Unmanned program could suffer if Congress blocks F-22 retirements, Hunter says

On the same subject

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  June 8, 2020 | International, C4ISR

  Air Force awards multimillion-dollar secure communications contract

  Andrew Eversden The Air Force awarded a contract potentially worth $35 million to Wickr, a secure communications platform provider, the Defense Department announced June 1. Under the two-year contract, the Air Force will use Wickr's secure recall, alert and messaging services. The cloud-based application suite will provide end-to-end encrypted file, video, chat, text and voice services for end users. The Air Force is obligating $7.7 million in fiscal 2020 funds at the time of the award, according to the contract announcement. The award was made by the Air Force Installation Contracting Center at Hurlburt Field in Florida. Joel Wallenstrom, CEO of Wickr, told C4ISRNET in a June 4 interview that the award was the largest contract his company has won. The San Francisco-based company has already established a relationship with the Air Force through the service's Strategic Financing program, which includes several internal innovation and small business outreach hubs. In April, Wickr announced the program had awarded his company a contract as part of $550 million in awards it gave out to 21 companies. According to Wallenstrom, Wickr's platform includes a federated network capability that allows a network administrator to create temporary environments for users to communicate with allies or family members without increasing risk. The platform "not only secures things on a day-to-day basis, but in very special circumstances you can create temporary secure operating environments with people of choice, but that doesn't mean you bring them into ... your environment permanently,” Wallenstrom said. https://www.c4isrnet.com/it-networks/2020/06/05/air-force-awards-multimillion-dollar-secure-communications-contract

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  September 18, 2019 | International, Land

  U.S. Army Awards BAE Systems $318 Million for Next Generation M88A3 Recovery Vehicle

  STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The U.S. Army has awarded BAE Systems a $318 million contract to upgrade M88 recovery vehicles to the M88A3 configuration designed for single-vehicle recovery of the latest version of the Abrams tank. The new M88A3 configuration eliminates the necessity of using two vehicles to raise and move the tanks, which have increased in weight in recent years. “As the U.S. Army's primary recovery vehicle, the M88 plays a critical role in the Army's Armored Brigade Combat Team,” said Dennis Hancock, recovery programs director for BAE Systems' Combat Vehicles business. “We have partnered closely with the Army and industry partners to develop a solution that addresses the single-vehicle recovery gap. We are proud to continue to support the Army's recovery needs by providing a next-generation solution to effectively rescue disabled tanks from the battlefield.” The M88A3 configuration features an upgraded powertrain, suspension and tracks, increasing the vehicle's speed, survivability and reliability. The M88A3 also features a seventh road wheel to reduce ground pressure and new hydropneumatic suspension units (HSUs) that enable the track to be locked out for greater control when recovering vehicles. The contract is being awarded under an Other Transactional Authority (OTA) acquisition model for upgrading the M88A2 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift Evacuation System (HERCULES) to the next generation M88A3 HERCULES. BAE Systems' M88 family of recovery vehicles has provided the Army with unprecedented capability for recovering stranded or disabled combat vehicles since the 1960s. Due to incremental weight increases of the Army's Main Battle Tank over the years, the M88A3's predecessor, the M88A2, is currently unable to safely perform single-vehicle recovery of the Abrams. BAE Systems has invested Independent Research and Development to develop the M88A3 for three years in an effort to identify, understand, and provide solutions to return to single-vehicle recovery of the tank. The work will be performed at BAE Systems' facilities in York, Pennsylvania; Aiken, South Carolina, Anniston, Alabama, and Sterling Heights, Michigan. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190917006045/en/

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  March 27, 2024 | International, Land

  Army artillery needs more range, mobility and autonomy, study finds

  The Army's conventional fires study is leading the service to focus on munitions range and capacity as well as more mobile and autonomous systems.