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Gareth Jennings Northrop Grumman commenced assembly of the first of up to seven MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for Australia, it announced on 27 October. The milestone saw the first jig-load for a Triton intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) UAV for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) take place at Northrop Grumman's Moss Point facility in Mississippi. Final assembly and flight testing will follow at the company's Palmdale facility and at Edwards Air Force Base in California, ahead of delivery to Australia in 2023. “The MQ-4C Triton will be a very important ISR capability for Australia,” Air Commodore Terry van Haren, the RAAF's air attaché to the Australian Embassy in the United States, said during the ceremony that was also attended by senior Australian and US government and military figures. “It is ideally suited for Australian operating conditions, given its high altitude, long endurance, and impressive sensor suite. The Royal Australian Air Force looks forward to operating the MQ-4C alongside its other ISR and response aircraft such as the [Boeing] P-8A Poseidon [maritime multimission aircraft (MMA)].” Australia currently has three Tritons in the US Navy's (USN's) low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot 5, which also includes two main operating bases, and one forward operating base for the country in an integrated functional capability-four (IFC-4) and multiple intelligence configuration. IFC-4 functionality will add a signals intelligence capability to the UAV's baseline IFC-3 configuration. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/northrop-grumman-begins-building-first-triton-uav-for-australia

Richard R. Burgess ARLINGTON, Va. — The secretary of the Navy is bullish on the future Constellation-class guided-missile frigate (FFG) and said it may be a possible candidate for sale to the nation's allied and partner navies. In an Oct. 28 webinar discussion with retired Rear Adm. Frank Thorp IV, president and CEO of the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., Navy Secretary Kenneth J. Braithwaite sees the potential for service in many nations' navies for the FFG, liking the potential of sales to the large number of customers for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. “Why can't we create a Joint Strike Frigate?” Braithwaite mused. “Why can't we take that same platform and offer it to our allies and partners around the world? After all, it is an amalgamation of an Italian-U.S. joint effort to build that ship in a U.S. shipyard. It's already got an international footprint.” Thorp pointed out a comment Oct. 26 from National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien at the Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin, where the Constellation, will be built, that building two frigates would not be enough. “We're going to need two, three, four frigates built a year to get to the numbers of where we want to be,” O'Brien told employees during a visit to the shipyard, reported Paul McCleary in the Breaking Defense website. “This yard has the capability to build two or three of them itself.” “It's great to have that kind of support in the White House and I'd love to see us build [more],” Braithwaite said. “I'm a huge fan of that ship. It is an incredibly capable vessel. ... I spent a lot of time picking the name for that ship to make it fit into the culture piece of who we are and what we are as the United States Navy. Braithwaite noted that the Navy's FFG program of record calls for 20 to be built but predicted that “we'll build more than 20 of those.” He also noted that many navies operate ex-U.S. Navy Knox- and Perry-class frigates, which could be replaced by new frigates. https://seapowermagazine.org/secnav-touts-new-frigate-for-possible-sale-to-allied-partner-navies/

Michel Cabirol Les Etats-Unis tentent d'entraver des initiatives françaises et européennes en vue de desserrer le nœud coulant de la réglementation extraterritoriale américaine ITAR. Les Etats-Unis ne desserrent jamais leur leadership mondial. C'est notamment le cas sur le plan technologique. Ainsi, Washington cherche à maintenir la France et l'Europe sous son emprise technologique afin de contrôler, voire de limiter, les exportation de systèmes d'armes de leurs alliés européens, via notamment la réglementation extraterritoriale ITAR (International traffics in arms regulation). Dans une réponse adressée au député LR François Cornut-Gentille dans le cadre du projet de loi de finances 2021 et rendue publique, le ministère des Armées fait explicitement mention d'entraves de la part des Etats-Unis pour contrecarrer des initiatives européennes pour développer des filières européennes de composants critiques permettant de disposer d'un premier niveau d'autonomie. "Naturellement les États-Unis cherchent à les entraver et misent sur la frilosité de certains États où leur influence est forte", explique le... https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/itar-comment-les-etats-unis-jouent-contre-l-autonomie-strategique-francaise-et-europe

Jen Judson UPDATE — This story has been updated to correct the location for ISV production in North Carolina. A GM Defense representative previously misspoke. WASHINGTON — GM Defense delivered its first Infantry Squad Vehicle to the U.S. Army in an Oct. 27 ceremony at its proving grounds and production facility in Milford, Michigan, just 120 days after being chosen to build the new troop carrier. The Army awarded the company a $214.3 million contract to produce 649 vehicles by the end of fiscal 2024. The service is planning to procure a total of 2,065 ISVs. Designed to carry a nine-soldier squad, the ISV was specifically put together to be light enough to be sling loaded from a UH-60 Black Hawk and small enough to fit inside a CH-47 Chinook, to provide maximum flexibility for deployment. GM's design is based off the company's 2020 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 midsize truck and uses 90 percent commercial parts including a 186-horsepower, 2.8L Duramax turbo-diesel engine and performance race components. It also features a custom rollover protection system. While the first low-rate initial production vehicles — 27 in total — will be built in Michigan, GM has a long-term plan to move its ISV manufacturing to Concord, North Carolina, where it is standing up a facility to manage its higher volume ISV production. The Army first identified a need for a light infantry vehicle in 2015 when its most recent combat vehicle strategy was released, but nothing materialized until Congress forced the Army to launch the competition as part of the FY18 National Defense Authorization Act. The Army awarded $1 million contracts to three teams in August 2019 to develop offerings — GM Defense, a team of Oshkosh Defense and Flyer Defense LLC and an SAIC and Polaris team. “One hundred and twenty days from contract award to delivery is a significant milestone, and I am very proud of the team for this accomplishment,” David Albritton, president of GM Defense, said in a statement. “We're leveraging General Motors' engineering prowess and immense manufacturing capabilities to bring transformative solutions to the military vehicle market. Our initial success with the ISV shows our commitment to our customer and highlights our unique right to win in the military mobility market.” GM Defense has a “very, very talented team," Albritton said during the ceremony, and “their innovation, attention to detail, flexibility when incorporating soldier feedback during testing and a magnitude of other factors helped us to win this ISV contract and gives me great hope for how we will tackle other pursuits in the future.” The first vehicles will be going to the 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division, but ultimately 11 IBCTs will be outfitted with 59 vehicles each under the first contract covering the 649 ISVs. The vehicles are slated to go through tests in the coming year, including further analysis of its air-deployable capability, as well as verification the maintenance manuals are complete. The first unit equipped will take the ISV through an initial operational test and evaluation. With the success of the ISV, GM Defense is setting its sights on other opportunities with the Army and other military services. “We have a strong interest in the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Program,” Albritton said. The Army is planning to re-compete for the JLTV and for new Humvees to round out the tactical vehicle fleet. “If you look at the size and scale of this program, obviously, this is closer to a commercial-size vehicle, but as you step up in class and step up in weight, we believe we have a right to win in vehicles sizes of that size,” he added. “That doesn't limit us there, as well. There are only a few ground vehicle programs across the [Defense Department] right now, but we believe that other than doing a fully integrated vehicle like we do on ISV or what we potentially could do on JLTV in partnership with other companies, we can look at programs like the Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle for the U.S. Marine Corps, or we can look at the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle," Albritton said. “But if you think about power and propulsion solutions, you think about light weighting, think about cybersecurity, there's other types of capabilities that we can apply in partnership on a variety of platforms as well.” GM spent several recent years helping the Army evaluate a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle using a ZH2 Chevy Colorado and the Army is now taking some renewed steps at getting after an electric vehicles in its fleet to include the pursuit of an electric light reconnaissance vehicle. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/10/27/us-army-gets-first-infantry-squad-vehicle-from-gm-defense/

Andrew Eversden WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army's new top military IT official has its eyes on several priorities to ensure that the service is prepared for multi-domain operations. Lt. Gen. John Morrison, the Army's first deputy chief of staff for the G-6, a new position created after the Army announced it would be splitting its CIO/G-6 office over the summer, told reporters Tuesday that his new office will focus on strategy, network architectures, and implementation of command, control, communications, and cyber operations efforts. To achieve that, Morrison laid out four pillars that will shape the role of the new G-6 office, which reached initial operating capability after he took over in August. The four pillars are establishing a unified network, positioning cyber and signal forces for multi-domain operations, reforming the cybersecurity process, and driving efficient and effective investments across the network and cyber. The unified network pillar is focused on vertical integration of the tactical network and enterprise networks to create a unified network that can meet the globally dispersed warfighting operations of the service. Right now, Morrison said, the enterprise network is focused on modernizing bases, posts, camps and installations, while the tactical network is centered around brigade combat teams. The unified network will be “imperative” for multi-domain operations, Morrison said. His office will work with Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems; PEO Command, Control, Communications-Tactical; and the Network Cross-Functional Team to establish the unified network he said the Army needs to enable Joint All-Domain Command and Control. “We break down the individual theater architectures, and we make it easy for formations that are actually in [the contiguous United States] to rapidly deploy to any area of operations and immediately plug in and start conducting operations, whether that's in competition or conflict,” Morrison said. “That needs to be ... our goal.” As for aligning cyber and signal forces for multi-domain operations, Morrison said that he will be looking at the training, talent management and operational frameworks while adjusting them over time to ensure those soldiers are used effectively during future battles. “That means making sure that we have signal and cyber, underpinned by intelligence, operating in a combined arms fashion in cyberspace to include electromagnetic spectrum,” Morrison said. The three-star also wants to take a “hard look” at the service's risk management framework (RMF) as part of reforming and operationalizing its cybersecurity process. He wants to move the Army away from a bureaucratic system with intermittent reviews to a system where cybersecurity is baked into a system before it's added to the network, then going back “periodically” to make sure there are no new vulnerabilities to the system. As the service works toward enabling multi-domain operations, Morrison is also focused on ensuring that the service is making effective and efficient investments in its network and cyber infrastructure so that it can make the JADC2 concept a reality. For example, Morrison said, his team is looking at what the joint force is doing with cyber so the Army makes investments to develop cyber capabilities that the service needs while ensuring it has links back to the joint force. It's especially important for the Army to be meticulous with its cyber and network investments as the Department of Defense as a whole prepares for flat budgets as the government funds are increasingly directed toward recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Morrison said. “We are probably entering into a time where budgets may not be all that they have been in the past,” he said. “And quite frankly, we owe it to taxpayers to force ourselves to be efficient and effective.” Before former Army CIO/G-6 Lt. Gen. Bruce Crawford retired, he told reporters that the Army split the CIO/G-6 office to take better advantage of technology, saying that the way his office was structured had become outdated as technology advanced. The Army has yet to nominate a new CIO, but Morrison will work closely with the next official named to that position, he said. “Think of it in this way, the CIO establishes the policies," Morrison said. "We're responsible for the planning and the actual implementation of those policies, and then supporting Army organizations worldwide as they go out and actually execute the policies.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2020/10/27/us-armys-top-uniformed-it-official-lays-out-priorities-for-new-office/

Christina Mackenzie PARIS – France's future navy surface ships will be protected from swarm attacks by the RAPIDFire very short range weapon system developed by a Thales and Nexter consortium, the DGA French procurement agency has announced. Based on the medium-caliber, cased, 40mm gun developed by CTAI, the international subsidiary of Nexter Systems and BAE Systems, RAPIDFire was designed to respond to new threats, notably low, small, slow, stealthy, swarm attacks that can saturate conventional missile defenses. It has a range of 4 kilometers (2.5 miles). Integrated onto the unmanned turret, the gun has an optronic fire-control system which can be controlled by the operator. Threat analysis is shared with the ship's combat management system, and the gunner can validate or adjust the strategy proposed by the gun. There are five different types of ammunition that the gun can choose from automatically to best engage a given threat. In a joint statement Thales and Nexter specify that “the system is compatible with the full range of ammunitions developed for land forces programs and is predisposed to the use of future ammunition as the smart Anti Aerial Airburst (A3B) round” for use against UAVs for example. The surface-to-air and surface-to-surface gun has been designed to be used on a common turret for ground and naval systems. This means the RAPIDFire system will be able to be used on land vehicles in the future. Although the program is still in the development phase, the DGA French procurement agency has already undertaken firing tests with it and has chosen it to equip the French Navy's future surface vessels. First delivery is scheduled for 2022. https://www.defensenews.com/smr/euronaval/2020/10/27/french-warships-to-get-new-drone-swarm-killing-gun-derived-from-land-weapons/

hrough five new agreements, Boeing [NYSE: BA] and its Canadian aerospace partners are preparing to deliver C$61 billion and nearly 250,000 jobs to the Canadian economy. “Canada is one of Boeing's most enduring partners and has continuously demonstrated that they have a robust and capable industry supporting both our commercial and defence businesses,” said Charles “Duff” Sullivan, Boeing Canada managing director. “The large scale and scope of these Canadian projects reinforces Boeing's commitment to Canada and gives us an opportunity to build on our motto of promises made, promises kept.” According to new data and projections from economists at Ottawa-based Doyletech Corp., the total economic benefits to Canada and its workforce for the acquisition of the F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet will last for at least 40 years and benefit all regions thanks to billions of dollars in economic growth. A Super Hornet selection for the Future Fighter Capability Project (FFCP) is also expected to deliver hundreds of thousands of high paying jobs critical to the country's economic recovery. “At a time when Canada is working toward recovery efforts coming out of the pandemic, a Super Hornet selection would provide exactly the boost that we need,” said Rick Clayton, economist at Doyletech Corp. “Boeing and its Super Hornet industry partners have a long track record of delivering economic growth to Canada, which gave us the confidence that our data and detailed projections are extremely accurate.” Today's announcement includes partnerships with five of Canada's largest aerospace companies outlining how they would benefit from a Block III Super Hornet selection in the FFCP: CAE (Montreal, Quebec): Boeing and CAE's Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlines the implementation of a comprehensive training solution for the Block III Super Hornet based in Canada and under full control of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). This includes full mission simulators and part task training devices for pilot training and maintenance technician training, courseware, as well as Contractor Logistics Support, Training Support Services, and Facilities Services to support RCAF training. L3Harris Technologies (Mirabel, Quebec): The extensive MOU includes a wide range of sustainment services, including depot and base maintenance, engineering and publications support for the Canadian Super Hornet fleet; potential for other Super Hornet depot work; and maintenance scope for Canada's CH-147 Chinook fleet. Peraton Canada (Calgary, Alberta): Boeing and Peraton currently work closely together on CF-18 upgrades. This work will expand to include a full range of Super Hornet avionic repair and overhaul work in Canada. Raytheon Canada Limited (Calgary, Alberta): Boeing and Raytheon Canada's MOU outlines the implementation of large-scale supply chain and warehousing services at Cold Lake and Bagotville to support the new Super Hornet fleet, as well as potential depot avionics radar support. GE Canada Aviation (Mississauga, Ontario): In cooperation with its parent organization, GE Canada will continue to provide both onsite maintenance, repair and overhaul support services for the F414 engines used on the Super Hornet, as well as technical services and engineering within Canada in support of RCAF operations and aircraft engine sustainment. Boeing and its partners have delivered on billions of dollars in industrial and technological benefits obligations dating back more than 25 years. The work started with the sale of the F/A-18s in the mid-1980s and progressed through more recent obligations including acquisition of and sustainment work on the C-17 Globemaster and the CH-47F Chinooks to meet Canada's domestic and international missions. In 2019 Boeing's direct spending rose to C$2.3 billion, a 15% increase in four years. When the indirect and induced effects are calculated, this amount more than doubles to C$5.3 billion, with 20,700 jobs, according to Doyletech. Boeing's long-standing partnership with Canada dates back to 1919, when Bill Boeing made the first international airmail delivery from Vancouver to Seattle. Today, Canada is among Boeing's largest international supply bases, with more than 500 major suppliers spanning every region of the country. With nearly 1,500 employees, Boeing Canada supplies composite parts for all current Boeing commercial airplane models and supports Canadian airlines and the Canadian Armed Forces with products and services. Boeing is the world's largest aerospace company and leading provider of commercial airplanes, defense, space and security systems, and global services. As a top U.S. exporter, the company supports commercial and government customers in more than 150 countries. Building on a legacy of aerospace leadership, Boeing continues to lead in technology and innovation, deliver for its customers and invest in its people and future growth. https://www.miragenews.com/boeing-partners-commit-to-boost-canadian-economy-by-61-billion/

David Scanlon Defence Watch Guest Writer Recent news reports have shown the Canadian Armed Forces are struggling to define ethical boundaries as they expand their capability to meet the rising threats of the information age. A global information war is now being fought in a “grey zone” where malign state and non-state actors are trying to sow confusion and division across the international community. American professor of strategy and author Sean McFate writes that future military victories “will be won and lost in the information space, not on the physical battlefield.” But he warns that “some democracies may be tempted to sacrifice their values in the name of victory.” Recent mishaps by Canada's military underscore this temptation. In April, the Ottawa Citizen published this headline: “Canadian Forces ‘information operations' pandemic campaign quashed after details revealed to top general.” The article reported that the “IO” campaign was targeted at Canadians and “called for ‘shaping' and ‘exploiting' information” with the aim of maintaining civil order and ensuring “public compliance with suppression measures” during the coronavirus pandemic. A parallel effort involved the “data mining” of personal social media accounts in Ontario by a team assigned to military intelligence. The military shared data with the province, including findings that some of its citizens were unhappy about its response to the pandemic. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan ordered a review of the information operations campaign and an investigation into the legality of the data-mining activities. Given the Canadian Armed Forces were tasked with helping the provinces of Quebec and Ontario deal with the cruel impact of the coronavirus in long-term care homes, it is disquieting that such a campaign would be contemplated, let alone put in writing. Chief of the defence staff General Jon Vance reportedly avowed that, “as long as he was in charge information operations tactics wouldn't be used in a domestic situation, except in the case where an enemy had invaded the country.” Despite the defence chief's promise, only six months later the armed forces were caught conducting a disinformation campaign on Canada's Atlantic coast. Under the headline, “Canadian Soldiers Cry Wolf, Alarming Residents,” the New York Times reported that a military psychological training exercise had “gone wrong,” and that a “fake disinformation exercise had become a real one.” For reasons as yet unexplained, military personnel circulated a forged letter from the province of Nova Scotia warning certain residents to be wary of a wandering wolfpack, backed by loudspeakers blaring the sounds of growling wolves. It took some time for the armed forces to accept responsibility and apologize. Meanwhile, baffled local officials assured affected residents the province had not issued the letter and there were no wolves in the area. The defence minister rightly supports training the military “on how best to respond to foreign actors who use influence activities.” But to avoid further mistakes he ordered such training paused until an investigation into the wayward wolfpacks was concluded. Emma Briant, a US-based British academic and author who specializes in propaganda and political communication, told the New York Times she finds the recent incidents “appalling,” a “failure of governance,” a “failure to ensure restraint,” and a “failure to ensure ethics are built into training and planning operations.” “They seem to have introduced a policy of weaponization of influence, domestically,” Briant observes. Instead, she advises, Canada's military needs to be building “a relationship of trust with the public.” The military's pattern of ethical breaches appears to reveal an embedded operational mindset fixed on tactics, as opposed to a strategic one focussed on building public trust. British military historian Hew Strachan wrote that armed forces are attracted to the operational level of war, as opposed to the strategic. It allows them to “appropriate what they see as the acme of their professional competence,” enabling them to operate in “a politics free zone.” This may in part explain General Vance's decision in 2015 to “operationalize” the military's public affairs branch, which is responsible for public communication. The branch was seen as not delivering tangible “effects” in support of so-called “operations in the information environment.” By operationalizing a strategic function like public affairs, the military was in effect reducing it to an operational or tactical capability, like special operations forces or precision-guided missiles. Ostensibly, these can deliver precise, tangible “effects” under direct military control. Some of the perils of this new approach were exposed when a senior public affairs officer, Brig.-Gen Jay Janzen (then a colonel), began using his Twitter account to target journalists, commentators, and politicians. In April 2018, for instance, he sparked a heated Twitter exchange with opposition defence critic James Bezan. The defence committee had been debating a military deployment to Mali to help defeat cancerous African offshoots of ISIS and al-Qaeda. Janzen tweeted that questions about the mission from opposition Members of Parliament were “nonsensical.” He even proposed “better” questions for opposition parties to ask. For a serving senior officer to publicly criticize elected officials was unprecedented. Government ministers must have been perplexed to see a high-ranking service member tweeting better debate questions to opposition MPs. Janzen's tweets, which appear to have at least the tacit approval of his superiors, set an example for other service members. Another perplexing public information moment occurred last April when the Canadian military reported that a Canadian frigate patrolling off the Greek coast had “lost contact” with its Cyclone maritime helicopter. It was later revealed the helicopter was moments from landing on the ship when, as the CBC reported, “it went down in full view of horrified shipmates.” Tragically, all six aboard the Cyclone were killed in the crash. The military was widely criticized for misrepresenting the facts—contact was in fact never “lost” and officials failed to explain the miscommunication. Some practitioners of public affairs and information operations have been telling their military bosses that with scientific techniques like “target audience analysis” they can change people's perceptions and behaviours with astounding precision. Canada's defence department recently paid over a million dollars to Emic Consulting Limited (whose founder worked at the UK's controversial and now defunct Strategic Communication Laboratories) to teach public affairs officers and others how to conduct “actor and audience analysis” and otherwise weaponize behavioural science. But is this training being misapplied? One aim of information operations is to change the perceptions and behaviours of target audiences using a range of influence techniques, including “psychological” and “deception” operations. As the defence chief alluded, such techniques should not be approved for use in Canada, other than in exceptional circumstances against clearly defined foes, such as terrorists. Military public affairs, by contrast, is about ensuring Canada's armed forces follow federal communications policy, which calls for maintaining “public trust,” and directs that federal communications “must be objective, factual, non-partisan, clear, and written in plain language.” In a free and democratic society, public trust is a priceless strategic “effect.” As malign actors seek to create confusion and division, Canadians need trusted sources of information. Surveys consistently show that Canadians trust their military. Military leaders and their public affairs advisors must preserve this trust. As called for in defence policy, Canada's armed forces do need the tools to wage information and cyber warfare. They are already facing such threats on missions overseas. But the armed forces also need the tools to communicate with Canadians and other friendly audiences in a timely, truthful, and accurate fashion. Transparency is a potent democratic deterrent against disinformation. Informed by the investigations into recent mishaps, the defence minister and chief of the defence staff should consider the following: o To ensure that information operations have proper approvals and oversight, and are conducted ethically, robust policy, doctrine, and governance are essential. o To ensure broad awareness of ethical considerations when conducting influence activities, related training and education needs to be incorporated at all rank levels. o To explain their actions and help build public trust, the armed forces need to field uniformed spokespersons more often. (The military's “chief spokesman” cited by the New York Times in the “wolves” story was a civilian.) o To ensure coherent doctrine and effective implementation of information-related capabilities, a professional total force cadre of practitioners should be created. o Military public affairs must be reinvigorated as a strategic capability that promotes transparency, provides unhindered advice to commanders at all levels, and ensures close coordination with the civilian communication arms of government. o Policy and doctrine, along with leaders, operators, and information practitioners, must clearly differentiate between activities intended to inform Canadians, such as public affairs, and information operations designed to influence or deceive adversaries. Fighting disinformation is a serious whole-of-nation challenge. It requires an informed public, ethical and transparent government, an engaged private sector, a vigorous and valued free press, and armed forces that respect and reflect Canadian values. https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/canada/fight-the-information-war-without-sacrificing-canadian-values-513691/

NAVY American Rheinmetall Munition Inc., Stafford, Virginia, is awarded a $32,449,901 modification to previously awarded, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract M67854-18-D-5225 to increase the contract maximum value, including the third, fourth and fifth option years, from $59,703,284 to $92,153,184. This modification will allow the ordering of up to a maximum of 1,051,734 additional MK281 MOD 3 40MM high velocity day/night practice cartridges. Work will be performed in Camden, Arkansas, and is expected to be complete by Sept. 25, 2023. No funds are being obligated on this award and no funds will expire. Funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders. Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M67854-18-D-5225). Energetics Technology Center, Indian Head, Maryland, is awarded a $15,606,996 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Automated Global Energetics Science and Technology (S&T) Awareness effort. The proposed effort has three major components: a national energetics study, automated global energetics S&T awareness, and creating an energetics ecosystem. The national energetics study will collect and analyze information in support of the requirement to develop a plan that fulfills the request of National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2020, Section 253. The automated global energetics S&T awareness will develop and demonstrate the feasibility of an approach to enable machine-assisted energetics S&T global awareness. The energetics ecosystem will utilize a tool to assist Department of Defense research and development centers with establishing/enhancing innovation and commercialization ecosystems. Work will be performed in Indian Head, Maryland. The period of performance is 72 months, including a 36-month base period from Oct. 27, 2020, through Oct. 26, 2023, and one 36-month option period. The total cumulative value of this contract is $15,606,996. The base period is $7,722,823 and option period is $7,884,173. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,722,823 are obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under N00014-20-S-B001, “Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Navy and Marine Corps Science & Technology.” Since proposals are received throughout the year under the long range BAA, the number of proposals received in response to the solicitation is unknown. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00014-21-C-1016.). MRIGlobal, Kansas City, Missouri, is awarded a $12,674,104 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to develop a flexible detection system consisting of Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-based assays paired with reconfigurable point-of-need and massively multi-plexed devices for diagnostics and surveillance. This two-year contract includes four options which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to an estimated $36,732,661. All work will be performed at the contractor's facilities in Gaithersburg, Maryland (19%); Kansas City, Missouri (19%); San Francisco, California (30%); Cambridge, Massachusetts (25%); and Salt Lake City, Utah (7%). The period of performance of the base award is from Oct. 26, 2020, through Oct. 25, 2022. If all option periods are exercised the period-of-performance would extend through Oct. 25, 2024. Funds in the amount of $5,285,258 will be obligated at the time of award. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Funds will be obligated as individual options are exercised using research, development, test and evaluation (Navy). This contract was competitively procured via a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency broad agency announcement solicitation HR0011-20-S-0016 published on the beta.SAM.gov website. Seven proposals were received and two were selected for award. The Naval Information Warfare Center, Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-20-C-4048). (Awarded Oct. 26, 2020) Serco Inc., Herndon, Virginia, is awarded an $11,478,415 modification to previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract N66001-16-D-0033. Support includes production management, integration and fabrication, and system and component procurement for Network Integration Engineering Facility production services. This six-month modification increases the overall value of the existing contract to $111,356,945. The period of performance is from Oct. 27, 2020, through April 26, 2021. All work will be performed in San Diego, California. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Funds will be obligated as individual task orders are issued. Funds will be obligated using operations and maintenance (Navy); Department of Defense working capital funds; other procurement (Navy); Foreign Military Sales; research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); and shipbuilding and conversion (Navy). The Naval Information Warfare Center, Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-16-D-0033). Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia, is awarded a $10,757,780 modification to previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract N66001-16-D-0032. Support includes production management, integration and fabrication and system and component procurement for Network Integration Engineering Facility production services. This six-month modification increases the overall value of the existing contract to $105,116,891. The period of performance is from Oct. 27, 2020, through April 26, 2021. All work will be performed in San Diego, California. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Funds will be obligated as individual task orders are issued. Funds will be obligated using operations and maintenance (Navy); Department of Defense working capital funds; other procurement (Navy); Foreign Military Sales; research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); and shipbuilding and conversion (Navy). The Naval Information Warfare Center, Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-16-D-0032). AIR FORCE KOMAN Construction LLC, Chandler, Arizona, has been awarded a $20,062,515 firm-fixed-price, definitive contract for renovation and repair construction services. This contract provides for the complete repair and replacement required to provide humidity control and repair the interior administrative areas of B3 at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Work is expected to be completed April 26, 2022. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2021 operations and maintenance funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Sustainment Center, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (FA8137-21-C-0005). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Kandor Manufacturing,** Arecibo, Puerto Rico, has been awarded a maximum $9,824,940 modification (P00010) exercising the first one-year option period of an 18-month base contract (SPE1C1-19-D-1163) with three one-year option periods for various types of blouses and trousers. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Puerto Rico, with an Oct. 29, 2021, ordering period end date. Using military services are Navy and Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ja Apparel Corp.,* New Bedford, Massachusetts, has been awarded a maximum $9,342,555 fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for men's dress coats. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. This is a one-year base contract with two one-year option periods. Location of performance is Massachusetts, with an Oct. 26, 2021, ordering period end date. Using customer is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-21-D-1410). *Small business **Small disadvantaged business in historically underutilized business zones https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2396088/source/GovDelivery/