TechFlow Gets $968M DHS Contract for Explosive Detection Tech Maintenance Support

On the same subject

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  July 9, 2022 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Le PDG de Leonardo demande à la Banque européenne d'investissement de permettre le financement des projets militaires

  DÉFENSE Le PDG de Leonardo demande à la Banque européenne d'investissement de permettre le financement des projets militaires Le PDG de Leonardo, Alessandro Profumo, a appelé à une révision de la politique de prêt de la Banque européenne d'investissement (BEI) pour lui permettre de financer des projets militaires à la suite de l'invasion de l'Ukraine par la Russie. Il a notamment déclaré que le conflit avait « considérablement modifié la position de nombreux pays européens à l'égard du secteur de la Défense » et étayé l'idée selon laquelle « il n'y a pas de durabilité sans sécurité ». La BEI, l'organisme de prêt de l'UE détenu par les États membres, sert à financer des projets qui favorisent la réalisation des objectifs de l'Union, mais elle n'est pas autorisée à investir dans des activités ou des actifs de Défense essentiels tels que les munitions et les armes. La banque a refusé de commenter spécifiquement les remarques du dirigeant, mais a souligné qu'elle joue un rôle dans le soutien de l'industrie au sens large, notamment dans les projets de recherche et de développement qui ont une approche à double usage. « Un changement dans les règles de la BEI sur la manière de financer le secteur de la défense serait très pertinent en tant que créateur de tendances pour le secteur financier », estime Alessandro Profumo dans une interview au Financial Times. En mars, la banque avait accepté de soutenir le financement d'une initiative stratégique européenne de sécurité visant à renforcer les investissements en Recherche et Développement à double usage dans des domaines tels que les infrastructures et les technologies de sécurité civile. Les propositions de l'UE de l'année dernière, sur ce qui constitue une finance socialement durable, qui auraient qualifié l'industrie de la Défense de socialement nuisible, ont depuis été abandonnées. Le rapport final est « meilleur qu'il ne l'était », mais « pas encore sur la table » analyse le PDG de Leonardo. L'accès au financement est particulièrement critique pour les petites entreprises de la chaîne d'approvisionnement du secteur, qui sont cruciales pour l'innovation. Financial Times du 5 juillet

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  January 20, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Turkey reports nearly 15% drop in defense exports

  By: Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's defense and aerospace exports stood at $2.3 billion in 2020, marking a 14.8 percent decline in comparison to 2019, official figures have revealed. The Turkish Exporters' Assembly, or TIM in its Turkish acronym, said disruption in production, supply and logistics processes due to restrictions imposed over the coronavirus pandemic caused the fall in exports. In 2020, the defense and aerospace industry accounted for 1.3 percent of Turkey's overall exports. TIM said the top market for Turkish manufacturers in 2020 was the United States, with $784.2 million in sales, or 4 percent less than in 2019. Turkey's staunch political ally in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, was the second-largest export market, with sales reaching $260.8 million, marking a 194 percent rise from the previous year. Another major market was the United Arab Emirates, a Gulf rival to Turkey in foreign policy. Turkish exports to the UAE were at $200.2 million, up 51 percent from 2019. Locally produced systems meet 70 percent of Turkey's military's requirements, compared to 35 percent in 2002. In that same period, the number of defense procurement programs rose from 66 to more than 700, or from $5.5 billion to $70 billion in contract value. Similarly, defense and aerospace industry turnover went up from less than $1 billion to more than $9 billion, and exports from $248 million to $2.7 billion. In 2020, there were seven Turkish companies on Defense News' list of the top 100 defense companies around the world. The government has declared its defense and aerospace industry exports target as $10.2 billion by 2023. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2021/01/19/turkey-reports-nearly-15-drop-in-defense-exports/

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  March 16, 2020 | International, C4ISR

  The Pentagon wants to ‘reconsider’ its JEDI award decision

  By Andrew Eversden The Department of Defense requested 120 days to “reconsider certain aspects” of its decision to award its controversial enterprise contract to Microsoft. The request from the DoD in a March 12 court filing comes after Court of Federal Claims Judge Patricia Campbell-Smith issued a temporary restraining order directing the Pentagon to stop all work on its Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud contract, after AWS alleged that the DoD made mistakes in its source selection process. The court granted Amazon's request for an injunction Feb. 13. While Amazon challenged both the technical evaluation and political interference, the court's decision to impose the injunction rested on AWS' technical challenges to the DoD selection, which included issues with how the Pentagon considered data storage capabilities. “DoD wishes to reconsider its evaluation of the technical aspects of Price Scenario 6, and intends to issue a solicitation amendment and to accept limited proposal revisions addressing the offerors' technical approach to that price scenario,” Defense Department lawyers wrote in the document. In the court filing, the DoD also said it wants to reconsider its evaluation of Microsoft and AWS' online marketplace offerings and “may conduct” clarifications with the two tech giants. The DoD will reconsider other technical challenges presented by AWS, but “does not intend to conduct discussions with offerors or to accept proposal revisions with respect to any aspect of the solicitation,” other than price scenario six of the RFP, which deals with storage capabilities. In a statement, Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw said the DoD made the “correct decision.” “However, we support their decision to reconsider a small number of factors as it is likely the fastest way to resolve all issues and quickly provide the needed modern technology to people across our armed forces. Throughout this process, we've focused on listening to the needs of the DoD, delivering the best product, and making sure nothing we did delayed the procurement process. We are not going to change this approach now," Shaw said. “Over two years the DoD reviewed dozens of factors and sub factors and found Microsoft equal or superior to AWS on every factor. We remain confident that Microsoft's proposal was technologically superior, continues to offer the best value, and is the right choice for the DoD.” The JEDI cloud contract is potentially worth $10 billion over 10 years. This court filing is another significant setback for the DoD, even after the continuous challenges the contract has faced for about two years. Earlier in the court battle, Amazon sought to depose President Donald Trump, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, DoD CIO Dana Deasy and several other DoD officials involved in the in the final decision. An Amazon spokesperson said the company was “pleased” with the decision. "We are pleased that the DoD has acknowledged ‘substantial and legitimate' issues that affected the JEDI award decision, and that corrective action is necessary,” a spokesperson said. "We look forward to complete, fair, and effective corrective action that fully insulates the re-evaluation from political influence and corrects the many issues affecting the initial flawed award.” https://www.federaltimes.com/it-networks/cloud/2020/03/13/the-pentagon-was-to-reconsider-its-jedi-award/