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  May 27, 2024 | International, Land

  The ISO 42001 Compliance Checklist

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  June 25, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - June 23, 2020

  DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Steris Corp., Mentor, Ohio, has been awarded a maximum $225,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for patient monitoring and capital equipment systems and accessories. This was a competitive acquisition with 41 offers received. This is a five-year base contract with one five-year option period. Location of performance is Ohio, with a June 22, 2025, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D1-20-D-0008). Thales Defense & Security Inc., Clarksburg, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $81,800,432 firm-fixed-price contract for Airborne Low Frequency Sonar spare parts. 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 five-year one-month contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Maryland, with a July 30, 2025, performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 Navy working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPRPA1-20-C-Y043). Simmonds Precision Sensors & Integrated Systems, Vergennes, Vermont, has been awarded a maximum $9,052,524 firm-fixed-price contract for vehicle flight system management spare parts. 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 one-month contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Vermont, with a July 30, 2022, performance completion date. Using customers are Navy and Danish military forces. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2022 Navy working capital funds and Foreign Military Sales. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPRPA1-20-E-F02). NAVY Jacobs/B&V JV (Federal Services), Honolulu, Hawaii, is awarded $85,000,000 for an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a maximum amount of $85,000,000 for architect-engineer services for various projects primarily under the cognizance of Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), Hawaii. Work will be performed at various Navy, Marine Corp and other government facilities within the NAVFAC Hawaii area of responsibility, including Hawaii (95%); and other South Pacific Islands (5%). The work to be performed provides for architect-engineer services to include, but are not limited to, utility projects; the execution and delivery of military construction (MILCON) project documentation; functional analysis and concept development workshops, design charrettes; design-build request for proposal solicitation documents; design-bid-build design contract documents; cost estimates; technical surveys and reports including concept studies, site engineering investigations and surveys; collateral equipment buy packages; comprehensive interior design, to include structural interior design; furniture, fixtures and equipment packages; and post construction award services. Work is expected to be completed by June 2025, and the term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months. No task orders are being issued at this time. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds for the minimum guarantee in the amount of $10,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by MILCON planning and design funds. This contract was competitively procured via the beta SAM website, and four proposals were received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62478-20-D-5036). Lockheed Martin Corp., Liverpool, New York, is awarded a $22,433,508 modification (P00001) to firm-fixed-price order N00019-20-F-0535 against basic ordering agreement N00019-19-G-0029. This order exercises options to procure 12 retrofit advanced radar processor systems for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. Work will be performed in Liverpool, New York (54%); and Andover, Massachusetts (46%), and is expected to be completed by November 2023. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,738,918; and fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of 18,694,590 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Mercury Defense Systems Inc., Cypress, California, is awarded an $11,734,623 firm-fixed-price order N68335-20-F-0243 against previously issued basic ordering agreement N683350-17-G-0017. This order provides for non-recurring engineering associated with the hardware and software design and development of the Type II Advanced Digital Radio Frequency Memories (DRFM) as well as the production and delivery of 22 DRFMs for the Navy and the Air Force under Small Business Innovation Research Topic N06-036 titled, “Advanced Techniques for Digital Radio Frequency Memories (DRFM).” Work will be performed in Cypress, California (73%); and West Caldwell, New Jersey (27%), and is expected to be completed by November 2021. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $4,800,528; fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluations (Navy) funds in the amount of $$4,267,136; and fiscal 2020 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,666,960 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity. ARMY Hardwire LLC,* Pocomoke, Maryland (W91CRB-20-D-0026); Leading Technology Composites Inc.,* Wichita, Kansas (W91CRB-20-D-0027); and Point Blank Enterprises Inc., Pompano Beach, Florida (W91CRB-20-D-0028), will compete for each order of the $57,914,467 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of small arms protective inserts. 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 June 22, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Avon Protection Systems Inc., Cadillac, Michigan, was awarded a $49,621,502 firm-fixed-price contract for the purchase of the Joint Service General Purpose Mask systems and spare components. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 22, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-20-D-0078). CORRECTION: The multiple award task order contract issued on April 22, 2020, listed eight contractors. In addition to them, CES-RESCON LLC,* Anchorage, Alaska (W911KB-20-D-0016), will compete for each order of the $140,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract. AIR FORCE Advanced Electronics Co. Ltd., Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has been awarded a $12,374,760 firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursable modification (P00030) to contract FA8730-16-C-0019 for the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) F-15SA Cyber Protection System (CPS) and Related Facilities program. This modification provides for implementation and delivery of end-user training for the CPS for two years. The scope of this contract effort will include custom contractor-developed training and original equipment manufacturer training. This is a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) acquisition between the U.S. government and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This FMS is for the total package of acquisition and fielding of 84 F-15A aircraft; the upgrade of 70 F-15SA aircraft to the F-154SA configuration; the procurement of associated equipment, weapons and spares; and the construction, refurbishment and infrastructure improvements of support facilities for the F-15SA in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Work will be performed at RSAF facilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is expected to be completed by June 1, 2022. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition and FMS funds in the full amount will be obligated at the time of the award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $165,863,230. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity. Compunetix Inc., Monroeville, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a $9,600,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for equipment to upgrade mission control rooms (MCR) at the Ridley Mission Control Center, the Birk Flight Test Facility and MCRs at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Work will be performed at Edwards AFB, California; and Eglin AFB, and is expected to be completed June 30, 2025. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $50,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Test Center, Edwards AFB, is the contracting activity (FA9302-20-D-0010). The Boeing Co., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; San Antonio, Texas; and Hamamatsu, Japan, has been awarded an $8,471,689 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-plus-incentive-fee modification (P00005) to contract FA8730-18-C-0001 for the Japan Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) mission computing upgrade (MCU) installation and checkout (I&CO) and Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast Out (ADS-B Out). The contract modification is to upgrade its fleet of four aircraft with the ADS-B Out capability. ADS-B Out is a software and hardware update to the Raytheon APX-119 transponder that includes the addition of a Global Positioning System (GPS) card. Under the E-767 AWACS I&CO program, the GPS card is to be installed within the four aircraft and updating the three ground support facilities. Work will be performed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; San Antonio, Texas; and Hamamatsu, Japan, and is expected to be completed Dec. 23, 2023. This modification involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. FMS funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $227,688,995. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity. CORRECTION: The following contract numbers were omitted from a June 19, 2020, announcement of a multiple-award contract to provide equipment, training and product support to approximately 3,500 Air Force Special Warfare operators, as well as authorized users in support of Special Warfare mission requirements: Federal Resources, Stevensville, Maryland (FA8629-20-D-5003); W.S. Darley & Co., Itasca, Illinois (FA8629-20-D-5052); US21 Inc., Fairfax, Virginia (FA8629-20-D-5053); Atlantic Diving Supply Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (FA8629-20-D-5054); and Tactical & Survival Specialties Inc., Harrisonburg, Virginia (FA8629-20-D-5055). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2229945/source/GovDelivery/

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  November 20, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  UK to boost defense budget by $21.9 billion. Here’s who benefits — and loses out.

  By: Andrew Chuter LONDON — The British government has approved the largest rise in its defense budget since the end of the Cold War, with £16.5 billion (U.S. $21.9 billion) in additional funding made available for spending on shipbuilding, space, cyber, research and other sectors over a four-year period. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the increase could transform the military and bring to an end an era of retreat in the armed forces. “For decades, U.K. government has pared and trimmed our defense budget. If we go on like this, we risk waking up to discover our armed forces have fallen below the minimum threshold of viability. I have refused to pick up the scalpel yet again. I've decided the era of cutting must end, and end now,” the prime minister told Parliament in a statement. The retreat to which Johnson referred is made up of capability cuts, program delays and cancellations, reductions in research and development, and slashed personnel numbers amid defense budgets that have regularly failed to match ambitions. Winners and losers Among the efforts likely to benefit from the commitment of new money are the Tempest future combat air program; a number of shipbuilding projects, including a fleet of logistics ships; and various space and cyberspace assets. Specifically, the spending commitment will finance the country's order of eight Type 26 and five Type 31 frigates, which are under construction in Scotland, where the U.K. government faces renewed calls for independence. Johnson said he is also committed to the embryonic Type 32 next-generation frigate and the building of a multipurpose research ship. Also included in Britain's transformation plans are the creation of a Space Command capable of launching a rocket from a site in Scotland by 2022 as well as a new agency focused on artificial intelligence. But Johnson also warned some programs would not receive equal attention. “We will need to act speedily to remove or reduce less relevant capabilities — and this will allow our new investment to be focused on the technologies that will revolutionize warfare,” he said. Johnson gave no clues to where the ax might fall, but new armored vehicle programs, of which the British Army have several currently running, are often cited by analysts as a potential target for cuts. “Now is the right time to press ahead because emerging technology on the horizon will make the returns from defense investment infinitely greater,” he told Parliament. “We have a chance to break free from the vicious circle where we ordered ever deceasing numbers of evermore expensive pieces of military hardware, squandering billions of pounds along the way.” The government said military modernization will be underpinned by a record investment of at least £1.5 billion extra and £5.8 billion in total on military research and development, including a commitment to further invest in the future combat air system. “This reverses the systematic decline in this crucial area in the last 30 years,” according to the Prime Minister's Office. What's been the reaction? Commitment to the major hike in extra spending came after the Treasury gave in to pressure from Johnson to provide extra funding for the armed forces over a four-year period rather than accept the chancellor's preference for a one-year funding settlement. The announcement is being termed as the first phase of an integrated defense review being conducted to coordinate defense, security, foreign and development policies. The review was expected to already be published, but with plans in flux and the new factor of additional cash, a more detailed review will not likely be public until next year. The Royal United Services Institute think tank in London said that over the next four years, the “additional cash represents a real-term increase of between 10 percent and 15 percent in the defense budget: equivalent to some £4 billion more annually than had been promised.” RUSI also noted the announcement, “provided little clarity on the foreign policy ambition, and it appears likely that we will have to wait until the new year for the full integrated review to be revealed. In the meantime, the [Ministry of Defence] will be under considerable pressure to ensure that its ambitions do not again outrun its (now significantly enhanced) means.” Analysts here say that despite the new spending commitment, the MoD will still have to cut a number of programs to balance it's books. The National Audit Office, the government's financial watchdog, has repeatedly warned the 10-year equipment plan is unaffordable, saying it could be too costly by as much as £13 billion. The current annual defense budget is about £40 billion. The new spending pledge will see the defense budget account for 2.2 percent of gross domestic product, meeting NATO guidelines. Johnson, who is currently self-isolating, having recently come into contact with a lawmaker who has subsequently tested positive for COVID-19, said he had taken the decision to raise spending in the teeth of the pandemic because the “defense of the realm must come first.” “The international situation is more perilous and more intensely competitive than at any time since the Cold War, and Britain must be true to our history and stand alongside our allies,” he said. A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said the increase will cement the U.K.'s position as the largest defense spender in Europe and the second largest in NATO, after the U.S. The announcement drew an immediate and welcoming response from acting U.S. Defense Secretary Christopher Miller. “The [Department of Defense] applauds the announcement by the U.K. to significantly increase defense spending. The U.K. is our most stalwart and capable ally, and this increase in spending is indicative of their commitment to NATO and our shared security,” he said. “With this increase, the U.K. military will continue to be one of the finest fighting forces in the world. Their commitment to increased defense funding should be a message to all free nations that the most capable among us can — and must — do more to counter emerging threats to our shared freedoms and security.” The move was also welcomed locally by ADS, a major industry lobby group. “This investment will boost our national security, help the U.K. address new and rapidly evolving threats by developing innovative world-class equipment, and support our economic recovery. The commitment to key projects will embed high-value design and manufacturing skills in all regions and nations of the U.K. for decades to come,” said Paul Everitt, the ADS chief executive. But Everitt also said the money must be quickly spent with the U.K.'s prosperity a priority. “It is important that the procurement regime delivers quickly and in a manner that prioritizes U.K. industrial impact, aiding planning and clarity and helping to build back better,” he said. The £16.5 billion in extra spending is over and above the government's pledge to increase defense spending by 0.5 percent above inflation for every year of the four years remaining of the existing Parliament. The government said that on existing forecasts, this is an overall cash increase of £24.1 billion over four years. Johnson told Parliament that would represent spending of £190 billion over the next four years. But how will the government's massive spending in the fight against COVID-19 impact these spending plans? Media and analysts here reckon Britain's huge overseas development budget is likely to take a hit to make these new efforts a reality. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/11/19/uk-to-boost-defense-budget-by-219-billion-heres-who-benefits-and-loses-out/