November 12, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By
Christen McCurdy
Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The Pentagon this week awarded two contracts totaling $734.8 million for infrastructure and equipment for the Qatar Emiri Air Force.
The larger of the two deals, announced on Monday, is a $657.2 million contract for Qatar's F-15 program.
Per this week's deal, Boeing will provide sparing and support for the F-15QA aircraft once they are delivered to Qatar, as well as logistical support and administrative costs.
Boeing is contracted to deliver 36 F-15QA aircraft to Qatar, with the first arriving in 2021. The U.S. Air Force announced in October that it is working with the QEAF to prepare for the aircraft's arrival.
A Tuesday press release from the contractor announced the deal along with two other recent contracts to support the QEAF: a previously unannounced $240 million, five-year contract for F-15QA program management, and a $68 million contract announced in April to provide maintenance and logistics support for the QEAF during their pre-delivery training for the F-15QA.
"The tailored training and sustainment delivered by our team, coupled with Boeing's platform expertise, allows us to deliver a holistic solution to our Qatari customer so they can optimize the full capability of their fleet with high availability rates," said Tim Buerk, director of Middle East defense services for Boeing.
"We look forward to our continued partnership with Qatar and further supporting their mission readiness needs," Buerk said.
Under the second deal, valued at $77.6 million, Raytheon will upgrade the Qatar Air Operations Center.
That includes the procurement and installation of hardware and software, as well as testing, end-user training and help desk support.
The F-15QA, which performed its maiden flight in April, has been described as the most advanced variant of the F-15 and is based on the F-15SA, which is currently in production for Saudi Arabia.
April 24, 2022 | International, Aerospace
The Defense Department has awarded the first contract of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative's $300 million budget for this year, a $19.7 million deal with AeroVironment for a small, hand-launched surveillance drone called the RQ-20 Puma AE.
December 11, 2023 | International, Aerospace
June 23, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
DoD also looking for tens of billions in extra funding from the White House, public still waiting for specifics on where it will go. By PAUL MCLEARYon June 22, 2020 at 3:16 PM WASHINGTON: The Pentagon knows it needs “lower double digit billions” to cope with COVID-19 related costs, but remains vague about just how much money it is asking the White House to add to the $740 billion already requested for 2021. Defense officials disclosed weeks ago that a request was on its way, and it is now with the White House Office of Management and Budget waiting for approval. The money will be part of a large-scale effort to cover defense industry claims of supply chain and workforce reductions as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, and is covered explicitly by Section 3610 of the coronavirus relief package. Under that rule, contractors can ask the Pentagon and other federal agencies to cover things mandated by new government rules like personal protective equipment, cleaning, and staggering work shifts. Speaking with reporters at the Pentagon this morning, acquisition chief Ellen Lord said “sooner is better, I think, is the best way to put it,” when asked about when the funds will be available. Lord repeated the timeline she has been referring to for weeks, saying “we continue to assess a three-month slowdown to all programs due to COVID-19,” she said, “we have seen inefficiencies across most programs. COVID-19 is shutting down defense manufacturing facilities and production lines, disrupting supply chains and distressing the financial stability of the companies DoD relies on to protect the nation.” The vast majority of defense firms have operated at at least some reduced capacity over the past several months, and Lord said the Pentagon continues to see the biggest impacts in the aviation and ship building supply chains” In order to spur the system, the DoD has sped up planned payments to the defense industry, hitting the $2 billion mark in recent days, and each of the large prime contractors have “confirmed their detailed plans to work with their supply chains to accelerate payments to identify distressed companies, and small businesses.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/06/dod-seeks-billions-more-for-covid-related-delays