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AIR FORCE The Boeing Co., Defense, Space & Security, St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a $9,800,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for F-15 support for Saudi Arabia. This contract provides for modernization and sustainment of the F-15 Saudi fleet to include such efforts as hardware, software, and interface design, development, integration, test, subsystem and structural component production and installation of future modifications and enhancements to the F-15 Saudi weapon system as well as product support. Work will be performed in St. Louis and as separately specified in individual task and delivery orders and is expected to be completed by November 2025. The ordering period for this contract is five years from the date of contract award plus an option for an additional five year ordering period. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Initial delivery order FA8634-21-F-0015 will be awarded concurrently in the amount of $1,032,649 using FMS modification and development type 4F funds. The F‐15 Division Contracts Branch, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8634‐21‐D‐2703). The 3M Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, has been awarded a $37,460,947 firm-fixed-price modification (P00003) to contract FA8638-20-C-0046 for the production capacity expansion for N95 respirators undefinitized contract action (UCA). This modification definitizes the UCA. Work will be performed in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and is expected to be completed April 30, 2021. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 other procurement funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $125,460,947. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, has been awarded a $10,319,026 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Pulsed and Continuous Wave Innovation for Integration and Effects Research (PACIFIER). This contract provides for enhanced experimental and predicative capabilities to address existing and emerging laser systems and to quantify the effects of high power continuous-wave lasers interacting with a variety of materials and targets. Work will be performed at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, and is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and three offers were received. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,800,233 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, is the contracting activity (FA9451-20-C-0026). (Awarded Sept. 29, 2020) KIDDE Technologies Inc., Wilson, North Carolina, has been awarded a $7,800,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the manufacture of fire cartridge extinguishers. This contract provides for supply of fire cartridge extinguishers for F-35, E-8, E-3, and KC-10 aircraft. Work will be performed in Wilson, North Carolina, and is expected to be completed Dec. 31, 2026. This contract involves sales to Joint Partner Nations and Foreign Military Sales countries and is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2021 Joint Strike Fighter funds in the amount of $97,986 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8213-21-D-0001). NAVY RAMSys GmbH, Ottobrunn, Germany, was awarded a €35,324,329 and $35,634,345 firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-18-C-5403) for fiscal 2021 German Navy requirements for Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) MK 49 Guided Missile Launching Systems (GMLS), and associated shipboard hardware and spares. The RAM Guided Missile Weapon System is co-developed and co-produced under an International Cooperative Program between the U.S. and Federal Republic of Germany's governments. RAM is a missile system designed to provide anti-ship missile defense for multiple ship platforms. This contract is to procure material, fabricate parts, assemble, test, and deliver RAM MK 49 GMLSs and spares. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (33%); Ulm, Germany (26%); Roethenbach, Germany (16%); Louisville, Kentucky (12%); Ottobrunn, Germany (10%); and Schrobenhausen, Germany (3%), and is expected to be completed by June 2028. German cooperative funds in the amount of €35,324,329 and $35,634,345 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured under the exception 10 U.S. Code 2304(c) (4), International Agreement. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Awarded Nov. 5, 2020) KBR Diego Garcia LLC, Houston, Texas, is awarded a $61,307,522 modification for the exercise of Option Three under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for base operating support services at U.S. Navy Support Facility, Diego Garcia. After award of this option, the total cumulative contract value will be $240,038,950. The work to be performed provides for general management and administration services; command and staff (information technology services, information technology support and management, telephone services, telecommunication services, antenna maintenance); public safety (fire protection and emergency services); air operations (ground electronics, airfield facilities, and passenger terminal and cargo handling); port operations; supply (supply services and petroleum, oil and lubricant management and operations, and ship's store service activities); morale, welfare and recreation support; galley; bachelor quarters; facilities support (facility management, facility investment sustainment, restoration and modernization, custodial, pest control, integrated solid waste management, grounds maintenance, and pavement clearance); utilities (electrical, compressed gases, wastewater, steam, hot water and demineralized water and potable water); base support vehicles and equipment; and environmental to provide integrated base operating services. Work will be performed in Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, and is expected to be completed by November 2021. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy and Air Force); and fiscal 2021 non-appropriated funds in the amount of $42,801,266 for recurring work will be obligated on individual task orders issued during the option period, of which $42,801,266 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Far East, Yokosuka, Japan, is the contracting activity (N62742-17-D-3600). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum, Maryland, is awarded a $33,921,325 cost-plus-fixed-fee job order with a two-year period of performance, to procure supplies, services, and repairs for the AN/ALQ-218 and AN/ALQ-240 systems and their variants. Work will be performed at the Baltimore, Maryland facility and will be completed by November 2022. Contract funds in the amount of $40,000 will be obligated at the time of contract award. Obligated funding is fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement, Navy. In accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1), this contract was not competitively procured; only one responsible source and no other sources will satisfy agency requirements. The contracting agency is Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana (N0016421GWS42). Hornbeck Offshore Operators LLC, Covington, Louisiana, is awarded a $9,176,100 firm-fixed-price contract for the Undersea Rescue Command support vessel HOS Dominator in the Eastern Pacific vicinity of San Diego, but may be employed worldwide. This vessel shall function as offshore support vessel primarily for the U.S. West Coast. The vessel's primary mission shall be to support Navy submarine rescue utilizing the Navy Submarine Rescue Chamber Flyaway System, Assessment Underwater Work System, and the Navy Submarine Rescue Diving and Recompression System, including training. The vessel may also serve as escort for submarine sea trials, as well as a diving platform utilizing existing and developing portable diving systems, and other missions as required by the Navy and permitted by the vessel's certifications and classifications. The contract also contains four unexercised options which, if exercised, would increase cumulative contract value to $44,245,122. Work is expected to be completed by November 2025. Fiscal 2021 working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $6,787,800 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.SAM.gov website, with four proposals received. The Navy's Military Sealift Command Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N32205-21-C-4115). ARMY Turner Construction Co., New York, New York, was awarded a $34,050,240 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a new aircraft hangar facility at Redstone Arsenal. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2020 military construction, Army funds in the amount of $34,050,240 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W91278-21-C-0006). *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/article/2411921/source/govdelivery/

By: Joe Gould , Valerie Insinna , David B. Larter , Andrew Eversden , and Nathan Strout   WASHINGTON ― Senate Republicans on Tuesday introduced a governmentwide, $1.4 trillion spending package, with $696 billion for defense, teeing up negotiations in Congress' tense lame-duck session ― and several fights with House Democrats. The government is operating on a stopgap continuing resolution, or CR, through Dec. 11, and Congress must either pass a deal, or another funding patch, to avoid a government shutdown in the middle of a turbulent presidential transition. A separate COVID-19 relief effort and the annual defense policy bill are also on Capitol Hill's busy to-do list. The Senate must reconcile its long-awaited package of 12 bills with the House, which passed its own bills in July. The Senate's GOP-drafted defense language for fiscal 2021 differs from the House version on the number of Lockheed Martin-made F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to order and funding for a space-based sensor. Compared to the House bill, the Senate version also calls for one fewer Virginia-class submarine and $19 million more in funding for next-generation 5G networks. Though the Senate bill was mostly bipartisan and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., expressed confidence in an eventual deal, the atmosphere for compromise is unclear. The post-election period remains white hot politically, as Republican leaders back President Donatl Trump in his legal challenges of President-elect Joe Biden's electoral win, and as two races to determine control of the Senate face January runoffs. On Tuesday, Democrats chided Republicans over the long-stalled bills. Stopping short of endorsing the effort, Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., criticized the legislation for ignoring the country's COVID-19 relief needs, shortchanging safety net programs and the environment, and wasting money on Trump's border wall. The House passed its $694.6 billion Pentagon spending bill for fiscal 2021 in July as part of a $1.3 trillion package. It included politically charged provisions to set aside $1 million for the Army to rename 10 bases that honor Confederate leaders and to bar the Trump administration from using more Pentagon funds on border wall construction. It would reduce transfer authority from the requested $9.5 billion to $1.9 billion, and place additional oversight mechanisms on the Defense Department's ability to reprogram funds. Here's what stood out in the Senate GOP's latest proposal: Air warfare: The Senate panel would fund a total of 96 F-35s in FY21, 17 jets more than the Pentagon's request and five more than the panel's House counterpart. Its bill added about $1.7 billion for 12 F-35As for the Air Force and five F-35Cs for the Marine Corps and Navy. Though the bill fully funds the B-21 bomber program, many of the Air Force's other major development programs received slight cuts. Funding for one of its biggest priorities, the Advanced Battle Management System, shrank from $302 million to $208 million. The committee cited “poor justification” as a reason for the cuts. The Air Force's Next Generation Air Dominance program also would take a hit despite the headline-grabbing first flight of a full-scale demonstrator aircraft, which was disclosed by the service in September. The Air Force wanted $1 billion in FY21 to continue development of NGAD ― a suite of manned and unmanned air superiority technologies that could include a sixth-generation fighter. However, the committee shaved about $70 million off the request. Naval warfare: The bill provides money to buy nine ships, though some argue it's only eight because the LPD-17 was already procured. The total comes to roughly $21.35 billion, or $1.44 billion more than the president's request, but less than the House bill. The ships include one attack submarine (one less than the House bill but a match to what the administration requested), a Constellation-class frigate, two destroyers, and two towing and salvage ships. The Senate bill also calls for nine P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and four E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes, as well as 24 F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters. 5G technology: The bill fully funded the Pentagon's $449 million budget request for defensewide 5G projects, $19 million more than the House. In their budget justification, House appropriators cited “historical underexecution” for its $430 million recommended allocation. The Pentagon is working with industry on multiple ongoing 5G experiments that are underway at military bases across the country. The department recently awarded $600 million in contracts for the effort. Satellites: The bill also adds to frustrations expressed by members of the House at how a new constellation of hypersonic weapon-tracking satellites will be funded. While technically a Missile Defense Agency program, former Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin pushed for the Hypersonic Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor, or HBTSS, to be funded through the Space Development Agency. Leaders of both agencies have insisted that the program remains under MDA's ownership, but legislators have expressed concern over the arrangement and the low level of funding set aside for it. No money was set aside for HBTSS in MDA's budget, while the Space Development Agency's budget included $20 million for the critical sensor. In June, the House Armed Services Committee's' strategic forces subpanel threatened to transfer MDA away from the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, placing it instead under the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. While the Senate bill doesn't go that far, it does add an additional $140 million in unrequested funding for HBTSS, including a $20 million transfer from the Space Development Agency. Furthermore, senators demanded the agencies report on their acquisition strategy for HBTSS and fully fund the program in their future budget proposals. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/11/10/gop-unveils-14t-spending-bill-with-696b-for-defense/

AIR FORCE The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a $657,200,000 undefinitized contract action modification (P00025) to contract FA8634-18-C-2701 for the F-15Q Qatar program. The contract modification provides a comprehensive sparing program and contractor logistics support for the sustainment of the F-15QA aircraft. Logistical support for training devices and administrative costs are also included in this modification. Work will be performed in Al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $55,700,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $8,040,659,061. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Space, Sunnyvale, California, has been awarded a $258,311,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Evolved Strategic Satellite Communication (ESS) contract. This contract will develop a prototype payload and conclude in a hardware and software in-the-loop, end-to-end demonstration. Work will be performed in Denver, Colorado, and is expected to be completed June 2025. This contract is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $29,447,172 are being obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA8808-21-C-0015). Raytheon Integrated Defense Solutions, Tewksbury, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $77,639,897 fixed-price, incentive-firm contract with firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-reimbursable and time and material contract line item numbers for the Qatar Air Operations Center (AOC) upgrade. The contract is to upgrade the AOC and alternate AOC (AAOC), which includes the procurement of hardware and software, engineering services, installation, integration, and testing of AOC and AAOC components, end-user training, spares and help desk support outside the continental U.S. Work will be performed in Tewksbury, Massachusetts; and Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, and is expected to be completed March 31, 2025. This award is the result of a directed sole-source acquisition. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $77,639,897 are obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8730-21-C-0005). Raytheon Co., Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been awarded a $33,899,323 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) Combat Identification (CID) Alpha Phase One effort. This contract upgrades the current AWACS System to meet evolving threat capabilities and to address diminishing manufacturing sources material shortages issues with the currently fielded AWACS System. Work will be performed at Raytheon in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and is expected to be completed May 2022. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds have been obligated in the amount of $4,864,480 prior to definitization. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8730-20-C-0016). Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Hawthorne, California, has been awarded $29,643,567 in firm-fixed-price task orders under the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 contract. These task orders provide early integration studies and fleet surveillance for non-national security space missions. Work will be performed in Hawthorne, California; Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 19, 2021. Fiscal 2020 missile procurement funds in the amount of $7,307,274; and fiscal 2020 space procurement funds in the amount of $22,336,293 will be obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA8811-21-F-0002). NAVY General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia, is awarded a $138,545,759, firm-fixed-price contract for the execution of the USS New York (LPD 21) fiscal 2021 docking selected restricted availability (DSRA). This availability will include a combination of maintenance, modernization and repair of the USS New York (LPD 21). This is a Chief of Naval Operations scheduled DSRA. The purpose is to maintain, modernize, and repair the USS New York (LPD 21). This is a “long-term” docking availability and was solicited on a coast-wide (East and Gulf coasts) basis without limiting the place of performance to the vessel's homeport. NASSCO will provide the facilities and human resources capable of completing, coordinating, and integrating multiple areas of ship maintenance, repair, and modernization for USS New York (LPD 21). This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $161,341,858. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by June 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy); and fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $138,545,759 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured using full and open competition via the Federal Business Opportunities website; two competitive proposals were received in response to Solicitation No. N00024-20-R-4417. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-21-C-4417). Three Wire Systems LLC, Falls Church, Virginia, is awarded a multiple-award, firm-fixed-price Department of Defense Enterprise Software Initiative (ESI) blanket purchase agreement (BPA) in accordance with the firms' General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule contract GS-35F-0300T. The estimated overall value of this BPA is $74,500,000. DOD ESI is a joint DOD project to streamline the acquisition process and provide information technology (IT) products and selected services that are compliant with applicable standards and represent the best value for DOD. Under ESI, the DOD leverages aggregate buying power to establish enterprise agreements with IT manufacturers and resellers for high demand, commercial off-the-shelf IT products and services. This awardee will join the rest of the fiscal 2018 multiple awardees Carahsoft (Reston, Virginia); Immix (McLean, Virginia); and Alamo City Engineering Services (San Antonio, Texas), to provide commercially available Forescout brand-name software licenses, proprietary appliances, and maintenance support to the DOD, intelligence community, and Coast Guard. The products offered through this BPA will meet functional requirements and capabilities in the following categories: Forescout Integration Modules, CounterAct, Forescout Training and Solution Support, and ActiveCare Support Services. The ordering period will be from Nov. 9, 2020, to Dec. 20, 2022. This BPA is issued under DOD ESI in accordance with the policy and guidelines in the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, Section 208.74. This BPA will not obligate funds at the time of award. Funds will be obligated via delivery orders using operation and maintenance (DOD) funds. Requirements will be competed among the awardees in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 8.403-3(c)(2), and the successful contractor will receive firm fixed-price orders. This BPA was competitively procured via the GSA E-Buy web site among 679 vendors. One offer was received and one was selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-21-A-0030). ESG Aerosystems Inc., Starke, Florida, is awarded a $64,773,941 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to develop a curriculum and facilitate training for P-3 aircrew positions including copilots, patrol plane commander, instructor pilot, flight engineer, instructor flight engineer, and flight currency training in support of Naval Education and Training Security Assistance Field Activity's applicable field units and other program offices and stakeholders. The contract includes a five-year ordering period with no options and is expected to be completed by November 2025. Work will be performed in Starke, Florida (80%); and Jacksonville, Florida (20%). This effort is 100% funded by Federal Republic of Germany funds under the Foreign Military Sales program. Funds in the amount of $2,500 will be obligated to fund the contract's minimum amount and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One source was solicited for this non-competitive requirement in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 5.202(a)(3) with one offer received under authority of FAR 6.302-4. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department, Philadelphia Office, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00189-21-D-Z007). AERMOR LLC,* Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded $44,913,739 for a firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide test and evaluation support services for Commander, Operational Test & Evaluation Force Surface Warfare Division. The contract will include a 60-month base ordering period with an additional six-month ordering period option pursuant of Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.217-8 - option to extend services, which if exercised, will bring the total ceiling value to $49,901,968. The base ordering period is expected to be completed by November 2025. If the option is exercised, the ordering period will be completed by May 2026. All work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,500 will be obligated to fund the contract's minimum amount and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Individual task orders will be subsequently funded with appropriate fiscal year appropriations at the time of their issuance. This contract was competitively procured with the solicitation posted on beta.SAM.gov as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business set-aside, with four offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00189-21-D-G001). L-3 Technologies Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah, is awarded a $10,364,080 modification (P00024) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-18-C-1030). This modification exercises options to procure six AN/SRQ-4 kits and associated components for the MH-60 Common Data Link system for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is expected to be completed in December 2022. FMS funds in the amount of $9,560,101 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. William Marsh Rice University, Houston, Texas, is awarded an 18-month contract option valued at $9,776,246 under an existing cost-reimbursement contract (N66001-19-C-4020) for development of a high resolution neural interface that does not require surgery. The Next-Generation Non-Surgical Neurotechnology program seeks to broaden applicability of neural interfaces to facilitate multi-tasking at the speed of thought and interface with smart decision aids to achieve a neural link capable of high spatial and temporal resolution currently only possible using surgically implanted devices. Exercise of this option increases the overall value of this contract to $13,805,336. Work will be performed at the contractor's facilities in Houston, Texas (29%); Waco, Texas (33%); New York, New York (20%); New Haven, Connecticut (15%); and Durham, North Carolina (3%). The period of performance is from Nov. 9, 2020, through May 31, 2022. Fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $2,888,123 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency broad agency announcement solicitation published on the beta.SAM.gov website. Nineteen proposals were received and six were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-C-4020). Barnhart-Reese Construction Inc.,* San Diego, California, is awarded a firm-fixed-price task order (N6247321F4085) at $8,061,699 under a multiple award construction contract for design-build repair/renovation of Mess Hall Building 2403 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. The task order also contains two planned modifications which, if exercised, would increase the cumulative task order value to $8,120,128. The scope of work includes replacement of plumbing systems and floor finishes, reconfiguring kitchen and serving spaces to align with current serving methodologies, removing wasted storage and office areas, relocating portable refrigerated reefers to the interior of the existing facility, replacing broken heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and cooling condensers in the food preparation areas, and removing disused built-ins. The planned modifications, if issued, provide for furniture, fixtures, and equipment and audio/visual. Work will be performed in Oceanside, California, and is expected to be completed by November 2021. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $8,061,699 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Five proposals were received for this task order. Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N62473-17-D-4629). L-3 Electron Devices Inc., Torrance, California, is awarded a $7,860,000 for a firm-fixed-price delivery order (N00383-21-F-NR00) under a previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N00383-18-G-NR01) for the repair of the guided traveling wave tube in support of the F/A-18 aircraft. All work will be performed in Torrance, California and is expected to be completed by February 2021. Fiscal 2021 working capital (Navy) funds in the full amount of $7,860,000 will be obligated at the time of award and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One company was solicited for this sole-source requirement under authority 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), with one offer received. Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2410227/source/GovDelivery/

AIR FORCE Rockwell Collins Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa (FA8807-21-C-0005); Interstate Electronics Corp., Anaheim, California (FA8807-21-C-0006); and Raytheon Technologies Inc., El Segundo, California (FA8807-21-C-0007), have collectively been awarded contracts totaling $552,583,932 for a cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-award-fee contract for Military GPS Users Equipment Miniature Serial Interface Increment 2 Application Specific Integrated Circuit (MGUE Inc 2 MSI ASIC). This contract provides for all activities to design, develop, build, integrate, qualify the MSI receiver card with next generation ASIC to enable production of M-Code-capable GPS receiver products for various service applications identified in the MGUE Inc 2 Capability Development Document and all other user platforms that require secure positioning navigation and timing capability. Work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Anaheim, California; and El Segundo, California, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition with offers received. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $32,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Space Command, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity. Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas, has been awarded a $13,750,000 cost-reimbursement, additional-work modification (P00005) to contract FA8650-19-C-5212 for research and development. The contract modification adds additional funding to expand various operational spectra (e.g., fighter, bomber, transport, etc.) to explore damage growth behavior representative design details such as wing-to-spar joint that exhibits multiple competing failure modes. Work will be performed in Wichita, Kansas, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 7, 2023. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $13,250,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $37,250,000. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. Millennium Health & Fitness Inc., Scottsdale, Arizona, is awarded a $9,200,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Civilian Health Promotion Services (CHPS). This requirement provides health promotion professionals that will develop, manage, and promote CHPS to all civilian employees in Air Force Materiel Command and Air Mobility Command. The CHPS program may include depending on location, but is not limited to, individual health counseling, group health education classes, telephonic wellness coaching, cardiac risk blood profile (HDL, LDL, cholesterol ratio and glucose), body composition analysis, online health risk appraisal, wellness challenges, and health awareness campaigns. The CHPS is a mobile worksite wellness program. The CHPS health promotion professionals will provide services at twelve staffed Air Force bases (including the CHPS office) and eight un-staffed/visited base locations appropriate for mass screenings and work is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2021. This award is the result of a 100% Small Business Set-aside acquisition. Fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $1,235,167 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Installation Contracting Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8003-20-C-0004). ARMY Lockheed Martin Corp., Baltimore, Maryland, was awarded an Other Transaction Authority agreement with a ceiling of $339,318,582 for the Mid-Range Capability. Work will be performed in Baltimore, Maryland; Akron, Ohio; Clearwater, Florida; Moorestown, New Jersey; Owego, New York; Syracuse, New York; and Orlando, Florida, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2023. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation, Army funds in the amount of $57,959,033 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, Alexandria, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W50RAJ-2-19-0001). InBios International Inc., Seattle, Washington, was awarded a $9,804,306 modification (P00001) to contract W81XWH-20-F-0253 for development, design controls, production and analytical studies and clinical trials for rapid human diagnostic component assays for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) infection. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2022. Fiscal 2010 research, development, test and evaluation, Army funds in the amount of $9,804,306 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the contracting activity. NAVY Capital Center for Credibility Assessment Corp.,* Dublin, Virginia, is awarded a ceiling-priced $29,233,903 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to conduct Counter Intelligence Scope Polygraph examinations throughout the U.S. to support the Naval Criminal Investigative Service's Polygraph Services Field Office. The contract includes a five-year ordering period with no options and is expected to be completed by November 2025. Work will be performed at various contractor facilities (95%); and various government facilities (5%) throughout the U.S. in which the percentage of work at each of those locations cannot be determined at this time. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $100,000 will be obligated to fund the contract's minimum amount and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Individual task orders will be subsequently funded with appropriate fiscal year appropriations at the time of their issuance. This contract was competitively procured with the solicitation posted on Navy Electronic Commerce Online and beta.SAM.gov as a 100 percent 8(a) small business set-aside requirement, with three offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department, Philadelphia Office, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00189-21-D-Z010). MNDPI Pacific JV, Honolulu, Hawaii, is awarded a firm-fixed-price task order (N6274221F0302) at $25,978,991 under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for various structural and waterfront projects and other projects at locations under the cognizance of Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Pacific. The work to be performed provides architect-engineer services to conduct a functional analysis concept development and prepare the 35% conceptual submittal of the design-build request for proposal documents (Phase 1), including construction package consisting of project requirements, concept plans, specifications, detailed cost estimate, and other services for the Dry Dock #3 Replacement, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH), Hawaii – Design Phase 1. Work will be performed at JBPHH, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by December 2021. Fiscal 2020 military construction (design) contract funds in the amount of $25,978,991 are obligated on this award, of which $24,848 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. NAVFAC Pacific, JBPHH, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-20-D-0004). Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded a $17,509,022 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-20-C-5392) to exercise options to provide design agent engineering services for the MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) electronic systems and computer programs. This option exercise is for software design, systems engineering, ship/missile integration services, and depot operations services for the MK 41 VLS module electronics and launch control system. These services include new missile integration into MK 41 VLS including launcher design, launcher integration into new ship classes and the new AEGIS shore based component, Life Cycle Support Facility depot operations, system product improvements, predictability enhancements, reliability enhancements, and failure investigations. Work will be performed in Baltimore, Maryland (35%); Norfolk, Virginia (18%); Seattle, Washington (18%); San Diego, California (18%); and Ventura, California (11%), and is expected to be completed by July 2021. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $2,980,656 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Brantley Construction Services LLC,* Charleston, South Carolina, is awarded a firm-fixed-price task order (N6945021F0870) at $16,540,566 under a multiple award construction contract for Destroyer Slip South Quay Wall restoration at Naval Station Mayport. The work to be performed includes replacement of the entire 550-foot wharf quay wall with a new steel sheet pile bulkhead, replacement of the existing fender system and connections to water, electrical, oily waste and sanitary sewer utilities. It also includes the procurement and installation of a pedestrian turnstile and vehicular gate. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Florida, and is expected to be completed by May 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance, (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $16,540,566 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Five proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity (N69450-19-D-0916). Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is awarded a modification to exercise Option Year One to a previously awarded cost contract (N65236-19-C-8017) in the amount of $10,967,203 for Next-Generation Non-Surgical Neurotechnology (N3). Work will be performed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is expected to be completed by May 2022. This modification brings the total cumulative value of the contract to $14,079,282. Fiscal 2020 research, development, testing and evaluation (Department of Defense) funds in the amount of $1,500,000 will be obligated at time of award. Funds will expire at the end of the fiscal year. Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic, Charleston, South Carolina, is the contracting activity. Innovative Defense Technologies LLC, Arlington, Virginia, was awarded an $8,163,883 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-20-C-6116) to exercise and fund options for Navy engineering services and material. Work will be performed in Fall River, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by December 2021. Fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of, $1,000,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Awarded Nov. 2, 2020) DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Sysco Central Texas Inc., New Braunfels, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $24,858,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a 356-day bridge contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Texas, with an Oct. 30, 2021, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-21-D-3308). US Foods Inc., Port Orange, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $22,500,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a 102-day bridge contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Florida, Cuba and Bahamas, with a Feb. 18, 2021, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-21-D-3301). MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY Lockheed Martin Overseas, Moorestown, New Jersey, is being awarded a $14,252,771 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00031) under the Poland Aegis Ashore Engineering Agent contract. This modification increases the total cumulative contract value by $10,123,968 from $83,536,564, to $93,660,532. Under this modification, the contractor will configure the Poland Aegis Ashore REU Integration Site (POL-AARIS) and perform integration, test, maintenance and upgrades of the Aegis Combat System prior to final installation within the Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System. This contract modification contains options which, if exercised, will increase the cumulative value of this contract to $97,789,335. The work will be performed in both Moorestown, New Jersey (15%); and in Redzikowo, Poland (85%), with an expected completion date of Jan. 26, 2022. Procurement defense wide funds in the amount of $9,892,973 (Fiscal 2019: $2,422,418; Fiscal 2020: $7,470,555), are being obligated at the time of award. This contract modification is the result of a sole-source acquisition. The Missile Defense Agency, Dahlgren, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HQ0276-16-C-0001). *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2408669/source/GovDelivery/

By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — Italy has become the latest country to show interest in Estonian robotics firm Milrem's THeMIS ground vehicle, as nations across Europe continue to actively pursue the unmanned systems. A photo distributed by Milrem shows the vehicle at an Italian Army base near Rome last month with its cargo hold folded wide open and the contents — a small surveillance drone made by Estonia's Threod Systems — hovering above. The THeMIS vehicle, which is short for Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System, is configurable for logistics, combat, reconnaissance or explosive ordnance disposal. In its basic version, it looks something like a cabriolet tank, roughly waist-high and piano-wide. The various combat setups include weaponry such as guns, anti-tank missiles or launchers for suicide drones mounted on top, according to Milrem's website. The company doesn't make its own arms, a spokesman told Defense News, but rather integrates weapons from other manufacturers. “Pulling the trigger is always done by the human,” the spokesman said when asked about the vehicle's level of autonomy, adding that all weapon add-ons by third-party vendors are expected to abide by that rule. The demonstration in Italy follows a string of recent announcements by armed forces in Europe and elsewhere using the THeMIS platform for testing or operations. This spring, the Estonian Defence Forces, or EDF, completed a yearlong deployment with the vehicle during the French-led Barkhane counterterrorism mission in Mali. The vehicle accompanied soldiers on patrol and ferried supplies around the base. “We collected a lot of valuable data and feedback during the deployment and although EDF's experience with the THeMIS was positive, there is always room for improvement,” Kuldar Vaarsi, CEO of Milrem, was quoted as saying in a statement. “However, after this experience in Mali, we are confident that the THeMIS is more than capable of supporting operations in extremely hot climates." The company previously said it was preparing to support another deployment with the country's forces at the end of 2020. In September, the Netherlands signed a joined procurement agreement with the Estonian government to buy seven THeMIS vehicles from Milrem — four for the Royal Netherlands Army and three for Estonian forces. For the Dutch, the purchase brings its inventory of the ground robots to six, with the two bought in 2019. “So far, the THeMIS has successfully been used for research and experiments by operational units of the 13 Light Brigade in Scotland, Germany, The Netherlands and during a live fire exercise in Austria,” Lt. Col. Martijn Hadicke of the Royal Netherlands Army was quoted as saying in a company statement. “The addition of four extra THeMIS vehicles with a Remote Controlled Weapon System that is operated by a soldier provides us the opportunity to continue to develop concepts to enhance the combat power and decrease the risk for our soldiers.” Along with the most recent outreach to Italian forces, Milrem rolled out what it dubs the Intelligent Systems Implementation Analysis and Assessment program, a three-step process designed to offer governments new capability ideas for their military robotic needs. The program “provides armed forces support from initial planning to full implementation and post implementation analyses of intelligent and robotic systems with (NATO standard) concept development and experimentation methodologies,” according to Juri Pajuste, a retired Estonian military officer who now leads Milrem's defense research and development efforts. The company is already sitting pretty when it comes to charting a course for robotic ground vehicles under the auspices of the European Union. Milrem has positioned its THeMIS vehicle as the reference platform in a multinational program aimed at developing a common design architecture underpinning future developments in the growth market. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/11/06/estonian-robotics-company-makes-inroads-with-european-armies

By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin has been chosen to build the U.S. Army's new mid-range missile prototype, landing a nearly $340 million contract to take elements from naval missiles to forge the new weapon, the service's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office announced Nov. 6. Through an other transaction authority agreement, Lockheed will take the Navy's Raytheon-built SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles to put together a Mid-Range Capability, or MRC, prototype that consists of launchers, missiles and a battery operations center, according to an RCCTO statement. A variant of the Tomahawk missile was used in a land-based cruise missile capability test last year. The SM-6 is a long-range, anti-air missile that has a surface mode. This mid-range missile — expected to hit targets at distances beyond 500 kilometers — is to be fielded to an operational battery in fiscal 2023. Defense News first broke the news that the Army was planning to field a mid-range missile capability designed to go after moving targets at land and at sea. The effort is meant to fill a gap in the service's long-range precision fires portfolio in between the future Precision Strike Missile and hypersonic weapons capabilities. The decision came out of a strategic fires study conducted earlier this year that identified the capability gap and the need to rapidly fill it. The RCCTO shortly after adopted the effort to rapidly field the new missile. “Adapting existing systems as much as possible will allow us to move faster than traditional acquisition methods to get this capability into the hands of Soldiers in support of the National Defense Strategy,” Lt. Gen. L. Neil Thurgood, director of hypersonics, directed energy, space and rapid acquisition as well as the RCCTO chief, said in the statement. “Soldier feedback and touchpoints will be embedded throughout the prototyping effort in order to make this system operationally effective the day it is delivered,” he added. To meet the demanding timeline, the MRC prototype “will utilize and modify existing hardware and software from the Army and joint service partners and integrate additional technologies to achieve new operational effects,” the statement read. The Army arrived at the decision to incorporate the SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles after a “broad review of joint service technologies potentially applicable to MRC,” according to the RCCTO. To use the joint service technologies, the Army “will leverage Navy contract vehicles for missile procurement in support of the Army integration [other transaction authority] agreement,” the statement said. “The capability also allows the Army and joint services to synchronize and leverage modernization efforts and investments across mid-range missile programs in support of multi-domain operations,” it added. “The MRC supports one of the Army's chief roles in multi-domain operations: to use strategic fires to penetrate and disintegrate enemy layered defense systems, creating windows of opportunity for exploitation by the joint force.” By 2023, the Army will have begun delivering a portfolio of strategic, mid-range and short-range fires capabilities that will change the paradigm against advanced adversaries Russia and China. The initial fielding of the Precision Strike Missile, capable of hitting targets out to 499 kilometers (with a likelihood of a greater range), will happen in 2023 as well as a ground-launched hypersonic missile. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/11/06/lockheed-martin-to-build-mid-range-missile-prototype-for-us-army

November 9, 2020 Soucy International Inc., Defense Division, has been awarded the $7.5M contract to manufacture and deliver composite rubber track (CRT) systems for the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency's (NDMA) Armoured Combat Support Vehicle (ACSV). In May 2018, as part of the Norwegian Armed Forces logistic and support vehicle recapitalization program, Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG) won the tender to manufacture and supply ACSV's to the Norwegian Army. FFG proposed to base the ACSV around their current PMMC G5 vehicle. The ACSV is a 26mT tracked platform with the capacity to transport freight goods containers weighing up to 6mT. It has container mounts to accommodate both 6.5- and 10-feet freight containers and in conjunction with the increased durability and low maintenance attributes of composite rubber tracks (CRT) can enhance the military's battlefield logistical reach. The reduced vibrations enabled by the integration of CRT also aids in the protection of sensors and electronics located on other military equipment such as radars which may also be mounted on the ACSV's stable framed platform. Due to the ACSVs open and closed hull configurations, it can be adapted in the closed configuration to house a command centre or ambulance (casualty evacuation). The ACSV can be adapted to a wide range of operations including domestic disaster relief and international peace support missions. About Composite Rubber Tracks Increased durability over conventional steel tracks. Reduced vibration (up to 70%), noise (up to 13dB), thermal signature, braking distance, vehicle weight (up to 50%) and fuel consumption (up to 30%). Reduced vehicle crew fatigue. Significant reduction in life cycle costs and virtually maintenance free. Elimination of damage to infrastructure. About Soucy Soucy has been established for 50 years and specializes in the design, development and manufacturing of composite rubber tracks. Soucy supply a variety of components and parts for major manufacturers of Powersports, industrial, agricultural and defense vehicles around the world. Since entering the defense market 26 years ago, the demand for Soucy's products has grown, and now being utilised in 12 counties worldwide. Soucy's expertise and knowledge of rubber track applications lie in compounding and track construction. The key elements in exceeding the specifications of traditional steel tracks and meeting customer requirements are the relationship between the gross vehicle weight (GVW) and rubber heat generation, this balance is critical in the design of composite rubber tracks. For more information: www.soucy-defense.com https://blog.soucy-group.com/soucy-defense-division-awarded-contract-composite-rubber-track

New IDEaS Challenges Our colleagues at The Department of National Defence's Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program have launched their 4th Call for Proposals! Check out their website to learn how you can support our troops with your logistics solutions, new armour designs and visual and data security. Here are their current opportunities: Essential Deliveries: Getting Vital Supplies to Troops Using Autonomous Vehicles Armour Up! Modular Lightweight Armour for Land Vehicles It's not just Noise – Innovative Tools for Acoustic Sensor Operators Better than Meets the Eye: Reliable Object Detection Amongst the Waves Making Data Make Sense: Real-time Data Analysis for Rapid Decision Making Knot Vulnerable - Locking Down Cybersecurity on Naval Vessels Navigating Your Next Chapter – The Transition Back to Civilian Applications must be submitted by December 10th, 2020. Learn more

Jen DiMascio The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated some of the risks that have always existed in the defense industrial base. Although government assistance and a robust Pentagon budget have helped offset initial trials, more challenges are looming. One of the biggest risks to the defense industrial base is that some companies serving the military are too heavily leveraged toward the commercial sector or too reliant on international companies, financial analysts told Aviation Week's DefenseChain Conference. “Some of these places are two weeks from bankruptcy,” says Chris Celtruda, managing principal at Destiny Equity Partners, says. Suppliers are beginning to falter because of a combination of factors, including the need to comply with cybersecurity standards, the pressure that prime contractors such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin have applied to them and their reliance on commercial business. A prime example is the recent bankruptcy of Impresa Aerospace, a Wichita-based company that made parts using computer numerical control machines as well as sheet metal parts and assemblies for Boeing and Lockheed military aircraft but was highly dependent on its work for the commercial Boeing 737 MAX. The U.S. federal Paycheck Protection Program helped delay some business failures, but others are inevitable, says Rick Nagel, managing partner of Acorn Growth. “The Impresa bankruptcy is an example of a lot more insolvencies we may see,” he adds. Weakness among niche companies could pose a problem for the Defense Department in the future. “I'm always amazed at how many critical systems have multiple single points of failure on major programs,” he says. At the Pentagon, officials have been working to keep essential suppliers afloat and to keep production moving through its sprawling international industrial base. For the U.S. Army, that has meant initial disruptions to Apache fuselage production in India and to the flow of generators from Mexico. The Pentagon and the State Department helped ease the stoppage, but the incident has caused them to review the full range of risks to its international supply chain. “I think that we can navigate through this, though it's certainly always going to be complex in today's global economy,” says Patrick Mason, deputy program executive officer for U.S. Army Aviation, adding that he is in the position of putting pressure on vendors to reduce cost, particularly to provide savings on multiyear aircraft contracts. One trend emerging along with the pandemic is a movement toward onshoring or reshoring overseas business for reasons of cybersecurity and the protection of the U.S. industrial base. As that happens, and as the commercial aviation market sags, Raanan Horowitz, president and CEO of Elbit Systems of America sees opportunity. “We are trying to position ourselves around some of those discontinuities,” Horowitz says, adding that the company likes going after opportunities that are not necessarily glitzy but hold value. “We are intensifying efforts toward looking at licensing, taking over orphan product lines and positioning ourselves to be part of the long-term solution.” Horowitz says Elbit is investing in U.S. infrastructure to capture new business. Industry officials see broad support for bringing more of the defense supply chain back to the U.S. The shift stems in part from the COVID-19-related economic downturn but also from longstanding concerns about China. In the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress passed restrictions on contracting with companies that use Chinese telecommunications equipment. Though companies first look for the best value, the threat posed by Chinese parts that either do not work or could transmit classified information back to China is an ongoing concern, says John Luddy, vice president for national security policy at the Aerospace Industries Association. “The concept of reshoring of supplies to better connect our allies and friends, both from a production standpoint and from an operational functionality and alliance standpoint, I think the volume is getting turned up on that a little bit,” he says. “There's also a strong impetus in Congress to look at exactly how vulnerable we are. That's going to be a more intense discussion in the year to come than it has been.” And that trend toward reshoring could have unintended consequences, warns Steve Grundman, founder and principal of Grundman Advisory. “I'm genuinely concerned that benign moves to secure our supply chain to prevent nefarious supplies and code [coming] into particularly our defense supply chain or commercial aerospace supply chain could slip very easily into protectionism,” Grundman says. “If you want to really put pressure on the defense budget, ask the defense industry to reshore the supply chain. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/supply-chain/how-covid-19-affecting-defense-industrial-base