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GATINEAU, QC, Aug. 26, 2020 /CNW/ - Through the National Shipbuilding Strategy, the Government of Canada is ensuring the Canadian Coast Guard has the vessels it needs to keep Canadian waterways safe and accessible, while generating significant economic benefits to communities across Canada. Following an open and competitive process, Public Services and Procurement Canada, on behalf of the Canadian Coast Guard, has awarded a contract of $4 million to Heddle Shipyards in Hamilton, Ontario, for refit work on the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Griffon. The CCGS Griffon is a high-endurance multi-tasked vessel that performs light icebreaking and buoy-tending operations essential to keeping our waters open and safe for marine traffic. The refit work will include regulatory inspections and certifications; maintenance of structural items and various equipment, including propulsion; as well as the replacement and repair of various compartments, decks, and communication and navigation equipment. This contract will help create or sustain 80 jobs. Quotes "In shipyards across the country, the National Shipbuilding Strategy is guiding work to build, repair and maintain Canada's fleets. We are proud to support the brave and essential members of the Canadian Coast Guard, while creating jobs and strengthening economies in communities across the country." The Honourable Anita Anand Minister of Public Services and Procurement "The women and men of the Canadian Coast Guard are working every day to help keep mariners safe and our shipping routes open. Whether it's patrolling the longest coastline in the world, breaking ice on the Great Lakes or helping save lives on one of Canada's many waterways, our government is ensuring the Coast Guard has the tools and equipment needed to continue serving Canadians proudly. This refit contract will ensure the CCGS Griffon continues to fulfill critical icebreaking operations, essential to keeping our maritime trade going all year round." The Honourable Bernadette Jordan Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Quick facts The work under this contract is expected to run from August 17, 2020, to October 16, 2020. The CCGS Griffon supports the delivery of several programs, including icebreaking and flood control, and provides a platform for the Canadian Hydrographic Service for mapping of shoreline and water depth. It also aids navigation by servicing, placing and removing navigational buoys. The CCGS Griffon provides icebreaking services primarily on Lake Ontario, on Lake Erie and along the St. Lawrence River to Montréal, Quebec. The vessel entered the Coast Guard fleet in 1970, and its home port is located at the Canadian Coast Guard Base in Prescott, Ontario. The Canadian Coast Guard fleet has a maintenance plan for each of its vessels, which respects Transport Canada inspection requirements, to keep its vessels in safe, reliable working condition. Associated links Canadian Coast Guard Fleet details National Shipbuilding Strategy Heddle Shipyards Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook SOURCE Public Services and Procurement Canada For further information: Cecely Roy, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Anita Anand, 819-997-5421, cecely.roy@canada.ca; Media Relations, Public Services and Procurement Canada, 819-420-5501, media@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/government-of-canada-awards-contract-for-refit-work-on-canadian-coast-guard-ship-griffon-892077121.html

By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia — Malaysia is moving ahead with its plans to acquire much-needed manned and unmanned aircraft to enhance maritime security, with the Southeast Asian country announcing that it will be issuing separate tenders for each type. The Aug. 25 announcement comes in the wake of its coast guard killing a Vietnamese fisherman following a confrontation off the Malaysian coast. And both countries along with China were recently involved in a three-way standoff over oil exploration in a part of the South China Sea claimed by all three nations. According to the tender announcement, Malaysia is seeking two maritime patrol aircraft and three medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial systems. The announcement was sent to “selected embassies” and published in two of Malaysia's national newspapers as well as the government's online tender portal. The government said the full tender documents will be available Sept. 3 and that interested parties must submit bids no later than Nov. 26. This announcement confirms earlier reports that Malaysia will split its requirement for maritime patrol aircraft and maritime UAS into two tranches, with this first tranche coming under the country's 2021-2025 five-year spending plan. Under its Capability 55 plan, the Royal Malaysian Air Force has an eventual requirement for four maritime patrol aircraft and six UAS to improve maritime domain awareness. Potential manned aircraft in the running include Leonardo's ATR 72MP, Airbus' C-295, PTDI's CN-235, Boeing's P-8A Poseidon and Kawasaki Heavy Industries' P-1. However, it's unlikely P-8A or P-1 will be chosen due to their respective costs. The drone requirement is likely to attract interest from General Atomics with its MQ-9 Reaper; Aviation Industry Corporation of China with its Wing Loong family of systems; Leonardo with the Falco; and Turkish Aerospace Industries' Anka series. Malaysia is one of six claimants to the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, and it has faced other maritime issues such as piracy and smuggling. Despite its desire to bolster its maritime patrol fleet, Malaysia's fiscal troubles and political uncertainty has stymied efforts to acquire new aircraft. The country has undergone two changes in government since then-Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein gave the go-ahead to acquire a new maritime patrol aircraft type in September 2017. The program has since languished like much of Malaysia's other defense procurement programs. The Royal Malaysian Air Force currently operates three Beechcraft B200T King Airs in a maritime surveillance role, while the U.S. government has started deliveries of six Insitu ScanEagle drones to the Royal Malaysian Navy, donated using funding from the U.S. Maritime Security Initiative. The American program aims to improve maritime domain awareness capabilities of partner countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Malaysia also previously announced it will convert two of its fleet of seven Indonesian-built CN-235 transport aircraft into maritime patrol platforms using funds from the Maritime Security Initiative. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2020/08/25/malaysia-to-launch-competition-for-drones-and-manned-maritime-patrol-aircraft/

By: Valerie Insinna NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — A new simulator campus at Nellis Air Force Base could be key for the U.S. Air Force as it grapples with the question of how it can train pilots against complex threats like Russia and China at a budget-friendly cost. On Aug. 17, the Air Force opened the doors of the Virtual Test and Training Center, or VTTC, a new, $38 million building where pilots will practice advanced tactics in a simulated environment that replicates war against a near-peer nation. “When you think about great power competition and where we might have to fight — shipping out to fight a China or Russia, particularly — there is no live training venue for the joint force, certainly for the Air Force, that's big enough, that has the threat density that can replicate what China or Russia can do,” said Maj. Gen. Chuck Corcoran, who leads the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis. While live exercises will remain an important component of pilot training, the VTTC will give the Air Force a way to simulate a vast battlespace populated by high-end threats. Users will be able to network with other pilots on the system — who fly F-16s, F-22s, F-35s and F-15Es, with perhaps more to come — and fly complex missions against virtual enemies that are impossible to emulate in live training exercises like Red Flag. The VTTC building, which Defense News toured during an Aug. 21 visit to the base, is currently empty. But it won't stay that way for long, said Lt. Col. Chris Duncan, an F-35 operational test pilot and commander of Detachment 1, 29th Training Systems Squadron. F-15E Strike Eagle simulators are slated to be delivered to the center in October and will go online in April 2021. The joint simulation environment — a government-owned virtual training environment currently under development at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and when finished will emulate high-end threats — is set to be fielded at the VTTC in October 2021. “Typically aircraft simulators have taught pilots how to fly them and basic employment,” Duncan said. “We're not worried about those things. We're assuming they already know that.” Instead, the training will focus on more robust mission sets, including advanced training for Air Force Weapons School students, operational testing of new platforms and large-scale war games, he said. The Air Force is deliberating how best it can expand the VTTC's capabilities over time on a limited budget. Among the factors under consideration is whether to buy additional simulators, such as ones for the new F-15EX. It may roll out the Nellis Mission Operations Network, on which the VTTC will run, to other bases such as Whitman Air Force Base in Missouri — the home to the service's only stealth bomber. There is also discussion about how to integrate the simulators on the network with live aircraft flying on the Nevada Test and Training Range, which would allow the VTTC to project synthetic threats to jets practicing midair tactics. Historically, the Air Force has been hard-pressed to fund advanced simulation efforts. The ultimate success of the VTTC may ultimately come down to whether there is enough money to continue funding simulators for additional aircraft and to keep upgrading hardware and software. Duncan said the Air Force is already keeping that point in mind. Instead of simulators that provide a completely accurate cockpit experience, the service is looking to save money by prioritizing simulators that can provide the experience of advanced missions, even if the simulator imagery or cockpit experience isn't completely realistic. But he underscored the cost-effectiveness of virtual training when compared to its live counterpart. “The payoff, the bang for the buck,” Duncan said, “it far surpasses what we can do in live flying.” https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/08/25/for-air-force-pilots-the-toughest-training-flights-are-going-virtual/

Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — SRC Inc. has won a $90 million contract to support the U.S. Air Force's counter-small unmanned aerial system efforts, the service announced Aug. 24. Under the indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, which is not to exceed the $90 million ceiling, the Air Force will purchase SRC's C-sUAS and related components. SRC will also provide upgrades, sustainment, installation support, and design and analysis support. Work on the sole-source acquisition is expected to be completed in August 2028. SRC will also provide sustainment for its products within the Multi-Environmental Domain Unmanned Systems Application. MEDUSA is a command-and-control system that ties together multiple C-sUAS and related components to detect and take down small drones. The comprehensive MEDUSA program was first installed at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, according to Capt. Brigitte Palacios, 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron operations section officer. “The c-sUAS mission is pretty unique because it's still pretty new to the Air Force overall,” Palacios said in a March statement. “Medusa [sic] is a system of advanced technologies used to defeat small drones. The goal is to design a model system that can be rapidly deployable to areas with a significant drone threat to military personnel or resources. ADAB is the test base for this capacity, and will continue to develop the blueprint for c-sUAS operations in the future.” SRC is the company behind the Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System, one of eight interim C-sUAS approved by the U.S. Army's Joint C-sUAS Office for investment and deployment across the armed services. MEDUSA was also approved by the office for use across the joint force. And on July 23, the Army awarded the company a $426 million contract for the development, production, deployment and support of FS-LIDS. https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2020/08/25/air-force-issues-90-million-contract-for-counter-drone-systems-and-support/

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has been awarded a $617,452,596 regulated tariff contract for the ownership, operation and maintenance of the water and wastewater utility systems at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. 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 50-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Oklahoma, with an Aug. 31, 2071, performance completion date. Using military service is the Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2071 Air Force operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (SP0600-20-C-8331). Atlantic Diving Supply Inc., doing business as ADS, Virginia Beach, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $28,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for facility maintenance, repair and operations supplies and related incidental services. 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 327-day bridge contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Southwest Africa, with a July 19, 2021, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Europe and Africa, Kaiserslautern, Germany (SPE5B1-20-D-0003). CORRECTION: The contract modification announced on Aug. 20, 2020, for Bremen-Bowdon Investment Co., Bowdon, Georgia (SPE1C1-17-D-1085 P00012), for $8,125,822, was actually awarded on Aug. 21, 2020. NAVY FlightSafety Services Corp., Denver, Colorado, is awarded a $220,766,476 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aircrew training services for the TH-73A Advanced Helicopter Training System to include flight training devices (FTD) and classroom instruction to train student naval aviators (SNAs) to the standards necessary to meet an annual pilot production rate of over 600 advanced rotary wing and intermediate tilt-rotor SNAs. Additionally, it provides for the operation and maintenance of FTDs. Work will be performed in Milton, Florida, and is expected to be completed in June 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; two offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (N61340-20-D-0021). Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $191,723,019 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00024-20-C-6117) for the procurement of engineering design development services and associated material and travel, supporting the fleet of Navy submarines and Foreign Military Sales requirements. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $2,224,208,878. This contract combines purchases for the Navy (90%); and the governments of Canada (8%); Japan (1%); and Australia (1%). Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (85 %); Virginia Beach, Virginia (11%); Fairfax, Virginia (2%); San Diego, California (1%); and Waterford, Connecticut (1%), and is expected to be completed by June 2030. If all options are exercised, work will continue through June 2030. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $500,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. In accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1), this contract was not competitively procured (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-20-C-6117). SeaLandAire Technologies Inc.,* Jackson, Michigan, is awarded a $9,706,013 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N68335-20-F-0456) against previously issued basic ordering agreement N68335-20-G-1049. This order provides for continued advanced technology research and development efforts for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) products for airborne anti-submarine warfare systems under SBIR topic N010-014 titled, “High Gain Array of Velocity Sensors.” Further development and research efforts will include systems engineering, modeling and analyses, measurement of target and environment data, architecture, fabrication, installation, test, maintenance, aircrew training and procurement activities. Additionally, this order provides engineering services for prototyping and delivery of 36 digital directional frequency analysis and reporting vertical line array sonobuoys in order to transfer this SBIR technology to the UnderSea Advantage Next Generation Multistatic Active Coherent system. Work will be performed in Jackson, Michigan (90%); Columbia City, Indiana (5%); and Key West, Florida (5%), and is expected to be completed in August 2025. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $370,770 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity. U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND Construction Helicopters Inc., Howell, Michigan, has been awarded a $168,759,265 modification (P00010) to contract HTC711-17-D-R016 for continued rotary wing airlift support within the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility. The option period of performance is from Sept. 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021. Funds were not obligated at award. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $653,647,312 from $484,888,047. U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Kekolu Contracting LLC, La Plata, Maryland, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $111,700,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity enterprise contract. Work will be performed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; and Joint Base Anacostia Bolling, Washington, D.C., and is expected to be completed May 23, 2025. This contract is for streamlined acquisition base engineering requirements, providing minor construction projects, maintenance and repair of real property. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and seven offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $192,943 are being obligated at the time of award. The 316th Contracting Squadron, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity (FA2860-20-D-0004). PAE Aviation and Technical Services LLC, Marlton, New Jersey, has been awarded a $19,766,706 modification (P00063) to contract FA4890-15-C-0018 for the Aerial Targets Program. The contract modification provides for the exercise of an option for an additional year of service under the multiple year contract which directly supports live-fire weapon system testing and enables the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group to perform developmental and operational weapons testing for all air-to-air missiles for F-15, F-16, F-22, and F-35 aircraft. Work will be performed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida; and Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, and is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2021. Fiscal 2021 operations and maintenance funds will be used but no funds will be obligated at time of award. Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Joint Base Langley-Eustis Air Force Base, Virginia, is the contracting activity. ARMY HD CW JV, Charlotte, North Carolina (W912HN-20-D-2000); GHD Inc., Duluth, Georgia (W912HN-20-D-2001); and CDM Federal Programs Corp., Jacksonville, Florida (W912HN-20-D-2002), will compete for each order of the $15,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect-engineer general design services for civil works. 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 Aug. 24, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity. Nora Contracting LLC,* Detroit, Michigan, was awarded a $10,576,854 firm-fixed-price contract to construct a columbarium for the Veterans Administration (VA) at the Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Indiana, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 26, 2022. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 VA construction funds in the amount of $10,576,854 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-20-C-0033). DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY Radiance Technologies Inc,* Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded a $10,110,811 cost-plus-fixed-fee completion contract for a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency research project for the Secure Advanced Framework for Simulation and Modeling (SAFE-SiM) program. SAFE-SiM seeks to build a government-owned and controlled, faster-than-real time modeling and simulation (M&S) capability for theater-wide, mission-level M&S. This capability would enable rapid analysis supporting senior-level decisions for concept of operations development, force structure composition, resource allocation and targeted technology insertion. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama (50%); Cambridge, Massachusetts (14%); Albuquerque, New Mexico (13%); Chantilly, Virginia (12%); San Diego, California (6%); and Rome, New York (5%), with an expected completion date of August 2021. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,750,000 are being obligated at the time of award. This contract was a competitive acquisition in which 10 offers were received. The Defense Advanced Research Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR0011-20-C-0146). Cole Engineering Services Inc., Orlando, Florida, was awarded a $9,141,146 cost-plus-fixed-fee completion contract for a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency research project for the Secure Advanced Framework for Simulation and Modeling (SAFE-SiM) program. SAFE-SiM seeks to build a government-owned and controlled, faster-than-real time modeling and simulation (M&S) capability for theater-wide, mission-level M&S. This capability would enable rapid analysis supporting senior-level decisions for concept of operations development, force structure composition, resource allocation and targeted technology insertion. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida (65%); and Austin, Texas (35%), with an expected completion date of August 2021. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,310,000 are being obligated at the time of award. This contract was a competitive acquisition in which 10 offers were received. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR0011-20-C-0144). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2324805/source/GovDelivery/

Textron Aviation recently announced it delivered a Beechcraft King Air 350ER aircraft to Australian aviation service company Skytraders, which will operate and maintain the aircraft on behalf of Victoria Police. The aircraft has also recently entered service. The Beechcraft King Air350ER is designed and manufactured by Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. company. The King Air 350ER will primarily support Victoria Police Air Wing (VPAW) and its team of tactical flight officers, who lead airborne law enforcement, training, search and rescue, and extended offshore marine safety missions throughout the state of Victoria, Australia. “By integrating the King Air 350ER into their fleet, Victoria Police Air Wing greatly enhances the capabilities of the professionals who respond to more than 5,000 taskings every year,” said Bob Gibbs, vice-president, Special Mission Sales for Textron Aviation. “The turboprop's unique combination of proven performance, range, speed and ease of operation makes it a trusted platform for large law enforcement agencies like Victoria Police.” The custom-configured mission package for Victoria Police includes advanced mission management system, ground moving target indicator object detection, tactical flight officer workstations, tactical radios, satellite communications and a data downlink. The extended range King Air is also fitted with optional factory installed Pratt and Whitney PT6A-67A engines. “The King Air 350ER will undertake a wide variety of roles and enhance aviation capabilities of Victoria Police. With extended endurance and range, it will complement our helicopters by providing a valuable, uninterrupted observation platform that will support police across the state,” said Ashley Bellamy, aviation program director, Victoria Police. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/textron-delivers-airborne-law-enforcement-king-air-350er-to-victoria-police/

The US Air Force's (USAF) initiative Agility Prime has demonstrated the developments in the electric vertical take-off and landing flight (eVTOL). Conducted at Camp Mabry in Texas, US, the first Agility Prime ORB flight demonstration was witnessed by Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, Air Force chief of staff general Charles Brown Jr, and Air Force chief master sergeant JoAnne Bass. The leaders were joined by Texas National Guard hosts and AFWERX personnel. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract recipient LIFT Aircraft demonstrated the flight. The company is one of the first small companies selected as participants for the Agility Prime ‘Air Race to Certification'. LIFT Aircraft has developed Hexa eVTOL to offer a fully autonomous people transport. Under the Agile programme, it will refine and accelerate the progress of Hexa by expanding its flight envelope. During the demonstration, LIFT CEO Matthew Chasen navigated Hexa over the Camp Mabry parade ground. Agility Prime lead and AFWERX director colonel Nathan Diller said: “We now have over fifteen of the leading aircraft manufacturers in the world applying to partner with Agility Prime, with many of them already on contract. “This flight today marks the first of many demonstrations and near-term flight tests designed to reduce the technical risk and prepare for Agility Prime fielding in 2023.” Agility Prime is a non-traditional programme seeking to speed-up the potential commercial market for advanced air mobility vehicles. These vehicles, or ORBs, could be used for specific operations such as medical evacuation, firefighting, civil and military disaster relief, search and rescue, and humanitarian relief. During the launch of the programme in April, Barrett said: “Agility Prime is a programme with a vision of world impact. “The thought of an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle, a flying car, might seem straight out of a Hollywood movie, but by partnering today with stakeholders across industries and agencies, we can set up the US for this aerospace phenomenon.” Last month, AFWERX innovation programme prepared to host the first virtual TeamUp event with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/usaf-initiative-agility-prime-demonstrates-evtol-advances/

The U.S. Air Force has awarded BAE Systems a $495 million contract to continue to provide a wide range of instrumentation support and sustainment services to military and government agencies for the U.S. and its allies. BAE Systems has been involved in the Instrumentation Range Support Program (IRSP) for 35 years and this new contract extends the company's role in ensuring the accuracy and operational reliability of tracking systems in support of national security missions. The single-award contract has a ceiling amount of $945 million over seven years. “Since 1985, we have been the sustainment contractor of choice for the IRSP program to ensure test ranges are operational and mission ready,” said Pete Trainer, vice president and general manager of BAE Systems' Air Force Solutions business. “We are pleased to continue our instrumentation sustainment, engineering support, and maintenance services for the 27 IRSP test ranges worldwide. Our work improving the mission readiness of these systems ensures air, missile, and space situational awareness is provided seamlessly to the warfighter and decision makers.” BAE Systems will service components and subsystems for instrumentation tracking systems such as radars, telemetry and optical range mission systems, flight termination systems, data acquisition systems and global positioning systems. Under the firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost-reimbursable indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract, work will be performed on the 27 ranges globally that are part of the IRSP. They include those in the U.S. operated by the U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as allied ranges operated in the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Republic of Korea and Switzerland. BAE Systems is a leading systems integrator supporting militaries and governments, and U.S. intelligence community members across the globe. The company is the world's premier provider of radar life-cycle support service, sustainment, and modernization for radar, telemetry, and optical tracking systems. http://www.canadiandefencereview.com/news?news/2937

Flying a drone to drop drugs and weapons inside a prison seems like something out of an action movie — yet it happened this month near Toronto and in the last few years, the problem continues to get worse. Warkworth Institution, a medium-security prison about two hours east of Toronto, found drugs, tattoo paraphernalia, handmade weapons and drug paraphernalia in a search of the facility, which ended on Aug. 21. The items were thought to have been brought in via a drone. This isn't the first time contraband items have entered Canadian corrections facilities. Drones dropped weapons and phones in a Kingston prison earlier this year. In June four people were arrested in a drone plot to smuggle drugs and weapons into a Kingston prison. The Canadian government has been working on solving the issue and planned to spend $6 million on a pilot drone detection program at several institutions. The project has been delayed after the contract was cancelled in January 2020, Veronique Rioux, a spokesperson for Correctional Service Canada (CSC) told blogTO in an email. While drone sightings over Canadian correctional facilities have increased over the past several years, Rioux said they don't have a big impact on the number of drugs in correctional institutions. “The use of drones as a method to introduce drugs into correctional institutions is one of many methods used by drug traffickers in an attempt to circumvent CSC's drug interdiction efforts,” she said. For security purposes, Rioux said she cannot say how many items are smuggled through drones or how the drones are used. But they are working to stop contraband items from entering through searches of offenders, visitors, staff, cells, vehicles, buildings and cells with ion scanners and detector dogs. “CSC continues to research and introduce new technology as it becomes available to better facilitate the detection of contraband, including drone detection,” Rioux said. https://www.blogto.com/city/2020/08/drugs-weapons-drone-ontario-prison/