May 14, 2019 | International, Aerospace
BY MARCUS WEISGERBER
A U.S. delegation is scheduled to brief Polish defense officials eager to buy the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter later this month, U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said Monday.
The American team is expected to discuss the costs of buying the Lockheed Martin-made jet as well as the warfighting capabilities it would bring to the Polish military.
“They want to deepen their relationship with the United States of America in part by interoperability of advanced equipment,” Wilson said after a Meridian International Center event in Washington. “Those discussions are continuing. We're providing the information that might be needed for them to make a decision.”
Poland has been looking to replace its Soviet-era MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-22 Fitter fighters for several years. Its air force has 31 MiG-29s and and 18 Su-22s, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies' 2019 Military Balance. In recent weeks, Polish officials said they would buy 32 F-35s.
“The Polish government has decided that they want the F-35 and they're in discussions with the United States,” Wilson said Monday.
U.S. officials heading to Poland is a sign that the potential deal is going through the standard foreign military sale process.
The F-35's design and electronic equipment make it difficult to track for advanced surface-to-air missiles — like the long-range S-300 SAMs that Russia deploys in its Kaliningrad exclave north of Poland.
When the U.S. Air Force deployed F-15 fighters from the 104th Fighter Wing to Estonia in 2016, the jets flew close to those Russian surface-to-air missiles.
“When you take off [in Estonia] you were either in or very close to being in a Russian [surface-to-air-missile] system out of Kaliningrad,” Col. Tom Bladen, operations officer with the 104th Fighter Wing, told Defense One in October 2016.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Marine Corps flew its F-35B jump jets in Syria, where Russia has also deployed the S-300.
Last month, the F-35 program director listed Poland as a potential purchaser along with Greece, Singapore, Spain, and Romania. Vice Adm. Mat Winer submitted his written testimony to the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee.
Later in April, Poland Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak told local media that a F-35 deal was “not far away.”
While the sale has not been approved by the U.S. State Department, Wilson said it came up when she visited Poland in April.
“[T]hey want to be allied with the United States,” the secretary said. “If there's one thing that's really clear, is they fear and detest the Russians.”
Wilson touted Warsaw's defense spending, which has been increasing for nearly three decades. Poland is one of seven NATO members who spends above 2 percent of its annual gross domestic product on defense.
Buying a fifth-generation fighter is expensive and includes an abundance of training, infrastructure, and maintenance costs beyond the aircraft themselves. Right now, an F-35A, the Air Force version of the Joint Strike Fighter, costs just under $90 million each. For comparison purposes, in January 2018, the Pentagon estimated the sale of 34 F-35s to Belgium at $6.53 billion when all associated costs are factored in.
Poland already flies 48 Lockheed-made F-16 fighters.
https://www.defenseone.com/business/2019/05/mw-poland-f-35/156971/
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September 24, 2019 | International, Naval
Chantilly, Va. - September 23, 2019 - Perspecta Inc. (NYSE: PRSP), a leading U.S. government services provider, today announced that it was awarded a $657 million extension of its NGEN contract with the U.S. Department of the Navy for continued delivery IT services. The extension provides the continued delivery of IT services for an additional four months beyond the current NGEN extension, from June 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020, with three one-month options available. Under NGEN, Perspecta operates the Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI), the world's largest intranet, with approximately 400,000 seats representing 700,000 Navy and Marine Corps uniformed and civilian users, largely within the continental United States. As originally awarded, the NGEN contract would have expired on June 26, 2018, with the current extension slated to expire on May 31, 2020. “Through NGEN, the Navy has long established itself as a technology leader among government agencies,” said Mac Curtis, president and chief executive officer, Perspecta. “We are proud of the innovative partnership we've built with them and look forward to putting bold new ideas to work in preparation for the next phase of the program.” About Perspecta Inc. At Perspecta (NYSE: PRSP), we question, we seek and we solve. Perspecta brings a diverse set of capabilities to our U.S. government customers in defense, intelligence, civilian, health care and state and local markets. Our 270+ issued, licensed and pending patents are more than just pieces of paper, they tell the story of our innovation. With offerings in mission services, digital transformation and enterprise operations, our team of 14,000 engineers, analysts, investigators and architects work tirelessly to not only execute the mission, but build and support the backbone that enables it. Perspecta was formed to take on big challenges. We are an engine for growth and success and we enable our customers to build a better nation. For more information about Perspecta, visit perspecta.com. # # # This press release may contain- forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Perspecta and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Perspecta undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Although Perspecta believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve a variety of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from what may be expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Contact: Lorraine M. Corcoran Vice President, Corporate Communications 571.313.6054 office 301.529.9429 mobile lorraine.corcoran@perspecta.com M. Stuart Davis Vice President, Investor Relations 703.547.0300 office 571.424.6262 mobile stuart.davis@perspecta.com https://perspecta.com/press-releases/us-department-of-the-navy-awards-perspecta-%24657-million-extension-to-continue-providing-it-services-on-its-ngen-contract