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  June 11, 2019 | International, Land, Security

  Active protection systems demo hits dead end for Stryker, Army evaluating next steps

  By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — After evaluating two active protection systems in a demonstration late last fall and determining neither were the right fit for the Stryker, the Army is now evaluating how to protect one of its critical combat vehicle. “Unfortunately for Stryker, we have not found a system that is suitable for the platform,” Col. Glenn Dean, Stryker project manager told Defense News in a June 7 interview. The Army has found interim APS for both its Abrams tank and Bradley infantry fighting vehicle but has struggled to find one for Stryker. The service has moved quickly to field combat vehicle protection against rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank guided missiles while it develops a future system. The service originally considered Herndon,Virginia-based Artis Corporation's Iron Curtain APS for Stryker, but decided in August 2018not to move forward in fielding it to Stryker units. In an effort to expand its search for an appropriate system, the Army then decided to host a demonstration in late fall last year of two additional systems: Rafael's Trophy VPS and Rheinmetall's Active Defense Systems. Signs the demonstration wasn't proving fruitful cropped up in March, when the service said they'd need extra time — an entire year — to evaluate options for Stryker. Dean said the Army was hoping they'd see promise in one of the systems at the end of the demonstration and be able to carry it through more complex characterization for better evaluation in order to make a decision. But as the demonstration wrapped up, the Army decided neither would work. “Both Rheinmetall and the medium-weight Trophy, both have maturity challenges, but the bottom line is that they turned out to not be a suitable fit for Stryker,” Dean said. “We did see some potential in systems,” Dean said, adding, “it is our desire to continue to evaluate them further so we can understand them at a greater level of detail.” Neither system received the same level of testing as Rafael's Trophy on Abrams, IMI's Iron Fist on Bradley or Iron Curtain, Dean said, and the systems could end up being the right fit for some future effort to outfit other vehicles such as the Next-Generation Combat Vehicle program's Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, Mobile Protected Firepower and the Armored Multipurpose Vehicle, “none of which we have identified APS solutions for yet,” Dean said. Through continued evaluation “maybe we will eventually learn something that brings us back to Stryker,” he added. Unlike Bradley and Abrams, Stryker is a relatively light-weight platform, Dean said. “It has challenges in its space, weight and power integration. It has proven difficult for us to find a system that is entirely suitable for integration.” And while no operational APS system evaluated so far seems to work for Stryker, the Army is still looking into ways to protect it as its value on the battlefield only increases with the addition of bigger guns and more expensive weapon systems. Under the Vehicle Protection System (VPS) program office, the Army is working on reactive armor improvements focused on Bradley and AMPV, but that could be of particular value for Stryker, Dean said. The Army's laser warning program that is tied to the Modular Active Protection System (MAPS) program could also contribute to Stryker protection. MAPS is a system under development with the Army featuring a common controller into which hard-kill and soft-kill protection can be plugged. And the Army will be conducting a demonstration with layered hard-kill and soft-kill protection capability later this year as part of culminating exercise for its MAPS program, according to Dean. “The soft-kill may ultimately prove to be particularly well suited for Stryker,” Dean said. Those soft-kill systems are jammers and smoke systems that help obscure and tend to take up relatively little space and are less expensive then hard-kill APS that require the reloading of countermeasures. The service is also studying what it may need for a future APS and plans to initiate a program in the late part of the next fiscal year, which could also be an opportunity to develop something more suitable for Stryker, according to Dean. While the Army does have plans to protect its combat vehicles from rockets and missiles, in a June 6 letter sent to Army Secretary Mark Esper, a group of 13 House lawmakers expressed concern the service isn't doing enough to outfit its current fleet with APS and asked the Army to explain why it hadn't requested any further funding for APS upgrades in the budget According to Dean, for Abrams and Bradley, “we are resourced to meet the requirements that we have on an urgent basis to outfit a limited number of brigades. We are doing analysis right now to support development programs of record in active protection.” He added, “What we are buying is not the end of APS activity, but it is the urgent requirements we have been given.” https://www.defensenews.com/land/2019/06/10/active-protection-systems-demo-hits-dead-end-for-stryker-army-evaluating-next-steps/

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  September 11, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - September 10, 2019

  NAVY Collins Aerospace, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is awarded a $310,509,144 modification (P00009) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00421-18-D-0004). This modification exercises an option for the procurement of AN/ARC-210(v) radios for installation in over 400 strategic and tactical airborne, seaborne and land based (mobile and fixed) platforms for the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Coast Guard, other government agencies and foreign military sales customers. Work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with deliveries expected to be completed in September 2022. No funds are being obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. ViaSat Inc., of Carlsbad, California, is awarded a $100,465,034 modification to its current indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00039-15-D-0008) to increase the ceiling of the existing production contract line item number (CLIN), and the systems engineering and integration CLIN of the referenced contract. This ceiling increase will implement the capabilities identified in the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) memorandum dated Aug. 20, 2018, wherein the JROC endorsed the advanced capabilities of Concurrent Mutli-Netting-4 (CMN-4), Concurrent Contention Receive and Enhanced Throughput as the Department of Defense baseline for all future upgrades to any platform requiring Link-16 tactical data links. In response to the JROC memorandum, current Link-16 platform users identified the need for the procurement and/or retrofit of 3,370 additional Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS JTRS) CMN-4, F-22 Raptor, Tactical Targeting Network Technology terminals. This increase in scope will be in addition to the current scope in the original Class Justification and Approval (CJ&A) No. 17,226 approved April 25, 2014, for the MIDS JTRS, the amended CJ&A No. 18,012 approved Jan. 18, 2017, for the addition of the MIDS JTRS TTNT development effort, CJ&A No. 18,415 approved Sept. 11, 2018, for the addition of MIDS Modernization Increment 2, retrofits, and additional MIDS JTRS terminals, not including F-22s, and the initial CJ&A 19,415 approved July 2, 2019, to implement the JROC memorandum as described above. The modification will increase the contract value to $889,465,034. This contract combines purchases for the Navy, Air Force and MIDS Program Office, as well as to the governments of Austria, Chile, Finland, Israel, Jordan, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This contract also includes purchases to NATO and all NATO nations under the Foreign Military Sales program. Work will be performed in Carlsbad, California, and is expected to be completed May 2020. No additional funding will be placed on contract or obligated at the time of modification award. Existing contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future contract actions will be issued and funds obligated as individual delivery orders. This contract modification was not competitively procured because it is a follow on, sole source, multiple award procurement pursuant to the authority of Title 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1): only one or a limited number of responsible sources (Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 6.302-1(a)(2)). Non-competitive procedures were approved for this modification under CJ&A 19,415. Naval Information Warfare System Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Siemens Government Technologies Inc., Arlington, Virginia, is awarded a firm-fixed-price modification of $46,677,053 to increase the maximum dollar value of a task order (N39430-18-F-9924) for energy improvements at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Naval Station Rota and Naval Support Activity Naples. The total cumulative value of the contract is $218,220,667. Work will be performed in Naples, Italy (50%); Sigonella, Italy (30%); and Rota, Spain (20%), and is expected to be completed October 2041. The work provides for design and installation of the following energy conservation measures: boiler plants, chiller systems, motors, water and lighting improvements. The work also provides for performance period services consisting of measurement and verification, operations and maintenance, and repair and replacement services. No funds will be obligated with this award, as private financing obtained by the contractor will be used for the construction phase. The Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity. Data Link Solutions LLC, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is awarded a $30,000,000 modification to its current indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00039-15-D-0007) to increase the ceiling of the existing systems engineering and integration contract line item number (CLIN) of the referenced contract. This ceiling increase will implement the capabilities identified in the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) memorandum dated Aug. 20, 2018, wherein the JROC endorsed the advanced capabilities of Concurrent Mutli-Netting-4 (CMN-4), Concurrent Contention Receive and Enhanced Throughput as the Department of Defense baseline for all future upgrades to any platform requiring Link-16 tactical data links. In response to the JROC memorandum, current Link-16 platform users identified the need for the procurement and/or retrofit of 3,370 additional Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS JTRS) CMN-4, F-22 Falcon, Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT) terminals. This increase in scope will be in addition to the current scope in the original Class Justification and Approval (CJ&A) No. 17,226 approved April 25, 2014, for the MIDS JTRS, the amended CJ&A No. 18,012 approved Jan. 18, 2017, for the addition of the MIDS JTRS TTNT development effort, CJ&A No. 18,415 approved Sept. 11, 2018, for the addition of MIDS Modernization Increment 2, retrofits and additional MIDS JTRS terminals, not including F-22s, and the initial CJ&A 19,415 approved July 2, 2019, to implement the JROC memorandum as described above. The contract covers the production, development and sustainment of the MIDS JTRS terminals. The modification will increase the contract value to $1,254,529,670. This contract combines purchases for the Navy, Air Force and MIDS Program Office, as well as to the governments of Austria, Chile, Finland, Israel, Jordan, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This contract also includes purchases to NATO and all NATO nations under the Foreign Military Sales program. Work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (50%); and Wayne, New Jersey (50%), and is expected to be completed June 2020. No additional funding will be placed on contract or obligated at the time of modification award. Existing contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future contract actions will be issued, and funds obligated as individual delivery orders. This contract modification was not competitively procured because it is a follow-on sole-source, multiple-award procurement pursuant to the authority of Title 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1): only one or a limited number of responsible sources (Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 6.302-1(a)(2)). Non-competitive procedures were approved for this modification under CJ&A 19,415. Naval Information Warfare System Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. ' Simmonds Precision Products, Vergennes, Vermont, is awarded a $12,986,404 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the "Low Cost Air-Drop Munition Weapon System Development Program." Work will be performed in Simmonds Precision Products, Vergennes, Vermont (58%); Aerojet Rocketdyne Inc., Rancho Cordova, California (19%); Developmental & Demonstration Testing Facilities (to be determined) (11%); Systima Technologies Inc., Kirkland, Washington (6%); Moog Inc., Elma, New York (5%); and National Technical Systems Boxborough, Boxborough, Massachusetts (1%), and is expected to be completed February 2021. Fiscal 2018 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds for $8,208,343 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at end of current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under N00014-19-S-B001, long range broad agency announcement (BAA) for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology. Since proposals will be received throughout the year under the long range BAA, the number of proposals received in response to the solicitation is unknown. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00014-19-C-1062). Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia, is awarded an $11,765,526 time and material modification to exercise Option Period One under a previously awarded contract N00189-18-F-Z362. The work provides financial improvement and audit readiness support services to the Deputy Commandant, Programs and Resources, to address OMB A-123 governance, audit response coordination and audit coaching. After award, this contract was transferred to the Marine Corps Installations Command Headquarters, Contracting Office, and was assigned a new contract number M95494-19-F-0032. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia (75%); and Quantico, Virginia (25%), and is expected to be completed September 2020. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds for $1,527,843 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Installations Command Headquarters, Contracting Office, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. VSE Corp., Alexandria, Virginia, is awarded a $10,082,812 firm-fixed-price contract for the delivery of counterterrorism and intelligence equipment, and in-country training in support of the Azerbaijan Maritime Security Program for the Caspian Sea under the Foreign Military Sales Building Partner Capacity program. This contract is for the government of Azerbaijan under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Work will be performed in Alexandria, Virginia (88%); and Azerbaijan (12%), and is expected to be completed September 2020. Fiscal 2019 FMS funding for $10,082,812 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured using the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-4155). KPMG LLP, McLean, Virginia, is being awarded an $8,577,162 time and material modification to exercise Option Period One under a previously awarded contract N00189-18-F-Z425. The work to be performed provides financial improvement and audit readiness support services to the Deputy Commandant, Installation and Logistics, for audit remediation activities for property, plant and equipment and inventory related property and process reform within Marine Corps Installation and Logistics and its supporting establishments associated with the Acquire to Retire, Plan to Stock, Procure to Pay and Order to Cash business mission areas. After award, this contract was transferred to the Marine Corps Installations Command Headquarters, Contracting Office, and was assigned a new contract number M95494-19-F-0045. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia (75%); Oceanside, California (20%); Lejeune, North Carolina (2%); Okinawa, Japan (2%); and Oxford, Tennessee (1%), and is expected to be completed September 2020. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds for $3,004,275 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Installations Command Headquarters, Contracting Office, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. KPMG LLP, McLean, Virginia, is awarded a $7,971,673 time and material modification to exercise option period one under a previously awarded contract N00189-18-F-Z424. The work to be performed provides financial improvement and audit readiness support services to the Deputy Commandant, Installation and Logistics, for audit deficiencies within Marine Corps Installation Command and Marine Corps Systems Command in the Acquire to Retire, Plan to Stock, Procure to Pay and Order to Cash business mission areas. After award, this contract was transferred to the Marine Corps Installations Command Headquarters, Contracting Office, and was assigned a new contract number M95494-19-F-0044. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia (75%); and Quantico, Virginia (25%), and is expected to be completed September 2020. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds for $5,256 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Installations Command Headquarters, Contracting Office, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. KPMG LLP, McLean, Virginia, is awarded a $7,903,948 time and material modification to exercise option period one under a previously awarded contract N00189-18-F-Z426. The work to be performed provides financial improvement and audit readiness support services to the Deputy Commandant, Installation and Logistics, for remediation of current audit deficiencies and establishment of corrective action plans within Marine Corps Logistics Command for property, plant and equipment and wall-to-wall inventory. After award, this contract was transferred to the Marine Corps Installations Command Headquarters, Contracting Office, and was assigned a new contract number M95494-19-F-0046. Work will be performed in Albany, Georgia (100%), and is expected to be completed September 2020. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds for $5,256 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Installations Command Headquarters, Contracting Office, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Austal USA LLC, Mobile, Alabama, is awarded a $7,466,598 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N69316-19-F-4001) against a previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N00024-15-G-2304) to accomplish the post shakedown availability (PSA) for the Littoral Combat Ship USS Cincinnati (LCS 20). This effort encompasses all of the manpower, support services, material, non-standard equipment and associated technical data and documentation required to prepare for and accomplish the USS Cincinnati PSA. The work to be performed will include correction of government responsible trial card deficiencies, new work identified between custody transfer and the time of PSA, and incorporation of approved engineering changes that were not incorporated during the construction period which are not otherwise the building yard's responsibility under the ship construction contract. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed November 2020. Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding for $7,466,598 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, Gulf Coast, Pascagoula, Mississippi, is the contracting activity. KPMG LLP, McLean, Virginia, is awarded a $7,265,347 time and material modification to exercise Option Period One under a previously awarded contract N00189-18-F-Z428. The work to be performed provides financial improvement and audit readiness support services to the Deputy Commandant, Installation and Logistics, for remediation of audit deficiencies within Marine Corps Logistics Command in the Acquire to Retire, Plan to Stock, Procure to Pay and Order to Cash business mission areas. After award, this contract was transferred to the Marine Corps Installations Command Headquarters, Contracting Office, and was assigned a new contract number M95494-19-F-0048. Work will be performed in Albany, Georgia (100%), and is expected to be completed September 2020. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds for $5,256 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Installations Command Headquarters, Contracting Office, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. ARMY American Ordnance LLC, Middletown, Iowa (W15QKN-19-D-0109); and General Dynamics-OTS (Niceville), Niceville, Florida (W15QKN-19-D-0110), will compete for each order of the $133,212,119 firm-fixed-price contract for the Modular Artillery Charge System Load, Assemble and Pack M231/M232 type for the 155mm propelling charges. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 9, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, New Jersey, is the contracting activity. DonJon Marine Co. Inc., Hillside, New Jersey, was awarded a $43,409,975 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance dredging of Newark Bay. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Newark, New Jersey, with an estimated completion date of May 14, 2020. Fiscal 2019 civil construction funds in the amount of $43,409,975 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York, New York, is the contracting activity (W912DS-19-C-0021). Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando Florida, was awarded a $40,614,330 modification (P00001) to contract W52P1J-17-D-0043 for Modernized Turret kits for the Apache attack helicopter. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Tetra Tech Inc., Germantown, Maryland, was awarded a $39,774,838 hybrid (cost-no-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide operational readiness; closure and transition support; real property support; Department of Army Base Realignment and Closure support; environmental planning; operational readiness support and technical support, igloo closure compliance support; environmental support and real property support. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 9, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911SR-19-D-0010). The Robins & Morton Group, Birmingham, Alabama, was awarded a $32,994,842 firm-fixed-price contract for a single phase design bid-build training support facility at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Bids were solicited via the internet with seven received. Work will be performed in Fort Rucker, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 29, 2021. Fiscal 2018 military construction funds in the amount of $32,994,842 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W91278-19-C-0024). M.C. Dean Inc., Tysons, Virginia, was awarded a $15,334,437 modification (P00004) to contract W912DR-18-C-0006 for additional load centers, uninterruptible power source systems and computer room air conditioner units, at Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado. Work will be performed in Aurora, Colorado, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 8, 2021. Fiscal 2018 military construction funds in the amount of $15,334,437 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Ology Bioservices Inc.,* Alachua, Florida, was awarded a $10,870,944 modification (P00054) to contract W911QY-13-C-0010 to establish, commission and support an agile and flexible advanced development and manufacturing capability. Work will be performed in Alachua, Florida, with an estimated completion date of March 19, 2023. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $7,845,964 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co., Oak Brook, Illinois, was awarded a $7,561,500 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance dredging. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Cape May, New Jersey, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2019. Fiscal 2019 civil construction funds in the amount of $7,561,500 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (W912BU-19-C-0041). AIR FORCE GE Aviation, doing business as Dowty Propellers Inc., Sterling, Virginia, has been awarded a $20,889,724 firm-fixed-price delivery order. This delivery order provides for Option I quantities of R391 propellers and spares to support the C-130J aircraft, in conjunction with the commercial Rolls Royce AE2100D3 engine managed by Warner Robins, Air Logistics Center, Tactical Airlift Division. Work will be performed in Sterling, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by May 29, 2023. The delivery order is the result of a sole-source commercial acquisition. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 aircraft funds in the amount of $20,889,724 are being obligated at the time of delivery order award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8504-19-F-0028). A&P Technology Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, has been awarded a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for $8,904,957 for the Design for Manufacture of Attritable Aircraft Primary Structure program. This contract provides for an alternative design and manufacture of an aircraft structure relative to a baseline aircraft structure that is more unitized and uses fabrication processes that may be automated leading to greatly reduced costs associated with manufacturing. Work will be performed at Cincinnati, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by May 31, 2021. This work is the result of a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase III Acquisition. Fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $8,904,957 are being obligated at the time of Award. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-19-C-2200). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/1956513/source/GovDelivery/

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  August 23, 2021 | International, Aerospace

  Coalition Fighter Shoots Down UAS In Northeast Syria | Aviation Week Network

  A Coalition aircraft shot down an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) with an air-to-air missile near a U.S. military base in eastern Syria on Aug. 21, U.S. Central Command told Aviation Week.