US Marines to test drone-killing laser weapon

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  November 20, 2020 | International, Land

  Turkey in talks with South Korea to salvage Altay tank program

  By: Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish procurement and military officials as well as teams from a private manufacturer have been negotiating with a South Korean company to recover a program riddled with delays for the production of the country's first indigenous new-generation main battle tank. “This program has faced major delays due to failed access to significant components like the engine, transmission and armor,” a procurement official told Defense News. “I am not in a position to give a date for the start of serial production. All I know is we are trying hard to get it moved ahead.” In 2019, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office included the Altay tank as part of the military's 2020 inventory in a government document. In an October 2019 speech, Ethem Sancak — a senior shareholder in BMC, which makes the Altay — said the tank would be fielded within 24 months. It now appears that prediction was too optimistic. The presidential office's 2021 investment program, released earlier this month, does not even mention the Altay, let alone the tank entering service. According to a source with knowledge of the Altay program, BMC has been in talks with Hyundai Rotem to solve problems surrounding missing foreign technology for the Altay, which Turkish officials often portray as a fully national, indigenous Turkish tank. The South Korean company previously built public transportation and Bosporus crossing systems in Istanbul, Ankara and Adana as well as light rail systems in Istanbul and Izmir. “We are hoping our talks will eventually sort out the problems regarding the power pack — [the engine and transmission — that] we will use in the serial production cycle,” the source told Defense News. “We are probably talking about another couple of months of talks before we know which way we are headed.” He added that BMC is in indirect talks, through Hyundai Rotem, with two South Korean defense technology concerns: engine-maker Doosan and S&T Dynamics, which produces automatic transmissions. “Ideally a Doosan-S&T power pack will power the Altay if we can iron out differences and licensing issues,” he said. South Korea has experienced similar problems with its program for the mass production of the K2 Black Panther tank. Its deployment by the Army faced delays due to problems concerning the engine and transmission. The first 100 units were built with a Doosan 1,500-horsepower engine and an S&T Dynamics automatic transmission. Under a second contract, tanks began to be delivered in late 2016. But after S&T Dynamics' transmission failed durability tests, South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced the second batch would have a “hybrid” power pack consisting of the locally developed engine and the German RENK transmission system. “How the Turks can make use of a proven engine and a failed transmission remains to be seen,” said a London-based Turkey expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Turkey had hoped to power the Altay with the German MTU engine and RENK transmission, but talks with German manufacturers over the past couple of years failed due to a federal arms embargo on Turkey. Germany is one of a number of European governments that have limited exports to Turkey over its involvement in the Syrian civil war. A similar problem concerns the Altay's planned armor. Turkey was hoping a French armor solution would be continue to be available following an initial batch of 40 units. But recent political tension between the two countries over hydrocarbon explorations off Cyprus has put this in jeopardy. The source with knowledge of the Altay program said the armor will now be locally produced under a public-private partnership. The Altay program dates back to the mid-1990s, but it wasn't until November 2018 that the Turkish government awarded the tank's multibillion-dollar contract to BMC. In a competition, the firm defeated Otokar, which had already produced four Altay prototypes under a government contract. The contract involves the production of an initial batch of 250 units, life-cycle logistical support, and the establishment by the contractor of a tank systems technology center and its operation. As part of the contract, BMC will design, develop and produce a tank with an unmanned fire control unit. The contract said the first Altay tank is to roll off the assembly line within 18 months. Opposition parties in parliament have slammed the government over delays, but procurement officials claim the 18-month clause will apply after the first unit's production begins. The Altay program is broken into two phases: T1 and T2. T1 covers the first 250 units, and T2 involves the advanced version of the tank. Turkey also plans to eventually produce 1,000 Altays, to be followed by an unmanned version. The deal has proved politically controversy, particularly after the Erdogan administration leased for free a military-owned tank and turret factory by the Marmara Sea to BMC for a period of 25 years. The move prompted cries of nepotism, as BMC shareholder Sancak was a senior member of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party at the time. Ozgur Eksi, an independent defense analyst, questioned the choice of assigning a factory by the sea for tank production. “In the event of war, the Altay factory could be an easy target for the enemy fire,” he said. “This program could have been much better planned from a strategic point of view.” Nevertheless, Eksi added, “there is a political determination to get the Altays into the Army's inventory. Sooner or later, production will start.” https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/11/19/turkey-in-talks-with-south-korea-to-salvage-altay-tank-program/

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  November 23, 2024 | International, Land

  Joint Statement on Canada-Australia Partnership on Emerging Missile Defence Research

  Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence of Canada, and the Honourable Richard Marles, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence of Australia, released a joint statement on a new agreement to collaborate on research on emerging missile threat defence.

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  September 6, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - September 5, 2019

  ARMY Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Co., Simsbury, Connecticut (W52P1J-19-D-0065); and Chemring Ordnance Inc., Perry, Florida (W52P1J-19-D-0066), will compete for each order of the $320,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the Anti-Personnel Obstacle Breaching System. 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. 4, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Honeywell International Inc., Clearwater, Florida, was awarded a $37,851,458 firm-fixed-price contract for procurement of the commercial Tactical Advanced Land Inertial Navigator 5000 Inertial Navigation Unit. 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. 8, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-19-D-0082). MW Builders, Pflugerville, Texas, was awarded a $30,477,000 firm-fixed-price contract to construct a completed fully functional Tactical Equipment Maintenance Facility. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Fort Hood, Texas, with an estimated completion date of June 4, 2021. Fiscal 2018 military construction funds in the amount of $30,477,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-19-C-0119). General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, was awarded a $29,316,074 modification (P00016) to contract W58RGZ-19-C-0027 for performance based logistics support services for the MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft system. Work will be performed in Poway, California, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 4, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $6,469,479 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Ace Precision Machining Corp., Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, was awarded a $25,000,000 firm-fixed-price Foreign Military Sales (Kuwait and Saudi Arabia) contract for hot section parts for the Advanced Gas Turbine-1500 tank engine. 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. 4, 2024. U.S. Property and Fiscal Officer, Kansas, is the contracting activity (W912JC-19-D-5712). Nakasato Contracting LLC,* Honolulu, Hawaii, was awarded a $14,200,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of an Operational Readiness Training Complex (Barracks) at Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work will be performed in Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 1, 2021. Fiscal 2018 military construction funds in the amount of $14,200,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (W9128A-19-C-0006). GP Strategies Corp., Columbia, Maryland, was awarded a $12,693,583 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Life Cycle Logistics Support and Chemical Demilitarization Training Facility operations and maintenance in support of the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity, Recovered Chemical Materiel Directorate. 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. 23, 2020. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-15-D-0087). General Dynamics Information Technology, Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded a $7,237,568 modification (P00017) to contract W81XWH-17-F-0078 for support services for the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity. Work will be performed in Fort Detrick, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2022. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $7,237,568 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity, Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the contracting activity. NAVY Hexagon U.S. Federal Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, is being awarded a $107,067,910 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost-only indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract for surface ship Situational Awareness, Boundary Enforcement and Response (SABER) qualification testing and non-recurring engineering, computing hardware production, land-based site equipment, spare parts and engineering services. This IDIQ will support multiple program executive offices and ship programs. Work under this IDIQ contract will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by September 2023. No funding will be obligated with this IDIQ award; funds will be obligated with each order. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website using full-and-open competition procedures, with two offers received. This competition was conducted under the authority 10 U.S. Code 2304, which states that contracting officers shall promote and provide for full and open competition. Support under this IDIQ is for SABER systems to be installed on various surface ships. This procurement includes shipsets and test site sets, technical data, associated engineering services and spares. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-D-4114). DynCorp International LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded an $88,730,512 modification (P00052) to a previously awarded, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-15-D-0003). This modification provides organizational, intermediate, and depot-level maintenance and logistics support for 16 T-34, 54 T-44, and 287 T-6 aircraft. Work will be performed at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Corpus Christi, Texas (47%); Whiting Field, Florida (42%); NAS Pensacola, Florida (9%); and various locations through the continental U.S. (2%), and is expected to be completed in March 2020. No funds will be obligated at time of award, funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. General Electric Aviation Systems, Vandalia, Ohio, is being awarded a $56,594,358 modification (P00006) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-18-C-0004). This modification procures 320 Generator Conversion Unit (GCU) G3 to G4 conversion retrofit kits; 547 GCU G4 units; wiring harnesses; and associated technical, financial and administrative data in support of F/A-18E/F and E/A-18G aircraft. Work will be performed Vandalia, Ohio, and is expected to be completed in January 2022. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $56,594,358 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. PAE Applied Technologies LLC, Arlington, Virginia, is being awarded a $52,268,318 modification to previously awarded contract N66604-05-C-1277 to reinstate 6 month periods of performance and increase target cost for Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center. Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) is the Navy's large-area, deep-water, undersea test and evaluation range. Underwater research, testing, and evaluation of anti-submarine weapons, sonar tracking and communications are the predominant activities conducted at AUTEC. The contractor performs services required to perform AUTEC range operations and maintenance of facilities and range systems. In addition, the contractor is responsible for operating a self-sufficient one square mile Navy outpost. This modification increases the value of the basic contract by $52,268,318. The new total value is $853,017,162. Work will be performed in Andros Island, Commonwealth of the Bahamas (80%); and West Palm Beach, Florida (20%), and is expected to be complete by March 2020. No funding will be obligated at time of this modification award. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport Division, Newport, Rhode Island, is the contracting activity. Pacific Shipyards International, Honolulu, Hawaii, is being awarded a $32,110,694 firm-fixed-price contract for the execution of USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) fiscal 2020 selected restricted availability. This is a Chief of Naval Operations scheduled selected restricted availability. This availability will include a combination of maintenance, modernization and repair of USS Michael Murphy. The purpose is to maintain, modernize, and repair the USS Michael Murphy. This is a “short-term,” non-docking availability restricted to the vessel's homeport. Pacific Shipyards International will provide the facilities and human resources capable of completing, coordinating and integrating multiple areas of ship maintenance, repair, and modernization for USS Michael Murphy. Work will be performed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and is expected to be complete by April 2020. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $36,916,612, and be complete by April 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $32,110,694 will be obligated at time of award and expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website with one offer received in response to solicitation number N00024-19-R-4404. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-4404). Utah State University Research Foundation - Space Dynamics Laboratory, North Logan, Utah, is being awarded a $24,999,998 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for electro-optical research and development. The contract provides research and development efforts in the areas of exploitation software and advanced sensor and processing technologies including digital cameras, processing, compression, command and control, analog systems, power, communications, telemetry, radio frequency/optical sensor payloads and electromechanical systems/support. The maximum total value for this 24 month contract, with no options, is $24,999,998. Work will be performed in North Logan, Utah, and is expected to be complete by Sept. 5, 2021. Fiscal 2019 working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $5,793,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. In accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(3)(B), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-3, this contract was not competitively procured. Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00173-19-C-2013). PrimeTech International Inc.,* North Kansas City, Missouri, is being awarded a $12,457,597 firm-fixed-price, time-and-materials six-month bridge contract for logistics services to manage, support, and operate the Marine Corps Consolidated Storage Program warehouse network. Work will be performed in Barstow, California (23%); Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (18%); Camp Pendleton, California (13%); Okinawa, Japan (10%); Miramar, California (9%); Camp Geiger, North Carolina (7%); Twenty-nine Palms, California (4%); Cherry Point, North Carolina (4%); Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii (3%); Yuma, Arizona (2%); Beaufort, South Carolina (2%); Iwakuni, Japan (2%); New River, North Carolina (2%); and Bridgeport, California (1%). Work is expected to be completed March 2020. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance funds (Marine Corps) in the amount of $12,457,597 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c) (1) - only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Marine Corps Logistics Command, Albany, Georgia, is the contracting activity (M67004-19-P-2010). Oceanit Laboratories Inc.,* Honolulu, Hawaii, is being awarded a $9,500,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order (N68335-19-F-0393) against a previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N68335-16-G-0028) in support of the deputy assistant secretary of defense for emerging capability and prototype technology. This order is for a Small Business Innovation Research Phase III effort for the continued development of a Prototype Test Unit (PTU) sensor for integration, test and demonstration with a non-kinetic system. The PTU sensor will incorporate the necessary hardware and software subsystems to demonstrate the viability of a novel defensive capability in an at-sea-demonstration aboard a Navy ship. Work will be performed in Honolulu, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed in September 2021. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,500,000 will be obligated at time of award, $7,500,000 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY UPDATE: Maryland Industrial Trucks, Linthicum Heights, Maryland (SPE8EC-19-D-0043), has been added as an awardee to the multiple award contract for commercial trucks and trailers, issued against solicitation SPE8EC-17-R-0008, announced April 20, 2017. DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Virginia, was awarded a firm-fixed-price, single-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract, HC1047-19-D-5001, in support of the Defense Information Systems Agency's (DISA) Defense Collaboration Services (DCS) program. The primary place of performance will be at DISA, Fort Meade, Maryland. The ID/IQ ceiling value is $49,500,000, with the minimum guarantee of $5,000 funded by fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds. Proposals were solicited via FedBizOpps (FBO.gov), and one proposal was received. The ordering period is Sept. 8, 2019, through Sept. 7, 2024. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, National Capital Region, is the contracting activity (HC1047-19-D-5001). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/1953308/source/GovDelivery/