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New frigates are being packed with more combat capability than comparable ships of allies Murray Brewster It will be 2031, at the earliest, before the navy sees the first of its new frigates; a setback brought about partly by the fact Canada, Britain and Australia are still feeling their way around how to build the ultra-modern warship. The outgoing president of Irving Shipbuilding Inc., which is in charge of constructing combat ships for the federal government, said he anticipates steel will be cut on the first of the new generation high-end warships by mid-2024. "We have been trying to take an honest look at where we are and what it will take to build the ship," said Kevin McCoy who recently announced his retirement from the East Coast shipbuilder. The current estimate is that it will take up to seven-and-a-half years to build the surface combatant, a timeline being used by Britain's BAE Systems Inc., which is constructing the first of what's known as the Type 26 design. Both Canada and Australia are building their own variants. "Early on [in the shipbuilding process] estimates are not very good," said McCoy. "Early estimates are not very good for price; they're not very good for size; they're not not very good for duration," McCoy said. "The British ship has a seven-and-a-half year build cycle. So, we're locked in. We said our build cycle will be seven-and-a-half years as well." If they can find ways to speed up the process, they will, he said. ANALYSIS Battle of the budget: DND gears up to defend cost of new warships in the new year Serving military member sues DND over mould exposure on warship Ottawa awards $2.4B contract to finish building navy's supply ships If that timeline holds, it means the federal government's marquee shipbuilding strategy will be two decades old by the time it produces the warship it was principally set up to create. While Irving has been pumping out smaller, less complicated arctic patrol ships and Seaspan, in Vancouver, is building coast guard and science vessels, the strategy conceived by the former Conservative government was driven by the necessity of replacing the navy's current fleet of Halifax-class frigates. Originally, when the shipbuilding strategy was unveiled, it envisioned Canada receiving the first new frigate in 2017. A lot of water, wishful thinking and even money has gone under the bridge since then. Building off existing design The current Liberal government, since taking over in 2015 and embracing the strategy, has been opaque in its public estimates of the build time; suggesting, in some documents, a delivery time in mid-2020s while other more internal records have pegged the first new frigate in the 2027 timeframe. The Department of National Defence, in a statement, acknowledged some of the design and build intricacies are now better understood, and because of that; the first warship will be "approximately 2-3 years later than the previous estimate." A spokeswoman echoed McCoy's remarks about finding ways to move construction along. "We continue to look for efficiencies and are actively working with industry to accelerate the project in order to deliver this important platform to the RCN as soon as possible," said National Defence spokesperson Jessica Lamirande. One of the ways they could do that, she said, would be to construct some, less complex modules of the warship early, the way it has been in the navy's Joint Support Ship project at Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyard. $1 billion and counting: Inside Canada's troubled efforts to build new warships Industry briefing questions Ottawa's choice of guns, defence systems for new frigates McCoy, a blunt-talking former U.S. Navy admiral, suggested the expectations going to the surface combatant program were ultimately unworkable because the federal government came in expecting to do a so-called "clean sheet" design; meaning a warship built completely from scratch. It was the shipyard, he said, which ultimately inched the federal government toward building off an existing design because of the enormous risk and expense of purpose-built ships, a position the Liberals adopted in the spring of 2016. The selection of the British Type 26 design by the Liberal government has spawned criticism, a court challenge and will figure prominently in upcoming reports by the auditor general and the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Combat capability packed into ship The nub of the complaints have been that the frigate is not yet in the water and is still under construction in the United Kingdom. The defence department acknowledged that adapting the British design to Canadian expectations and desires will take a year longer than originally anticipated and is now not scheduled to be completed until late 2023, early 2024. Canada, McCoy said, can expect to pay no more $2.5 billion to $3 billion, per ship as they are produced, which is, he claimed, about what other nations would pay for a warship of similar capability. "This is a big ship, lots of capability" he said, indicating that full displacement for the new frigate will likely be about 9,400 tonnes; almost double the 4,700 tonnes of the current Halifax-class. How much will Canada's new frigates really cost? The navy is about to find out PBO pushes up cost estimate for Canada's frigate build by $8 billion McCoy said what is not generally understood amid the public concern over scheduling and cost is the fact that the Canadian version of the Type 26 will be expected to do more than its British and Australian cousins. Where those navies have different warships, performing different functions, such as air defence or anti-submarine warfare, Canada's one class of frigates will be expected to perform both because that is what the government has called for in its requirements. Dave Perry, a defence analyst and vice president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, has studied the program and said he was surprised at the amount of combat capability that was being packed into the new warship. "On the one hand, Canada's one [class] of ship will have more combat capability than many of the other classes of ship that our friends and allies sail with, but it also adds an additional level of complexity and challenge getting all of that gear, all of that firepower into one single floating hull and platform," he said. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-shipbuilding-decade-frigates-1.5912961

Like many navies around the world, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) is making use of the most modern technological advancements in the design and planning of its forthcoming 15 Canadian Surface Combatants (CSC) – a single class of multi-role ships that will form the backbone of Canada's combat sea power. Royal Canadian Navy press release Life onboard the new CSC will be exciting for RCN sailors, as these ships will embrace leading edge technology and improved habitability, and are designed to take them well into the latter half of the 21st Century. How do technological advancements impact operations onboard the ship? Well for starters, a sailor will be able to view on one computer terminal or platform various streams of digital content/information originating from different sources – a process called convergence. Convergence will allow any operations room or bridge terminal to show video or data feeds from any sensor, weapon, or software support system. Not only does this mean that leadership teams will have real-time warfare and platform data at their fingertips from various onboard locations, it also means that the physical space and power required to run multiple terminals will be reduced. Until recently, electronic systems onboard a warship such as the weapons and sensor systems, took up space, and lots of it. However, with the application of widespread digitization and use of solid state electronics onboard the CSC, dedicated space requirements have been considerably reduced, while the capability and flexibility of these systems have been increased. By capitalizing on miniaturization and digitization, much of this new-found square footage can be freed up to improve working and habitability conditions, including making accommodations and personal living spaces better for the crew. Multi-function equipment will be incorporated wherever practical onboard the CSC. For example, a single digital beam-forming radar can replace multiple traditional radars, software-defined radios can be setup to support different communications requirements on the fly, and programmable multi-purpose weapons will be able to engage more than one kind of target, while being controlled from a common vertical launcher. Multi-functionality even extends to the CSC's modular mission bay: a reconfigurable space able to accommodate and integrate any container payload imaginable. When taken as a whole, the technology advancements that will be incorporated into the CSC means the single-class, single variant choice, coupled with the inherent and multi-role capabilities that it will bring, will serve Canadian interests for decades into the future. The CSC is the right choice for the RCN and the right choice for Canada. Canada's defence policy, “Strong, Secure, Engaged” (SSE), has committed to investing in 15 Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) ships. In February 2019, the Government of Canada confirmed that the bid from Lockheed Martin Canada has been selected for the design and design team for the Canadian Surface Combatants. Irving Shipbuilding Inc., the project's prime contractor, awarded a sub-contract to Lockheed Martin Canada for work to finalize the design. The winning bid is based on the BAE Systems Type 26 Global Combat Ship. These ships will be Canada's major surface component of maritime combat power. With its effective warfare capability and versatility, it can be deployed rapidly anywhere in the world, either independently or as part of a Canadian or international coalition. The CSC will be able to deploy for many months with a limited logistic footprint. The CSC will be able to conduct a broad range of tasks, including: Delivering decisive combat power at sea; Supporting the Canadian Armed Forces, and Canada's Allies ashore; Conducting counter-piracy, counter-terrorism, interdiction and embargo operations for medium intensity operations; and Delivering humanitarian aid, search and rescue, law and sovereignty enforcement for regional engagements. The ship's capability suite includes: Four integrated management systems, one each for the combat system, platform systems, bridge and navigation systems and a cyber-defence system; A digital beam forming Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar (the SPY-7 by Lockheed Martin) and solid state illuminator capability; The USN Cooperative Engagement Capability system; A vertically launched missile system supporting long, short and close-in missile defence, long-range precision naval fires support and anti-ship engagements; A 127mm main gun system and dual 30mm gun mounts; A complete electronic warfare and countermeasures suite; A fully integrated underwater warfare system with bow-mounted sonar, towed low frequency active and passive sonar, lightweight torpedoes and decoys; Fully integrated communications, networking and data link capabilities; and A CH-148 Cyclone multi-role helicopter, multi-role boats and facilities for embarking remotely piloted systems. CSC Specifications: Length: 151.4 metres Beam: 20.75 metres Speed: 27 knots Displacement: 7,800 tonnes Navigational Draught: ~8m Range: 7000 nautical miles Class: 15 ships Accommodations: ~204 https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/02/technological-advancements-make-the-csc-the-right-choice-for-the-royal-canadian-navy/

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen Publishing date: Feb 14, 2021 • 21 hours ago • 1 minute read Canada's main small arms manufacturer which provides firearms to the Canadian military has been purchased by a Czech firm. Czech firearms company Ceska Zbrojovka will acquire Colt in the U.S. as well as its subsidiary Colt Canada, based in Kitchener, ON. The deal is expected to be completed by the summer. Colt Canada, with around 100 employees, is Canada's Small Arms Strategic Source and Centre of Excellence. It is included in what the federal government calls the Munitions Supply Program, which sees contracts directed to Colt Canada to maintain its expertise. Department of National Defence officials acknowledge that taxpayers pay a premium to have the guns manufactured in Canada through the sole-source deals. The Czech firm has around 1,650 workers in the Czech Republic, United States and Germany. In a statement it noted that the acquisition of Colt “will acquire significant production capacity in the United States and Canada and substantially expand its global customer base.” National Defence spokesperson Andrée-Anne Poulin said Sunday that the department has been informed of the pending sale of Colt Canada. “While we do not expect an impact on our existing contracts, we are still assessing the situation,” she noted. Public Services and Procurement Canada couldn't provide comment because its media relations office is closed on the weekends. However, last year, that department noted the value of Canada having its own small arms capability. “With Colt Canada as the strategic source of supply and centre of excellence for small arms, the Government of Canada has the ability to produce small arms domestically, ensuring the development of a viable and internationally competitive industry that gives Canada long-term industrial and economic benefits,” the department noted in an email. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadas-main-small-arms-manufacturer-sold-to-czech-firm

It appears that the new drone will come with an upgraded, or perhaps new, advanced air-to-air missile. by Kris Osborn The prospect of new drone-fired air-to-air weapons, such as those being introduced in DARPA's LongShot effort, raise impactful tactical questions regarding the nature of air warfare moving into future decades. The DARPA program is invested in engineering a new kind of aerial attack drone configured such that it can integrate a new generation of air-to-air weapons potentially changing or at least impacting existing aerial warfare paradigms. The Pentagon's DARPA just awarded LongShot development deals to Northrop Grumman, Lockheed and General Atomics to explore concepts, computer modeling and design options for a new air-attack platform. “Current air superiority concepts rely on advanced manned fighter aircraft to provide a penetrating counter air capability to effectively deliver weapons. It is envisioned that LongShot will increase the survivability of manned platforms by allowing them to be at standoff ranges far away from enemy threats, while an air-launched LongShot UAV efficiently closes the gap to take more effective missile shots,” DARPA writes in a statement on the program. What kinds of technologies and air-attack systems are likely to characterize future warfare in the skies? Clearly the intent of the DARPA program, which is early on and primarily in a conceptual phase, is to break existing technical barriers and architect weapons which advance the attack envelope well beyond simply upgrading existing weapons. This sets the bar quite high, given that the current state of upgraded air-to-air weapons is increasingly more advanced. The AIM-9X, for example, has been upgraded to accommodate what's called “off-boresight” targeting wherein a missile can engage a target to the side or even behind the aircraft it launches from. Off boresight capable AIM-9X missiles are now arming F-35s, bringing a new ability to fire course-changing air-to-air weapons at angles beyond direct line-of-sight. Weapons upgrades to the F-22 as well, brought to fruition through a Lockheed software upgrade called 3.2b, brings new upgrades to the AIM-9X and AIM-120D. Raytheon data explains that a Block 2 AIM-9X variant also adds a redesigned fuze, new datalink to support beyond visual range engagements, improved electronics and a digital ignition safety device. Another part of the weapons upgrade includes engineering the F-22 to fire the AIM-120D, a beyond visual range Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), designed for all weather day-and-night attacks. It is a “fire and forget” missile with active transmit radar guidance, Raytheon data states. The AIM-120D is built with upgrades to previous AMRAAM missiles by increasing attack range, improving seeker guidance GPS navigation, inertial measurement units and a two-way data link, Raytheon statements explain. Air-to-Air weapons are also being upgraded with new “countermeasures” to, among other things, enable guidance systems to stay locked on target even in a “jamming” environment. For example, adversaries are increasingly engineering electronic warfare weapons intended to find and “jam” radio frequency or infrared targeting technologies used in air-to-air weapons. Technical efforts to “counter” the countermeasures with frequency-hopping adaptations can enable electronically guided weapons to sustain a precision trajectory despite enemy jamming attempts. These kinds of innovations might, at least initially, be providing a technical baseline from which new weapons can be envisioned, developed and ultimately engineered. The new air-to-air weapons intended for LongShot will most likely not only be much longer range but also operate with hardened guidance systems, flexible flight trajectories, advanced countermeasures, a wider range of fuze options and newer kinds of explosives as well. Kris Osborn is the defense editor for the National Interest. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University. https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/what-might-darpa%E2%80%99s-longshot-fighter-drone-be-armed-178113

AIR FORCE AECOM Technical Services Inc., Los Angeles, California (FA8903-21-D-0002); APTIM Federal Services LLC, Alexandria, Virginia (FA8903-21-D-0001); Atkins Black & Veatch FSB JV, Denver, Colorado (FA8903-21-D-0003); Benham – Mead & Hunt, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (FA8903-21-D-0005); Burns & McDonnell Inc., Kansas City, Missouri (FA8903-21-D-0006); HDR Environmental, Operations and Construction Inc. Spring Branch, Texas (FA8903-21-D-007); Jacobs Government Services Co., San Antonio, Texas (FA8903-21-D-0008); OTIE-Merrick JV, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (FA8903-21-D-0010); Michael Baker International Inc., Moon Township, Pennsylvania (FA8903-21-D-0004); Parsons Government Services Inc., Pasadena, California (FA8903-21-D-0011); Leo A Daly Co., Minneapolis, Minnesota (FA8903-21-D-0009); Pond-CDM Smith JV LP, Peachtree Corners, Georgia (FA8903-21-D-0012); Tetra Tech Inc., Marlborough, Massachusetts (FA8903-21-D-0013); TransSystems GHD JV, Berkeley, California (FA8903-21-D-0014); Wood Environment & Infrastructure Solutions Inc., Blue Bell, Pennsylvania (FA8903-21-D-015); Woolpert RS&H LLC, Dayton, Ohio (FA8903-21-D-0016); and WSP Mason Hanger JV, Washington, D.C. (FA8903-21-D-0017), have collectively been awarded a $2,000,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award task order contract for architect and engineering services. This contract supports the Air Force worldwide infrastructure design and construction missions, specifically for the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Air Force Installation Contracting Center, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and Army Installation Management Command directorates. Work is expected to be completed by February 2026. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $51,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The 772nd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity. SURVICE Engineering Co. LLC, Belcamp, Maryland, has been awarded an $87,800,749 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Department of Defense (DOD) Information Analysis Center (IAC) Basic Center of Operations. This contract provides for the acquisition, storage, retrieval, synthesis, analysis and dissemination of 22 technical focus areas and scientific technical information for the DOD IAC mission. Work will be performed in Belcamp, Maryland, and is expected to be completed February 2027. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. No specific funds are being obligated on the basic contract. Fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $147,340 will be obligated shortly after award on a separate task order. Air Force Installation Contracting Center, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (FA8075-21-D-0001). (This contract was originally announced May 19, 2020, but was not awarded until Feb. 12, 2021) Ampex Data Systems, Hayward, California, has been awarded a $9,999,999 firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for telemetric electrical system-supplies and ancillary services. The contractor will furnish all personnel, equipment, labor, tools, materials and other items necessary to provide recorders, parts, technical engineering support, upgrades and the ability for maintenance sustainment of airborne data recorders and ground data recorders for the Air Force Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California; Eglin AFB, Florida; and other Department of Defense and National Aeronautics and Space Administration continental U.S. activities. Work will be performed at Edwards AFB, California, and is expected to be completed Feb. 11, 2026, and if option is exercised, Feb 11, 2031. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $140,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Test Center, Edwards AFB, California, is the contracting activity (FA9302-21-D-0003). Acierto LLC, Farr West, Utah (FA4686-21-D-0001); Amplified Industrial Inc., Sacramento, California (FA4686-21-D-0002); Polu Kai Tidewater JV, Falls Church, Virginia (FA4686-21-D-0003); Trinity Builders LLC, Plumas Lake, California (FA4686-21-D-0004); and V Lopez Jr & Sons, Santa Maria, California (FA4686-21-D-0005), will compete for each order of a $9,200,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for infrastructure repair requirements. Work will consist of multiple disciplines in general construction categories for the military base facilities of Beale Air Force Base, California. Bids were solicited via the government-wide point of entry via solicitation and 10 bids were received. Exact work location and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated contract completion date of Feb. 11, 2029. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds will be used with no funds being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Installation Contracting Center, Beale Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity. Serco Inc., Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded a $7,681,160 modification (P00002) to contract FA2517-20-C-0003 for Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance system support. Work will be performed in Socorro, New Mexico; Maui, Hawaii; and Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, and is expected to be completed April 30, 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the full amount will be obligated the time of award. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $57,097,418. The 21st Contracting Squadron, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity. ARMY Moderna US, Cambridge, Massachusetts, was awarded a $1,650,000,000 modification (P00004) to contract W911QY-20-C-0100 for an additional 100 million doses of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-1273 Moderna vaccine. Work will be performed in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Army) funds in the amount of $1,650,000,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Feb. 11, 2021) General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, Garland, Texas, was awarded an $111,853,284 firm-fixed-price contract for MK80 series general purpose tritonal bomb components. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Garland, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 30, 2022. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 aircraft procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $111,853,284 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-21-F-0104). Armtec Countermeasures Co., Coachella, California, was awarded a $24,953,504 firm-fixed-price contract for Flare Aircraft Countermeasure M206 and Flare Aircraft Countermeasure MJU-7A/B. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Camden, Arkansas, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2026. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 aircraft procurement appropriations funds in the amount of $24,953,504 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-21-F-0101). NAVY Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum, Maryland, is awarded a $236,941,008 modification for the firm-fixed-price portion of previously awarded contract M67854-19-C-0043. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $686,355,923. This modification provides for the exercise of three option contract line items to procure eight Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar Gallium Nitride full rate production systems with associated travel and one lot of the initial provisioning package (spares) in support of Program Executive Officer Land Systems, Quantico, Virginia. Work will be performed in Linthicum, Maryland, and is expected to be complete by Feb. 28, 2024. Fiscal 2021 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $236,941,008 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract modification was not competitively procured. The base contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 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). Association of Consultants and Engineers,* Leonardtown, Maryland, is awarded a maximum amount $30,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for multi-media environmental compliance services, with an emphasis on storm water, wastewater and drinking water for the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC), Washington, D.C., area of operations (AO) and U.S. territories. All work on this contract will be performed in the Washington, D.C., AO and U.S. territories. The term of the contract is not to exceed 66 months with an expected completion date of August 2026. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) (OM,N) contract funds in the amount of $10,000 for guaranteed minimum are obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by OM,N. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.SAM.gov website with eight proposals received. NAVFAC Washington, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N40080-21-D-0013). Cianbro Corp., Pittsfield, Maine, is awarded a $20,850,000 firm-fixed-price contract modification for dredging requirements to support multi-mission Dry Dock #1 extension located at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. After award of this modification, the total cumulative contract value will be $197,615,254. Work will be performed in Kittery, Maine, and is expected to be completed by March 2022. Fiscal 2021 military construction (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $20,850,000 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-20-C-8500). EPS Corp., Tinton Falls, New Jersey, is awarded a $10,017,166 cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed price modification to previously awarded indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract N00174-17-D-0026 to exercise an option for technical expertise in the development and testing of underwater weapons and underwater weapons systems components. Work will be performed in Tinton Falls, New Jersey (95%); and Cagliari, Italy (5%), and is expected to be completed by February 2022. No additional funds are being obligated at the time of this action. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division, Indian Head, Maryland, is the contracting activity. L3 Harris Technologies Inc. Anaheim, California, is awarded an $8,203,414 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification (P00038) for options under previously awarded and announced contract N00030-18-C-0001. The work will provide services and support for Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI) systems. Work will be performed in Anaheim, California (60 %); Cape Canaveral, Florida (25 %); and Washington, D.C. (15%), with an expected completion date of Oct. 12, 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,021,941 will be obligated at time of this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,423,298; fiscal 2021 weapons (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,814,175; and fiscal 2021 United Kingdom funds in the amount of $944,000, are being obligated at time of this award and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract modification is being awarded to the contractor on a sole-source basis under 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) and was previously synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (now beta.SAM.gov) website. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. Poway, California, was awarded a $9,037,064 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Longshot Phase One. This contract provides for the research, development, and demonstration of the Longshot. Work will be performed in Poway, California (71%); Orlando Florida (14%); Buffalo, New York (7%); Kirkland, Washington (5%); and Pontiac, Michigan (3%), with an estimated completion date of February 2022. Research and development funds in the amount of $2,141,687 are being obligated at the time of award. This contract is a limited sources competitive acquisition in accordance with the original broad agency announcement, HR0011-20-S-0037. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR0011-21-C-0023). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc., Cayce, South Carolina, has been awarded a $10,758,408 modification (P00009) to 50‐year contract SP0600‐18‐C‐8326, with no option periods for the ownership, operation and maintenance of the natural gas distribution utility systems at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. This is a fixed‐price with economic‐price‐adjustment contract. Location of performance is South Carolina, with a Nov. 18, 2069, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2070 Army operation and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Energy, Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Lovell Government Services LLC, Pensacola, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $9,653,838 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for medical and surgical supplies. This was a competitive acquisition with 41 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no options. Location of performance is Florida, with a Feb. 11, 2026, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DE-21-D-0013). *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2503055/source/GovDelivery/

Mark Pomerleau CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misidentified the organization soliciting white papers as the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command. WASHINGTON — The Navy is searching for solutions from industry that can fill needed gaps in cyber warfare capabilities to secure weapon systems and exploit cyberspace. The Naval Air Systems Command Cyber Warfare Detachment is looking for white papers for research and development efforts on resilient cyber warfare capabilities, according to a Feb. 11 posting to a government contracting website. The proposals should offer advancements or improvements to fill gaps, the notice stated, listing eight buckets of technological interests: Size-, weight- and power-sensitive cyber resiliency for real-time operating systems and aviation warfare environment Access point identification, prioritization and defense Cyber-electronic warfare convergent capabilities Full acquisition cycle cybersecurity measures Cyber test, inspection and incident response concepts Cyber warning system techniques Cyber fault, risk and threat assessment methodologies Resilient network concepts NAVAIR provided a more in-depth list of 36 specific areas, including full-spectrum cyber response and enablement capabilities for multiple weapon system kill chains, sacrificial infrastructure and reactive cyber “armor,” deceptive/misinformation software and hardware capabilities, threat attribution, identification and geolocation, software defined radio protections and capabilities networking, tools for weapon system cyber protection teams for incident response and inspection, and suppression and discovery of malware command and control mechanisms to include triggering, reconnaissance and logic bombs. The command will accept responses until Feb. 10, 2022, and review them quarterly. The next phase of the program will be by invitation. https://www.c4isrnet.com/cyber/2021/02/11/navwar-looking-for-emerging-cyber-research-and-development/

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — It started as a dare. When Will Roper, then the Air Force's top acquisition official, visited Beale Air Force Base in California last fall, he issued a challenge to the U-2 Federal Laboratory, a five-person organization founded in October 2019. The team was established to create advanced technologies for the venerable Lockheed Martin U-2 spyplane, and Roper wanted to push the team further. “He walked into the laboratory and held his finger out and pointed directly at me,” recalled Maj. Ray Tierney, the U-2 pilot who founded and now leads the lab. “He said, ‘Ray, I got a challenge.' We didn't even say hello.” Roper, a string theorist turned reluctant government bureaucrat who was known for his disruptive style and seemingly endless references to science-fiction, wanted the team to update the U-2′s software during a flight. It was a feat the U.S. military had never accomplished, but to Tierney's exasperation, Roper wanted only to know how long it would take for the lab to pull off. The answer, it turns out, was two days and 22 hours. A month later, in mid-November, Roper laid out a second challenge: Create an AI copilot for the U-2, a collection of algorithms that would be able to learn and adapt in a way totally unlike the mindlessness of an autopilot that strictly follows a preplanned route. That task took a month, when an AI entity called Artuμ (pronounced Artoo, as in R2-D2 of Star Wars fame) was given control of the U-2′s sensors and conveyed information about the location of adversary missile launchers to the human pilot during a live training flight on Dec. 15. Now, the U-2 Federal Laboratory is at work again on another undisclosed challenge. Tierney and Roper declined to elaborate on the task in interviews with Defense News. But Roper acknowledged, more broadly, that a future where AI copilots regularly fly with human operators was close at hand. “Artuμ has a really good chance of making it into operations by maybe the summer of this year,” Roper told Defense News before his Jan. 20 departure from the service. “I'm working with the team on how aggressive is the Goldilocks of being aggressive enough? The goal is fairly achievable, but still requires a lot of stress and effort.” In order to ready Artuμ for day-to-day operations, the AI entity will be tested in potentially millions of virtual training missions — including ones where it faces off against itself. The Air Force must also figure out how to certify it so that it can be used outside of a test environment, Roper said. “The first time we fly an AI in a real operation or real world mission — that's the next big flag to plant in the ground,” Roper said. “And my goal before I leave is to provide the path, the technical objectives, the program approach that's necessary to get to that flag and milestone.” Meanwhile, the team has its own less formal, longer-term challenge: How do you prove to a giant organization like the Air Force, one that is full of bureaucracy and thorough reviews, that a small team of five people can quickly create the innovation the service needs? No regulations, no rules During a Dec. 22 interview, Tierney made it clear that he had little interest in discussing what the U-2 Federal Lab is currently working on. What he wanted to promote, he said, was the concept of how federal laboratories could act as innovation pressure chambers for the military — a place where operators, scientists and acquisition personnel would have the freedom to create without being hamstrung by red tape. For those immersed in military technology, focusing on the promise of federal laboratories can seem like a bit of a letdown, if not outright academic, especially when compared to a discussion about the future of artificial intelligence. The U.S. government is rife with organizations — often named after tired Star Wars references that would make even the most enthusiastic fanboy cringe — created in the name of fostering innovation and rapidly developing new technologies. Many of those advances never make it over the “valley of death” between when a technology is first designed and when it is finally mature enough to go into production. Ultimately, that's the problem the U-2 Federal Lab was created to solve. As a federally accredited laboratory, the team is empowered to create a technology, test it directly with users, mature it over time, and graduate it into the normal acquisition process at Milestone B, Tierney said. At that stage, the product is ready to be treated as a program of record going through the engineering and manufacturing development process, which directly precedes full-rate production. “We're basically front loading all the work so that when we hand it to the acquisition system, there's no work left to do,” Tierney said. The lab essentially functions as a “blue ocean,” as an uncontested market that does not normally exist in the acquisition system, he explained. “There's no regulations; there's no rules.” While that might sound similar to organizations the Air Force has started to harness emerging technologies, such as its Kessel Run software development factory, Tierney bristled at the comparison. “We're basically developing on the weapon system, and then working our way back through the lines of production, as opposed to a lot of these organizations like Kessel Run, which is developing it on servers and server environments,” he said. That distinction is critical when it comes to bringing modern software technologies to an aging platform like the U-2, an aircraft that took its first flight in 1955 and is so idiosyncratic that high speed muscle cars are needed to chase the spyplane and provide situational awareness as it lands. Because the team works only with the U-2, they understand the precise limitations of the weapon system, what its decades-old computers are capable of handling, and how to get the most out of the remaining space and power inside the airplane. Besides Tierney, there are only four other members of the U-2 Federal Lab: a National Guardsman with more than a decade of experience working for IBM, and three civilians with PhDs in machine learning, experimental astrophysics and applied mathematics. (The Air Force declined to provide the names of the other employees from the lab.) As the lone member of the team with experience flying the U-2, Tierney provides perspective on how the aircraft is used operationally and what types of technologies rank high on pilots' wish lists. But what most often drives the team are the projects that can make the biggest impact — not just for the U-2, but across the whole Defense Department. Making it work One of those projects was an effort to use Kubernetes, a containerized system that allows users to automate the deployment and management of software applications, onboard a U-2. The technology was originally created by Google and is currently maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. “Essentially, what it does is it federates or distributes processing between a bunch of different computers. So you can take five computers in your house and basically mush them all together into one more powerful computer,” Tierney said. The idea generated some resistance from other members of the lab, who questioned the usefulness of deploying Kubernetes to the U-2′s simple computing system. “They said, ‘Kubernetes is useless to us. It's a lot of extra processing overhead. We don't have enough containers. We have one processing board, [so] what are you distributing against? You got one computer,'” Tierney said. But a successful demonstration, held in September, proved that it was possible for even a 1950s-era aircraft to run Kubernetes, opening the door for the Defense Department to think about how it could be used to give legacy platforms more computing power. It also paved the way for the laboratory to do something the Air Force had long been aiming to accomplish: update an aircraft's code while it was in flight. “We wanted to show that a team of five in two days could do what the Department of Defense has been unable to do in its history,” Tierney said. “Nobody helped us with this; there was no big company that rolled in. We didn't outsource any work, it was literally and organically done by a team of five. Could you imagine if we grew the lab by a factor of two or three or four, what that would look like?” The lab has also created a government-owned open software architecture for the U-2, a task that took about three months and involved no additional funding. Once completed, the team was able to integrate advanced machine learning algorithms developed by Sandia National Laboratories in less than 30 minutes. “That's my litmus test for open architecture,” Tierney said. “Go to any provider that says I have open architecture, and just ask them two questions. How long is it going to take you to integrate your service? And how much is it going to cost? And if the answer isn't minutes and free, it's not quite as open as what people want.” The U-2 Federal Lab hopes to export the open architecture system to other military aircraft and is already in talks with several Air Force and Navy program offices on potential demonstrations. Could the Air Force create other federal laboratories to create specialized tech for other aircraft? The U-2 lab was designed from the outset to be franchisable, but Tierney acknowledged that much of the success of future organizations will rest in the composition of the team and the level of expertise of its members. “Can it scale? Absolutely. How does it scale is another question,” Tierney said. “Do you have one of these for every weapon system? Do you have just a couple sprinkled throughout the government? Does it proliferate en masse? Those are all questions that I think, largely can be explored.” For now, it's unclear whether the Air Force will adopt this framework more widely. The accomplishments of the U-2 Federal Laboratory have been lauded by Air Force leaders such as Chief of Staff Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, who in December wrote on Twitter that the group “continue[s] to push the seemingly impossible.” However, it remains to be seen whether the Biden administration will give the lab the champion it found in Roper, and continued pressure on the defense budget — and to retire older aircraft like the U-2 — could present greater adversity for the lab. But as for the other challenge, the one Tierney and Roper didn't want to discuss, Tierney offered only a wink as to what comes next: “What I can say is that the future is going to be an interesting one.” https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/02/11/the-tiny-tech-lab-that-put-ai-on-a-spyplane-has-another-secret-project/

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Steve Trimble A secretive new unmanned aircraft system (UAS) designed by the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works is poised to enter ground testing “imminently,” a Lockheed Martin spokeswoman said on Feb. 11. The UAS known only as “Speed Racer” is awaiting the pending delivery of engines supplied by Technical Directions Inc. (TDI), a Michigan-based small turbojet supplier that was acquired in 2019 by Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, the spokeswoman said. A Lockheed official disclosed the Speed Racer project during a Sept. 16 press briefing, but provided few details. The name itself is an acronym, but none of the words have been released. The UAS is intended to validate a new digital engineering system within Lockheed called StarDrive. Heeding the U.S. Air Force's call to unite digital engineering tools across the design, manufacturing and sustainment phases of a new weapon system, Lockheed built the StarDrive to reduce the time and cost of producing and operating new flight vehicles for the military. Despite its name, Lockheed has emphasized that the concept is not necessarily about producing a fast UAS. The link to the StarDrive program may imply that “Speed Racer” is a reference to the pace of design and production. The only clear fact about Speed Racer is that it is powered by multiple engines made by TDI, which suggests a smaller vehicle. TDI's product portfolio consists of four turbojets with diameters between 4.5-8.5 in., and power ratings between 30-200-lb. thrust. Along with Florida Turbine Technologies—another Kratos acquisition—TDI is seeking to “disrupt the [small] engine market over the next few years,” said Eric Demarco, Kratos' chief executive officer, during a Jan. 13 virtual presentation to investors and analysts. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/secretive-new-skunk-works-uas-set-ground-testing-soon