July 3, 2018 | International, Naval, C4ISR
By: Maddy Longwell
A research and development collaboration management company has been awarded a contract to helm a technology prototype consortium as part of a new acquisition process employed by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, in Charleston, South Carolina.
SPAWAR awarded an other transaction authority to Advanced Technology International, of Summerville, South Carolina, for consortium management for SPAWAR's Information Warfare Research Project (IWRP).
Under the contract, Advanced Technology International will manage a group of defense contractors who will complete projects for the government that address SPAWAR technology needs, and the consortium will facilitate competition for projects. Topics will be open to competition beginning in August 2018, the SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic said.
The contract is worth $100 million over three years.
IWRP OTA is an acquisition tool that allows nontraditional industry partners to work with organizations across SPAWAR to prototype technology that supports naval information warfare capabilities. IWRP focuses on information technology areas such as cyberwarfare, cloud computing and data science.
SPAWAR announced OTAs as an acquisition tool through the IWRP at an industry day in February 2018, where prospective offerors learned about OTA strategy and the technical scope of IWRP OTA projects.
“The IWRP will allow us to take advantage of commercially developed capabilities that are keeping pace with emerging technologies; technologies and innovation that we cannot take advantage of in a [Federal Acquisition Regulation]-based contract environment,” said Chris Miller, executive director of SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic.
OTAs, which are not covered by the FAR, are a more flexible acquisition tool used by the Department of Defense. OTAs provide for the production of prototype systems. OTA contracts are mostly awarded to nontraditional defense contractors.
OTA contracts enable departments under the Department of Defense to access commercial technologies that support the overall goal of IWRP, said SSC Atlantic Deputy Executive Director Bill Deligne, in a news release.
“This mechanism is faster and more attuned to getting something quickly that we want today, as opposed to traditional federal acquisition,” Deligne said.
https://www.c4isrnet.com/home/2018/07/02/the-navys-new-acquisition-tool-speeds-up-tech-prototyping/
June 6, 2023 | International, Land
Germany has tasked arms maker Rheinmetall with supplying another batch of 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) to Ukraine over the coming months, the company said on Tuesday.
September 14, 2018 | International, C4ISR
By: Daniel Cebul The U.S. Air Force is getting ready to deliver the first of its next-generation GPS III satellites into orbit later this year, and expects the new satellites to deliver significant capability improvements. But much work also needs to be done on Earth to make sure the Air Force is able to get the most out of the platforms. That's why Lockheed Martin will begin a series of updates to the architecture's ground control system following the initial launch, according to a statement from the company. These updates will give the Air Force get a head start on testing and operations before the majority of the constellation is in place. The Air Force placed Lockheed Martin on contract in 2016 and 2017 to upgrade the existing Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP) Operational Control System (OCS) called GPS III Contingency Operations (COps) and M-Code Early Use (MCEU), respectively. Just as the GPS III satellites themselves are equipped with improved anti-jamming technology and more accurate signals transmission capability, the ground systems and software that control them need to be upgraded as well. The Air Force has also worked with Raytheon on the estimated $6 billion Operational Control Segment program, often referred to as OCX. That program is expected to serve as the primary ground control system for the GPS III program but has been behind schedule. SpaceNews recently reported the target completion date for Block 1 of the program is June 2021. Block O, the launch and checkout system, was delivered in September 2017. ockheed Martin's contingency program will allow the existing control system to support and integrate more powerful GPS III satellites. Modifications will support GPS III satellites in their position, navigation and timing missions, coordinating their movement with GPS IIR, IIR-M and IIF satellites already in orbit. A second set of upgrades, known as the MCEU modernization program, will focus on the development of M-Code, a new advanced signal designed to improve anti-jamming and anti-spoofing capabilities. The program will improve the existing ground system and allow it to task, upload and monitor M-Code within the GPS constellation. In other words, MCEU modernization will help the Air Force integrate and test GPS III satellites into the current constellation earlier. COps is on schedule for delivery in May 2019 and MCEU is scheduled for delivery in January 2020. https://www.c4isrnet.com/c2-comms/satellites/2018/09/14/gps-iii-satellites-are-nearly-ready-to-launch-but-whats-being-done-on-terra-firma-to-support-them
August 12, 2024 | International, Land
WARSAW, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Poland signed on Monday a contract with Raytheon Polska and PGZ Huta Stalowa Wola for the production of 48 M903 launchers forming part of Patriot air defence systems worth $1.23 billion, the defence minister said. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/poland-signs-deal-48-patriot-system-launchers-2024-08-12/