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By Ian D'Costa For decades, German arms giant Heckler & Koch has served as the gold standard for military and civilian weapons manufacturing — building revolutionary and oftentimes game-changing rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, submachine guns and pistols for a variety of customers including special operations forces, conventional infantry units and law enforcement agencies. After a lackluster 2018, reports indicate that H&K is now struggling to keep its head above water, with the hopes that boosting sales in FY2019 buys the company at least another year to come out of the red and fix the situation it's in. The Tactical Wire recently reported that German business journals have already predicted the end for what was once one of the most powerful arms manufacturers in the world. In fact, the situation is so bad that, as The Firearm Blog reported just last month, H&K employees jointly voted to increase weekly work hours without paid overtime, as well as nixed a one-off payment of 400 Euros per head for the month of July, so as to provide their beleaguered company some form of relief. H&K's financial woes stem primarily from diminishing sales, so much so that FY2018 would have seen the company tank had it not been for “two bridging loans from an unnamed major shareholder.” As the company's preexisting contracts with various international buyers are fulfilled, it has faced immeasurable difficulty generating new large-scale contracts with any of its products. According to Neue Zürcher Zeitung, after KPMG conducted an audit of H&K in 2018, it was forced to insert a red flag warning that: “the lack of liquidity endangers the continued existence of Heckler & Koch." KPMG went on to state that the only way H&K would survive going forward is to generate a considerable bump in revenue over previous years, or face bankruptcy. Earlier this year, H&K completed production and delivery of the M27 IAR (a derivative of the HK416) to the US Marine Corps. However, contracts with countries in the process of revamping their small arms arsenals, such as Portugal, have failed to materialize with these countries opting for weapons from other manufacturers. 2019 has also seen the imposition of a multi-million dollar fine on H&K by a German court after it was discovered that the company violated Germany's War Weapons Control Act through the illegal sales of rifles to Mexican states affected considerably by drug-trade violence. H&K's hopes more than likely rest in securing a massive contract yet to be tendered by the German government for the long-term replacement of the German army's G36 assault rifles, another H&K product though one which didn't necessarily live up to the next-generation hype that earlier surrounded it. Whether or not H&K will win the contract is a completely different question altogether, as it's also standard German defense procurement procedure to take into account the fiscal health and economic well being of the companies which have bid for larger contracts... and that's not looking too good for H&K. It should also be noted that H&K is currently in the process of reequipping the French army with HK416 rifles to replace the FAMAS bullpup rifle platform with an overall mass order of over 93,000 units. The Norwegian government also contracted the company to supply HK416s to the Norwegian Armed Forces earlier this year. However, that might not be enough to save H&K. Should H&K lose out on the German G36 replacement contract, this could spell the end for the 71 year-old German small arms producer, and a potentially new beginning for a restructured company in its place. https://www.militarytimes.com/off-duty/gearscout/irons/2019/06/12/heckler-koch-maker-of-the-marine-corps-m27-is-in-dire-straits/

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is launching ‘Intelligent Ship – The Next Generation' – a multi-million pound competition for the future Naval operating environment. This competition is seeking proposals for novel and innovative projects that enable and facilitate the wider use of ‘intelligent systems' within future warships, with the potential for wider use across defence. The future sees elements of automation, autonomy, machine learning and artificial intelligence being more closely integrated and teamed with human decision makers. The aim of this competition is to de-risk and evaluate technologies and approaches that could provide alternative, revolutionary future fleet concepts that can maintain or enhance UK military advantage within complex, cluttered, contested and congested operating and data environments. £1m is available to fund multiple innovative proposals that form phase 1, with an additional £3m potentially available to fund follow-on phases. Further details are available in the competition document The competition closes on 23 July 2019 at midday. Queries should be sent to accelerator@dstl.gov.uk. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/join-dasa-to-launch-the-search-for-the-future-of-the-naval-operating-environment

NAVY Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding division, Newport News, Virginia, is awarded a maximum-value $687,090,000 cost and cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for early service life period work on USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). The purpose of this contract is to support ship repair and modernization during continuous incremental availabilities, planned incremental availabilities, full-ship shock trials and continuous maintenance and emergent maintenance during the ship's early service life period. This contract includes five ordering periods totaling 60 months, with a maximum order value of $687,090,000. Work for the initial delivery order will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by June 2020. Work under all five delivery orders is expected to be completed by June 2024. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,719,107 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 Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-D-4306). The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is awarded a $62,596,317 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a Submarine Propulsor Manufacturing Support Facility located at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is expected to be completed by February 2022. Fiscal 2019 military construction (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $62,596,317 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with two proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N4008519-C-9057). The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded not-to-exceed $41,000,000 for delivery order N6833519F0442 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N68335-15-G-0022) to procure 2,763 pieces of peculiar support equipment, support equipment spares and test equipment for the maintenance and repair of F/A-18E/F aircraft for the government of Kuwait. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri, and is expected to be completed in June 2022. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $20,500,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity. Risk Mitigation Consulting, Destin, Florida, is awarded a $10,278,694 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for methodology and field research for evaluating cybersecurity of Navy control systems effort. Works will be performed at places unknown at this time. Places will be defined at a later date based on needs at U.S. naval installations outside and inside the U.S. Work is expected to be completed May 30, 2020. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,808,000 will be obligated at the time of award. No funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under N00014-18-S-B001 “Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology.” Proposal will be received throughout the year under the BAA, therefore, the number of proposals received in response to the solicitation is unknown. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00014-19-C-1015). Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions Division, Fairborn, Ohio, is awarded a $9,999,999 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for removable media cartridges (RMC). This procurement is in support of the Trident Ballistic Missile Submarine (SSBN) program. A system upgrade is incorporating requirement changes to increase performance and address obsolescence. Work will be performed in Fairborn, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by October 2024. This contract includes foreign military sales to the United Kingdom. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $3,351,024; and Foreign Military Sales (United Kingdom) funding in the amount of $1,186,376 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole-source procurement under statutory authority 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) - only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana, is the contracting activity (N00164-19-D-GP55). AIR FORCE LinQuest Corp., Los Angeles, California, has been awarded a $562,302,987 cost-plus-incentive-fee base plus six option years contract for systems engineering, integration and test (SEIT) support. The initial base period award is valued at $118,363,040. This contract provides for SEIT support for the Space and Missile Systems Center, Military Satellite Communications Systems directorate. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California, and is expected to be complete by December 2026. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $13,523,792; fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $3,377,304; and fiscal 2017 procurement funds in the amount of $3,770,745 are being obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA8808-19-C-0006). U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND The Boeing Co., Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $194,224,723 cost-plus-fixed-fee type delivery order modification (P00001) under a current contract (W91215-16-G-0001) to procure six renew-build and one new-build MH-47G rotary wing aircraft. This action is required to sustain U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) heavy assault, rotary wing aircraft and to mitigate the impact of the MH-47G aircraft availability in light of increased SOF operational demands. Fiscal 2019 procurement, defense-wide appropriations in the amount of $77,360,723; and fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement, Army funds in the amount of $116,864,000 were obligated at the time of award. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The majority of the work will be performed in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania. U.S. Special Operations Command headquarters, Tampa, Florida is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY KBRwyle Technology Solutions LLC, Columbia, Maryland (SP4702-19-D-0003); BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services Inc., Rockville, Maryland (SP4702-19-D-0004); and ENGlobal Government Services Inc., Tulsa, Oklahoma (SP4702-19-D-0005), are sharing a maximum $124,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract under solicitation SP4702-18-R-0510 for Automated Fuel Systems Installation. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. These are five-year contracts with no option periods. Locations of performance are worldwide, with a June 11, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Defense Logistics Agency, National Guard and Coast Guard. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Contracting Services Office, Columbus, Ohio. CORRECTION: The contract announced on May 31, 2019, for CACI Inc.-Federal, Chantilly, Virginia (SP4701-19-C-0024), for $10,760,666 was announced with an incorrect award date. The correct award date is June 3, 2019. ARMY L3 Fuzing and Ordnace Systems Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, was awarded a $51,600,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Fuze Munition Unit (FMU)-153 A/B Point Detonating/Delay (PD/DLY) fuzes. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 12, 2019. U.S. Army Contracting Command, New Jersey is the contracting activity (W15QKN-19-D-0067). Tetra Tech Inc., Marlborough, Massachusetts, was awarded a $46,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect-engineer services within the Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) areas of responsibility/mission boundaries. Bids were solicited via the internet with nine received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 12, 2019. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-19-D-0029). Stanley Consultants Inc., Muscatine, Iowa, was awarded a $46,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect-engineer services within the Transatlantic Middle East District (TAM) area of responsibility/mission boundaries. Bids were solicited via the internet with nine received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 22, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-19-D-0031). ICF Inc., Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded a $32,216,823 modification (P00026) to contract W911QX-17-C-0018 for the ARL Cyber Security Service Provider (CSSP) program. Work will be performed in Adelphi, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of June 15, 2020. Fiscal 2017 research, development, test, and evaluation, Army funds in the amount of $3,500,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Adelphi, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Massman Construction Co., Leawood, Kansas, was awarded a $30,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for floating plat. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 12, 2019. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis, Missouri, is the contracting activity (W912P9-19-D-0008). Bristol Design Build Services LLC,* Anchorage, Alaska, was awarded an $18,687,206 firm-fixed-price contract for an F-35A missile maintenance facility. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Eielson, Alaska, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 8, 2020. Fiscal 2019 military construction, Army funds in the amount of $18,687,206 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska, is the contracting activity (W911KB-19-C-0009). Frazier Engineering Inc.,* Melbourne, Florida, was awarded a $13,157,500 firm-fixed-price contract for building renovation. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, with an estimated completion date of March 16, 2020. Fiscal 2019 developmental test and evaluation, Defense funds in the amount of $13,157,500 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W91278-19-C-0020). IBM Corp., Bethesda, Maryland, was awarded a $9,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract for a containerized machine learning system. Four bids were solicited with three bids received. Work will be performed in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 2, 2024. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $9,500,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W912DY-19-F-0396). *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1874073/source/GovDelivery/

BALTIMORE – June 10, 2019 – The U.S. Marine Corps has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) a $958 million contract for Lot 6 full-rate production of the Gallium Nitride-based (GaN) AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) systems. This contract provides an additional 30 units. The program is managed by Program Executive Officer Land Systems. “Northrop Grumman and the Marine Corps have successfully partnered to create a best of ground and airborne radar solution that exceeds the current threat on the modern battlefield,” said Christine Harbison, vice president, land and avionics C4ISR, Northrop Grumman. “G/ATOR is a crucial capability that protects our warfighters and defends against today's threat environment and the threat environment of the future. We are excited to reach the full-rate production decision and continue providing advanced multi-mission functionality that meets our customer's mission needs, protects the warfighter in a rapidly changing threat environment, and has significant margin for capability growth.” G/ATOR replaces five legacy systems operated by the Marine Corps with a single system, providing significant improvements in performance when compared to the legacy radar families in each of its modes. This results in reduced training, logistics and maintenance costs. The AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR is an advanced Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) multi-mission radar that leverages GaN to provide comprehensive real time, full-sector, 360-degree situational awareness against a broad array of threats. The highly expeditionary, three-dimensional, short-to-medium-range multi-role radar system is designed to detect, identify, and track cruise missiles, manned aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles as well as rockets, mortars and artillery fire. https://news.northropgrumman.com/news/releases/northrop-grumman-awarded-contract-to-provide-marine-corps-full-rate-production-gator-radar-systems

By: Nathan Strout The U.S. Air Force's first next-generation GPS satellite launched in December and the second GPS III satellite is slated to liftoff in July. But there Air Force has a problem: The ground system currently in use isn't fully capable of controlling GPS III satellites. Worse, a new ground system that can, formally known as the next-generation operational control system (OCX), is five years behind schedule and won't be delivered until June 2021 at the earliest, according to the Government Accountability Office. Enter the GPS III Contingency Operations (COps) software—a critical stop gap measure that will update the current ground control system and allow it to access some of the more advanced features of the GPS III satellites until the next-generation operational control system is ready. On July 11, primary contractor Lockheed Martin announced that it had delivered the COps upgrade to the Air Force. “Positioning, navigation and timing is a critical mission for our nation and COps will allow the Air Force to gain early access to its new GPS III satellites,” said Johnathon Caldwell, Lockheed Martin's vice president for Navigation Systems. “We just finished final qualification testing and delivery on COps, and it will be integrated and installed on the [Architecture Evolution Plan Operational Control System] over the summer. We look forward to the Air Force ‘flying' a GPS constellation on the COps OCS which includes the new GPS III satellites, later this year.” The new GPS III satellites are built to be more robust and accurate than their predecessors and come with advanced features such as the ability to use M-Code, an encrypted GPS signal for use by the military. The COps upgrade will allow the current ground system to control the GPS III satellites as well as the legacy GPS satellites. It will also allow the current system to access M-code Early Use, an encrypted GPS signal with improved anti-jamming and anti-spoofing capabilities, beginning in 2020. The Air Force contracted with Lockheed Martin to deliver the patch in 2016, the same year that the OCX program triggered a Nunn-McCurdy cost breach—a type of violation caused by significant cost growth that requires a program to be shut down unless the Department of Defense intervenes and approves a new cost estimate. The $6.2 billion OCX program is already five years behind schedule, and a May 21 Government Accountability Office report warned that the OCX program could be delayed even further. In addition, the Air Force has acknowledged that delays are possible during the seven-month testing period following delivery. Raytheon, the primary contractor behind OCX, rejected the GAO report, claiming that its findings were inaccurate. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/c2-comms/2019/06/11/air-force-gets-new-stopgap-system-for-gps-3-satellites/

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY LB&B Associates Inc., Columbia, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $37,018,357 modification (P0006) exercising the third one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE60016D0493) with four one-year option periods for transportation services. This is a firm-fixed-price contract. This was a competitive acquisition with five responses received. Locations of performance are Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, California, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, with a June 30, 2020, performance completion date. Using customer is Department of Defense. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 procurement and war-stopper funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Transaero Inc., Melville, New York, has been awarded a maximum $8,827,535 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for a hydraulic manifold. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are California and New York, with a June 5, 2024, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-19-D-0127). ARMY General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, Michigan, was awarded a $16,269,197 modification (P00082) to domestic and foreign military sales (Morocco) contract W56HZV-17-C-0067 to provide systems technical support for the Abrams family of vehicles. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2020. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation; Army working capital; foreign military sales; and other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $16,269,197 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. NAVY General Electric Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, is awarded $9,211,724 for firm-fixed priced delivery order N0002419F4127 under a previously awarded basic ordering agreement N00024-18-G-4113 for LM2500 Single Shank Hot Section Kits. The material procured under this delivery order will be used to replace worn out nozzles and blades during the repair process, thus extending the life of the engine. Work will be performed in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by August 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $9,211,724 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. In accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1), this order was not competitively procured -- only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1872748/source/GovDelivery/

by Michael O'Hanlon All is busy on NATO's eastern front. That was our main conclusion during a recent study delegation to Lithuania sponsored by the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense and organized by the Atlantic Council. A lot is happening on the defense preparation front, and the overall security situation is improving considerably compared with a few years ago. But problems remain and work still has to be done, if deterrence and stability are to be ensured, and a potentially devastating war with Russia prevented. As many people will recall, the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, with a combined population of some six million and combined military strength of some thirty thousand active-duty troops, joined NATO in 2004. All three border Russia, though in the case of Lithuania, that border is in the western part of the country (near Russia's Kaliningrad pocket). Lithuania's eastern frontier is shared with Belarus, a close ally of Moscow, at Vladimir Putin's insistence. Its southern border touches Poland, along the famed “Suwalki gap,” the narrow land corridor through which NATO would likely send most of its tens of thousands of reinforcements during any major crisis or conflict with Russia over the Baltics. All three Baltic states, plus Poland, are now among the seven of NATO's twenty-nine members that meet their obligations to spend at least 2 percent of gross domestic product on their militaries, however imperfect a metric of burden-sharing that formal NATO requirement may be. In Lithuania's case, this represents a tripling of military spending since 2013. Give President Donald Trump and President Barack Obama some of the credit for recent increases if you wish. But give the Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, and Poles the majority of the credit—with a nod, of course, to Vladimir Putin, who has done more to unify and motivate eastern Europeans' security efforts than anyone else this century. Since 2014, when Russia seized Crimea in Ukraine and stoked a conflict in Ukraine's east that continues to this day, NATO has been gradually fortifying its eastern flank, in the Baltic states and Poland. It now has a multinational battalion-size battlegroup (of about one thousand soldiers) in each of the three Baltic states, plus a larger U.S. brigade-sized presence in Poland (with occasional, but intermittent, American deployments into the Baltic states for exercising and signaling resolve). The battalion in Lithuania is backstopped by Germany, with additional major contributions from the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. These battalions are collectively described as the “enhanced forward presence” or eFP program, following NATO's Operation Atlantic Resolve; the U.S. element is often described as the European deterrence initiative. Adding in those rotational deployments, there are some thirty-five thousand total NATO troops in the Baltics, with only a smattering of Americans on most days. Russia has well over one hundred thousand of its own recently-improved forces just across the border and could probably muster closer to two hundred thousand with little effort under the guise of an exercise, if it wished. The Lithuanians' recent defense efforts need to be put in perspective. The nation is resolute, with 80 percent supporting NATO forces deployed to its territory and all of the recent major presidential candidates—and eventual winner—favoring the ongoing defense buildup. But it does not seem paranoid, or on serious edge, even as the officials we saw were clear about the challenge and legitimately focused on progress. While a military budget at 2 percent of GDP, headed towards 2.5 percent, is an impressive defense effort, it does not reflect the dire sense of urgency of a society expecting imminent war. After all, the United States and Russia each spend more than 3 percent of GDP on their armed forces; in fact, NATO aimed for a 3 percent minimum during the Cold War, when the United States typically spent upwards of 5 percent of GDP on its military. And for all the enhancements to its two main combat brigades, Lithuania has restrained from fortifying the eastern and western flanks of the country with smart minefields or other barriers to invasion. For its part, NATO more generally has stationed the eFP forces but has not tied them into a truly integrated combat force; nor has it deployed many helicopters or air defense systems into the Baltic states. It certainly has not prestationed the seven brigades of capability that a 2016 RAND Corporation simulation estimated as necessary to constitute a viable forward defense position. The current level of effort, vigilant but tempered, strikes us as roughly appropriate to the circumstances at hand. While there are still conflict scenarios that can be imagined, it is hard to think that President Putin believes he could really get away with naked aggression against any NATO member, including those in the Baltic region. Even if NATO does not have an adequate forward defense in place against hypothetical Russian aggression, it does have a rather robust forward tripwire, combined with increasingly credible ways of rapidly reinforcing that tripwire in a crisis. Still, there are three additional lines of effort that Washington and other NATO capitals should pursue in the interest of greater deterrence, stability, and predictability in eastern Europe. First, as a recent Atlantic Council report, “Permanent Deterrence,” underscored, NATO should strengthen key pieces of its modest military presence in Poland and the Baltic states. Much of this can happen in the Polish/American sector, but elements of it should extend to the Baltics as well. It makes good sense to combine greater combat engineering capability for military mobility, so as to better move reinforcements into the east in the face of possible Russian opposition, together with plugging gaps in areas such as combat aviation and air defense, and pre-stocking certain equipment. Moscow may complain, but it cannot credibly view such additions as major NATO additions or provocations, especially because they are modest, and because Russian actions have necessitated them. Second, nonmilitary elements of NATO resoluteness need to be strengthened, too. As discussed in The Senkaku Paradox: Risking Great Power War over Small Stakes, there are various types of very small Russian probing attacks that could leave NATO flummoxed and paralyzed over how to respond. These attacks might not reach the threshold where all alliance members would wish to invoke NATO's Article V mutual-defense clause and send military forces in response, yet they could be too serious to ignore. NATO should conceptualize such scenarios and exercise crisis decisionmaking in advance while honing various economic and diplomatic approaches to complement any military responses. NATO also needs to develop more contingency plans for economic warfare with Russia that would provide alternative energy sources in a crisis. Lithuania's recent development of a liquefied natural gas terminal is exemplary in this regard. Third, while projecting resolve vis-à-vis Moscow, including retention of the EU and U.S. sanctions that have been imposed on Russia in recent years, NATO needs to rethink its broader strategy towards Russia. This strategy should include options for bettering relations in a post–Putin Russia. Various types of security architectures and arrangements should be explored and debated. For now, with a new president in Kiev, a concerted effort to help Ukraine reform its economy and further weed out corruption makes eminent sense. Things are moving in the right direction in eastern Europe, but there is considerable work left to be done. Michael O'Hanlon is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of the new book, The Senkaku Paradox; Christopher Skaluba is the director of the Transatlantic Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council. https://nationalinterest.org/feature/report-natos-front-lines-62067

NAVY Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Connecticut, a Lockheed Martin Co., is awarded $542,023,016 for firm-fixed price modification P00074 to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm contract (N00019-14-C-0050) in support of the Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program (VH-92A). This modification exercises an option for the procurement of six Low Rate Initial Production Lot 1 Presidential Helicopters, as well as interim contractor support, initial spares, support equipment, and system parts replenishment. Work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut (50 percent); Coatesville, Pennsylvania (36 percent); Owego, New York (10 percent); Patuxent River, Maryland (3 percent); and Quantico, Virginia (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2022. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $542,023,016 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. Taylor Defense Products LLC, Louisville, Mississippi, is awarded a ceiling $84,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) for up to a maximum of 145 all-terrain cranes. Work will be performed in Louisville, Mississippi, and is expected to be complete by June 2029. Fiscal 2019 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $9,719,457 will be obligated on the first delivery order immediately following contract award and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with three offers received. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M67854-19-D-5018). QED Systems Inc.,* Virginia Beach, Virginia (N32253-19-D-0008); ORBIS Inc.,* Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (N32253-19-D-0009); Oceaneering International Inc., Chesapeake, Virginia (N32253-19-D-0010); Delphinus Engineering, Inc.,* Eddystone, Pennsylvania (N32253-19-D-0011); Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut (N32253-19-D-0012); and Confluence Corp. doing business as Regal Service Co.,* Honolulu, Hawaii (N32253-19-D-0013), are awarded a multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with firm-fixed-pricing for the procurement of non-nuclear, non-SUBSAFE touch labor at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Hawaii. The maximum ceiling value for all six contracts is $49,000,000 with options included. Touch labor trades include: marine electrician, electronics technician, temporary service sheetmetal mechanic, temporary service electrician, temporary service pipefitter, inside machinist, marine machinery mechanic, shipwright, plastic fabricator/woodcrafting, fabric worker, sandblaster, painter, painter/sandblaster, laborer, shipfitter mechanic, sheetmetal mechanic, firewatch/tankwatch, welder, pipefitter, and insulator. The six contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts. Work will be performed in the state of Hawaii, and is expected to be complete by June 2020. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $15,000 ($2,500 per awardee) will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the fiscal year. These contracts were competitively procured with six offers received via the Federal Business Opportunities website. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., Huntington Beach, California, is awarded $22,834,133 for modification 0017 to delivery order 2001 previously issued against basic ordering agreement N00019-16-G-0001. This modification provides for additional acoustics software support activity and engineering support for the P-8A Poseidon aircraft. In addition, this modification incorporates virtual machine efforts and develops and integrates software for Multi-static Active Coherent Enhancements. Work will be performed in Huntington Beach, California, and is expected to be completed in January 2022. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,800,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. BAE Systems Land & Armaments L.P., Minneapolis, Minnesota, is awarded a $19,636,725 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price supply contract N00174-17-C-0022 to exercise option year two for the fiscal 2017-2020 production of the MK38 MOD 3 Machine Gun System (MGS) and associated spares. This contract is to fulfill specified requirements and technical performance requirements for the MK38 MOD 3 25mm MGS Ordnance Alteration and associated spares. The MGS produced is derived from application of an ordnance alteration to the MK 38 MOD 1 25mm MGS. Once installed, incorporates two-axis stabilization, an improved electro-optical sight system (EOS), improved multi-function display, modified main control panel, a new main computing unit, a 7.62mm machine gun and remote control operation. Work will be performed in Haifa, Israel (67 percent); and Louisville, Kentucky (33 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2021. Fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); 2019 weapons procurement (Navy); and fiscal 2019 weapons procurement (Coast Guard) funds in the amount of $19,636,725 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00174-17-C-0022). ARMY XL Scientific LLC,* Albuquerque, New Mexico, was awarded a $48,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for non-kinetic, T&E needs, addressing Directed Energy, Electronic Warfare and nuclear systems and effects. One bid was were solicited via the internet with one bid received. Work locations and funding will be determined with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2029. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (W900KK-19-D-0007). Louisiana State University System, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was awarded a $12,908,650 firm-fixed-price contract for Nutritional Biochemistries Analysis services. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 9, 2024. U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W81XWH-19-D-0010). Mahaffey Tent & Awning Co. Inc.,* Memphis, Tennessee, was awarded a $8,976,868 modification (P00006) to contract W9124E-16-D-0006 for shower trailers, environment control units, light sets, tentage of various sizes and configurations, hand washing stations, generators, cots, and other logistical life support equipment. Work will be performed in Fort Polk, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of June 20, 2021. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $8,976,868 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Polk, Louisiana, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Kaba Mas, Lexington, Kentucky, has been awarded a maximum $20,548,845 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for combination locks. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a two-year base contract with three one-year option periods. Location of performance is Kentucky, with a June 9, 2021, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE5EY-19-D-0542). Defense Energy Syndicate LLC, Bronx, New York (SPE600-19-D-0757, $10,580,489); and TC Chemicals LLC Pearland, Texas (SPE600-19-D-0795, $8,193,690), have each been awarded a firm-fixed-price, requirements contract with economic-price-adjustment under solicitation SPE602-19-R-0702 for additives. These were competitive acquisitions with nine responses received. They are two-year contracts with a 30-day carry-over periods. Locations of performance are New York, Delaware, New Jersey, Louisiana, Texas and California, with a June 30, 2021, performance completion date. Using customer is Defense Logistics Agency. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. AIR FORCE Advanced Concepts and Technologies International LLC, Waco, Texas, has been awarded a $7,202,973 firm-fixed-price modification (P00003) to previously awarded contract FA4890-18-F-5102 for the 505th Training Group academic and training support. This contract provides for the exercise of option period one for services to cover requirements in the areas of course instruction, mission support, exercise support and lessons learned to the government-led maintenance and execution of select 505th Training Group courses. Work will be performed primarily at Hurlburt Field, Florida, as well as various other locations worldwide, and is expected to be complete by June 9, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. Air Combat Command Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Hurlburt Field, Florida, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1871303/source/GovDelivery/

NAVY Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $1,808,545,655 cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-award-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for continued design maturation and development of Block 4 capabilities in support of the F-35 Lightning II Phase 2.3 Pre-Modernization for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps; and non-U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) participants. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in August 2026. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps); and non-U.S. DoD participant funds in the amount of $98,998,910 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the Air Force ($732,460,990; 40.50 percent); Navy ($371,475,278; 20.54 percent), Marine Corps ($345,974,784; 19.13 percent) and non-U.S. DoD participants ($358,634,603; 19.83 percent). This contract was not competitive procured pursuant to U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-19-C-0010). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded a $958,049,562 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 30 full-rate production Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar units under the portfolio management of Program Executive Officer Land Systems, Quantico, Virginia. This procurement also includes spares parts and retrofit kits. Work will be performed in Linthicum, Maryland (37 percent); East Syracuse, New York (28 percent); Stafford Springs, Connecticut (7 percent); Tulsa, Oklahoma (6 percent); Syracuse, New York (4 percent); Valencia, California (3 percent); San Diego, California (3 percent); Richardson, Texas (3 percent); Farmingdale, New York (2 percent); St. Paul, Minnesota (2 percent); Gilbert, Arizona (1 percent); Phoenix, Arizona (1 percent); Lowell, Massachusetts (1 percent); Littleton, Colorado (1 percent); and Durham, North Carolina (1 percent), and is expected to be complete by Jan. 13, 2025. Fiscal 2019 procurement funds (Marine Corps) in the amount of $194,748,327 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract award was not competitively procured in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1 and 10 U.S. Code § 2304(c)(1). The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M67854-19-C-0043). Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, is awarded a $61,697,197 cost-plus-award-fee modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-18-C-2313 to exercise options for accomplishment of lead yard services (LYS) for the DDG 51-class destroyer program. LYS provides necessary engineering, technical, material procurement and production support; configuration; class flight and baseline upgrades and new technology support; data and logistics management; lessons-learned analysis; acceptance trials; post-delivery test and trials; post-shakedown availability support; reliability and maintainability; system safety program support; material and fleet turnover support; shipyard engineering team; turnkey; crew indoctrination, design tool/design standardization, detail design development, and other technical and engineering analyses for the purpose of supporting DDG 51 Class ship construction and test and trials. In addition, DDG 51 Class LYS may provide design, engineering, procurement and manufacturing/production services to support design feasibility studies and analyses that modify DDG 51-class destroyers for foreign military sales programs sponsored by the Department of the Navy and the Department of Defense. Work will be performed in Bath, Maine (95 percent); Brunswick, Maine (4 percent), and other locations below one percent (1 percent) and is expected to be completed by June 2020. Fiscal 2015, 2016 and 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $58,345,440 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. L3 Communications MariPro Inc., Goleta, California, is awarded a $41,440,334 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, sole-source contract to provide support services to sustain U.S. and allied navy training and test and evaluation ranges around the world. L3 will repair or replace original equipment manufacturer systems. Services and associated deliverables include the design, production and installation of both shore electronic systems and ocean sensor system hardware assemblies; operation and maintenance of the delivered hardware to support operational test events of the delivered system, and data products identified in the contract data requirements lists. Other services under this requirement include operating, maintaining, repairing, performing logistics support, refurbishing, modernizing, upgrading, revising, improving, performing information assurance and expanding of range hardware, software and its performance. Work will be performed at various locations throughout the world and is expected to be completed by June 2024. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $245,477 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 Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, is the contracting activity (N66604-19-D-A900). AIR FORCE EMC Corp., Irvine, California, has been awarded a $74,423,388 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for instrumentation support, configuration, management, development, loading, integration, analysis and decommutation (ILIAD) and flight test instrumentation systems operation. This contract provides for greater mission capabilities by accessing contractor personnel with specialized training and expertise in utilization and troubleshooting of the ILIAD system. Work will be performed at Edwards Air Force Base and Irvine, California, and is expected to be complete by June 6, 2024. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $109,387 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Test Center, Directorate of Contracting, Test Range and Specialized Contracting Branch, Edwards AFB, California, is the contracting activity (FA9304-19-D-0001). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Science Applications International Corp., Fairfield, New Jersey, has been awarded a maximum $90,000,000 firm-fixed-price, 254-day bridge contract for facilities maintenance, repair, and operations items. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. Locations of performance are New Jersey, California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, with a Feb. 18, 2020, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE8E3-19-D0008). ARMY Quantum Spatial Inc., St. Petersburg, Florida (W912GB-19-D-0021); and Woolpert-Black & Veatch, Beavercreek, Ohio (W912GB-19-D-0022) will compete for each order of the $49,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for surveying and mapping services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 10 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 6, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wiesbaden, Germany, is the contracting activity. Encanto Facility Services 2 LLC,* Albuquerque, New Mexico, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance, repair, upgrade and minor construction of real property facilities at Fort Hood, Texas. Bids were solicited via the internet with 10 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 7, 2022. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-19-D-0031). Exp Federal, Chicago, Illinois (W912GB-19-D-0013); Stanley COWI JV, Muscatine, Iowa (W912GB-19-D-0014); Black & Veatch, Overland Park, Kansas (W912GB-19-D-0012); and WSP USA Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (W912GB-19-D-0015) will compete for each order of the $36,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for general architect and engineering services. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 6, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wiesbaden, Germany, is the contracting activity. Komada LLC,* Colorado Springs, Colorado, was awarded a $22,090,954 firm-fixed-price contract for repair of Teller Dam at Fort Carson, Colorado. Bids were solicited via the internet with seven received. Work will be performed in Fort Carson, Colorado, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 30, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $22,090,954 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-19-C-0028). Medvolt Construction Services LLC,* Kansas City, Missouri, was awarded a $18,058,404 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of flood walls, earthen levees, interior storm water piping, tributary channel realignment and bank stabilization, and detention pond with gatewell, at Swope Park Industrial Area in Kansas City, Missouri. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Kansas City, Missouri, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 28, 2022. Fiscal 2019 civil construction funds in the amount of $18,058,404 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, Missouri, is the contracting activity (W912DQ-19-C-1074). The Boeing Co., Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $10,115,993 modification (P00025) to contract W58RGZ-17-C-0059 to support CH-47F Block II Engineering and Manufacturing Development program. Work will be performed in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, with an estimated completion date of July 27, 2021. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $10,115,993 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Eco & Associates Inc.,* Tustin, California, was awarded a $10,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect and engineer services. Bids were solicited via the internet with nine received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 7, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco, California, is the contracting activity (W912P7-19-D-0004). NWI&T Atkins SB JV LLC,* Idaho Falls, Idaho, was awarded a $10,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect and engineer services. Bids were solicited via the internet with nine received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 7, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco, California, is the contracting activity (W912P7-19-D-0005). WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES Copper River Technologies, Anchorage, Alaska, has been awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity with a maximum amount of $21,000,000. The contract is to provide professional-level analytical, communication, event management, and logistics services as well as administrative-level general and executive services to provide continuous process improvement, business process reengineering, and organizational efficiencies support services to Facilities Services Directorate (FSD), Space Portfolio Management Division, other FSD Divisions and satisfy Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Washington Headquarters Services requirements. Work performance will take place in Arlington, Virginia. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $3,322,696 are being obligated at time of award. The expected completion date is June 6, 2024. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HQ0034-19-D-0015). *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1870180/source/GovDelivery/