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January 3, 2019 | International, Aerospace

Le Pentagone passe des contrats pour près d’un milliard de dollars pour les futurs F-35

Le groupe américain Lockheed Martin a obtenu un contrat de plus de 721 millions de dollars pour le développement des futurs avions de combat F-35 Lightning II, le type de chasseur choisi par la Belgique pour remplacer ses F-16 à partir de 2023, a annoncé le Pentagone.

Cet avenant à un contrat antérieur doit permettre à Lockheed de développer et de tester ce que le Pentagone qualifie de «Technology Refresh 3 (TR3) System» pour les avions du lot de production (LRIP) 15, des avions à commander en 2021 pour des livraisons prévues en 2023.

Le nouveau contrat porte sur un montant de 712,482 millions de dollars.

Les travaux concernés par ce contrat seront effectués à Fort Worth (Texas), qui abrite la principale ligne de production du F-35, un chasseur furtif de 5ème génération, et devraient être terminés en mars 2023, a précisé le Pentagone dans un communiqué daté du 27 décembre.

Le lendemain, le ministère américain de la Défense a annoncé l'attribution d'un contrat de 230,145 millions de dollars au motoriste Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, filiale de United Technologies Corp., pour les tests des moteurs F-135 qui propulseront le F-35 dans sa version Block 4 et destinés à l'US Air Force, à l'US Navy, au corps des Marines et aux clients étrangers.

https://www.sudinfo.be/id93860/article/2019-01-02/le-pentagone-passe-des-contrats-pour-pres-dun-milliard-de-dollars-pour-les

On the same subject

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - January 31, 2020

    February 3, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - January 31, 2020

    NAVY Lockheed Martin Corp., Owego, New York, is awarded $2,338,000,000 for a firm-fixed-price, performance-based logistics requirements contract for the repair, upgrade or replacement, required availability, configuration management and inventory management for approximately 1,049 weapon replaceable assemblies and shop replaceable assemblies associated with both the MH-60R and MH-60S helicopters. Work will be performed in various contractor supplier locations throughout the U.S. (48%) of which one percent of the supplier work will be performed by five organic depots via commercial service agreements; Stratford, Connecticut (38%); and Owego, New York (14%). This contract includes a five-year base period with one two-year option period. Work is expected to be completed by January 2025; if the option is exercised, work will be completed by January 2027. Annual working capital funds (Navy) for $182,462,250 will be issued for delivery order (N00383-20-F-0W00) that will be awarded concurrently with the contract and will initially be obligated at the time of award as an undefinitized contract action with a commitment of an additional $60,820,750 for period of performance through September 2020. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One company was solicited for this sole-source requirement under authority 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1) and Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1, with one offer received. Naval Supply Systems Command, Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00383-20-D-W001). APTIM-Harper Construction JV, LLC, Alexandria, Virginia (N62478-20-D-4001); B.L. Harbert International LLC, Birmingham, Alabama (N62478-20-D-4002); Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Honolulu, Hawaii (N62478-20-D-4003); Kiewit Infrastructure West Co., Honolulu, Hawaii (N62478-20-D-4004); Mortenson Construction, Minneapolis, Minnesota (N62478-20-D-4005); RQ-ABSHER JV, Carlsbad, California (N62478-20-D-4006); Stronghold Engineering Inc., Riverside, California (N62478-20-D-4007) are each being awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award design-build/design-bid-build construction contract for construction projects located primarily within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Hawaii area of operations (AO). The maximum dollar value including the base period and four option years for all seven contracts combined is $990,000,000. No task orders are being issued at this time. The work to be performed provides for, but is not limited to, labor, supervision, tools, materials and equipment necessary to perform new construction, repair, alteration and related demolition of existing infrastructure based on design-build, or design-bid-build (full plans and specifications) for infrastructure within the state of Hawaii. Work will be performed within the NAVFAC Hawaii AO. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of January 2025. Operations and maintenance, Navy (O&M, N) funds for $175,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by O&M, N and Navy working capital funds. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with 12 proposals received. These seven contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. NAVFAC Hawaii, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Space, Titusville, Florida, is awarded a $473,832,955 cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00030-20-C-0101) for TRIDENT II (D5) Life Extension 2 Strategic Systems Programs Alteration Advanced Development Program efforts. Work will be performed in Denver, Colorado (78.7%); Sunnyvale, California (5.6%); Beltsville, Maryland (1.9%); Titusville, Florida (1.5%); Cape Canaveral, Florida (1.3%); Palo Alto, California (1.3%); Folsom, California (1.1%); and other various locations (less than 1% each, 8.6% total). Work is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2026. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds for $2,800,000 are being obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is being awarded to the contractor on a sole source basis under 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) and was previously synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities website. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Owego, New York, is awarded a $185,874,486 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-reimbursable indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides program management, various levels of maintenance, training and logistics support to sustain the operational capability of 24 Royal Australian Navy MH-60 Romeo aircraft. Work will be performed at Yerriyong, Australia (79%); Owego, New York (18%); Edinburgh, Australia (1%); Stratford, Connecticut (1%) and Orlando, Florida (1%), and is expected to be completed in January 2024. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation 206.302-4. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-20-D-0001). Phoenix International Holdings Inc., Largo, Maryland, is awarded a $97,000,000 (maximum value) cost-plus-award-fee and fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract for diving and diving related services. The primary purpose of this contract is to provide the necessary engineering and technical support to provide operational and non-operational support to the Navy's air, mixed gas and saturation diving services program to support the office of the Supervisor of Salvage and Diving, Director of Ocean Engineering. Work will be performed worldwide based on each individual task order, and is expected to be completed by January 2027, with no new orders being placed after January 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding for $45,000 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Kay and Associates Inc., Buffalo Grove, Illinois, is awarded a $67,314,436 modification (P00009) to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00421-17-C-0044) to exercise an option for maintenance and support services for F/A-18 C/D and associated equipment in support of the government of Kuwait. Work will be performed in Kuwait, and is expected to be completed in January 2022. Foreign military sales funds for $47,657,218 are being obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, is awarded a $51,706,014 firm-fixed-price modification to a previously-awarded contract (N00024-14-C-5114) for the production and delivery of four SPY-1 low noise amplifier (LNA) radar arrays. The contract provides upgraded SPY-1 LNA phased arrays that will enhance in service ballistic missile defense-capable destroyers. These radar arrays will be used as a continuing effort to facilitate AEGIS Baseline 5.4.1 (BMD 4.2) to the AEGIS fleet. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey (80%), and Clearwater, Florida (20%), and is expected to be completed by March 2022. Fiscal 2020 Defense-wide procurement funding for $51,706,014 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. Huntington Ingalls Inc., Ingalls Shipbuilding Division, Pascagoula, Mississippi, is awarded a $44,707,851 cost-plus-fixed fee modification to a previously awarded contract N00024-16-C-2415 to exercise options for life cycle engineering and support for the LPD-17 class Amphibious Transport Dock Ship program. This contract modification is for the exercise of options for post-delivery planning and engineering, homeport technical support, Class Integrated Product Data Environment, data maintenance and equipment management, systems integration and engineering support, LPD 17 class design services, research engineering, obsolescence management, class material readiness, emergent repair provision, training and logistics support, ship alteration development and installation, material management, operating cycle integration, availability planning and configuration data management. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi (96%); Norfolk, Virginia (1%); San Diego, California (1%); Mayport, Florida (1%); and Sasebo, Japan (1%); and is expected to be completed by December 2020. Fiscal 2016 and 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy/SCN) and fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy/OPN) funds in the amount of $9,474,186 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Fiscal 2019 research and development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) funds for $5,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Funding: fiscal 2016 SCN (53.6%), fiscal 2020 OPN (25.2%), fiscal 2017 SCN (21.1%), and fiscal 2019 RDT&E (0.1%). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. EA Engineering, Science, and Technology Inc.,* Hunt Valley, Maryland, is awarded a maximum amount $36,791,892 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for long-term monitoring, operations and maintenance environmental remediation services for facilities in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Northwest (NW) area of operation. The work to be performed includes a full-range of environmental services for Navy installations throughout the Navy Region NW area of operations and includes pre-priced line items in accordance with the statement of work, as well as, non-pre-priced work to be negotiated on a task order basis. Work on this contract will be performed at various installations including but not limited to Washington (78 %), Alaska (18%), Idaho (1%), Montana (1%), Oregon (1%), and Wyoming (1%). The term of the base contract is not to exceed 66 months with an expected completion date of July 31, 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Navy contract funds for $10,000 (the minimum guarantee) are obligated for task order number one and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with five proposals received. NAVFAC NW, Silverdale, Washington, is the contracting activity (N44255-20-D-6006). Haskell, Jacksonville, Florida, is awarded a $25,630,550 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of welding and body shop facility at Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany. The work to be performed will construct a single-story steel frame welding and light/heavy body shops facility to include concrete foundation, insulated exterior steel panels with brick veneer and standing seam metal roof. The project will provide high bay areas to support heavy vehicle and equipment loads and exterior staging areas. The building interior will be painted concrete masonry unit (CMU) walls with hollow metal insulated and glazed doors, aluminum frame windows, resinous epoxy flooring in restrooms and administrative areas and finished concrete flooring and CMU walls with industrial finishes in shop and high by areas and roll-up doors. The administrative area, break room, information technology room, restroom and locker rooms will be air-conditioned. This project will provide anti-terrorism/force protection (AT/FP) features and comply with AT/FP regulations and physical security mitigation in accordance with Department of Defense (DoD) Minimum AT Standards for Buildings. User generated unit costs were used for this project and include the cost of features to meet the minimum DoD AT/FP standards. Work will be performed in Albany, Georgia, and is expected to be completed by April 2022. Fiscal 2019 military construction, (Navy) contract funds for $25,630,550 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with three proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-20-C-8504). Rockwell Collins Simulation and Training Solutions, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is awarded a $20,337,451 modification (P00016) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N61340-17-C-0014). This modification procures updates to the Delta Software System Configuration #3 software baseline to include the visual system and cyber security on tactics and flight trainer devices. Additionally, this modification provides technology refresh and aircraft concurrency updates on tactics devices, aircraft concurrency and aerial refueling updates on the flight devices, tactics and flight device training and associated technical data in support of the E-2D Hawkeye Integrated Training System. Work will be performed in Point Mugu, California, and is expected to be completed in June 2022. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,016,274; fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $13,061,234 and fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,259,943 will be obligated at time of award, $2,016,274 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity. Coastal Enterprises of Jacksonville Inc., Jacksonville, North Carolina, is awarded a $10,168,933 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for custodial services at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. The work to be performed provides for various custodial services including but not limited to emptying trash cans, sweeping, dusting, mopping and cleaning restrooms for various buildings throughout the base. The maximum dollar value including the base period and four option years is $10,168,933. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and is expected to be completed by January 2025. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, (Navy) contract funds for $1,755,820 for recurring work will be obligated on individual task orders issued during the base period. This contract was procured via AbilityOne in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 8.603. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-20-D-4001). Chemring Energetic Devices, Downers Grove, Illinois, is awarded a $7,196,463 firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00174-17-D-0009 to exercise option-ordering period for development, product improvement and prototyping support. Pacific Scientific Energetic Materials Co. will provide engineering, technical, administrative and programmatic management support for total Life Cycle Management of the various aircrew escape systems managed under the Joint Program Office for Cartridge Actuated Device/Propellant Actuated Device Tri-Service Charter. Work will be performed in Downers Grove, Illinois, and is expected to be completed by January 2021. No contract funds are being obligated at the time of this action. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division, Indian Head, Maryland, is the contracting activity. EaglePicher Technologies, Joplin, Missouri, is awarded a $7,161,581 firm-fixed price modification to a previously awarded, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00174-17-D-0012 to exercise option-ordering period for development, product improvement and prototyping support. Pacific Scientific Energetic Materials Co. will provide engineering, technical, administrative and programmatic management support for total Life Cycle Management of the various aircrew escape systems managed under the Joint Program Office for Cartridge Actuated Device/Propellant Actuated Device Tri-Service Charter. Work will be performed in Joplin, Missouri, and is expected to be completed by January 2021. No additional funds are being obligated at the time of this action. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division, Indian Head, Maryland, is the contracting activity. CH2M HILL Inc. Englewood, Colorado, is awarded a $2,920,835 cost-plus-award-fee modification that will increase the maximum dollar value of an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity task order to complete a preliminary assessment (PA) and site investigation (SI) assessing the extent of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances concentration in groundwater and soil at various Naval facilities. The work to be performed provides for additional tasks related to addressing the PA and SI to meet the requirements of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act sections 104 and 121; Executive Order 12580; and the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan. The PAs and SIs include the main installations, fence-line to fence-line and all other areas historically owned by the Navy associated with these installations. After award of this modification, the total cumulative task order value will be $7,990,707. Work will be performed in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Northwest (NW) area of operations, including but not limited to, Washington state (84%) and Alaska (16%), and is expected to be completed by December 2021. Fiscal 2020 environmental restoration, (Navy) contract funds for $2,920,835 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. NAVFAC NW, Silverdale, Washington, is the contracting activity (N62470-16-D-9000). ARMY iina' ba' Inc., Farmington, New Mexico, was awarded a $240,000,000 contract and task order for professional land survey services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 12 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 30, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock, Arkansas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-20-D-6007 and W9126G-20-D-6008). Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co. Inc., Arlington, Virginia, was awarded a $40,000,000 contract for military projects for the Baltimore District and within the North Atlantic Division area of responsibility. Bids were solicited via the internet with 26 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 30, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W912DR-20-D-0002). AECOM Technical Services Inc., Arlington, Virginia, was awarded a $40,000,000 contract for military projects for the Baltimore District and within the North Atlantic Division area of responsibility. Bids were solicited via the internet with 26 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 30, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore Maryland, is the contracting activity (W912DR-20-D-0001). Stantec Consulting Services Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina, was awarded a $40,000,000 contract for military projects for the Baltimore District and within the North Atlantic Division area of responsibility. Bids were solicited via the internet with 26 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 30, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W912DR-20-D-0005). GF-D Design Partners JV, Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded a $40,000,000 contract for military projects for the Baltimore District and within the North Atlantic Division area of responsibility. Bids were solicited via the internet with 26 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 30, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W912DR-20-D-0003). HDR Engineering Inc., Washington, District of Columbia, was awarded a $40,000,000 contract for military projects for the Baltimore District and within the North Atlantic Division area of responsibility. Bids were solicited via the internet with 26 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 30, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W912DR-20-D-0004) Whitman, Requardt and Associates LLP, Baltimore, Maryland, was awarded a $40,000,000 contract for military projects for the Baltimore District and within the North Atlantic Division area of responsibility. Bids were solicited via the internet with 26 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 30, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W912DR-20-D-0006) DynCorp International LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $30,179,883 modification (P00025) to contract W58RGZ-16-C-0016 for maintenance support services for the government of Saudi Arabia's Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation Command Aviation Program. Work will be performed in Saudi Arabia with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount $30,179,883 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Facility Services Management Inc., Clarksville, Tennessee, was awarded a $14,262,848 modification (P00010) to contract W9124A-19-C-0002 to plan, manage and perform operations and maintenance for the Directorate of Public Works at Fort Huachuca. Work will be performed at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2024. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $14,262,848 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Jacobs Technology Inc., Tullahoma, Tennessee, has been awarded a $225,155,326 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Rocket and Propulsion Technology Research. This contract provides on-site research and development to the Air Force Research Laboratory across a wide spectrum of propulsion-related areas. Work will be performed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and is expected to be complete by Jan. 31, 2028. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and with two offers received. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 research, development, test and engineering funds in the amount of $197,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA9300-20-F-9801). Dynetics, Huntsville, Alabama, has been awarded a $92,999,625 basic, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Test Systems and Equipment Capabilities (TSEC) support and $30,934,550 delivery order for the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF) Radio Frequency (RF) Modernization Design. The contract provides for the specific needs to include: Hardware-in-the-loop simulators for the GWEF RF Modernization and AFRL Kinetic Kill Vehicle Hardware in the Loop Simulator system upgrades; joint multi-platform advanced combat identification development; calibration sets integration, and software updates; Air Defense Artillery Phased Technology Digital Command Link, and immediate need technologies to support Department of Defense (DoD) ranges. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama and other DoD locations. The contract has a five year ordering period with work expected to be completed by Jan. 2025. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $2,500,000 are being obligated at the time of award via incremental funding. The Air Force Test Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA2487-20-D-0071; first delivery order FA2487-20-F-0072). Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Indiana, has been awarded $62,973,620 delivery order modification (P00001) to previously awarded contract FA8504-17-D-0002 for C-130J Propulsion Long Term Sustainment. This order provides funding for option 3 and Power By The Hour Flying Hours. The work is expected to be completed Feb. 1, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $62,973,620 are being obligated at the time of award. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $62,973,620. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity. Valdez International Corp., Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been awarded a firm-fixed-price contract in the amount of $38,102,027 for support services to operate, sustain and assure the availability of Air Force Information Network (AFIN) to enable war-fighter mission execution. Work will be performed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia; Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado; Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; and Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition, with 11 proposals received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $38,102,027 are being obligated at the time of the award. The 38th Cyberspace Engineering Installation Group, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (FA8773-17-C-0002). Ultra Electronics Advanced Tactical, Austin, Texas, has been awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity type, firm‐fixed-price contract for the Link-16 Alaska (LAK) program with a ceiling of $30,750,000. This contract provides contractor logistics support (CLS) services. Work will be performed in Austin, Texas, effective June 22, 2020, and is expected to be completed by March 21, 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $100,000 are being obligated at the time of award of the first order. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contract activity (FA8574‐20-D-0001). Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, has been awarded a $23,512,260 firm-fixed-price contract modification (P00070) to previously awarded contract FA8615-12-C-6016 for F-16 retrofit. This modification provides for the unclassified purchase of an additional quantity of ten Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar Spares Units being acquired under the basic contract. This contracting action is the result of a long term agreement reached between Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. and Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. Work is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2022. The entire acquisition is fully funded by a Taiwan Foreign Military Sales appropriation in the amount of $23,512,260 obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value if the contract is $2,595,704,750. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics Information Technology, Falls Church, Virginia, has been awarded a $15,191,692 firm-fixed-price contract modification (P00003) to previously awarded task order FA4890-19-F-A022 issued under GSA Alliant 2 Unrestricted Government-Wide. The contract modification provides for the exercise of option year one – period of performance Feb. 1, 2020, to Jan. 31, 2021, for services being provided under the basic task order. Work will be performed at Langley Air Force Base and Beale Air Force Base, but could expand to Ft. Smith, Arkansas; Republic of Korea; McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas; Birmingham, Alabama; Otis Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts.; Reno, Nevada; Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; Terra Haute, Indiana; Ramstein Air Base, Germany; and Ogden, Utah. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $15,191,692 are being obligated at the time of award. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $217,425,053. Headquarters Air Combat Command, Acquisition Management & Integration Center, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Akima Logistics Services LLC, Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded a $6,923,402 firm-fixed-price option indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for full contractor logistics support of 58 United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) aircraft. Work will be performed at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, and USAFA auxiliary airfield and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2021. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (FA8106-19-F-8002). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., North Wales, Pennsylvania, has been awarded an estimated $189,694,350 firm-fixed-price requirements contract for the supply of Adenovirus Vaccine Type 4 and Type 7. This is 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 five one-year options periods. Location of performance is Pennsylvania, with a Dec. 31, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are military recruitment centers throughout the U.S. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DP-20-D-0002). Honeywell International Inc., Tucson, Arizona, has been awarded a $22,417,763 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for 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 Arizona, with a Feb. 1, 2025, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-20-D-0043). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2071889/source/GovDelivery/

  • No AI For Nuclear Command & Control: JAIC’s Shanahan

    September 26, 2019 | International, C4ISR

    No AI For Nuclear Command & Control: JAIC’s Shanahan

    By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR. GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: “You will find no stronger proponent of integration of AI capabilities writ large into the Department of Defense,” Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan said here, “but there is one area where I pause, and it has to do with nuclear command and control.” In movies like WarGames and Terminator, nuclear launch controls are the first thing fictional generals hand over to AI. In real life, the director of the Pentagon's Joint Artificial Intelligence Center says, that's the last thing he would integrate AI with. The military is beginning a massive multi-billion dollar modernization of its aging system for Nuclear Command, Control, & Communications (NC3), much of which dates to the Cold War. But the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center is not involved with it. A recent article on the iconoclastic website War on the Rocks argued “America Needs A ‘Dead Hand',” a reference to the Soviet system designed to automatically order a nuclear launch if the human leadership was wiped out. “I read that,” Shanahan told the Kalaris Intelligence Conference here this afternoon. “My immediate answer is ‘No. We do not.'” Instead, the JAIC is very deliberately starting with relatively low-risk, non-lethal projects — predicting breakdowns in helicopter engines and mapping natural disasters — before moving on to combat-related functions such as intelligence analysis and targeting next year. On the Pentagon's timeline, AI will be coming to command posts before it is embedded in actual weapons, and even then the final decision to use lethal force will always remain in human hands. The standard term in the Pentagon now for human involvement with AI and weapons now is “human on the loop,” a shift from human IN the loop. That reflects greater stress on the advisory function of humans with AI and a recognition that domains like cyber require almost instantaneous responses that can't wait for a human. Hawkish skeptics say slowing down to ask human permission could cripple US robots against their less-restrained Russian or Chinese counterparts. Dovish skeptics say this kind of human control would be too easily bypassed. Shanahan does see a role for AI in applying lethal force once that human decision is made. “I'm not going to go straight to ‘lethal autonomous weapons systems,'” he said, “but I do want to say we will use artificial intelligence in our weapons systems... to give us a competitive advantage. It's to save lives and help deter war from happening in the first place.” The term “lethal autonomous weapons systems” was popularized by the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, which seeks a global ban on all AI weapons. Shanahan made clear his discomfort with formal arms control measures, as opposed to policies and international norms, which don't bind the US in the same way. “I'll be honest with you,” Shanahan said. “I don't like the term, and I do not use the term, ‘arms control' when it comes to AI. I think that's unhelpful when it comes to artificial intelligence: It's largely a commercial technology,” albeit with military applications. “I'm much more interested, at least as a starting point, in international rules and norms and behavior,” he continued. (Aside from the space is governed almost exclusively “It's extremely important to have those discussions.” “This is the ultimate human decision that needs to be made....nuclear command and control,” he said. “We have to be very careful. Knowing ...the immaturity of technology today, give us a lot of time to test and evaluate.” “Can we use artificial intelligence to make better decisions, to make more informed judgments about what might be happening, to reduce the potential for civilian casualties or collateral damage?” Shanahan said. “I'm an optimist. I believe you can. It will not eliminate it, never. It's war; bad things are going to happen.” While Shanahan has no illusions about AI enabling some kind of cleanly surgical future conflict, he doesn't expect a robo-dystopia, either. “The hype is a little dangerous, because it's uninformed most of the time, and sometimes it's a Hollywood-driven killer robots/Terminator/SkyNet worst case scenario,” he said. “I don't see that worst case scenario any time in my immediate future.” “I'm very comfortable saying our approach — even though it is emerging technology, even though it unfolds very quickly before our eyes — it will still be done in a deliberate and rigorous way so we know what we get when we field it,” Shanahan said. “As the JAIC director, I'm focused on really getting to the fielding,” he said, moving AI out of the lab into the real world — but one step at a time. “We're always going to start with limited narrow use cases. Say, can we take some AI capability and put it in a small quadcopter drone that will make it easier to clear out a cave, [and] really prove that it works before we ever get it to a [large] scale production.” “We will have a very clear understanding of what it can do and what it can't do,” he said. “That will be through experimentation, that will be through modeling and simulation, and that will be in wargames. We've done that with every piece of technology we've ever used, and I don't expect this to be any different.” The JAIC is even looking to hire an in-house ethicist of sorts, a position Shanahan has mentioned earlier but sought to clarify today. “It'll be someone who's a technical standards [expert] / ethicist,” he said. “As we develop the models and algorithms... they can look at that make sure the process is abiding by our rules of the road.” “I'm also interested in, down the road, getting some help from the outside on sort of those deeper philosophical questions,” he continued. “I don't focus on them day to day, because of my charter to field now, but it's clear we have to be careful about this.” “I do not see that same approach in Russia or China,” Shanahan said. “What sets us apart is... our focus on real rigor in test and evaluation, validation and verification, before we field capability that could have lives at stake.” https://breakingdefense.com/2019/09/no-ai-for-nuclear-command-control-jaics-shanahan

  • Le futur avion de combat européen franchit une étape décisive

    February 13, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    Le futur avion de combat européen franchit une étape décisive

    Les députés allemands ont validé, ce mercredi 12 février, le décollage du futur avion de combat européen, censé remplacer à terme Rafale et Eurofighter et donner une nouvelle dynamique à l'Europe de la défense. Mais avec certaines conditions. Les députés allemands ont validé mercredi le projet du futur avion de combat européen, censé remplacer à terme Rafale et Eurofighter et donner une nouvelle dynamique à l'Europe de la défense, mais avec certaines conditions. Au terme de plusieurs mois de rivalités politico-industrielles entre l'Allemagne et la France, les membres de la commission du Budget du Bundestag ont donné leur aval au déblocage de 77 millions d'euros de crédits pour lancer la première grande étape du projet franco-allemand, auquel s'est joint l'Espagne. Les élus de la majorité - conservateurs et sociaux-démocrates- ont voté pour, de même que l'extrême droite. Ecologistes, extrême gauche ont voté contre. Cette manne doit permettre de financer des études en vue de la construction d'ici 2026 d'un démonstrateur de l'avion de combat européen de nouvelle génération (dit NGF ou « New Generation Fighter »).Les montants en jeu sont certes limités par rapport à l'enveloppe globale du programme mais l'étape de mercredi était essentielle, un vote négatif risquant de tout remettre en cause. « Nous ne voulons pas détériorer les relations franco-allemandes » Selon plusieurs sources parlementaires, la commission va majoritairement approuver malgré des réticences les crédits. « Nous allons le faire car nous ne voulons pas détériorer les relations franco-allemandes, et ce juste avant la venue du président français Emmanuel Macron ce week-end en Allemagne pour la Conférence sur la sécurité de Munich », a expliqué le rapporteur du projet à la commission du Budget, Rainer Brandl. Mais les élus allemands, qui depuis le début craignent que les partenaires industriels français soient trop dominateurs dans le projet, comptent poser des conditions. Ils veulent en particulier qu'un autre projet militaire franco-allemand d'envergure, le programme de char MGCS (Main Ground Combat System), dont les Allemands doivent être chefs de file, progresse au même rythme que celui de l'avion du futur. L'avion doit entrer en action vers 2040 Les deux projets doivent avancer « en parallèle », indique leur projet de résolution, obtenu par l'Agence France Presse (AFP). « Le programme de l'avion de chasse, piloté par les Français, progresse vite, alors que celui du char est à la traîne », décrypte un parlementaire allemand sous couvert de l'anonymat. En cause notamment : les difficultés des industriels allemands du secteur de l'armement à se mettre d'accord entre eux sur la répartition du « g'teau ». Les députés demandent aussi des garanties pour que les intérêts des entreprises allemandes du secteur technologies soient mieux pris en compte dans le développement du projet. L'avion, qui doit entrer en action vers 2040, est la pièce maîtresse du programme SCAF (Système de Combat Aérien du Futur) associant en outre des drones et de futurs missiles de croisière. Le vote positif attendu ouvrira la voie à la notification des contrats aux industriels impliqués dans le projet, notamment Dassault, Airbus ou encore Thales. Et relancera un programme qui patinait. La ministre française des Armées, Florence Parly, a mis la pression le 5 février à Strasbourg sur les parlementaires allemands. Paris et Berlin ont la « responsabilité » de « construire cette Europe de la Défense », a-t-elle lancé, en soulignant que le vote des députés du Bundestag aura une importance décisive et enverra un « signal politique fort ». Un accord entre le Français Safran et l'Allemand MTU Le projet avait déjà franchi une étape importante en décembre. Un accord avait été trouvé entre les motoristes français Safran et allemand MTU sur la répartition industrielle des travaux de développement du moteur du futur avion. Les deux sociétés étaient notamment convenues de la création d'une société commune 50/50. Depuis la répartition des t'ches entre Safran et MTU, plusieurs acteurs côté allemand, dont des membres du Bundestag, ont cherché à revenir en leur faveur sur cet accord. « Derrière le nom barbare de 'SCAF' se cache le projet qui conditionne le futur de l'aéronautique de combat française et européenne, ainsi que l'affirmation d'une politique de défense pour renforcer la sécurité du continent », soulignait récemment Jean-Pierre Maulny, directeur adjoint de l'Institut des relations internationales stratégiques (Iris). Le sujet devrait être abordé samedi à Munich par Emmanuel Macron, qui vient de proposer que les Européens, Allemagne notamment, soient associés à la force de dissuasion nucléaire française, en participant par exemple à des exercices. https://www.ouest-france.fr/economie/le-futur-avion-de-combat-europeen-suspendu-au-vote-des-deputes-allemands-6732554

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