SOCOM industry day solicits proposals to update Global Analytics Platform

On the same subject

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  December 28, 2023 | International, Security

  UK to lead NATO’s 2024 rapid response force

  From 1 January 2024, the United Kingdom’s 7th Light Mechanised Brigade will lead NATO’s rapid reaction force, placing thousands of soldiers on standby and ready to deploy within days. NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) was created after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and was deployed for the first time for collective defence of the Alliance after Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The leadership position is rotated annually among Allies. The UK takes over from Germany, which led the force in 2023.

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  September 5, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  PZL Mielec Displays Single-Station Stores Pylon For Armed Black Hawk

  KIELCE, Poland, Sept. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- During the MSPO International Defence Industry Exhibition, PZL Mielec, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT) displayed an S-70i™ Armed Black Hawk® helicopter fitted with a single-station external stores pylon. Designed at PZL Mielec as a lighter weight, lower cost alternative to currently fielded dual-station external wings, a single-station pylon attached to one or both sides of the aircraft will be compatible with the advanced weapon system that allows Black Hawk pilot gunners to support battlefield operations using forward firing guns, rockets and air-to-ground missiles. "We're developing the single-station pylon in response to requests by militaries across Europe, Latin America and Asia for a battlefield support helicopter that can be armed for different types of missions that may not always need four weapons stations," said Janusz Zakręcki, president, general director of PZL Mielec. "Operators can arm the aircraft for suppressive fire, surveillance, armed reconnaissance, armed escort and air assault missions, and still carry out other utility roles whenever pylons and stores must remain on the aircraft." At a quarter the cost and weight of a dual-station wing, a pylon can be removed or attached by two people in 15 minutes, produces less drag during flight, offers a wider field of fire to window or door gunners, and opens more space to hoist a litter into the aircraft while in a hover. For large targets, a pylon will be able to carry HELLFIRE™ or Spike air-to-ground missile launchers. A pylon also can extend aircraft range with an 80-gallon external fuel tank. As a complementary option for the S-70i / S-70M Armed Black Hawk with dual-station wings, the single station pylon will integrate with the aircraft's weapons management system that calculates the range and complex ballistics required for pilot gunners to engage targets with high accuracy and reliability from stand-off distances during day and night operations. PZL Mielec expects to begin airworthiness flight testing of the prototype pylon design in 2020. About Lockheed Martin Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 105,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2019-09-04-PZL-Mielec-Displays-Single-Station-Stores-Pylon-for-Armed-Black-Hawk

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  October 1, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Security

  Palantir wants to be the ‘central operating system for all US defense programs’

  Andrew Eversden WASHINGTON — Palantir, the Silicon Valley-based software company that successfully sued the Army in 2016, wants to become “the central operating system for all U.S. defense programs," the company wrote in paperwork filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its initial public offering. The software company, known for its controversial work with the U.S. government, went public on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday said that it wants its big data analytics platforms to “become the default operating system for data across the U.S. government.” Palantir, according to the filing, views the U.S. government's push toward alternative acquisition methods as a primary opportunity to for their company to grow. The federal government, particularly the Defense Department, is increasingly using what's known as Other Transaction Authorities and Small Business innovation Research contracts to eliminate the long timelines associated with the traditional contracting process. In 2019, research showed that those types of awards accounted for nearly 10 percent of the department's research, development, test and evaluation spending. “Our software is well positioned for this new procurement approach. Our platforms have been tested and improved over years of use across industries and can rapidly be deployed by the government with minor configurations. This gives us a significant edge over contractors selling custom tools,” the filing states. Palantir expects that there is $26 billion worth of work in the federal space, the filing stated. The company offers two big data analytics platforms, Foundry and Gotham, for data-driven decisionmaking by its customers. According to the filing, the company is currently working with Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, Special Operations Command and “other defense agencies,” along with several other civilian agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs. The filing also states that the Army uses the platform to “keep one million troops ready for their missions, and every battalion in the U.S. Army uses our software for intelligence analysis.” In its filing, the the company specifically cites the DoD's $144 billion in fiscal 2020 on procurement funds and $105 billion on research, development, testing, and evaluation dollars as areas where its software “can contribute to programs covered by both of those budgets.” In 2016, Palantir sued the Army over its procurement strategy for an intelligence analysis system. After winning that case, which forced the Army to seek commercial solutions before building their own system. Since winning the case in 2018, the company has received $134.5 million in revenue from Army accounts, up from about $52 million in the previous 10 years. “Our victory in federal court is transforming the procurement of goods and services across the U.S. federal government,” the filing states. “For us, this shift in government acquisition represents a significant expansion of our [total addressable market] with the U.S. federal government. We are working towards becoming the central operating system for all U.S. defense program.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/industry/2020/09/30/palantir-wants-to-be-the-central-operating-system-for-all-us-defense-programs/