June 11, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR, Security

Roper Pushes Moving Project Maven To Air Force

Roper expects GBSD, B-21 and F-35 to migrate parts of their development to cloudONE as he pushes the Air Force to embrace advanced software practices.

By THERESA HITCHENSon June 11, 2020 at 4:01 AM

WASHINGTON: Air Force acquisition czar Will Roper says he is considering taking over DoD's artificial intelligence (AI) experiment, Project Maven, to make it operational while the service pushes its own AI capabilities into the field.

“I was just speaking with USDI today about the potential of transitioning Maven over to the Air Force and making it an operational reality day-to-day,” Roper said.

Project Maven begun in 2017, was designed to put machine-learning to work to sort through the masses of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data generated by DoD and Intelligence Community (IC) platforms. It has been a bit controversial, with Google pulling out of the effort in 2018; and the head of Air Combat Command head Gen. Mike Holmes saying he didn't believe it was ready for prime time.

Roper explained that the Air Force was best positioned to take on Project Maven because of its progress in standing up capabilities under its Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) family of systems, each dubbed with the prefix ONE. This includes the cloudONE for remote data storage, processing and access; platformONE for securely building software; the dataONE library; and the deviceONE that allows secure remote access to classified data.

Via the ABMS effort, which is the Air Force's flagship for enabling Joint All Domain Command and Control, the Air Force has been able to build the “AI infrastructure” that allows an AI system to actually do analysis, Roper stressed.

“That boring part, the AI infrastructure, is what has been critically absent in the Department, and we are finally doing it in the Air Force,” Roper said. “So cloudONE, platformONE, dataONE — this family of ONE systems — builds a tech stack that really is about getting data in proper custody so that analytics can be built on top of it and we can finally go do AI at scale.”

The key, he said, is “data curation and custody, so that that data is discoverable by analytics algorithms that are able to assess its import to different missions, and then push it to the machine, without having to have people be inside the loop.” And that, of course, is what Project Maven focused on, the algorithms.

Roper said the Air Force already has an “AI at scale operational today with the Distributed Common Ground System” as well as one being used for “predictive maintenance” that the service hopes have in use for 16 different assets within the next 18 months.

The DCGS family of systems, an effort that began way back in 1998, is DoD's flagship capability for providing daily processing, exploitation and production of analysis from DoD to ISR platforms. Predictive maintenance is using AI to figure out what parts of a weapon system or platform are likely to break next, to ease and speed logistics planning.

In both these instances, he explained, the environment is benign. That won't be so on the battlefield, where adversaries will be attempting to hack and spoof US AI systems — something that he says is all too easily done today.

“It's harder than meets the eye to try to teach an algorithm to know that something is messing with them,” he said. “They inherently trust their data.”

“I think there is this belief that that AI will just churn through it — throw enough data at it and everything will be okay — and that's not the case,” he elaborated. “We need another generation of this technology.”

Thus, for the moment, the best solution is for humans and machines to work in tandem — as the Air Force is looking to do with the Skyborg project and the development of an AI co-pilot Roper has nicknamed R2D2. “We need to be pairing our AI with people,” Roper stressed.

Still, Roper is enthusiastic about the progress made by the ABMS effort toward AI, including working with Northern Command on its response to COVID-19 — helping predict where pandemic hot spots might arise.

“We're excited that we have that first taste of AI changing operations,” he enthused. “That AI flag has now been planted for the department. We have seen a future that only silicon was able to see; the human brain was not. If we can get that out onto the battlefield and use the ABMS event in September as our stepping stone, then what a wonderful step towards getting our department and our military away from thinking of itself primarily in terms of the platforms that produce data, and rather instead of the insights that are created by that data, many of them being created by AI,” he said.

(The Air Force is planning the second “ABMS OnRamp,” to follow the debut field demonstration in December, for the first week of September. As Breaking D readers know, that second exercise will feature a scenario centered on Space Command operations.)

Roper also waxed enthusiastic about the recent decision by the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) to move its development operations to cloudONE. They are not alone, he said.

“I believe that portions of the Aegis Weapon System, and the F-18 are also using cloudONE for development,” he said.

The Air Force has “put a ton of effort into getting it certified at the various security levels, classified to critical unclassified information,” he added. CloudONE now can be used with secret-level and Top Secret/Special Access Program (TS/SAP) level data, and Roper said that by the end of June it will be certified for use with Secret/Special Access Program level data.

This makes it available to software developers across security levels, and opens the door for use by more Air Force weapons development programs, he explained.

For example, Roper said that the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent Program (GBSD) “will absolutely be using cloudONE and platformONE for its development.” And, he said, in talking with the F-35 program office he expects “they will do some portion of their development” using cloudONE.

Further, he said the highly classified B-21 bomber program will be “moving in at the right point for them.” He noted that prime contractor Northrop Grumman has just demonstrated the use of Kubernetes — a software development technique that helps manage multiple “containerized applications” (i.e. with its own operating system) across multiple machines in a secure manner — on flight-ready hardware. Indeed, he noted, the B-21 program involves an initiative called DevStar that is trying to establish an autonomous testing capability.

An Air Force spokesperson said in a statement that DevStar is “an Air Force initiative to use modern software development paradigms to rapidly deliver software to weapon systems while continually meeting safety, security, airworthiness and other compliance requirements that traditionally are performed in serial.” The Air Force website on the initiative shows it is trying to go beyond DevSecOps that seeks to build IT security into software upfront — to include super-high security and safety measures that will allow use in developing highly classified nuclear weapons-related systems.

“And you're gonna keep seeing more of the Air Force move into this,” Roper said. “You will hear people use terms like Agile Development and DevOps and DevSecOps — they are not all the same. The tech stack underneath that is producing the software matters.”

PlatformONE, he said, is one critical tool in producing software for the Air Force. “It is what is automating all those things that we have people doing today and people doing them in serial,” he said. And, he added, the use of platformONE and cloudONE in combination is “magic” that allows the sharing of software code across weapon systems development programs.

“One of my ambitions for this year is to have code that's been written for, say, B-21 run on F-16 and vice versa, and not have any humans check it in between.”

https://breakingdefense.com/2020/06/roper-pushes-moving-project-maven-to-air-force

On the same subject

August 6, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Land

American trucks land in Israel to support Iron Dome testing ahead of US Army delivery
By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — A Ukrainian cargo plane that landed in Israel Aug. 3 carried trucks that will be used to support Iron Dome battery testing ahead of delivery in the United States, U.S. Army Futures Command confirmed. The Ukrainian plane was used to transport the trucks because of its capability to meet load requirements and delivery timelines, an AFC spokeswoman told Defense News. The U.S. Army has bought two Iron Dome batteries to fill a cruise missile threat gap as an interim solution while it continues to shape its future Indirect Fires Protection Capability being developed to battle against not just cruise missiles but unmanned aircraft threats, rockets, artillery and mortars. Congress mandated the Army buy and field two batteries no later than the end of fiscal 2020. The Oshkosh vehicles will be mated with the Iron Dome system and then be delivered to the United States in that form following factory acceptance testing in Israel. The first battery is expected to be shipped to the United States in December and the second in February, Brig. Gen. Robert Rasch, the U.S. Army's program executive officer for missiles and space, said at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium Aug. 4. While the Army has said it will not buy all-up Iron Dome systems as part of the IFPC program, officials developing the capability are considering incorporating parts of Iron Dome in the final solution. The service will conduct a shoot-off of best available options for integration into an enduring IFPC solution in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021. Rasch stressed the Army won't throw away its Iron Dome systems when IFPC comes online, but instead the service will continue to use the systems because it plans to ensure the batteries are interoperable with U.S. command-and-control capabilities. The Army plans to field Iron Dome by the end of the year, but it will still take time to train troops on the system before deployment. Some lawmakers are urging the Army to rapidly deploy the systems to the Middle East, arguing U.S. and coalition forces there need the protection from Iran and its proxies. As equipment to complete U.S. Iron Dome batteries arrived in Israel, American firm Raytheon Technologies and Israeli-based Rafael Advanced Defense Systems have formed a joint venture to build the Iron Dome missile defense system in the United States. Under the name Raytheon Rafael Area Protection Systems, the partnership is being set up to build a first-ever Iron Dome “all-up-round” facility stateside. The facility will build Iron Dome systems, the Tamir interceptor and launcher, and the SkyHunter missile (the U.S. version of Tamir). Seth Frantzman, Defense News Israel-based correspondent, contributed to this report. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/smd/2020/08/04/american-trucks-land-in-israel-to-support-iron-dome-testing-ahead-of-us-army-delivery/
August 12, 2019 | International, Aerospace

Finland’s Air Force chief tackles recruiting challenges and its quest for a future fighter
By: Valerie Insinna TIKKAKOSKI, Finland — The Finnish Air Force is changing. In a matter of years, it will decide on its future fighter — a €7-€10 billion (U.S. $7.8-$11.2 billion) program that could tie Finland more closely to the country that wins the competition. It's revamping its command-and-control infrastructure. And like other international air forces, it's putting increased pressure on itself to boost readiness. Maj. Gen. Pasi Jokinen, who became the commander of Finland's Air Force in April, oversees the transformation. The job has its perks: During U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein's trip to Finland in July — his first visit to the nation — the two officers took a break from meetings and sat backseat in two Finnish F/A-18 Hornets for a training mission. Goldfein later said the flight signified the growing trust between the two air forces. Jokinen spoke on July 21 with Defense News, which traveled to Finland with Goldfein, about the service's readiness challenges and its modernization priorities. Tell me about your conversation here today with Gen. Goldfein. Well, we talked about a lot of interesting topics. We talked about the operation environment and the Finnish Air Force and what we do here, and the cooperation with the U.S. and all that. He obviously was aware of a lot of things, but we went into very good detail about everything like that. We know what's happening here, we are strongly here, we are committed here and everything is running smoothly. You said you talked about the operational environment for Finland right now. Can you characterize that, and is it changing? Well, I think we have been using that word “new normal” after Crimea and after 2014, so activity in the Baltic region and in this region is in a little bit elevated level — let's put it that way. And of course our eastern neighbor is actively doing things in Syria and eastern Ukraine. It has had some effects. It seems that they have this big exercise cycle, [in] running the Zapad [exercise] and how they rotate the different regions. In 2017 we saw again this western Russia exercise, and it was noted. It was at peak activity level. Activity-wise, 2017 was the highlight, and now we are calmed down a little bit, but still we are above the level before 2014. Is it fair to say that the number of intercepts peaked in 2017? Yeah, well, when their activity is high, our activity is high. And of course the Gulf of Finland, which is the international airspace nearby our border, that's one of the areas of interest. You used the word “intercepts,” though; that activity is there. I mean, of course then they are operating also in the other, the northeast and eastern border, but that's a solid border. I mean, obviously they are on their side and we are on our side. Then the international airspace where we meet, OK. The Gulf of Finland is mainly transit for mainland Russia to Kaliningrad and back, and in the southern Baltic Sea, or the Baltic sea down more south, there's more room to maneuver, do stuff like that. Here is the very narrow — long but narrow — corridor that normally there is no operational type of maneuvers, neither side, but it's a transit. But we like to know who is going where and all that. Then obviously one the things are that they do not always use transponders or flight plans. There are no flight plans, so we need to find out who is there. That has improved a bit over the years. The equipment is newer and they have the western transponders and they use them, so it's a little bit better situation that we had a few years back, but it's not 100 percent covered with the flight plans or transponders. As you look across the entire Air Force, what's your No. 1 concern? Is it budget? Is it what you're seeing threat-wise from potential adversaries? Well, I'm not concerned about the adversary. Things are relatively stable. We have good relations in all the directions, all directions there. Defense forces in general has been resourced relatively well. The readiness, of course, requires some money. And of course the Army has had a bigger transition the last few years out of the services, from a training organization into a readiness organization. There's of course a need for more money, for operating money also. And the government has been giving quite good money in the last few years. Now the future is not that bright. I mean, there's some dark clouds there. I'm concerned. Of course, the main procurement program, like the HX [fighter replacement program], seems to be well on track, and I'm very happy about that, and that is their main priority, of course, to keep that in schedule and in budget for the procurement side of the house. People have been — I don't know if “stressed” is the right word — but they have been under pressure for the readiness, and we've also gotten more vacant jobs. We are recruiting people, people on the field and into the practical work— so the aircraft maintenance, the surveillance tasks. It's very important that the recruitment works. Aside from HX, are there other modernization efforts that you're trying to keep on track? Well, we are, before the HX selection, before the HX comes in. Right now we are working on our C4I system. But we have had quite a lot of new pieces there and they are IOC [initial operational capability], becoming FOC [full operational capability]. Then whatever solution or whatever HX candidate is chosen, there is a requirement to be able to process and handle all that [information]. So we are working that before so when selection is done and it's actually coming in, the infrastructure is prepared for that. Obviously we need to then fine-tune it, depending on the selection, at the end of the day, but right now we are working on the basic infrastructure. What has Finland already fielded? What is coming up that is still in the planning stages or in the competitive stages? For the C4 side of house? Well, OK, we've got our sensors, relative new sensors for the surveillance sensors. And our networks and the infrastructure and the servers, kind of like the infrastructure there, both the networks and for the servers. They are relatively new. So it's there, and we are getting that into use as we speak or in the near future. Then it's all about the processes and methods and how to handle the data and how to use the data. So that's something that people in organizations need to learn. Not the hardware, but the people need to learn, so that's something that we are working on. Then, when we get the HX here and we know what it is, then we do the necessary adjustments. And it's obviously platform-specific and [dependent on] the requirements there. In all cases, we need to be able to be better in joint warfare inside Finland with data services and of course maintain the international interoperability portion, whether it's about tactical data links or whether it's other things. Did you discuss interoperability with the U.S. Air Force with Gen. Goldfein? Well, yeah, sure. Technology is one thing. You are interoperable and you can use the data and all that. But the processes [of] how you do it is one thing, but then there's this policy side of the house, that if you don't have the policy or to actually be there — interoperable all the time — then you just need to be prepared for that. We are an independent nation. We are not a NATO member, and we are not doing common planning. We are operating as neighbors here. Our AOR [area of responsibility] and the EUCOM [U.S. European Command] AOR and NATO AOR, they are all overlapping or next to each other. Coordination and deconfliction [are] some things that we need to be ready to do. The policy is important and the SOPs [standard operating procedures] and all that. The U.S. is interested in rapidly generating air power in times of crisis. How can the U.S. better defend its bases or set up new expeditionary air bases if needed? From what I understand, that's something that Finland has the capability to do. Did that come up in conversation, and do you think that there are things that the U.S. can learn from Finland in that area? In Finland, we have our main base. But yes, we can deploy and we can swarm, distribute our assets, and then have them under the command and control, and make centralized effects out of those distributed things. So yeah, that was talked about. Of course, it requires the ability to move and begin to move [your resources from the base]. It requires a good situational awareness and plans [for] how to do it, and then the timely execution of that. We've talked about the general concept, and yes, it was mentioned by Gen. Goldfein that they are looking for a more expeditionary mindset, that huge massive bases that you can generate the air power may not be the thing that you want to stick. Finland is not that small [of an] area. There are smaller nations than us, but still in the global or the U.S. scale, it's still a small area. The thing is to look for the agility and mobility and know what's happening and do the right things from there, either move or disperse. Is that a capability in which Finland continues to invest? Yeah, it's part of the HX program. So now the question is how much. It's good for that fight that you distribute, but the main operation is get out there and do the job, then come back and you can go out again. That is the important thing — that you get the effect in the air, what you're doing from the air or in the air. Then it's nice for the survivability part and all that to be distributed. That's what we are still looking [at]. But then, to what extent? That is to be determined. We will find it out when the HX goes forward. On HX, I understand Finland is looking for some industrial incentives. Has it become clear yet what each company might be willing to offer? We are in the middle of the process. I don't know whether the offers are final. We have the ideas that we are discussing. There is a requirement that we need to be able to do certain stuff in Finland, with the Finnish resources and [people with] Finnish passports. That is a requirement [that] is still there. How do you think Finland will have to balance the cost of this project with the capability it wants? That equation needs to be solved, but we have two years of time to solve it. We have the money — €7 billion to €10 billion. And we need to maximize the capability on that money. Are you making additional investments in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities? There is a desire to have the proper amount of ISR. Obviously the HX is going bring something into it, and we also have a recent area there that we are investigating. Probably when there's better visibility, when we are actually selecting and getting through HX, then we [will] know where the gaps are, and then we are going to fill them in [with] other programs. https://www.defensenews.com/2019/08/09/finlands-air-force-chief-tackles-recruiting-challenges-and-its-quest-for-a-future-fighter/
March 23, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - March 20, 2020
NAVY Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona, is awarded a $392,412,665 modification (P00009) to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm contract (N00019-18-C-1068). This modification exercises options for the production and delivery of tactical missiles (Lot 20 AIM-9X, Block II and Block II plus), captive air training missiles, plus all up round tactical missiles, captive test missiles, special air training missiles, advanced optical target detectors, Block II and II plus guidance units (live battery), captive air training missile guidance units (inert battery), Block I and II propulsion steering sections, electronic units, multiple purpose training missiles, tail caps, maintenance, sectionalization kits, containers and spares for the Air Force, Navy and the governments of Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Israel, Japan, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (31%); Andover, Massachusetts (10%); Keyser, West Virginia (9%); Santa Clarita, California (8%); Hillsboro, Oregon (5%); Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (5%); Goleta, California (4%); Cheshire, Connecticut (4%); Heilbronn, Germany (3%); Simsbury, Connecticut (2%); San Jose, California (2%); Valencia, California (2%); Anaheim, California (2%); Cajon, California (2%); Cincinnati, Ohio (1%); Anniston, Alabama (1%); San Diego, California (1%); Chatsworth, California (1%); Amesbury, Massachusetts (1%); Claremont, California (1%); Sumner, Washington (1%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (4%), and is expected to be completed in July 2023. In addition, this modification provides for material in support of repairs, depot maintenance and refurbishment. The following funds will be obligated at the time of award: fiscal 2020 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $135,790,070; fiscal 2020 missile procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $129,267,647; fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force) funds in the amount of $8,172,170; fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,999,656; fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $800,197; fiscal 2019 missile procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $6,189,530; fiscal 2019 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,262,027; fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force) in the amount of $598,896; fiscal 2018 missile procurement (Air Force) in the amount of $503,814; fiscal 2018 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $267,280 and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds in the amount of $104,561,378. $4,369,646 of the funds obligated at contract award will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Air Force ($144,732,057; 36.88%); Navy ($143,119,230; 36.47%); and FMS customers ($104,561,378; 26.65%). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Alberici-Mortenson JV, St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $191,900,391 fixed-price award-fee contract for design-bid-build recapitalization of the dry dock at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay. Work will be performed in Kings Bay, Georgia, and is expected to be complete by July 2023. The work to be performed provides for concrete repairs in various locations throughout the dry dock, overhaul and repair of the steel caisson, upgrade power distribution, chilled water and a fire detection and alarm system. The project will also repair corroded steel members of the dry dock superstructure, re-coat the entire superstructure and replace roof and wall panels. The project will remove one bridge crane and overhaul two other bridge cranes. The scope also includes effort to rebuild or replace sluice gates and actuators, roller gate rails, flap valves and frames, all piping, and will upgrade control systems, electronic components and the auxiliary seawater system. The contract also contains nine unexercised options, which if exercised will increase the cumulative contract value to $592,343,628. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $191,900,391 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website with two proposals received. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity (N69450-20-C-0016). Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, is awarded a $98,674,505 cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price and cost contract for sustainment of the Littoral Combat Ship Component Based Total Ship System – 21st Century -(LCS COMBATSS-21); and associated combat system elements. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey (84%); Camden, New Jersey (5%); Virginia Beach, Virginia (5%); Deer Creek, Colorado (2%); Manassas, Virginia (1%); Orlando, Florida (1%); and various other locations (under 1% - 2% total). The work executed under this contract will include maintenance and evolution of the LCS COMBATSS-21 (the backbone of the ship's mission system) and associated combat system elements in support of operational LCS ships. The work includes development, integration, test and delivery of future combat system baseline upgrades for in-service ships, supporting ship integration, installation and checkout, developmental test/operational test, developing training and logistics products, providing field technical support for combat systems, providing hardware engineering, equipment procurement and providing life-cycle supportability engineering and fleet support for fielded baselines. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,817,298 was obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract includes options, which if exercised will bring the cumulative value of this contract to $789,584,127. This contract was a sole-source acquisition in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). This contract was not competitively procured and only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-20-C-5601). (Awarded March 16, 2020) CACI Inc. - Federal, Chantilly, Virginia, is awarded a $13,222,827 cost-plus-fixed-fee task order for engineering, technical, administrative and managerial (support) services in support of the Ships Availability Planning and Engineering Center and non-nuclear waterfront and deep submergence system programs at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS). Work will be performed in Kittery, Maine, and is expected to be complete by March 2021. The purpose of this service contract is to provide technical work, engineering services, quality assurance, process development, consulting and content management support to the PNS departments, with frequent interface with other PNS departments and outside activities such as other private and naval shipyards, submarine maintenance engineering, planning and procurement. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) support will be in the areas of engineering, technical, planning, deficiency resolution and administration as outlined. This contract includes options, which if exercised, will bring the cumulative value of this contract to $83,189,359. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $3,803,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the SeaPort-NxG Navy.mil website, with one offer received. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, is the contracting activity (N39040-20-F-3000). BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP, Phoenix, Arizona, is awarded an $8,568,715 modification (P00001) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price delivery order N00019-19-F-4133 against basic ordering agreement N00019-18-G-0018. This modification provides for the procurement of 20 E-2 parachute survival ensemble units and 130 FLU-10 inflators for the Navy, in addition to 60 E-2 parachute survival ensemble units and 70 FLU-10 inflators for the government of Japan. Work will be performed in Phoenix, Arizona (89%); and Orchard Park, New York (11%), and is expected to be completed in November 2023. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,620,920; fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $889,322; fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $156,147; and Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $4,902,326 will be obligated at time of award, $156,147 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Navy ($3,666,389; 43%); and the government of Japan ($4,902,326; 57%). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND Lukos LLC, Tampa, Florida (H92240-20-D-0011); People, Technology & Processes, Tampa, Florida (H92240-20-D-0012); RMGS Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (H92240-20-D-0013); and SPATHE Systems LLC, Tampa, Florida (H92240-20-D-0014), were awarded a $245,000,000 maximum multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for logistics support, equipment related and knowledge based services in support of Naval Special Warfare Command (NSWC) enterprise requirements. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $2,500 are being obligated at the time of award for each contract. The work will be performed in various locations in the U.S. and overseas and is expected to continue through fiscal 2025. The contract was awarded competitively using Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 15 procedures with 13 proposals received. NSWC headquarters, Coronado, California, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY DRS Network & Imaging Systems LLC, Melbourne, Florida, was awarded a competitive single award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract for the production of Army installation kits. The contract ceiling is approximately $205,998,367, and the minimum guarantee is $2,000,000. The total value of delivery order 0001 is $16,884,194, funded by fiscal 2020 other procurement (Army) funds. Proposals were solicited via FedBizOpps, now beta.SAM.gov, and three proposals were received. The place of performance will be at the contractor's facility until the installation kits are delivered to the U.S. government at Red River Army Depot. The period of performance for the base period is March 20, 2020, to March 19, 2023; if all options are exercised, the contract performance will end March 19, 2030. The period of performance is a three-year base with seven one-year options. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity (HC1084-20-D-0006). ARMY Alliant Techsystems Operations LLC, Plymouth, Minnesota, was awarded a $104,770,422 modification (P00071) to contract W15QKN-13-C-0074 for precision guidance kits. Work will be performed in Plymouth, Minnesota, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 26, 2024. Fiscal 2020 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $104,770,422 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, New Jersey, is the contracting agency. Raytheon Co., Dulles, Virginia, was awarded a $64,751,190 modification (P00006) to contract W56KGY-16-D-0006 to provide operations and sustainment support for Persistent Surveillance Dissemination System of Systems in support of Product Manager Force Protection Systems. 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 May 31, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. ID Technologies LLC,* Ashburn, Virginia, was awarded a $46,579,188 firm-fixed-price contract to purchase information technology equipment and accessories. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Ashburn, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of March 24, 2021. Fiscal 2020 revolving funds in the amount of $46,579,188 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W912DY-20-F-0193). L3 Fuzing and Ordnance Systems, Cincinnati, Ohio, was awarded a $19,381,064 modification (P00005) to contract W15QKN-19-C-0040 for the procurement of application specific integrated circuit chips. Work will be performed in Cincinnati, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2021. Fiscal 2020 procurement of ammunition, Army funds in the amount of $19,381,064 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, New Jersey, is the contracting agency. Oshkosh Defense LLC, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was awarded a $17,405,696 modification (P00295) to contract W56HZV-15-C-0095 to exercise an option covering priced man-hours, labor, material and fees on material for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) system technical support JLTV retrofit efforts. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 30, 2020. Fiscal 2019 other procurement, Army; and 2020 Marine Corps procurement funds in the amount of $17,405,696 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity. Oshkosh Defense LLC, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was awarded a $16,754,161 modification (P00344) to contract W56HZV-15-C-0095 to exercise options for packaged kits for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle family of vehicles. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2023. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $16,754,161 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity. Stantec Consulting Services Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana, was awarded a $14,143,940 firm-fixed-price contract for the design of pump stations and drainage structures. Bids were solicited via the internet with nine received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 20, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, Louisiana, is the contracting activity (W912P8-20-D-00004). SI2 Technologies Inc.,* North Billerica, Massachusetts, was awarded a $13,491,546 firm-fixed-price contract for protection of Army and Department of Defense assets and weapon systems from emerging threats. 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 April 28, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (W15QKN-20-D-0023). Flick Lumber Co. Inc.,* Galion, Ohio, was awarded a $9,340,523 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of performance oriented packaging (POP) boxes. Bids were solicited via the internet with ten received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 22, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-20-D-0021). Texas Dewatering LLC,* Bellville, Texas, was awarded an $8,502,179 firm-fixed-price contract for improvements in the Houston Ship Channel. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Houston, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 30, 2021. Fiscal 2020 civil operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $8,502,179 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W912HY-20-C-0010). DEFENSE FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING SERVICE Guidehouse LLP, McLean, Virginia, is being awarded a labor-hour contract option with a maximum value of $10,449,089 for audit finding remediation support services for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). Work will be performed in McLean, Virginia, with an expected completion date of March 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 Defense-wide operating and maintenance funds in the amount of $10,449,089 are being obligated at the time of this option award. This award brings the total cumulative value of the contract to $34,766,166. This contract is the result of a competitive acquisition for which two quotes were received. The contract had a 12-month base period plus four individual one-year option periods, with a maximum value of $49,839,283. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Contract Services Directorate, Columbus, Ohio, is the contracting activity (HQ0423-18-F-0055). DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY RadiaBeam Technologies LLC,* Santa Monica, California, has been awarded a $10,202,941 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Gamma Ray Inspection Technology (GRIT) program. In Phase I, RadiaBeam Technologies LLC proposes a Laser-Compton approach for meeting GRIT program objectives and carrying out relevant system demonstrations. Work will be performed in Santa Monica, California (80%); Menlo Park, California (9%); Los Angeles, California (7%); and Paris, France (4%), with an estimated completion date of March 2021. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,718,701 are being obligated at time of award. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR0011-20-C-0072). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Chartwell RX LLC, Congers, New York, has been awarded a maximum $7,074,642 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for numerous pharmaceutical products in support of the Corporate Exigency Contracts program. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a one-year base contract with nine one-year option periods. Location of performance is New York, with a March 18, 2021, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense warstopper funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D0-20-D-0005). UPDATE: Navistar Defense LLC, Melrose Park, Illinois (SPE8EC-20-D-0057), has been added as an awardee to the multiple award contract for commercial trucks and trailers, issued against solicitation SPE8EC-17-R-0008 and announced Jan. 9, 2018. (Awarded March 19, 2020) *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2120442/source/GovDelivery/

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