Ovzon in successful demonstration with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV)

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  December 27, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - December 26, 2018

  NAVY Oceaneering International Inc., Chesapeake, Virginia (N64498-19-D-0001); Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News, Virginia (N64498-19-D-0002); and General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut (N64498-19-D-0003), are being awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity multiple award contracts with firm-fixed-priced ordering provisions for Submarine Safety (SUBSAFE) and Level I engineering and technical services in the amounts of $827,674,072; $874,341,811; and $1,110,350,671, respectively. This requirement is for management and technical services for the support installation, troubleshooting, repair, and maintenance of main and auxiliary weapons, as well as hull, mechanical and electrical equipment for various Submarine, SUBSAFE and Level I Material work onboard SSN 21 Class (Seawolf Class); SSN 688 Class (Los Angeles Class); SSBN/SSGN 726 Class (Ohio Class); and SSN 774 Class (Virginia Class) submarines. These contracts will primarily support large submarine maintenance and modernization programs and/or critical-path ship changes/alterations that are accomplished in Navy Chief of Naval Operation availabilities, dry-dock selected restricted availabilities, engineered refueling overhauls, depot modernization periods, and continuous maintenance availabilities. Work is expected to be performed at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia; Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington; and Naval Submarine Base King's Bay, King's Bay, Georgia. The work under this contract will contain a five-year ordering period and is expected to be completed by December 2023. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the total amount of $300,000 ($100,000 per contract) will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This funding represents the guaranteed contract minimum for each contract award. These contracts were competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with four offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the contracting activity. Huang-Gaghan JV Two, * Alexandria, Virginia (N40080-19-D-0001); LLB Enterprises LLC, * Stafford, Virginia (N40080-19-D-0002); Argus-CJW JV LLC, * Leesburg, Virginia (N40080-19-D-0003); Signature-Renovations LLC, * Capital Heights, Maryland (N40080-19-D-0004); Snodgrass JV, * Annapolis, Maryland (N40080-19-D-0005); and JCMCS,* Washington, District of Columbia (N40080-19-D-0006), are each awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award construction contracts for mechanical - construction projects located primarily within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Washington area of responsibility (AOR). The maximum dollar value including the base year and four option years for all six contracts combined is $99,000,000. The work to be performed provides for construction services. The contractor shall provide all labor, supervision, engineering, materials, equipment, tools, parts, supplies and transportation to perform all work described in the specifications. Huang-Gaghan JV Two is being awarded task order 0001 at $2,942,286 for the seed project A-59 new mechanical room and central hot water system, at Naval Research Laboratory Washington, District of Columbia. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by January 2019. All work on this contract will be performed primarily within the NAVFAC Washington AOR to include District of Columbia (40 percent); Virginia (40 percent); and Maryland (20 percent). The term of the contract is not to exceed 24 months, with an expected completion date of January 2020. Fiscal 2019 supervision, inspection, and overhead; and fiscal 2019 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $2,942,286 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy and Defense Logistics Agency); and Navy working capital fund. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 18 proposals received. These six contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Co., Integrated Defense Systems, Marlborough, Massachusetts, was awarded a $72,463,134 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-only undefinitized contract action for the production of Aegis Weapon System fire control system MK 99 equipment, Aegis Modernization production requirements, and associated engineering services. Work will be performed in Andover, Massachusetts (66 percent); Marlborough, Massachusetts (16 percent); Chesapeake, Virginia (13 percent); Portsmouth, Rhode Island (3 percent); San Diego, California (1 percent); and Burlington, Massachusetts (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by April 2022. Fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); fiscal 2018 other procurement (Navy); and fiscal 2018 defense wide procurement funding in the amount of $22,975,534 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-5112). (Awarded Dec. 21, 2018) KBE Building Corp., Farmington, Connecticut, is awarded a $30,188,219 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a medical and dental clinic at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The work to be performed provides for the construction of a new free-standing medical and dental clinic consisting of two occupied stories with a shared two-story waiting area. The facility will replace the existing clinic, and will encompass Medical Homeport, optometry, undersea medicine, dental, and mental health, as well as pharmacy, radiology, ancillaries, support and administrative space. Supporting facilities construction will include all site utilities, site preparation, site improvements, paving (parking and roadways) and access roads. Work will be performed in Kittery, Maine, and is expected to be completed by January 2021. Fiscal 2017 defense military construction, medical funds in the amount of $30,188,219 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with two proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N4008519C9072). General Dynamics Mission Systems, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is awarded $28,957,961 for contract modification P00030 to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00030-16-C-0005) for sustainment of the U.S. and United Kingdom (UK) SSBN fire control system, the U.S. SSGN Attack Weapon Control System, including training and support equipment. Also included is the missile fire control for the U.S. Columbia-class and UK Dreadnought-class Common Missile Compartment program development, through first unit UK production, and Strategic Weapon Interface Simulator. Work will be performed in Pittsfield Massachusetts (90.5 percent); Bremerton, Washington, (3.6 percent); Kings Bay, Georgia (2.7 percent); Dahlgren, Virginia (1 percent); Cape Canaveral, Florida (0.9 percent); Portsmouth, Virginia (0.9 percent); and the United Kingdom (0.4 percent), with an expected completion date of Sept. 30, 2023. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $20,139,048; and United Kingdom funds in the amount of $2,726,000 are being obligated on this award. Funds in the amount of $20,139,048 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,183,913; and United Kingdom funds in the amount of $909,000 will be obligated. Funds in the amount of $5,183,913 will expire at the end the current fiscal year. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, is awarded a $26,448,121 cost-plus-award-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost, and firm-fixed-price contract for planning yard efforts such as engineering, technical, planning, ship configuration, data and logistics efforts for DDG 1000-class destroyers post-delivery and in-service life cycle support, and shock qualification test and analysis. The planning yard will provide DDG 1000 class technical, engineering and support, including emergent technical problem investigation and resolution; shock qualification test and analysis; maintenance and modernization planning; integrated logistics support; configuration data management; maintenance, repair and/or overhaul availability planning and scheduling; modernization planning and scheduling; industrial yard/facility planning and scheduling and material orders; and fabrication and kitting. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $86,703,677. Work will be performed in Bath, Maine (92 percent); Gardena, California (1 percent); Atlanta, Georgia (1 percent); Muscatine, Iowa (1 percent); Patterson, New Jersey (1 percent); Saratoga Springs, New York (1 percent); and other locations below one percent (3 percent); and is expected to be completed by December 2023. Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); and fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $25,611,651 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was procured via a limited competition under the authority of 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1), with two offers received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-2322). Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona, is awarded a $17,011,832 modification to previously awarded contract N00024‑17-C-5420 to exercise an option for providing Zumwalt capability and design agent support to the STANDARD Missile-2. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (47 percent); Andover, Massachusetts (33 percent); Mountain View, California (12 percent); San Diego, California, (3 percent); Chandler, Arizona (2 percent); Hudson, New Hampshire (2 percent); Redmond, Washington (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by March 2022. Fiscal 2017 and 2018 weapons procurement (Navy); and foreign military sales funding in the amount of $16,951,832 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, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. CORRECTION: A contract modification awarded Dec. 20, 2018, to Ameresco Select Inc., Framingham, Massachusetts, for $17,961,208 (N4740899F4117), was announced with an incorrect cumulative value. The correct total cumulative value after award of the modification is $121,374,022. ARMY SOS International LLC, Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $191,225,021 firm-fixed-price contract for base life support and security services. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in Taji, Iraq, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2023. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance; and military personnel appropriations funds in the amount of $83,044,481 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-19-C-0010). The Boeing Co., Mesa, Arizona, was awarded a $49,210,651 firm-fixe-price Foreign Military Sales (Qatar) contract for Maintenance Augmentation Team services for the Qatari Air Force AH-64E aircraft. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2024. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $49,210,651 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-19-C-0008). AIR FORCE Alliant Techsystems Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, has been awarded a $36,570,512 firm-fixed-price modification (P00045) to contract FA8106-16-C-0004 that exercises Option Year Three for contractor logistic support. This contract provides the Iraqi Air Force's Cessna 208 fleet and the 208/172 Trainer fleet with contractor logistic support. Work will be performed in Iraq and is expected to be completed Dec. 31, 2019. This contract involves 100 percent foreign military sales to Iraq and is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity. U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND Rockwell Collins Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been awarded a $35,000,000 contract modification for an existing non-competitive single award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (H92241-15-D-0001) to provide post-deployment software support for the Common Avionics Architecture System. This modification increases the contract ceiling amount from $107,328,000 to $142,328,000. Each individual task order will be funded with procurement; research, development, testing and evaluation; and operations and maintenance appropriations, as appropriate, from the correct fiscal year at the time of obligation. This contract is not multiyear. Ordering periods will end on Nov. 30, 2019. This contract was awarded through noncompetitive procedures in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. U.S. Special Operations Command, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1721253/

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  January 19, 2021 | International, Aerospace

  US Army taps industry for autonomous drones to resupply troops

  By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is tapping industry for drones that can deliver supplies to infantry brigade combat teams in the field, according to a request for information posted to the federal contracting website Beta.Sam.Gov on Jan. 13. Army Futures Command's Sustainment Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate as well as the Marine Corps' Capabilities Development and Integration office began looking in earnest at a concept called the “Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply System,” about two years ago with the hope of getting a capabilities development document signed in three years. But the concept has been alive for much longer. In 2018, the JTAARS concept was on an evaluation list for the Joint Warfighting Assessment in Grafenwoehr, Germany. The services plan to field the system by 2026. The drone should already be technologically mature to demonstrate capability, weigh less than a Group 3 drone — or less than approximately 1,300 pounds — and be able to haul up to 800 pounds of supplies to the field to provide an organic sustainment capability for infantry brigade combat teams in a multidomain operational environment, according to the request for information. The drone should also be able to operate in a 110-mile radius at day or night, and in bad weather conditions, as well as plug into current and future tactical command-and-control systems, the RFI read. Setup time to launch a package should take 15 minutes, and two to four soldiers should be able to lift it out of a transport container, the RFI said. This means the system should be lightweight and easy to use, the document explained. The drone must automatically launch, navigate in GPS-denied environments, drop cargo, land and return to its point of origin, the document added. The system should also be able to avoid obstacles and pick optimal flight paths and landing sites on its own, the RFI explained. Turnaround time between missions should be minimal, according to the RFI, and the system should be modular and open in order to integrate a variety of payloads and software needed, but it also must be secure from cyberattacks. The Army and Marine Corps have worked on autonomous resupply concepts for over a decade. Perhaps most well-known is the evaluation of Lockheed Martin's K-MAX unmanned helicopter, which had the capability to sling-load cargo. Two of the aircraft were evaluated for several years in Afghanistan beginning in late 2011; one aircraft crashed. The services completed the operational assessment but did not pursue the capability beyond that. While the Army has focused on robotic ground convoys for resupply — including developing leader-follower capability — it's expected that autonomous resupply will happen in the air before ground systems provide sustainment due to the increased complication of navigating unpredictable terrain and obstacles on land. And as the commercial sector — such as Amazon and Google — continues to invest in the drone delivery market, systems designed for the task will become more reliable, more capable and less expensive, likely benefiting the U.S. military. That market is projected to be worth almost $29 billion by the late 2020s. Responses from industry are due Feb. 12. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2021/01/15/us-army-taps-industry-for-autonomous-drones-to-resupply-troops

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  October 9, 2019 | International, C4ISR

  How airmen can work together for persistent ISR

  By: Brig. Gen. Gregory Gagnon and Lt. Col. Nishawn Smagh There is always a next war. Great power competition is here. Now is the time, while the United States maintains a position of strength, to ensure we are not outmatched, out-thought, or out-witted. Rapidly and realistically positioning the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance enterprise for first-mover advantage in today's data-driven environment is beginning with purposeful urgency. The past paradigm: crew-to-aircraft model During our careers, the Air Force ISR enterprise grew in both capability and capacity. In the late 1990s, the Air Force operated an ISR enterprise dominated by manned aircraft, each with their own specialized team operating unique systems that turned data into initial intelligence. Only a few organizations could turn raw airborne sensor data into intelligence in near-real time. We were only beginning to move data to the analyst, versus deploying the analyst to the data. As battlefield demand of ISR grew, we scaled up. We were fortunate to help build and execute airborne intelligence operations on a global scale, connected via a global network — we called them “reachback” operations. Reachback operations were the first step in transmitting ISR sensor collection across the globe in seconds. Even today, few nations can conduct this type of ISR operational design. The enterprise has continued to advance, achieving fully distributed operations around the world. We also made it possible to remove humans from aircraft, allowing missions to fly nearly three times longer and expand the data available to exploit. Correspondingly, the Air Force increased the number of organizations that could accept data and create intelligence. Following 9/11, our nation's needs changed; the fight necessitated the Air Force grow its capacity to deliver intelligence for expanded operations in the Middle East. We bought more unmanned vehicles, trained more ISR Airmen, and created more organizations to exploit data. Collection operations were happening 24/7 and most sorties required multiple crews to fly, control sensors and turn collection tasks into intelligence. As reachback operations grew, they became the Distributed Common Ground System and developed the ability to exploit aircraft sensor data. This growth was significant, but at the tactical level we employed the same crew model and simply grew at scale. This resulted in manpower growth, but also in disparate, distributed crews working similar tactical requirements with little unity of effort or larger purpose. This limited the ability of ISR airpower to have broader operational effects. While suitable for counter-terrorism, history tells us this approach is ill advised for great power conflict. Observe and orient: the data explosion and sense-making The traditional crew-to-aircraft model for exploitation must fast forward to today's information environment. The Pentagon has shifted its guidance to this new reality. The Defense Department recently declared information a seventh core function, and the Air Force's formal ISR flight plan maps a course for digital-age capabilities to turn information into intelligence. This “sense-making” must be able to handle both the complexity of a diverse information environment and scale to contend with an exploding volume of data. Access to expanded data sets, from diverse collection sources and phenomenology, is near and urgently needed. The Department's focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning in this realm remains stable and necessary. The next step is to retool how we task, organize, and equip both intelligence collection and analytic crews. As the Pentagon focuses on open architectures, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and data standards, the field is rapidly moving out. Air Combat Command , the Air Force lead command for ISR, is attacking the crew-to-aircraft model to test a sensor-agnostic approach using multiple data sources to address intelligence requirements. Cross-functional teams of Airmen are now assigned broader operational problems to solve, rather than a specific sensor to exploit. This will change joint and service collection management processes. ACC is tackling this future. We are supporting Air Force commanders in Europe and the Pacific with a pilot project that allows Airmen to explore these sensor-agnostic approaches. An additional element to our future success is partnering with our joint and allied partners, as well as national agencies, to bring resources, tools, and insights to bear. As we field the open architecture Distributed Common Ground System, we are shifting the focus from airmen operating specific sensors to airmen leveraging aggregate data for broader analysis. Headquarters Air Force and ACC are installing technologies to ensure readiness for the future ISR enterprise. Cloud technology paired with artificial intelligence and machine learning promises to speed human-machine teaming in generating intelligence across warfighting domains at the speed and scale necessary to inform and guide commanders. Underpinning this effort is a new data strategy and agile capability development for rapid prototyping and fielding. The Defense Department and the Air Force must continue to prioritize this retooling. Our adversaries see the opportunities; this is a race to the future. Situational awareness in the next war will require the development and fielding of AI/ML to replace the limited and manpower-intensive processes across the Air Force ISR enterprise. Employing AI/ML against repetitive data exploitation tasks will allow the service to refocus many of its ISR Airmen on AI/ML-assisted data analysis and problem solving. ISR and multi domain command and control ... enabling decide and act A headquarters-led initiative, with eyes toward a joint capability, is the creation of a collaborative sensing grid that operates seamlessly across the threat spectrum. Designs call for a data-centric network of multi domain platforms, sensors, and airmen that work together to provide persistent ISR. Equipped with manned and unmanned platform sensors capable of computing via AI/ML, these capabilities will link commanders to real-time information, plus tip and cue data from sensors-to-sensors, joint commanders, and weapons. This collaborative sensing grid is a foundational element for multi domain command and control . The vision of MDC2 is to outpace, outthink and outmaneuver adversaries. Creatively and rapidly applying new technology to operational problems is a long-held characteristic of airmen. Our DCGS airmen are no different. Non-material solutions deserve as much attention as hardware. This pilot project is our vanguard initiative to prepare for rapidly changing future systems environments. https://www.c4isrnet.com/opinion/2019/10/08/how-airmen-can-work-together-for-persistent-isr/