October 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace
PARIS – The French government is to order by year-end another 12 Rafale fighter aircraft for its Air and Space Force to replace the 12 in its current inventory of 102 that are being sold to Greece.
“We have the intention, between now and the end of the year, to place an order, in parallel with the orders for Greece, of 12 aircraft for the Air & Space Force," Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly told parliamentarians at the National Assembly's Defence Commission during a hearing on the defense budget.
When Greece announced that it would be buying 18 Rafales from France, of which 12 would be second-hand, the French government had said that each Rafale removed from the inventory would be replaced in order not to impact operations. “I'd like to reassure you. Together we've agreed that by 2025, in conformity with the military program law, we would have 129 Rafale aircraft and I have every intention of abiding by that,” Parly said.
The purchase of these new Rafales cannot be paid for with the funds that Greece will pay for their 18 aircraft. The Hellenic order is valued at “between €1 billion and €2 billion,” according to Parly's Cabinet.
She explained that these monies technically would go straight into the state budget and not into her ministry's. That means a new battle is afoot with the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Recovery about the transfer of funds into defense coffers to pay for the replacements, she admitted.
In addition to this order for 12, Dassault Aviation, manufacturer of the Rafale, still has 28 aircraft to deliver to France between 2022 and 2024. The 12 new ones would be delivered “immediately after this,” according to Parly. And by 2023 the Armed Forces Ministry plans to order a further 30 which would be delivered from 2027.
November 2, 2022 | International, Naval
Fifteen of the 21 vessels have been delivered to 11 Pacific Island nations under the Australian Government’s Pacific Maritime Security Program, since 2018
November 5, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
ARMY American Mechanical Inc.,* Fairbanks, Alaska (W911KB-19-D-0001); Osborne Construction Co.,* Kirkland, Washington (W911KB-19-D-0002); and Patrick Mechanical LLC,* Fairbanks, Alaska (W911KB-19-D-0003), will compete for each order of the $48,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for design, construction and repair of various utilidor systems in military family housing on Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2023. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Anchorage, Alaska, is the contracting activity. DynCorp International LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded an $18,153,589 modification (P00199) to contract W58RGZ-13-C-0040 for aviation field maintenance services. Work will be performed in Afghanistan, Iraq and Germany, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2018. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $18,153,589 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND Boeing Co., Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a $42,835,847 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification under delivery order H92241-18-F-0022-P00002 for four new build MH-47G rotary wing aircrafts. The contract modification satisfies an urgent need to sustain U.S. Special Operations Forces heavy assault, rotary wing aircrafts. The contract modification is funded with fiscal 2018 procurement; and aircraft procurement, Army funds. The majority of the work will be performed in Ridley Park. This contract modification is a non-competitive award and is in accordance with Fair Acquisition Regulation 6.302.1. U.S. Special Operations Command, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a $14,592,654 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, time-and-material contract for the F-15 Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) Aircraft Maintenance Debrief System (AMDS). This contract provides administration and support to the RSAF F-15C, D, S and SA aircraft sustainment program at up to six locations throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Services acquired under this effort include, but are not limited to, providing fully-trained AMDS personnel to operate, maintain AMDS equipment and to provide AMDS familiarization training to RSAF members that will enable them to safely and efficiently operate all AMDS equipment. Work will be performed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is expected to be completed Nov. 4, 2023. Foreign military sales in the amount of $8,744,949 are being obligated at the time of award. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8505-19-C-0001). (Awarded Oct. 31, 2018) NAVY Detyen's Shipyards Inc.,* North Charleston, South Carolina, is awarded an $8,175,517 firm-fixed-price contract for a 59-calendar day shipyard availability for the mid-term availability of USNS Arctic (T-AOE 8). Work will include furnishing general services for the ship, collection holding tank, piping repairs, 4 overhead steel replacement, tank top steel replacements, main switch board cleaning, refurbish unrep saddles, winches, and drive chains, vent systems cleaning, underwater propellers cleaning and generator cleaning. The contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the total contract value to $8,175,517. Work will be performed in Charleston, South Carolina, is expected to be completed by Jan. 23, 2019. Navy working capital funds in the amount of $8,175,517 are obligated and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal. This contract was a small business set-aside with companies solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Navy's Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220519C6001). Raytheon Co., Space and Airborne Systems, McKinney, Texas, is being awarded a $7,676,741 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order (N0001919F0270) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-15-G-0003). This order provides for completion of Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) 0043 for the Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared Processor and Video Obsolescence Avoidance system upgrade. This ECP productionizes the Input Image Processor Version 2 (I2P2) Circuit Card Assembly (CCA); updates associated support test equipment; and performance of I2P2 CCA qualification to enable future growth and mitigate potential obsolescence issues. Work will be performed in McKinney, Texas, and is expected to be completed in November 2019. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,676,741 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/1680751/source/GovDelivery/
April 24, 2022 | International, Land
Up to 40 vehicles are needed in the long term, and could come from either from New Zealand or other countries where they're available, according to military sources in Chile.