Northrop Grumman Continues Support for US Air Force Infrared Countermeasures Systems

On the same subject

• 

  February 19, 2024 | International, Aerospace

  Saab secures multi-million dollar contract for Canada air defence - Army Technology

  To enhance Canada's security measures, the Canadian government has allocated CAD 227m to procure the Saab RBS 70 NG.

• 

  January 4, 2019 | International, Land

  Germany picks up two thorny defense and diplomacy assignments in 2019

  By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — Germany begins the new year with two prominent defense and diplomacy assignments: leadership of NATO's highest-alert combat formation, and a two-year seat on the United Nations Security Council. The two new responsibilities follow recent pledges by Berlin to play a more active role in global affairs, offering German Chancellor Angela Merkel an instant test to make good on those proclamations during the final years of her tenure. As of Jan. 1, Germany is on the hook to provide 5,000 soldiers for NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, or VJTF. The formation must be ready to fight wherever it is needed within 48 to 72 hours. Partner nations for this year's rotation include the Netherlands, Norway, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Lithuania, bringing the total package to about 8,000. A key rationale for the quick-reaction force is to display to Russia the ability to rapidly ferry combat power across Europe at a time when speed is believed to be a Russian advantage. European governments are still wary from the 2014 Russian annexation of Ukraine's Crimea, and more recently from a naval standoff between the two countries in the Sea of Asov. Both incidents fit into a pattern of Russia steering clear of outright war while trying to shake up the post-Soviet order around its borders, according to issue experts. The German Defence Ministry's logistics planning for the VJTF role takes into account the need to quickly move combat gear if needed. Its acquisition office last month announced a $110 million support contract to ensure rapid access to military rail transport from civilian providers during Germany's one-year tenure. The Bundeswehr, plagued by equipment shortfalls, management problems or both — depending on who is asked — has had to dig deep to assemble the needed equipment for the task force lead. In the end, funneling supplies from across the force to the tip of the spear appears to have worked, but it has depleted the readiness of many units, said Christian Mölling, an analyst with the Berlin-based German Council on Foreign Relations. “It means the rest of the Bundeswehr is no longer the kind of deterrent it is meant to be,” he said in an interview. With the task force now on high alert, Mölling said, the thing to watch will be Germany's national decision-making process in the event that it will be called up. Parliament and the government, he argues, lack a well-rehearsed process for assessing whether a given conflict warrants deploying the task force, potentially kicking off a comprehensive national debate that would negate any hope of a rapid reaction. That is especially the case because of Moscow's penchant to keep its activities just below the conflict threshold that would trigger Article 5, NATO's clause for collective defense when one member is attacked. Amid deepening global crises and a deteriorating relationship between Europe and the U.S., a German government debating the definition of a worthy VJTF deployment would probably lead to Russian President Vladimir Putin “grabbing a bag of popcorn,” Mölling quipped. “We just don't have the necessary routine for a case like that,” he said. As a nonpermanent member of the U.N. Security Council, it's easy to foresee the animosity between Germany and the Trump administration in Washington coming to a head in New York, said Ulrike Franke, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank. Many Germans are deeply wary of the U.S. president and his knocking of NATO and other multilateral institutions that have brought Berlin back from the devastation of World War II. That is even more the case since Jim Mattis, a vocal believer in America's global alliances, called it quits as defense secretary last month. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Jan. 1 tweeted a list of objectives for Germany during its Security Council tenure. They include countering climate change and related global security effects, and a commitment to arms control and disarmament — issues that the Trump administration has dismissed. When it comes to the voting pattern of Berlin and Washington, often aligned on the Security Council stage, things could get a little awkward, Franke predicts. In practical terms, however, “I'm pessimistic that a lot will change,” she said. But Germany's term holds the promise that government leaders here will get into the habit of developing truly global foreign policy positions and selling them to audiences foreign and domestic, she said. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/01/02/germany-picks-up-two-thorny-defense-and-diplomacy-assignments-in-2019/

• 

  October 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense – October 08, 2020

  Navy Gulf Warehousing Co., Doha, Qatar (N68171-21-D-0016); Marine Agency Co. Ltd, Pusan, Republic of Korea (N68171-21-D-0019); and Seaway Agencies Pty Ltd, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (N68171-21-D-0030), are awarded an estimated $1,061,000,000 under the previously awarded request for proposals (N68171-20-R-0001) multiple award of firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts to provide husbanding, management and integration services consisting of general charter and hire, utilities, force protection, communications and land transportation services to support maritime forces of the Department of Defense, other U.S. government agencies and nations, including Navy ships, Marine Corps, Military Sealift Command (MSC), Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, NATO and other foreign vessels participating in U.S. military or NATO exercises and missions. The contracts will run concurrently and will include a five-year base ordering period with one five-year option, with individual requirements performed under task orders when specific dates and locations are identified. If the option period is exercised, the total estimated value of the contracts combined will have a ceiling value of $2,122,000,000. The ordering period of the contract is expected to be completed by October 2025; if all options are exercised, the ordering period will be completed by October 2030. Work will be performed in 30 geographic regions: United Arab Emirates (14%); Philippines (10%); Djibouti (7%); eastern U.S. and U.S. territories (6%); Southeastern Asia 2 (5%); Indian Ocean (5%); Republic of Korea (5%); South America (5%); Singapore (4%); western California (4%); Southeastern Asia 1 (3%); Bahrain (3%); Oman (3%); Oceania (2%); China and Russia (2%); United Kingdom/Western Europe (North Sea) (2%); Italy (2%); Eastern Europe/Black Sea (2%); Western Europe (Mediterranean) (2%); Northern Atlantic (2%); Panama (2%); North America (2%); Japan (1%); Greece (1%); Africa (1%); Middle East (1%); Central America (1%); Caribbean and Bermuda (1%); eastern U.S. territories (1%); and western U.S. territories (1%). Due to the fact that the specific requirements for husbanding support cannot be predicted at this time, more specific information about where the work will be performed cannot be currently provided. Fiscal 2021 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,000 will be obligated ($3,000 on each of the three contracts to fund the contracts' minimum amounts), and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Additional funds will be obligated at the task order level with the appropriate fiscal year funding as issued by the main type commanders for each area of responsibility. Typical funding issued by each of the customers include operations and maintenance (Navy) funds from U.S. Fleet Forces Command; and working capital funds (Navy) from MSC. The requirement was competitively procured for the award of multiple contracts with the solicitation posted on beta.SAM.gov; Navy Electronic Commerce Online (NECO); and Euro NECO with 36 offers received. The Naval Supply Systems Command, Fleet Logistics Center, Sigonella, Naples Detachment, Italy, is the contracting activity. (Southeastern Asia 1 is aligned to the Pacific Islands [Palau, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia-France, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Western Samoa]. Southeastern Asia 2 is aligned to Southeastern Asian mainland countries [Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam]. Arete Associates, Northridge, California, is awarded a $17,976,258 firm-fixed-price modification to exercise Option Three of previously awarded contract N61331-18-D-0012 to provide Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis Block I systems. This option is for additional Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) Block 1 production systems. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (35%); Destin, Florida (35%); and Santa Rosa, California (30%), and is expected to be completed by September 2021. No funding will be obligated at time of award and will be obligated at the time a delivery order is issued. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division, Panama City, Florida, is the contracting activity. McKean Defense Group LLC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is awarded a $12,228,590 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-no-fee pricing to provide engineering support for Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services to include technical and programmatic services for networking, communications and computer systems and associated certification and information assurance for new developments, current operations and planned upgrades. This one-year contract includes four one-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the overall potential value of this contract to an estimated $69,793,839. Work will be performed in the continental U.S.: San Diego, California (76%); Norfolk, Virginia (4%); Hawaii (4%); Washington, D.C. (3%); Charleston, South Carolina (3%); and outside continental U.S.: Japan (4%); Guam (2%); Bahrain (2%); and Italy (2%). The period of performance of the base award is from Oct. 8, 2020, through Oct. 7, 2021. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through Oct.7, 2025. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Fiscal 2021 funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); shipbuilding construction (Navy); and other funding, which may include Foreign Military Sales; Program Directive Air; and Navy working capital fund. This contract was competitively procured via Request for Proposal N66001-19-R-0036, which was published on the beta.SAM.gov website. Two offers were received and one selected for award. The Naval Information Warfare Center, Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-21-D-0008). ARMY Ibis Tek Inc.,* Butler, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $229,062,184 firm-fixed-price contract for the Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles protection kit. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 7, 2027. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-21-D-0095). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Dairy Brands Fluid LLC,* doing business as Pet Dairy, Charlotte, North Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $22,800,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for fresh milk and dairy. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a three-year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are North Carolina and South Carolina, with an Oct. 7, 2023, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-21-D-V381). Aeronix Inc.,* Melbourne, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $8,516,838 fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for data interface units. 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 two-year base contract with three one-year option periods. Location of performance is Florida, with an Oct. 7, 2022, ordering period end 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 Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE8ES-21-D-0005). * Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2377069/source/GovDelivery/