February 13, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Les gouvernements français et allemands ont notifié à Dassault Aviation, Airbus, MTU Aero Engines, Safran, MBDA et Thales le contrat cadre initial de démonstrateur du Système de combat aérien du futur (SCAF)
Les gouvernements français et allemands ont notifié ce jeudi 13 février le contrat cadre initial de démonstrateur du Système de combat aérien du futur ou SCAF aux industriels français et allemands associés au programme. En l'occurrence, Dassault Aviation, Airbus et leurs partenaires MTU Aero Engines, Safran, MBDA et Thales. Cette notification était attendue à l'occasion du dernier salon du Bourget en juin 2019, puis avait été repoussée pour l'automne. En parallèle aux discussions serrées entre partenaires industriels sur la répartition du rôle de chacun, les gouvernements français et allemand devaient trouver un accord concernant l'exportation des systèmes, dont le SCAF. Un véritable enjeu pour les industriels impliqués dans ces programmes car leur permettant de trouver des débouchés commerciaux et de pérenniser leurs activités. Et le 16 octobre 2019, Florence Parly, ministre des Armées, pouvait annoncer : « Décision fondamentale qui acte une confiance mutuelle : un accord a été conclu aujourd'hui entre France et Allemagne. Il permet l'exportation d'équipements issus de nos coopérations. Etape essentielle pour construire sereinement une Europe de la défense ambitieuse ». Florence Parly indiquait également que le contrat visant à lancer de démonstration pour le NGF ou "New Generation Fighter" devait être signé "dès janvier 2020" et que "le premier vol devant ensuite être réalisé en 2026". « Cet avion de combat du futur et les drones qui l'accompagneront entreront dans nos forces à l'horizon 2035/2040 », avait précisé Florence Parly. Le contrat cadre notifié aujourd'hui porte sur une première phase (Phase 1A) de 18 mois et lance donc les travaux qui mèneront au développement d'un démonstrateur du NGF avec pour rappel Dassault Aviation associé à Airbus pour le NGF, Airbus et MBDA sur les "remote carriers" à la fois drones et missiles et dont le rôle sera de saturer les défenses ennemies, mener des missions de brouillage, désigner des cibles ou même larguer des missiles; Airbus et Thales sur le "combat cloud" (mise en réseau informationnelle et opérationnelle de tous les éléments du SCAF), et Safran et MTU Aero Engines sur la motorisation du SCAF. "Les entreprises concernées développeront conjointement un environnement de simulation visant à garantir la cohérence des différents démonstrateurs".
https://www.air-cosmos.com/article/scaf-la-phase-du-dmonstrateur-est-lance-22559
July 21, 2024 | International, Aerospace
This is a critical system to ensure the security of our continent in the future and will be based on a sixth-generation fighter that will fly escorted by several remotely...
January 7, 2019 | International, Naval
By PAUL MCLEARY Congress is evaluating the proposal to issue a $24 billion contract for the Navy's next two carriers, as the service looks at months of work to fix ongoing problems with the Ford-class's first ship. WASHINGTON: The Navy's coming request for the 2020 fiscal year is still under wraps, but one important piece of the Navy's future plans appears increasingly certain: the service will commit billions to buy two new Ford-class aircraft carriers under the same contract. While most of that money won't be spent in '20, it's still a tremendous long-term commitment that, advocates say, should save 5 to 10 percentover buying each carrier separately. The Navy says that the long-troubled Ford program has turned a corner, and it is pushing ahead with remaining fixes while planning to save up to $4 billion by buying the next two flattops on a single massive contract. That mega-deal would remove uncertainty for the builder, HII's Newport News Shipbuilding, and help keep production lines humming with no expensive stop-and-start in construction or ramping up and down of supply chains, which spreads across dozens of states. Congress first has to review the plan over the next 30 days before Navy can award the contract. News of the potential buy — which was expected by the end of the year — camefrom Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, who put out a statement on New Year's Eve saying he was “thrilled the Navy has decided to pursue a block buy for aircraft carriers, something I've been advocating to save billions in taxpayer dollars and offer more certainty to the Hampton Roads defense community.” Kaine, a longtime proponent of the block buy, also represents the state where the work will be done. “This smart move will save taxpayer dollars and help ensure the shipyards can maintain a skilled workforce to get the job done,” he said. Virginia Congressman Rob Wittman, outgoing chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, said he's “thrilled” about the notification which will allow the Navy “to build to a fleet of 12 aircraft carriers and 355 ships.” Wittman attached an amendment to the FY 2019 DoD appropriations bill calling for the dual buy, which he says “will not only save the taxpayers $4 billion, it provides important certainty to our defense industrial base that build and maintain these ships.” Wittman was the author of the “Securing the Homeland by Increasing our Power on the Seas Act,” which transformed the Navy's goal of 355 ships into official government policy. President Trump signed the bill into law in 2017. Both senators said the contract will keep the ships at or under the construction cap set by Congress of $12.9 billion each. Last May, however, the first ship of the class, USS Gerald R. Ford, blew past that cap by $120 million thanks to a litany of fixes identified by shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries., including replacing propulsion components damaged in a previous failure, extending the repair schedule to 12 months from the original eight, and correcting problems with the ship's eleven Advanced Weapons Elevators. The elevators, used to bring munitions from below deck up top for installation on aircraft, are powered by magnets as opposed to cables, and were supposed to be installed by the ship's delivery date in May 2017, but issues have delayed their completion. Navy spokesman Capt. Danny Hernandez told me that the eleven elevators remain “in varying levels of construction, testing and operations,” and the first one was turned over to the crew in December. The plan is to complete installation and testing of the elevators before the ship's scheduled “sail away date” in July. Hernandez added that “there will be some remaining certification documentation that will be performed for 5 of the 11 elevators after” July, and “a dedicated team is engaged on these efforts and will accelerate this certification work and schedule where feasible.” James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, promised a Congressional panel in November that the Ford would leave HII's Newport News shipyard with all systems in working order. “I would say of all of the technologies on the CVN 78, of which there were many we proved out on this lead ship, the weapons elevator is the last one that we need to get tied up and work our way through,” Geurts said. “We are making progress,” he said. The second ship of the class, CVN 79, USS John F. Kennedy, is currently under construction. Huntington spokesperson Beci Brenton said in a statement the company is “pleased to have come to an agreement with the Navy regarding a two-ship acquisition approach for CVN 80 and 81, a significant step toward building these ships more affordably. Although there is more work to be done it is important to note that the multi-ship purchase of aircraft carriers helps stabilize the Newport News Shipbuilding workforce, enables the purchase of material in quantity, and permits a fragile supplier base of more than 2,000 in 46 states to phase work more efficiently.” After decades of dominance however, the Ford-class carriers might be the last of the line for US nuclear-powered supercarriers, given the increasing threat being presented by land-based “ship-killer” standoff weapons being fielded by China and Russia. Speaking at a Heritage Foundation event last month, Bryan Clark, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said that optimistically, a carrier strike group could likely knock down 450 incoming missiles, but “that is not enough. You are looking at a threat that is at least 600, and maybe more weapons” that the Chinese can launch from their coast on short notice. Jerry Hendrix, vice president of the Telemus Group, added that the threat could be somewhat mitigated by keeping ships father from shore and putting more drones in the air both as scouts and attack aircraft. The “carrier air wing must increase its range by investing in an unmanned, air combat strike platform,” Hendrix said. Any moves to increase range must first fight for primacy with the navy's other massive investment in hulls, from new aircraft carriers to Columbia-class submarinesto a new frigate. When the 2020 budget comes out next month, we'll likely have a better idea of what the Navy is planning. https://breakingdefense.com/2019/01/navy-going-for-two-carrier-buy-as-value-of-flattops-debated
January 23, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
NAVY AAR Government Services Inc., Wood Dale, Illinois (N61340-19-D-1000); ACET JV LLC,* Waldorf, Maryland (N61340-19-D-1001); Adams Communication & Engineering Technology Inc., Waldorf, Maryland (N61340-19-D-1002); Aircraft Readiness Alliance,* Anchorage, Alaska (N61340-19-D-1003); The Boeing Co., Jacksonville, Florida N61340-19-D-1004); The Boeing Co., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (N61340-19-D-1005); DynCorp International, Fort Worth, Texas (N61340-19-D-1006); INNOVAIR LLC,* Chesapeake, Virginia (N61340-19-D-1007); Kay and Associates Inc., Buffalo Grove, Illinois (N61340-19-D-1008); L-3 Communications Integrated Systems LP, Waco, Texas (N61340-19-D-1009); L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Mississippi (N61340-19-D-1010); Leidos Innovations, Gaithersburg, Maryland (N61340-19-D-1011); M1 Support Services, Denton, Texas (N61340-19-D-1012); M7 Aerospace LLC, San Antonio, Texas (N61340-19-D-1013); Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Herndon, Virginia (N61340-19-D-1014); PAE Aviation and Technical Services LLC, Arlington, Virginia (N61340-19-D-1015); Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (N61340-19-D-1016); Sunrise Beach Corp., doing business as M2 Services Corp., Allen, Texas (N61340-19-D-1017); URS Federal Services, Germantown, Maryland (N61340-19-D-1018); and Yulista Standard Aero (JV),* Huntsville, Alabama (N61340-19-D-1019), are each awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts. These contracts provide for logistics services for the Contracted Maintenance, Modification, Aircrew and Related Services (CMMARS) Program in support of aviation platforms of various Navy and Air Force type/model/series aircraft, inter-related systems, subsystems, and services. CMMARS will provide contractor logistics services for fixed-wing, rotary-wing, unmanned aircraft vehicles, and lighter than air vehicles, as well as integrally related systems and weapon systems. Logistical support to be provided includes logistics functions and maintenance tasks required to keep U.S. and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers aircraft ready, available, and operating worldwide. CMMARS may be used for platforms at all phases of the acquisition life cycle. The estimated aggregate ceiling for all contracts is $12,599,999,930, with the companies having an opportunity to compete for individual orders. Work will be performed at various afloat and ashore locations inside the continental U.S. (99 percent); and outside the continental U.S. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in January 2024. No funds are being obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. These contracts were competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals; 21 offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $542,225,679 firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for ancillary mission equipment (AME) and associated AME initial spares in support of Lot 13 F-35 Lightning II aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) participants, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in May 2023. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force,); non-U.S. DoD participant, and FMS funds in the amount of $437,333,989 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0001919D0015). Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Indiana, is awarded $35,672,562 for modification P00007 to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-17-C-0081). This modification exercises an option to produce and deliver 17 AE1107C engines in support of the V-22 aircraft, to include one engine for the Marine Corps, eight engines for the Navy, and eight engines for the government of Japan. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is expected to be completed in May 2020. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy);and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds in the amount of $35,672,562 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Navy ($18,885,474; 53 percent); and the government of Japan ($16,787,088; 47 percent) under the FMS program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Coastal Marine Services,* San Diego, California (N55236-19-D-0001); and Thermcor,* Norfolk, Virginia (N55236-19-D-0002), are each awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contracts with a five-year base ordering period to provide pipe lagging onboard Navy ships vessels within a 50-mile radius of San Diego, California. These contracts have an overall combined maximum ceiling value of $7,142,499. These two companies will have an opportunity to compete for individual delivery orders. Work will be performed in the vicinity of San Diego, California, and is expected be complete by January 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $7,000 ($3,500 for minimum guarantee per contract) will be obligated under each contract's initial delivery order and expire at the end of the current fiscal year. These contracts were competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with three offers received. The Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. ARMY BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP, York, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $474,084,062 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for system technical support, sustainment system technical support, depot maintenance support, field service representatives, systems engineering, program management, engineering management, quality management, configuration management, logistics support, and software management and maintenance for the M109 Family of Vehicles. One bid was solicited via the internet with one bid received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 21, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-19-D-0040). General Dynamics C4 System Inc., Taunton, Massachusetts, was awarded a $26,767,467 firm-fixed-price contract for replenishment spares for the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical. One bid was solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 23, 2020. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W15P7T-19-F-0030). Elbit Fort Worth Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $24,360,089 firm-fixed-price contract for the Common Helmet Mounted Display. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 21, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-19-D-0035). Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., Oak Brook, Illinois, was awarded a $14,136,343 modification (P00015) to contract W912BU-15-C-0054 for dredging and rock removal. Work will be performed in Chester, Pennsylvania, with an estimated completion date of March 15, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $14,136,343 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. Facility Services Management Inc.,* Clarksville, Tennessee, was awarded a $13,241,456 firm-fixed-price contract to plan, manage, perform operations and maintenance for the Department of Public Works functions in facility maintenance, water, fuel, sewage plant operations, land resource utilization, family housing maintenance, and Real Property maintenance activity supply management. Bids were solicited via the internet with 11 received. Work will be performed in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $1,270,261 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W9124A-19-C-0002). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Ready One Industries Inc.,** El Paso, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $186,375,600 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology (JSLIST). This is a one-year base contract with an 18-month ordering period and no option periods. Location of performance is Texas, with a July 22, 2020, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-19-D-N057). Atlantic Diving Supply, doing business as ADS,* Virginia Beach, Virginia (SPE8EG-16-D-0023); Berger Cummins JV, Washington, District of Columbia (SPE8EG-16-D-0024); Caterpillar, Mossville, Illinois (SPE8EG-16-D-0025); Inglett and Stubbs International,* Atlanta, Georgia (SPE8EG-16-D-0026); and Texas Power and Associates,* Dallas, Texas (SPE8EG-16-D-0027), are sharing a maximum $90,000,000 modification (P00005) to a five-year contract for generators and associated supplies. These are firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, 160-day bridge contracts. Locations of performance are Virginia; Washington, District of Columbia; Illinois; Georgia;and Texas, with a July 1, 2019, performance completion date. Using customer is Federal Emergency Management Agency. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. AIR FORCE Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, has been awarded a $149,616,524 modification to contract FA8726-18-C-0005 to exercise Option Year One for Battlefield Airborne Communications Node, payload operations and sustainment. This modification brings the total cumulative value of the contract to $336,869,185. Work will be performed in San Diego and multiple international sites, and is expected to be completed on Jan. 23, 2020. Fiscal 2019 overseas contingency operations funds; and operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $149,616,524 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity. Quantum Spatial Inc., Petersburg, Florida (FA4452-19-D-A001); Geographic Information Services Inc., Birmingham, Alabama (FA4452-19-D-A002); Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Virginia (FA4452-19-D-A003); Woolpert Inc., Dayton, Ohio (FA4452-19-D-A004); and KFS LLC, Huntsville, Alabama (FA4452-19-D-A005), have been awarded multiyear indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts with a combined cumulative face value of $46,564,206. These contracts will provide geospatial tasks and support functions for improved shared situational awareness and decision making across the various echelons of military hierarchy including individual level, installation level, and management headquarters level. Support may include technical assistance at Headquarters Air Force, field operating agencies, numbered Air Forces, main operating bases and reach-back support to forward deployed military personnel at forward operating locations, as well as a surge capability to quickly respond to wartime, contingencies and manmade or natural disasters. Work is expected to be completed by Jan. 21, 2024, and will be performed at various bases throughout the Air Force. These contracts are the result of a competitive acquisition and seven offers were received. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders. The 763d Specialized Contracting Squadron, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity for the multiyear indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts. However, individual task orders will be decentralized. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded a $44,428,104 service firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursable contract in support of the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node E-11A platform maintenance requirement. This contract provides for logistics product support for four E-11A modified Bombardier BD-700 Global aircraft, as well as subsystems and support equipment in support of overseas contingency operations. Work will be performed in Kandahar, Afghanistan; and Maryland, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 23, 2020. This award is a result of a competitive acquisition, and two offers were received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in amount of $44,428,104 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8726-17-C-0011). *Small business **Mandatory source https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1737551/source/GovDelivery/