 2016 and 2017 other procurement, Army funds in the combined amount of $8,929,605 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. BAE Systems Ordnance Systems Inc., Kingsport, Tennessee, was awarded a $74,756,071 modification (P00678) to contract DAAA09-98-E-0006 for Building G-3 NQ/RDX recrystallization construction at Holston Army Ammunition Plant. Work will be performed in Kingsport, Tennessee, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2021. Fiscal 2018 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $74,756,071 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Honeywell International Inc., Phoenix, Arizona, was awarded a $20,335,554 modification (P00100) to contract W56HZV-12-C-0344 for hardware services. Work will be performed in Phoenix, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2019. Fiscal 2019 other procurement, Army; and Army working capital funds in the amount of $20,335,554 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. STG Inc.,* Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $17,098,410 modification (P00011) to contract W91RUS-18-C-0007 for information technology support services. Work will be performed in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $17,098,410 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Melwood Horticultural Training Center Inc., Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was awarded a $9,986,235 modification (P00014) to contract W91QV1-18-C-0008 for base operations. Work will be performed in Fort Meade, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $9,986,235 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE DynCorp International LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, has been awarded a $75,020,715 firm-fixed-price contract for rotary wing aircraft maintenance. This contract provides for services to support all management, personnel, equipment and services necessary to perform 811th Operations Group rotary wing flight line maintenance. Work will be performed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, and is expected to be complete by June 30, 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and five offers were received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $28,555, are being obligated at the time of award. 11th Contracting Squadron, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity (FA2860-19-C-0005). (Awarded Dec. 27, 2018) Pinnacle Solutions Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, has been awarded a $20,562,123 firm-fixed-price modification (P00040) to previously awarded contract FA8621-16-C-6281 for support of the KC-10 training system. This modification provides for the exercise of the fourth year option and incorporates within scope changes to contractual requirements resulting from a mutual agreement of the parties, and brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $100,583,419. Work will be performed at Travis Air Force Base, California; Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey; and Fairfield, California. Work is expected to be complete by Dec. 31, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $20,316,980 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1722766/source/GovDelivery/

• 

  January 14, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Stealthy UAS Unveiled For USAF Target, Loyal Wingman Needs

  Steve Trimble A small start-up company in California has unveiled a new proposal for a stealthy unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to offer the U.S. Air Force as a “fifth-generation” target drone or a low-cost attritable aircraft. Tehachapi, California-based Sierra Technical Services, a company founded by previously retired Lockheed Martin Skunk Works engineers, unveiled the first photos of the completed Fifth Generation Aerial Target (5GAT) prototype after completing engine tests on the ground. A first flight of the 5GAT is scheduled in early 2020. The name of the aircraft is derived from its origins as a prototype funded by the Defense Department's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), says Roger Hayes, president and CEO of Sierra Technical Services. Several years ago, DOT&E recognized an emerging gap for a new target drone that could fly as a surrogate for fifth-generation fighters emerging in Russia and China such as the Sukhoi Su-57 and AVIC Chengdu J-20. In 2017, DOT&E awarded Sierra Technical Services a $15.9 million contract to develop the 5GAT prototype, Hayes said. The pace of assembly has been dictated by the availability of parts cannibalized from other military aircraft, such as the engines and metallic components from the Northrop T-38 trainer and F-5 fighter, as well as aileron actuators from the Boeing F/A-18, Hayes said. Sierra Technical Services supplemented its revenue as assembly continued by working on other programs, including supplying components for the Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie. As development continued, the Air Force started to develop interest in a fifth-generation target. The service has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to develop the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, which is being designed to counter the PL-15 missile fielded on China's J-20 fighter. The Air Force needs to test the AIM-260 and other missiles against a representative threat. Last May, the Air Force released a request for information for the Next Generation Aerial Target, which included a version that can replicate fifth-generation fighter attributes, such as a stealthy airframe with canted tails and serpentine inlet ducts. The Air Force also is developing a concept to pair manned fighters such as the F-22 and F-35 with an unmanned partner, known sometimes as a Loyal Wingman. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) funded Kratos' XQ-58A, which completed a first flight in March. AFRL also plans to demonstrate a UAS controlled by a “software brain” using artificial intelligence. This Skyborg program is sometimes considered a follow-on for the XQ-58A program, but Hayes said Sierra Technical Services could offer the 5GAT for the Skyborg contract. https://aviationweek.com/special-topics/combat-aircraft/stealthy-uas-unveiled-usaf-target-loyal-wingman-needs

• 

  January 15, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  US lawmaker links small defense firms in Maryland

  By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON — A Maryland congressman is launching a local consortium on Tuesday to link small and large aerospace and defense firms and educational institutions in the Pentagon's backyard — so the companies can solve common problems like workforce shortages. The Pentagon has identified the aging workforce as a challenge to country's defense industry, and it's playing out in Rep. Anthony Brown's district, which is near NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, a major space research laboratory, and Fort Meade, the home of U.S. Cyber Command. “When I think about the workforce shortages, it's not just the computer science engineer in high demand at Northrop's Linthicum facility, it's the welder down at Huntington Ingalls,” said Brown, D-Md., and a House Armed Services Committee member, told Defense News. “There has to be a public-private partnership.” After months of meeting with representatives of the defense industry, local economic development corporations, local school systems and institutions of higher education, Brown is launching the Maryland Defense and Aerospace Consortium as a means of spurring academia and industry collaborate — and to burnish the National Capitol Region's reputation as an A&D hub. The panel, made up of representatives from the Defense Department, industry, career and technical education organizations, and local universities, is meant to start a conversation and ultimately solve national security problems. The inaugural meeting of Maryland Defense and Aerospace Consortium, set for Tuesday on Capitol Hill, is due to host Army Undersecretary Ryan McCarthy. Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/news/pentagon-congress/2019/01/14/us-lawmaker-links-small-defense-firms-in-maryland