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AIR FORCE United Launch Services, Centennial, Colorado, has been awarded a $149,376,775 firm-fixed-price modification (P00002) to previously awarded contract FA8811-19-C-0002 for National Security Space Launch Delta IV heavy launch services. This modification provides for launch vehicle production services for National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Launch Mission Two, the second of three planned NRO launch missions under this contract. Work will be performed in Centennial, Colorado; Decatur, Alabama; and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and is expected to be complete by December 2022. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $449,813,010. Fiscal 2019 missile procurement funds in the amount of $139,028,436 are being obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity. Systems & Technology Research,* Woburn, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $28,680,552 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for research, development, operations and maintenance. This contract provides for the Dynamic Exploitation Modeling for Operational Systems (DEMOS) program, with an objective to implement automated tools for generating indications and warning and transition prototype systems to operational end users for a variety of missions. Work will be performed in Woburn, Massachusetts, and is expected to be complete by July 26, 2023. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 (Office of the Secretary of Defense) research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $4,955,000; and fiscal 2019 (Defense Intelligence Agency) operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $700,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-19-C-1030). UPDATE: An $18,300,000 contract announced on March 28, 2019, to Merex Aircraft Co. Inc., Camarillo, California (FA8212-19-D-0001), for the acquisition of A-10 flap assemblies has been terminated due to a bid protest. CORRECTION: The contract announced on May 2, 2019, for Engility Corp., Andover, Massachusetts (FA8650-19-C-6024), for research and development, included an incorrect award amount, as did a subsequent correction. The correct award amount is $58,296,527. DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Engility Corp., Chantilly, Virginia was awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (HHM402-19-D-0003) with a maximum ceiling value of $106,000,000 for exploitation management support services to the Defense Intelligence Agency's (DIA) National Media Exploitation Center (NMEC), Bethesda, Maryland. This contract has a five-year base ordering period and five one-year options, with a June 1, 2019, start date and a potential completion date of May 31, 2029. Through this award, DIA will procure document and media management, program support, and related intelligence support services for NMEC. Work is to be performed in the National Capital Region. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $5,474,490 are being obligated for a cost-plus fixed-fee task order at the time of award. This was a competitive unrestricted acquisition and four offers were received. The Virginia Contracting Activity, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. NAVY Airborne Tactical Advantage Co. LLC, Newport News, Virginia, is awarded $55,611,547 for modification P00018 to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost reimbursable contract (N00019-15-D-0026). This modification exercises the fourth option year in support of the Contracted Air Services program. This modification provides contractor-owned and operated Type III high subsonic and Type IV supersonic aircraft to Navy fleet customers for a wide variety of airborne threat simulation capabilities. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia (44 percent); Point Mugu, California (37 percent); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (19 percent), and is expected to be completed in May 2020. No funds are being 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. B3 Enterprises LLC,* Woodbridge, Virginia (N44255-17-D-4011); Iron Mike - Bristol JV, LLC,* Centennial, Colorado (N44255-17-D-4012); Macnak Construction LLC,* Lakewood, Washington (N44255-17-D-4013); Tompco Inc.,* Seabeck, Washington (N44255-17-D-4014); and Veterans Northwest Construction LLC,* Seattle, Washington (N44255-17-D-4015), are awarded a firm-fixed-price modification under previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to increase the maximum not-to-exceed amount by $50,000,000 for design-build or design-bid-build construction projects located primarily within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Northwest (NW) area of operations (AO). The work to be performed provides for new construction, renovation, alteration, demolition and repair work by design-build or design-bid-build of facilities. Types of projects include, but are not limited to administrative and industrial facilities, housing renovation, child care centers, lodges, recreation/fitness centers, retail complexes, warehouses, housing offices, community centers, commercial and institutional buildings, manufacturing and industrial buildings and other similar facilities. With the award of this modification, the value of this contract is now $149,000,000. All work on this contract will be performed primarily within the NAVFAC NW AO which includes Washington (92 percent); Alaska (2 percent); Oregon (2 percent); Idaho (1 percent); Montana (1 percent); Wyoming (1 percent); and work for this contract may also be performed in the remainder of the U.S. (1 percent). The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of April 2022. No funds will be obligated at the time of award and no funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued. Task orders have been and will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and Navy working capital funds. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website with 16 proposals received. These five contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. NAVFAC NW, Silverdale, Washington, is the contracting activity. DAV-Force Inc.,* Norman, Oklahoma (N0003919D0026); GLOTECH Inc.,* Rockville, Maryland (N0003919D0027); INDUS Technology Inc.,* San Diego, California (N0003919D0028); and North American Consulting Services Inc.,* Point Pleasant, West Virginia (N0003919D0029), are each awarded a $40,433,013 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, hybrid, firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursable-type, multiple award contract for communications security accounting and special inventory manager support services in support of U.S. security assistance and security cooperation programs. Work will be performed in various overseas locations based on the requirement for each task order placed. The ordering period is five years with an expected completion date of May 2024. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of a minimum of $5,000 per awardee will be obligated at the time of award via a task order to each awardee. Funds in the amount of $10,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with small business proposals solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website, with seven offers received. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Great Eastern Group Inc.,* Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is awarded a $12,220,564 firm-fixed-price contract with reimbursable elements, for logistic support of SBX-1 by the Offshore Support Vessel MV Hercules. This contract includes a one-year base period with three one-year option periods and an 11-month option period, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $48,189,426. Work will be performed in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and is expected to be completed by July 2020. If all options are exercised, work will continue through June 25, 2024. Research development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,734,457 are obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was solicited as a small business set-aside with more than 50 companies solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website and six offers received. The Navy's Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220519C3500). Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Indiana, is awarded an $8,622,670 firm-fixed-price modification to previously-awarded contract N00019-17-C-0081. This modification is for the procurement of 10 MT7 marine turbine installation parts kit shipsets for the Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) 100 Class craft. This procurement is in support of the Ship-to-Shore Connector Program. An MT7 installation parts kit is one “shipset” (craft) consisting of four engine intakes, two right-hand engine exhausts and two left-hand engine exhausts. Work to be performed includes production of the installation parts kit shipsets and delivery to Textron Marine and Land Systems for the assembly of the LCAC 100 Class craft. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is expected to be completed by January 2021. Fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,724,534; and fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $6,898,136 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, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity, working in conjunction with the Naval Air Systems Command. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Woodland Hills, California, was awarded $7,203,829 for modification P00001 to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N0001919D0025). This modification provides for the procurement of up to 42 additional technical refresh mission computers for AH-1Z aircraft, including trainer units and spare units for the government of Bahrain under the Foreign Military Sales program. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah (55 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (25 percent); and Woodland Hills, California (20 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2023. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. (Awarded April 29, 2019) ARMY Ripple Effect Communications Inc.,* Rockville, Maryland, was awarded a $38,513,810 modification (P00005) to contract W81XWH-17-D-0003 for program administration and technical support services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 18 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 22, 2022. U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the contracting activity. IronMountain Solutions Inc.,* Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded a $22,705,832 time-and-materials Foreign Military Sales (Afghanistan, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Thailand, Taiwan, Sweden, Egypt, Jordan, Latvia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Slovakia) contract for technical support services. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of May 8, 2020. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation; operations and maintenance, Army; and other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $22,705,832 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-17- R-0001). Tocci Building Corp, Woburn, Massachusetts, was awarded a $20,612,338 firm-fixed-price contract for replacement family housing design and build. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work will be performed in Natick, Massachusetts, with an estimated completion date of May 10, 2021. Fiscal 2015 and 2018 Army family housing construction funds in the amount of $20,612,338 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Concord, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (W912WJ-18-R-0006). Tsay/Ferguson-Williams LLC,* San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, was awarded a $17,982,082 cost-plus-award-fee contract for operations and maintenance services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 13 received. Work will be performed in Fort Stewart, Georgia, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $4,579,182 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Stewart, Georgia, is the contracting activity (W912WJ-19-C-0011). Quantitech Inc.,* Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded a $16,026,683 time-and-materials Foreign Military Sales (Afghanistan, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Thailand, Taiwan, Sweden, Egypt, Jordan, Latvia, Mexico, and Slovakia) contract for support services. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of May 8, 2020. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation; operations and maintenance, Army; and other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $16,026,683 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-16-R-0010). WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES Cherokee Nation Environmental Solutions LLC, Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been awarded a $15,100,000 firm-fixed-price contract. The contract expands existing mission critical chilled water distribution to provide mission critical cooling to mission critical rooms and equipment. The contract acquires design-build construction of a redundant chilled water loop in the Pentagon A-ring tunnels, risers for lateral distribution of chilled water, and a new secondary distribution pump. Work performance will take place at the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. Fiscal 2015 military construction funds in the amount of $15,100,000 are being awarded. This contract was a sole-source acquisition. The expected completion date is June 10, 2021. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HQ0034-19-C-0043). *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1843457/source/GovDelivery/

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Military.com | By Gina Harkins The next generation of Canadian sailors has grown up with phones in their hands, and they're not likely to give up their connectivity for life on the high seas. When working with industry partners designing the technology needed on future Royal Canadian Navy ships, leaders are putting internet connection high on the list, Rear Adm. Casper Donovan, director of the navy's general future ship capabilities, said Tuesday. "We have sailors who've grown up in a digital world -- they are digital," Donovan said at the annual Sea-Air-Space expo near Washington, D.C. "... When they embark on a Canadian surface combatant and we tell them to lock up their phone, they won't just go 'OK.' "They won't join the navy," he said. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/05/08/canadian-admiral-kids-wont-join-navy-if-ships-dont-have-wi-fi.html

David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen Federal officials are setting the stage to award Irving Shipbuilding contracts to build two more Arctic and offshore patrol ships but the vessels will be delivered to the Canadian Coast Guard instead of the navy. Irving has been warning the Liberal government it might have to lay off employees at its Halifax shipyard if it doesn't get more shipbuilding work. Industry and defence sources say to deal with that issue a proposal is being put together that would see the construction of two more Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships, known as AOPS. Irving is currently building six AOPS for the Royal Canadian Navy. But under this new plan, described by government officials as being at a “pre-decision” level, the vessels would be turned over to the coast guard. The additional ships would help head off any layoffs at Irving and allow the Liberal government to head into the federal election in the fall claiming it was delivering on its promise to rebuild the coast guard. The Liberals have yet to sign off on the plan, the sources added. Ashley Michnowski, a spokeswoman for Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough, said the national shipbuilding strategy or NSS is designed as a “made-in-Canada plan” to meet federal shipbuilding requirements. “Additional AOPS are currently not included in the NSS,” she added. Irving Shipbuilding did not respond to a request for comment. The NSS was supposed to prevent the boom and bust in the country's shipbuilding industry by providing Seaspan on the West Coast and Irving on the East Coast with continual work. But that hasn't happened. Even though the government is proceeding with the ships outlined in the NSS, both Seaspan and Irving have complained they might have to let employees go because of gaps in construction schedules. Irving has said it needs addition work to deal with a downturn that comes after the end of construction of AOPS and the start of work on a new fleet of surface combatant ships. The Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships project was for the construction of five vessels. A sixth ship would be built only if Irving could find savings in the construction process, according to the federal government. That, however, didn't happen. In November the Liberal government announced it would award Irving a contract for a sixth AOPS as part of its efforts to stop layoffs. That $800-million initiative is double the usual cost of a single AOPS as there are hefty fees associated with stretching out the production of the fleet. It is unclear how much extra a plan to build two more AOPS would cost. If the plan does proceed there would have to be changes made to the design of the ship as the AOPS are outfitted with weapons and a combat management system for the navy. The AOPS program has made headlines over the years. The first Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship was supposed to be delivered in 2013 but the program has faced delays, and it is now expected to be delivered to the navy this summer. In March, Postmedia sent Procurement Canada questions about potential issues with welds on the ships. But the department immediately warned Irving that the news organization was asking questions. Department officials also provided Irving with personal information about the journalist inquiring about the welds. Procurement Canada never did answer the questions but a short time later Irving Shipbuilding threatened a lawsuit against Postmedia if an article was published claiming there were substantial problems with welds on the ships. The Department of National Defence later confirmed to the news chain there were issues with welds but they were minor. https://nationalpost.com/news/federal-bureaucrats-considering-proposal-to-award-irving-contracts-for-more-arctic-coast-guard-ships

By: Kyle Rempfer A failed Venezuela coup, Iranian missiles and Russian hybrid warfare make for interesting side stories, but the center of military policy is increasingly gravitating toward U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, according to U.S. government officials. If anything, the challenge is how to quicken the pace because the logistical tail of warfare takes time to put in place and because the Pacific theater is one of the most difficult environments for moving supplies. “If there's a challenge, it's moving enough focus and enough direction from everything else we're doing towards the Pacific," said Joel Szabat, the assistant secretary for international affairs within the Department of Transportation. Szabat, whose department deals with U.S. military logistics in wartime, said the center of gravity has shifted so much toward the Asia-Pacific region that even a major crisis on par with 9/11 won't derail the change. “I don't see, in the near term at least, things that would have us pull back,” Szabat said. But he warned that new lines of effort must be implemented if that shift is to be sustainable during a war with the region's biggest player — China. The baggage train challenge The Department of Transportation is the coordinating arm for civilian airlift and sealift capacity in peacetime and wartime. But the sealift fleet is old and in need of recapitalization. The size of the fleet is also too small to support the long logistical train required in a Pacific-based conflict, and the ships that do exist are poorly positioned across the operating area and would lack armed escorts in the event of a conflict, according to Szabat. “For small or moderate-scale warfare exercises, it's adequate," Szabat said. “For the maximum deployment that our military is built for ... it is not adequate to move and sustain. We don't have the mariners. We don't have the U.S. flagged Merchant Marine that we need for that purpose.” The Marine Corps represents a large component of the military force that would need to be delivered in the event of a war. “There are 40,000 Marines at any one time that are moving around the world, and 23,000 of those are west of the international date line, so they're in the Pacific,” said Gayle Von Eckartsberg, policy director at Headquarters Marine Corps' Pacific Division. “And then you have your Marines in Hawaii, and that brings that number to over 30,000. And the rest are distributed across other places in the world.” "The Marine Corps' natural environment is the Asia-Pacific region, and I think we're uniquely capable of operating effectively [there],” she added. The Corps is posturing to act as the inside force of the region, as it practices littoral operations in contested environments and expeditionary base operations from deep in the Pacific. “We're today engaged in aggressive war gaming, training and exercises to test out and refine these concepts,” Von Eckartsberg said. “We're going to hug the enemy and we're going to be there first, operate at this level below armed conflict.” But there remains an “enduring gap in lift capability," Von Eckartsberg acknowledged. No armed escorts The Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration is responsible for managing much of the Navy's sealift capability that would be responsible for delivering Marines, soldiers, sailors, airmen and their equipment into a war. If there was a conflict with China, Szabat said, there is a high degree of confidence that the Navy, with the use of pre-positioned vessels, will be able to move the initial salvo of personnel and equipment quickly into the area of operations. “But sustaining a battle means getting supplies and getting the remainder of your forces from [the continental United States] to wherever the battle is,” Szabat said, adding that the fleet for this isn't currently in place. After the initial war push, 90 percent of logistics would move via civilian vessels and aircraft, according to Szabat. Those civilian assets will need armed escorts at sea, but the Navy has no dedicated escort vessels for the Merchant Marine fleet, he added. “I used to serve in the European theater. That was a challenge. But crossing the Pacific is four times as difficult in terms of logistics and supplies," Szabat said. “We are not able to move our logistics according to war plans unless we have cooperation from our allies.” That presents a unique challenge altogether. The biggest change to U.S. policy in the region has been an increased reliance on allies to accomplish missions and long-term goals, and one would assume that the goal is for them to pick up some of the logistical burden. “But by statute, and national security presidential directive, we are supposed to be able to provide sealift with U.S. ships and U.S. mariners without relying on allies," Szabat said. "We can't do that unless we have the escorts.” However, allies and partnerships still play an important role. China's growth is followed closely by that of U.S. ally India. U.S. Pacific Command understands the power dynamics between India and China, which is part of why it renamed itself U.S. Indo-Pacific Command last year, according to Deputy Assistant Secretary Walter Douglas, who leads the U.S. State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. “Bringing the countries of South Asia in is absolutely crucial to what we do,” he said. “India is very much a partner in everything that we do and is central in the Indo-Pacific as we move forward." Allies, while unable to provide sealift under current war plans, remain crucial to U.S. efforts to counter China. The U.S. is helping train naval forces for countries like Vietnam; promising to defend the territorial integrity of countries like Japan and the Philippines; performing freedom of navigation patrols through contested waterways; and courting new allies like the small Pacific island nations in Oceania. “I expect that to continue," Douglas said. "I never want to promise resources until they're delivered, but I think the indications are pretty good that we're going to be doing more.” https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2019/05/08/the-us-militarys-logistical-train-is-slowly-snaking-toward-china

ARMY BFBC, Bozeman, Montana (W9126G-19-D-0018); Texas Sterling Construction Co., Houston, Texas (W9126G-19-D-0019); Bristol Construction Services LLC,* Anchorage, Alaska (W9126G-19-D-0023); Burgos Group LLC,* Albuquerque, New Mexico (W9126G-19-D-0026); Gibraltar-Caddell JV, Montgomery, Alabama (W9126G-19-D-0022); Fisher Sand & Gravel, Dickinson, North Dakota (W9126G-19-D-0027); Southwest Valley Constructors Co., Albuquerque, New Mexico (W9126G-19-D-0017); Randy Kinder Excavating Inc.,* Dexter, Missouri (W9126G-19-D-0024); Martin Brothers Construction,* Sacramento, California (W9126G-19-D-0028); SLSCO Ltd., Galveston, Texas (W9126G-19-D-0021); Posillico Civil Inc. Coastal Environmental Group Inc., Farmingdale, New York (W9126G-19-D-0020); and CJW JV, Santa Ana, California (W9126G-19-D-0025), will compete for each order of the $5,000,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for design-build, design-bid-build horizontal construction task orders in support of the Department of Homeland Security San Diego, El Centro, Yuma and Tucson Border Patrol sectors, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South-Western Division and South Pacific Division. Bids were solicited via the internet with 38 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 7, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity. Science and Engineering Services LLC,* Huntsville, Alabama (W58RGZ-19-D-0045); Y-Tech Services Inc.,* Huntsville, Alabama (W58RGZ-19-D-0046); and Tyonek Worldwide Services Inc.,* Madison, Alabama (W58RGZ-19-D-0047), will compete for each order of the $2,440,000,000 hybrid (cost, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide modifications to aviation systems. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 3, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Ashridge Inc.,* St. Stephen, South Carolina, was awarded a $16,951,622 firm-fixed-price contract for the Savannah Harbor oysterbed revetment repair, rock along the shoreline to prevent erosion, repairing the boat dock, and repairing the barge dock. Bids were solicited via the internet with eight received. Work will be performed in Hardeeville, South Carolina, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 29, 2020. Fiscal 2018 civil works; and operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $16,951,622 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity (W912HN-19-C-5003). Southeast Cherokee Construction Inc.,* Montgomery, Alabama, was awarded a $13,341,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Judge Advocate General School expansion. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Montgomery, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 20, 2020. Fiscal 2017 military construction funds in the amount of $13,341,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W91278-19-C-0017). NAVY ICF Inc. LLC, Fairfax, Virginia, is awarded a $330,714,321 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $802,045,896. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3409). Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, is being awarded a $304,326,147 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $741,278,402. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3410). Perspecta Engineering Inc., Chantilly, Virginia, is awarded a $303,565,184 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $739,941,512. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3415). Parsons Government Services Inc., Pasadena, California, is awarded a $293,786,547 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $710,979,159. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3412). BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services Inc., Rockville, Maryland, is awarded a $276,573,342 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $677,769,136. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3407). Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia, is awarded a $273,941,498 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $672,034,026. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3408). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Herndon, Virginia, is awarded a $273,242,902 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $673,172,297. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3411). Scientific Research Corp., Atlanta, Georgia, is awarded a $240,305,587 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $577,918,499. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3414). Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia, is awarded a $234,743,621 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $569,177,650. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and work is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3413). Raytheon Co., Largo, Florida, is awarded a $15,267,422 cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost-only contract for design agent and engineering services efforts to support the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC). The CEC program provides a sensor network with integrated fire control capability that significantly improves strike force air and missile defense capabilities by coordinating measurement data from strike force air search sensors on CEC-equipped units into a single, integrated real-time, composite track air picture. CEC improves battle force effectiveness by improving overall situational awareness and by enabling longer range, cooperative, multiple, or layered engagement strategies. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $279,340,117. Work will be performed in St. Petersburg, Florida (95 percent); and Largo, Florida (5 percent), and is expected to be complete by September 2022. If all options are exercised, work will continue through April 2024. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $8,009,206 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-5200). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Aerospace Systems, Melbourne, Florida, is awarded $15,264,314 for modification P00025 to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-14-C-0036). This modification increases the ceiling and period of performance of the contract. In addition, this modification increases the full-scale fatigue repair time on contract to achieve the required simulated flight hours. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California (59 percent); Melbourne, Florida (35 percent); and Bethpage, New York (6 percent), and is expected to be completed in May 2022. No funds will be obligated at time of award. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. L3 Technologies Inc., doing business as L3 KEO, Northampton, Massachusetts, is awarded a $14,110,638 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-16-C-5366 for MK 20 MOD 1 Electro-Optical Sensor Systems, radar cross section kits, shock ring kits, engineering support services, and spares for both the Navy and Coast Guard. The MK 20 Electro-Optical Sensor System is a major component of the MK 34 Gun Weapon Systems employed by the DDG 51 class, CG 47 class and the Coast Guard's offshore patrol centers. The systems procured are required to support the Gun Weapon Systems by performing safety check-sighting, look-point-shoot, target ranges, identification of air and surface targets in support of anti-air warfare and anti-surface warfare. This contract modification includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $79,453,206. Work will be performed in Northampton, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by August 2021. If all options are exercised, work will continue through November 2021. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 other procurement (Navy); and fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $14,110,638 will be obligated at time of the award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. L3 Technologies Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah, is awarded $13,686,773 for modification P00004 to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N0001919C0014) to expand the analysis and design of the Next Generation Jammer Low Band (NGJ LB) controller, receiver, exciter, and power generation subsystems. In addition, this modification provides for NGJ LB technique development, incorporation of updated goals documents, and environmental testing of the transmitter group. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah (53 percent); Carlsbad, California (15 percent); Boulder, Colorado (14 percent); Stuart, Florida (14 percent); Guthrie, Oklahoma (2 percent); and Fullerton, California (2 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2020. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $13,686,773 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. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Bethpage, New York, is awarded a $13,517,069 modification (P00003) to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N0001919C0015) to expand the analysis and design of the Next Generation Jammer Low Band (NGJ LB) controller, receiver, exciter, and power generation subsystems. In addition, this modification provides for NGJ LB technique development, incorporation of updated goals documents, and environmental testing of the transmitter group. Work will be performed in Bethpage, New York (40 percent); Linthicum, Maryland (32 percent); North Amityville, New York (12 percent); Tempe, Arizona (12 percent); and Melville, New York (4 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2020. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $13,517,069 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. Georgia Tech Research Corp., Atlanta, Georgia, is awarded an $8,138,096 cost reimbursement contract for development of vector sensors and arrays for deep and shallow water applications. Work will be performed at the contractor's facility in Atlanta, Georgia, and is expected to be completed March 31, 2024. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $332,401 will be obligated at the time of award. No funds will expire at end of current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under long range broad agency announcement (BAA) N00014-18-S-B001 for science and technology projects for advancement and improvement of Navy and Marine Corps operations. Proposals will be received throughout the year under the long range BAA; therefore, the number of proposals received in response to the solicitation is unknown. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00014-19-C-2045). AIR FORCE M1 Support Services L.P., Denton, Texas, has been awarded a $23,342,767 firm-fixed-price modification (P00088) to previously awarded contract FA8106-13-C-0008 for C-21 sustainment. This modification provides for the exercise of Option Six, which includes maintenance and repair support of the C-21 fleet. Work will be performed at various locations worldwide, and is expected to be complete by May 31, 2020. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $124,152,363. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind,** Little Rock, Arkansas, has been awarded a maximum $11,085,645 modification (P00015) exercising the second one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-17-D-B019) with two-one-year option periods for flame resistant, operational camouflage pattern, intermediate weather outer layer jackets. This is a firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Arkansas, with an Oct. 31, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. *Small business **Mandatory source https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1842189/source/GovDelivery/

Murray Brewster · CBC News A little joke used to make its way around the Harper Conservative government every time National Defence presented Andrew Scheer's former boss with the bills for new equipment — about how Stephen Harper would emit an audible 'gulp' of alarm when they crossed his desk. Scheer, in the first of a series of election-framing speeches for the Conservatives, pledged yesterday to wrap his arms around Canada's allies, take the politics out of defence procurement, buy new submarines, join the U.S. ballistic missile defence program and expand the current military mission in Ukraine in an undefined way. What was absent from the Conservative leader's speech — a greatest-hits medley of road-tested Conservative policy favourites, blended with jabs at the Trudeau government's record — was an answer to the first question his supporters usually ask on these occasions: How are you going to pay for it? Deficit hawk or defence hawk? The Liberals have set the federal government on course to increase defence spending by 70 per cent by 2027. The cost of what Scheer is proposing — submarines and missile defence — would have to be shoehorned into that framework somehow. Either that, or he'd have to radically redesign the current defence spending program. Scheer's speech was greeted with raised eyebrows by more than one defence sector observer. "When he starts talking about deficits, you can kiss all that goodbye," said Stephen Saideman, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University. "In other speeches, he talked about being a deficit hawk. That would have real implications for the defence stuff." The Harper government increased defence spending during the Afghan war and made a series of promises to revitalize the military, but ended up cutting its budget and postponing projects in order to eliminate the deficit. 'Harper all over again' Saideman said Scheer's speech did not offer an ironclad guarantee that he'd avoid doing the same thing, and was even inaccurate in its characterization of the Liberals' record on defence spending. A full half to two-thirds of the defence and foreign policy vision Scheer laid out, he said, was "Harper all over again" — but with some surprising differences. His embrace of allies was much warmer than it was with the previous Conservative crowd, which tended to look upon NATO with a jaundiced eye. "I will reinvigorate Canada's role in the alliances we share with our democratic allies. This includes existing alliances like NORAD, NATO, the Commonwealth, La Francophonie and the Five Eyes, but it will also include overtures to India and Japan," Scheer said. He also pledged a Conservative government would do more in Eastern Europe. "This will include expanding upon the current missions to support Ukraine and providing Ukraine's military with the equipment they need to defend their borders," said the Conservative leader. Scheer didn't say in his speech what he wants Canada to do in Eastern Europe that it isn't doing now — short of putting combat troops on the front line of Ukraine's breakaway eastern districts, or selling offensive weapons to Kiev. Scheer did promise to take the lead on a potential United Nations peacekeeping mission, a proposal that has been out there in the international community for months and has largely gone nowhere. Other ideas that often go nowhere filled out the rest of Scheer's speech — like the promise of a fix for the Canadian military's complex, cumbersome system for buying equipment. Politicians are to blame, Scheer said. "Military procurement in Canada is hyper-politicized, to our detriment," he said. "By playing politics with these matters, governments have diminished the important responsibility to adequately and expediently equip the Armed Forces." To accept that argument, one must set aside his party's favourite rallying cry during the politically blistering F-35 debate of half a dozen years ago: If you don't support the plane, you don't support the troops. Politics-free procurement? Michael Byers, a University of British Columbia defence policy expert, said removing politics from procurement decisions would be a fantastic step forward, one that could save taxpayers boatloads of money by doing away with pet projects and regional interests. "It's an admirable goal, but he would be the first prime minister ever to take the politics out of defence procurement," he said. "So, I'm skeptical about whether he would actually do so ... I take that statement with a very large grain of salt." The absence of a clear fiscal pledge also troubles Byers, who noted that replacing Canada's Victoria-class submarines with either German or Swedish-built boats would be expensive. So would participation in ballistic missile defence, which has various levels of participation from research and development all the way up to anti-missile radar and batteries. It is, he said, all about the dollars. "I think that when we talk about defence spending and defence budgets, we have to talk about real money going out the door in terms of signed contracts," said Byers. "And neither the Conservatives nor the Liberals have been able to deliver much in the way of signed contracts for the last 20 years." https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/scheer-rolls-out-an-ambitious-defence-agenda-but-critics-ask-where-s-the-money-1.5127028

By: Joe Gould NATIONAL HARBOR — The Romanian Navy is exploring the purchase of a new drone for its expansion and modernization plans, the chief of the Romanian Naval Forces said Monday. Amid growing tensions with Russia on the Black Sea, the service is looking at a “totally new” unmanned aerial system for the maritime and riverine domain, Vice Adm. Alexandru Mirsu said at the Sea-Air-Space forum here. The capability would be used by Romania's Danube flotilla and for coastal surveillance, operated from the shoreline, Mirsu said. He did not provide a timeframe or a budget for the possible acquisition. Plans are underway to buy four new multipurpose corvettes as the core of the Romanian navy, and to modernize its Type 22 frigates. Also expected are purchases of new coastal missile batteries and three new submarines — all part of Romania's commitment to spending 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense for the next decade. The idea is to expand Romania's presence in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and elswhere as needed by allies, and to maintain a submarine program beyond 2030. Mirsu has previously said the submarines are needed to ensure Romania's operational capacities in the Black Sea, as the one Kilo-class submarine does not meet that need. Its Delfinul submarine was reportedly withdrawn from service and was being used for training purposes. Mirsu also pointed to “a new iron curtain” of Russian anti access/area denial (A2/AD) hubs in Kaliningrad, Sevastopol and Syria. He lauded major multinational exercises and NATO operations on the Black Sea for sending a message that the Black Sea is open, and an international body of water. Romania led NATO's Poseidon antisubmarine exercise on the Black Sea in March. Also notable, the Romanian-led Sea Shield in April involved 20 ships and crews from Romania, Bulgaria, Canada, Greece, the Netherlands and Turkey, all working with maritime patrol aircraft from the U.S. and Turkey. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/navy-league/2019/05/07/romania-eyes-new-maritime-drone-to-counter-russia

By: Martin Banks The European Union will launch a call for a new batch of proposals as part of Europe's new Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) initiative this week. At the same time, officials said that the 34 existing PESCO projects are still considered to be at a very initial “incubation phase,” meaning they have yet to come to fruition. The PESCO defense pact – a show of unity and a tangible step in EU integration – was set up in December 2017 between EU governments and involved two phases of joint initiatives, each consisting of 17 projects. The third and latest phase, to be launched this week, is for an unspecified number of new projects. The founding PESCO members, including France, Germany and Italy, have been asked to table proposals by the summer with a view to these being approved by the end of 2019. The new batch of projects is likely to be smaller than the previous two, the second of which was launched last November, and is expected to be more “mature” when it comes to the projects' setup, including support by member states, one official said. EU members are responsible for developing and implementing PESCO projects. An EU defence source said, “They are still at an initial stage, or incubation phase.” Twelve of the existing 34 schemes are expected to reach initial operational capability by 2022, with four of these due to be implemented later this year, according to the source. The 34 schemes include a harbor and maritime surveillance and protection (HARMSPRO) project, designed to deliver a new maritime capability with the ability to conduct surveillance and protection of specified maritime areas, from harbors up to littoral waters. Another is the Training Mission Competence Centre which aims to improve the availability and professionalism of personnel for EU training missions. The list also includes a European armoured infantry vehicle and cyber rapid response teams. Other projects involve developing new equipment, such as infantry fighting vehicles, amphibious assault vehicles, light armored vehicles, indirect fire support, strategic command-and-control systems for EU defense missions, minesweeping drones, upgrading maritime surveillance and developing a joint secure software defined radio. Long blocked by London, PESCO, is one of the most tangible steps in EU integration since Britons voted to leave the bloc, as militaries begin to plan, spend and deploy together. The eventual aim of PESCO is to develop and deploy forces together, backed by a multi-billion-euro fund for defense research and development. The idea aims to bring together European countries with a military capacity and political desire to collaborate on planning, carry out joint analyses of emerging crises and to react to them quickly. Speaking recently in the European parliament in Brussels, Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä welcomed the establishment of PESCO as a “step in the right direction” but said PESCO members “should now concentrate on implementation and reaching results.” The EU source said, “Some might find it surprising that the 34 projects are still at the ideation phase but you have to remember that the PESCO project was launched only recently so the record is not bad. We are not talking about a ‘project factory' but a commitment on the part of participating members to work more closely in the area of security and defence.” EU defence expert Paul Taylor wrote, “It is worth noting that the PESCO effort is still at a relatively early stage of development.” Jamie Shea, a senior fellow at Friends of Europe, a leading Brussels think tank, commented, “It is welcome news that the number of PESCO projects is likely soon to grow still further beyond the current 34. But to sustain political and public interest in this initiative it is important that we see soon the first deliverables to show that the good intentions are being followed with real and new European military capabilities.” Shea added, “Moreover the key test for the success of PESCO will not just be to generate more multinational efforts but also to produce capabilities that plug the current shortfalls in the EU's most urgent requirements and move it towards its goal of strategic autonomy.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/05/06/european-union-tees-up-new-military-cooperation-proposals/