Major contract for Rheinmetall: Australian Navy orders MASS ship protection systems worth ?125 million

On the same subject

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  April 19, 2023 | International, Land

  Lockheed to fit electronic warfare kit on Strykers, plan for AMPVs

  The Terrestrial Layer System-Brigade Combat Team, or TLS-BCT, is one of several U.S. Army efforts to reinvigorate its electronic warfare arsenal.

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  February 4, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  To keep up with rivals, DoD nominee will weigh consolidation vs. innovation

  By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― President Joe Biden's nominee for deputy defense secretary, Kathleen Hicks, said she is “concerned” about consolidation in the defense industrial base, and that competition is needed to maintain an edge over China and Russia. Hicks, whose office would review deals that involve national security issues if she is confirmed by the Senate, told lawmakers Tuesday that she would work with them to ensure a healthy defense industrial base. The comments came amid market expectations that defense deal-making could take off in 2021. “Extreme consolidation does create challenges for innovation,” Hicks told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “We need to have a lot of different good ideas out there. That's our competitive advantage over authoritarian states like China, and Russia. And so if we move all competition out, obviously, that's a challenge for the taxpayer. But it's also a challenge in terms of the innovation piece.” As the space sector and technological developments drive growth in the aerospace and defense sector and the pandemic weakens commercial aviation firms, companies are “likely to pursue opportunities for consolidation,” the consulting firm Deloitte said in a recent report. Firms could seek new merger and acquisition opportunities, the report said, to “capture more value, drive cost-competitiveness, or acquire targeted niche capabilities and emerging technologies” such as “advanced air mobility, hypersonics, electric propulsion, and hydrogen-powered aircraft.” Recent years have seen a number of major deals, including the combination of Harris and L3 Technologies, United Technologies Corp. and Raytheon; BAE Systems and Collins Aerospace, and General Dynamics and CSRA. Lockheed Martin's $4.4 billion acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne, announced in December, has yet to clear regulators. The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department also review mergers and acquisition activity in the defense sector. At Tuesday's hearing, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, whose state hosts General Dynamics Electric Boat, told Hicks a drop in the number of submarine suppliers from 17,000 to 5,000 over recent decades suggested broader problems for the defense industrial base, problems that he said were, “extremely alarming to me.” Blumenthal indicated Hicks had committed prior to the hearing to aid small suppliers struggling with the pandemic's economic fallout and to develop new small and medium suppliers. (This was one focus of DoD's acquisition and sustainment office under the previous administration.) “I'm hoping you will focus on the supply chain that is vitally important to suppliers like Electric Boat or Raytheon or any of our major sources of supply,” said Blumenthal, who has served as the top Democrat on SASC's Seapower Subcommittee. A broader theme for the hearing was how Hicks, whose job involves supervising the defense budget, would invest in forward-leaning technologies under a flat budget and divest from existing weapons platforms. Meanwhile, lawmakers grilled Hicks about whether she supported spending on nuclear modernization, shipbuilding and other programs with connections to lawmakers' home states. Acknowledging the political and budget tensions, Hicks said she wants to link future budgetary decisions with concepts for operations, to buy “capabilities that actually line up to theories of victory for how we are trying to pace challenges from China and Russia.” Other lawmakers told Hicks they wanted an easier paths for smaller, cutting edge firms from outside the Beltway to do business with the Pentagon and for them to scale production of their products, beyond the experimentation phase. “We've had testimony before this committee that many smaller companies, particularly in Silicon Valley, and in the technology field generally have given up on the Pentagon, it's too complicated is too lengthy is too expensive, even to fill out the forms,” said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine. For her part, Hicks said Tuesday she would “increase the speed and scale of innovation in our force,” and she would work to understand how alternative acquisitions methods are servings smaller non-traditional suppliers. She affirmed that those firms cannot survive on research and development funding alone. “I do think a sustain level of [research and development] investment is vital, but we actually have to field capabilities, and that's a place where DoD has really struggled,” she said, adding that exercises and experiments help demonstrate the value of new technologies. “When we can demonstrate value, then we're in a much better position to have a dialogue with Congress and with industry about where that where those capabilities can take us.” https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2021/02/02/to-keep-up-with-rivals-dod-nominee-will-weigh-consolidation-vs-innovation/

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  October 9, 2019 | International, Naval

  Lockheed Martin Australia awards $37m contract to Safran to provide key systems design for Australia’s Future Submarines

  October 8, 2019 - SYDNEY, Australia - Lockheed Martin Australia, together with the Department of Defence, today announced the appointment of Safran Electronics & Defense Australasia Pty Ltd (Safran) to design three major Combat System components for Australia's Future Submarine Program. The $36.77 million contract, which will be in force until May 2023, will see Safran deliver the preliminary and detailed designs for the combat system's optronics search and attack mast, navigation radar and navigation data distribution components. The contract scope will also include delivery of prototypes and interface simulators to enable Lockheed Martin Australia, as the combat system integrator, to conduct further test activities and validate the integrated performance of the combat system in its Adelaide-based Combat System Architecture Laboratory (CSAL). While the contract represents the initial phase of development activities (including the development of design up to and including the component-level critical design reviews), it will also see Safran establish sovereign capabilities at its new facility in Botany, NSW, for the build, integration and ongoing sustainment of these components. As part of its delivery of this work, Safran will subcontract two Australian companies, Acacia Systems and Thomas Global Systems, for the design and development of software and hardware, respectively. The contract will result in more than 11 full-time positions being created and sustained locally across Safran and its partners. Speaking at the PACIFIC 2019 International Maritime Exposition, Lockheed Martin Australia and New Zealand Chief Executive, Joe North, congratulated Safran on the appointment and said he looked forward to working with the Australian team to support the Royal Australian Navy with enhanced sovereign capability. "Lockheed Martin Australia, in concert with the Department of Defence, is committed to maximising opportunities for Australian industry involvement through all phases of the Future Submarine Program," he said. "Safran represents the international benchmark in submarine optronics and navigation systems, and we are honoured to welcome the company and its partners to our Australian combat system team." Safran Electronics & Defense Australasia CEO, Alexis de Pelleport, said the contract represents an important step towards strengthening the company's footprint and workforce in Australia. "The contract with Lockheed Martin Australia and the Department of Defence will allow us to meet our shared objective of supporting local employment and developing Australian expertise at our Botany facility and through our local partners," he said. "We are pleased to be working with Lockheed Martin Australia and the Commonwealth to deliver a superior submarine fleet for the region." About Lockheed Martin Australia Headquartered in Canberra, Lockheed Martin Australia is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation. The company employs more than 1000 people in Australia working on a wide range of major programs spanning the aerospace, defence and civil sectors. In 2016 Lockheed Martin Australia was announced as the combat system integrator for Australia's Future Submarine Program, charged with collaborating with the Department of Defence and Naval Group to design a combat system that would provide an enhanced submarine capability for Australia. About Safran Safran is an international high-technology group, operating in the aircraft propulsion and equipment, space and defense markets. Safran has a global presence, with more than 92,000 employees and sales of 21 billion euros in 2018. Safran is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange, and is part of the CAC 40 and Euro Stoxx 50 indices. Safran Electronics & Defense Australasia has complete access to Safran's OEM knowledge and global network to locally support its customers. Safran Electronics & Defense Australasia is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Safran Electronics & Defense based in Sydney, Australia. For more information: www.safran-group.com and www.safran-electronics-defense.com / Follow @Safran and @SafranElecDef on Twitter CONTACT US Media Contact • Michelle Scully Head of Communications Australia and New Zealand Lockheed Martin Australia +61 448 032 387 michelle.m.scully@lmco.com Media Contact • Pascal Debergé Press Officer Safran Electronics & Defense +33 1 55 60 41 38 pascal.deberge@safrangroup.com Media Contact • Amaury Finaz Maritime Director Safran Electronics & Defense Australasia +61 429 073 600 amaury.finaz@safrangroup.com View source version on Safran Group: https://www.safran-group.com/media/lockheed-martin-australia-awards-37m-contract-safran-provide-key-systems-design-australias-future-submarines-20191008