Japan confirms it’s scrapping US missile defense system

On the same subject

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  November 14, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - November 13, 2019

  NAVY BAE Systems, Jacksonville Ship Repair, Jacksonville, Fla. (N40027-17-D-1001); Colonna Shipyards Inc., Norfolk, Virginia (N40027-17-D-1002); East Coast Repair & Fabrication LLC, Norfolk, Virginia (N40027-17-D-1003); Metro Machine Corp., Jacksonville, Fla. (N40027-17-D-1004); North Florida Shipyards, Jacksonville, Fla, (N40027-17-D-1005); and Tecnico Corp., Chesapeake, Va. (N40027-17-D-1006), are each awarded a maximum-value $270,601,012, firm-fixed-price modification to their respective previously-awarded contracts to exercise Option Year Three for the accomplishment of fixed-priced delivery orders for emergent and continuous ship maintenance availabilities for ships homeported in Mayport, Fla. These six companies will have the opportunity to provide offers for individual delivery orders. Work will be performed in Mayport, Fla., and is expected to be completed by November 2020. No funding will be obligated at time of award. The Southeast Regional Maintenance Center, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity. East Coast Repair & Fabrication, Norfolk, Va., is awarded a maximum value $83,087,424 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N40027-19-D-1001 to exercise Option Year One for the accomplishment of fixed priced delivery orders for docking and non-docking Chief of Naval Operations scheduled availabilities. Work will be performed in Mayport, Fla., and is expected to be complete by November 2020. No funding will be obligated at time of modification. East Coast Repair & Fabrication will have the opportunity to compete on individual delivery orders. The Southeast Regional Maintenance Center, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity. BAE Systems, Jacksonville Ship Repair, Jacksonville, Fla. (N00024-17-D-1007); Colonna Shipyards Inc., Norfolk, Va. (N40027-17-D-1008); and Metro Machine Corp, Jacksonville, Fla. (N40027-17-D-1009) are each awarded a maximum value $83,087,424 firm-fixed-price modification to their respective previously awarded contracts to exercise Option Year Two for the accomplishment of fixed priced delivery orders for docking and non-docking Chief of Naval Operations scheduled availabilities. These three companies will have the opportunity to provide offers for individual delivery orders. Work will be performed in Mayport, Fla., and is expected to be completed by November 2020. No funding will be obligated at time of award. The Southeast Regional Maintenance Center, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity. Sedna Digital Solutions LLC,* Manassas, Va., is awarded a $9,340,931 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-18-C-6264 to exercise and fund options for Navy engineering services and required material. Work will be performed in Manassas, Va., and is expected to be completed by December 2020. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); and fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,660,000 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, DC, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics, Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Conn., is awarded a $7,702,536 cost-plus-fixed-fee, level of effort modification to previously awarded contract N00024-15-C-4305 for the operation, maintenance and protection of the floating dry dock Shippingport (ARDM-4). Work will be performed in Groton, Conn., and is expected to be complete by November 2020. Fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,900,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE ManTech International Inc., Fairfax, Va., has been awarded a $32,266,994 modification (P00017) exercising Option Year One to the previously awarded contract FA8819-18-C-1001 for security support. This modification provides for the exercise of an option for the sensitive compartmented information (SCI)- and Special Access Program (SAP)-level security services to the Space and Missile Systems Center and Air Force Space Operational Units. Work will be performed at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.; Vandenberg AFB, Calif.; Peterson AFB, Colo.; Schriever AFB, Colo.; Buckley AFB, Colo.; and Kirtland AFB, N.M., and is expected to be complete by Nov. 16, 2020. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and three offers were received. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $374,000,000. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 research and development funds in the amount of $3,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Special Programs Directorate, Los Angeles AFB, Calif., is the contracting activity. ARMY L3 Fuzing and Ordnance Systems, Cincinnati, Ohio, was awarded a $15,899,762 modification (P00003) to contract W15QKN-19-C-0040 to procure a total of 53,237 Melody II application-specific integrated circuit chips. Work will be performed in Cincinnati, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2021. Fiscal 2020 procurement of ammunition, Army funds in the amount of $15,899,762 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, N.J., is the contracting activity. *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2015992/source/GovDelivery/

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  October 2, 2020 | International, C4ISR

  Future Defense Task Force: Scrap obsolete weapons and boost AI

  Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― A bipartisan congressional panel is recommending that the Pentagon must “identify, replace, and retire costly and ineffective legacy weapons platforms,” and prioritize artificial intelligence, supply chain resiliency and cyberwarfare in order to compete with China and Russia. The House's Future of Defense Task Force's 87-page report issued Tuesday echoed the accepted wisdom that the Pentagon must expand investments in modern technologies and streamline its cumbersome acquisition practices or risk losing its technological edge against competitors. The task force is co-chaired by House Armed Services Committee members Reps. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., and Jim Banks, R-Ind., who both signaled they'll champion elements of the report in future defense authorization legislation. While lawmakers are broadly in favor, efforts to retire specific platforms often meet resistance on Capitol Hill. On weapons systems, the task force offered some practical steps to this end. Congress, it said, should commission the RAND Corporation, or similar entity, and the Government Accountability Office to study legacy platforms within the Defense Department and determine their relevance and resiliency to emerging threats over the next 50 years. Then a panel should be convened, comprising Congress, the Department of Defense, and representatives from the industrial base, to make recommendations on which platforms should be retired, replaced or recapitalized, the report reads. Investments in science and technology research need to be prioritized nationally, and at the Pentagon level such investments should meet 3.4 percent of the overall defense budget, as recommended by the Defense Science Board. Funding ought to be expanded at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, national and defense research laboratories and partnering universities, the report says. The report recommended that each of the military services ought to spend at least one percent of their overall budgets on the integration of new technologies. The Pentagon must, the report says, scale up efforts to leverage private sector innovation, which is leading the government. The report calls for a tenfold increase in spending for Defense Innovation Unit, AFWERX, Army Futures Command and others ― and more collaborative opportunities like Hacking for Defense. The report calls for a Manhattan Project for artificial intelligence, saying DoD must go further than its increased investment in AI and Joint Artificial Intelligence Center to assist with the transition and deployment of AI capabilities. “Using the Manhattan Project as a model, the United States must undertake and win the artificial intelligence race by leading in the invention and deployment of AI while establishing the standards for its public and private use,” the report's authors wrote. (The Manhattan project is the U.S.-led World War II-era research and development effort that produced the first nuclear weapons.) The report calls for every major defense acquisition program to evaluate at least one AI or autonomous alternative prior to funding. Plus, all new major weapons purchases ought to be “AI-ready and nest with existing and planned joint all-domain command and control networks,” it says. Warning the country's supply chain is one of its “greatest national security and economic vulnerabilities,” the report calls for a national supply chain intelligence center under the Office of Director of National Intelligence and the elimination of single points of failure within DoD's supply chain. The task force, launched last October, includes several lawmakers with practical national security experience: Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., a former Air Force officer who studied technology and policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; as well as Reps. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Michael Waltz, R-Fla., who have served in senior Pentagon policy jobs. HASC members Reps. Susan Davis, D-Calif., Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., and Paul Mitchell, R-Mich., also served on the task force. In a statement, Moulton said the bipartisan plan could be used, no matter the outcome of the Nov. 3 presidential and congressional elections. “America needs a plan to confront the dual threats of Russia's aggression and China's rise. This is it,” he said. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/09/29/future-defense-task-force-scrap-obsolete-weapons-and-boost-ai/

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

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - August 22, 2019

  NAVY Diversified Maintenance Systems Inc.,* Sandy, Utah, is awarded a maximum amount $90,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for other specialty trade contractors construction alterations, renovations and repair projects at Naval Bases Coronado, Point Loma, and San Diego, and Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar. 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 electrical, mechanical, painting, engineering/design, paving (asphaltic and concrete), flooring (tile work/carpeting), roofing, structural repair, fencing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, and fire suppression/protection system installation projects. Work will be performed in San Diego, California. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of August 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 18 proposals received. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N62473-19-D-2626). General Dynamics Mission Systems, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is awarded a $64,838,526 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for the Strategic Weapon System Fire Control Subsystem hardware, associated deliverables, and spares for production efforts supporting the second hull of the United Kingdom (U.K.) Dreadnought Class ballistic missile submarines, nuclear, recently named as HMS Valiant, and the U.K. Software Facility. Work will be performed in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed Aug. 22, 2025. United Kingdom funds in the amount of $7,570,000 will be obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is being awarded on a sole-source basis to General Dynamics Mission Systems in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(4) and was previously synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunity website. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Butt Construction Co. Inc.,* Dayton, Ohio (N69450-19-D-0517); CORE Engineering & Construction Inc.,* Winter Park, Florida (N69450-19-D-0514); Healtheon Inc.,* New Orleans, Louisiana (N69450-19-D-0515); OAC Action Construction Corp.,* Miami, Florida (N69450-19-D-0518); Optimum Construction,* Lafayette, Louisiana (N69450-19-D-0516); and Signature Renovations LLC,* Loretto, Tennessee (N69450-19-D-0513), are each awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award design-bid-build construction contract for construction projects located within the Naval Support Activity (NSA) Mid-South area of responsibility. The maximum dollar value for the five-year ordering period for all six contracts combined is $45,000,000. The work to be performed provides for, but is not limited to, general building type projects (new construction, renovations, alterations, demolition, roofing, repair work), including industrial infrastructure, administrative, training, dormitory and community support facilities. Signature Renovations LLC is awarded the initial task order at $234,859 for Building 789, chiller equipment upgrades, located at NSA Mid-South, Millington, Tennessee. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by February 2020. All work on this contract will be performed in Tennessee. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of August 2024. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance Navy (O&M, N) contract funds in the amount of $239,859 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be funded by O&M, N. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 19 proposals received. These six contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity. Rockwell Collins Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is awarded a $44,454,546 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for UHF/VHF standard rack mounted receiver/transmitter radios and accessories to replace out-of-date, non-upgradable radios currently deployed at tactical training ranges worldwide in support of the Systems Replacement and Modernization Program. Work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is expected to be completed by August 2024. Fiscal 2019 working capital funds (Navy); and fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $2,689,585 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division, Corona, California, is the contracting activity (N64267-19-D-0006). BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services Inc., Rockville, Maryland, is awarded a $34,872,647 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides for up to 505,560 man-hours of technical, engineering, operations and maintenance support for communication-electronic equipment/systems and subsystems. These services are in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division's Special Communications Mission Solutions Division. Work will be performed at various locations outside the continental U.S. (90%); and California, Maryland (10%), and is expected to be completed in August 2024. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals; two offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00421-19-D-0077). Raytheon Co., Intelligence, Information and Services, Indianapolis, Indiana, is awarded a $29,919,648 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N00421-19-F-0531) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-15-G-0003). This order provides for the procurement of V-22 Software Support Activity (SSA) systems and software engineering, avionics integration and testing, software testing, avionics acquisition support, and SSA operations to include classified and unclassified laboratories, configuration and data management, and release of avionics software products and related systems. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is expected to be completed in December 2021. Fiscal 2017 and 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy); fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Air Force); fiscal 2018 and 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); and fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Air Force and Defense Wide) funds in the amount of $29,919,648 will be obligated at time of award, $13,464,417 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This order combines purchases for the Navy ($17,456,960; 58%); the Air Force ($10,847,531; 36%); and the Department of Defense ($1,615,157; 6%). The Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded $23,664,866 for modification P00017 to previously issued order 0025 placed against basic ordering agreement N00019-16-G-0001. This modification exercises an option for engineering, logistics, and program management of F/A-18A-D, E/F, and EA-18G aircraft in support of reducing fleet out of reporting rates and maintenance planning. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri, and is expected to be completed in September 2020. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,822,000 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. I.E.-Pacific Inc.,* Escondido, California, is awarded $13,231,000 for firm-fixed-price task order N62473-19-F-5136 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62473-17-D-4628) for construction of a supply warehouse and administrative facility at Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton. The work to be performed provides for construction of a new supply warehouse facility with administrative spaces that will consolidate all supply and administrative support functions for the School of Infantry, West, into one building. In addition, the project will construct an outdoor covered training structure to support and conduct training of personnel for assembly and equipment issuance. The task order also contains one planned modification, which, if awarded, would increase cumulative task order value to $13,332,316. Work will be performed in Oceanside, California, and is expected to be completed by August 2021. Fiscal 2019 military construction (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $13,231,000 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Four proposals were received for this task order. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Barnhart-Reese Construction Inc.,* San Diego, California, is awarded $11,456,209 for firm-fixed-price task order N62473-19-F-5115 under a previously awarded multiple award contract (N62473-17-D-4635) for construction of a satellite fire emergency response station in Area 27 of Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton. The building square footage should not exceed 15,285 square feet. The fire station is anticipated as a single-story building constructed with concrete masonry unit exterior bearing walls, concrete slabs, foundations and a steel frame supported standing seam metal roof. The complex will include administrative spaces, living quarters, changing areas, showers, laundry rooms, training facilities, storage spaces, a fitness room, kitchen/dining/day room facilities, a covered patio, bathrooms, maintenance areas, storage areas and vehicle apparatus bays. The task order also contains one planned modification, which, if awarded, would increase cumulative task order value to $11,490,362. Work will be performed at Camp Pendleton, California, and is expected to be completed by June 2021. Fiscal 2019 military construction (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $11,456,209 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Four proposals were received for this task order. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Insight Pacific LLC,* Brea, California, is awarded $8,577,620 for firm-fixed-price task order N62478-19-F-4209 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62478-18-D-4026) for repair and maintenance of pumps at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The work on Main Pumps 3 and 4 at Dry Dock 4 includes disassembly, removal, main pump overhaul, motor cleaning/repair rewind and reinstallation. The work will also include the repair/replacement of the pump thrust bearings, shaft, shaft couplings and sleeves, bearing supports, piping, baffle plates, hydraulic blade angle systems and controls, oil head and the complete removal and reinstallation of the existing pump impellers. Work will be performed in Oahu, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by March 2021. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $8,577,620 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Four proposals were received for this task order. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Hawaii, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Co., Tucson, Arizona, is awarded $7,229,582 for cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order N00019-19-F-4153 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-15-G-0003) in support of the Maritime Strike Tomahawk (MST) Rapid Deployment Capability. This delivery order provides for an updated technical data package of the guidance test set, upgrade of existing units to support the MST upgrades, including hardware, software. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (85.2%); Logan, Utah (14%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (0.8%), and is expected to be completed in July 2021. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,229,582 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 Phoenix Textile Corp., O'Fallon, Missouri, has been awarded a maximum $42,261,856 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for medical surgical products. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a one-year base contract with nine one-year option periods. Location of performance is Missouri, with an Aug. 24, 2020, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 warstopper funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D0-19-D-0006). CORRECTION: The contract announced on Aug. 15, 2019, for Sysco Alabama, Calera, Alabama (SPE300-19-D-3234), for $37,893,960, was announced with an incorrect award date. The correct award date is Aug. 20, 2019. DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY The University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, California, was awarded a $19,843,137 cost-no-fee contract for a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency research project. Work will be performed in Marina del Rey, California; Arlington, Virginia; and Columbia, Maryland, with an expected completion date of August 2023. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funding in the amount of $2,905,000 are being obligated at time of award. This contract was a competitive acquisition under a broad agency announcement and nine offers were received. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR0011-19-C-0084). ARMY Weeks Marine Inc., Covington, Louisiana, was awarded an $8,385,050 firm-fixed-price contract for furnishing one fully crewed and equipped hydraulic pipeline cutterhead dredge. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in Lafourche, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 7, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Recovery Act, civil funds in the amount of $8,385,050 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, Louisiana, is the contracting activity (W912P8-19-C-0061). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/1941859/source/GovDelivery/