US Air Force seeks industry input on Cloud One successor contract

On the same subject

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  October 11, 2019 | International, Land

  General Dynamics Mission Systems Continues to Provide U.S. Army with Shelters for Austere Environments

  October 9, 2019 - Fairfax, VA. – The U.S. Army has selected General Dynamics Mission Systems to provide current generation Army Standard Family (ASF) Shelters, one-side and two-side expandable, and Modified Extendable Rigid Wall Shelters (MERWS) via a firm-fixed price contract valued at $66 million. The estimated completion date of the contract is June 24, 2024. The shelters will be used worldwide by the Army to support applications such as command posts, kitchens, maintenance shops and medical facilities. Their lightweight design and rugged durability enable them to operate in the most extreme environments. The addition of the MERWS requirements will provide greater shelter capacity for deployable conference and communication centers. In anticipation of the Army's growing requirements, General Dynamics is designing the modernized Army Standard Tactical Shelter (ASTS) to be quickly deployed on the ground or on the Army's Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, enabling rapid deployment and increased mobility. Currently under development, these next generation of ASF shelters will cost significantly less than the current ASF shelters and increase many operating features such as nine-high stacking versus six-high which enables greater transportability. They will have a larger interior operating space and will be lighter than the currently used M1087 Expansible Van, reducing fuel and maintenance costs for the vehicles transporting them. “For over forty years we have provided cost-efficient, durable shelters to meet the changing needs of the Army,” said Jared Strait, a Director of General Dynamics Mission Systems. “The new Army Standard Tactical Shelter – Expandable will provide the Army with the essential flexibility and mobility they need to quickly transport, deploy, and move shelters to support their missions.” General Dynamics Mission Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD). For more information about General Dynamics Mission Systems, please visit gdmissionsystems.com and follow us on Twitter @GDMS. View source version on General Dynamics Mission Systems: https://gdmissionsystems.com/en/articles/2019/10/09/general-dynamics-provides-army-shelters-for-austere-environments

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  November 19, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Airbus and Germany submit Eurofighter offer to Switzerland

  Bern/ Berlin, 18 November, 2020 – Airbus and the Federal Republic of Germany today submitted their official offer to the Swiss Federal Office of Armaments armasuisse for the sale of Eurofighter aircraft to Switzerland. The offer has been prepared in cooperation with the other Eurofighter nations as well as the industrial partners Leonardo and BAE Systems, and meets the requirements of the so called new combat aircraft (Neues Kampfflugzeug - NKF) procurement process implemented by Switzerland to replace its currently used F-5 and F/A-18 fleet with a more modern model. With the acquisition of the Eurofighter, the Federal Republic of Germany is offering Switzerland the opportunity to deepen its existing military partnership, particularly with regard to the joint training of the two air forces. With the Eurofighter, Switzerland will gain full autonomy in the use, maintenance and application of the data from its aircraft. With more than 660 orders, the Eurofighter is by far the most widely used aircraft for securing airspace over Europe. It is operated jointly by the four partner nations Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain and is undergoing continuous development. Only a few days ago, Germany itself signed the contract for the procurement of 38 Eurofighters from the latest Tranche 4 and is offering Switzerland the opportunity to lay the foundations for even closer political, economic and security cooperation by procuring the same type of aircraft. Michael Flügger, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Switzerland, said: "With this offer, we are inviting Switzerland as our neighbor and reliable partner in security policy and economic matters to protect its airspace with the Eurofighter and to close cooperation between our air forces. For Germany, Switzerland is not just a customer, but a strategic ally with whom we would like to further intensify our already close cooperation. The Eurofighter is the only platform jointly developed and operated by several European nations and would therefore be an ideal solution for Switzerland". Dirk Hoke, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space, said: "With the offer submitted today, we want to show that the Eurofighter is the best overall package for Switzerland. It is the most modern fighter aircraft currently built in Europe and meets all the requirements demanded by Switzerland. By providing construction data and other important information, Switzerland will be given complete and independent control of the Eurofighter, guaranteeing full transparency. With over 200 suppliers in the Confederation, Airbus is already a strong partner for Switzerland, and we look forward to expanding this cooperation even further". @AirbusDefence @Team_Airbus_CH #Air2030 #Eurofighter #NKF #Schweiz https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/press-releases/en/2020/11/airbus-and-germany-submit-eurofighter-offer-to-switzerland.html

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  June 28, 2018 | International, Land, C4ISR

  Here’s how artificial intelligence could predict when your Army vehicle will break down

  By: Victoria Leoni The Army wants to use artificial intelligence software to predict when vehicle parts might break down and prevent equipment failures before they happen. Uptake, a Chicago-based AI company, recently received a $1 million contract from the Army to test its technology on a group of deployed Bradley M2A3 combat vehicles, according to the Washington Post. Depending on how the trial goes, the AI software could be applied on a much larger scale. “We're looking to see if we can leverage some of Uptake's machine learning algorithms to spot equipment failures before they happen,” Lt. Col. Chris Conley, Army program manager for the Bradley fleet, said in the report. “If this pans out and can provide some real capability, the Army could look to expand this to the entire Bradley fleet as well as other combat vehicle fleets.” Uptake's technology will analyze the signals produced by the Army's equipment to provide updates on the equipment's maintenance status. If a vehicle part shows signs of being faulty, for example, commanders will be alerted and have the ability to repair or replace the part before the entire vehicle is compromised. “Just like humans have been putting their statuses on Facebook and Twitter, these machines have been putting out their statuses for decades and nobody's been listening,” Ganesh Bell, president of Uptake Technologies, told the Post. “Only recently do we have the technology to understand that.” M2 and M3 Bradleys are some of the most widely used Army vehicles in peacekeeping and combat missions. This will be the first application of the technology to military vehicles. “I'm not convinced that this will be successful, but I'm really excited about the potential of it,” Conley told the Post. “We're doing a pilot test to verify their claims before we do anything at scale.” Retired Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and an Uptake shareholder, told the Post the AI technology is what the military needs to ensure readiness and efficiency. “What I've seen on the component side is you almost wait for failure and then figure it out,” he said. “Based on the results I've seen there is a huge potential here for better outcomes and a lot less expense, which is what anybody in the military is focused on.” https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/06/27/heres-how-artificial-intelligence-could-predict-when-your-army-vehicle-will-break-down/