Teams Will Test Concepts for Exploring Underground in SubT Integration Exercise

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  October 21, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense – October 19, 2020

  ARMY Brockington and Associates,* Atlanta, Georgia (W912P9-21-D-0001); New South Associates Inc.,* Stone Mountain, Georgia (W912P9-21-D-0002); Southeastern Archaeological Research Inc.,* Orlando, Florida (W912P9-21-D-0003); and Environmental Solutions and Innovations Inc.,* Cincinnati, Ohio (W912P9-21-D-0004), will compete for each order of the $83,000,000 hybrid (firm-fixed-price, labor-hours) contract for providing multidisciplinary cultural resource-related services for projects undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 21, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis, Missouri, is the contracting activity. NAVY Yahata Marine K.K., Yokohama, Japan, is awarded an estimated $61,000,000 under previously awarded Request for Proposal N68171-20-R-0001 multiple award of firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts to provide husbanding, management and integration services consisting of general charter and hire, utilities, force protection, communications and land transportation services to support maritime forces of the Department of Defense, other U.S. government agencies, and other nations to include Navy ships, Marine Corps, Military Sealift Command (MSC), Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and other foreign vessels participating in U.S. military or NATO exercises and missions. The contracts on the multiple award will run concurrently and will include a five-year base ordering period with one five-year option with individual requirements performed under task orders when specific dates and locations are identified. If the option period is exercised, the total estimated value of the contracts combined will have a ceiling value of $2,122,000,000. The ordering period of the contract is expected to be completed by October 2025; if all options are exercised, the ordering period will be completed by October 2030. This company will perform work in three geographic regions: Southeastern Asia 1 (49%); Oceania (26%); and Japan (25%). Due to the fact that the specific requirements for husbanding support cannot be predicted at this time, more specific information about where the work will be performed cannot be currently provided. Fiscal 2021 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,000 will be obligated to fund the contract's minimum amount, and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Additional funds will be obligated at the task order level with the appropriate fiscal year funding as issued by the main type commanders for each area of responsibility. Typical funding issued by each of the customers include operations and maintenance (Navy) funds from U.S. Fleet Forces Command; and working capital funds (Navy) from MSC. The requirement was competitively procured for the award of multiple contracts with the solicitation posted on beta.SAM.gov, Navy Electronic Commerce Online (NECO) and Euro NECO with 36 offers received. The Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center, Sigonella, Naples Detachment, Italy, is the contracting activity (N68171-21-D-0036). Alabama Shipyard LLC, Mobile, Alabama, is awarded a $17,902,644 firm-fixed-price contract (N32205-21-C-4010) for a 76-calendar day shipyard availability for the regular overhaul and dry-docking of USNS Washington Chambers (T-AKE 11). The contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the total contract value to $19,278,302. Work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by March 20, 2021. Funds in the amount of $17,902,644 are obligated in fiscal 2021 using working capital funds (Navy). This contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the beta.SAM.gov website and two offers were received. The Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY The National Industries for the Blind,** Alexandria, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $8,728,339 modification (P00008) exercising the second one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-19-D-B043) with four one-year option periods for moisture wicking t-shirts. This is an indefinite-delivery contract. Locations of performance are Virginia, North Carolina, and Arkansas, with an Oct. 30, 2021, ordering period end date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. *Small business **Mandatory source https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2386753/source/GovDelivery/

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  October 25, 2018 | International, Naval

  For Europe, it’s naval business as usual

  By: Tom Kington , Pierre Tran , Andrew Chuter , and Sebastian Sprenger Is there enough drive to reach a unified shipbuilding enterprise? ROME, LONDON, PARIS AND COLOGNE, Germany — As European shipbuilders prepare to transform their nations' rising military budgets into naval power, local priorities are acting as formidable forces against the integration of a fragmented market. Two years ago, Italian defense think tank CESI produced a document lamenting the fractured state of the European naval industry, warning that firms on the continent would be swept aside by foreign competition if they failed to team up and take on the world. The paper provided the ideological underpinning for proposals by Italian shipyard Fincantieri to jointly build vessels with France's Naval Group, a plan being considered by both governments. But today, one of the authors of the report, Francesco Tosato, says that despite European Union moves to integrate the defense industry, little has changed in the naval sector. “We still have six or eight types of frigates, each with manufacturing runs of no more than 10 vessels, which is unsustainable,” he said. Supporters of integration say shipyards will be able to cut costs through synergies and avoid competing against each other in export markets. “The Germans are building U-212NG submarines with the Norwegians, but they are not integrating,” he added. A second analyst agreed that integration is not happening, but offered a positive outlook. “With European governments not wanting to spend on naval vessels, it is all about exports, and buyers in Asia and the Middle East want to deal with one government, not with Europe,” said Peter Roberts, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute in London. “They may want a German frigate with a French radar and MBDA missiles, but they still want one national point of contact,” he added. Roberts also argued that European multinational shipbuilders risked stifling competition. “That could lead to poorer designs and higher prices,” he said. In addition, one European industrial giant may be unable to offer different types of vessels to export customers with a variety of requirements. “Customers have bespoke needs, which means systems integrators are crucial,” Roberts said. “Why not have systems intergrators working on a European basis? That could be the starting point for integrating Europe's industry, rather than putting together shipyards.” German angst In Germany, meanwhile, industry officials and lawmakers are bickering over whether surface shipbuilding is, or should be, a national priority so critical that contracts must go to German yards. (The Ministry of Defence has only designated submarine construction as such a key capability.) That debate permeates the competition for the MKS-180 program, a novel multi-use combat ship. The thought that Dutch contractor Damen, one of the bidders still in the race, could win the contract over the purely German team of German Naval Yards and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems has some coastal politicians and trade unions up in arms. There is a lot at stake for German shipbuilders. A recent MoD strategy document proclaimed a national objective of restoring the balance between out-of-area missions and homeland defense. The latter area has been chronically underfunded in the rush to provide troops at the tip of the spear with equipment that works, the argument goes. That dynamic will “inevitably mean an increase in forces, including warships and modernization of the fleet,” a spokesman for the Germany Navy told Defense News. For example, the service plans to buy at least one new warship annually over the next 10 years, plus 46 helicopters. Combined with a new deployment and manning scheme, officials hope to raise the entire fleet's operational availability to 50 percent compared with today's 30 percent, meaning more vessels theoretically will be ready to fight at any given time. Those plans could directly translate into jobs in Germany, and domestic shipbuilders, including heavyweight TKMS, are doing their part to support the demand for government favoritism toward their own yards. British exclusivity The situation is similar in the United Kingdom, where shipbuilding for the Royal Navy is by definition a domestic affair. It has been a little more than a year since the British government published a national shipbuilding strategy, which in part called for a greater surface warship building capability. BAE Systems has had a stranglehold on the business since it first merged and then in 2009 acquired VT Shipbuilding. BAE Systems' two surface warship building yards in Glasgow, Scotland, meet the government requirement that complex warships must be locally built. The Conservative government, however, made it clear in its shipbuilding strategy that while BAE would continue to build in Glasgow the planned eight Type 26 anti-submarine warfare frigates destined for the Royal Navy, it wanted another yard to build a fleet of five Type 31e general purpose frigates. Peter Parker, the author of the strategy report, justified the creation of a second naval build center, saying it would be unprecedented for BAE to run two new programs side by side. But it hasn't been smooth sailing for British Ministry of Defence officials running the Type 31e program, as they seek sufficient bidders to hold a robust competition. Building frigates in a British yard with a price of no more than £250 million (U.S. $329 million) and an in-service date of 2023 has proved a challenge. The government stopped the competition earlier this year after it failed to attract a sufficient level of interest from qualified vendors. But officials got the show back on the road Aug. 20, restarting discussions with potential suppliers on a revised plan. Competition documents were issued to industry last month, with potential bidders mandated to reply by Oct. 19. With German and the British shipyards hoping to secure their respective turfs at home, the Fincantieri-Naval Group deal could still become the poster child for European naval-industry consolidation. At least, that's the theory. French maneuvers French officials appeared to get cold feet earlier this month on a key aspect of the merger arrangement: a proposed cross-shareholding of 5 to 10 percent. “Bercy is not keen,” said an industry executive, referring to the French Economy and Finance Ministry, located in a vast modern building resembling a bridge by the river Seine. A source with the French Armed Forces Ministry would only say: “Negotiations take time. We need more time.” Even before that wrinkle, the French and Italian governments requested “clarification” from Fincantieri and Naval Group after the two companies submitted dossiers in mid-July for a partnership. The request for clarification referred to the key elements of cooperation in research and development, common purchase of parts and offers in export markets, an industry executive told Defense News. Cross-border cooperation in foreign sales is seen as significant, as Naval Group has set a target of exports accounting for half of annual sales compared to the present estimated one-third of revenue. Competition with Fincantieri raises the cost of sales and cuts profit margins, as each seeks to submit competitive offers. If Naval Group and Fincantieri do manage to forge an industrial alliance, that will reverse a declining trend in cooperation. Previous French attempts to work with Italy in building a common MU90 light torpedo led to nothing, while the level of common parts on the FREMM multimission frigate fell compared to that realized on the Horizon air-defense frigate. European industrial cooperation also stalled on the Scorpene attack submarine, with Spanish shipbuilder Navantia opting to pursue its own S-80 diesel-electric boat rather than work with Naval Group. Tom Kington, Andrew Chuter, Pierre Tran and Sebastian Sprenger contributed to this report. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/10/21/for-europe-its-naval-business-as-usual/

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  June 15, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Comment les Rafale et véhicules aériens ont réduit le déficit commercial de la France en 2019

  Les exportations d'armements ont dopé la balance commerciale de la France en 2019. Selon des données dévoilées le 15 juin par l'Observatoire économique de la défense, les exportations de matériels de guerre ont atteint un niveau historique. En 2019, la France a réussi à diminuer son déficit commercial de 3,9 milliards d'euros. Comment ? Notamment gr'ce au succès de ses armements à l'international. Les exportations de matériels de guerre et produits liés ont atteint un record décennal de 11,3 milliards d'euros (+34 %), selon le bulletin du mois de mai de l'Observatoire économique de la défense (OED). Les véhicules aériens ont particulièrement contribué à ces résultats. Quatrième meilleur secteur en excédent commercial Le succès des armes françaises à l'export n'est pas nouveau. Début juin, le ministère des Armées rapportait un haut niveau de prises de commandes. Cette fois, on connaît la valeur totale des exportations, le type de biens exportés et également les zones géographiques vers lesquelles ils sont expédiés. Avec 2,7 milliards d'euros d'importations, l'excédent commercial lié aux livraisons de matériels de guerre s'élève à 8,5 milliards d'euros en 2019 (+2,1 milliards d'euros et +32,8 % par rapport à 2018). “Cet excédent sectoriel est une des principales sources d'atténuation du déficit commercial de la France”, fait remarquer l'Observatoire économique de la défense. Seuls trois secteurs dépassent cet excédent commercial en France : en premier l'aéronautique civile (+29,6 milliards d'euros), l'agro-alimentaire des boissons (+13,2 milliards) et l'industrie manufacturière des parfums et des cosmétiques (+12,5 milliards). L'aviation de défense repart Après une stagnation entre 2017 et 2018, les exportations d'avions et d'autres véhicules aériens repartent avec une augmentation de 24,4 % entre 2018 et 2019. Cette catégorie représente à elle seule 2,8 milliards d'euros, soit 25 % de l'ensemble des exportations de matériels de guerre. Les systèmes de propulsion (turboréacteurs, turbopropulseurs) enregistrent également une belle performance : leurs exportations ont cru de 34 % à 2,3 milliards d'euros, soit 20 % de la valeur totale exportée par la France. “Ces exportations sont principalement à destination, dans l'ordre, du Proche et Moyen-Orient, de l'Union européenne, de l'Amérique et de l'Asie”, note l'OED. L'Observatoire économique de la défense ne détaille pas les produits livrés mais l'avion de combat Rafale de Dassault Aviation a sans doute contribué à ces résultats. En 2019, les livraisons de cet appareil vers l'étranger ont explosé à 26 exemplaires. Belle croissance pour les instruments d'optique Derrière, les avions et les systèmes de propulsion les armes et les munitions comptent pour 2,1 milliards d'euros (+34,7 %), soit 18 % des exportations françaises de matériels de guerre. “Près de trois quarts de ces exportations sont des bombes, des grenades, des torpilles ou des missiles”, décrit l'OED. Les chars, les véhicules blindés, les instruments d'optique, de mesure et de précision représentent moins d'argent. En revanche ces catégories affichent les plus fortes croissances. Les exportations de véhicules blindés décollent de +56,8 % (1,1 milliard d'euros). Les instruments ont quant à eux progressé de 47 % (700 millions d'euros). “Il peut s'agir de télémètres ou encore d'appareils pour la navigation à usage militaire. 80 % des exportations sont à destination du Proche et Moyen-Orient, de l'Afrique et de l'Asie (hors Proche et Moyen-Orient)”, détaille l'OED. Pour le secteur maritime, l'année 2019 n'a pas connu de grandes livraisons à l'international. Les navires de guerre affichent une contre-performance de -20,4 % et n'ont compté que pour 128,3 millions d'euros dans les exportations. Les appareils de détection et de radiosondage (radars, sonars et leurs composants) affichent une croissance de 59 % à 1,8 milliards d'euros. Selon l'OED, ces matériels sont principalement exportés vers le Proche et Moyen-Orient. Le Proche et Moyen-Orient, principaux clients de la France De manière générale, le Proche et Moyen-Orient concentrent 42,4 % des exportations françaises (4,8 milliards d'euros, +205 %). Les résultats sont plus serrés entre les autres zones géographiques : l'Amérique représente 11,4 % des exportations (1,3 milliard), derrière l'Afrique (13,8 %, 1,6 milliard), l'Asie (15,7 %, 1,8 milliard) et l'Europe (16,7 %, 1,8 milliard). Pour les importations, la préférence européenne joue aussi. “La majorité des importations françaises de matériels de guerre et produits liés provient de l'Union européenne : 56,2 %, soit un 1,5 milliard d'euros”, fait remarquer l'OED tandis que l'Amérique représente 27,3 % des importations (0,8 milliard). https://www.usinenouvelle.com/editorial/comment-les-rafale-et-vehicules-aeriens-ont-reduit-le-deficit-commercial-de-la-france-en-2019.N975531