MBDA-led team to demo new European anti-tank kit this summer

On the same subject

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  January 28, 2021 | International, Land

  Kenya orders 118 armored vehicles from Turkey

  By: Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA, Turkey — Kenya's military has ordered 118 four-wheel drive personnel carriers from Turkish armored vehicles manufacturer Katmerciler. Kenya Defence Forces spokesperson Col. Zipporah Kioko told local press that the Ministry of Defence is finalizing the deal for the mine-resistant, ambush-protected Hizir vehicles through Turkey's Export Credit Agency. “The Hizirs will provide the Kenyan troops protective mobility wherever they are deployed,” a Katmerciler official said. Kenya's military will primarily deploy the Hizir vehicles for counterterror operations against the al-Shabab militant group. The company official declined to comment on how soon the contract would be finalized, but a Turkish procurement source said the deal should be inked in a matter of weeks, if not days. The procurement source put the price of the contract at “nearly €60 million” (U.S. $73 million). Last month, Turkey and Tunisia signed a $150 million deal for the sale of scores of Turkish-made defense equipment, including BMC's Kirpi MRAP vehicles and Nurol's Ejder Yalcin four-wheel drive armored combat vehicles. “The deal augments the penetration into the African market of Turkish armored vehicles,” the Turkish procurement official said. Sources said Katmerciler defeated South African and North American rivals for the Kenyan contract. The Katmerciler official said the Hizir has a proven track record in Syria, where Turkish forces operate and face similar threats as Kenyan troops face along the border with Somalia. Tested in the Netherlands and certified by NATO, the Hizir can be used in various configurations, such as combat; command and control; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense; weapon carrier; ambulance; border security; and reconnaissance. The vehicle is fitted with Turkish company Aselsan's Stabilized Advanced Remote Weapon Platform, which can be installed on tactical vehicles, fixed surveillance posts, towers and critical infrastructure. Depending on the operational requirements, remote weapon platform can be equipped with a 12.7mm machine gun, a 40mm automatic grenade launcher or a 7.62mm machine gun. The turret has advanced capabilities and options such as a fire-on-the-move capability, day and night imaging, automatic target tracking, laser range finder for accurate ballistics, last-round warning, and manual backup. The vehicle, which can carry up to nine personnel, is also equipped with a smoke grenade launcher on the top of the vehicle. It is designed on a V-hull monocoque chassis to increase vehicle and crew survivability by deflecting an upward directed blast — such as from a landmine or improvised explosive device — away from the vehicle. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2021/01/27/kenya-orders-118-armored-vehicles-from-turkey

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  August 19, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

  Trio of prototyping contracts brings new approach for collecting military weather data

  Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force hopes its prototype low-Earth orbit weather satellites will entice commercial businesses and allied nations to partner up on the project, reducing the cost of delivering critical weather data to the war fighter. The U.S. Air Force has been trying to replace the aging Defense Meteorological Satellite Program for years, ever since Congress opted to can it in 2015. Two capabilities in particular have proven a challenge for replacement: cloud characterization and theater weather imagery. But now the Space Force thinks it has the answer. By leveraging the increasingly popular low-Earth orbit architecture demonstrated by SpaceX's Starlink constellation and other experiments, the military believes it can lower the cost of individual satellites, increase the resiliency of the systems and attract new partnerships. In a recent interview with SpaceNews, Space and Missile Systems Center Portfolio Architect Col. Russell Teehan explained the thinking behind the new approach. The Air Force previously struggled to attract partners due to the sheer cost of the systems, he said. After all, when a single satellite costs more than $700 million, it's difficult to find someone to share the load. That price point forced the Air Force to build exquisite systems, comprised of just a handful of satellites operating in higher orbits. As the Pentagon has come to understand with its other exquisite systems, in wartime this leaves the military's space-based capabilities dependent on just a few satellites that are difficult to defend. A proliferation low-Earth orbit, or P-LEO, constellation may solve both of those problems. Smaller LEO satellites can deliver the same capabilities at a fraction of the cost per satellite, while the sheer number of targets in the constellation means that the loss of a single satellite isn't crippling. “The goal is in doing that, that ideally the commercial and allied sector would increase their desire to partner on those activities,” Treehan said. “[T]he activities in the past were generally $700 million-plus individual systems, which forced us into architectures that were [made up of less than five satellites] that were significantly vulnerable if we were in a time of conflict.” The Space Force is targeting satellites in the $30-50 million range, Treehan added. The Space Force has issued a trio of prototype contracts this summer for new space-based sensors that can collect cloud characterization and theater weather imagery from low Earth orbit. Raytheon Technologies, General Atomics and Astra are leading separate prototyping efforts after receiving contracts from the Space Enterprise Consortium. The Space Force is asking for $131 million to continue these efforts in fiscal 2021. The decision to settle on LEO for this critical weather data follows years of disarray as the Pentagon has worked to find a replacement for the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, or DMSP. For decades, the military has relied almost entirely on that program for weather data. The first satellite was launched in the 1960s, with the constellation being replenished with updated generations of weather satellites over the years. Today, there are just four DMSP satellites in operation. But no satellite is built to last forever, and there are no new DMSP satellites coming. As those satellites reach the end of their service life, they leave the two vital gaps of cloud characterization and theater weather imagery. Foreseeing this problem, Congress in 2015 directed the Air Force to launch a new weather satellite program to replace DMSP. The Air Force began working on a new constellation to launch in 2024, but there was a problem: a four-year gap between the projected end of DMSP's service life in 2020 and the launch of the new satellites. To fill that gap, the Air Force collaborated with NASA on ORS-8, a satellite to be launched just before DMSP expired. While a contract was awarded to Sierra Nevada Corp. to build that gap-filling satellite, it was protested, rescinded and ultimately canceled by the Air Force after the service determined DMSP's end-of-life date would extend beyond 2024. In 2019, the Air Force proposed a new solution: a free-flying space vehicle that would operate in low Earth orbit. The Pentagon asked for $101 million to begin the effort in fiscal 2020, with plans to launch it in 2024. But that plan didn't last the year. In September, the Air Force told Congress it wanted to scrap the free-flying space vehicle in favor of a new approach. Based on a space-based environmental monitoring capability assessment and strategy review completed in April 2019, the Air Force found it best to switch to an LEO architecture for scalability and increased resilience. Though skeptical, Congress ultimately swapped the funding for the free-flyer space vehicle to the new program. “Across the board in our weather strategies ... we're looking at multilayers of an architecture, how to most cost-effectively move forward in capability. They can be incrementally delivered over time. So that becomes a mix of large satellites that do missions and smaller satellites that we can launch in order to grow capability over time,” Col. Dennis Bythewood, program executive officer for space development at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center, said in September 2019. “We're finding much more capable sensors being delivered in small packages that we think we can grow mission sets over time. Those are the types of things that we are looking at within our strategy.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/08/17/trio-of-prototyping-contracts-brings-new-approach-for-collecting-military-weather-data/

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  October 7, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense – October 07, 2020

  U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND Maersk Line Ltd., Norfolk, Virginia, has been awarded a contract modification on contract HTC711-19-D-W026 in the amount of $173,052,625. This modification provides continued international ocean and intermodal distribution services. Work will be performed worldwide as specified on each individual order. The option period of performance is from Dec. 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 transportation working capital funds to be obligated on individual task orders. This modification increases the total cumulative face value of the contract from $170,116,349, to $343,168,974. The U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. American President Lines LLC, Washington, D.C., has been awarded a contract modification on contract HTC711-19-D-W014 in the amount of $142,730,774. This modification provides continued international ocean and intermodal distribution services. Work will be performed worldwide as specified on each individual order. The option period of performance is from Dec. 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 transportation working capital funds to be obligated on individual task orders. This modification increases the total cumulative face value of the contract from $140,308,983, to $283,039,757. The U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier LLC, Parsippany, New Jersey, has been awarded a contract modification on contract HTC711-19-D-W015 in the amount of $85,444,626. This modification provides continued international ocean and intermodal distribution services. Work will be performed worldwide as specified on each individual order. The option period of performance is from Dec. 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 transportation working capital funds to be obligated on individual task orders. This modification increases the total cumulative face value of the contract from $83,994,841, to $169,439,467. The U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Matson Navigation Co. Inc., Oakland, California, has been awarded a contract modification on contract HTC711-19-D-W027 in the amount of $72,447,073. This modification provides continued international ocean and intermodal distribution services. Work will be performed worldwide as specified on each individual order. The option period of performance is from Dec. 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 transportation working capital funds to be obligated on individual task orders. This modification increases the total cumulative face value of the contract from $71,217,825, to $143,664,898. The U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Liberty Global Logistics LLC, Lake Success, New York, has been awarded a contract modification on contract HTC711-19-D-W025 in the amount of $69,533,730. This modification provides continued international ocean and intermodal distribution services. Work will be performed worldwide as specified on each individual order. The option period of performance is from Dec. 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 transportation working capital funds to be obligated on individual task orders. This modification increases the total cumulative face value of the contract from $68,353,914, to $137,887,644. The U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Farrell Lines Inc., Reston, Virginia, has been awarded a contract modification on contract HTC711-19-D-W021 in the amount of $63,026,301. This modification provides continued international ocean and intermodal distribution services. Work will be performed worldwide as specified on each individual order. The option period of performance is from Dec. 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 transportation working capital funds to be obligated on individual task orders. This modification increases the total cumulative face value of the contract from $61,956,899, to $124,983,200. The U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Hapag-Lloyd USA LLC, Piscataway, New Jersey, has been awarded a contract modification on contract HTC711-19-D-W023 in the amount of $56,870,780. This modification provides continued international ocean and intermodal distribution services. Work will be performed worldwide as specified on each individual order. The option period of performance is from Dec. 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 transportation working capital funds to be obligated on individual task orders. This modification increases the total cumulative face value of the contract from $55,905,822, to $112,776,602. The U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Waterman Transport Inc., New York, New York, has been awarded a contract modification on contract HTC711-19-D-W016 in the amount of $34,585,142. This modification provides continued international ocean and intermodal distribution services. Work will be performed worldwide as specified on each individual order. The option period of performance is from Dec. 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 transportation working capital funds to be obligated on individual task orders. This modification increases the total cumulative face value of the contract from $33,998,316, to $68,583,458. The U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. TOTE Maritime Alaska LLC, Federal Way, Washington, has been awarded a contract modification on contract HTC711-19-D-W036 in the amount of $19,787,662. This modification provides continued international ocean and intermodal distribution services. Work will be performed worldwide as specified on each individual order. The option period of performance is from Dec. 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 transportation working capital funds to be obligated on individual task orders. This modification increases the total cumulative face value of the contract from $19,451,914, to $39,239,576. The U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico LLC, Jacksonville, Florida, has been awarded a contract modification on contract HTC711-19-D-W037 in the amount of $14,243,656. This modification provides continued international ocean and intermodal distribution services. Work will be performed worldwide as specified on each individual order. The option period of performance is from Dec. 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 transportation working capital funds to be obligated on individual task orders. This modification increases the total cumulative face value of the contract from $14,001,975, to $28,245,631. The U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Schuyler Line Navigation Co. LLC, Annapolis, Maryland, has been awarded a contract modification on contract HTC711-19-D-W031 in the amount of $12,386,038. This modification provides continued international ocean and intermodal distribution services. Work will be performed worldwide as specified on each individual order. The option period of performance is from Dec. 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 transportation working capital funds to be obligated on individual task orders. This modification increases the total cumulative face value of the contract from $12,175,877, to $24,561,915. The U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. NAVY Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded a $78,530,376 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-2300 to exercise options for the accomplishment of class design services for the Littoral Combat Ship program. Work will be performed in Hampton, Virginia (31%); Moorestown, New Jersey (27%); Washington, D.C. (22%); and Marinette, Wisconsin (20%), and is expected to be completed by October 2021. Fiscal 2015 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $13,148,817 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. Perspecta Labs Inc., Basking Ridge, New Jersey, is awarded a $17,790,079 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for engineering and telecommunication standards support to enhance national security and emergency preparedness services by enabling Next Generation Network Priority Services over the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem and Long Term Evolution networks. This five-year contract includes two one-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to an estimated $24,658,266. All work will be performed at the contractor's facility in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. The period of performance of the base award is from Oct. 6, 2020, through Oct. 5, 2025. If both option periods are exercised, the period of performance would extend through Oct. 5, 2027. Fiscal 2020 Department of Homeland Security procurement, construction, and improvement funds in the amount of $258,000 will be obligated at the time of award under the initial task order. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is awarded using other than full and open competition in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations Subpart 6.302-1 and 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1); only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-21-D-0011). FlightSafety Services Corp., Denver, Colorado, is awarded a $13,906,642 modification (P00022) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N61340-18-C-0019. This modification exercises an option to provide aircrew training services in support of the TH-57B/C community, including instruction, operation, and curriculum support. Work will be performed in Whiting Field, Florida, and is expected to be completed in October 2021. No funds are being obligated at time of award. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity. RLF and Sherlock Smith and Adams JV, Orlando, Florida, is awarded a $7,412,091 firm-fixed-price task order (N62473-21-F-4010) under previously-awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N62470-19-D-5015 for architectural design and engineering services for an addition and alteration to the current ambulatory care center at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar. The work to be performed provides for design and engineering services for a 65,164-gross-square-feet (GSF) addition and a 41,819 GSF alteration to the current ambulatory care center, for a total building of 106,983 GSF, to incorporate the Marine-centered medical home concept for active duty personnel at MCAS Miramar. Supporting facilities include utilities, site improvements, facility special foundations, parking, signage, antiterrorism/force protection measures, demolition and environmental protection measures. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida (85%); and Birmingham, Alabama (15%), and is expected to be completed by May 2022. Fiscal 2020 military construction planning and design (Defense Health Agency) funding in the amount of $7,412,091 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, Greenville, Texas, has been awarded a $44,651,345 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order for engineering, procurement and fabrication that will result in modification, installation and test of the aircraft mission system. Work will be performed in Greenville, Texas, and is expected to be completed April 30, 2023. This contract involves 100% Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and is the result of a sole-source acquisition. FMS funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. The 645th Aeronautical Systems Group, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8620-21-F-4866). Airfield Contracting, Columbus, Ohio, has been awarded a $9,242,034 firm-fixed-price contract for the repair of transient parking ramp projects. Work will be performed at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, and is expected to be completed Jan. 18, 2022. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and five offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. The 94th Contracting Flight, Dobbins ARB, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA6703-20-C-0006). (Awarded Sept. 28, 2020) Tapestry Solutions Inc., San Diego, has been awarded an $8,522,321 firm-fixed-price modification (P00003) to contract FA4452-20-C-0006 for Global Decision Support System application support services. This modification is for the exercise of Option Year One, which was already agreed upon at contract award. Work will be performed in Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, and is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2021. Fiscal 2021 transportation working capital funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $40,142,421. The 763rd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. InfoReliance LLC, Fairfax, Virginia, has been awarded an $8,183,001 modification (P0015) to contract FA4452-18-F-0003 for Global Air Transportation Execution System application and system support. The contract modification is to fund Option Year Three, which was agreed upon at contract award. Work will be performed in Fairfax, Virginia, and is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2021. Fiscal 2021 transportation working capital funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $51,118,522. The 763rd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Oct. 2, 2020) Raytheon Co., El Segundo, California, has been awarded a $7,107,820 modification (P00018) to contract FA8523-16-F-0049 for miniaturized airborne Global Positioning System (GPS) Receiver 2K-M development. This contract modification implements a period of performance extension due to a program delay with the Military GPS User Equipment program. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California; and Huntsville, Alabama, and is expected by to completed Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $2,500,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the delivery order is $76,711,451. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Sept. 25, 2020) DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY UPDATE: Celina Tent,* Celina, Ohio (SPE1C1-21-D-1402), has been added as an awardee to the multiple award contract for commercial shelters, issued against solicitation SPE1C1-18-R-0003. (Awarded May 10, 2019) * Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2373904/source/GovDelivery/