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February 20, 2020 | International, Aerospace

Le projet de futur avion de combat européen prend forme

Les études du futur avion de combat européen sont enfin lancées. L'Allemagne et la France ont signé un contrat de 150 millions d'euros ce jeudi 20 février.

Une étape de franchie. Après des mois de rivalités politico-industrielles franco-allemandes, les ministres de la Défense des deux pays ont signé jeudi 20 février à Paris un contrat de 150 millions d'euros devant conduire en 2026 à un premier prototype du futur avion de combat européen. "C'est le contrat qui nous amène sur la route d'un démonstrateur en vol en 2026" du Scaf, le Système de combat aérien futur, résume-t-on au cabinet de Florence Parly, la ministre française des Armées. Un démonstrateur est une sorte de pré-prototype destiné à valider la faisabilité d'un concept.

La ministre française et son homologue Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer ont signé l'accord gouvernemental entérinant le lancement de cette phase du projet, dite "phase 1A", prévue pour durer 18 mois. Elles ont également signé avec le secrétaire espagnol à la Défense Ángel Ramírez une lettre d'intention prévoyant l'intégration dans les mois à venir de Madrid, qui a rejoint plus tardivement le projet Scaf, dans les études de recherches et technologies. Le contrat de notification aux industriels proprement dit a été signé par le maître d'œuvre du programme, le délégué général à l'armement (DGA) Jöel Barre.

Le SCAF, qui doit remplacer d'ici une vingtaine d'années les Rafale et Eurofighter, "permettra à nos nations de faire face aux menaces et aux défis de la deuxième moitié du XXIe siècle", s'est félicité Florence Parly, saluant un projet "très ambitieux, qui "illustre notre volonté et notre ambition pour l'Europe de la Défense". A l'origine prévue lors du salon du Bourget en juin 2019, la signature de ce contrat, financé "strictement à moitié-moitié" entre les deux pays, a buté sur des tensions entre industriels des deux pays et surtout des craintes côté allemand que l'Allemagne soit perdante dans ce partenariat dont la France a été désignée cheffe de file.

Des réticences

Le déblocage a été permis la semaine passée par le vote des crédits par le Bundestag, qui ne voulait "pas détériorer les relations franco-allemandes", selon un député. Mais les parlementaires ont exprimé des réticences et exigé de l'exécutif allemand qu'il s'assure dans la longueur que les intérêts du pays ne sont pas bradés, notamment que le projet de futur char franco-allemand (MGCS), dont Berlin est leader, suive un développement parallèle à celui du SCAF. "Il y a des différences de processus entre la France et l'Allemagne, ça ne veut pas dire que les députés allemands sont moins convaincus par le SCAF", a observé devant la presse Dirk Hoke, président exécutif d'Airbus Defense and Space, l'un des principaux industriels impliqués dans le programme. "De temps en temps, il y a des nuages mais on passe au-dessus des nuages et on retrouve le ciel bleu", a pour sa part confié le PDG de Dassault Aviation Eric Trappier, selon qui "c'est vraiment un départ, on ne peut pas revenir en arrière".

L'avion de combat de nouvelle génération (dit NGF ou "New Generation Fighter"), dont Dassault est maître d'œuvre avec Airbus comme partenaire principal, est doté d'une enveloppe de 91 millions d'euros. Les études sur le moteur, développé par Safran avec l'allemand MTU, bénéficient de 18 millions d'euros, les "effecteurs déportés", de 19,5 millions. Ces drones, sur lesquels vont plancher Airbus et le missilier MBDA, accompagneront l'avion et leur rôle sera de leurrer ou saturer les défenses adverses. Un quatrième pilier (Airbus et Thales) devra mettre au point un système de "combat collaboratif" permettant de connecter avions, drones, satellites et centres de commandement. Quelque 14,5 millions d'euros y sont consacrés. Enfin, un cinquième pilier doté de 6,5 millions d'euros concerne la cohérence globale du projet et des laboratoires de simulation.

L'Espagne, avec Airbus Espagne et l'électronicien de défense Indra, est d'ores et déjà impliquée à hauteur de deux millions d'euros dans le projet de recherche et technologie. C'est une "préfiguration" d'une participation "beaucoup plus massive" d'environ 45 millions d'euros venant s'ajouter "courant 2020" aux 150 millions mis par Paris et Berlin, selon le cabinet de Florence Parly. Les montants en jeu sont certes limités par rapport à l'enveloppe globale d'un programme qui sera opérationnel à l'horizon 2040. "Mais ils vont figer l'organisation de tout le reste du contrat" , plaide-t-on de même source. Un total de 4 milliards d'euros doit être investi d'ici à 2025, 8 milliards d'ici à 2030.

https://www.capital.fr/economie-politique/le-projet-de-futur-avion-de-combat-europeen-prend-forme-1362786

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  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - May 06, 2020

    May 7, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - May 06, 2020

    DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Intuitive Surgical Inc., Sunnyvale, California, has been awarded a maximum $420,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for surgical robots, instruments and their related accessories. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with 105 responses received. Location of performance is California, with a May 5, 2025, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D1-20-D-0006). Hartford Provision Co., doing business as HPC Foodservice, South Windsor, Connecticut, has been awarded a maximum $49,473,750 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a four-year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, with a May 6, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-20-D-3271). The Will-Burt Co., Orrville, Ohio, has been awarded a maximum $43,186,213 fixed-price long term contract for masts. This was a competitive acquisition with one offer received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Ohio, with a May 5, 2025, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio (SPE7MX-20-D-0078). CORRECTION: The contract announced on April 29, 2020, for Raytheon Co., Andover, Massachusetts (SPRRA2-20-C-0023), for $13,688,190 was announced with an incorrect award date. The correct award date is May 4, 2020. NAVY Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Newport News, Virginia, is awarded an $187,126,853 modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-2106 to prepare and make ready for the refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) of USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia (65%); and Norfolk, Virginia (35%). This modification will extend the period of performance for continued advance planning efforts including material forecasting, long lead time material procurement, purchase order development, technical document and drawing development, scheduling, resource forecasting and planning, development of cost estimates for work to be accomplished, data acquisition, pre-overhaul tests and inspections, pre-overhaul preparations, refueling preparations and other technical studies as required to prepare and make ready for the CVN 74 RCOH accomplishment. Work is expected to complete by January 2021. This modification constitutes the award of an existing option for an additional six months of effort. The original contract and this modification will be accomplished by Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Newport News, Virginia, under the authority of 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. is the original building yard contractor for all ships of the CVN-68 class, the reactor plant planning yard, the lead design refueling yard and the only private shipyard capable of refueling and overhauling nuclear powered aircraft carriers. Therefore, it is the only source with the knowledge, experience and facilities required to accomplish this effort in support of the CVN 74 RCOH. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $187,126,853 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, D.C., is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, is awarded a $29,059,944 modification (P00172) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N00019-14-C-0067 for the production and delivery of 10 P-8A A-kits, 10 turret deployment units and eight mechanism units in support of Lot 10 P-8A production aircraft. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington (91%); and Mesa, Arizona (9%), and is expected to be complete by January 2024. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $29,059,944 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. W.M. Jordan Co. Inc., Newport News, Virginia, is awarded $26,929,000 for firm-fixed-price task order N40085-20-F-5271, under a multiple award construction contract for the design-build repair and renovation of Bachelor Enlisted Quarters Building (BEQB) 3609, Joint Expeditionary Base, Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The work will provide for the design and construction renovation of BEQB 3609 to meet current quality standards and facility criteria for unaccompanied housing for the Navy. The site and building will be modified to meet anti-terrorism force protection requirements. Major building systems such as plumbing, heating, ventilation, and air condition, electrical and fire protection will be replaced with new systems. Work is expected to be complete by October 2022. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $26,929,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Three proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-19-D-9089). L3 Adaptive Methods Inc., Centreville, Virginia, is awarded a $12,719,770 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost contract for engineering services and capability development in support of the Undersea Warfare and Surface Warfare systems. Work will be performed in Keyport, Washington (30%); Centreville, Virginia (25%); Rockville, Maryland (15%); Manassas, Virginia (10%); Herndon, Virginia (5%); Dahlgren, Virginia (5%); Newport, Rhode Island (5%); Austin, Texas (1%); Moorestown, New Jersey (1%); Honolulu, Hawaii (1%); Fairfax, Virginia (1%); and Laurel, Maryland (1%), and is expected to be complete by April 2021. If all options are exercised, work will continue through April 2025. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $69,458,660. This contract combines purchases for the Navy (98%) and the government of Japan (2%) under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy); 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); and FMS Japan funding in the amount of $6,142,292 will be obligated at time of award. Funding in the amount of $1,191,829 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with Section 1709 of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act that modifies 15 U.S. Code 638(r), this Small Business Innovative Research Phase (SBIR) III contract is being awarded to L3 Adaptive Methods Inc., which is the same firm that was competitively selected for the SBIR Phase I and II awards. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-20-C-5211). The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, is awarded a $7,039,596 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N00019-20-F-0647) against previously issued basic ordering agreement N00019-16-G-0001. This order procures non-recurring engineering for the design, fabrication and correction of deficiencies required for the delivery and installation of retrofit kits for Navy P-8A aircraft with Increment 3 Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) 6 capabilities. Work will be performed in Puget Sound, Washington. The P-8A ECP 6 provides a significant modification to the baseline aircraft, installing new airframe racks, radomes, antennas, sensors and wiring, while incorporating a new combat system suite with an improved computer processing and security architecture capability at the higher than secret level, a wide band satellite communication system, an anti-submarine warfare signal intelligence capability, a minotaur track management system and additional communications and acoustics systems to enhance search, detection and targeting capabilities. Work is expected to be complete by May 2021. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,039,596 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. ARMY Stantec Consulting Services Inc., Lexington, Kentucky, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Dam Safety Modification Mandatory Center of Expertise, national dam and levee safety, and geotechnical services. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 5, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington, West Virginia, is the contracting activity (W91237-20-D-0010). Thomas Instrument Inc.,* Brookshire, Texas, was awarded an $8,788,301 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance and overhaul of UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 6, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-20-F-0368). AIR FORCE Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Hawthorne, California, has been awarded an $8,904,146 firm-fixed-price modification (P00007) to contract FA8811-19-C-0004 for non-National Security Space (NSS) Fleet surveillance. This contract provides for non-NSS Fleet surveillance efforts across the Space Exploration family of launch vehicles for non-NSS missions. The location of performance is Hawthorne, California; Vandenberg, California; and Cape Canaveral Air Force Space Station, Florida. The work is expected to be completed by Nov. 8, 2020. Fiscal 2019 missile procurement funds in the amount of $2,226,037; and fiscal 2019 space procurement funds in the amount of $6,678,110 will be obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA8811-19-C-0004). AT&T Government Solutions Inc., Oakton, Virginia; and El Segundo, California, has been awarded a $8,449,798 modification (P00047) to contract FA8819-15-F-0005 for continued mission support services to the Space Force, Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Special Programs Directorate. Work will be performed at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California; and Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,976,668; fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $453,295; and fiscal 2019 Space production funds in the amount of $76,500 are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $54,074,819. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2178741/source/GovDelivery/

  • US Army picks 5 companies to study Stryker weapon system integration

    May 24, 2019 | International, Land

    US Army picks 5 companies to study Stryker weapon system integration

    By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has picked five companies to come up with designs to integrate a new weapon system on the Stryker combat vehicle, according to a May 23 announcement. The service awarded design integration study contracts — no more than $150,000 each — for the Stryker Medium Caliber Weapons System (MCWS) lethality program to General Dynamics Land Systems, Kollsman Inc., Leonardo DRS, Raytheon and Pratt & Miller Engineering and Fabrication Inc. Defense News first reported earlier this month that the Army had decided, after upgunning some of its Stryker vehicles with a 30mm cannon, that it would proceed to outfit at least three of its six brigades of Double V-Hull A1 Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicles with the more powerful guns and would hold a competition to acquire that weapon system. The companies have to come up with integration designs using a government-furnished XM813 gun on a government furnished Stryker DVH A1 hull. The MCWS program will be carried out in two phases that will culminate in equipping a Stryker DVH A1 brigade in fiscal year 2022, according to the Army. As part of the design study, competitors will build a production-representative vehicle, the statement notes. The second phase will be a full-and-open competition to award a production contract. Draft requests for proposals will be released to industry beginning in the fall of 2019. Entries into the second phase should include a production-representative bid sample, the Army states. The two phases, as well as fielding, are expected to take 39 months total — a short timeline. While the Army plans to initially procure three brigade sets of the Stryker MCWS DVH A1 — a total of 83 vehicles per brigade — the service could procure systems for additional brigades at future decision points, according to the statement. The decision to outfit Strykers with a 30mm cannon was based on lessons learned during the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Europe's evaluation of the Stryker Infantry Combat Vehicle Dragoon, built rapidly to fill an urgent operational need in that theater. The Army received $300 million to develop and field a Stryker with a 30mm cannon — supplying eight prototypes to the Germany-based regiment. The funding also covered upgrades to 83 production vehicles plus spares. The service spent 18 months to put together its Stryker Dragoon using off-the-shelf solutions such as the remote turret from Kongsberg in Norway and the 30mm cannon from Orbital ATK, now owned by Northrop Grumman. The vehicles were shipped off to Europe for a year-long evaluation. Feedback from the evaluation suggested some improvements are needed, particularly related to situational awareness. The turret for the cannon takes up a lot of roof and hatch space and also affects how equipment is stowed, for instance. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2019/05/23/us-army-picks-5-companies-to-study-stryker-weapon-system-integration/

  • A Bourges, la DGA se prépare aux nouvelles formes de combat

    June 11, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Land

    A Bourges, la DGA se prépare aux nouvelles formes de combat

    Mini-drones, véhicules blindés collaboratifs, neutralisation des engins explosifs... La Direction générale de l'armement prépare les matériels aux nouvelles formes de combat. Des mini-drones et des robots attendent, posés sur les tables et sur le sol dans un grand hangar. Au centre technique d'armement terrestre de Bourges (Cher), les experts de la Direction générale de l'armement (DGA) disposent d'une habitation avec ses pièces, ses cloisons, ses meubles, son escalier... De quoi tester en grandeur nature la maniabilité de ces équipements et surtout leur capacité à dénicher un individu dans un local inconnu. Discrets ou volumineux, sur roues ou sur chenilles, destinés au grand public ou directement conçus pour un usage militaire, les produits testés sont très variés. "Leurs caméras embarquées agissent comme des yeux déportés. Cela évite de mettre les vies des soldats en danger", explique le chef du laboratoire robotique de la DGA, à la tête d'une équipe de 16 experts. Avant de les mettre dans les mains des militaires, ils s'assurent que ces robots ont les capacités prévues, notamment en termes d'autonomie, de résolution et de transmission[...] https://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/a-bourges-la-dga-se-prepare-aux-nouvelles-formes-de-combat.N698834

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