September 20, 2019 | International, Aerospace
By: David B. Larter
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy's MQ-25 Stingray refueling drone, destined to be the first carrier-launched autonomous unmanned aircraft integrated into the service's strike arm, took its first test flight from MidAmerica Airport in Illinois, Boeing announced Thursday.
The two-hour flight, remotely controlled by Boeing pilots, tested the basic flight functions of the aircraft, a Boeing statement said.
“The aircraft completed an autonomous taxi and takeoff and then flew a pre-determined route to validate the aircraft's basic flight functions and operations with the ground control station,” the release said.
Boeing's project head said it was an important step toward getting the drone on the flight deck.
“Seeing MQ-25 in the sky is a testament to our Boeing and Navy team working the technology, systems and processes that are helping get MQ-25 to the carrier,” MQ-25 Program Director Dave Bujold said in the release. “This aircraft and its flight test program ensures we're delivering the MQ-25 to the carrier fleet with the safety, reliability and capability the U.S. Navy needs to conduct its vital mission.”
An $805 million contract awarded to Boeing last August covers the design, development, fabrication, test and delivery of four Stingray aircraft, a program the service expects will cost about $13 billion overall for 72 aircraft, said Navy acquisition boss James Geurts.
The award to Boeing kicks off what the Navy would is aiming to be a six-year development effort moving toward a 2024 declaration of initial operational capability. At the end, it will mark a historic integration of drones into the Navy's carrier air wing.
The MQ-25 flown Thursday is a Boeing-owned test asset and a predecessor to the first four engineering design model aircraft provided for under last year's contract. The model “is being used for early learning and discovery to meet the goals of the U.S. Navy's accelerated acquisition program,” the release said.
The Stingray was a priority pushed by the Navy's previous chief of naval operations, Adm. John Richardson, who saw it as a chance to force a program through the system and field a new capability quickly.
“The MQ-25 was really a signature program to test the limits and plow new ground in that direction,” Richardson told Defense News last April. "And so we brought industry in way earlier. I think that's key to getting the acquisition cycle faster, even in the refinement of the requirements phase.
“And so that's where we've been with MQ-25, is to bring them in, see what they've got and see how fast they can get a prototype together to fly. One thing we did do was we locked down on requirements. We could probably get agreement from everybody that we need something to tank. It liberates a lot of our strike fighters from doing that mission and it's something that we can get done ― its relatively straightforward.”
March 24, 2021 | International, Aerospace
Two teams have been chosen out of three to proceed in a competition to build the Next-Generation Interceptor to defend the U.S. against intercontinental ballistic missiles.
January 24, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
ARMY Donley Construction,* Aberdeen, Maryland (W912DQ-19-D-4000); LGC Global Inc.,* Detroit, Michigan (W912DQ-19-D-4001); Southwind Construction,* Edmond, Oklahoma (W912DQ-19-D-4002); Walga Ross Group JV,* Topeka, Kansas (W912DQ-19-D-4003); RM Builders,* Alamogordo, New Mexico (W912DQ-19-D-4004); and SES Construction and Fuel Services,* Oak Ridge, Tennessee (W912DQ-19-D-4006), will share in a $95,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for design-build and design-bid-build construction work. Bids were solicited via the internet with 40 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 16, 2022. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, Missouri, is the contracting activity. Inquip Associates Inc.,* McLean, Virginia, was awarded a $41,169,021 firm-fixed-price contract for levee improvement construction. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Sacramento, California, with an estimated completion date of April 13, 2021. Fiscal 2017 and 2019 general construction and non-federal sponsor funds in the amount of $41,169,021 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento, California, is the contracting activity (W91238-19-C-0006). ACC Construction Co. Inc., Augusta, Georgia, was awarded a $21,039,018 firm-fixed-price contract for a special operations forces tactical-equipment maintenance facility. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work will be performed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 9, 2020. Fiscal 2018 military construction funds in the amount of $21,039,018 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington, North Carolina, is the contracting activity (W912PM-19-C-0011). Cottrell Contracting Corp.,* Chesapeake, Virginia, was awarded a $12,740,080 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance dredging. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Jekyll Island, Georgia; and Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 2, 2019. Fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019 civil work Irma supplemental; civil work Matthew supplemental; and civil work operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $12,740,080 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity (W912HN-19-C-5001). Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. LLC, Oak Brook, Illinois, was awarded a $7,814,143 modification (P00004) to contract W912HP-18-C-0006 to increase cubic yards of beach fill. Work will be performed in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with an estimated completion date of June 17, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $7,814,143 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston, South Carolina, is the contracting activity. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum, Maryland, was awarded a $7,666,503 firm-fixed-price foreign military sales (Kuwait) contract for procurement of Army, Navy vehicle intercommunication systems. One bid was solicited via the internet with one bid received. Work will be performed in Elkridge, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 23, 2020. Fiscal 2019 foreign military sales funds in the amount of $7,666,503 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W91CRB-19-C-5007). AIR FORCE Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Georgia, has been awarded an $80,607,877 firm-fixed-price modification (P00004) to contract FA8106-18-D-0002 for C-20/C-37 fleet sustainment. The contract modification is for exercise of Option Year II, to include issuance of task orders for one-year extension of contract term to support the C-20 and C-37 fleet for the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard; and funding uninterrupted continuation of contractor logistics. Work will be performed at Savannah, Georgia; Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy; Ramstein Air Base, Germany; Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland; Hickam AFB, Hawaii; Marine Corps Base Hawaii; MacDill AFB, Florida; and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington, District of Columbia. The work is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenances funds in the amount of $62,162,710 are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $594,429,554. Air Force Lifecycle Management Center, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Planmeca U.S.A. Inc., Roselle, Illinois, has been awarded a maximum $29,850,000 firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for medical equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency electronic catalog. This was a competitive acquisition with 70 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Illinois, with a Jan. 22, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and other federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D1-19-D-0009). NAVY General Atomics, Electromagnetics Systems Group, San Diego, California, is awarded $19,682,252 for firm-fixed-price delivery order N0001919F2406 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-16-G-0006). This order provides for the manufacture, assembly, inspection, integration, test and delivery of Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) spare parts in support of the CVN-78 prior to the Advanced Arresting Gear and EMALS material support dates. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (37 percent); Boston, Massachusetts (18 percent); Tupelo, Mississippi (10.7 percent); Aston, Pennsylvania (5.8 percent); Guilford, Connecticut (4.4 percent); San Leandro, California (3.5 percent); Cincinnati, Ohio (2.6 percent); Randolph, New Jersey (2.4 percent); Mankato, Minnesota (1.4 percent); Middletown, Ohio (1.2 percent); Bindlach, Bavaria, Germany (.53 percent); and various locations within the continental U.S. (12.47 percent), and is expected to be completed in January 2023. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $19,682,252 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. *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1738850/source/GovDelivery/
May 13, 2022 | International, Naval
From field-ready fuel, inflatable piers and 3D printed masks, Marine ideas are now in their hands.