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February 5, 2019 | International, Naval

Sous-marins : la France et l'Australie vont verrouiller le contrat du siècle

Par Michel Cabirol

L'Australie et le groupe naval vont signer l'accord cadre de leur partenariat stratégique (Strategic Partnering Agreement). Naval Group devrait signer avant le printemps un contrat portant sur le design des sous-marins et estimé entre 1 et 2 milliards d'euros.

En Australie, Naval Group va bientôt voir la lumière après un très, très long tunnel de négociations. Lundi prochain, l'Australie et le groupe naval tricolore vont signer l'accord cadre de leur partenariat stratégique (Strategic Partnering Agreement ou SPA) en présence de Florence Parly et de son homologue australien Christopher Pyne, selon l'entourage de la ministre des Armées. Des négociations qui avaient commencé début février 2017. Un accord intergouvernemental entre l'Australie et la France avait été signé en décembre 2016.

Ce contrat "chapeau" intègre toutes les clauses de transferts de technologies, de garanties, de risques et de couvertures notamment sur la durée du contrat (50 ans). Il doit également protéger les propriétés intellectuelles de Naval Group. C'est donc l'aboutissement de négociations tripartites très complexes, qui vont en grande partie verrouiller le contrat du siècle pour Naval Group, sélectionné en 2016 par Canberra pour fabriquer douze sous-marins à propulsion classique pour un montant évalué à 50 milliards de dollars australiens (36,2 milliards d'euros).

Rassurer l'Australie

Cet accord vise principalement à assurer à (et rassurer) l'Australie que Naval Group sera capable tout au long de la durée de la vie du contrat des sous-marins (50 ans) de maintenir son outil industriel. La France a dû donner son assurance à l'Australie que Naval Group existera encore dans 50 ans pour assurer l'entretien des douze b'timents qui sont stratégiques pour Canberra.

De même, selon l'entourage de la ministre, le résultat des prochaines élections législatives australiennes, qui doivent avoir lieu au premier semestre 2019 afin de renouveler l'intégralité des 151 sièges de la Chambre des représentants et 40 des 76 sièges du Sénat, ne devrait pas changer l'accord entre l'Australie et Naval Group. Des assurances par l'opposition ont été données à la ministre lors de son passage en septembre dernier.

Un deuxième contrat en voie d'être signé

L'Australie devrait signer avant le printemps un deuxième contrat avec Naval Group, qui porte sur le design des sous-marins. Il était attendu depuis octobre 2017. Le montant est évalué entre 1 et 2 milliards d'euros. Ce contrat lancera officiellement les activités du bureau d'études du groupe naval en matière de design et d'analyse fonctionnelle des futurs b'timents. Il permettra de définir non seulement les spécificités opérationnelles des sous-marins mais également de déterminer le coût et les délais de fabrication. Enfin, il restera ensuite à Naval Group de signer le contrat de fabrication des douze sous-marins... Soit le contrat du sicèle.

Naval Group avait signé en septembre 2016 un premier contrat opérationnel d'environ 300 millions d'euros, dénommé "Design and Mobilisation Contract". Il avait permis de lancer les activités de structuration du programme et de coordination avec le groupe américain Lockheed Martin, l'intégrateur du système de combat et les partenaires australiens.

https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/sous-marins-la-france-et-l-australie-vont-verrouiller-le-contrat-du-siecle-806260.html

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  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - June 26, 2019

    June 27, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - June 26, 2019

    ARMY Burgos Group LLC,* Albuquerque, New Mexico (W9126G-19-D-0041); Southwest Valley Constructors, Albuquerque, New Mexico (W9126G-19-D-0033); SLSCO Ltd., Galveston, Texas (W9126G-19-D-0036); Bristol Construction Services LLC,* Anchorage, Alaska (W9126G-19-D-0039); J&J Contractors Inc.,* North Billerica, Massachusetts (W9126G-19-D-0043); Gibralter-Caddell a Joint Venture, Montgomery, Alabama (W9126G-19-D-0037); Puyenpa Cottles Joint Venture LLC,* Copperas Cove, Texas (W9126G-19-D-0038); Texas Sterling Construction Co., Houston, Texas (W9126G-19-D-0035); BFBC LLC, Bozeman, Montana (W9126G-19-D-0034); JSR Inc.,* Schertz, Texas (W9126G-19-D-0045); Stormwater Plans, LLC doing business as SWP Contracting & Paving,* Glendale, Arizona (W9126G-19-D-0044); Gideon Contracting LLC,* San Antonio, Texas (W9126G-19-D-0042); and Randy Kinder Excavating Inc.,* Dexter, Missouri (W9126G-19-D-0040) will compete for each order of the $5,000,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for horizontal construction services in support of the Department of Homeland Security, Rio Grande Valley, Laredo, Del Rio, Big Bend and El Paso Border Patrol sectors. 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 June 24, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity. Atlantic Diving Suppling Inc.,* Virginia Beach, Virginia (W56HZV-19-D-0070) and Sorinex Exercise Equipment Inc.,* Lexington, South Carolina (W56HZV-19-D-0071), will compete for each order of the $63,778,092 firm-fixed-price contract for procurement of Army combat fitness test equipment. Bids were solicited via the internet with 11 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 6, 2022. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. Peckham Vocational Industries Inc., Lansing, Michigan, was awarded a $22,860,897 modification (P00008) to contract W56HZV-17-C-0187 for services to support the organizational clothing and individual equipment effort for the repair, cleaning, warehousing, and distribution. Work will be performed in Lansing, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $22,860,897 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. Manson Construction Co., Seattle, Washington, was awarded a $16,715,000 firm-fixed-price contract for annual maintenance dredging for the Oakland Inner and Outer Harbor federal navigation channel in Alameda County, California. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Oakland, California, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 18, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, civil funds in the amount of $16,715,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco, California, is the contracting activity (W912P7-19-C-0009). IAP Worldwide Services Inc., Cape Canaveral, Florida, was awarded a $16,289,540 hybrid (cost-no-fee, firm-fixed-price and time-and-materials) contract for satellite communication support. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 21, 2025. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $16,289,540 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-19-C-0034). International GeoConsultants JV, Germantown. Maryland, was awarded a $9,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for geotechnical engineering services. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June, 25, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-19-D-0034). General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded a $7,805,000 modification (F406 22) to contract W91QUZ-06-D-0012 for combined mission command network operations and maintenance information technology services. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 12, 2020. U.S. Army 411th Contracting Support Battalion, Republic of Korea, is the contracting activity. NAVY BAE System Technology Solutions and Services Inc., Rockville, Maryland (N00039-19-D-0031); Serco Inc., Herndon, Virginia (N00039-19-D-0032); and Scientific Research Corp., Atlanta, Georgia (N00039-19-D-0033), are each awarded a cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-only indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award contract for logistics, integration, engineering, procurement, fabrication, assembly, test, inspection, zone integration and installation of integrated command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) system of systems capabilities aboard new construction aircraft carrier and large deck amphibious ships, to include refueling and complex overhaul ships. Throughout the duration of the awarded contracts, the total obligated amount on orders for all of the awarded contracts combined will not exceed $747,097,000. Each contract includes options, which if exercised, would bring the estimated value of each contact to $601,513,730 for BAE System; $608,243,247 for Serco Inc., and $599,544,784 for Scientific Research Corp. These contracts will support various Navy shipbuilding programs. These programs require integrated C4I capabilities to provide communications for maritime operations and flight safety. The integrated capability is composed of distributed systems that provide network capabilities, communications, command and control, intelligence, and non-tactical data. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia (73%); Charleston, South Carolina (17%); and Pascagoula, Mississippi (10%), and work is expected to be completed by June 2029. No contract funds will be obligated at the time of award. Contract funds in the amount of $50,000 will be obligated on the first task order under each contract utilizing fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy), and fiscal 2019 research and development (Navy) funds. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. These contracts were awarded pursuant to full and open competition, with three offers received. The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Integrity Applications Inc.,* Chantilly, Virginia (N68936-19-D-0036); Toyon Research Corp.,* Goleta, California (N68936-19-D-0037); KAB Laboratories,* San Diego, California (N6893619D0038); and Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Virginia (N68936-19-D-0039), are each being awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts. These contracts provide for research, development, testing and evaluation, technical assistance and systems engineering in the development, testing and fielding of future intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting systems. The estimated cumulative aggregate ceiling for all contracts is $49,839,291, with the companies having an opportunity to compete for individual orders. Work will be performed at various contractor facilities located inside the continental United States, and is expected to be completed in June 2024. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,004 ($2,501 per company to satisfy the minimum guarantee amount) are being obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. These contracts were competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals; four offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, California, is the contracting activity. Tetra Tech Inc., Norfolk, Virginia, is awarded $9,870,904 for firm-fixed-price task order N44255-19-F-4112 under a previously awarded single award services contract for a base wide site investigation for munitions at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. The work to be performed provides a munition response site investigation for 15 sites having 21 locations. The scope includes all work necessary to define the source and nature of a release, describe pathways for contaminant migration, identify human and ecological receptors, conclude whether a No Further Action determination, a removal action, or a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study is warranted. The following surveys will be completed as part of this work: habitat/endangered species, historical and cultural resources, land surveying and clearing, munitions and clearing, and geophysical. Work will be performed in Silverdale, Washington, and is expected to be completed by June 2022. Fiscal 2019 environmental restoration (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $9,870,904 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One proposal was received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Northwest, Silverdale, Washington, is the contracting activity (N44255-19-D-4112). AIR FORCE HDT Global, Salon, Ohio, has been awarded a $66,684,930, fixed-price incentive firm modification (P00038) to previously awarded FA8204-13-C-0010 for production of 19 Transporter Erector Replacement Program (TERP) production units. This contract provides for the procurement of 19 TERP production representative vehicles and initial spares over four option periods. Work will be performed in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Florence, Kentucky, and is expected to be completed by December 2020. This award is the result of a negotiated agreement to definitize engineering changes incorporated into the design portion of performance. Fiscal 2018 procurement funds in the amount of $15,225,936 to fully fund option period one. The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity. United Technologies Corp., doing business as Collins Aerospace, Westford, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $31,920,402 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity modification (P00008) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract FA8620-18-D-3014 for providing partner nations an ordering vehicle for the DB-110 Tactical Reconnaissance Pod Program. This modification raises the price ceiling from $31,920,402 to $215,025,402. Work will be performed in Westford, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 14, 2023. This contract involves 100% foreign military sales to Oman, Poland, Morocco and Greece. This award is the result of a sole source acquisition. No funds are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Brighton Cromwell LLC, Randolph, New Jersey, has been awarded a maximum $34,746,167 firm-fixed-price contract for specialized parts kits. 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 three-year base contract with two one-year option periods. Location of performance is New Jersey, with a June 25, 2022, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio (SPE7LX-19-D-0163). Federal Prison Industries (UNICOR),** Washington, District of Columbia., has been awarded a maximum $14,141,250 modification (P00002) exercising the first one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-18-D1069) with two one-year option periods for Army physical fitness uniform trunks. This is an indefinite-delivery contract. Locations of performance are Minnesota, Colorado, Louisiana and Kentucky, with a July 11, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. DEFENSE HEALTH AGENCY Spectrum Healthcare Resources Inc., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a $9,061,238 firm-fixed-price contract, HT0014-19-C-0001. This contract provides support to the Defense Health Agency's national capital region for continuation of healthcare services at the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital Family Health Centers of Fairfax and Dumfries (outpatient clinics stemming from Fort Belvoir Community Hospital). The work includes all personnel and facilities to provide healthcare for approximately 51,000 TRICARE prime beneficiaries. Work will be performed in Virginia, beginning July 1, 2019, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2019. The contract includes a two- month base period. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $9,061,238 are obligated on this award. This was a sole-source acquisition. The Defense Health Agency, Falls Church, Virginia, is the contracting activity. *Small business **Mandatory source https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1888547/source/GovDelivery/

  • Germany picks up two thorny defense and diplomacy assignments in 2019

    January 4, 2019 | International, Land

    Germany picks up two thorny defense and diplomacy assignments in 2019

    By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — Germany begins the new year with two prominent defense and diplomacy assignments: leadership of NATO's highest-alert combat formation, and a two-year seat on the United Nations Security Council. The two new responsibilities follow recent pledges by Berlin to play a more active role in global affairs, offering German Chancellor Angela Merkel an instant test to make good on those proclamations during the final years of her tenure. As of Jan. 1, Germany is on the hook to provide 5,000 soldiers for NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, or VJTF. The formation must be ready to fight wherever it is needed within 48 to 72 hours. Partner nations for this year's rotation include the Netherlands, Norway, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Lithuania, bringing the total package to about 8,000. A key rationale for the quick-reaction force is to display to Russia the ability to rapidly ferry combat power across Europe at a time when speed is believed to be a Russian advantage. European governments are still wary from the 2014 Russian annexation of Ukraine's Crimea, and more recently from a naval standoff between the two countries in the Sea of Asov. Both incidents fit into a pattern of Russia steering clear of outright war while trying to shake up the post-Soviet order around its borders, according to issue experts. The German Defence Ministry's logistics planning for the VJTF role takes into account the need to quickly move combat gear if needed. Its acquisition office last month announced a $110 million support contract to ensure rapid access to military rail transport from civilian providers during Germany's one-year tenure. The Bundeswehr, plagued by equipment shortfalls, management problems or both — depending on who is asked — has had to dig deep to assemble the needed equipment for the task force lead. In the end, funneling supplies from across the force to the tip of the spear appears to have worked, but it has depleted the readiness of many units, said Christian Mölling, an analyst with the Berlin-based German Council on Foreign Relations. “It means the rest of the Bundeswehr is no longer the kind of deterrent it is meant to be,” he said in an interview. With the task force now on high alert, Mölling said, the thing to watch will be Germany's national decision-making process in the event that it will be called up. Parliament and the government, he argues, lack a well-rehearsed process for assessing whether a given conflict warrants deploying the task force, potentially kicking off a comprehensive national debate that would negate any hope of a rapid reaction. That is especially the case because of Moscow's penchant to keep its activities just below the conflict threshold that would trigger Article 5, NATO's clause for collective defense when one member is attacked. Amid deepening global crises and a deteriorating relationship between Europe and the U.S., a German government debating the definition of a worthy VJTF deployment would probably lead to Russian President Vladimir Putin “grabbing a bag of popcorn,” Mölling quipped. “We just don't have the necessary routine for a case like that,” he said. As a nonpermanent member of the U.N. Security Council, it's easy to foresee the animosity between Germany and the Trump administration in Washington coming to a head in New York, said Ulrike Franke, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank. Many Germans are deeply wary of the U.S. president and his knocking of NATO and other multilateral institutions that have brought Berlin back from the devastation of World War II. That is even more the case since Jim Mattis, a vocal believer in America's global alliances, called it quits as defense secretary last month. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Jan. 1 tweeted a list of objectives for Germany during its Security Council tenure. They include countering climate change and related global security effects, and a commitment to arms control and disarmament — issues that the Trump administration has dismissed. When it comes to the voting pattern of Berlin and Washington, often aligned on the Security Council stage, things could get a little awkward, Franke predicts. In practical terms, however, “I'm pessimistic that a lot will change,” she said. But Germany's term holds the promise that government leaders here will get into the habit of developing truly global foreign policy positions and selling them to audiences foreign and domestic, she said. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/01/02/germany-picks-up-two-thorny-defense-and-diplomacy-assignments-in-2019/

  • Construction of first permanent US F-35 campus in Europe begins at Lakenheath

    July 16, 2019 | International, Aerospace

    Construction of first permanent US F-35 campus in Europe begins at Lakenheath

    By CHRISTOPHER DENNIS RAF LAKENHEATH, England — A $205 million construction project to prepare RAF Lakenheath for the arrival of two squadrons of U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II fighter jets in 2021 officially got underway Monday. The commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe - U.S. Air Forces Africa, Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, and other dignitaries plunged shovels into dirt at what will become the first permanent site for U.S. F-35s in Europe. U.K. firms Kier and VolkerFitzpatrick will build a flight simulator facility, maintenance unit, hangars and storage units at the site, in time for the arrival of 48 F-35s in November 2021. The Royal Air Force currently has nine F-35s at RAF Marham, about 25 miles north of Lakenheath. “This will be a great opportunity to reinforce together how we will train, execute and operate on a daily basis, and allow us to deepen what is a critically important relationship,” Harrigian said at the groundbreaking. The project is the first in a broad program to support Air Force operations in the U.K. A further $1 billion is expected to be invested in the program over the next seven to 10 years, said the Defense Infrastructure Organization, which last year awarded the contract for the F-35 campus. “The project team is in good shape — we are on schedule for completion in 2021,” Kier's managing director of aviation and defense James Hindes was quoted as saying by The Construction Index, an industry website. The completed campus will host around 1,200 U.S. airmen. Currently, more than 9,100 U.S. servicemembers are based in the U.K, according to Pentagon data. Recent problems with engine delivery of the F-35A are not expected to delay the arrival of America's newest fighter jet at Lakenheath, a 48th Fighter Wing spokeswoman said Monday. Of the 81 engines that were delivered in 2018, 86% were late, according to a Government Accountability Office report in April. That was up from 48% that were not delivered on time the previous year, when fewer engines were delivered. The delays were due in part to an increase in the “average number of quality issues per engine”— 941 in 2018 against 777 a year earlier, the GAO report said. United Technologies' Pratt and Whitney unit, the only company to make the engines, is under a corrective action request from the Defense Contract Management Agency for “poor delivery performance,” according to a July report by Bloomberg News. https://www.stripes.com/news/construction-of-first-permanent-us-f-35-campus-in-europe-begins-at-lakenheath-1.590422

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