May 11, 2020 | International, Naval, Land
8 May 2020
Military.com | By Matthew Cox
The novel coronavirus pandemic has forced the Marine Corps to postpone the industry day it had scheduled this month for its new reconnaissance vehicle effort. But the service still plans to invite industry to submit ideas for vehicle prototypes next spring.
The Corps announced plans in April 2019 to begin replacing its legacy Light Armored Vehicle with the Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle, or ARV, in the late 2020s. Since then, officials managing the Light Armored Vehicles program have been talking with the defense industry to see which firms are capable of building the new vehicle, which will feature enhanced vision technologies for increased situational awareness and advanced target tracking and weapon systems.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the postponement of the industry day, at which officials had planned to answer questions about the request for information the Corps released last year.
"We still want to hold an industry day, so we can have an open discussion with industry, provide more clarification and answer any questions from our industry partners," Maryann Lawson, Marine Corp Systems Command's project lead for the ARV effort, said in a recent announcement.
The event is now scheduled for the fourth quarter of this fiscal year.
The Marine Corps also plans to release a draft request for prototypes for the ARV base variant before the end of this fiscal year, according to the release. The Corps wants feedback from defense firms to help shape the requirement for the final prototypes request, which is scheduled for publication in spring 2021.
The Army is also working on its Next Generation Combat Vehicle, an effort to replace the Cold War-era Bradley fighting vehicle. Part of the effort will be to field an Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, or OMFV.
In late January, Army officials announced that the service would restart the high-priority OMFV effort after receiving only one valid bid for the $45 billion program.
Marine ARV program officials are coordinating with Army OMFV officials, recognizing the commonalities that exist between the two programs, the release states.
In 2019, the Office of Naval Research selected two defense companies to design, build and test full-scale technology-demonstration vehicles, an ARV science and technology effort which is part of the Navy's Future Naval Capabilities program, according to a September release.
General Dynamics Land Systems is building a vehicle that will incorporate advanced technologies available today for the "base vehicle" approach, the release states.
The Virginia-based IT company SAIC is building an "at-the-edge" vehicle designed around technologies that currently may not be fully mature but could be incorporated into the ARV as new capabilities, when threats and missions evolve, the release adds.
Both vehicles are expected to be ready for evaluation in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year, Marine Corps Systems Command officials said.
Last year, the Corps conducted a capability-based assessment that focused on armored reconnaissance, according to the release, which described how the assessment pitted Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalions against a peer threat, and identified shortfalls and gaps in capability.
Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Combat Development and Integration produced an initial capabilities document -- which was validated by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council in 2019.
"As the core-manned, next-generation system, ARV must possess transformational capabilities to enable LAR Battalions to gain contact with and collect on peer-threat forces," Marine Corps Systems Command officials said. "It must accomplish this goal without becoming decisively engaged, while also successfully waging the counter-reconnaissance fight."
As the effort evolves, the Marine Corps has begun to view the ARV as more than just a replacement for the LAV, the release states.
"Over time, officials began to view the ARV as a vehicle platform equipped with a suite of advanced reconnaissance capabilities, with an open-system architecture that can sense, shoot, move, communicate and remain transportable as part of the Naval Expeditionary Force," it adds.
January 4, 2023 | International, Naval
âWe have lost significant flexibility,â said Rear Adm. David Proctor, âand we have lost the ability to undertake a number of concurrent activities.â
August 2, 2018 | International, Naval
By: Carl Prine The Navy has pulled the trigger on the lucrative engineering services contract for afloat and ashore operations worldwide. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific awarded Science Applications International Corp. a $116 million prime contract to continue providing a wide range of management and technical support to the Navy's Tactical Networks In-Service Engineering Activity — what sailors call “TACNET ISEA" for short. The bulk of the work is expected to be performed in San Diego and Norfolk, with some additional help on Navy vessels and shore sites around the globe. The contract calls for a three-year base period of performance but includes a two-year option that, if exercised, will hike the value of the deal to about $196 million. In 2015, SAIC landed a similar three-year $80 million deal with SPAWAR. “We are proud to continue our support to SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific TACNET and are dedicated to ensuring the highest degree of fleet readiness. For more than 20 years, we have assisted the Navy with sustainment services for critical TACNET systems that serve as the backbone of U.S. naval vessels,” said Jim Scanlon, SAIC senior vice president and general manager of the Defense Systems Customer Group, in a press release. With more than $4.5 billion in annual revenues, Virginia-based SAIC is a global technical and engineering titan. Full article: https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2018/08/01/spawar-inks-lucrative-contract/  
September 12, 2019 | International, Aerospace
Helen Chachaty A trois, on y va. L'Italie a officiellement rejoint le programme d'aviation de combat du futur, mené par le Royaume-Uni. Un secret de polichinelle qui a pris la forme de la signature de deux accords distincts, le premier impliquant les autorités politiques, le second établissant les bases pour la coopération industrielle à venir entre les deux pays. Les documents ratifiés cette semaine prévoient aussi bien un partenariat renforcé sur les plateformes actuelles, Eurofighter et F-35, qu'un développement conjoint du prochain aéronef de combat, au sein du programme Tempest. La déclaration d'intention signée entre le chef du Defence Equipment & Support (l'équivalent britannique de la DGA), Sir Simon Bollom, et le Lieutenant général Nicolò Falsaperna, vice-secrétaire général à la Défense italien, couvre cinq aspects de coopération : un rapprochement des deux gouvernements sur les capacités futures de l'Eurofighter ; la définition conjointe des besoins militaires concernant le Tempest, le développement d'une feuille de route pour l'aviation de combat, avec le transfert de technologies de l'Eurofighter au Tempest ; la mise en place d'un cadre de coopération industrielle ; le lancement d'études pour de nouvelles voies de « travail collaboratif ». Cette annonce politique a été suivie le lendemain par la signature d'un accord de coopération entre les principaux industriels britanniques et italiens, à l'occasion du salon DSEI, qui se tient jusqu'au 13 septembre à Londres. Il s'agira de « travailler ensemble pour définir un concept innovant et un modèle de partenariat qui inclura le partage de connaissances, la conception et le développement de technologies en vue d'un développement conjoint des systèmes de combat aérien futurs », selon le communiqué officiel. Côté britannique, on retrouve BAE Systems, Leonardo UK, Rolls Royce et MBDA UK, tandis que la partie italienne va impliquer Leonardo - évidemment - Elettronica, Avio Aero et la MBDA Italy. L'Italie devient ainsi le troisième acteur impliqué dans le programme de développement du système de combat aérien du futur lancé et dirigé par le Royaume-Uni, le deuxième au sein du programme Tempest. La Suède s'est pour sa part contentée de signer un accord de coopération pour l'aviation de combat de nouvelle génération lors du salon aéronautique de Farnborough, sans toutefois rejoindre le programme Tempest en lui-même. Selon Jane's, la décision formelle est attendue pour la fin de l'année 2020. Le paysage européen de l'aviation de combat du futur se répartit à présent comme suit : France, Allemagne et Espagne coopèrent sur le SCAF, tandis que le Royaume-Uni, l'Italie - et peut-être la Suède - s'engagent sur le Tempest, chacun avec ses industriels dédiés. Certains, tels que MBDA ou encore Safran (qui figurent tous deux dans la liste « team Tempest »), tirent cependant leur épingle du jeu, en étant impliqués dans les deux programmes. https://www.journal-aviation.com/actualites/43040-l-italie-embarque-a-bord-du-tempest