November 26, 2024 | International, Aerospace
Bombardier Defense Delivers First Global 6500 Aircraft to the U.S. Army’s HADES Program
The Global 6500 is a proven platform providing range, speed, reliability and endurance.
July 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace
US Air Force ready to test tech for new battle management system
WASHINGTON — The Air Force is ramping up its efforts to test and field a suite of new hardware and software that will become the military's command and control backbone.
Since February, the Air Force has published three separate broad area announcements seeking technologies that could be funneled inside the Advanced Battle Management System, the service's effort to seamlessly connect all of the Department of Defense's equipment and pool together its data to form a complete picture of the battlespace.
Then, in May and July, it awarded the first two mega-batches of ABMS contracts, with 46 companies in total winning $1000 and a chance to compete for more money down the road.
“We want a wide variety of companies, and we definitely want fresh blood in the ABMS competition,” Will Roper, the Air Force's acquisition executive, told reporters on May 14. “There is a lot that can be contributed from companies that are commercially focused, that know a lot about data, that know a lot about machine learning and AI and know a lot about analytics. Those are going to be the most important parts of the Advanced Battle Management System.”
ABMS is the Air Force's piece of the military's fledgling Joint All Domain Command and Control concept.
The vision involves networking every shooter and sensor to a cloud computing environment and using artificial intelligence to ensure that relevant information is immediately sent to whichever platform needs it. In practice, that could look like compiling data from a Global Hawk drone and a naval destroyer to help cue a fighter jet to lock its missile on a nearby target.
While the Air Force has some big picture ideas of the products that will comprise ABMS — such as cloud computing tools, machine learning technologies and apps — it hasn't set firm requirements or laid out exactly what products it needs to build out the system.
Through the BAAs, the government plans on bringing in companies using different styles of contracts and agreements, which Roper said will allow startups, commercial tech firms and other nontraditional players to “find their fit with this mission.” Those companies will then bring their products and technologies for week-long field tests, held three times a year. The next phase of experiments is planned to start on Aug. 31.
While the service had already performed one experiment with technologies that could become part of ABMS and had put several dozen companies on contract prior to May, the Air Force sees the broad area announcements as vehicles to capture a wider array of technology firms that may not already do business with the government, Roper said.
Each BAA has multiple rolling deadlines, with the Air Force hoping to award contracts anywhere from four to six weeks after a company submits a proposal. The first announcement seeks out proposals for traditional indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts.
The second solicits ideas and technologies through a two-step process, where industry would submit information about the concept before being invited to submit a formal proposal, which the service says will allow participation from contractors “who are unsure about how they want to proceed but want to share their idea.”
The third announcement invites companies with existing products to join ongoing ABMS technology demonstrations — at no cost to the government — through cooperative research and development agreements.
The service also held a series of industry days, starting May 13, to help answer questions about the effort, especially from businesses that don't usually work with the Defense Department.
“We had over a hundred companies just in the first day, and we are expecting more than 300 before the end of this first event,” Roper said. “Three hundred companies for the first industry day ... is a good start. That's certainly broader than the number of defense primes that we have or even the major suppliers.”
Each of the announcements specify seven broad areas where the service is seeking new technologies or ideas:
Digital architecture, standards and concepts: The Air Force is looking for digital modeling and simulation technologies, trade studies and other standards development tools and processes that it can use to map out the entire ABMS architecture virtually and test how it would work in practice.
Sensor integration: In essence, the service wants any hardware or software that will allow different equipment to share data. “A key interest of ABMS is the compatibility and interoperability capabilities through the use of open interfaces to enable improved control of systems and the processing of their data,” the service said in the BAA.
Data: The Air Force is also interested in “cloud-based data repositories” that could pass information across domains to the different services. These libraries of data points will be “meta tagged,” analyzed and then fused using AI algorithms to help inform military decision makers.
Secure processing: The service needs technologies that will be able to move the appropriate data across technologies with different security levels, ensuring that classified information stays protected while sharing what is feasible. It also includes deployment, training and support services for all devices and processing environments.
Connectivity: These tools include line-of-sight and beyond line-of-sight communications networks, as well as technologies that can turn a platform into a data node, reduce latency, provide improved anti-jamming capabilities or other functions that improve the speed and breadth of communications gear.
Applications: iPhone analogies have become Defense Department clichés at this point, but the Air Force is hoping to commission the design and development of apps to process, fuse and help present data to different audiences across domains.
Effects integration: These involve networked weapons that can be integrated with existing platforms for a greater combined effect. “This includes, but is not limited to smart munitions and low-cost autonomous platforms” that can carry out functions such as data relay.
The Air Force is slated to spend $300 million on the Advanced Battle Management System through fiscal year 2021, according to the Government Accountability Office, which has also warned that the nontraditional structure of the program could put it “at greater risk for schedule delays, cost growth, and integration issues.”
Preston Dunlap, the Air Force's chief architect charged with overseeing the ABMS effort, said the the price of technologies will undeniably be an important criteria, and the service will try to reduce costs by using affordable and readily available commercial products whenever possible.
“That's one of the core principles that we have to manage costs,” he said during a May 7 event hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. “We're able to take advantage of the commercial pressures and marketplace to keep the costs down. That's different. Normally it's flipped. If we're the primary customer here, we've got to be very concerned about cost growth associated with that. Right now, in some sense, we're the small buyer.”
While the Air Force will better be able estimate the total cost of ABMS as experiments go on, the current focus of the effort is figuring out how to inject innovative commercial tech into the military system as quickly as it becomes available, Dunlap said.
“I'm less worried at the moment about some of those cost issues because if we're in that cycle we're probably not doing it right,” he said.
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June 25, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence
Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - June 21, 2019
U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, McKinney, Texas, was awarded a $96,639,799 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract modification (P00007) with firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract line items to an existing contract (H92222-16-D-0033). This contract modification increases the ceiling from $203,360,201 to $300,000,000 for continued low-rate initial production of the Silent Knight Radar system in support of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Fiscal 2019 procurement funds in the amount of $54,720,000 are being obligated at time of contract modification. The remaining costs will be funded via delivery/task orders, and depending on the requirement, may be funded using research, development, test and evaluation; procurement; or operations and maintenance funding. The ordering period is valid for five years. The work will be performed in McKinney and Forest, Mississippi, and is scheduled to be completed by October 2022. USSOCOM headquarters, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity. NAVY Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, is awarded an estimated $72,817,062 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price contract for the Transformational Reliable Acoustic Path System (TRAPS) on behalf of the Maritime Surveillance Systems Program Office, Navy Program Executive Office Submarines. The TRAPS capability complements fixed surveillance systems and the surveillance towed array sensor system. TRAPS provides flexible and responsive wide area surveillance for theater antisubmarine warfare commanders worldwide. This contract has a three-year ordering period up to the contract award amount. There are no options. Work will be performed in Long Beach, Mississippi, and is expected to be completed by June 2022. No funding is obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as individual delivery orders are issued. This sole-source contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) - only one responsible source (Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 6.302-1). The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N00039-19-D-0030). FlexDecks Inc.,* Houston, Texas, is awarded a $17,200,997 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to procure up to 40 each V-22 and MV-22B maintenance wing platform stands for the Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy and the government of Japan. Work will be performed in Houston, Texas, and is expected to be completed in June 2024. Fiscal 2017 and 2018 aircraft procurement and foreign military sales funds in the amount of $5,490,973 will be obligated at the time of award, $4,519,637 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals as a 100% small business set-aside; three offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N68335-19-D-0134). Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Syracuse, New York, is awarded a $16,273,896 cost-plus-fixed fee, firm-fixed-price, cost contract (N00024-19-C-6269) for the procurement of multifunction modular masts for new construction Virginia-class Block V hulls, spares and repairs. This contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $97,860,000. Work will be performed in Nashua, New Hampshire (70%); and Syracuse, New York (30%), and is expected to be complete by June 2020. If all options are exercised, work will continue through June 2024. Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $13,932,928 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Accenture Federal Services LLC, Arlington, Virginia, has been awarded a $65,447,464 other transaction agreement for the execution of the enterprise information technology as a service compute and store risk reduction effort experiment. This agreement provides for an experiment for services to include providing a flexible and scalable hosting solution for applications and data, operation and maintenance of the compute and store environment, and application rationalization. Work will be performed in Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado; Maxwell AFB, Alabama; Offutt AFB, Nebraska; Joint Base Elemendorf-Richardson, Alaska; Cannon AFB, New Mexico; and Hurlburt Field, Florida, and is expected to be completed by June, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $28,517,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8726-19-9-0002). Harris Corp., Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been awarded an $18,084,893 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification (P00003) to previously awarded FA8819-19-C-0002 for the manufacturing of Air Force Satellite Control Network complaint L and S band antennas for the space combat range. Work will be performed at Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, and is expected to be completed by June 19, 2021. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $18,084,893 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, California, is the contracting activity. Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, Fort Worth, Texas, has been awarded a $17,780,580 cost-plus-fixed fee with an embedded fixed-price and cost reimbursement contract to provide sustainment services for the Lebanese Air Force Armed Caravan Program. This contract provides field service representatives, repair and return, calibration, support equipment and spares. Work will be performed in Beirut, Lebanon, and is expected to be completed June 30, 2021, with the possibility of extending the completion date to June 30, 2024. This contract involves 100% foreign military sales to Lebanon. This award is the result of a sole source acquisition. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $10,732,607 are being obligated at the time of the award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8620-19-C-3001). EaglePicher Technologies,* Joplin, Missouri, has been awarded a $14,125,999 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract action for an F-35 Agnostic Battery System. This contract provides for the acquisition of the manufacturing process improvement for the F-35 agnostic battery. Work will be performed in Joplin, Missouri, and is expected to be completed by June 17, 2022. This award is the result of a competitive Small Business Innovative Research action and one offer were received. Fiscal 2018 research and development funds in the amount of $7,248,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory Contracting, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-19-C-5077). Joe Torres Co., Bakersfield, California, has been awarded a $9,080,374 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for integrated solid waste management services. This contract provides for collection and disposal of municipal solid waste, recycling and landfill services. Work will be performed in Edwards Air Force Base, California, and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $439,615 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Test Center, Edwards AFB, California, is the contracting activity (FA9301-19-D-A006). ARMY General Dynamics Mission Systems, Marion, Virginia, was awarded a $44,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Army Standard Family ISO Shelter, one-side expandable, two-side expandable, and modified extended rigid wall shelter. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 21, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-19-D-0078). BIS Services LLC,* Kenner, Louisiana, was awarded a $32,305,200 firm-fixed-price contract for Calcasieu River and pass stone foreshore protection. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 12, 2020. Fiscal 2019 civil construction funds in the amount of $32,305,200 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, Louisiana, is the contracting activity (W912P8-19-C-0051). BIS Services LLC,* Kenner, Louisiana, was awarded a $14,785,945 firm-fixed-price contract for Calcasieu River and pass stone foreshore protection, repairs and armoring. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 10, 2021. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, civil funds in the amount of $14,785,945 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, Louisiana, is the contracting activity (W912P8-19-C-0047). Huffman Construction LLC,* Poplar Bluff, Missouri, was awarded a $13,757,500 firm-fixed-price contract for Ohio River shoreline repair work for multiple pump stations and the construction of a new pump station. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Paducah, Kentucky, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 6, 2022. Fiscal 2017 civil construction funds in the amount of $13,757,500 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-19-C-0050). Gilbane Federal, Concord, California, was awarded a $13,601,007 firm-fixed-price contract for repair to Moran Hall South (Bldg. 29802). Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Fort Gordon, Georgia, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 2, 2021. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $13,601,007 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity (W912HN-19-C-3007). Bhate Environmental Associates Inc.,* Birmingham, Alabama, was awarded an $11,382,741 firm-fixed-price contract for demolition services to plan and execute the removal of buildings and facilities to include the abatement and removal of asbestos containing materials and other regulated materials, disconnect and capping of utilities, complete removal of utilities, disposal of all debris materials and restoration. Nine bids were solicited with three bids received. Work will be performed in New Orleans, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 19, 2021. Fiscal 2019 NASA funds in the amount of $11,382,741 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W912DY-19-F-0428). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Sysco Seattle, Kent, Washington, has been awarded a maximum $21,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full line food distribution for Navy ships customers in the Puget Sound/Seattle, Washington area. This was a sole-source acquisition in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a 240-day bridge contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Washington, with a Feb. 15, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-19-D-3227). (Awarded June 20, 2019) Federal Prison Industries Inc.,** Washington, District of Columbia, has been awarded a maximum $17,232,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract for Navy coveralls. This is a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods. Locations of performance are Atlanta, Georgia, Arizona, Mississippi, and District of Columbia, with a Nov. 30, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-19-D-F027). Sysco Seattle, Kent, Washington, has been awarded a maximum $14,300,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full line food distribution for land based customers in Seattle, Washington, and surrounding areas. This was a sole-source acquisition in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a 240-day bridge contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Washington, with a Feb. 15, 2020, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Army National Guard, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-19-D-3226). (Awarded June 20, 2019) DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY Iridium Satellite LLC, Tempe, Arizona, was awarded a non-competitive firm-fixed-price contract modification (P00012) for the extension of services on the current Airtime contract (HC104714C4000). The face value of this action is $8,579,000, funded by fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $469,483,000. Performance will be at the contractor's facility. The original solicitation was issued on the basis of other than full and open competition pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). Only one responsible source and no other type of supplies or services would satisfy agency requirements. The period of performance is June 22, 2019, through July 21, 2019. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. (Awarded June 19, 2019) *Small business **Mandatory source https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1884099/source/GovDelivery/
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October 9, 2018 | International, Land
Oshkosh robot trucks could roll out to the Army by 2020
By: Kelsey Atherton Simple subtraction explains the impetus for self-driven supply convoys: For every autonomously driven vehicle, that's one fewer human driver needed, and likely one or two fewer human escorts in the vehicle itself. Fewer humans means fewer injuries and deaths whenever the convoy encounters violence, like an ambush or an improvised explosive device. Then there is multiplication: Take the driver and the escorts out of each truck in a seven-truck convoy, and that's suddenly 14 to 21 soldiers that can do other tasks, like escorting the convoys in other, better-armored vehicles, ones that can withstand IEDs or provide more protection from small arms fire. In June, the U.S. Army awarded Oshkosh Defense $49 million to integrate autonomous technology with the Palletized Load System vehicles in order to put robotics in the driver's seat. “It actually drives very, very human,” says John Beck, senior chief engineer for unmanned systems at Oshkosh. “The motion control algorithms that are done both on the by-wire side and on the autonomy side drive this vehicle much like a person does.” Full article: https://www.c4isrnet.com/digital-show-dailies/ausa/2018/10/07/oshkosh-robot-trucks-could-roll-out-to-the-army-by-2020/