June 20, 2019 | International, Land
By: Cal Pringle
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Marine Corps is testing a prototype laser weapon that could be used by war fighters on the ground to counter enemy drones, according to a Wednesday news release.
The prototype Compact Laser Weapons System — or CLaWS — is the first ground-based laser approved by the Defense Department for use by ground troops, the Marine Corps explained.
The program is on a rapid prototyping, rapid delivery track, the service said.
“This project, from start to finish — from when we awarded the DOTC [Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium] contract, to getting all the integration complete, all the testing complete, getting the Marines trained, and getting the systems ready to deploy — took about one year,” said Lt. Col. Ho Lee, product manager for ground-based air defense future weapons systems at Program Executive Office Land Systems.
The Defense Department believes lasers are a more affordable alternative to traditional firepower and that they prevent drones from tracking and targeting Marines on the ground. The release notes the laser is not a standalone weapon, but is meant to serve as part of a larger counter-drone system.
If the prototype is successful, it could be incorporated into fixed-site and mobile capabilities designed to counter unmanned aircraft, the Marine Corps said.
The Army and Navy are also exploring the possibilities of laser technology.
January 16, 2024 | International, Aerospace
A commission established by the Atlantic Council in 2022 issued 10 recommendations for helping DoD overcome innovation inertia in a Jan. 16 report.
July 22, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
AIR FORCE Raytheon Co. Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona, has been awarded a $375,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for a miniature self-defense missile. The contract provides for the research and development of a flight-test ready missile. The first task order is $93,380,234. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by October 2023. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $26,712,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA8651-20-D-0001). ARMY Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia (W9124L-20-D-0006); Calibre Systems Inc., Alexandria, Virginia (W9124L-20-D-0007); Janus Research Group LLC, Evans, Georgia (W9124L-20-D-0008); Tec-Masters Inc., Huntsville, Alabama (W9124L-20-D-0009); and Yorktown Systems Group Inc., Huntsville, Alabama (W9124L-20-D-0010), will compete for each order of the $247,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide support to the Fires Center of Excellence; all commands on Fort Sill, Oklahoma; and Army Futures Command, to develop and produce training strategies, doctrine, concepts, instruction and products for the current and future force. Bids were solicited via the internet with 12 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 20, 2025. U.S. Army Field Directorate Office, Fort Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Walsh Motor City JV, Chicago, Illinois, was awarded a $22,344,000 firm-fixed-price contract for design and construction of a high-voltage substation at Detroit Arsenal, Michigan. Bids were solicited via the internet with seven received. Work will be performed in Warren, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of July 16, 2022. Fiscal 2020 military construction (Army) funds in the amount of $22,344,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-20-C-0027). WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES Qbase LLC, Beavercreek, Ohio, has been awarded a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) contract with an overall ceiling of $103,569,634. This BPA contract will provide a broad range of information technology support services for all of the Defense Acquisition University locations. Specifically, the BPA will support the following areas: video services operations, enterprise service desk/regional information technology, transition services, enterprise architecture, enterprise/network infrastructure, enterprise cybersecurity, telecommunications, web application design/development/maintenance and software, data warehousing, acquisition workforce qualification initiatives, systems engineering, talent management system, learning management system, human resources system and hardware installation. No funds are being obligated at the time of the award. The expected completion date is July 22, 2025. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HQ0034-20-A-0008). NAVY POWER Engineers Inc., Meridian, Idaho, is awarded a $60,000,000 maximum amount, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, architect-engineering contract for architect-engineer (AE) services for various electrical engineering projects and related services at multiple locations in all areas under the cognizance of Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Pacific. No task orders are being issued at this time. Work will be performed at various Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and other government facilities within the NAVFAC Pacific area of responsibility, including, but not limited to, Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands (70%); Australia (10%); Hawaii (10%); and other areas under the NAVFAC Pacific area of responsibility (10%). The work to be performed provides for AE electrical services with associated multi-discipline AE support services. AE services include engineering studies; preparation of Department of Defense 1391 documents; plans, specifications and cost estimates/parametric cost estimates, including preparation of design-build request for proposal contract documents or design-bid-build contract documents; functional analysis and conceptual design development; as-built drawings; and post-construction services. Projects may involve new construction, alteration, repair and installation of electrical facilities and systems. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months and work is expected to be completed by July 2025. Fiscal 2019 military construction (MILCON) (planning and design) contract funds in the amount of $10,000 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by MILCON. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website and two proposals were received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Pacific, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-20-D-0003). Transoceanic Cable Ship Co. LLC, Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded an $18,577,008 modification under previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N32205-19-C-3506 to fund the second six-month option period. The option will continue to provide one cable ship (CS Global Sentinel) which will be utilized to lay and repair cable for the Department of Defense worldwide. This contract includes a 12-month base period, two six-month option periods, two 12-month option periods and one 11-month option period. Work will be performed worldwide and is expected to be completed by December 2023. Operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $17,477,326 are obligated and will expire at the end of fiscal 2020. Other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,099,681 are obligated and will expire at the end of fiscal 2022. The Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N32205-19-C-3506). DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY Applied Physical Sciences Corp., Groton, Connecticut, has been awarded a $10,305,072 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to support a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency research program. Fiscal 2020 research and development funds in the amount of $5,800,000 are being obligated at the time of award, with an estimated completion date of September 2021. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR001120C0138). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2281833/source/GovDelivery/
April 15, 2021 | International, C4ISR
NATO is on a time crunch to develop new cloud technologies that can help the alliance set interoperability standards for its member nations' own nascent computing infrastructures.