Taiwan to buy new U.S. air defence missiles to guard against China

On the same subject

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  May 25, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Plan de relance : les industriels de la défense ont des idées... beaucoup d'idées

  « La défense occupe un rôle particulier pour la relance de l'économie et la soutenir permet de relancer efficacement l'économie française » ont plaidé d'une même voix lors d'une audition devant la commission des affaires étrangères et de la défense du Sénat, le président du GIFAS et PDG de Dassault Aviation Eric Trappier ainsi que les président du CIDEF et du GICAT et du GICAN. « Pourquoi ne pas anticiper certains programmes pour appuyer notre industrie selon les priorités, en coordination avec la DGA (Direction générale de l'armement) ? » déclare Eric Trappier qui a aussi rappelé que « le Rafale est très important pour nos armées et l'export ». Environ 500 entreprises sont effectivement associées au programme Rafale, piloté par Dassault Aviation, rappelle La Tribune. Par Michel Cabirol Aéronefs, drones, navires de guerres, véhicules blindés... Les industriels de l'armement français plaident pour un plan de relance industriel, qui doit passer entre autre par la défense. "La défense occupe un rôle particulier pour la relance de l'économie et la soutenir permet de relancer efficacement l'économie française", a résumé le 14 mai le président du CIDEF et du GICAT Stéphane Mayer, qui est aussi PDG de Nexter lors de son audition le 14 mai devant la commission des affaires étrangères et de la défense du Sénat. La relance économique par la défense permettrait ainsi aux entreprises de ce secteur, la plupart du temps duales, de s'appuyer sur la commande publique pour passer le cap en attendant un futur rebond du marché civil. D'autant que cette filière crée des emplois et des technologies "Made in France" : entre 80 % et 90% des programmes sont réalisés en France. Pour soutenir la supply chain aéronautique, maritime et de l'armement terrestre, le gouvernement n'a en fait que l'embarras du choix, notamment en anticipant des commandes d'hélicoptères, de Rafale, de véhicules blindés, de navires de guerre, de satellites... "La défense est un amortisseur, il faut améliorer la LPM (Loi de programmation militaire) qui sera révisée en 2021", a confirmé lors de cette même audition le président du GIFAS et PDG de Dassault Aviation Eric Trappier. "Pourquoi pas anticiper certains programmes pour appuyer notre industrie selon les priorités, en coordination avec la DGA (Direction générale de l'armement)", a-t-il expliqué. Et le patron de Dassault Aviation a rappelé que "l'aéronautique, c'est avant tout le Rafale qui est très important pour nos armées et l'export". Environ 500 entreprises sont effectivement associées au programme Rafale, piloté par Dassault Aviation. Des idées dans le domaine aéroterrestre Dans le domaine terrestre, le patron du GICAT a également des idées sur des programmes à "accélérer" pour soutenir l'industrie de défense, notamment les PME, qui cherchent des financements. "Il faudrait accélérer dans l'idéal, a-t-il estimé, toutes les commandes, qui devraient l'être, dans des tranches additionnels d'ici à 2025". Pour Stéphane Mayer, ce serait "autant de signaux positifs et attendus par tous, plus encore par les PME". Il compte plus particulièrement sur l'affermissement anticipé de tranches conditionnelles des véhicules du programme Scorpion, dont Nexter est l'un des principaux architectes. Soit les Griffon, Jaguar et Serval. Le PDG de Nexter souhaite également que soient confirmées de nouvelles commandes prévues. https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/plan-de-relance-les-industriels-de-la-defense-ont-des-idees-beaucoup-d-idees-848385.html

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  July 16, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  UK orders first three Protector drones from General Atomics

  By: Andrew Chuter LONDON – Britain's Ministry of Defence has signed a deal with General Atomics for the first three Protector remotely piloted air vehicles destined to equip the Royal Air Force with a replacement for its Reaper drone force. A £65 million (U.S. $80 million) contract for three Protectors, the British version of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian was announced by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace during a virtual air power conference held by the RAF July 15. Protector will fly further, hit harder and, crucially, be able to fly in unsegregated civilian airspace compared with the Reaper vehicles widely used by the British in Afghanistan and the Middle East over the last several years. Three ground stations and other associated support equipment are also included in an initial deal that will see the first vehicle delivered to the British next year. The initial vehicle will remain in the United States for test and evaluation until 2023, ahead of deploying to its UK base at RAF Waddington, eastern England. Able to fly for up to 40 hours Protector is expected to enter service in 2024. The aircraft will be armed with MBDA's Brimstone missile and Raytheon UK's Paveway IV precision-guided bomb, enhanced data links and detect-and-avoid technology. The deal for Protector production includes an option on a further purchase of 13 drones. A contract firming up the options is planned for April next year. An MoD spokesperson denied that breaking up the order into two parts was related to balancing the over-stretched budget for this year. The cost of purchasing the remaining drones is put at around £180 million, or $230 million. The MoD spokesperson said consideration is also being given to an additional acquisition of drones over and above the 16 vehicles already envisaged. A total force of more than 20 Protectors was envisaged in the Conservative government's 2015 strategic defence and security review. Now, the final numbers will likely be subject to the outcome of an integrated defense, foreign policy and security review now underway by the Conservatives. Many people here think the already cash-strapped MoD will be a post-Covid-19 target for capability cuts as the government shifts its emphasis on defense equipment spending away from more conventional technologies into areas like space, cyber and artificial intelligence. Protector has already been a victim of MoD financial pressures. Sir Simon Bollom, the CEO of the Defence Equipment and Support arm of the MoD, alluded to the difficulties saying in an MoD statement his organization had "overcome considerable challenges" to keep the program on track. The vehicle was originally slated to enter service with the RAF in 2018 but that was then put back until 2021 before the new date was agreed. In announcing the deal defence secretary Ben Wallace said, „Protector will provide the RAF with vast global reach, meeting the UK's defense and security needs for decades to come, and provide another increase to the unmanned inventory for the armed forces.“ https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/07/15/uk-orders-first-three-protector-drones-from-general-atomics/

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  October 15, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - October 11, 2019

  NAVY Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut, is awarded a $434,370,635 contract for lead yard support and development studies and design efforts related to Virginia class submarines. Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut (94.1%); Newport News, Virginia (4.8%); and Newport and Quonset, Rhode Island (combined 1.1%), and is expected to be complete by September 2020. The contract provides lead yard support for Virginia class submarines that will maintain, update and support the Virginia class design and related drawings and data for each Virginia class submarine, including technology insertion, throughout its construction and post-shakedown availability period. The contractor will also provide all engineering and related lead yard support necessary for direct maintenance and support of Virginia class ship specifications. In addition, the contract provides development studies and design efforts related to the Virginia class submarine design and design improvements; preliminary and detail component and system design; integration of system engineering, design engineering, test engineering, logistics engineering and production engineering. The contractor will continue development studies and design efforts related to components and systems to accomplish research and development tasks, and prototypes and engineering development models required to fully evaluate new technologies to be inserted in succeeding Virginia class submarines. Fiscal 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (SCN) (Navy); and fiscal 2019 research, development, test and engineering (RDT&E) (Navy) funding in the amount of $68,321,021 will be obligated at time of award. Fiscal 2014 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,050,000; and fiscal 2019 research, development, test and engineering (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,341,250 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year — fiscal 2018 SCN (38.8%); fiscal 2017 SCN (34.9%); fiscal 2019 RDT&E (10.7%); fiscal 2014 SCN (7.1%); fiscal 2019 SCN (5%); fiscal 2016 SCN (3.4%). This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii) — only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-20-C-2120). Space Ground Systems Solutions LLC, West Melbourne, Florida, awarded a $17,082,880 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification to overall ceiling for previously awarded contract (N00173-15-D-2015) for spacecraft engineering, software, research and development services to the Naval Center for Space Technology (NCST). Specifically, the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) provides support for software engineering development, maintenance, enhancement and configuration management support for all components contained within the Neptune™ software suite under the direction of the NRL Configuration Control Board, and the VMOC™ software framework under the direction of the VMOC™ program management and software engineering teams. Funding will be obligated for each task order and no funds are obligated on the base IDIQ contract. Work will be performed in Washington, District of Columbia (50%); and West Melbourne, Florida (50%), and is expected to be completed by March 2020. The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Indiana, is awarded a $9,066,270 modification (P00013) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-17-C-0081). This modification exercises an option to procure three spare AE1107C engines in support of the V-22 Osprey program for the government of Japan. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is expected to be completed in November 2020. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of $9,066,270 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. ARMY Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded a $60,619,031 modification (P00185) to contract W31P4Q-08-C-0418 for engineering, logistics, integration, test and evaluation, and program management activities. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $5,000,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. BAE Systems Ordnance Systems Inc., Radford, Virginia, was awarded an $8,309,050 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to incorporate a requirement to stabilize the legacy nitroglycerin area facility at Radford Army Ammunition Plant. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in Radford, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2019 procurement of ammunition, Army funds in the amount of $8,309,050 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-20-F-0021). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., El Segundo, California, has been awarded a maximum $24,299,972 firm-fixed-priced delivery order (SPRPA1-19-F-LT31) against a five-year basic ordering agreement (SPRPA1-15-G-001Z) for rudders in support of the F/A-18 aircraft platform. 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 seven-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is California, with an Aug. 31, 2026, performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2026 Navy working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Belleville Shoe Co.,* Belleville, Illinois, has been awarded a maximum $12,524,036 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Air Force temperate weather, Coyote boots. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. This is a one-year base contract with three one-year option periods. Location of performance is Illinois, with an Oct. 10, 2020, performance completion date. Using customer is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-20-D-1208). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/1988088/source/GovDelivery/