September 23, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Contracts for September 22, 2021
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January 23, 2020 | International, Naval
India makes initial bid selections for $7 billion submarine project
By: Vivek Raghuvanshi
NEW DELHI — India on Tuesday announced the selection of domestic and foreign defense companies for the construction of six diesel-electric submarines with air-independent propulsion technology as part of an effort worth more than $7 billion.
The submarines will be manufactured in India under the Navy's P75I program and guided by the Ministry of Defence's Strategic Partnership model, which aims to build indigenous capabilities, a senior ministry official told Defense News.
Two domestic shipyards companies — state-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited and private sector firm Larsen & Toubro — were shortlisted to collaborate with five overseas original equipment manufacturers — Rubin Design Bureau of Russia, Naval Group of France, Navantia of Spain, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems of Germany, and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering of South Korea.
“The defence acquisition council approved the shortlisting of Indian strategic partners and potential original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who would collaborate to construct six conventional submarines in India,” the MoD said in a statement.
An expression of interest was issued in June 2019 to four domestic companies: Mazagon; Larsen & Toubro; Reliance Naval and Engineering Limited; and a consortium of Hindustan Shipyard Limited and Adani Defence.
An internal MoD committee rejected the Hindustan-Adani Defence bid because it did not meet eligibility requirements, and the ministry noted that Reliance Naval and Engineering did not meet financial requirements.
A separate, restricted expression of interest was issued in July 2019 to the five foreign OEMs as well as Saab of Sweden. Saab chose not to participate in the program, citing lack of clarity.
For the P75I program, the Rubin Design Bureau is offering the Amur 1650 submarine; France is offering the Scorpene 2000; Navantia has offered the S-80-class sub; TKMS offered its HDW class 214; and Daewoo is offering its KSS-III.
The MoD official said submissions were accepted in September and selection done early this month.
A senior Indian Navy official said the OEMs must provide full technology transfer of critical systems of the submarines such as air-independent propulsion technology, sensors, and communication and electronic warfare suites. They must also help establish a domestic supply chain for spare parts and material as well as assist in training the local labor force, the official added.
The OEMs are free to set up joint ventures or equity partnerships, or make royalty arrangements with Indian prime partners and other domestic suppliers.
Another MoD official said a request for proposals will be issued to two shortlisted Indian companies who will set up a technical partnership with one of the five shortlisted OEMs and submit both financial and technical bids by the end of 2020. Thereafter, the technical and financial bids will be evaluated, with final selection expected in mid-2022. The selection will be made based on the lowest price offered, he added.
Under the P75I program, the submarines must be made up of 65 percent indigenous material.
The MoD said any contract between an Indian strategic partner and a foreign OEM must include provisions for the protection of classified information. In addition, the shortlisted OEMs must confirm their willingness to cooperate with the selected Indian company, including life-cycle support and transfer of technology.
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July 6, 2018 | International, C4ISR
NATO advances in its new operational domain: cyberspace
By: Sorin Ducaru As NATO prepares for its annual summit, to be held July 11-12 in Brussels, media attention has been focused on whether member states will boost their defense spending and readiness across the traditional operational domains of land, air and sea. This reflects a needed focus on important, but frankly longstanding alliance priorities. What many NATO-watchers are missing, however, is NATO's full embrace of its newest operational domain: cyberspace. Just two years ago, at the Warsaw Summit, allied nations recognized cyberspace as a new “operational domain in which NATO must defend itself as effectively as it does in the air, on land and at sea.” Since the Warsaw Summit, NATO has developed an ambitious roadmap to implement the cyber operational domain approach, with profound implications along lines of effort, such as: training, capability development, organizational construct, operational planning, training, exercises and strategic communications. Work in these areas is conducted with the aim to augment the cyber resilience and achieve mission success, in a cyber environment that is increasingly contested by adversaries. This is in line with the alliance's cyber pledge to prioritize investment in cyber skills and capabilities. Furthermore, the recognition of cyberspace as an operational domain opens the way for the integration of voluntary sovereign national cyber contributions into NATO operations and missions. Keeping in line with the other operational domains, NATO itself will not acquire offensive capabilities, but will rely on the contributions of its member nations. Already, the United Kingdom has led the efforts. In a Chatham House address last year, Sir Michael Fallon, former U.K. defense secretary, announced publicly that “the United Kingdom is ready to become one of the first NATO members to publicly offer such support to NATO operations as and when required.” At the NATO defense ministers' meeting last November, allies agreed on a framework of political and legal principles to guide the integration of voluntary cyber contributions from member nations. The framework ensures that any allied engagement in cyberspace will abide by NATO's defensive mandate, political oversight and compliance with international law. This is also in line with allies' support for the development of norms and confidence building measures, for security and stability in cyberspace. This year, allies' defense ministers agreed to establish a Cyber Operations Centre as part of the new NATO command structure, the first cyber-dedicated entity within NATO's command structure. This is the first step toward integrating cyber capabilities into NATO planning and operations, but specific considerations should be kept in mind. In the physical domains of land, air and sea, operational planning refers to of the physical forces or capabilities provided. In the cyber domain, integration will focus on the effects generated by the voluntary national cyber contributions, rather than the capabilities themselves, given that most cyber tools are unique and discrete. Within NATO, there has been a growing emphasis on developing the “digital IQ” of the allied military. In Portugal, a NATO Cyber and Communication-Information Systems Academy is being set-up, while cyber resilience is now featured in coordinated training curricula in every NATO member state. Cyber has been also streamlined across all NATO exercises. The NATO Cyber Center of Excellence in Estonia organizes two annual cyber-dedicated exercises. The first, “Cyber Coalition,” is testing the alliances readiness and response procedures and policies in situations of wide-reaching, persistent cyberattacks. The second exercise, under the Locked Shields banner, tests the skills of cyber experts in red-team/blue-team war games scenarios. This year, NATO's blue team won the exercises, signaling the growing interest of member nations to strengthen NATO's new operational domain. “All crises today have a cyber dimension,” noted Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg earlier this month. Soon after in London, Stoltenberg hinted that the July NATO summit will “take decisions on integrating national cyber capabilities into NATO operations.” This reflects a game-changing approach in terms of mainstreaming cyber across strategy and tactics, training and exercises, as well as military planning in all operational domains. This is consistent with the recent U.S. Department of Defense strategy, which aims to “invest in cyber defense, resilience and the continued integration of cyber capabilities into the full spectrum of military operations.” It is no secret that, in cyberspace, we are under attack as we speak. As the threat landscape expands, so does NATO's commitment to the new cyber operational domain. Ambassador Sorin Ducaru is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. Between September 2013 and November 2017, he was NATO assistant secretary general and chair of NATO's Cyber Defense Committee and Cyber Defense Management Board, having a leading role in NATO's cyber policy development and implementation. He is also a special advisor of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace. https://www.fifthdomain.com/opinion/2018/07/05/nato-advances-in-its-new-operational-domain-cyberspace
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January 20, 2022 | International, Land, C4ISR
Army, Air Force try brain stimulation devices to improve troop brain function | Miltech
Throw away those caffeine pills and that DFAC coffee - better brain stimulation may be on the way from the Army and Air Force.