Back to news

June 3, 2021 | International, Land

SKorea’s Hanwha pitches K9 howitzer for British mobile fires program

But the K9 is one of several contenders to replace the British Army’s aging AS90 howitzer, which has been around for about 30 years.

https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2021/06/02/skoreas-hanwha-pitches-k9-howitzer-for-british-mobile-fires-program

On the same subject

  • Israel's Elbit, Roboteam unveil 'Rook' ground robot

    November 22, 2021 | International, Land

    Israel's Elbit, Roboteam unveil 'Rook' ground robot

    The companies say Rook is a multi-payload military vehicle that features '€œunique design and built-in autonomy suite offering a combination of greater capacity, improved maneuverability and must-have on-field agility that are key for greater mission effectiveness.'€

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - January 23, 2019

    January 24, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - January 23, 2019

    ARMY Donley Construction,* Aberdeen, Maryland (W912DQ-19-D-4000); LGC Global Inc.,* Detroit, Michigan (W912DQ-19-D-4001); Southwind Construction,* Edmond, Oklahoma (W912DQ-19-D-4002); Walga Ross Group JV,* Topeka, Kansas (W912DQ-19-D-4003); RM Builders,* Alamogordo, New Mexico (W912DQ-19-D-4004); and SES Construction and Fuel Services,* Oak Ridge, Tennessee (W912DQ-19-D-4006), will share in a $95,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for design-build and design-bid-build construction work. Bids were solicited via the internet with 40 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 16, 2022. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, Missouri, is the contracting activity. Inquip Associates Inc.,* McLean, Virginia, was awarded a $41,169,021 firm-fixed-price contract for levee improvement construction. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Sacramento, California, with an estimated completion date of April 13, 2021. Fiscal 2017 and 2019 general construction and non-federal sponsor funds in the amount of $41,169,021 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento, California, is the contracting activity (W91238-19-C-0006). ACC Construction Co. Inc., Augusta, Georgia, was awarded a $21,039,018 firm-fixed-price contract for a special operations forces tactical-equipment maintenance facility. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work will be performed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 9, 2020. Fiscal 2018 military construction funds in the amount of $21,039,018 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington, North Carolina, is the contracting activity (W912PM-19-C-0011). Cottrell Contracting Corp.,* Chesapeake, Virginia, was awarded a $12,740,080 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance dredging. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Jekyll Island, Georgia; and Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 2, 2019. Fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019 civil work Irma supplemental; civil work Matthew supplemental; and civil work operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $12,740,080 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity (W912HN-19-C-5001). Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. LLC, Oak Brook, Illinois, was awarded a $7,814,143 modification (P00004) to contract W912HP-18-C-0006 to increase cubic yards of beach fill. Work will be performed in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with an estimated completion date of June 17, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $7,814,143 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston, South Carolina, is the contracting activity. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum, Maryland, was awarded a $7,666,503 firm-fixed-price foreign military sales (Kuwait) contract for procurement of Army, Navy vehicle intercommunication systems. One bid was solicited via the internet with one bid received. Work will be performed in Elkridge, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 23, 2020. Fiscal 2019 foreign military sales funds in the amount of $7,666,503 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W91CRB-19-C-5007). AIR FORCE Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Georgia, has been awarded an $80,607,877 firm-fixed-price modification (P00004) to contract FA8106-18-D-0002 for C-20/C-37 fleet sustainment. The contract modification is for exercise of Option Year II, to include issuance of task orders for one-year extension of contract term to support the C-20 and C-37 fleet for the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard; and funding uninterrupted continuation of contractor logistics. Work will be performed at Savannah, Georgia; Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy; Ramstein Air Base, Germany; Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland; Hickam AFB, Hawaii; Marine Corps Base Hawaii; MacDill AFB, Florida; and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington, District of Columbia. The work is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenances funds in the amount of $62,162,710 are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $594,429,554. Air Force Lifecycle Management Center, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Planmeca U.S.A. Inc., Roselle, Illinois, has been awarded a maximum $29,850,000 firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for medical equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency electronic catalog. This was a competitive acquisition with 70 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Illinois, with a Jan. 22, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and other federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D1-19-D-0009). NAVY General Atomics, Electromagnetics Systems Group, San Diego, California, is awarded $19,682,252 for firm-fixed-price delivery order N0001919F2406 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-16-G-0006). This order provides for the manufacture, assembly, inspection, integration, test and delivery of Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) spare parts in support of the CVN-78 prior to the Advanced Arresting Gear and EMALS material support dates. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (37 percent); Boston, Massachusetts (18 percent); Tupelo, Mississippi (10.7 percent); Aston, Pennsylvania (5.8 percent); Guilford, Connecticut (4.4 percent); San Leandro, California (3.5 percent); Cincinnati, Ohio (2.6 percent); Randolph, New Jersey (2.4 percent); Mankato, Minnesota (1.4 percent); Middletown, Ohio (1.2 percent); Bindlach, Bavaria, Germany (.53 percent); and various locations within the continental U.S. (12.47 percent), and is expected to be completed in January 2023. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $19,682,252 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. *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1738850/source/GovDelivery/

  • Cash-strapped Britain eyes shrinking its order of new early-warning planes

    September 23, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    Cash-strapped Britain eyes shrinking its order of new early-warning planes

    Andrew Chuter LONDON – Britain is poised to cut an order for Boeing E-7 Wedgetails, with the airborne early warning and control aircraft possibly becoming the first confirmed victim of the government's upcoming integrated defense review. Negotiations between Boeing and the Ministry of Defence have been underway since mid-summer over a possible reduction in Wedgetail numbers from five to three, or possibly four, aircraft as part of a wider cost-cutting exercise. Newspapers here have recently been full of leaks about possible capability cuts and delays to equipment like armored vehicles, artillery, surface warships and support ships and fighter aircraft. All of the leaks have been brushed off by the MoD as speculation, even though some of the leaks were likely inspired by the MoD itself to test the waters of political and public acceptability. This time, though, the response from the MoD was different. Replying to a tweet in The Times Sept. 22 an MoD spokesperson pretty much confirmed the cuts were under consideration. “We regularly discuss equipment programs with our partners, particularly when it comes to making savings and cutting costs, where appropriate,” they said. A Boeing spokesperson in London said the company “doesn't comment on commercial matters.” Defense consultant Howard Wheeldon of Wheeldon Strategic Advisory said leaving the RAF with just three Wedgetails would leave the UK seriously short of aerial command-and-control and situational awareness capability. “Personally, I regard this as little short of insanity. ... To guarantee 27/7 capability requires that the UK has a minimum of five airframes. Potentially reducing the number to three would have very serious consequences and if this really has already been decided it needs to be reconsidered very quickly. Assured 24/7 AWACS capability is not just an option – it is an absolute necessity,” said Wheeldon. A potential reduction in Wedgetail numbers is not the only ISTAR capability cut in the cards. The RAF remains on track to take out of service next year its Raytheon-supplied Sentinel battlefield surveillance aircraft. In early 2019 the MoD controversially signed a deal worth £1.5 billion – without a competition – to supply five of the Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft to the RAF with deliveries starting in 2023 and the final platform being handed over in 2025. The aircraft will replace the RAFs increasingly ancient Sentry E-3D's, whose capability has been limited by under-investment going back years. The deal with Boeing was meant to restore high-quality airborne early warning to the RAF by the mid 2020s. Last year the company signed a deal with STS Aviation to modify the 737NG commercial aircraft used for Wedgetail to an AEW configuration at a hangar on Birmingham airport in England. Early work on stripping out two second-hand airliners has already got underway in the US ahead of the aircraft being transferred to the UK where the modification effort will create jobs. Wedgetail is not operated by the US military but has secured Australia, Turkey and South Korea as export customers. Much of the equipment for the RAF aircraft are due to be supplied by Australian industry. The move to reduce Wedgetail numbers comes as the government moves closer to taking the wraps off what it has promised to be a “fundamental” review of British defense, security, foreign policy and overseas development. Led by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his chief advisor Dominic Cummings, the review is looking at pivoting defense away from conventional sunset capabilities to more sunrise technologies in areas like space, artificial intelligence, cyber and undersea warfare. The trouble is Britain's Brexit- and Covid-19-battered economy is unlikely to find much, if anything, in the way of additional resources for an MoD which already has significant funding issues. To make room for costly future technology programs the armed services are going to have to make sacrifices elsewhere. The procurement process is likely to be in Cummings cross hairs along with conventional capabilities like main battle tanks and army personnel numbers. When the review is published, possibly around mid-November, it's likely to be a bloody affair. One industry executive here, who asked not to be named, said he thought the outcome was likely to be worse than the 2010 strategic defense and security review, which stripped out capabilities like aircraft carriers, fast jets, maritime patrol aircraft and personnel. Wheeldon said by now nobody should imagine the integrated defense review is about building Britain's defense capabilities, but quite the reverse. “If anyone really is still under the illusion that the underlying intention behind the 2020 ‘Integrated Review' process – that of forming a soundly based long-term strategic decision making process of where the UK wants to be in the future, why and what defense and security capability will be required to meet those ambitions – let them now understand that the reality is that what eventually emerges will primarily have been about further cutting of UK defense capability at a time when others, including our adversaries and would-be enemies, are increasing their expenditure in the sector.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/09/22/cash-strapped-britain-eyes-shrinking-its-order-of-new-early-warning-planes/

All news