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ARMY Palantir USG Inc., Palo Alto, California (W56KGY-20-D-0005); and BAE Systems Information and Electronic SYS INT INC, San Diego, California (W56KGY-20-D-0006), will compete for each order of the $823,263,105 firm-fixed-price contract to upgrade/replace components found in the Distributed Common Ground System-Army. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 24, 2027. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Herndon, Virginia, was awarded a $42,088,702 hybrid (cost-no-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price, fixed-price-incentive) modification (P00054) to contract (W58RGZ-17-C-0014) for contractor logistics support services for government-owned fixed-wing fleet performing Special Electronic Mission Aircraft missions. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Herndon, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $42,088,721 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $19,653,151 modification (P00023) to contract W52P1J-18-C-0002 to provide Class V munitions supply support for all ammunition stocks accounted for by 1st Sustainment Command (Theater) to U.S. military/government components, Department of Defense agencies, and, as required, coalition forces in the Central Command Area of Responsibility. Work will be performed in Kuwait City, Kuwait, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $19,653,151 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Unisys Corp. Federal Systems, Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $14,029,965 cost-no-fee, firm-fixed-price contract for an 18-month bridge to continue support for the Army Enterprise Service Desk. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Augusta, Georgia, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 25, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $14,029,965 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-20-C-0010). A. WBE-CCI JV One LLC,* Itasca, Illinois, was awarded an $11,877,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a pre-engineered metal hangar with conventional construction for adjacent support shop, administrative and non-destructive inspection testing spaces. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Klamath Falls, Oregon, with an estimated completion date of March 9, 2021. Fiscal 2018 military construction, Army National Guard funds in the amount of $11,877,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Property and Fiscal Office, Salem, Oregon, is the contracting activity (W50S8Z-20-C-0001). PAS MRO Inc.,* Irvine, California, was awarded a $9,787,000 firm-fixed-price contract to overhaul UH-60 tip caps. Bids were solicited via the internet with eight received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 25, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-20-D-0026). NAVY Deloitte Consulting LLP, Arlington, Virginia; Boston Consulting Group Federal Corp., Bethesda, Maryland; Whitney, Bradley & Brown Inc., Reston, Virginia; Mid-Atlantic Technical and Executive Consulting LLC,* Arlington, Virginia; and CACI Inc., Federal, Chantilly, Virginia, are awarded a cumulative not-to-exceed $249,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts for the Navy's System-Level Cost Analysis with Total Ownership Cost Analysis initiative. The competitive ordering period for both firm-fixed-price or cost-plus-fixed-fee type orders shall not exceed five years. Work will be performed at contractor and vendor facilities as determined on individual orders and is expected to be completed by February 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $15,000 will be obligated at time of award to fulfill the minimum guarantees of the IDIQs and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with seven offers received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-20-D-2425, N00024-20-D-2431, N00024-20-D-2432, N00024-20-D-2433, and N00024-20-D-2434). BAE Systems Land & Armaments L.P., Sterling Heights, Michigan, is awarded a $113,548,696 modification to exercise options for the fixed-price-incentive (firm target) contract line item numbers 4001 and 4005 portions of a previously awarded contract (M67854-16-C-0006). This modification is for the purchase of 26 amphibious combat vehicles and other associated production costs. Work will be performed in York, Pennsylvania (60%), Aiken, South Carolina (15%), San Jose, California (15%), Sterling Heights, Michigan (5%), and Stafford, Virginia (5%), and is expected to be completed in April 2022. Fiscal 2020 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $113,548,696 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was based on full and open competition with the solicitation publicized on the Federal Business Opportunities website with five offers received. The option contract line item numbers were included within that contract and are being exercised in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.217-7 option for increased quantity-separately priced line item. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M67854-16-C-0006). Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Mississippi, is awarded a $23,925,125 modification (P00005) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost contract (N00421-19-D-0031). This modification exercises the option to provide contractor owned and operated aircraft to Navy fleet customers, foreign military sales customers, and contractors as well as Department of Defense and other government agencies in support of the Contracted Air Services (CAS) program. The CAS program provides airborne threat simulation capabilities to train shipboard and aircraft squadron weapon systems operators and aircrew on how to counter potential enemy electronic warfare and electronic attack operations in today's electronic combat environment. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Virginia (50%); Coronado, California (40%); and Kauai, Hawaii (10%), and is expected to be completed in February 2021. No funds are being obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. L3Harris Technologies Inc., Palm Bay, Florida, is being awarded a $14,693,123 modification to exercise priced options to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract issued by the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command. This modification increases the value of the basic contract by $14,693,123; the new total value is $61,180,747. This modification provides for the exercise of firm-fixed-price options for Commercial Broadband Satellite Program Unit Level Variant (ULV) hardware production units. ULV provides terminal-to-shore, space and terrestrial connectivity to significantly increase throughput for commercial satellite communication and provides redundancy for military satellite communications. Work will be performed in Palm Bay, Florida, and is expected to be completed by August 2020. Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy), and fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $14,693,123 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N00039-14-C-0041). DCS Corp., Alexandria, Virginia, is awarded a $10,649,613 modification (P00027) to a previously awarded cost reimbursable, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00421-17-C-0043). This modification provides for the planning and execution of test efforts for aircraft and weapons components through a Milestone C decision to include developmental and operational test and evaluation efforts associated with modifications to existing commercial-off-the-shelf and non-developmental items, which require engineering, design, integration, test and evaluation. This modification also provides contractor services support in administration, engineering and management functions in support of the Naval Test Wing Atlantic, Naval Air Systems Command and the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in February 2021. Working capital (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,062,000 and fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $812,739 will be obligated at time of award, $812,739 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Progeny Systems Corp.,* Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $9,913,382 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order (N68335-20-F-0068) against basic ordering agreement (N68335-18-G-0039). This delivery order provides for continued maturation of the Expeditionary Mission Planning System. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (65%) and Middletown, Virginia (35%), and is expected to be completed in February 2022. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,100,000 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity. Vigor Marine LLC, Portland, Oregon, is awarded a $9,329,088 firm-fixed-price contract for the maintenance, repair and preservation of Caisson Six. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington, and is expected to be completed by December 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $9,329,088 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility code 400, Bremerton, Washington, is the contracting activity (N4523A-20-C-1053). Raytheon Co., Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona, was awarded a $7,992,944 cost plus fixed fee modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-17-C-5405) for design agent engineering and technical support services for the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System, SeaRAM, and Land-based Phalanx Weapon System. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by January 2022. Fiscal 2020 weapon procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $7,992,944 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. In accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1), this contract was not competitively procured; only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Phalanx Close-In Weapon System is a fast-reaction terminal defense against low and high-flying, high-speed maneuvering anti-ship missile threats that have penetrated all other defenses. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Awarded Feb. 24, 2020. The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $7,373,400 firm-fixed-price delivery order (N00019-20-F-0573) against basic ordering agreement (N00019-16-G-0001). This delivery order procures 30 A1 G-Model kits and 66 A3 E-Model kits in support of F/A-18E/F and EA-18G modifications. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California (86%); St. Louis, Missouri (6%); San Antonio, Texas (6%); and Mesa, Arizona (2%), and is expected to be completed in October 2023. Fiscal 2019 ($3,701,400) and fiscal 2020 ($3,672,000) aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,373,400 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. AIR FORCE Tapestry Solutions Inc., San Diego, California, has been awarded a $28,390,620 for F-15 mission planning software development and maintenance. This contract provides for the F-15 software development of the v6.1 Mission Planning Environment and supports the F-15 Organizational Flight Program Suite 9.1 through sustainment of the previously-fielded v5.0 Mission Planning Environment for the Air Force and foreign country specific releases for the foreign military sales (FMS) client nations as well as the in-test v6.0 Mission Planning Environment. The foreign military sales effort allows continued support to incorporate requirements to provide country specific versions of Air Force Mission Planning Environment updates in accordance with each country specific FMS Letters of Acceptance between the U.S. government and the foreign government. The Mission Planning Environment updates will be fielded outside the continental U.S. to the foreign military sales costumers with current Letters of Acceptance in place with the U.S. government. Work will be performed in Maryland Heights, Missouri, and is expected to be complete by July 31, 2023. This contract involves foreign military sales to Canada, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Korea and Qatar. Plans to include Japan and other countries are to be anticipated. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 and include operations and maintenance and research and development funds in the amount of $387,876 are being obligated at the time of award. Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8730-20-C-0001). L3Harris Technologies Inc., Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been awarded a $22,990,454 cost reimbursement and cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for Transition-On and Ground Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance Upgrade Technical Maturation and Risk Reduction on the Maintenance of Space Situational Awareness Integrated Capabilities (MOSSAIC) acquisition. MOSSAIC will provide sustainment services for current and future ground-based Space Situational Awareness (SSA) sensors, SSA Command and Control systems, and Space Battle Management Command and Control capabilities in the Space and Missile System Center Space Domain Awareness Division Special Programs - Ground portfolio. Additionally, MOSSAIC provides for sustainment of and modernization of associated test and integration infrastructure capabilities supporting the Space Domain Awareness Division Special Programs - Ground portfolio. The MOSSAIC contract scope will also include modifications and upgrades for all MOSSAIC systems, it sustains or will sustain, to maintain operational performance and evolve system capabilities to meet new mission needs, as necessary. The location of performance is Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Dahlgren, Virginia. This awarded work is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2020. This award is a result of a competitive acquisition solicited on BetaSam and two offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $1,804,531 and fiscal 2020 research and development funds in the amount of $6,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Space and Missile System Center Directorate of Contracting, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the contracting activity (FA8823-20-C-0004). Call Henry Inc., Titusville Florida, has been awarded a $10,096,797 predominantly fixed-price incentive modification (P00075) to previously awarded contract FA4610-18-C-0005, to exercise option year three. This modification provides management and support, maintenance and repair, operations, other services and minor alteration related to launch operations support. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $60,535,156. Work will be performed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $3,200,000 will be obligated at the time of award. The 30th Contracting Squadron, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2094196/source/GovDelivery/

By: Seth J. Frantzman JERUSALEM — Bluebird Aero Systems has sold more than 150 vertical-takeoff-and-landing drones to an unnamed European country in a deal worth “tens of millions of euros,” the Israeli company announced Tuesday. The company, which makes WanderB and ThunderB tactical VTOL drones, said the customer will incorporate the two UAV types into infantry, armored, artillery and special forces units. The commander of the ground forces of the unnamed country provided a statement via Bluebird that said the government was impressed with the VTOL solution, as it will enable “high operational flexibility and provide invaluable real-time intelligence and situational awareness.” The VTOL design has been tested in harsh environments and proved reliable. The recently sold drones are expected to be deployed to enhance the capabilities of units adjusting to modern fighting methods, providing “advanced and reliable intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance capabilities to address the modern battlefield's challenges,” the commander said. The head of the country's special forces brigade command agreed with the ground forces commander that the long range and endurance of the man-packable and tactical UAVs will aid in rapid deployment with small units. The special forces leader added that the UAV is a fit for day and night use. Bluebird's unmanned aircraft systems have been operational with the Israel Defense Forces since 2002 and in other countries since 2006, where they have logged a total of 52,000 sorties. According to the recent edition of the Drone Databook at Bard College's Center for the Study of the Drone, Bluebird UAVs are also used by India, Chile and Ethiopia. These countries use the 9.5-kilogram SpyLite, which has a range of 50 kilometers. In contrast the ThunderB, which was sold in this contract, weighs 32 kilograms and has a range of 150 kilometers. It can also carry a small cargo under each wing, which Bluebird says can be used to drop “essential material” with an accurate ballistic trajectory. The WanderB is man-packable at 13 kilograms and a 50-kilometer range. It can be used to relay real-time surveillance using electro-optical/infrared payloads. Bluebird says the ThunderB is ideal for long, covert intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance missions. The Greek police have reportedly used SpyLite and ThunderB since 2014. And the WanderB has previously been offered to Spain. Bluebird is confident the latest deal will lead to additional European contracts. This deal adds to an overall trend of growth for Israeli companies in Europe as well as the expansion of the small and mini-UAV market. Israel's Elbit Systems sold more than 1,000 mini-drones in a $153 million deal last year to a southeast Asian country. More countries are seeking these smaller UAS solutions for tactical or special forces units in the field, including pairing drones with armored vehicles. This is especially the case as technology advances and units seek to modernize and network together fleets of drones. https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2020/02/26/israeli-firm-sells-over-150-drones-to-european-country/

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's protracted effort to buy 88 new fighter jets hit a new delay on Tuesday when the government granted potential bidders another three months to submit their proposals. Governments of various stripes have been trying for well over a decade to replace a fleet of ageing Boeing Co CF-18 jets, some of which are more than 40 years old. Last July, Ottawa launched the competition for a contract worth between C$15 billion ($11.30 billion) and C$19 billion. The deadline for submitting preliminary proposals had been end-March. But the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that at the industry's request, the deadline had been pushed back to June 30 to give bidders more time to address security questions. In 2017, Canada announced it would buy a fleet of older Australian F-18 jets to help keep the air force operational until the new planes start arriving in 2025. “Here we go again with more Liberal dithering and delaying because of Trudeau's weak leadership. Meanwhile our air force is stuck with old rusted out fighters from Australia!” tweeted legislator James Bezan of the official opposition Conservatives. The main contenders are Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing, while Sweden's Saab AB is also participating. Last August Airbus SE withdrew, citing onerous security requirements. The office of Procurement Minister Anita Anand said the government had outlined what security steps contenders needed to take to ensure their planes could operate with allies. European jets must meet stringent standards required by the United States, which with Canada operates the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Canada has experienced many military procurement problems since the early 1990s, variously featuring search and rescue helicopters, trucks, close combat vehicles and submarines. David Perry, a defense analyst at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute think tank, said Ottawa routinely extended time lines to ensure useful feedback from potential suppliers. “This is a project where they have been progressively adding time for well over a decade,” he said by phone. “The net result is that they keep pushing back (the time) when they will actually get new aircraft.” Airbus and other contenders had complained Ottawa appeared to be tilting the race in favor of Lockheed Martin's F-35 plane, which the Royal Canadian Air Force wants. Canada is part of the consortium that developed the plane. None of the three contenders was immediately available for comment. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-fighterjets/canadas-protracted-fighter-jet-procurement-race-hits-new-delay-idUSKBN20J23V

By: The Associated Press NEW DELHI — U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that India has signed a deal to purchase more than $3 billion of advanced military equipment, including helicopters. The announcement comes as the president visits with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Asian nation. Trump also said the two leaders made progress on what he describes as a “comprehensive trade deal" after bilateral talks. Modi, meanwhile, said the two had a productive exchange on issues including defense cooperation, energy and technology, adding that talks will continue. He also said that he and Trump have now met five times over the past eight months, noting that ties between the two nations is the “most important partnership of the 21st century." https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2020/02/25/trump-announces-3b-defense-deal-with-india

The Air Force's new investment strategy is designed to "catalyze the commercial market by bringing our military market to bear," says Roper. By THERESA HITCHENS PENTAGON: The Air Force will roll out the final stage in its commercial startup investment strategy during the March 13-20 South By Southwest music festival, granting one or more contracts worth at least $10 million to startups with game-changing technologies, service acquisition chief Will Roper says. The first-of-its kind event in Austin, called the Air Force Pitch Bowl, will match Air Force investment with private venture capital funds on a one to two ratio, according to a presentation by Capt. Chris Benson of AFWERX at the Strategic Institute's Dec. 4-5 “AcquisitionX” meeting. So, if the Air Force investment fund, called Air Force Ventures, puts in $20 million, the private capital match would be $40 million. AFWERX, the Air Force's innovation unit, has one of its hubs in Austin. “This has been a year in the making now, trying to make our investment arm, the Air Force Ventures, act like an investor, even if it's a government entity,” Roper explained. “We don't invest like a private investor — we don't own equity — we're just putting companies on contract. But for early stage companies, that contract acts a lot like an investor.” The goal is to help steer private resources toward new technologies that will benefit both US consumers and national security to stay ahead of China's rapid tech growth, Roper told reporters here Friday. The Air Force wants to “catalyze the commercial market by bringing our military market to bear,” he said. “We're going to be part of the global tech ecosystem.” Figuring out how to harness the commercial marketplace is critical, Roper explained, because DoD dollars make up a dwindling percentage of the capital investment in US research and development. This is despite DoD's 2021 budget request for research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) of $106.6 billion being “the largest in its history,” according to Pentagon budget rollout materials. The Air Force's share is set at $37.3 billion, $10.3 billion of which is slated for Space Force programs. “We are 20 percent of the R&D is this country — that's where the military is today,” Roper said. “So if we don't start thinking of ourselves as part of a global ecosystem, looking to influence trends, investing in technologies that could be dual-use — well, 20 percent is not going to compete with China long-term, with a nationalized industrial base that can pick national winners.” The process for interested startups to compete for funds has three steps, Roper explained, beginning with the Air Force “placing a thousand, $50K bets per year that are open.” That is, any company can put forward its ideas to the service in general instead of there being a certain program office in mind. “We'll get you in the door,” Roper said, “we'll provide the accelerator functions that connect you with a customer. “Pitch days” are the second step, he said. Companies chosen to be groomed in the first round make a rapid-fire sales pitch to potential Air Force entities — such as Space and Missile Systems Center and Air Force Research Laboratory — that can provide funding, as well as to venture capitalists partnering with the Air Force. As Breaking D broke in October, part of the new acquisition strategy is luring in private capital firms and individual investors to match Air Force funding in commercial startups as a way to to bridge the ‘valley of death' and rapidly scale up capability. The service has been experimenting with ‘pitch days' across the country over the last year, such as the Space Pitch Days held in San Francisco in November when the service handed out $22.5 million to 30 companies over two days. Roper said he intends to make “maybe 300 of those awards per year,” with the research contracts ranging from $1 million to $3 million a piece and “where program dollars get matched by our investment dollars.” The final piece of the strategy, Roper explained, is picking out the start-ups that can successfully field game-changing technologies. “The thing that we're working on now is the big bets, the 30 to 40 big ideas, disruptive ideas that can change our mission and hopefully change the world,” Roper said. “We're looking for those types of companies.” The Air Force on Oct. 16 issued its first call for firms to compete for these larger SBIR contracts under a new type of solicitation, called a “commercial solutions opening.” The call went to companies already holding Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards. The winners will be announced in Austin. If the strategy is successful, Roper said, the chosen firms will thrive and become profitable dual-use firms focused primarily on the commercial market. “The, we're starting to build a different kind of industry base,” Roper enthused. “So, we've gotta get the big bets right. Then most importantly, if you succeed in one of the big bets, then we need to put you on contract on the other side, or else the whole thing is bunk.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/02/air-force-to-pump-new-tech-startups-with-10m-awards

By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR. WASHINGTON: After four decades of failed attempts to replace its Vietnam-vintage OH-58 Kiowa scout, next month the Army will choose two of five competing teams to build prototypes for a new Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft. Those prototypes, in turn, will compete for a mass-production contract in a 2023 “fly off,” with deliveries no later than 2028. A new scout is urgently overdue as the US faces ever-more-sophisticated Russian and Chinese air defenses that can keep traditional aircraft at bay. But with limited budgets, the Army will have to pick and choose high-priority units to get FARA first, and the rest of the force will have to wait. “We've got to look at, where are the most critical spots to bring capability,” said Brig. Gen. Michael McCurry, director of aviation for the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for operations and plans. The priority is the cutting-edge combat units that must break open sophisticated anti-aircraft defensives for the rest of the force to follow, he told me: “That penetrate force, that's where FARA is going to go.” Learning From the Past Now, the Army has made its job easier in a couple of important ways. Perhaps most important, instead of the traditional dozens or hundreds of detailed technical specifications that hem in designers' ingenuity, Future Vertical Lift director Brig. Gen. Walter Rugen told me, “we have very few critical attributes within our FARA spec.” One huge thing that the Army is not asking for: stealth. Unlike the costly Boeing Comanche cancelled in 2006, the FARA won't have to be shaped and coated to be impervious to radar – which is largely irrelevant to low-flying helicopters hiding behind hills, trees, or buildings, which are most often detected by the sound of their rotors, not by radar. Like the Comanche, advertised as a “digital quarterback,” FARA will act as an electronic hub for battlefield intelligence, collecting target data from drones and passing it to Army artillery, hypersonic missiles, and Air Force strike fighters – but network tech has come a long way since 2006, the year before the iPhone went on sale. Finally, unlike the Comanche, FARA won't be a conventional helicopter with a single main rotor and a small tail rotor for stability. The speed and range required to survive the future battlefield are greater than that classic set-up can achieve. That's driven all four firms who've discussed their designs in public – Boeing has not revealed anything – to adopt innovative configurations the Army's never fielded before. Only one of the designs, Sikorsky's, is based on an existing aircraft that's done actual flight tests. But the Army is confident the competitors can deliver. In detailed modeling, Rugen said, “all those offerings are beating those [minimum] mission critical attributes that we're trying towards.” Congress actually cut the FARA budget for 2020 by $34 million. That won't slow the program down, the Army has said, but it will reduce the amount of Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) the service can provide the contractors to build their prototypes around: weapons systems including a 20-millimeter autocannon and a missile launcher, Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA) electronics, and the GE Improved Turbine Engine. To simplify and speed up development, all the competitors are required to include these standard-issue systems in their design — but the aircraft they build around them are radically different. Design shop AVX has proposed an aircraft with two helicopter-style main rotors for vertical takeoff, wings for extra lift, and a pair of their characteristic ducted fans for speed. AVX, founded by Bell alumni, has never built an actual aircraft. But it's backed by the manufacturing might of the much larger L3Harris, a firm created by the merger of the 18th and 26th-largest defense contractors in the world (as per their 2019 rankings on the Defense News Top 100). By contrast, Bell – part of Textron, No. 34 on the Top 100 – is a major builder of both military and commercial helicopters, as well as the revolutionary V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, from which the company's contender for the Army's future transport aircraft, the V-280, derives. Ironically, the Bell 360 Invictus is the most conservative-looking of the four known FARA designs: It's a streamlined single-main-rotor helicopter (looking kind of like Comanche) with the addition of two short wings for extra lift. Inside the aircraft, though, Bell is using new fly-by-wire flight controls and other technologies developed for its civilian Bell 525. Aerospace giant Boeing – No. 2 of the top 100, counting its defense contracts alone – builds the Army's current mainstay armored gunship, the AH-64 Apache; its heavy lifter, the CH-47 Chinook; and, with Bell, the V-22 tiltrotor. But Boeing, which built the stealthy Comanche, is so far in public-relations stealth mode on FARA, declining to discuss its design. Karem Aerospace is another design shop with an excellent pedigree – its founder is the father of the Predator drone – but no track record of actually building an aircraft. However, it's partnered with Northrop Grumman (No. 3 of the top 100) and Raytheon (No. 4) for this program, giving it serious manufacturing heft. The Karem AR-40 design has a unique combination of a single main rotor on top, a propeller at the tail that can swivel to act either as a tail rotor for stability or a pusher propeller for thrust, and wings that can tilt for the optimum aerodynamic angle in different modes of flight. Last in the alphabet, comes Sikorsky, the helicopter division of the world's biggest defense contract, Lockheed Martin. While Sikorsky's Raider-X design hasn't flown yet, it's essentially a 20 percent larger version of the two S-97 Raiders the company built and flight-tested at its own expense. (One of them was totaled in the process, thankfully with no loss of life). And Sikorsky already knows how to upscale its compound helicopter technology, because there's already an even bigger member of the family, the Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1 Defiant, now in flight tests for the Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA). All these aircraft derive from the Collier Trophy-winning X2 and share its configuration: two main rotors on top, using ultra-rigid blades to provide maximum lift with minimum vibration at high speeds, and a single pusher propeller at the tail. Between the X2, the S-97, and the SB>1, Sikorsky's configuration has been through far more flight testing than any of its competitors on FARA. So which team has the best combination of innovative design, proven technology, and the manufacturing muscle to build it at a price the nation can afford? That's a call the Army will make, and soon. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/02/fara-five-way-fight-for-armys-future-scout

By Matthew Cox WEST PALM BEACH, Florida -- Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot, said recently that the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force would have to wait their turn if they want their own version of the Army's futuristic helicopters being developed under the Future Vertical Lift (FVL) effort. The Illinois Democrat and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee recently attended a high-profile flight demonstration of Sikorsky-Boeing's new SB-1 Defiant helicopter that was designed with the goal of replacing the UH-60 Black Hawk. The Army awarded a team from Sikorsky, part of Lockheed Martin Corp., and Boeing Co. a 2014 contract to build Defiant as part of the Joint Multi Role Technology Demonstrator (JMRT-D) program. A Textron Inc.-Bell team also received a contract under the effort and built the V-280 Valor, a tiltrotor-design helicopter that completed its first test flight in December 2017. Both the Valor and the Defiant prototypes are promising designs, Army officials maintain, that are capable of flying at speeds of more than 200 knots and will result in a replacement for the venerable Black Hawk as the service's new Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA). Duckworth, a former Army National Guard officer who lost both legs after enemy forces shot down the Black Hawk she was flying over Iraq in 2004, said she intends to keep the FVL program from morphing into an unwieldy, joint effort. That's a pitfall that has thrust many joint-service programs into program delays and cost-overruns because of overly broad requirements. "This is an Army aircraft; we need to keep an Army mission," Duckworth told reporters at the Feb. 20 flight demo. "If the other services want to fall in behind it and develop something afterward and tweak it for what they need, that is fine, but we cannot build a Frankenaircraft ... that's going to meet the Marines' needs and the Navy's need and the Air Force's needs. "We need to not let the requirements start to meander and creep around because otherwise we will never get to where we need to and get these things fielded as quickly as possible," she added. In the past, the Pentagon has often tried to develop multiple versions of a major combat system, such as the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which has been designed to satisfy the requirements of the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. The acquisition program for the advanced, stealth fighter began in the mid-1990s and still suffers from testing setbacks that have delayed a full-rate production decision. That Army-Marine Corps Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program, however, is considered a successful acquisition effort that began in 2006 after Humvees in Iraq could not withstand the destruction force of enemy homemade bombs attacks. JLTV took almost a decade to become a reality but, in August 2015, Oshkosh Corp. was selected over Lockheed Martin Corp. and AM General LLC to build the vehicle for the Army and Marine Corps. Meanwhile, for the second year in a row, the Army has reduced the number of JLTVs it will buy in fiscal 2021 to free up money to fund future modernization. FVL is one of the Army's top modernization priorities under a new strategy the service launched in 2017, with the goal of replacing most of its major combat platforms beginning in 2028. Leaders stood up Army Future Command, an organization designed to help the service's acquisition and requirements machines work more closely together in an effort to streamline what has traditionally been a slow-moving process to develop and field combat system. So far, the strategy appears to be working, since the FLRAA and the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) efforts are ahead of schedule, Duckworth said. Army officials are scheduled to down-select to two vendors to build final prototypes of the FARA next month. The service is also scheduled to begin a competitive demonstration and risk reduction phase for FLRAA, which is expected to last until 2022, the year the service plans to down-select to one vendor to build the Black Hawk replacement. "This is rare for defense procurement to actually be ahead of timeline instead of pushing everything to the right," Duckworth said. "I am very pleased with how well the Army is handling this development." The senator stressed, however, that she intends to continue strict oversight of the FVL to ensure it doesn't result in a waste of taxpayer dollars. "We can't be spending upward of $60 million per airframe," Duckworth said. "If we do that, then we can't field the number of airframes that we need to be out there in the force." Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, who also attended the flight demo, stressed that the service's leadership is committed to making necessary cuts to outdated programs to free up money for FVL and other modernization efforts. "We don't have a choice. We are running out of letters to upgrade the existing platforms -- they are 40-year-old systems; the technology will not endure," he said. -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/02/25/duckworth-armys-new-helicopters-should-not-be-designed-anyone-else.html

Tewksbury, Mass., February 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company [NYSE: RTN] is enhancing the combat-proven Patriot(TM) Air and Missile Defense System under a $314 million task order for engineering services from the U.S. Army, awarded on January 30. The task order is funded by the 17 nations that rely on Patriot for integrated air and missile defense. This is the third of five annual, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity task order awards with a total contract ceiling of more than $2.3 billion. "These modernization efforts ensure Patriot continues to outpace the advancing and proliferating threat, and will be ready when needed," said Tom Laliberty, vice president of Integrated Air and Missile Defense at Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems business. "The 17-nation Patriot partnership shares the cost and reaps the benefit of continued investment in the system." Under the task order, Raytheon is providing comprehensive engineering services including systems, software and hardware development, integration and test services, configuration management and logistics support. Additionally, many of the project results will be incorporated into Patriot Post Deployment Build 8.1, a series of software and hardware capabilities, including: 1. New cutting edge methods to search, detect, track, discriminate, engage, and defeat a wide range of evolving threats including tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and military aircraft. 2. Integrating Warfighter Machine Interface into Patriot. WMI provides a total view of that battlespace, with 3-D visuals, easy-to-read status pages and search functions. As part of the contract, Raytheon is also: -- Enhancing the resilience of Patriot against evolving cyber threats -- Developing solutions that enhance readiness and reduce life cycle costs by making the system more reliable. -- Replacing obsolete parts of Patriot's communications system, enabling Patriot to reliably operate until the U.S. Army's new Integrated Air and Missile Defense command and control system comes on-line. Raytheon's Global Patriot Solutions is the most advanced, tactical air and missile defense system in the world, providing protection against a full range of advanced threats, including aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. About Raytheon Raytheon Company, with 2019 sales of $29 billion and 70,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 98 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I(®) products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow us on Twitter. Note to Editors The 17 Patriot Nations are: -- United States of America -- The Netherlands -- Germany -- Japan -- Israel -- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia -- Kuwait -- Taiwan -- Greece -- Spain -- Republic of Korea -- United Arab Emirates -- Qatar -- Romania -- Sweden -- Poland -- The Kingdom of Bahrain Media Contact Mike Nachshen +1.520.269.5697 idspr@raytheon.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-partners-invest-314-million-in-patriot-integrated-air-and-missile-defense-system-301010687.html SOURCE Raytheon Company

By: Chiara Vercellone WASHINGTON — In its quest to modernize the U.S. Air Force's stockpile of intercontinental ballistic missiles, Northrop Grumman has partnered with Bechtel and Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, the company announced Tuesday. The two companies are the latest addition to Northrop Grumman's nationwide team devoted to replace the Minuteman III with next-generation missiles, as the company announced in September its collaboration with hundreds of companies across the defense, construction and engineering industries. “Together, this expanded team has the capacity, capability and credentials needed to deliver – on time – a safe, secure, reliable and effective nuclear deterrent capability for the U.S. and its allies for the next 50 years,” said Greg Manuel, vice president of Northrop Grumman's Ground Based Strategic Deterrent team. Bechtel, an engineering, construction and project management company, will provide construction and integration, and launch system design, according to the announcement. Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, which specializes in unmanned systems and missile defense, will provide vehicle transporters. Northrop Grumman is the de facto winner of the $85 billion contract, expected to be awarded in the fourth quarter of 2020, after Boeing declined to bid on the program by the Dec. 13 deadline. Boeing claimed Northrop Grumman had an advantage to offer the lowest-cost system, thanks in part to its acquisition of one of only two U.S. solid-fuel rocket motor manufacturers. Boeing proposed, unsuccessfully, that the Air Force demand a joint team be formed between the two companies. The Air Force said it will proceed with “an aggressive and effective sole-source negotiation,” according to a statement released in December. Members of Congress have expressed concern over a sole-source contract. House Armed Services Committee Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., suggested the Air Force has shown bias toward Northrop Grumman and questioned the need for the program. “It is very troubling that it's going to be a sole source contract,” Smith said at an event sponsored by Ploughshares Fund in October. “The thing to do would be to address the concerns that Boeing raised about the procurement process. Because, if Boeing is to be believed, they didn't say ‘We just can't do this anymore.' They said the process wasn't fair.” In August, Northrop Grumman broke ground near Hill Air Force Base on a new facility that will serve as the headquarters for the company's workforce, which will add thousands of jobs in the state of Utah, according to the release. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/02/25/northrop-grumman-expands-team-for-program-to-replace-air-force-ballistic-missiles