July 2, 2019 | International, Aerospace

Strategic Air Bases Receive First Counter-UAS Systems

RACHEL S. COHEN

Several Air Force installations with strategic assets are now armed with systems to protect against small unmanned aircraft that might loiter nearby.

Steve Wert, the Air Force's digital program executive officer helping to roll out counter-UAS systems, said the service had fielded initial capabilities to an undisclosed number of US Strategic Command and Air Force Global Strike Command sites. Speaking at an Air Force Life Cycle Management Conference recently in Dayton, Ohio, Wert described the new systems as “a command-and-control capability integrated with some detection and some jamming,” but did not mention kinetic attacks.

“Much more work to do,” he said. “We're finding the typical problems you will find on some bases. In order to have a radar providing detection, you actually have to build a tower. Building towers is hard because you have to do environmental assessments.”

The systems provide “a composite suite of options” to sense and defeat drones attempting to enter restricted airspace around nuclear, space, electronic warfare, long-range strike, and missile defense resources, Air Force spokeswoman Laura McAndrews said.

“The concept of ‘tailored and layered defense' provides the ability to execute kinetic solutions, such as traditional ballistic rounds and capture nets, coupled with other countermeasures that disrupt the operator's ability to navigate drones in our restricted airspace,” she said.

The Air Force and Army are also collaborating on using 40 mm ammunition with nets that deploy and wrap around the drones to bring them down.

“We've had some recent success working with the Army on kinetic defeat, successful test round firings,” Wert said. “The idea of a net round is probably a good solution, but that system's becoming accurate enough where the training rounds are directly hitting UAVs, so very good results there.”

In May, Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord told reporters Defense Department officials were concerned that military personnel weren't aware of their options for addressing UAVs and the services weren't sharing their ideas. Combatant command representatives and acquisition officials meet each month to discuss the right way forward.

That's generated a list of counter-UAS systems in the DOD with details on their maturity, how many are deployed, and how they are used, Lord said. The Air Force is also working toward laser and microwave weapons for that purpose.

The FAA already regulates how and where small UAS are allowed to fly, though those rules are evolving in collaboration with the Pentagon, which called the issue a high priority earlier this year.

“I really do think of these UAVs as something that's low-cost, it's easy to manipulate,” then-acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told the Senate Appropriations Committee in May. “We need to develop the capabilities and the rules because, quite frankly, this airspace is shared by so many different authorities, so it's as much about rules to operate in space as it is the technologies to defeat them.”

Over the past few years, Defense Department officials have pointed to instances of enemy combatants dispatching small drones for strike and intelligence-gathering in the Middle East and of unmanned aerial vehicles lingering near high-end aircraft. US Strategic Command did not answer how many little aircraft have been spotted lately or if the number is growing.

"So far, they've been incidental activities,” STRATCOM boss Gen. John Hyten said at a 2017 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. "But the fact that they're occurring, and then if you watch what is happening overseas in the [US Central Command theater] with the use of lethal UAVs and the use of UAVs for surveillance on the part of a terrorist adversary, I'm very concerned that those same kind of UAVs could be employed against our weapon storage facilities, especially on the nuclear weapon storage facilities."

Air Combat Command chief Gen. Mike Holmes in 2017 also noted two incidents that interfered with operations on the same day and required reports to Air Force leadership. Conventional military assets need similar policies and protections as STRATCOM has put in place over the past few years, allowing workers to track and engage drones when needed, he argued.

"At one base, the gate guard watched one fly over the top of the gate shack, tracked it while it flew over the flight line for a little while, and then flew back out and left," Holmes said. "The other incident was an F-22 . . . had a near collision with a small UAS, and I don't have anything that I can do about it."

http://www.airforcemag.com/Features/Pages/2019/July%202019/Strategic-Air-Bases-Receive-First-Counter-UAS-Systems.aspx

On the same subject

October 22, 2020 | International, Naval

US and UK navies prepare to sign agreement to merge future tech work
David B. Larter and Andrew Chuter WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy and British Royal Navy are preparing to more closely align their futures in a whole host of warfare areas, the U.S. chief of naval operations announced Tuesday. The U.S. Navy's chief of naval operations and First Sea Lord Adm. Tony Radakin intend to “sign a future integrated warfighting statement of intent that sets a cooperative vision for interchangeablty,” CNO Adm. Mike Gilday announced at the virtual Atlantic Future Forum, being held on board the RN's new aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth. “We will synchronize pioneering capabilities, strengthen operating concepts and focus our collective efforts to deliver combined sea power together. By organizing our cooperation on carrier strike, underwater superiority, navy and marine integration and doubling down on future war fighting like unmanned and artificial intelligence, we will remain on the leading edge of great power competition.” It is unclear what the specifics of the statement of intent will be, but the U.S. and Royal navies have been focusing heavily in recent years on aligning its capabilities to be useful to each other in combined maritime operations. The message from both navies is that this will continue into the future. Throughout the Royal Navy's effort to get the Queen Elizabeth ready for deployment, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have been working closely with the service, training British pilots on the F-35B and getting the ship certified to operate them. The Marine Corps' Fighter Attack Squadron 211 embarked on Queen Elizabeth earlier this month during the ship's group exercise ahead of a deployment next year. The Marines will also mix in with Royal Air Force F-35Bs during the QE's 2021 deployment. In remarks at the forum, Radkin echoed Gilday's remarks, saying the two forces needed to continue to work to align efforts. “Throughout our careers we have had a drive for interoperability with allies,” Radkin said. "But increasingly it feels to us that bar has to be raised. ... The obvious example is the U.S. Marine jets on board the QE carrier. That is an obvious example of interchangeability. “So, we are trying to drive a new standard. Partly to drive all of us to strengthen our interoperability but to go even higher and recognize that interchangeability is going to be an even stronger feature in the future.” Radkin said the services would focus on four areas to grow this “interchangeability”: undersea warfare; carrier operations; aligning the efforts of the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy to become a cohesive fighting unit; and on advanced warfighting programs such as artificial intelligence and cyber. The United Kingdom is in the middle of an integrated defense review, initiated after Boris Johnson was elected prime minster. It was interrupted during the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak but appears to be running again. The review could have sweeping impacts on the British defense budget, but it is unclear where the budget ax will fall. When the review was announced, however, the government promised a “radical reassessment” of Britain's place in the world. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/10/20/the-us-and-uk-navies-prepare-to-sign-agreement-to-merge-their-tech-futures/
May 3, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - May 2, 2019
AIR FORCE Black River Systems Co.,* Utica, New York, has been awarded an $88,733,141 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for operational counter-small unmanned aircraft systems (s-UAS) open systems architecture software/hardware systems. This contract provides for system analysis, simulation and modeling, technique development, hardware and software rapid prototyping, integration, test, demonstration, data analysis, transition, operational assessment, and hardware and software enhancement relative to the objective. Work will be performed in Utica, New York, and is expected to be complete by May 1, 2022. This award is the result of a Small Business Innovation Research III contract. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $5,031,500; and fiscal 2018 and 2019 procurement funds in the amount of $9,716,140, are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-19-C-0040). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. Mission Systems, Chantilly, Virginia, has been awarded an $82,320,000 cost contract for Enhanced Polar System Recapitalization (EPS-R) Control and Planning Segment (CAPS). This contract provides for the development of software to address international host accommodations for new out of band link functions, cyber architecture, orbit planning, and the capability for controlling four EPS Payloads simultaneously on a single software baseline. Work will be performed in Redondo Beach, California, and is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2023. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $14,700,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Military Satellite Communications Directorate, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA8808-19-C-0001). Engility Corp., Andover, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $58,486,192 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for research and development. This contract provides for the enhancement of airman combat survivability by enabling forces to counter optical hazards and threats while exploiting optical systems. The goal of the research is to further scientific knowledge of optical radiation to protect against and exploit physical, physiological, psychological, and other effects of optical radiation. Work will be performed primarily at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and is expected to be complete by April 30, 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $5,997,330 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Research Site, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-19-C-6024). MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY Orbital Sciences Corp. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems), Chandler, Arizona, is being awarded a $46,809,398 cost-plus-award-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price-award-fee modification (P00237) to a previously awarded contract (HQ0147-11-C-0006). The value of this contract is being increased from $1,209,315,046 by $46,809,398 to $1,256,124,444. Under this modification, the contractor will provide Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) target capability upgrade kits and associated nonrecurring engineering. The work will be performed in Chandler, Arizona. The performance period is from April 2019 through December 2023. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $12,730,000 are being obligated on this award. One offer was solicited and one offer was received. The Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity. NAVY Harper Construction Co. Inc., San Diego, California, is awarded $41,578,195 for firm-fixed-price task order N6247319F4561 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62473-18-D-5853) for construction of a maintenance and warehouse facility at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. The work to be performed provides for a design-build project, consisting of demolition of existing structures, utilities, and pavement, to make room for a new amphibious vehicle maintenance complex. The complex will include a maintenance facility, general purpose warehouse, armory, overhead cover structure, and a general storage area. New utilities and pavement will be added to the maintenance complex. Work will be performed in Oceanside, California, and is expected to be completed by June 2022. Fiscal 2019 military construction (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $41,578,195 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Seven proposals were received for this task order. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Magnum Medical Overseas JV LLC, Angleton, Texas, is awarded a $20,800,000 firm-fixed-price contract for educational and developmental intervention services at naval military treatment facilities and any associated branch clinics outside the contiguous U.S. Pacific and Atlantic regions to include: Naval Hospital Okinawa, Japan (20 percent); Naval Hospital Yokosuka, Japan (20 percent); Naval Hospital Guam, Guam (20 percent); Naval Hospital Sigonella, Italy (20 percent); Naval Hospital Rota, Spain (10 percent); and Naval Hospital Naples, Italy (10 percent). This is a five-year single award contract and all work is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2024. Fiscal 2019 Defense Health Program funds in the amount of $2,198,241 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with four offers received. The Naval Medical Logistics Command, Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N62645-19-C-0003). AAI Corp., Hunt Valley, Maryland, is awarded a $20,452,716 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-14-C-6322 for engineering and technical services for the Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) Unmanned Surface Vehicle program. The UISS is the system which will allow the Littoral Combat Ship to perform its mine warfare sweep mission. UISS will target acoustic, magnetic, and magnetic/acoustic combination mine types. The UISS program will satisfy the Navy's need for a rapid, wide-area coverage mine clearance capability, required to neutralize magnetic/acoustic influence mines. UISS seeks to provide a high area coverage rate in a small, lightweight package with minimal impact on the host platform. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Maryland (70 percent); and Slidell, Louisiana (30 percent), and is expected to be complete by September 2019. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $7,670,225 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. ARMY Luhr Brothers Inc., Columbia, Illinois, was awarded a $22,936,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Mississippi River and tributaries flood control. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in New Orleans, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of May 1, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $22,936,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, Louisiana, is the contracting activity (W912P8-19-D-0010). Pond & Co., Metairie, Louisiana (W912BV-19-D-0007); Jacobs Government Services Co., Fort Worth, Texas (W912BV-19-D-0008); and Michael Baker International Inc., Moon Township, Pennsylvania (W912BV-19-D-0009), will compete for each order of the $20,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect-engineer master planning services. Bids were solicited via the internet with nine received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 1, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY National Industries For The Blind,** has been awarded a maximum $15,036,000 modification (P00007) exercising the second one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-17-D-B022) with two one-year option periods for Army Physical Fitness Uniform (APFU) jackets. This is an indefinite-delivery contract. Locations of performance are North Carolina and Maryland, with a May 10, 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. Raytheon Co., McKinney, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $9,362,924 firm-fixed-priced delivery order (SPRPA1-19-F-LG07) against a five-year basic ordering agreement (SPRPA1-14-G-001X) with no option periods for aircraft spare parts. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.301-1. Location of performance is Texas, with a Feb. 28, 2021, performance completion date. Using customers are Navy and Japan. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2021 Navy working capital funds and foreign military sales. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. CORRECTION: The contracts announced on April 26, 2019, for Sea Box,* Cinnaminson, New Jersey (SPRD11-19-D-0100; $471,828,000); W&K Containers,* Mill Valley, California (SPRDL1-19-D-0101; $19,513,750); and NexGen Composites,* Franklin, Ohio (SPRDL1-19-D-0097, $253,608,919), were announced with an incorrect award date. The correct award date is May 2, 2019. They were also announced without the solicitation number. The solicitation number is SPRDL1-18-R-0353. *Small business **Mandatory source https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1834495/source/GovDelivery/
December 19, 2018 | International, Land

Are the days of pulling pits at the rifle range coming to an end?
By: Shawn Snow As a shooter on rifle range qualification day, have you ever seen your target come up crooked, barely hanging onto the stand, and wonder, “What the heck are the Marines doing in the rifle pits?” Pulling pits at the rifle range might be most Marines' least favorite task. It requires constantly raising and lowering targets just to see them fall off the rickety stands, and quickly patching them up with pasties to give the shooter a clean canvas ... just to watch them fall off again. It's a frustrating, tedious task. There's the fact you have to rely on another Marine in the pit to accurately score your shots — and that one-point difference between the marksmen pizza box badge and sharpshooter can save a a lot of scorn before the next chance to qualify. There's the shooter who probably missed the target entirely during the last course of fire, leaving the scorer staring at the target for an eternity, seeking a nonexistent shot hole. There's always the Marine who shoots on the wrong target — those must just be bonus points to help a buddy who is about to fail on the range. The Corps' entire rifle range qualification process is rife with human error and inefficiencies that can impact Marines' scores on the range. Well, the Corps finally is looking to remedy this. In a request for information posted on the government's business opportunities portal, the Corps is in the hunt for an automatic scoring system for its ranges. In the posting the Corps said that the purpose of the new scoring system is to “reduce the amount of labor necessary to conduct KD [known distance] training/qualification. By eliminating the need for target operators in the pits, the labor overhead associated with KD training is greatly reduced.” “During marksmanship training the KDAS [known distance automated scoring] will be required to accurately show the shooter where they hit the target, to provide feedback that will assist the shooter in developing their shooting skills," the RFI stated. And the Corps is looking for a complete system that will streamline the scoring process and ease the rifle range qualification process. According to the RFI, the Corps wants new scoring platform display systems for coaches and shooters. For marksman coaches on the range, a new display unit will allow the coach to view and track the shots of four shooter lanes at once. Shooters will have a display unit that will let them track their individual shot placement and score as well. A single control system will be able to communicate wirelessly and control up to 100 targets at once, according to the RFI. That means no more Marines in the pits manually pulling targets up and down. The new scoring system is intended to reduce “the amount of time shooters need to spend on the range, freeing them up to perform other work,” the RFI reads. So maybe the days of showing up to the range at dawn also are coming to an end? Responses to the Corps' request for information regarding the new scoring system are due by Jan 11. https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2018/12/18/are-the-days-of-pulling-pits-at-the-rifle-range-coming-to-an-end

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