October 8, 2024 | International, C4ISR, Security
October 22, 2019 | International, Land
Industry Brings Robotic Vehicles To AUSA, Army Awarding Deals For Initial Prototypes Next Spring
By Matthew Beinart |
The Army will release a prototype proposal request for the Robotic Combat Vehicle light and medium of variants before November and award contracts for test vehicles next spring, the lead official for the program told reporters on Monday.
The push towards the next phase of the Army's effort to grow a robotic vehicle fleet arrives as vendors such as BAE Systems, Germany's Rheinmetall, as well as a team of Textron Systems [TXT], Howe & Howe and FLIR [FLR] all unveiled potential offerings at this week's Association of the United States Army conference in Washington, D.C.
Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, director of the Army's Next-Generation Combat Vehicle cross-functional team, detailed plans this week for the next phase of the RCV program, which he said would “revolutionize the way [the Army] fights in the future.”
The Army will begin to solicit proposals for RCV-Light and RCV-Medium prototypes before the end of the month, with plans to hold a demonstration next March to put the platforms through a platoon-level operations experiment.
Following the demonstration, the Army will then select one vendor to build four RCV-Ls and one vendor to build four RCV-Ms, according to Coffman.
Those vehicles will then participate in a 2021 experiment going through company-level operations, before ultimately informing a 2023 decision on how the Army wants to construct its robotic vehicle fleet including the addition of an RCV-Heavy.
Coffman has said previously that RCV is intended to eventually replace soldiers in dangerous tactical situations on the future battlefield with vehicles that are payload agnostic, semi-autonomous and integrated with a range of sensors and weapon systems (Defense Daily, Aug. 22).
BAE Systems unveiled its Robotic Technology Demonstrator at AUSA, which has already participated in a recent demonstration with the Army on an outdoor test track in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
“RTD is our way to go after that leap-ahead technology. We've designed it as rolling lab. Our intent is to keep developing this thing. This is a test platform that allows us to keep moving ahead,” Jim Miller, BAE Systems' senior director of business development, told reporters. “This is probably not going to be an RCV-L. It's probably the medium and it may lead us to a heavy option if that's where the Army continues to go.”
Miller noted RTD uses a hybrid-electric drive, is currently integrated with a 30mm gun, and contains a range of sensor suites, including a 360-degree situational awareness system and the company's RAVEN soft-kill active protection system. The vehicle also includes a tethered UAS and a legged ground robot developed by Ghost Robotics.
Rheinmetall brought its Wiesel Wingman configured toward the RCV-L path, which combines technology from its digitized Weasel platform, in use with the German Army, and the Mission Master unmanned ground vehicle.
“That platform already exists in a digitized version. So throw out the hydraulics, the electronic kits inside, the drive-by-wire steering and electric transmission, and you combine it with the sensor and autonomy kit of the Mission Master and then you basically get a new vehicle that we call the Weasel Wingman,” Florian Reisch, director of business development and sales for Rheinmetall's American business, told Defense Daily. Basically you combine the Weasel platform that is able to hold the autonomy kit and then you basically get what the Army is looking for with robotic combat vehicles.”
Reisch added that Rheinmetall could be interested in exploring the heavier RCV variants, listing potential options with the company's Lynx or Marder infantry fighting vehicles.
“Of course we would be interested in the medium as well because we have different platforms available. We did have different research and development programs where we were modifying these platforms to basically enable them to carry a medium-caliber remote controlled turret. So that would be possible and we are looking at that.”
The team of Textron, Howe & Howe and FLIR showcased the Ripsaw 5 platform at AUSA. The companies said it could be scaled down for RCV-L or up to a heavier version for RCV-M.
“It's capable for both the RCV light and the RCV medium mission sets that the Army has put forward. What this does is it optimizes the superior value, the logistics, the mission outcome. We've got extraordinary modularity of performance. It's scalable with its high degree of reuse between the light and medium variants, and that just brings unmatched value to the team,” Lisa Atherton, Textron's CEO, told reporters during a teleconference last week.
Geoff Howe, senior vice president of Howe & Howe, said the company is continuing to pursue additional technology additions for Ripsaw to grow capability for the robotic vehicle while the Army assesses its needs for a future unmanned fleet.
“We are running a parallel program. Our program, we don't stop for anything. We're pushing forward with this technology we've advanced, and our plan is to meet the Army down the road with that parallel program. We're not waiting for anybody. We're pushing this development as far as we can,” Howe said.
QinetiQ and Pratt & Miller also announced at AUSA a new partnership to offer a variant of the Expeditionary Modular Autonomous Vehicle (EMAV) for RCV.
On the same subject
-
-
August 9, 2019 | International, Aerospace
US Air Force pauses flight ops for more than a hundred C-130s over ‘atypical’ cracking
By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — More than a quarter of Air Mobility Command's C-130 Hercules fleet are being temporarily removed from service after “atypical” cracking was found. During scheduled depot maintenance, the U.S. Air Force discovered cracking of the lower center wing joint — also known as the “rainbow fitting” — which led Air Mobility Command head Gen. Maryanne Miller to order an inspection of a portion of the fleet, according to an AMC statement released Wednesday evening. A total of 123 of 450 C-130H and C-130J aircraft will be temporarily grounded while inspections occur. “This temporary removal of service will not impact ongoing C-130 support to overseas contingency operations,” AMC said in its statement. The decision to pause operations and conduct inspections was made after a single C-130 was found with the lower center wing joint cracks, said AMC spokesman Maj. Jonathan Simmons. But the risk posed by the issue — that the wing could become dislodged from the aircraft — was so serious that the Air Force decided to move forward with inspections for all planes that could potentially be impacted. The 123 aircraft chosen to go through inspections have not been equipped with an “extended service life center wing box” and have flown more than 15,000 hours. Maintainers will look for cracking, and, if discovered, will replace the rainbow fitting. That repair takes “approximately one to two months” to do and is “dependent on depot level availability and capacity,” Simmons noted in an email. Currently, AMC believes it has an adequate supply of rainbow fittings and is not concerned about a potential shortfall. If no defects are found, the aircraft will return to service. So far, eight aircraft have gone through inspections and are now able to fly, Simmons said. Each inspection is set to take eight hours, but the command does not know how long it will take to move all 123 aircraft through the inspection and repair process. “The Air Force takes the safety of its airmen and aircraft very seriously and is working diligently to identify and repair affected aircraft as soon as possible,” AMC said in its statement. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/08/08/air-force-pauses-flight-ops-for-more-than-a-hundred-c-130s-after-atypical-cracking-found/
-
March 1, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence
Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - February 26, 2019
NAVY Lockheed Martin Space, Littleton, Colorado, is awarded a maximum amount $846,030,000 un-priced letter contract modification PH0001 to a previously awarded and announced un-priced letter contract (N00030-19-C-0025) for the design, development, build and integration of large diameter rocket motors, associated missile body flight articles, and related support equipment for Navy Intermediate Range Conventional Prompt Strike Weapon System flight test demonstrations. Work will be performed at Littleton, Colorado, with an expected completion date of Jan. 1, 2024. Fiscal 2018 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $20,000,000 are obligated on this award, which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $67,000,000 are being obligated on this award, which will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Co., Tucson, Arizona, is awarded $25,229,389 for firm-fixed-price modification P00033 to a previously awarded contract (N00019-17-C-0034). This modification provides for the procurement of Tomahawk Block IV All-Up-Round spares to support the recertification of Tomahawk Missiles. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California (27.57 percent); Walled Lake, Michigan (15 percent); Tucson, Arizona (14.47 percent); Washington, Pennsylvania (11.66 percent); Hollister, California (4.25 percent); Midland, Ontario, Canada (4.18 percent); Glenrothes Fife, United Kingdom (3.2 percent); Vergennes, Vermont (2.9 percent); Orchard Park, New York (2.56 percent); Berryville, Arkansas (1.86 percent); South El Monte, California (1.46 percent); Merrimack, New Hampshire (1.28 percent); Fairfield, California (1.08 percent); Huntsville, Alabama (1.05 percent); and various locations within the continental U.S. (7.48 percent), and is expected to be completed in October 2020. Fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $25,229,389 will be obligated at the time of award, $4,186,657 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Johnson Control Navy Systems, York, Pennsylvania, was awarded an $18,819,845 firm-fixed-priced, indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contract, for up to 32 air conditioning plant conversion kit and auxiliary components to support Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division. Work will be performed in York, Pennsylvania. The contract will have a three year ordering period and work is expected to be complete by February 2022. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,995,356 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code. 2304(c)(1) - only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N64498-19-D-4008). (Awarded Feb. 22, 2019) ARMY Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Dallas, Texas, was awarded a $40,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect and engineer services to support the Air Force Materiel Command Headquarters buildings at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 25, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-19-D-0013). QED Systems LLC,* Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, was awarded a $9,688,969 modification (P00036) to contract W15P7T-14-C-C012 for program management, engineering, logistics, business, administrative, operations, and security services. Work will be performed in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 26, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $9,688,969 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Cherokee Nation Technologies, Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been awarded a $39,461,205 firm-fixed-price contract for advisory and assistance services (A&AS) for programmatic, environmental cleanup, project execution and financial support. This contract provides base realignment and closure programs and requires a full range of A&AS and deliverables in the areas of management and professional services; studies, analyses, and evaluations; and engineering and specialized technical expertise. Work will be performed at several locations in the U.S. and is expected to be complete by April 6, 2023. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and three offers were received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $9,525,678 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Installation Contracting Agency, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA8903-19-F-0001). RiverTech, LLC,* Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been awarded a $34,513,979 firm-fixed-price contract for command and control technical support. This contract provides for the operational, technical, and analytical expertise for the planning and execution of training and test events, conducting Live-Virtual-Constructive and Distributed Mission Operations activities, providing operational support, providing non-kinetic operations training and tactics development support, and conducting operational testing of command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems. Work will be performed at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico; and Nellis AFB, Nevada, and is expected to be complete by March 25, 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and three offers were received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $3,520,157 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Combat Command Acquisition Management & Integration Center, Hurlburt Field, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA4890-19-C-A005). Sonalysts Inc., Waterford, Connecticut, has been awarded a $17,316,322 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P0002) to previously awarded contract FA8806-19-C-0002. This modification provides for the development of the training system supporting GPS Next Generation Operational Control System under the management of the Space Training Acquisition Office. Work will be performed in Waterford, Connecticut, and is expected to be complete by April 25, 2022. Fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $6,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY De Rossi & Son Company, Inc., Vineland, New Jersey, has been awarded a maximum $11,351,934 modification (P00012) exercising the fourth one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-15-D-1033) with four one-year option periods for men's Army coats. This is a firm-fixed-price contract. Location of performance is New Jersey, with a March 3, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND Cargo Transport System Co., Safat,, Kuwait, has been awarded a contract modification (P00007) on contract HTC711-17-D-R021 in the amount of $10,000,000. This modification provides continued stevedoring and related terminal servicesto the 595th Transportation Brigade. This includes vessel loading, vessel discharge, receipt of cargo, disposition of cargo, stuffing/unstuffing of cargo, intra-terminal transfer of cargo, inland transportation of cargo, customs clearance, yard management and management expertise. Work will be performed in ports of Kuwait. The period of performance is from March 9, 2019, to Sept. 8, 2019. Fiscal 2019 Transportation Working Capital Funds were obligated at award. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $27,709,945 from $17,709,944.97. U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Feb. 25, 2019) * Small Business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1768604/