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October 29, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, C4ISR
Northrop Grumman begins building first Triton UAV for Australia
Gareth Jennings
Northrop Grumman commenced assembly of the first of up to seven MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for Australia, it announced on 27 October.
The milestone saw the first jig-load for a Triton intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) UAV for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) take place at Northrop Grumman's Moss Point facility in Mississippi. Final assembly and flight testing will follow at the company's Palmdale facility and at Edwards Air Force Base in California, ahead of delivery to Australia in 2023.
“The MQ-4C Triton will be a very important ISR capability for Australia,” Air Commodore Terry van Haren, the RAAF's air attaché to the Australian Embassy in the United States, said during the ceremony that was also attended by senior Australian and US government and military figures. “It is ideally suited for Australian operating conditions, given its high altitude, long endurance, and impressive sensor suite. The Royal Australian Air Force looks forward to operating the MQ-4C alongside its other ISR and response aircraft such as the [Boeing] P-8A Poseidon [maritime multimission aircraft (MMA)].”
Australia currently has three Tritons in the US Navy's (USN's) low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot 5, which also includes two main operating bases, and one forward operating base for the country in an integrated functional capability-four (IFC-4) and multiple intelligence configuration. IFC-4 functionality will add a signals intelligence capability to the UAV's baseline IFC-3 configuration.
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October 8, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence
Contract Awards by US Department of Defense – October 07, 2020
AIR FORCE Hydraulics International Inc., Chatsworth, California, has been awarded a $377,357,493 firm-fixed-price, requirements-type, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for multiple pieces of hydraulic equipment and hydraulic fluid purification systems to be used on multiple aviation platforms. Work will be performed in Chatsworth, California, and is expected to be completed Oct. 7, 2029. This award is a result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement; and future fiscal aircraft procurement funds will be obligated upon availability for task orders. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8532-21-D-0001). PKL Services Inc., Poway, California, has been awarded a $13,757,191 firm-fixed-price modification (P00008) to contract FA4897-18-C-2002 to continue providing military aircraft F15 SG maintenance and operations training. This contract provides for the Republic of Singapore Air Force training on F15 aircraft, and includes both maintenance and operations on the F15 aircraft. Work will be performed at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, and is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2022. Foreign Military Sales funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. The 366th Financial Acquisition Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, is the contracting activity. Honeywell International Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been awarded an $11,638,078 modification (P00006) to contract FA9453-19-C-0010 to exercise Option Two for critical design review, providing research options for Space Enterprise Technologies. The contractor shall conduct experiments, evaluate, and perform process development back-end pillar fabrication process. Work will be performed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is expected to be completed April 14, 2022, per Option Two: Critical Design Review contract line item number 2001 and a Military interdepartmental purchase request from HQ0157 Office of the Under Secretary of the Air Force – Acquisition, Technology and Logistics will be obligated to incrementally fund the option at time of modification. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $17,361,381. Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, is the contracting activity. CORRECTION: The dollar amounts awarded and obligated on Oct. 1, 2020, to Gryphon Technologies L.C., Washington, D.C. (FA7022-21-D-0001), for the processing, analysis and quantitative evaluation of environmental samples and other associated services in support of the Air Force Technical Applications Center's mission were announced inaccurately. The contract amount is actually $49,503,924, and the obligated amount is $4,160,824. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Senn Brothers Inc.,* West Columbia, South Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $225,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for fresh fruit and vegetables. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is South Carolina, with an Oct. 3, 2025, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Department of Agriculture schools. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-21-D-P365). The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a maximum $149,528,875 firm-fixed-price delivery order (SPRPA1-21-D-9001) against five-year basic ordering agreement SPRPA1-14-D-002U for KC-46 Commercial Common Program consumable parts. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a three-year base contract with two one-year option periods. Location of performance is Missouri, with an Oct. 7, 2023, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. L1 Enterprises Inc., Frederick, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $45,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for medical equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency electronic catalog. This was a competitive acquisition with 131 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Maryland, with an Oct. 6, 2025, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DH-21-D-0050). * Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2375598/source/GovDelivery/
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March 19, 2024 | International, Land
New pact deepens Fincantieri’s stake in seabed warfare business
The shipbuilder signed a deal with Italian energy firm Saipem to integrate that company's underwater drones into Fincantieri's ships and submarines.