October 7, 2024 | International, Land
April 24, 2018 | International, Land, C4ISR
How the Army plans to improve its friendly force tracking
By: Mark Pomerleau
The Army is upgrading how it tracks friendly forces to increase readiness.
During the fiscal 2019 budget roll out in February, Army officials at the Pentagon indicated that the service would be accelerating its Joint Battle Command-Platform, which provides friendly forces awareness information known as blue force tracking, as well as encrypted data and faster satellite network connectivity. The change is intended to solve mounted mission command problems across all formations.
The new budget request shows the service is serious about the issue. The Army asked for $431 million for the program in FY2019. That's up from a total of $283 million during the FY2018 budget. Moreover, the Army plans to procure 26,355 systems as opposed to 16,552 from the FY2018 budget.
However, officials in the program office were careful to note this was not a “plus-up, so to speak,” but an effort to accelerate the fielding of the tracking systems.
C4ISRNET's Mark Pomerleau recently spoke about the program's modernization efforts with Col. Troy Crosby, project manager for Mission Command, alongside Lt. Col. Shane Sims, product manager for JBC-P, assigned to Project Mission Command.
C4ISRNET: How should we interpret the FY2019 budget request for this program?
COL. TROY CROSBY: It's important to understand that there wasn't necessarily a plus-up.
Really what happened is we shifted already approved authorizations to the left. We're just expediting sooner.
The Army asked us what we could do to modernize faster ... essentially, we went back to them and said give us the funding and the resources to move a lot of those units to the left because every year the G-3/5/7 comes out with this priority list and we weren't able to get down to that priority list because of funding.
That's really what you're seeing with that movement of money from the out years closer in to the left.
C4ISRNET: What led to the decision to baseline the program across formations?
CROSBY: The Army's looking to standardize their baselines not only on the platforms like JBC-P, but also a similar effort in the command post with software baseline reduction.
Moving to the standard baseline on the platform-side helps with training, readiness and the physical constraints as we can depreciate the older versions of FBCB2/BFT [Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below/Blue Force Tracking] out of sustainment.
C4ISRNET: How does standardization help the Army?
CROSBY: Any time you're greatly standardized in a organization the size of the Army, you're going to get easier interoperability down at the tactical level.
If Lt. Col. Sims is Sgt. Sims and he is in a unit at Fort Stewart and we were trained on the current systems in the force and then he gets [a permanent change of station] out to Fort Riley, he already has a base of knowledge when he hits the ground on what those systems are because they're the same across the force. So, the training burden for his new units greatly reduced.
I think it also helps in readiness as units and soldiers move around the battlespace.
The other reason the Army really wants to standardize on JBC-P is, like with all systems in the tactical network, we're always looking to improve cyber posture, and there were multiple improvements in our cyber posturing that the department felt were relevant to try to accelerate so we could get that capability to the entire force as quickly as possible.
C4ISRNET: In terms of cyber, what are some modernization efforts you're undertaking to help this platform perform in the more dynamic environments?
CROSBY: I think the best way that we can characterize it is looking to ... achieve a cyber posture that allows us to operate both in a counter-insurgency/counterterrorism role and a near-peer adversary role. We're looking to answer both sides of that coin. Yes, current fight, but we're also looking to make sure we're cyber postured for a near-peer.
LT. COL. SHANE SIMS: You can probably draw some conclusions from what you know on the commercial side. Imagine having a computer that's over 20 years old — that's where some of our platforms are right now when you're talking about the FBCB2 that was fielded almost two decades ago.
C4ISRNET: In terms of your FY19 funding, could it be characterized as investing in standards to help increase readiness and lethality?
CROSBY: Very much so. The plus-up kind of touched a couple of areas. On the research and development side, the plus-up helps us in looking at ways to modernize and bring new capability for the blue force tracking network side. We're really looking to expedite that fielding for better cyber posture.
C4ISRNET: It sounds like standardization is very important from an Army readiness and lethality perspective.
SIMS: When talking JBC-P, there are really three components: the software, the hardware and then the network.
Really, what we're doing on a couple fronts [is] we're expediting the fielding to get the hardware out there but that's going to set the conditions for what we're doing in the command post with the infrastructure. That same infrastructure is going to reside on our hardware that's in the platform.
The commanders are in environments where they experience something completely different in the command post than you experience on the platforms.
You hear repeatedly from the commanders, “Can I have the same type of user experience?” Data's really what we're addressing with the modernization of the command post and the mounted computing environment. That user experience is going to be one and the same for the commander when he or she is in the command post and then when they get in the vehicle.
That is really what we're doing with modernization for JBC-P.
C4ISRNET: The National Defense Strategy has stressed prioritization on great power competition. How does JBC-P modernization and standardization fit into that strategy?
CROSBY: The first one is looking to modernize JBC-P mission command on the move at the platform level. How we continue to modernize and field as fast as we can so that we can maintain both that counter-insurgency/counterterrorism fight and near-peer adversaries is one piece of this.
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March 22, 2021 | International, C4ISR
Photonis réalise un chiffre d’affaires de 150 millions d’euros en 2020 et rachète Device-ALab
Spécialiste de la vision nocturne pour les forces armées, la PME française Photonis a conclu en 2020 un chiffre d'affaires de 150 millions d'euros, dix fois supérieur à celui de l'année précédente. Photonis a été sélectionné comme fournisseur exclusif de tubes intensificateurs de lumière pour le nouveau programme d'acquisition d'armes de précision de l'Armée Française, et il a obtenu le contrat des nouvelles jumelles de vision nocturne O-NYX. La société a par ailleurs annoncé le rachat de Device-ALab, l'un de ses partenaires dans le marché des caméras infrarouge. « Cela fait quatre ans que nous sommes partenaires et depuis plusieurs mois, nous envisagions de fusionner nos technologies. L'infrarouge est en pleine croissance et extrêmement complémentaire de nos technologies actuelles », explique Geoffroy Deltel, le directeur technique de Photonis. Les deux partenaires ont gagné il y a deux ans un contrat de la DGA pour les tireurs d'élite, et Photonis l'a accompagné en Australie pour équiper des véhicules militaires. Les Echos du 22 mars 2021
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July 15, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - July 14, 2020
NAVY Bay City Marine Inc.,* National City, California (N32253-17-D-0003); Caliedo & Sons Services Inc.,* Ewa Beach, Hawaii (N32253-17-D0004); Delphinus Engineering Inc.,* Eddystone, Pennsylvania (N32253-17-D-0005); Epsilon Systems Solutions Inc.,* Portsmouth, Virginia (N32253-17-D-0006); Propulsion Controls Engineering,* Aiea, Hawaii (N32253-17-D-0007); Pacific Shipyards International LLC,* Honolulu, Hawaii (N32253-17-D-0008); QED Systems Inc.,* Virginia Beach, Virginia (N32253-17-D-0009); Confluence Corp., doing business as Regal Service Co.,* Honolulu, Hawaii (N32553-18-D-0003); Marisco LTD,* Kapolei, Hawaii (N32253-18-D-0004); and Integrated Marine Services Inc.,* Chula Vista, California (N32553-18-D-0005), are awarded a $49,000,000 modification, increasing the ceiling for a total of $98,000,000 on the surface multi-award (SURFMAC), indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. The SURFMAC is a firm-fixed-price IDIQ for the procurement-involving repair, maintenance and alteration of U.S. government waterborne vessels and surface ships visiting or homeported in the Hawaiian Islands. Work will be performed on Oahu, Hawaii. Types of trades required are ship fitting, sheet metal, welding, pipefitting, painting, machining/mechanical, electrical, electronics, woodworking, lagging and rigging. Sample work includes, but is not limited to, ventilation, air conditioning, tank work, structural repairs, fumigation, electrical system repair, pump repair, fan repair, decking, fire system repairs and updates. Work is expected to be completed by September 2022. The 10 contractors may compete for delivery orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts. Funds will be obligated at the order level. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity. Ultra Electronics Ocean Systems, Braintree, Massachusetts, is awarded a $42,192,128 not-to-exceed, undefinitized modification to previously awarded contract N63394-19-C-0007 to exercise options for production of Next Generation Surface Search Radar (NGSSR) systems. The NGSSR will replace all variants of the current AN/SPS-67, AN/SPS-73, BridgeMaster E series and commercial-off-the-shelf radar systems. Work will be performed in Wake Forest, North Carolina (85%); Chantilly, Virginia (14%); and Braintree, Massachusetts (1%). This contract modification will acquire the first NGSSR production lot following a contract award for design and production of three qualification systems. The primary objective of NGSSR is to replace legacy systems due to current military threats and obsolescence issues. Work is expected to be completed by April 2023. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy); and 2017 and 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $21,096,064 will be obligated at time of award. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The NGSSR was not competitively procured in accordance with 15 U.S. Code 638(r)(4) under the Small Business Innovation Research Phase III program/2018 National Defense Authorization Act. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity. PAE Aviation and Technical Services LLC, Greenville, South Carolina, is awarded a $25,918,520 modification (P00026) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost reimbursable indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00421-15-D-0007. This modification exercises an option to extend services for organizational, selected intermediate and limited depot maintenance and logistics support for Northrop F-5F and F-5N aircraft in support of the Specialized and Proven Aircraft Program. Work will be performed in Key West, Florida (40%); Fallon, Nevada (30%); and Yuma, Arizona (30%), and is expected to be completed by January 2021. No funds are being obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. ARMY Swan Contracting LLC,* Petersborough, New Hampshire, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for rapid-response temporary roofing projects in the event of an emergency. Bids were solicited via the internet with 16 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2027. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-20-D-0034). Blue Tarpon Construction LLC,* Gulf Breeze, Florida, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for rapid-response temporary roofing projects in the event of an emergency. Bids were solicited via the internet with 16 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2027. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-20-D-0035). Venegas Construction Corp.,* Ponce, Puerto Rico, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for rapid-response temporary roofing projects in the event of an emergency. Bids were solicited via the internet with 16 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2027. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-20-D-0036). Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $34,951,039 hybrid (cost-no-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee) contract for system operations and sustainment services and test and training services in support of the Saturn Arch Aerial Intelligence Systems Quick Reaction Capability Program. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Reston, Virginia; Bridgewater, Virginia; and Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of March 16, 2024. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army Reserve) funds in the amount of $34,951,039 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-20-C-0024). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY US Foods Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $22,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a 127-day bridge contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Virginia and North Carolina, with a Nov. 17, 2020, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-20-D-3281). (Awarded July 10, 2020) New Maryland Clothing,* Baltimore, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $12,268,935 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for men's and women's uniform dress coats. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(3), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-3. This is a two-year base contract with one one-year option period. Location of performance is Maryland, with a July 13, 2022, ordering period end date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-20-D-1298). American Water Operations and Maintenance LLC, Camden, New Jersey, has been awarded a $7,636,368 modification (P00038) to 50-year contract SP0600-15-C-8302 with no option periods to increase the operations, maintenance, renewal and replacement charges for the water and wastewater utility systems at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract. Locations of performance are New Jersey and California, with a May 31, 2066, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2066 Air Force operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. AIR FORCE Thomas Instrument Inc., Brookshire, Texas, has been awarded a $7,100,000 requirements-type contract for the depot-level overhaul of the C-5 visor door actuator. Work will be performed in Brookshire, Texas, and is expected to be completed by July 13, 2025. This award is the result of a non-competitive acquisition. Fiscal 2020 defense working capital funds are being used and no funds are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Sustainment Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8538-20-D-0004). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2273894/source/GovDelivery/