August 4, 2020 | International, Land

Pandemic lengthens delay in US Army’s M113 vehicle replacement program

WASHINGTON — The coronavirus pandemic has caused another delay for the U.S. Army's plagued M113 replacement program, which has struggled with manufacturing problems as the BAE Systems-made Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle entered low-rate initial production, according to the company's second quarter fiscal 2020 earnings briefing released last week.

The company had to delay delivery of the first LRIP vehicles by roughly four to six months, moving delivery from March to July.

But as BAE prepared to move ahead on delivery, the pandemic hit, bringing with it another delay of roughly a month, which pushed the vehicles' delivery date to August.

The AMPV program entered LRIP in January 2019, but the program office indicated last year that delivery of the first vehicles would be delayed by two months and the completion of production qualification testing would be delayed by seven months due to tooling and assembly line challenges at BAE's facility in York, Pennsylvania.

Because of the issues, the Army's AMPV budget request in FY21 showed the program took a hit. The service indicated it would buy 32 vehicles instead of the 143 planned for the fiscal year, and the program's budget was cut from $445 million to $193 million.

The Army and BAE developed “a production approach that would allow us to incorporate efficiencies during LRIP that modernize manufacturing and increase the overall throughput of the program,” Amanda Niswonger, a BAE spokeswoman, told Defense News in an Aug. 3 statement.

“This included installing new technology and processes such as robotic welding, digital X-ray, and advanced machining. And we worked closely with the Army to update and refine manufacturing processes to incorporate the most modern weld and inspection technology,” she said. “These changes had an impact on our delivery timeline which was not reflected in the original delivery schedule, but continues to meet the Army's fielding schedule.”

The service and BAE had formalized the schedule change just as COVID-19 hit the U.S., which affected a large number of manufacturing facilities and supply chains globally.

“We have worked tirelessly to mitigate the impacts from COVID-19 with our employees, supply network, and customer base to keep our manufacturing sites operational and continue to receive parts as needed,” Niswonger said. “Unfortunately we could not overcome all the challenges and our first delivery has slipped one month.”

https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/08/03/pandemic-causes-latest-delay-in-us-armys-m113-replacement-program/

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July 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR, Security

Air Force wants to expand training for cyber teams
Mark Pomerleau The Air Force has selected the Air National Guard's training and education center at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base in Tennessee to be the focal point for training a cadre of defensive focused cyber teams, according to a news release. These teams, called mission defense teams (MDTs), will protect critical Air Force missions and installations such as critical infrastructure or computers associated with aircraft and remotely piloted systems. The teams are an outgrowth of the service's communications squadrons, which have performed much of the IT and cyber defense at the base or wing level. Now, with the Air Force outsourcing much of its IT management, the service was able to free up personnel and resources to focus on protecting these critical assets. The new crews differ from the cyber protection teams that the Air Force, and other services, provide to U.S. Cyber Command as part of the cyber mission force. At first, 20 students will participate in the mission defense team pilot class in mid-August. If that is successful, it will expand to six 20 student classes in 2021. The ultimate goal is to graduate 1,000 students each year across the service beginning in fiscal year 2023, the Air Force said. These teams will be stationed at 84 locations around the world. “This is an exciting moment for TEC and its future as an agile, innovative, and resilient center of learning for the total Air Force and the National Guard Bureau,” Col. Kenneth Lozano, the commander of the traning and education center, said. The Air Force has taken a “total Air Force approach” to cyber, to include its cyber mission force teams and mission defense teams, meaning, these forces are made up of combined active duty, guard and reserve forces. Prior training efforts for mission defense teams began at the 223rd Cyberspace Operations Squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base with a Cyber-Protect and -Defend course. The first classes were held in August 2019. The Air Force said to date, the schoolhouse has trained 160 airmen. The goal is for the training and education center at McGhee Tyson to assume 1,000 graduates a year, with the majority of training to transition there in 2022. One of the biggest hurdles thus far, is procuring a range for trainees to operate on. The Air Force is working through the Defense Cybercrimes Center to procure a cyber range and certify instructors. The price tag associated with this for the initial 20 students is $1.5 million. https://www.c4isrnet.com/cyber/2020/07/16/air-force-wants-to-expand-training-for-cyber-teams/
February 11, 2020 | International, Aerospace

U.S. Air Force Upgrading C-17 and C-130H Avionics As Supplier Base for Legacy Systems Falls
The U.S. Air Force is undertaking a number of avionics upgrades for Boeing [BA] C-17 and Lockheed Martin [LMT] C-130H transport aircraft, as the supplier base for legacy avionics systems falls, according to the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. “Diminishing Manufacturing Sources Material Shortfalls (DMSMS) are driving avionics-related upgrades,” AFLCMC wrote in email responses to questions from Defense Daily. The AFLCMC C-17 program office (AFLCMC/WLM) at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is undertaking a nearly $286 million C-17 Replacement Head-Up Display (RHUD) program with Elbit Systems of America to replace the 1980s-era C-17 HUD by the defunct U.K.-based GEC Avionics, whose former business is now part of Leonardo. The Elbit Systems RHUD for the C-17 has a Projector Unit (PU) and a Computer Unit (CU) that “displays symbols and real-world conformal imagery over an increased field of view to include the capability to display threat warnings and quadrant, supports two independently selectable video inputs for autonomous landing growth requirements, provides aircraft Electronic Bore-sighting capability, [and] provides improved reliability with a Mean Time between Failure (MTBF) of 3,000 operating hours,” according to AFLCMC/WLM. A GEC Avionics brochure issued in 1987 for the C-17 HUD said that the HUD has an MTBF of 7,000 operating hours, but, “based on current performance, the actual [HUD] MTBF is between 1,600 and 1,800 hours (lower than predicted),” according to AFLCMC/WLM. “The Statement of Requirements for the Replacement Head Up Display (RHUD) development delivery order requested 3,000 hours MTBF at maturity.” In addition, for the Boeing C-17 aircraft, the Air Force is undertaking “satellite communications upgrades for increased coverage and throughput speeds along with mitigation of obsolescence issues due to satellite service dates” and “upgrades of legacy aircraft avionics to capabilities of current commercial production aircraft, large area displays, [and] improved weather radars,” AFLCMC/WLM said. Under a $209 million Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) program for the C-17, AFLCMC is replacing the aircraft's L-Band Aero-I and Aero-H antennas, providing air traffic control data link capabilities, replacing the Collins Aerospace [UTX] ARC-210 Gen 3 radios with ARC-210 Gen 6 radios, and replacing KYV-5 cryptography with next-gen KYV-5M, AFLCMC/WLM said. Last July, the Air Force picked Honeywell [HON] to install its JetWave Ka-band fuselage-mounted antenna (MCS-8100 and tail-mounted antenna (MCS-8000) on 70 C-17s to provide real-time weather, video conferencing, large file transfer, encryption capabilities, in-flight briefings, intelligence surveillance reconnaissance video and secure communications in all areas, including over water and remote areas. The C-17 BLOS program will “enable dynamic re-tasking and command and control support of MAF [Mobility Air Forces] aircraft,” the Air Force said. JetWave uses Inmarsat‘s Global Xpress Ka-band service to provide worldwide connectivity with up to 50 Mbps of bandwidth to defense customers, according to Honeywell Aerospace. In December, AFLCMC completed Block 21 upgrades for all 275 C-17s, operated by the Air Force and allied nations, according to AFLCMC/WLM. The upgrades included hardware and software for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out (ADS-B Out) required by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and aviation authorities in Europe for planes operating in controlled airspace. “In addition to ADS-B Out, Block 21 included an Identification of Friend or Foe (IFF) modification and other communication/navigation capability software updates,” AFLCMC said. “These additional modifications significantly improve the aircraft's flight management systems.” For the C-130H, the Air Force last June awarded L3Harris [LHX] a nearly $500 million contract for avionics upgrades to 176 Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard aircraft under the C-130H Avionics Modernization Program (AMP). L3Harris has chosen Collins Aerospace to provide its commercial off-the-shelf Flight2 integrated avionics system. Collins Aerospace said that is providing seven multifunctional displays (MFDs), three control display units (CDUs), and a new digital autopilot that will replace more than 100 analog instruments in C-130H cockpits. The AFLCMC C-130 program office (AFLCMC/WLN) at Robins Air Force Base said that the C-130H AMP increments 1 and 2 include “compliance with latest commercial and military Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) standards, a new flight management system, new commercial and military GPS receivers, improved [RNP] Required Navigation Performance], compliance with VHF 8.33KHz channel spacing requirements and ADS-B Out and Mode S Enhanced Surveillance (EHS) requirements, military satcom voice and data via the Lockheed Martin Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), improved UHF anti-jam capability via the Collins Aerospace Second generation Anti-jam Tactical UHF Radio for NATO (SATURN), Real-Time Information into the Cockpit (RTIC), Link 16, [and a] digital map.” The C-130H upgrades also include a terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS), according to AFLCMC/WLN. RTIC is to allow the C-130H aircraft to share data with other systems over multiple data link networks. https://www.defensedaily.com/u-s-air-force-upgrading-c-17-c-130h-avionics-supplier-base-legacy-systems-falls/air-force/
May 7, 2019 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

Harris Corporation Awarded Contract to Support Boeing’s MQ-25 Unmanned Tanker for the US Navy
Highlights: Onboard computer provides superior processing capacity and enhanced situational awareness Processor, based on advanced open systems and COTS, allows for faster and easier upgrades Reaffirms Harris' strategy to leverage open systems processors into new platforms Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) has been awarded a contract by The Boeing Company to partner with Boeing AvionX in supplying the mission management open systems processor for the MQ-25 unmanned aerial refueling program. “Harris and Boeing have invested substantial R&D to develop affordable, high-performance solutions that allow for faster and easier upgrades,” said Ed Zoiss, president, Harris Electronic Systems. “This contract reaffirms Harris' strategy to leverage open systems processors into new platforms.” The mission management processor is based on an advanced open systems architecture solution and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology. The mission management processor manages sensor and communications functions on the MQ-25, providing the onboard processing capacity necessary to support advanced computing needs. Harris will provide hardware and firmware in conjunction with Boeing's open systems architecture solution. The MQ-25 is the U.S. Navy's first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft and is designed to provide a much-needed refueling capability. The contract supports Boeing's engineering and manufacturing development program to provide four MQ-25 aircraft to the U.S. Navy for Initial Operational Capability by 2024. Harris has been a supplier to Boeing since the 1980s on a wide range of military aircraft, munition, and satellite programs. This latest contract will continue job growth for Harris in Florida, which is a supplier of mission management processors to Boeing and other major aircraft programs. “The MQ-25 program is vital because it will help the U.S. Navy extend the range of the carrier air wing, and Boeing and our industry team is all-in on delivering this capability,” said Dave Bujold, Boeing's MQ-25 program director. “The work we're doing is also foundational for the future of Boeing – where we're building autonomous systems from seabed to space.” https://www.harris.com/press-releases/2019/05/harris-corporation-awarded-contract-to-support-boeings-mq-25-unmanned-tanker

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