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January 1, 2024 | International, Aerospace

New in 2024: F-35 program eyes key upgrade, delivery restart

The delays could have a cascading effect that hurts the Air Force’s ability to manage its units worldwide.

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2023/12/30/f-35-program-eyes-key-upgrade-delivery-restart/

On the same subject

  • U.S. arms makers and medical device firms team up to make ventilators

    May 5, 2020 | International, Land

    U.S. arms makers and medical device firms team up to make ventilators

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. weapons makers have teamed up with medical device companies to increase the supply of ventilators that can be used to combat the coronavirus pandemic, people working on the project said. The two groups do not regularly partner on projects, but when a defense industry consultant with an engineering background realized weapons makers could help solve supply-chain problems within the U.S. ventilator industry, the creation of Vent Connect was set in motion and is set to be announced on Monday, the people said. The idea gathered momentum when industry associations like the Aerospace Industries Association, which represents plane makers and defense contractors including Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and General Dynamics Corp (GD.N), teamed up with AdvaMed, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, whose members include vent manufacturers. A handful of ventilator makers including ResMed Inc (RMD.N), and Zoll, an Asahi Kasei Corp (3407.T) company, post requests in the ventilator parts marketplace to a group of 60 weapons and airplane makers to help meet surging demand for the life-saving machines, an AdvaMed representative said. Working since March to cut through challenges as varied as how to handle intellectual property, confidentiality issues, cybersecurity and logistics, the two associations created the marketplace that is now serving as a new avenue for the ventilator supply chain. The defense companies involved in the project did not want their names published because they did not want to appear to seek credit for their efforts. At its outset, the task was gargantuan. One ventilator maker, Medtronic (MDT.N), released a parts list with over 1,500 items to see if there was any crossover with the defense supply chain, two of the people said. Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O) was brought in to help set up a website so that the companies could better coordinate online. The two industries share some common equipment. For example, fighter jets use pressure sensors to regulate oxygen to their face masks, which are also a key element in a ventilator to ensure that the rhythm of a patient's breathing pattern is monitored and maintained for the person's comfort. The efforts to try to stem the ventilator shortage are being worked on by the U.S. Army as well. In mid-April, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy offered an investment of $100,000 to innovators who could come up with a “rapid ventilator production system to support field hospitals that are still requiring critical infrastructure.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-industry/u-s-arms-makers-and-medical-device-firms-team-up-to-make-ventilators-idUSKBN22G12C

  • DARPA Wants to Make Underground Maps on the Fly

    August 16, 2018 | International, C4ISR

    DARPA Wants to Make Underground Maps on the Fly

    The agency is challenging teams to build systems that chart caves, tunnels and underground urban infrastructure. Finding your way through caves and tunnels is both difficult and extremely dangerous, but the Pentagon's research office wants to build technology that can navigate underground environments while humans stay on the surface. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is finalizing teams for its Subterranean Challenge, or SubT, a three-year competition to build systems that can rapidly map and search often treacherous underground areas. The agency on Thursday awarded a $4.5 million contract to Virginia-based iRobot Defense Holdings and a $750,000 contract to Michigan Technological University to participate in the challenge. A third team, Scientific Systems Company Inc., joined the program on July 31 with a $492,000 contract. “Even under ideal conditions, these complex environments present significant challenges for subterranean situational awareness,” DARPA wrote in the program announcement. “However, in time-sensitive scenarios, whether in active combat operations or disaster response settings, warfighters and first responders alike are faced with a range of increased technical challenges, including difficult and dynamic terrains ... severe communication constraints, and expansive areas of operation.” Full Article: https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2018/08/darpa-wants-make-underground-maps-fly/150554/

  • ICF secures cyber services contract from US Navy

    July 15, 2019 | International, Other Defence

    ICF secures cyber services contract from US Navy

    ICF International has received a contract from the US Navy to provide cyberspace technical, management and professional services. The multiple-award indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract is with the Navy Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC Pacific). With a potential ceiling value of $800m, the seven-year contract includes a base period of three years and two two-year options. The base period has a ceiling of $330m. ICF cyber line of business senior vice-president Jonathan Sholtis said: “We view cyber as an enabler for resilience, one of many domains that affect the security of the entire enterprise. “At ICF, we're focused on providing holistic solutions designed to secure all systems, from IT to people and processes to physical infrastructure, where clients have access to a diverse set of capabilities designed to meet the full scale of diffuse and asymmetric cyber threats.” Under the contract, ICF will provide cyber services to NIWC Pacific and any US Navy client agencies. The range of services will include supporting technology assessments, research and development in cybersecurity, quick prototyping and integration, cybersecurity operations, vulnerability evaluations, and simulation and training. The contract will allow the company to further expand its cyber services offering within the armed services. ICF also provides cyber services support to the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the US Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). ICF cyber and enterprise resilience business development senior vice-president Baris Yener said: “The navy win is a natural extension of our overall growth strategy: to extend ICF's cyber and resilience capabilities from our work with ARL and ACC to additional defence clients. “We're truly honoured to have been selected by the navy to support its ongoing cyber mission.” https://www.naval-technology.com/news/icf-secures-cyber-services-contract-from-us-navy/

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