Israel moves to strengthen defense production amid boycott calls

On the same subject

• 

  October 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense – October 08, 2020

  Navy Gulf Warehousing Co., Doha, Qatar (N68171-21-D-0016); Marine Agency Co. Ltd, Pusan, Republic of Korea (N68171-21-D-0019); and Seaway Agencies Pty Ltd, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (N68171-21-D-0030), are awarded an estimated $1,061,000,000 under the previously awarded request for proposals (N68171-20-R-0001) multiple award of firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts to provide husbanding, management and integration services consisting of general charter and hire, utilities, force protection, communications and land transportation services to support maritime forces of the Department of Defense, other U.S. government agencies and nations, including Navy ships, Marine Corps, Military Sealift Command (MSC), Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, NATO and other foreign vessels participating in U.S. military or NATO exercises and missions. The contracts will run concurrently and will include a five-year base ordering period with one five-year option, with individual requirements performed under task orders when specific dates and locations are identified. If the option period is exercised, the total estimated value of the contracts combined will have a ceiling value of $2,122,000,000. The ordering period of the contract is expected to be completed by October 2025; if all options are exercised, the ordering period will be completed by October 2030. Work will be performed in 30 geographic regions: United Arab Emirates (14%); Philippines (10%); Djibouti (7%); eastern U.S. and U.S. territories (6%); Southeastern Asia 2 (5%); Indian Ocean (5%); Republic of Korea (5%); South America (5%); Singapore (4%); western California (4%); Southeastern Asia 1 (3%); Bahrain (3%); Oman (3%); Oceania (2%); China and Russia (2%); United Kingdom/Western Europe (North Sea) (2%); Italy (2%); Eastern Europe/Black Sea (2%); Western Europe (Mediterranean) (2%); Northern Atlantic (2%); Panama (2%); North America (2%); Japan (1%); Greece (1%); Africa (1%); Middle East (1%); Central America (1%); Caribbean and Bermuda (1%); eastern U.S. territories (1%); and western U.S. territories (1%). Due to the fact that the specific requirements for husbanding support cannot be predicted at this time, more specific information about where the work will be performed cannot be currently provided. Fiscal 2021 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,000 will be obligated ($3,000 on each of the three contracts to fund the contracts' minimum amounts), and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Additional funds will be obligated at the task order level with the appropriate fiscal year funding as issued by the main type commanders for each area of responsibility. Typical funding issued by each of the customers include operations and maintenance (Navy) funds from U.S. Fleet Forces Command; and working capital funds (Navy) from MSC. The requirement was competitively procured for the award of multiple contracts with the solicitation posted on beta.SAM.gov; Navy Electronic Commerce Online (NECO); and Euro NECO with 36 offers received. The Naval Supply Systems Command, Fleet Logistics Center, Sigonella, Naples Detachment, Italy, is the contracting activity. (Southeastern Asia 1 is aligned to the Pacific Islands [Palau, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia-France, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Western Samoa]. Southeastern Asia 2 is aligned to Southeastern Asian mainland countries [Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam]. Arete Associates, Northridge, California, is awarded a $17,976,258 firm-fixed-price modification to exercise Option Three of previously awarded contract N61331-18-D-0012 to provide Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis Block I systems. This option is for additional Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) Block 1 production systems. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (35%); Destin, Florida (35%); and Santa Rosa, California (30%), and is expected to be completed by September 2021. No funding will be obligated at time of award and will be obligated at the time a delivery order is issued. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division, Panama City, Florida, is the contracting activity. McKean Defense Group LLC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is awarded a $12,228,590 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-no-fee pricing to provide engineering support for Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services to include technical and programmatic services for networking, communications and computer systems and associated certification and information assurance for new developments, current operations and planned upgrades. This one-year contract includes four one-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the overall potential value of this contract to an estimated $69,793,839. Work will be performed in the continental U.S.: San Diego, California (76%); Norfolk, Virginia (4%); Hawaii (4%); Washington, D.C. (3%); Charleston, South Carolina (3%); and outside continental U.S.: Japan (4%); Guam (2%); Bahrain (2%); and Italy (2%). The period of performance of the base award is from Oct. 8, 2020, through Oct. 7, 2021. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through Oct.7, 2025. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Fiscal 2021 funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); shipbuilding construction (Navy); and other funding, which may include Foreign Military Sales; Program Directive Air; and Navy working capital fund. This contract was competitively procured via Request for Proposal N66001-19-R-0036, which was published on the beta.SAM.gov website. Two offers were received and one selected for award. The Naval Information Warfare Center, Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-21-D-0008). ARMY Ibis Tek Inc.,* Butler, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $229,062,184 firm-fixed-price contract for the Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles protection kit. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 7, 2027. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-21-D-0095). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Dairy Brands Fluid LLC,* doing business as Pet Dairy, Charlotte, North Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $22,800,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for fresh milk and dairy. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a three-year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are North Carolina and South Carolina, with an Oct. 7, 2023, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-21-D-V381). Aeronix Inc.,* Melbourne, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $8,516,838 fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for data interface units. 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 two-year base contract with three one-year option periods. Location of performance is Florida, with an Oct. 7, 2022, ordering period end date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE8ES-21-D-0005). * Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2377069/source/GovDelivery/

• 

  July 27, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Chile approved for $634M worth of F-16 upgrades

  By: Aaron Mehta Updated at 6:35 PM EST to include information on the number of planes being upgraded. WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department has cleared Chile to purchase modernization upgrades for its F-16 fleet, with a potential $634 million price tag. Chile currently operates 44 F-16s. That includes 10 Block 50 models purchased in the early 2000s, as well as 36 older models bought second-hand from the Netherlands. Reports that Chile would look to upgrade their existing F-16 fleet first emerged in 2017, but final details had not been made public. Analysts have also speculated that Chile may look to buy a small number of new F-16s to supplement its fleet. The upgrades included in this potential sale include 19 Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS); six inert MK-82 (500LB) general purpose bomb bodies; two MXU-650KB Air Foil Groups (AFG); 44 LN-260 Embedded GPS/INS (EGI) and 49 Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radios (MIDS JTRS). Also included are avionics equipment and software upgrades, new radios, upgraded IFF transponders, secure communications equipment and other parts. The upgrades are expected to go across the 44 plane fleet. “The proposed sale will improve Chile's capability to meet current and future threats by modernizing its F-16 fleet, which will allow Chile to maintain sovereignty and homeland defense, increase interoperability with the United States and other partners, and deter potential adversaries,” per a statement on the website of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Lockheed Martin, which produces the F-16, will be the prime contractor on the deal, should it go through. All DSCA announcements must be cleared by Congress. At that point negotiations begin. Quantities and dollar values often change in the final agreement. Although this is the first FMS case approved for Chile since the start of fiscal 2017, the F-16 has proven to be a reliable sales vehicle for Lockheed abroad, with 14 F-16 related FMS requests cleared by DSCA during this time period. https://www.defensenews.com/global/the-americas/2020/07/23/chile-okd-for-f-16-upgrades/

• 

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

  Coming off a troubled year

  By: Jill Aitoro The strategy for reading tea leaves of the year to come is naturally anchored in the lasting events of the year just passed. So then let us consider 2019. The year was, in many respects, one of messiness. The already tense relationship between Turkey and NATO allies got worse, leading to the decision by the U.S. to kick the country out of the F-35 program. High-profile program struggles plagued some of the largest defense companies in the world. Political turmoil led to leadership shakeups both in the U.S. and across the pond. Instability in the industrial base made advancements in technology by adversaries all the more troubling. But there were also some signs of progress. Modern warfare capabilities — from hypersonics to artificial intelligence — transitioned from a footnote for only some to the everyday vernacular of most. More experimentation emerged in techiques for system development and acquisition. And around the world, countries from various regions grew more earnest in their desires to expand their influence and investment in global defense. What can we predict, then, based upon this, for 2020? Global relations will continue to shift, no longer defined by existing alliances but rather by individual behavior and more self-serving demands. Elections stand to turn the current state of political affairs on its ear, whether it be for better or for worse. And competition will grow more fierce, driven by a shrinking industrial base and the fact that defense companies will need to look beyond the U.S. to find the most sought-after programs with the biggest potential payout. Obviously, there is a lot we don't know. Will NATO flounder or regain its footing? Will election results drive allies closer together or farther apart? Will defense budgets go up or down? And will the increasing use of hybrid tactics reshape both the forces of today and the systems of tomorrow? We asked leaders from around the world to provide their perspective. See what's on their minds here in Outlook 2020. https://www.defensenews.com/outlook/