Israelis To Boost F-35 Fleet’s Electronic Warfare

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  August 27, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

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

  ARMY AECOM International Inc., Neu-Isenburg, Germany (W912GB-19-D-0028); Atkins-UC JV,* Alexandria, Virginia (W912GB-19-D-0029); Exp-Onyx JV LLP, Chicago, Illinois (W912GB-19-D-0030); HDR Engineering Inc., Colorado Springs, Colorado (W912GB-19-D-0031); Jacobs Government Services Co., Arlington, Virginia (W912GB-19-D-0032); Louis Berger U.S. Inc., Washington, District of Columbia (W912GB-19-D-0033); Michael Baker-Cardno JV, Moon Township, Pennsylvania (W912GB-19-D-0034); Parsons Government Services Inc., San Antonio, Texas (W912GB-19-D-0035); and Woolpert-Black & Veatch JV, Beavercreek, Ohio (W912GB-19-D-0036), will compete for each order of the $94,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect, engineering, master planning and design services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 11 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 25, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wiesbaden, Germany, is the contracting activity. QED Systems LLC, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, was awarded a $9,616,948 modification (P00041) 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 Feb. 26, 2020. Fiscal 2019 Foreign Military Sales; and operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $9,616,948 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE UES Inc., Dayton, Ohio, has been awarded a $90,300,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for molecular assessment sensing technologies. This contract provides for basic, applied and advanced technology development research, as well as development and demonstration of discovery of molecular signatures of Airman performance and the operational environment and sensing of these signatures in Air Force relevant scenarios. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be complete by Aug. 31, 2027. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $2,222,857 on three task orders are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-19-D-6109). PAE Aviation and Technical Services LLC, Marlton, New Jersey, has been awarded a $19,156,738 modification to previously awarded contract FA4890-15-C0018 for the Aerial Targets Program. The contract modification provides for the exercise of an option for an additional year of service under the multiple year contract, which directly supports live-fire weapons system testing and enables the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group to perform developmental and operational weapons testing for all air-to-air missiles for the F-15, F-16, F-22, and F-35 aircraft. Work will be performed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida; and Holloman AFB, New Mexico, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds are being used and no funds were obligated at the time of award. The Air Combat Command, Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Sonalysts Inc., Waterford, Connecticut, is being awarded a $14,516,477 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification (P00008) to the previously awarded contract FA8806-19-C-0002 for Standard Space Trainer Mission-Specific Vendor Plug-in (MSVPs) for the Upward Early Warning Radar. The contract modification provides for future development of MSVPs. Work will be performed at Waterford, Connecticut, and is expected to be completed by July 31, 2022. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $7,300,000 are being obligate at time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $35,209,586.00. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, California, is the contracting activity. NAVY Raytheon Co., El Segundo, California, is awarded $74,091,217 for cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee modification P00055 to a previously awarded contract (N00019-16-C-0002). This modification procures pre-operational support for the Next Generation Jammer-Mid Band pod through the completion of the engineering, manufacturing and development (EMD) phase as well as development, test and evaluation (DT&E) activities. Procured support includes organizational-level maintenance, repair, supply chain management, and material support for equipment delivered under the EMD contract, and associated peculiar support equipment/test, measurement, and diagnostic equipment to support DT&E. Work will be performed in Forest, Mississippi (39%); Dallas, Texas (35%); El Segundo, California (16%); Andover, Massachusetts (8%); and Fort Wayne, Indiana (2%), and is expected to be completed in December 2021. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,228,948 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics Missions Systems Inc., McLeansville, North Carolina, is awarded a $44,595,146 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to previously-awarded contract N61331-11-C-0017 for low-rate initial production of the Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (SMCM UUV), also known as Knifefish. The Knifefish program is an ongoing effort to provide a UUV that detects and classifies undersea volume, bottom and buried mines in high-clutter environments. The Knifefish system is part of the Littoral Combat Ship Mine Countermeasures Mission Package and can also be deployed from vessels of opportunity. The low-rate initial production effort will provide the initial systems for the Navy to test and operate. Work will be performed in Quincy, Massachusetts (35%); Taunton, Massachusetts (23%); Braintree, Massachusetts (19%); a location to be determined (15%); McLeansville, North Carolina (6%); Reston, Virginia (1%); and Ann Arbor, Michigan (1%), and is expected to be completed by August 2021. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $44,595,146 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. Physical Optics Corp.,* Torrance, California, is awarded $27,230,891 for modification P00012 to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-17-C-0078) in support of F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft for the Navy and the government of Kuwait. This modification exercises an option for data transfer unit production support, 160 data transfer units, 160 ground data transfer units, 14 maintenance access cables, 600 mission data transfer devices, and 459 maintenance data transfer devices in support of the Navy's F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G program. In addition, this option exercise procures 37 data transfer units, 35 ground data transfer units, 11 maintenance access cables, 122 mission data transfer devices, and 90 maintenance data transfer devices in support of the Kuwait Super Hornet program. Work will be performed in Torrance, California, and is expected to be completed in August 2021. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy); and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Navy ($22,334,109; 82%); and the government of Kuwait ($4,896,782; 18%) under the FMS Program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Airborne Tactical Advantage Co. LLC, Newport News, Virginia, is awarded $13,495,999 for modification P00020 to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursable indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00019-15-D-0026. This modification provides for contractor-owned and operated Type IV supersonic aircraft for airborne threat simulation capabilities in support of the Contracted Air Services Program. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia (44%); Point Mugu, California (37%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (19%), and is expected to be completed in May 2020. No funds will be obligated at time of award, funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Melbourne, Florida, is awarded $9,938,480 for modification 004502 to a previously issued delivery order 0045 placed against a basic ordering agreement (N00019-15-G-0026). This modification procures eight E-2C compatible AN/APX-122A Mode 5/S interrogators for the government of Japan. Work will be performed in Greenlawn, New York (82%); and Melbourne, Florida (18%), and is expected to be completed in September 2023. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of $9,938,480 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY C.E. Niehoff & Co.,* Evanston, Illinois, has been awarded a maximum $11,806,163 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for engine air conditioner generators. 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 five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Illinois, with an Aug. 25, 2024, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-19-D-0152). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/1944232/source/GovDelivery/

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  July 16, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  ‘Gamechanger’ aerial drone arrives in UK after mammoth 24-hour transatlantic flight

  By: Beth Stevenson RAF FAIRFORD, England — General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' developmental MQ−9B SkyGuardian made the first ever transatlantic flight of a medium-altitude, long endurance aerial drone. The unmanned aerial vehicle completed touched down at RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom after a 3,760 nautical mile sortie from the U.S. July 11 that began at the Grand Forks test site in North Dakota 24 hours and 2 minutes prior. The journey was the first transatlantic flight of both the SkyGuardian and any MALE UAV, but also the first U.K. appearance of the UAV that the Royal Air Force will operate under its Protector program. The U.K. is the launch customer for SkyGuardian, and the journey to RAF Fairford to take part in the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) ties in with the RAF's centenary celebrations, as the MQ−9B will be one of the next combat aircraft types delivered to the service. L3 Technologies Communication Systems provided Ku-band satellite communication (SATCOM) to control the UAV throughout the flight with no handover to a control station in the U.K, although Inmarsat Government provided a backup L-band SATCOM capability in case of failure. A line-of-sight ground control station was shipped to Fairford and was responsible for taxiing the aircraft once it had carried out its automatic landing. It flew at approximately 27,000 feet for most of the flight, dropping to 9,000 feet and maintaining a holding pattern near Fairford for some 2 hours ahead of landing, transiting initially via Canada, over to the South of Ireland, and then over Wales before reaching its end destination. Jonny King, vice-president of GA-ASI UK, told a media briefing at Fairford that the transit demonstrates that the UAV is self-deploying, and the journey was relatively routine for the test aircraft — just with a different landing destination. It has previously flown a sortie of more than 48 hours, King noted, and for the transatlantic flight it was able to fly under the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's authorization, with support from the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority that granted an overflight permission for the transit into U.K. airspace. While the U.K. is on record as being the launch customer for the SkyGuardian through its Protector effort, the aircraft is yet to go through certification testing — one of the most distinguishing features of this variant — and will not be delivered to the RAF until the early 2020s. Development and certification contracts for Protector have been signed, but a production contract for the buy is not expected to be signed for some time, the RAF told Defense News. Air Marshal Julian Young, chief of materiel for air, defense equipment and support for the RAF, said that it is expected that Protector will be acquired under two direct commercial sales contracts and two foreign military sales deals with the U.S. government, covering the various elements of development and acquisition. “Protector is one of the most exciting projects I have to deliver,” Young said, adding that it will be a “gamechanger” in its ability to fly alongside manned aircraft under the remit of air traffic control, with the ultimate goal of being able to fly in open airspace alongside uncontrolled aircraft. “This is a key component of the future of the RAF's air power,” he told media at the aircraft landing event. “I hope this is going to set the standard for aviation. The U.K. is very happy to be the lead with this unique capability.” SkyGuardian has been in test flight for some 18 months so far, King said, adding that the second test aircraft – YBCO2 – will join the first aircraft in test flight in the next month or so. In accordance with the U.K.'s 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the RAF will more than double its MALE UAV capability, which is currently fulfilled by a fleet of 10 Block 1 MQ-9 Reapers, so as few as 21 could be acquired, although 26 is a figure that has been previously touted. The RAF has claimed that integrating UK-made weaponry is a priority for the program, so it will operate MBDA's Brimstone ground attack missile and Raytheon UK Paveway IV laser-guided bombs, although contracts for these have also not yet been signed. “Sovereignty is clearly an important issue,” Young told Defense News, adding that while the Reapers that were bought in the same configuration operated by the U.S. Air Force have been a capability that the U.K. has been able to effectively exploit, more sovereignty would have been an advantage. But “this comes at a cost.” He added that the training capability that the U.K. will use is still undecided on, although the U.K. is open to this taking place domestically or with other partners should another nation elect to acquire aircraft. SkyGuardian will be showcased throughout RIAT before being dismantled and shipped back to the U.S. a week later, King noted. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/riat/2018/07/13/gamechangeraerial-drone-arrives-in-uk-after-mammoth-24-hour-transatlantic-flight/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ebb%2016.07.18&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Early%20Bird%20Brief

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  December 16, 2024 | International, C4ISR, Security

  ⚡ THN Weekly Recap: Top Cybersecurity Threats, Tools and Tips

  Silent attacks, new vulnerabilities, and major wins by law enforcement—this week in cybersecurity has been nothing short of intense.