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By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The Air Force is looking for a replacement to the stalwart MQ-9 Reaper and intends to explore options ranging from commercial drones built by emerging tech firms to high-end unmanned aircraft, the service's top acquisition official said Tuesday. Will Roper, the Air Force's assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, said the service is working on a study that will inform the fiscal 2022 budget and lay out a path for replacing the MQ-9 Reaper made by General Atomics. "The Reaper has been a great platform for us. Four million flight hours, just undeniable overmatch in a low-end uncontested fight, and it is certainly saving lives,” Roper told lawmakers at a House Armed Services Committee hearing. “But as we look to the high end fight, we just can't take them into the battlefield. They are easily shot down.” The MQ-9 Reaper and its precursor, the MQ-1 Predator, have been the Air Force's workhorse drones in the Middle East over the past two decades, providing both real-time video surveillance and the ability to strike targets. But looking forward, the Reaper is ill-suited to a war with Russia and China while at the same time seen by the Air Force as requiring too much money and manpower to sustain for continued operations in low-threat environments. There likely won't be a single, one-size fits all solution for replacing the MQ-9, Roper said. The Air Force may need drones that “are more high-end, military-unique” systems, and “they'll likely be expensive,” he acknowledged. There may also be room for unmanned attritable aircraft, which are reusable but are cheap enough that they can be shot down in battle without incurring massive financial losses. For lower-end missions, the Air Force sees promise in the emerging unmanned systems market, where new entrants have begun creating long-loiter drones for applications in agriculture, communications and the oil and gas sector. “A lot of companies are targeting that market, not thinking about defense because we've been buying Reapers forever,” Roper said, who added that by buying from promising commercial drone makers, Air Force may be able to influence those companies to keep their supply chains out of China and to incorporate military-specific features — potentially even weapons. “I think if we do the program right on the commercial side, we might be able to bring a new entrant into defense without making them a defense prime,” he said, adding that funding from the Air Force could help a commercial company move from making prototypes to building up a stable production line that could further be grown to manufacture drones on a more massive scale. “Working with the Defense Department, you don't need the kind of production capacity that the globe does. So, we're a pretty good first stop,” he said. However, the Air Force may face an uphill battle in getting Congress to support a plan to replace the Reaper. The service in its FY21 budget request has asked for 24 more MQ-9s before ending the programs of record — a move that would curtail the program from 363 to 337 Reapers. The early shutdown of the line would have major financial implications for General Atomics, said Chris Pehrson, the company's vice president of strategic development, in a February interview with Air Force Magazine. “We're actually going out about 22 months ahead of delivery and procuring the long-lead item parts, ... whether it's [satellite communication] equipment or engines ... to negotiate the best prices and get the best deals for the government,” Pehrson said. “Having the rug pulled out from under your feet at the last minute kind of disrupts all your supply chain investments that you're making.” Top generals in the Middle East and Africa have also raised concerns about the demands for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and privately helped stave off retirements of the MQ-9 by the Air Force in FY21. In its unfunded wish list, U.S. Central Command included additional contractor-flown MQ-9 hours as its number one priority, at a cost of $238 million. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/03/12/could-a-commercial-drone-replace-the-mq-9-reaper-the-air-force-is-considering-it

Defence Minister of Ukraine Andriy Taran discussed during a phone conversation with Minister of National Defence of Canada Harjit Sajjan the security situation in Ukraine and around the world amid coronavirus pandemic. “Yesterday, April 7, Defence Minister of Ukraine Andriy Taran had a phone conversation with Minister of National Defence of Canada Harjit Sajjan. The main topic of the dialogue was the discussion of the security situation in Ukraine and around the world in the context of the current epidemiological situation in the armed forces of both countries. The Minister of National Defence of Canada reiterated the continued unconditional support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the willingness of the Canadian Defence Ministry to assist in enhancing the military capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In particular, the parties discussed the continued support for the training mission of Canada in Ukraine and resumption of its activities in full after the completion of measured related to combating coronavirus pandemic,” the press service of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine informs. In the context of enhancing the combat readiness of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Andriy Taran emphasized the invariance of the continuation of consistent defence reform in Ukraine. In turn, Minister Sajjan welcomed the continued reform of the Ukrainian military under NATO standards and assured of support for Ukraine's accession to the NATO EOP and unblocking of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. The Defence Minister of Ukraine confirmed the priority of continuation of the Euro-Atlantic integration policy in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and also informed the Canadian counterpart about the key goals and priorities of the Ministry's activity. As noted, Harjit Sajjan stressed that the Canadian side was ready to use the Embassy of Canada in Ukraine as a point of contact to promote the mentioned issues among its allies. The parties also discussed a number of issues regarding the continuation of Canada's advisory assistance to Ukraine and the intensification of military and technical cooperation. https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-defense/3001306-ukraine-canada-defence-ministers-discuss-epidemiological-situation-in-countries-armed-forces.html

Sean Broderick WASHINGTON—The Trump Administration has asked Congress for an additional $250 billion in small-business payroll loan funding, providing more cash to the coronavirus pandemic emergency funding program that many small aerospace suppliers are expected to tap. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin tweeted the news April 7, confirming that, “at the direction of President Trump,” he has asked Democrat and Republican leaders in both the House of Representatives and Senate for more Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding “to make sure small businesses get the money they need!” The PPP, part of the March 27 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, was set up to quickly get funds to eligible businesses to cover eight weeks of payroll costs as well as most rent, utility and mortgage-interest expenses. Companies can apply for a one-time PPP loan of up to 2.5 times their average monthly 2019 payroll, up to a maximum $10 million. So long as 75% of the funds are used for payroll costs, the loans do not have to be repaid, making them de facto grants. The CARES Act allocates $349 billion to the program, but early popularly suggests that more funding may be needed to meet demand. The Small Business Administration (SBA) processed more than $70 billion in loans in PPP's first three days after the program opened April 3, though it did not say how much of that has been funded. Some 250,000 small businesses, out of an estimated 30 million, have applied for PPP funds. Mnuchin said he has spoken with Congressional leaders and is confident that he has bipartisan buy-in. “We look forward to the Senate passing that on [April 9], and the House passing that on [April 10]” Mnuchin told reporters during an April 7 media briefing. Additional funding could be approved quickly. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) said in a statement that he would work with Mnuchin and fellow Senate leaders to approve further funding within days. House Democrats are already working on a larger bill, which leader Nancy Pelosi calls CARES 2, that includes more PPP funding. PPP loan applications, submitted through the SBA Small Business Administration (SBA) and funded by participating lenders, began rushing in as soon as the program opened April 3. SBA Mnuchin said April 7 that more than 3,000 lenders are onboard, with additional institutions expected to participate. The program experienced some early hiccups, due in part to its scale and how quickly it has come together. CARES became law on March 27, and interim rules on how PPP would work were issued late April 2, just hours before applications were set to start. The PPP's broad applicability, lack of requirements for guarantees or other collateral, and de facto grant properties—the loans become forgivable if guidance is followed—have made it a catch-all for many small businesses. The general SBA limit for a small business is 500 employees, but it is based on staff or revenue limits set in the North American Industry Classification System. Many aviation businesses, aircraft and engine parts makers and maintenance providers, have limits above 500 employees. The PPP's potential reach and theoretically streamlined application and fulfillment times mean industry trade associations that represent smaller businesses are urging their members to examine PPP loans. https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/aircraft-propulsion/us-small-businesses-may-get-more-covid-19-emergency-funding

The federal government has launched an accelerated procurement plan with several Canadian companies, including Montreal-based CAE, to procure up to 30,000 ventilators. “Canadian companies are answering the call to protect our health care professionals with made-in-Canada solutions,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a statement on Apr. 7. “This is exactly the kind of innovative, collaborative thinking we need to respond to this rapidly evolving pandemic.” CAE is best known in the aerospace sector for aircraft simulators and training services, helping train over 150,000 pilots per year worldwide. But for more than a decade, the company has also made a name as a healthcare training solutions provider for colleges, universities and hospitals and for medical equipment manufacturers. That includes patient simulators that respond to treatment, including intubation and ventilation. “We have the [medical] and engineering expertise in house – electrical, mechanical, software and human physiology,” said Erick Fortin, director of engineering at CAE Healthcare. A team of 12 engineers took up a challenge issued on Mar. 21 by the Montreal General Hospital Foundation and McGill University Health Centre to develop a simple and low-cost ventilator. Within 10 days, they had a working prototype built with parts from around the lab. “It worked quite well,” said Fortin. “It showed how you can put a team together with the right experts ... and what we can do.” For a company that on Apr. 6 announced the temporary laying off of 2,600 of its 10,500 employees and reduced work weeks for another 900, the opportunity “to do something” has been rewarding. “The whole company is mobilized,” he said. “We are really prepared to produce and we are productizing.” From that initial team of a dozen engineers, the project now has about 100 employees involved. And CAE expects to pull in more as they move to full production. CAE might not be the only company in the Montreal aerospace cluster seeking to solve the ventilator shortage. According to industry think tank Aero Montreal, Pratt & Whitney Canada is also exploring how to use its engineering and manufacturing capabilities to design and validate a ventilator concept that would likely “pull on local manufacturing,” including from Bombardier and AON3D. Fortin said CAE had received “hundreds and hundreds” of emails from companies interested in supplying components, from valves to flow sensors. Though all options are under consideration, including having several contingency plans at the ready, the priority would be to find Canadian suppliers who can deliver high volume. “Some parts are a bit more complex to source, like valves. We'll look at all offers, at all suppliers that can help,” he said. “We are confident that we have everything we need. We certainly have the expertise in house to do the production of thousands of ventilators.” CAE must still fine-tune the prototypes, but it intends to deliver about 10,000 units within three months once it starts production. A low-cost solution might have been part of the engineering team's initial objective, but Fortin admitted the final price might be higher than a typical commercial ventilator. “We try to build it as low as possible,” he said. “As you can imagine, as time is of the essence, cost will be a bit higher that what it could be with a bit more time.” CAE will also be leaning on its training expertise to ensure the final product comes with a complete operator training package. Since mid-March, in fact, the company has been offering online re-skilling courses for ventilators and has released a number of COVID-19 scenarios on its current products such as patient simulators. Fortin noted that more than 2,000 health professionals had participated in coronavirus-related webinars “After 25 years at CAE, I am always surprised at how nimble a big company like this can be, and how we can adjust to different situations,” he said. In its statement on Apr. 7, the government said that about 5,000 Canadian companies have offered expertise and capacity to develop and produce medical personal protective equipment, hand sanitizers and other protective gear. The government is also “working through over 22,000 submissions to Public Services and Procurement Canada from companies interested or able to sell to Canada. All efforts are being made to secure contracts and deliveries as quickly as possible.” “In mobilizing industry and creating partnerships, we are moving swiftly to build up a secure domestic supply of key personal protective equipment to protect Canada's frontline health workers as they fight this pandemic,” said Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/cae-federal-governments-call-procure-ventilators/

Vivek Saxena “You never know who's swimming naked until the tide goes out.” I am reminded of Warren Buffett's words in the climate created by the coronavirus pandemic. Aerospace manufacturers that are lean, use enabling technologies and have a robust business continuity plan will stand tall in tough times. Conversely, inefficient companies that have ridden the gravy train of the aerospace supercycle will suffer. I will share a few best practices that should help industry prepare for the long haul, using an admittedly unscientific survey of multiple manufacturers in various tiers to assess how the aerospace supply chain is coping with the triple whammy of reduced demand, weakened productivity and increased supply chain distress. I asked, how are they dealing with dwindling attendance, regulatory confusion and the decoupling of remote support staff from the production staff? Leadership and communication matter more than ever. While liquidity remains the mantra, no factory can succeed without motivated employees. Shop floor attendance is dropping, depending upon the proximity to COVID-19 “hot spots” and, more important, the leadership's success in engaging with employees. We have already observed a 25% average drop in attendance at many suppliers. On the other hand, Click Bond CEO Karl Hutter reports little impact and is even expecting a record month. He set up a mission control office early and deployed an intranet system to communicate with employees. He calls this a “high-fidelity single source of truth about our people and our operations.” Another innovation is mobile check-in/check-out for employees at each building, allowing for a quick triage if necessary. The CEO of a California forger reports a slight improvement in attendance despite the COVID-19 outbreak in the state, owing to “honest communication and employees taking pride in working at a designated critical service.” The terms “critical infrastructure” and “essential business” have been thrown around without much explanation, sowing confusion among suppliers. Marotta Controls CEO Patrick Marotta took the lead in calming his suppliers. “Suppliers were especially appreciative when we communicated the [Defense and Homeland Security] memos classifying the defense industrial base as critical infrastructure,” Marotta said. Lean enables social distancing. Plants with a deeper lean culture have already implemented manufacturing cells. Lean enables operators to run multiple machines in their dedicated cells with minimal interaction with other areas. Consider Woodward's new plant in Rockford, Illinois, where instead of a large furnace, self-contained cells are situated with right-size furnaces. This design eliminates all unnecessary material and personnel movement at a shared service such as a large furnace. Additionally, closed-loop quality control preempts back-and-forth between inspectors and machinists. Technology is a friend. Protolabs in Minnesota is a great example of digital manufacturing. Plants with lights-out machining capability can scale the technology across all shifts, filling in for absent employees. Machine monitoring and the Internet of Things are especially helpful for remote support staff. Shops with a higher degree of automation will obviously see less of an attendance impact. Data analytics dashboards are a great enabler for remote production meetings. An OEM told us its supply chain organization was fully prepared to work remotely since its business continuity plan called for a system for executing and monitoring remote activities. A Tier 1 told us about a recent investment in information technology systems that is now paying off handsomely for remote operations. Now is an opportunity to catch up and come out stronger. The industry will find a way, says Nycote President Marcie Simpson. She is “impressed with the level of communication and transparency. . . . It seems as though everyone is innovating ways to ensure supply chain continuity.” The best-case scenario is that industry comes out of this crisis in about 12 months with moderately reduced demand and the Boeing 737 MAX back in service. The supply chain will then be functioning better, because the intervening period will have been used to catch up on past issues. For example, the engine supply chain can wrinkle out the kinks that have hobbled engine manufacturers. They can use the respite to address the early shop visit issues and develop much-needed repairs for new engines. Lower tiers would be well-advised to use this time to focus on operational excellence and technology implementation. Vivek Saxena is the managing director at Advisory Aerospace OSC, a consultancy focused on operations and supply chain. https://aviationweek.com/aerospace/manufacturing-supply-chain/opinion-aerospace-manufacturing-time-covid-19

By: Valerie Insinna and Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — On the morning of April 2, companies up and down the Pentagon's supply chain got an email from Eaton Aerospace, a mid-tier supplier that provides parts such as fuel pumps and hydraulics to defense primes for aircraft like the KC-46 tanker and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. “The truly unprecedented situation with [the coronavirus] COVID-19 is jointly affecting our business, families and communities we live in,” said one such email, which was obtained by Defense News. “While the health and safety of our employees and those of our supply partners remains paramount, our industry is significantly impacted. ... As a result, our Eaton Grand Rapids, [Michigan], plant will [be] closed starting April 4, 2020 and will reopen on April 13, 2020." Similar emails for other locations followed. In a statement, Eaton Corp. spokeswoman Margaret Hagan acknowledged that the company was temporarily implementing closures “at a few sites,” but maintained that there would be no impact to the “critical support” provided to the U.S. military. “We've made the important decision to maintain operations during the COVID-19 crisis because Eaton products are critical to our global infrastructure,” she said. “As a strategic supplier of aerospace fuel, hydraulic, motion control, electrical and engine solutions for the aerospace and defense sector globally, Eaton's aerospace products and support services are vital not only to the military, but to the transport of passengers and goods around the world.” Although perhaps not a household name in the defense sector, Eaton is far from a small business, bringing in more than $21 billion in sales in 2019. However, the quiet closure of its production lines illustrates how widespread the impacts of COVID-19 have reached — past the major prime contractors like Boeing, or even its major subcontractors like Spirit AeroSystems, and to the large and small companies that populate the middle and lower tiers of its supply chain. “The whole supply chain is a mess right now,” said an employee of one electronics manufacturer that provides components for both commercial and defense products. The source, whose name and company affiliation Defense News is withholding to protect the individual from reprisal, described challenges with working from home and retaining workers on the production line. Some colleagues, the source said, are choosing to take paid leave or voluntary layoffs rather than risk exposure to COVID-19. “We are at 20 percent capability,” the source said. According to Jeremy Bash, a former Pentagon official now with Beacon Global, “there is deep concern among industry and department leaders that the second- and third-tier suppliers need to be protected." “There's a sense DoD [the Department of Defense] needs better visibility into the supply chain, mapping out how a part makes its way into a plane or ship," Bash added. “There is a growing number of tech companies providing software to illuminate supply chains, and since COVID, the phones of those companies have been ringing off the hook because the department now realizes supply chain concentration is a huge risk.” ndustrial shock waves But one doesn't have to dive down the supply chain toward Eaton to see that the defense market is taking a beating, particularly the companies that also have a strong exposure to the commercial market. Up until last month, financial analysts would have seen commercial sales as a major boon to the overall health of a defense supplier, but that has changed, as the economy has taken a nosedive, said Richard Aboulafia, a defense and aerospace analyst with the Teal Group. “The commercial market is under siege, which means of course there is excess inventory, slumping revenue, major challenges on many levels,” he said. "On top of that, everybody faces the immediate impact of social distancing and workforce concerns. And on top of that, if you're heavily exposed to commercial, the harder time you might have getting credit. All of these are big issues. "The defense-industrial base, if it could somehow be removed from commercial aviation, we'd be in pretty good shape by the standards of the world economy. But we can't. They're intertwined.” Bloomberg reported Monday that Airbus sent a letter to employees over the weekend, warning that gaps in the supply chain, among other issues, will impact the company's ability to resume normal operations. Also on Monday, simulation firm CAE announced it was temporarily laying off 2,600 of its 10,500 global employees, while placing another 900 employees on a reduced work week. The company also instituted salary freezes and reductions for remaining staff, ranging from 50 percent for the CEO and executive team down to 10 percent for regular employees. Roughly 40 percent of CAE's overall revenue comes from defense contracts, according to the Defense News Top 100 list. Boeing, meanwhile, extended a shutdown of its Puget Sound, Washington, facilities, while also stopping work at its rotorcraft production line in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a result of the Puget Sound shutdown, Spirit AeroSystems announced last week that it is halting work at a number of locations. Small businesses that form a core of the Pentagon's future technological development may be particularly vulnerable, according to government data and analytics firm Govini. In a new data sheet, the company noted there are roughly 50,000 small businesses that provide innovation support for the DoD, all of which is vulnerable to economic upheaval. “If this ecosystem suffers widespread failure due to COVID-19, the resulting impact will stretch well beyond short-term disruptions,” Govini said. “These vendors are not just critical links in the DoD supply chain important for immediate purposes. They are also vital for the development of both next-generation systems in the midterm and revolutionary capabilities that will shape the competitive landscape for decades into the future.” Between fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2019, roughly 28 percent of defense spending on underwater unmanned vehicles — a key part of the U.S. Navy's plan to build a fleet of the future — went to small businesses, according to Govini numbers. Small business contracts also accounted for 30 percent of the DoD's research on artificial intelligence during that same time period. Martijn Rasser, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, warned Defense News last month that “for small business, a shutdown would be extremely difficult to get through because even with bailouts and economic stimulus, once those businesses close up, its really hard to get those started again.” “If an airline goes out of business, the planes don't disappear — you can start over. If it's a highly specialized manufacturing company, those employees are going to disperse and try to find other work. So I think that's something to be very cognizant of because of all the consolidation in the defense industry,” he added. “If they have to curtail operations for an extended period of time, it's extremely difficult to get it going again.” What's the Pentagon's response? Starting March 20, the Pentagon began issuing guidance on how to support industry. But a three-day span last week showed how those efforts remain a moving target, particularly in relation to the smallest suppliers. On March 30, the department's acting director of defense pricing and contracting, Kim Herrington, issued guidance to contracting officers that essentially said industry should not be penalized for missing performance targets as a result of the ongoing pandemic. “We must do our utmost to ensure that both the Department and the vital industrial base that support us remain healthy for the duration of this emergency and emerge as strong as ever from the challenges of this pandemic,” Herrington wrote. But some in Congress feel the department is still not doing enough to clarify policy changes for contracting officers and defense companies. On April 1, a group of Ohio lawmakers wrote to Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord, warning that “we are concerned that guidance to the defense contractor workforce remains ambiguous and lacks uniformity in application,” particularly in terms of communication from department contracting officers to small companies. Over the past several years, the Pentagon has worked to delegate decision-making authorities to low-level contracting officers. But while that may work to empower contracting officers to find creative solutions to problems under normal circumstances, during a pandemic, these officials are ill-prepared to decipher “uncertain, often conflicting guidance,” the lawmakers said. The lawmakers asked that contracting officers be directed to ensure that contractors are allowed to work remotely to the maximum extent possible; that contractors be given “maximum flexibility to meet their contractual obligations”; that efforts be made to not have “avoidable reductions” in the workforce; and that companies involved in research and development work be clearly labeled as essential personnel. And on April 2, two trade groups — the National Defense Industrial Association and the Professional Services Council — asked Congress to instate a six-month delay for a legal requirement included in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act that prohibits the government from doing business with companies that work with vendors Huawei and ZTE. That language “will impose significant financial and operational costs on medium- and small-sized firms at a moment of substantial uncertainty and hardship,” at a time when they are dealing with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the letter stated. Later in the day, the DoD released a statement providing clarification on previous announcements. The department confirmed that higher progress payment rates — which had been jumped the previous week — will apply to already completed work, and not just future production. The new cash-flow rules should result in more than $3 billion in new cash moving into industry, according to department estimates. But that prediction came with a warning: The Pentagon “has high expectations that that prime companies are ensuring cash flow is moving to small businesses in their respective supply chains who need it most.” So far, the Defense Contract Management Agency has modified approximately 1,400 contracts with increased rates, the announcement noted. Contracting officials are working to ensure invoices at the higher progress payment rate keep arriving on time, with the department claiming there have been “no reported delays on contractor submitted invoices.” The announcement also stated that any delay related to COVID-19 issues will result in “an equitable adjustment of the contract schedule and cost,” meaning the department will adjust the contracts so that the vendor does not take an economic hit. The steps taken by the department are important, said Bash, the former Pentagon official. “The most powerful force the government can bring to help these companies is to say to industry: ‘We have money,' ” he said. A wildcard, Bash noted, is the $17 billion in national security-focused funding made available under the most recent stimulus package passed by Congress. However, Byron Callan, an industry analyst with Capital Alpha Partners, warns that more money doesn't necessarily mean less problems. “The DoD faces the same issues as any other branch of the government or the Fed that is providing more cash to address the crisis — if people aren't at work because of COVID-19, that cash won't help much in keeping a factory or office open and all projects on schedule," Callan said. For Aboulafia, increasing the value of progress payments is a good first step for increasing the flow of cash to suppliers. “In times like this, it really is about access to cash because of the risk of credit markets freezing up for commercial companies. Accelerated payments, maybe loan guarantees should be considered," Aboulafia said. But he's realistic that the defense industry isn't the only issue on the table for the Trump administration. “I think there's a lot that government can do,” Aboulafia said. "Unfortunately there's a lot that government has to do because the entire economy has been put into a medically induced coma.” https://www.defensenews.com/coronavirus/2020/04/08/the-pentagons-supply-chain-faces-an-economy-under-siege

Tokyo, April 6, 2020 – Japan's largest Super Puma operator, Japan Coast Guard (JCG), has placed a new order of two H225 helicopters. This follow-on order brings JCG's Super Puma fleet to 15, comprising two AS332s and 13 H225s. The new helicopters will be utilised for territorial coastal activities, security enforcement, as well as disaster relief missions in Japan. “We thank the Japan Coast Guard for its continued confidence in the H225,” said Guillaume Leprince, Managing Director of Airbus Helicopters in Japan. “The H225 is well regarded as a reference in search-and-rescue operations and security enforcement, and we are certainly happy to see these helicopters effectively deployed in Japan through the years. We have delivered three new H225 to JCG in the recent months, within schedule, and are committed to fully supporting its existing fleet, as well as its upcoming deliveries, ensuring high availability for its operations.” The JCG's H225s are covered by Airbus' HCare Smart full-by-the-hour material support. This customised fleet availability programme allows JCG to focus on its flight operations whilst Airbus manages its assets. The 11-ton-category, twin-engine H225 is the latest member of Airbus Helicopters' Super Puma family. Equipped with state-of-the-art electronic instruments and renowned autopilot precision, the all-weather capable H225 offers outstanding endurance and fast cruise speed, and can be fitted with various equipment to suit any role. In Japan alone, a total of 28 helicopters from the Super Puma family are currently flown by civil, parapublic operators, and Japan's Ministry of Defense for various search and rescue missions, offshore operations, VIP, fire-fighting, and passenger and goods transportation. Your Contact Belinda Ng Head of External Communications, Asia-Pacific (Helicopters and Defence & Space) +65 9683 6361 View source version on Airbus: https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/press-releases/en/2020/04/japan-coast-guard-orders-two-more-h225-helicopters.html

By JOHN QUIGG Next month we'll celebrate the 80th anniversary of Operation Dynamo, better known as “the Miracle of Dunkirk.” In the course of three days, hundreds of British civilian boats crossed the Channel to save their Army from starvation and the advancing Germans. Why? The Royal Navy did not have enough ships to transport the troops nor the right type of boats to operate in the shallows of the French coast. The key to the operation's success was governmental agility, masterful logistics, and realizing that the only solution to saving the entire force was a never-seen-before public/private partnership and lightning fast decision making (along with favorable weather and air cover). Our first responders and medical heroes are trapped on a figurative beach as the crest of the COVID-19 epidemic looms with too few supplies, thus facing illness and possible death. Supply chains ravaged by years of creating just-in-time global networks are not up to this challenge. The “Little Ships” in our modern story to the rescue will be 3-D printers. The air cover will be shielding from tort lawyers, and the civilian volunteers the remarkable talents comprising the nation's maker community. I confess that this is personal — my youngest brother is an EMT in suburban Atlanta. He tells me that his coworkers and emergency room staff are already down to handmade masks and are begging for supplies. The need is clear – top priority must be placed on vetting and publishing designs, finding out where the nation's supply chain can't satisfy projected demand, and the command and control required to match makers with the needs of the nation's first responders. For example, the Seattle Children's hospital was running critically low on masks several weeks ago and was desperate for help. Enter Rory Larson, a talented CAD designer who spent two caffeine fueled days and nights designing and testing a printable version of an N-95 mask with replaceable filters which were enthusiastically embraced by the hospital staff. His father, Garr, connected him with Jonathan Roberts, a veteran of Microsoft and Innovation Partners. Roberts helped scale the availability of the design, enlisted production partners and reached out to people who could help them leap over the many administrative hurdles — and set up a website. Now anyone with a printer can download the design and print their own masks. The military is already headed down this path. US Forces Korea tasked their science advisors from the Office of Naval Research and Army Futures Command to start an internal effort given the shortages of masks and other supplies in Asia. They designed, produced and disseminated a face shield for gate guards and are exploring the techniques for other medical shortfalls however the design and approval process is still problematic. One of their largest challenges is procedural – sharing military-manufactured equipment falls foul of all sorts of regulations and they will need process changes at a pace no earthly acquisition official could normally achieve. This problem is replicated across the defense enterprise as installations around the world wrestle with the red tape surrounding helping their neighbors and host countries. To help, the Department of Defense Manufacturing Innovation Institute for additive manufacturing (www.AmericaMakes.us) initiated a fast track certification process to breach the monolith of government approvals. ONR Global's Mark Buffum tells me that they are working with ONR/USFK legal to check that the validation coordination between the FDA and AmericaMakes will allow designs that have passed Clinical Review to be moved to production at DOD installations globally. The end state for now is a tested design placed on the NIH's 3D design exchange that is approved for manufacture. The government is working on the dispensations needed to take a mask printed on a Navy ship in Korea, an Army logistics train in Iraq, or an Air Force base in Colorado. Similarly, 3D makers near Active Duty/Reserve/National Guard installations should be integrated into their supply chain. If worst case scenarios come to pass and civilian logistics fail then we have an exercised plan to connect military supply and transport capabilities to the manufacturers and vice versa. Much as the Royal Navy executed the plan to flag and man the Little Ships during Dunkirk, we must figure out how the military can leverage local, regional, and national maker capabilities to get those printers humming. A case in point is the Belgian chemical company Solvay, partnering with Boeing, to leverage its extensive expertise in thermoplastic materials—and especially medical-grade plastics—to support various efforts aimed at fighting the pandemic. Their support centers located around the world are ready to support material selection, manufacturing support, relevant testing and regulatory certifications. They are offering to put makers in touch with their extensive network of distributors, molders and machine shops.Additionally, Boeing is working with Solvay to design/produce more durable face shields for healthcare workers. Boeing announced last week it would be shifting some of its manufacturing capacity, including its in-house 3D printing, to produce thousands of face shields per week for medical workers. At the local level, community leaders like Todd Spain are talking to their local hospital to determine shortfalls, and are working with a regional maker group, Colorado Makers Unite (MakerUnite.co) to produce their own masks and ventilator adapters to protect the staff and enable equipment sharing. They are prepared to make anything their first responders need. One of the biggest roadblocks is the administrative state: the only readily available plastic is not approved for medical use, the approved plastic is on a 3-week wait list and costs 10X more, shipping of vital feed-stock and machines is not on the prioritized list, and the usual hurdles of liability, etc.... One can only imagine the potential legal hurdles to using something that hasn't been tested in countless lawsuits unless a company gets regulatory relief. A partnership with the local National Guard unit or military installation could bring their concerns to light and allow the Defense Department to take on the job of connecting the capability to the population and while providing emergency protection from the trial bar. We must move heaven and earth to give the brave people trying to build an ad hoc network of 3-D mask makers our best and ensure that the “small ships” of the 3-D printing world and its makers are allowed to give it their best shot. I can only hope that history looks back at this time with wonder that we were able to pull it off. John Quigg, a retired Army officer, was one of America's first cyber warriors. He is a senior advisor to Spurrier Capital Partners, a New York investment bank, and a senior staffer at Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Lab. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/04/covid-19-help-fleets-of-innovators-make-3d-printed-face-masks

The long-awaited IBCS battle network is meant to connect a wide range of Army radars and weapons – and potentially other services' as well – for anti-aircraft and missile defense. By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR. WASHINGTON: The Army has indefinitely postponed a major test of its IBCS air and missile defense network to protect the soldiers and civilians involved from the COVID-19 coronavirus, Breaking Defense has learned. A battalion of air defense troops who'd been training for weeks at White Sands Missile Range have been sent back to home base. Even more important for public health, technical experts from multiple Army agencies and contractors will no longer have to travel to the test. Known formally as a Limited User Test, the event requires participation from across the country, the head of the Army's air & missile defense modernization task force, Bring Gen. Brian Gibson, told me in late March. The LUT would involve both soldiers and civilians from Fort Sill, the Army's artillery & air defense center; Huntsville, headquarters for the service's missile procurement; and extensive support from the host facility, White Sands Missile Range, as well as neighboring El Paso, Tex., Gibson said. Other participants would come from even further afield, such as Army Test & Evalucation Command (ATEC) at Aberdeen Proving Grounds. “There are testers from afar that come in to oversee that test,” Gibson told me. “Those are all variables that are part of this daily assessment on should we, can we, do we continue?” Ironically, the soldiers training for the test were probably safer than the general public – as long as they were isolated in the desert at the vast White Sands Missile Range. But if one of them were somehow exposed to the coronavirus, Gibson warned, the patient would be in close quarters with lots of other soldiers and a long way away from a hospital. “Certainly, being away from large population centers is a different dynamic, [and] most of the time that is positive,” Gibson told me in March, “but, also, we're very cognizant that's still a pretty large number of individuals we have together in tight quarters that are further away from population centers where most of the health care infrastructure and support is.” There have been no reports that any soldiers involved have fallen ill. The test had been scheduled to begin May 15, after weeks of intensive training and preparation. No new date has been set, but if the Army can start the LUT up in July – far from a foregone conclusion – it can keep the high-priority program on schedule. Why IBCS Matters What is IBCS? The name is an awkward nested acronym for Integrated Air & Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System. The network is intended to share data and commands seamlessly among a wide range of historically incompatible systems across the Army and, potentially, the other services. As such, it's the No. 1 priority in the Army's air & missile defense portfolio, which is in turn one of the service's Big Six priority areas for modernize. The program's been in the works for over a decade with many ups, downs and delays, but the Army and lead contractor Northrop Grumman are confident they have turned IBCS around. Four years ago, an earlier — disastrous — Limited User Test revealed software problems that led the Army to delay the program four years and overhaul the entire program. Since that 2016 LUT, the Army and Northrup have been bringing soldiers and engineers together frequently to try out the latest software upgrades and make fixes, rather than waiting for feedback from a major test event. The Army even brought in the Air Force for an experiment in which an F-35A Joint Strike Fighter successfully transmitted targeting data on a missile to IBCS. Compatibility with IBCS is now mandatory for all future Army air & missile defense systems, which has been a stumbling block for the Israeli-made Iron Dome. Top brass have even begun touting IBCS as a key building block of the future Joint All-Domain Command & Control (JADC2) mega-network meant to coordinate all the armed services in a future war with Russia or China. So the Army and Northrop were understandably eager to show off how well the latest version of IBCS performs. When they'll have a chance to do so depends less on what they do themselves than on the progress the entire nation makes against an insidious and invisible enemy. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/04/covid-19-army-delays-missile-defense-network-test-exclusive