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May 25, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

Interview du général François Lecointre, chef d’État-Major des armées

Selon le général Lecointre, en 2030, les « tensions seront encore plus fortes qu'aujourd'hui avec des risques de dérapages supérieurs ». Il anticipe « une réorganisation de l'ordre du monde, structurée autour de la compétition entre les États-Unis et la Chine ». Dans cette compétition, « la France et les Européens doivent représenter une voie d'équilibre en s'appuyant sur des partenaires stratégiques ». Pour le général, « le prochain pas en avant de l'Europe passera par la défense ». Parmi les espaces de confrontation, le général François Lecointre cite notamment l'espace : « nos activités militaires ne peuvent pas se passer de l'espace pour les communications, l'observation ou le positionnement. Un enjeu majeur consistera à préserver notre liberté de manœuvre dans l'espace face aux développements chez certaines puissances, en particulier la Chine et la Russie, de capacités de perturbation, d'entrave voire de destruction de moyens spatiaux ».

Le Figaro, 22 et 23 mai

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  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - April 26, 2019

    April 29, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - April 26, 2019

    DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Sea Box,* Cinnaminson, New Jersey, (SPRD11-19-D-0100, $471,828,000); W&K Containers,* Mill Valley, California, (SPRDL1-19-D-0101, $19,513,750); and NexGen Composites,* Franklin, Ohio (SPRDL1-19-D-0097, $253,608,919) have each been awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for ISO & Quadcon Containers. They are five-year contracts with no option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with four responses received. Locations of performance are New Jersey, Texas, California, South Carolina and Ohio, with an Oct. 29, 2024, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan. Freeman Holdings of Arizona, LLC, doing business as Million Air Yuma,* Yuma, Arizona, has been awarded a minimum $21,991,384 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for fuel. This was a competitive acquisition with 148 responses received. This is a 46-month contract with one six-month option period. Location of performance is Arizona, with a March 31, 2023, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (SPE607-19-D-0076). Rantec Power Systems, Los Osos, California, has been awarded a maximum $8,429,618 firm-fixed-price contract for two different power supplies. This was a sole source acquisition using justification 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a one-year base contract with one one-year option period for each power supply. The majority of the option is being exercised at the time of award. Location of performance is California, with a March 31, 2023, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-19-C-0106). AIR FORCE The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a $127,632,494 modification (P00003) to previously awarded contract FA2103-18-C-0061 for the B61-12 Life Extension Program. This modification provides for the initiation of an undefinitized contract action for Lot 1 and Lot 2 Long Lead items. Work will be performed in Saint Charles, Missouri, and is expected to be complete by Aug. 31, 2020. His modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $131,932,494. Fiscal year 2018 and 2019 procurement funds, and fiscal year 2019 research and development funds, in the amount of $29,218,278 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida is the contracting activity. Raytheon Co., McKinney, Texas, has been awarded a $94,272,118 fixed‐price‐incentive modification (P00004) to previously awarded contract FA8620-18-C-2001 for DAS‐4 production and upgrades. This modification provides for the purchase of an additional 54 production AN/DAS‐4 Multi‐Spectral Targeting System Model B High Definition/Target Location Accuracy (HD/TLA) turrets and one DAS‐1A to DAS‐4 turret unit upgrade. Work will be performed in McKinney, Texas, and is expected to be complete by Jan. 31, 2021. This contract involves foreign military sales to The Netherlands. Fiscal year 2017 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $1,480,393, fiscal year 2018 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $22,338,740, fiscal year 2019 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $60,142,814, and foreign military sales funds in the amount of $10,310,171 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright‐Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. University of Dayton Research Institute, Dayton, Ohio, has been awarded a $46,794,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Proactive Research Enabling Supportable Systems (PRESS). This contract provides for PRESS in order to improve materials and processes for maintainability and manufacturing. Work will be performed in Dayton, Ohio, and is expected to be complete by May 1, 2026. This contract was the result of a competitive acquisition and 3 offers were received. Fiscal year 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $508,000 are being obligated on the first task order at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-19-D-5630). NAVY Granite-Healy Tibbitts, JV, Watsonville, California, was awarded $27,186,257 for firm-fixed-price task order N6247319F4540 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62473-16-D-1803) for construction of maintenance dredging piers 1, 3, and Paleta Creek at Naval Base San Diego. The maintenance dredging will re-establish the design operational and/or berthing depth required for United States Navy vessels and other visiting vessels. The dredge material is expected to be disposed of at upland disposal sites. All dredge material for upland disposal will be screened for unexploded ordnance and radiological debris, dried or dewatered prior to transport for disposal at a commercial landfill. The proposed maintenance dredging work will remove dredge material to restore the pier slips and creek area for safe, unrestricted navigation. The task order also contains one unexercised option, which if exercised would increase the cumulative task order value to $38,244,577. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by November 2021. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $27,186,257 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Three proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. (Awarded April 25, 2019) Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $26,890,125 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the procurement of Navy engineering services. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $201,706,155. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (68 percent); Waterford, Connecticut (10 percent); Groton, Connecticut (10 percent); Middletown, Rhode Island (7 percent); and Newport, Rhode Island (5 percent), and is expected to be completed by December 2025. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 other procurement (Navy) and fiscal 2019 research development test and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $5,155,627 will be obligated at the 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.C. 2304(c)(1) - only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-6400). Miller Electric Co. Inc. doing business as PEC Contracting and Engineering*, Reno, Nevada, was awarded a maximum amount $25,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for commercial and institutional building construction alterations, renovations, and repair projects at Naval Air Station Fallon. Projects will be primarily design-bid-build (fully designed) task orders or task order with minimal design effort (e.g. shop drawings). Projects may include, but are not limited to, alterations, repairs, and construction of administration buildings, maintenance/repair facilities, aircraft control towers, hangars, fire stations, office buildings, laboratories, dining facilities and related structures. Work will be performed in Fallon, Nevada. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of April 2024. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $5,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by operation and maintenance (Navy). This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 11 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N62473-19-D-2617). (Awarded April 25, 2019) Centerra-SJC II, LLC. *, Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $15,374,563 firm-fixed-price task order modification under a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N69450-15-D-1621) for exercise of options two, three, four, and five for renovations to 84 housing units. The work to be performed provides for complete exterior and interior repairs for 84 housing units at Tierra Kay Housing complex. The renovation of the Tierra Kay housing areas is to provide quality housing for unaccompanied service members, and will improve quality of life during their deployment to Guantanamo Bay. This will optimize energy performance of the housing area. The total task order amount after exercise of these options will be $18,612,025. Work will be performed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and is expected to be completed by April 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations & maintenance, (Army) contract funds in the amount of $15,374,563 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Four proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity. (Awarded April 25, 2019) Lockheed Martin, Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, is awarded a $13,908,052 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-16-C-5102 to exercise an option for AEGIS Speed to Capability Development. The contract provides for systems engineering, modeling and simulation, and design for AEGIS Speed to Capability cycles as well as the completion of the development and fielding of the AEGIS Baseline 9 AEGIS Weapon System and integrated AEGIS Combat System on AEGIS Technical Insertion (TI) 12 configured destroyers as well as TI 12 and TI 08 configured cruisers. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey (97 percent) and Johnstown, Pennsylvania (3 percent) and is expected to be complete by May 2020. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test & evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,938,130 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Didlake, Inc., Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $12,076,573 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity modification for the exercise of option four for annual custodial services at Naval Air Station Oceana, Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, and Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The work to be performed provides for annual custodial services, including, but not limited to, all management, supervision, tools, materials, supplies, labor, and transportation services necessary to perform custodial services for office space, restrooms, and other types of rooms. After award of this option, the total cumulative contract value will be $53,345,575. No task orders are being issued at this time. Work will be performed at various installations in Portsmouth, Virginia (43 percent); Virginia Beach, Virginia (44 percent); and Yorktown, Virginia (13 percent). This option period is from May 2019 to April 2020. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Task orders will be primarily funded by Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $11,705,043 for recurring work will be obligated on individual task orders issued during the option period. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-15-D-0063). Lockheed Martin, Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, is awarded a $9,142,030 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-15-C-5151 for AEGIS Ashore Support and Ship Integration and Engineering of the AEGIS Weapon System (AWS) for AWS Baselines through Advanced Capability Build (ACB) 16. The contract modification provides for AEGIS ashore on-site support in Romania and Poland, AEGIS Ashore Planning Yard support and Ship Integration Engineering support including technical data package and test package/procedure development; technical documentation; feasibility studies; configuration management support; lifecycle and system engineering; environmental qualification testing; topside analysis; Ballistic Missile Defense engineering; combat system alignment and integration of Advanced Naval Weapon Systems on DDG 51 Class ships. Work will be performed in Camden, New Jersey (29 percent), Deveselu, Romania (15 percent), Redzikowo, Poland (15 percent), Moorestown, New Jersey (13 percent), Norfolk, Virginia (9 percent), San Diego, California (9 percent), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (5 percent), and various places below one percent (5 percent) and is expected to be complete by September 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $3,268,951 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory LLC, a not-for-profit University Affiliated Research Center, Laurel, Maryland, has been awarded a ceiling $100,000,000 modification (P00003) to previously awarded indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract HR0011-17-D-0001 for engineering, development and research capabilities. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $198,000,000 from $98,000,000. Work will primarily be performed in Laurel, Maryland, with an expected completion date of November 2021. IDIQ task orders can extend an additional six months until May 2022. No funds are being obligated at time of award. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1825952/source/GovDelivery/

  • Lack of Workers Is Hurting Supply Chains More than COVID, Defense Execs Say

    July 27, 2022 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

    Lack of Workers Is Hurting Supply Chains More than COVID, Defense Execs Say

    An economic slowdown might be the only way to fill job vacancies, says Raytheon CEO.

  • Duckworth: Army's New Helicopters Should Not Be Designed for Anyone Else

    February 26, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    Duckworth: Army's New Helicopters Should Not Be Designed for Anyone Else

    By Matthew Cox WEST PALM BEACH, Florida -- Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot, said recently that the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force would have to wait their turn if they want their own version of the Army's futuristic helicopters being developed under the Future Vertical Lift (FVL) effort. The Illinois Democrat and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee recently attended a high-profile flight demonstration of Sikorsky-Boeing's new SB-1 Defiant helicopter that was designed with the goal of replacing the UH-60 Black Hawk. The Army awarded a team from Sikorsky, part of Lockheed Martin Corp., and Boeing Co. a 2014 contract to build Defiant as part of the Joint Multi Role Technology Demonstrator (JMRT-D) program. A Textron Inc.-Bell team also received a contract under the effort and built the V-280 Valor, a tiltrotor-design helicopter that completed its first test flight in December 2017. Both the Valor and the Defiant prototypes are promising designs, Army officials maintain, that are capable of flying at speeds of more than 200 knots and will result in a replacement for the venerable Black Hawk as the service's new Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA). Duckworth, a former Army National Guard officer who lost both legs after enemy forces shot down the Black Hawk she was flying over Iraq in 2004, said she intends to keep the FVL program from morphing into an unwieldy, joint effort. That's a pitfall that has thrust many joint-service programs into program delays and cost-overruns because of overly broad requirements. "This is an Army aircraft; we need to keep an Army mission," Duckworth told reporters at the Feb. 20 flight demo. "If the other services want to fall in behind it and develop something afterward and tweak it for what they need, that is fine, but we cannot build a Frankenaircraft ... that's going to meet the Marines' needs and the Navy's need and the Air Force's needs. "We need to not let the requirements start to meander and creep around because otherwise we will never get to where we need to and get these things fielded as quickly as possible," she added. In the past, the Pentagon has often tried to develop multiple versions of a major combat system, such as the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which has been designed to satisfy the requirements of the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. The acquisition program for the advanced, stealth fighter began in the mid-1990s and still suffers from testing setbacks that have delayed a full-rate production decision. That Army-Marine Corps Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program, however, is considered a successful acquisition effort that began in 2006 after Humvees in Iraq could not withstand the destruction force of enemy homemade bombs attacks. JLTV took almost a decade to become a reality but, in August 2015, Oshkosh Corp. was selected over Lockheed Martin Corp. and AM General LLC to build the vehicle for the Army and Marine Corps. Meanwhile, for the second year in a row, the Army has reduced the number of JLTVs it will buy in fiscal 2021 to free up money to fund future modernization. FVL is one of the Army's top modernization priorities under a new strategy the service launched in 2017, with the goal of replacing most of its major combat platforms beginning in 2028. Leaders stood up Army Future Command, an organization designed to help the service's acquisition and requirements machines work more closely together in an effort to streamline what has traditionally been a slow-moving process to develop and field combat system. So far, the strategy appears to be working, since the FLRAA and the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) efforts are ahead of schedule, Duckworth said. Army officials are scheduled to down-select to two vendors to build final prototypes of the FARA next month. The service is also scheduled to begin a competitive demonstration and risk reduction phase for FLRAA, which is expected to last until 2022, the year the service plans to down-select to one vendor to build the Black Hawk replacement. "This is rare for defense procurement to actually be ahead of timeline instead of pushing everything to the right," Duckworth said. "I am very pleased with how well the Army is handling this development." The senator stressed, however, that she intends to continue strict oversight of the FVL to ensure it doesn't result in a waste of taxpayer dollars. "We can't be spending upward of $60 million per airframe," Duckworth said. "If we do that, then we can't field the number of airframes that we need to be out there in the force." Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, who also attended the flight demo, stressed that the service's leadership is committed to making necessary cuts to outdated programs to free up money for FVL and other modernization efforts. "We don't have a choice. We are running out of letters to upgrade the existing platforms -- they are 40-year-old systems; the technology will not endure," he said. -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/02/25/duckworth-armys-new-helicopters-should-not-be-designed-anyone-else.html

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