Back to news

April 23, 2019 | International, Land

US Army needs another year to pick protection system for Stryker

By:

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army plans to take another year to pick an Active Protection System for its Stryker combat vehicle, according to the military deputy to the Army acquisition chief.

The service is already fielding the Rafael-made Trophy APS on its Abrams tank and has picked IMI's Iron Fist for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle — both as interim systems until the Army can develop an advanced future system — but it had to go back to square one when its attempt to outfit Stryker with Herndon, Virginia-based Artis LLC's Iron Curtain system failed.

The Army put out a request for possible systems to be qualified as an interim solution on the Stryker. Officials ultimately chose a Rafael and DRS team and a Rheinmetall and UBT team to participate in a live-fire rodeo last November to see if either system might work.

But while it was believed a decision would come soon after, Lt. Gen. Paul Ostrowski testified at an April 2 Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee hearing that it would take another year to make a decision.

“We have two companies that are in the process of competing for [APS on Stryker]. One is a venture between ... Rafael and DRS and the other is Rheinmetall and UBT, so we are in the process of going through that,” Ostrowski said. “It's going to take about a year, quite frankly, in order to put those systems on the vehicles, characterize them and make a determination as to whether or not to move forward with either one of the two vendors.”

Ostrowski added the service had asked each team to provide blueprints and to build their non-developmental APS systems to fit on Stryker. “They are in the process of doing that build,” he said.

“And once the build is put on the vehicle, it's then a matter of testing in order to ensure that it works,” Ostrowski said, which is not unlike the process the Army went through to characterize and qualify APS systems on both Abrams and Bradley.

Israeli company Rafael and DRS submitted its Trophy VPS — a lighter version of Trophy — for the rodeo. Germany-based Rheinmetall partnered with Unified Business Technologies, based in Michigan, and submitted its Active Defense System — now renamed StrikeShield.

During the rodeo, participants did not perform a full installation of their systems on the vehicle. Instead, they set up test rigs in front of Strykers or hung their system off a Stryker in the evaluation.

Following the rodeo, the idea was to select one, possibly two systems, to begin some sort of installation characterization on a platform deemed most appropriate for the APS system, Col. Glenn Dean, the Army's Stryker program manager who is also in charge of the interim APS effort, told Defense News in October 2018.

Meanwhile, Ostrowski said the Army bought 88 Iron Fist systems for Bradley in 2019 and planned to buy another 36 in the FY20 budget. The service is on a path to field four brigades of Abrams with Trophy by FY21.

The Army is also developing its own Modular Active Protection System, which is seen more like a digital integrated backbone that will be designed with an open-system architecture so that vendors can bring radars, optical sensors and hard- or soft-kill effectors and plug them in, according to Ostrowski.

The important thing is “to get a capability out there first. . . . Now it's just a matter of moving beyond that,” he said.

https://www.defensenews.com/land/2019/04/02/us-army-needs-another-year-to-pick-protection-system-for-stryker/

On the same subject

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - August 2, 2019

    August 5, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - August 2, 2019

    AIR FORCE HEBCO Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has been awarded an $80,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for A-10 technical order sustainment. This contract provides for 10 years of non-personal technical services in support of technical order sustainment activities by providing technically accurate and up-to-date digital technical data. Work will be performed at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Clearfield, Utah, and is expected to be complete by Aug. 1, 2030. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $445,739 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8202-19-D-0003). The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $55,500,000 undefinitized contract action modification (P00177) to the previously awarded, FA8625-11-C-6600, for KC-46 engineering, manufacturing and development contract. This modification is for the system level hardware and software critical design review of the boom telescope actuator redesign. Work will be performed at Seattle, Washington, and is expected to be completed February 2021. Fiscal 2018 research and development funds in the amount of $20,845,672 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. Rockwell Collins Simulation & Training Solutions, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been awarded a $40,219,702 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for E-8 Aircrew Training Device sustainment. This contract provides for contractor logistics support and training system support center operations of the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System Aircrew Training Device. Work will be performed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia; and Sterling, Virginia, and is expected to be complete by Aug. 3, 2029. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2019 Air National Guard operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $3,556,865 are being obligated on the first delivery order at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8529-19-D-0001). Raytheon Co. Space and Airborne Systems, McKinney, Texas, has been awarded a $23,817,657 contract for two prototype High Energy Laser Weapon Systems (HELWS). This award provides for outside continental U.S. (OCONUS) field assessment for purposes of experimentation including, but is not limited to, 12 months of in-field operation by Air Force personnel against unmanned aerial systems threats. Work will be performed OCONUS and is expected to be completed by Nov. 1, 2020. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2018 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $23,817,657 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-19-9-9326). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY C&C Produce Inc.,* North Kansas City, Missouri, has been awarded a maximum $48,000,000 firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for fresh fruits and vegetables. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. This is a 36-month contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Kansas and Missouri, with a July 30, 2022, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Air Force, and Department of Agriculture schools and reservations. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-19-D-P345). ARMY NTVI Enterprises LLC,* Falls Church, Virginia (W9127S-19-D-6001); Global Engineering & Construction LLC,* Renton, Washington (W9127S-19-D-6002); KJS Support Services JV LLC,* Fort Worth, Texas (W9127S-19-D-6003); and Royce Construction Services LLC,* Reston, Virginia (W9127S-19-D-6000), will compete for each order of the $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for mechanical infrastructure repair services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 10 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 1, 2022. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock, Arkansas, is the contracting activity. American Ordnance, Middletown, Iowa, was awarded a $43,351,782 modification (0003 28) to contract W52P1J-16-D-0050 for M795 155mm projectile load assemble and pack. Work will be performed in Middletown, Iowa, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019 procurement of ammunition, Army funds in the amount of $43,351,782 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY HGSNet LLC, Vienna, Virginia, was awarded a Direct 8(a), firm-fixed-price contract, HC1084-19-C-0006, for development, deployment and sustainment (DD&S) services. These services include requirements analysis, software engineering, systems integration and interoperability, data engineering and management, test, deployment, and development, security and operations (DevSecOps), cloud, infrastructure engineering and transitioning systems to operations in support of the National Background Investigations System. The place of performance will be at the contractor's location in Vienna, Virginia. The contract ceiling is $21,932,725 funded by fiscal 2019 research, development, testing and evaluation funds; and operations and maintenance funds. The proposal was solicited via email to HGSNet LLC. The period of performance consists of one one-year base period and one six-month option period. The period of performance for the base year is Aug. 5, 2019, through Aug. 4, 2020, and the option period follows through to Feb. 5, 2021. The Defense Information Technology Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Kapili Services LLC, Orlando, Florida, was awarded a Direct 8(a), firm-fixed-price contract, HC1084-19-C-0005, for system engineering and technical assistance (SETA) support services. The face value of this action is $18,095,364 funded by fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds. The total cumulative value of the contract is $18,095,364. Performance will be at the contractor's facility located in Orlando, Florida. The proposal was solicited via email to Kapili Services LLC. The period of performance consists of one one-year base period and two one-year options. The period of performance is for the base year is Aug. 5, 2019, through Aug. 4, 2020, and the option years follow consecutively through Aug. 4, 2022. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. NAVY The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded $8,905,835 for modification P00023 to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, N00019-16-C-0032, to continue software development efforts for calendar year 2019 in support of the Next Generation Jammer. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri, and is expected to be completed in December 2019. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,905,835 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/1924880/source/GovDelivery/

  • Rheinmetall expands cooperation with ICEYE and obtains exclusive rights to distribute SAR satellites to Germany and Hungary

    September 12, 2024 | International, Aerospace

    Rheinmetall expands cooperation with ICEYE and obtains exclusive rights to distribute SAR satellites to Germany and Hungary

    As part of this agreement, Rheinmetall will integrate ICEYE capabilities into their next generation battlefield systems

  • Rheinmetall wins order for e-truck parts

    March 3, 2023 | International, Land

    Rheinmetall wins order for e-truck parts

    Rheinmetall's Castings business unit has won an order in the lower double-digit million-euro range for e-truck parts, the German industrial group said in a statement on Friday.

All news