May 21, 2024 | International, Land
Amphibious combat vehicle’s first deployment may yield repair lessons
A program office is watching the amphibious combat vehicle's performance as it operates from a ship rather than a base on land.
April 26, 2018 | International, Aerospace
No stealth? No problem ― Eurofighter makes its pitch against F-35 in Berlin
BERLIN ― Eurofighter officials are downplaying the F-35 fighter′s stealth capability at the Berlin Air Show, positing that the consortium's non-stealthy Typhoon still beats out the American competition in the race to replace Germany's Tornado fleet.
“Stealth is only 10 percent of the capability mix,” Eurofighter marketing chief Raffael Klaschke told Defense News on Wednesday. “We're still better at the other 90 percent,” he argued, referring to the aircraft's combat capabilities.
While the company could rest easy with the German Defence Ministry's recent proclamation that the Eurofighter is the preferred path for the upcoming multibillion-dollar Tornado-replacement program, Lockheed Martin's massive showing at the air show may have some officials nervous.
Eurofighter CEO Volker Paltzo doubled down on the argument that the Typhoon would guarantee continued vibrancy in the European military aircraft market. “I want to underscore that every euro spent on Eurofighter within Europe stays in Europe,” he told reporters.
Executives also stressed that the European aircraft would come free of any “black boxes,” a reference to the expectation that all technological and operational details would be owned by Europeans, which may not be the case with the F-35.
F-35 advocates have touted the fifth-generation aircraft's stealth and other advanced capabilities for deep-strike and standoff combat, and there are some in Germany, especially in the Air Force, who believe that European technology simply cannot compare.
At the same time, whatever follow-on aircraft Berlin chooses for its 90-strong Tornado fleet is only expected to be a bridge toward a brand-new development, raising the question of whether a costly acquisition of the U.S. planes would be a worthwhile investment.
Klaschke described stealth as a “niche capability,” adding with a nod to the F-35′s competition: “We're not scared.”
Officials were less willing to discuss the expected nuclear-weapons capability of the Eurofighter, which it would pick up from the Tornado. Paltzo pointed to “confidentiality” in discussing the topic, referring to the Defence Ministry for information.
What is clear, however, is that the Eurofighter will be able to carry forward Germany's pledge to deploy U.S. atomic arms at the behest of NATO, according to Paltzo.
And while the U.S. Defense Department must certify the aircraft-weapon pairing, the CEO said he does not expect America to influence the fighter decision toward its own industry's product.
“This is a subject where we would not expect leverage by the U.S. over the Eurofighter,” Paltzo said.
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November 14, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - November 13, 2018
ARMY Barnard Construction Company Inc., Bozeman, Montana, was awarded a $324,422,299 firm-fixed-price contract for design and build of a pedestrian fence replacement project. Three bids were solicited via the internet with three bids received. Work will be performed in Yuma, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of April 1, 2020. Fiscal 2018 omnibus funds in the amount of $172,157,017 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-19-C-0007). SLSCO, Galveston, Texas, was awarded a $167,460,000 firm-fixed-price contract for border infrastructure design and build. Three bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Mission, Texas, with an estimated completion date of May 4, 2020. Fiscal 2018 omnibus funds in the amount of $167,460,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-19-C-0006). NAVY BAE Systems Jacksonville Ship Repair, Jacksonville, Florida (N00024-17-D-1007); Colonna Shipyards Inc., Norfolk, Virginia (N40027-17-D-1008); and Metro Machine Corp., Jacksonville, Florida (N40027-17-D-1009), are each awarded a $212,967,725 firm-fixed-price modification to their respective previously awarded multiple award contracts to exercise Option Year Two for the accomplishment of fixed priced delivery orders for docking and non-docking Chief of Naval Operations scheduled ship repair availabilities. Work will be performed in Mayport, Florida, and is expected to be completed by November 2019. No funding will be obligated at time of modification. The Southeast Regional Maintenance Center, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity. BAE Systems Jacksonville Ship Repair, Jacksonville, Florida (N40027-17-D-1001); Colonna Shipyards Inc., Norfolk, Virginia (N40027-17-D-1002); East Coast Repair and Fabrication LLC, Norfolk, Virginia (N40027-17-D-1003); Metro Machine Corp., Jacksonville, Florida (N40027-17-D-1004); North Florida Shipyards, Jacksonville, Florida (N40027-17-D-1005); and Tecnico Corp., Chesapeake, Virginia (N40027-17-D-1006), are each awarded a $42,641,520 firm-fixed-price modification to their respective previously awarded multiple award contracts to exercise Option Year Two for the accomplishment of fixed priced delivery orders for emergent and continuous maintenance availabilities. Work will be performed in Mayport, Florida, and is expected to be completed by November 2019. No funding will be obligated at time of the modification award. The Southeast Regional Maintenance Center, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity. Saifa Phommarine, doing business as Precision Dynamic,* Hayward, California (N6893619D0002); United Support Solutions – LMT Inc.,* Cedar Grove, New Jersey (N6893619D0003); ZYCI LLC,* Atlanta, Georgia (N6893619D0004); Modern Machine Co.,* Tehachapi, California (N6893619D0005); and Wutzler Machine Corp.,* Hemet, California (N6893619D0006), are each being awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts. The estimated aggregate ceiling for all contracts is $11,500,000, with the companies having an opportunity to compete for individual orders. These contracts provide for commercially available products manufactured from several different materials in different forms, shapes, sizes, complexity; specialty services for rapid processing, ranging from heat treating of manufactured items to paint and coating of manufactured items, and grinding services. These services are in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD), China Lake's Applied Manufacturing Technology Division. Work will be performed at NAWCWD, China Lake, California; and at various awardee's facility sites in Hayward, California; Cedar Grove, New Jersey; Atlanta, Georgia; Tehachapi, California; and Hemet, California; and various customer sites to be determined on individual orders, and is expected to be completed in November 2023. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. These contracts were competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals as a 100 percent small business set-aside; five offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, California, is the contracting activity. Detyens Shipyards Inc., North Charleston, South Carolina, is awarded a $10,046,484 firm-fixed-price contract for a 60-calendar day shipyard availability for the regular overhaul dry docking of USNS Joshua Humphreys (T-AO 188). Work will include general services; clean and gas free tanks; 01 level and tank deck hydro-blast and recoat; flight deck preservation and non-skid; stability test; main engine turbo charger overhaul; ship's service diesel engine overhaul; life boat davit blocks; recertify lifeboats and winches; fire and smoke damper service; dry-docking and undocking the vessel; propeller system maintenance; overhauling sea valves; underwater hull cleaning and painting; ground tackle inspection and preservation; simplex stern tube seals; cargo ballast system tanks overhaul; ram tensioner preservation; and repair and preservation of saddle winches. The contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the total contract value to $11,054,691. Work will be performed in North Charleston, South Carolina, and is expected to be completed by March 17, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount $10,046,484 will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured, with proposals solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. The Navy's Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220519C4013). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Stern Produce Co. Inc.,* Phoenix, Arizona, has been awarded a maximum $99,850,000 firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for fresh fruits and vegetables. This is a 48-month contract with no option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. Location of performance is Arizona, with a Nov. 12, 2022, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps; and Department of Agriculture schools and reservations. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-19-D-P343). AIR FORCE The Boeing Co., Layton, Utah, has been awarded a $70,500,000 cost-plus-incentive-fee request for equitable adjustment contract modification to contract FA8214-15-C-0001 for the Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Flight Test, Telemetry, and Termination program. This modification changes the specifications for the parts management plan, flight termination receiver, electromagnetic interference, cable qualification requirements, and antenna testing requirements. Most of the work is being performed in Huntington Beach, California; and work is expected to be completed by Jan. 29, 2021. No funds are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Nuclear Weapon Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contract activity. *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1689528/
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November 6, 2020 | International, C4ISR
BAE building new campus for recently acquired GPS business
Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — BAE Systems announced Thursday it is investing more than $100 million in new infrastructure to support its navigation and sensor systems business, which was acquired from Collins Aerospace over the summer. The new campus, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will condense the company's military GPS capabilities from around the country into one location. Included in the project is a 278,000-square-foot factory and research and development center, located on a 32-acre site just minutes from Eastern Iowa Airport. The building will include a large factory, several hundred offices, workstations, and both classified and unclassified labs, according to a company release, with the ability to add 50,000 square feet of space if needed. BAE spent $1.9 billion to land the business unit, which primarily focuses on military GPS technologies, in a deal that was completed July 31. The acquisition followed the merger of defense contracting giants United Technologies Corp. and Raytheon into Raytheon Technologies Corporation in June 2019. The U.S. Department of Justice approved that merger in March 2020, but only on the condition the companies divest UTC's military GPS and large space-based optical systems businesses, as well as Raytheon's military airborne radios business. In March, BAE's chief executive Jerry DeMuro told Defense News that the purchase, along with $275 million spent to purchase the airborne radio business, positioned the company well under the National Defense Strategy. The military GPS business includes a workforce of 700 employees that design and build advanced, hardened, secure GPS products, including devices that can utilize M-Code, a more secure U.S. military GPS signal. The business boasts more than 1.5 million GPS devices installed on more than 280 weapons systems. “Our world-class military GPS business is built on the rich talent pool in Greater Cedar Rapids,” John Watkins, vice president and general manager of precision strike and sensing solutions at BAE Systems, said in a statement. “This investment will provide our high-tech engineering and manufacturing experts with a world-class workspace and the tools to enhance operational excellence.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/industry/2020/11/05/bae-building-new-campus-for-recently-acquired-gps-business