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By: Christina Mackenzie PARIS – France's major defense companies are looking back at a strong 2019, thanks to a combination of exceptional contracts and the country's overall healthy economy, executives said this week. In the naval sector, Naval Group's orders shot up 44 percent to €5.3 billion ($5.8 billion) in 2019, taking the company's order book to a total of €15.1 billion ($16.6 billion). Of this, 38 percent is for the export market and 62 percent is for France. Roughly three quarters of the business were in the shipbuilding sector, with almost one quarter in services. These figures do not include the whole of the contract to build 12 submarines for Australia, “as this income will be shown as it is paid, tranche by tranche,” explained outgoing CEO Hervé Guillou. In addition, the group saw a 6 percent rise in EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) to €282 million ($310 million) and a 3 percent rise in revenues to €3.7 billion ($4 billion). Guillou, who will be replaced as CEO in March by Pierre-Eric Pommellet, said his successor had four main challenges for the future: delivering the Suffren submarine; accelerating production in the face of Chinese competition; consolidating the group's international presence; and developing the workforce. In the land sector, revenues for Arquus, the French company which is the defense arm of Sweden's Volvo Group, rocketed 72.5 percent between 2017 and 2019. CEO Emmanuel Levacher said he was not allowed to give revenue and sales figures for Arquus, whose revenues are included in the Volvo “Group functions and other” column. However, those data show net sales for 2019 were SEK8.8 billion ($911.4 million), which means they are likely around the $660 million mark. Levacher was all smiles announcing “a very great year” that was “exceptionally rich,” remarking that “this is remarkable growth for an industrial company.” He said he expected the company to grow a further 10 percent in 2020. Exports accounted for 42 percent of the revenue. Levacher was able to put a figure on contracts signed in 2019: €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) “mostly in Africa,” but also a tranche of €214 million ($235 million) in the framework of the CaMo contract with Belgium for 382 Griffon multirole armored vehicles and 60 Jaguar armored reconnaissance and combat vehicles to be delivered between 2025 and 2030. Levacher said contracts were also signed for “a few dozen” Sherpa and Dagger vehicles for the Middle East. He was optimistic for the future, remarking that “all of the French army's military trucks, whether they be 4×4s, 6×6s, 8×8s all need to be changed in the next five years.” He said the company had developed a specific truck to meet these needs as the call for tender will be published before the end of this year. In the defense-electronics sector, Thales's CEO Patrice Cain also described 2019 as “a good year in which we progressed.” Its EBIT rose 19 percent to slightly over €2 billion ($2.2 billion), “the first time we've gone over the symbolic bar of €2 billion,” he said. Defense accounts for 40 percent of the group's revenues. Order intakes in the defense and security sector rose a record 17 percent to €9.9 billion ($11 billion) while sales rose 6.4 percent, “a little higher than anticipated,” according to CFO Pascal Bouchiat, to €8.3 billion ($9 billion). These include Thales and Babcock winning the bid for the T31 frigate in the UK against BAE Systems. Bouchiat noted that “several multi-year contracts” had been signed “underpinning long-term growth” for the group. Finally, in the military-aircraft sector, Dassault Aviation recorded an order intake of €3.3 billion (against €2.7 billion in 2018), the bulk of which (€2.6 billion) was for France and includes the integrated support contract for the French Rafale over the next 10 years and an additional order for supplemental development and integration work concerning communications for the F4 standard of the aircraft. Net sales shot up 44 percent to €7.3 billion due to the record number of 26 Rafales delivered in 2019. CEO Eric Trappier said that in 2020 Dassault expected to deliver 13 Rafales and he saw a tendency of governmental authorities to buying the company's Falcon business jet for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Trappier said that in 2020 the company would continue to try and export the Rafale and was notably working on the Finnish and Swiss fighter competitions. Both countries are expected to make their decisions in 2021. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/02/28/french-defense-firms-fete-formidable-profits-in-2019

By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON – The U..S Navy's next-generation frigate could be awarded within the next few months, earlier than expected, the service's top civilian said Friday. Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly told conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt that he had tasked Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition James Geurts to look at accelerating the award of the first ship, which was slated for this fall. “The plan was to try and do it in the latter part of this year,” Modly told Hewitt. “I've asked [Geurts] to try and accelerate that earlier, and he's looking into the possibilities for doing that. “But obviously, you know, we have acquisition rules, and we want to make sure that we do this in the proper way.” The competition has narrowed to bids from Huntington Ingalls Industries; a team of Navantia and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works; Fincantieri; and Austal USA. Navantia is offering a version of its F-100 design, which is in use by the Spanish Navy; Austal is submitting a version of its trimaran littoral combat ship; Fincantieri is offering its FREMM design; and Huntington Ingalls is believed to be offering an up-gunned version of its national security cutter. Lockheed Martin's version of the FFG(X), an up-gunned, twin-screw variant of its Freedom-class LCS, was pulled from the competition in May. The FFG(X) is supposed to be a small, multimission ship with a modified version of Raytheon's SPY-6 radar destined for the Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, Lockheed Martin's Aegis Combat System, as well as some point defense systems and 32 vertical launch cells for about half the cost of a destroyer. The first ship ordered in 2020 is expected to cost $1.28 billion, according to budget documents, with the next ship in 2021 dropping to $1.05 billion. The Navy expects it to take six years to complete design and construction of the first ship, which should be finished in 2026. Once construction begins, planners anticipate it will take 48 months to build. The second frigate is expected to be ordered in April 2021, and from there it should be delivered about five and a half years after the award date. That means that the first ship should be delivered to the fleet in July of 2026, and the second about three months later. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/02/28/the-us-navys-ffgx-could-be-awarded-sooner-than-expected

By John A. Tirpak ORLANDO, Fla.—Air Combat Command is shifting from a “fighter roadmap” to a “capabilities” roadmap that will capture many of the things fighters do today, but likely with new types of unmanned systems and “attritable” aircraft, Air Combat Command boss Gen. Mike Holmes said Feb. 27. Speaking with reporters at an AFA Air Warfare Symposium press conference, Holmes said ACC is grappling with “what is a fighter?” in the future. The fighter mission will give way to “attritable” aircraft and “loyal wingmen” unmanned aircraft, in addition to fighters, and possibly different kinds of manned aircraft. The roadmap will be very much dependent on the theaters in which the assets will be used. “What I would rather build is a capabilities roadmap that shows how we're going to accomplish the missions for the Air Force that we traditionally have done with fighters,” Holmes said. “And the subtlety there is, I would hope, 30 years from now, I'm not still trying to maintain 55 fighter squadrons. I think we will have advanced and there will be some other things that we'll be cutting-in.” The roadmap is in roughly five-year stages, which parallel “natural decision points” affecting chunks of the fleet, Holmes explained. The first stage seeks a replacement for the F-15C fleet, which is now aging out of the inventory. Those aircraft will be replaced by F-35s and the new F-15EXs, Holmes reported. The EXs are needed to reduce the overall age of the fighter fleet “so we can afford to sustain it,” he said, noting the EX is “what's available to us now.” The next stage “will be what we call the pre-block F-16s—the Block 25 and 30 Fighting Falcons—that we're still flying.” Within the next eight years, “depending on budgets and capabilities, we'll have to decide what we'll do about those airplanes,” Holmes said. There is an “opportunity” to cut-in “something new: low cost, attritable [aircraft], loyal wingmen, various things we're ... experimenting with.” After that, ACC will confront “the post-Block F-16s—the Block 40s and 50s—that can fly for quite a bit longer, but there is a modernization bill that would have to be spent to keep them useful,” Holmes said, suggesting further service life extension for the F-16 may be coming. Gen. Arnold Bunch, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, said the F-16 post-block fleet could be extended for as much as another 10 years of service life, starting in the mid-20s. A SLEP would have to focus first on making them safe to fly, he said, and they would need technology insertions to make them relevant, “depending on what you use them for.” The aircraft will already have Active Electronically Scanned Array radars and digital backbones, he noted. Finally, ACC is trying to decide what the Next-Generation Air Dominance system should be. “The equation and the math we use for ‘what is a fighter' still works pretty well for the European environment—the range, payload, and distance problem,” Holmes noted. But “it's not as effective a solution in the Pacific because of the distances,” and for that theater, he said, “I wouldn't expect [NGAD] to produce things that necessarily look like a traditional fighter, or in that traditional swap between range and payload that we've done.” Pacific Air Forces boss Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr. said in the future a family of systems approach will be more useful given the size of the area of operations and the differences in the adversary. “The family of systems provides us some level of advantage. If you're looking for a single point solution that has to be a fighter. It's the fighter, but not the information that comes off the fighter, the information the fighter gets from other platforms ... ,” Brown said. “How all that comes together will be important to support the fighter of the future, or whatever capability we have.” Holmes said Will Roper, the Air Force acquisition chief, is thinking about more low-cost “attritable” options for the Pacific, “thinking about that long-range problem, what might we come up with.” He has previously allowed that something akin to a large missileer, potentially a variant on the B-21, could be part of the mix, and ACC is also thinking about an “arsenal plane” concept. “Those discussions are going on, and they should be,” Holmes added. But “it is still ... our responsibility to the rest of the force to control the air and space on their behalf.” Roper's team is working with industry to pursue a new “digital” prototyping approach that Holmes said he's pleased with. He noted that Boeing was able to win the T-7 competition by showing it can “design and build airplanes in a different way and at a cost point nobody expected,” and “we think we have the opportunity to spread that across the other things we're doing.” He also says there is support from Capitol Hill with the approach at this stage, and ACC is working hard to share information on the future of ACC combat capabilities at “the right level” of classification. https://www.airforcemag.com/holmes-lays-out-fighter-like-roadmap/

David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen The federal government is requesting information from industry on which shipyard has the capability to build the Canadian Coast Guard's new Polar Class icebreaker. It's a strange request in some respects. Last year the Liberal government took away the Polar Class icebreaker project from Seaspan shipyards on the west coast and instead provided that company with a deal that will see it build 16 new Multi-Purpose Vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard. Irving on the east coast is running at full speed handling the combat ship portions of the National Shipbuilding Strategy. It has already fallen behind on the delivery of the first of the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships and it still has much work to do on the Canadian Surface Combatant program. It was expected that Davie, the largest shipyard in Canada, would receive the contract to build the Polar Class icebreaker. Yet the news release issued Friday from Public Services and Procurement Canada noted that, “the Government of Canada issued a Request for Information (RFI), open to all Canadian shipyards, seeking information on domestic shipyard capability and capacity to construct and deliver a Polar-class icebreaker. This follows standard procurement practices, and the information gathered will help the government determine how best to proceed so that the polar icebreaker is delivered in the most timely and efficient manner.” Companies, however, only have two weeks to respond to the request for information. The whole exercise has the feel of a government checking the boxes off before awarding the contract to Davie. Or it could be a measure to head off any legal challenge from other shipyards who would complain that a “fair, open and transparent” competition was not run. Cecely Roy, press secretary to Procurement Minister Anita Anand, said in an email to this newspaper that as “a significant amount of time has passed since the last commissioned studies on the capacity of domestic shipyards, this RFI was initiated to provide updated information to inform the government's decisions on the procurement process moving forward.” The polar icebreaker, the future Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) John G. Diefenbaker, will replace Canada's current largest icebreaker, the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent. The current fleet of heavy icebreakers, including the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent, remain in good condition and will be in operation until the polar icebreaker is delivered, according to the federal government. The Polar Class project was announced by the Conservative government in 2008 and has faced delays ever since. The ship had been expected to be in service in 2017. That date changed to 2021. Now there is no known date for the vessel to be operating. “The delivery date for the polar icebreaker will be identified as the project gets underway,” the federal government added in its news release. “At this stage, we are exploring options to ensure the Polar Icebreaker is built in the most efficient manner to meet the needs of the Coast Guard, but a decision was not been made on the contract award, nor will this RFI result in that decision,” Roy said in an email to this newspaper. https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/canada/government-checks-another-box-on-the-long-long-road-to-building-a-polar-icebreaker-417217/

Christelle Perret C'est officiel, depuis le 11 février 2020, la France a rejoint l'initiative Combined Space Operations (ou CSpO) en qualité de membre aux côtés de six autres nations : l'Australie, le Canada, la Nouvelle-Zélande, le Royaume-Uni, les États-Unis et l'Allemagne. C'est lors de la réunion annuelle des états membres, qui s'est tenue les 11 et 12 février 2020 à Ottawa, au Canada, que la France a signé la lettre d'adhésion au CSpO. L'objectif de cette initiative est le développement d'une collaboration spatiale et l'élargissement de partenariats clés entre les pays signataires. L'initiative Combined Space Operations Le CSpO est une initiative assez récente. Actée initialement en 2014, elle rassemblait à ses débuts les États-Unis, l'Australie, le Canada et le Royaume-Uni. La Nouvelle-Zélande a adhéré au projet en 2015. En 2016, ce sont la France et l'Allemagne qui le rejoignaient, en qualité d'observateurs d'abord, avant de devenir membres associés en 2017. En décembre 2019, l'Allemagne devient finalement membre officiel, suivie de près par la France, ce 11 février 2020, lors de la réunion annuelle des nations membres, à Ottawa. L'objectif de l'initiative est toujours le même qu'exprimé en 2014 : développer la collaboration spatiale et les partenariats clés entre les nations membres. C'est Michel Friedling, Général de division aérienne à la tête du commandement de l'espace, qui a fait le déplacement pour signer la lettre d'adhésion à l'initiative CSpO, au nom de Florence Parly, ministre des Armées. Le CSpO pour coordonner la défense spatiale Lors des échanges des 11 et 12 février derniers, les nations membres ont évoqué les enjeux spatiaux actuels et futurs, abordant également la question de la coordination des politiques, des opérations et des capacités mondiales. Il a également été question des défis et des opportunités de 2019, pour aboutir à un bilan de l'année écoulée. La France partage donc désormais les intérêts de l'initiative CSpO,soit la participation à des efforts coordonnés dans le domaine de la défense spatiale. L'existence d'une telle initiative doit permettre d'améliorer les capacités spatiales des nations membres et de faciliter les actions conjointes entre les participants. Le Général John Raymond, commandant de la force spatiale américaine, a déclaré être ravi de l'entrée de la France et de l'Allemagne au CSpO, qui correspond au « renforcement de notre conscience collective du domaine spatial », précisant que « nos alliés nous aident à conserver notre supériorité spatiale et à renforcer les bases de notre efficacité au combat ». https://www.clubic.com/mag/sciences/conquete-spatiale/actualite-886069-defense-spatiale-france-rejoint-combined-space-operations-initiative-cspo.html

Amanda Connolly GlobalNews.ca WATCH: Canadian fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers travelling near the North American coastline. While they were in international airspace they entered an area patrolled by the Canadians. The two American aerospace firms that want the Canadian government to buy their fighter jets say they did not request an extension on the deadline for bids. At the same time, defence experts say the decision to grant the extension reflects the bigger challenge facing a government that has repeatedly insisted a competition is the only way to move forward with the $19-billion procurement, despite there being a limited pool of options. “The government believes it needs to run a competition, but there're many situations where, in reality, there's only one or two competitors that can actually meet the needs of the Canadian Forces,” said Richard Shimooka, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and an expert on defence. “So the government's put in a bit of a pickle by its rhetoric where it wants to portray that ‘yeah, we're having a competition or we're providing value for money and all these kind of important things for Canada', but in fact knows there's really only one competitor.” On Tuesday, the government announcement that the March 30 deadline will be pushed back three months, to June 30 instead. READ MORE: Canadian fighter jet replacement project hit with another delay In a press release on the decision earlier in the week, the government had said this extension was being granted “at the request of industry.” “Procurements of this magnitude are complex, and submission of a good proposal is important for suppliers and for Canada,” the government said in the press release. “This extension allows eligible suppliers to address recent feedback on their security offers, ensuring that Canada receives competitive proposals that meet its technical, cost and economic benefits requirements.” Global News has since been told that feedback included specific assessments about whether a firm would be able to meet the Canadian government's requirements for inter-operability with key allies, including the U.S. and the Five Eyes, and whether allies would be comfortable with them. Because the government is using a process known as phased bids for the fighter jet procurement, bidders get the chance to address any findings of non-compliance with those requirements before submitting their final proposals. And because of how closely Canada and the U.S. work together on issues ranging from intelligence sharing, continental defence and others, inter-operability – or the ability for jets to work seamlessly across various areas where Canadian and American systems overlap – is considered key to this contest. “We've got to buy aircraft that can be completely and seamlessly inter-operable with the U.S.,” said Dave Perry, vice president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and an expert on defence procurement. “They've asked the bidders to put forward a proposal on how they're going to make that work.” Perry noted that in the past, questions around how aircraft will operate between Canadian and American systems hasn't been relevant because Canadian fighter jets have always been American. Now, with foreign bidders like Sweden's Saab, the onus is on them to demonstrate their jets can actually do the work. “Saab is the only competitor that is not part of either Five Eyes or Two Eyes and as a result, it would have the greatest amount of work in order to meet the requirements of the Royal Canadian Airforce,” said Shimooka. “Right off the bat, it requires the greatest amount of work for this.” While the government wouldn't say which firm asked for the deadline extension, both Lockheed Martin and Boeing offered statements saying it wasn't them. “We did not request the extension,” said Boeing spokesperson Stephanie Townend. A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin offered a similar response. “We have not requested an extension of delivery for the FFCP preliminary proposal,” said Amanda Hauck, strategic communications lead for the firm. A spokesperson for Saab was less clear. “While Canada's FFCP competition prohibits bidders from commenting publicly on confidential elements of the RFP process, Saab was prepared, and remains prepared, to submit a bid based on the Government of Canada's schedule,” said Patrick Palmer, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Saab Canada. “Saab will continue to finalize its response to all stated requirements of the RFP and can confirm that we will submit a fully compliant response to the Future Fighter Capability Program RFP. We are confident that our offer will provide the best value and best solution for Canada, industry and Canadians for generations to come.” Global News followed up with a request for Palmer to clarify whether the bid Saab said it was prepared to submit by the March 30 deadline would have been a fully compliant one. The company has not yet clarified its response. Saab is offering its Gripen fighter jet in the contest while Lockheed Martin is offering its controversial F-35 and Boeing is offering its Super Hornet. Two other European firms – Airbus and Dassault – dropped out of the contest over the past year-and-a-half, citing security requirements and associated extra costs for the suppliers if chosen. The competition is complicated though by questions and past concerns about both of the American offerings. Boeing brought a trade tribunal complaint against the Canadian aerospace firm Bombardier in 2018 which resulted in Bombardier being forced to pay steep duties on imports of its C-Series plane to the United States. Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said shortly afterward that the government would weigh a company's “economic behaviour” and that those who had caused economic harm to Canada would be at a disadvantage in the fighter jet competition. That clause still exists in the criteria being used to assess the projects. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also promised during the 2015 election campaign not to buy the F-35, the planned procurement of which under the previous Conservative government had been dogged with accusations of hidden costs and sole-sourcing. Since the launch of the competition, the F-35 has become widely-viewed by military experts as a frontrunner in the contest. A government source speaking on background insisted the extension will not impact the expected decision date. The result of the contest are due in 2022 with expected delivery of whichever jet is chosen beginning in 2025. https://q107.com/news/6600416/canada-fighter-jet-competition/

Lee Hudson ORLANDO, Florida—Billionaire entrepreneur and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has told the U.S. Air Force the fighter era is over. “The really dangerous future” is autonomous drone warfare, Musk said Feb. 28 during the annual Air Warfare Symposium here. Musk said he does not necessarily like this idea but it will become reality. Another controversial opinion he offered is that the Lockheed Martin F-35 should have a competitor. A few hours after his presentation, Musk elaborated on Twitter: “The competitor should be a drone fighter plane that's remote controlled by a human, but with its maneuvers augemented by autonomy. The F-35 would have no chance against it.” Over the next five years, artificial intelligence will be the most transformative technology to shape the space industry, Musk says. Accordingly, he encourages young people to study physics and computer science. The Pentagon continues to invest in this technology and is proposing that a substantial amount of its research and development dollars go toward artificial intelligence. Musk warns if the U.S. does not invest heavily in space it will fall behind adversaries, but said establishing a Space Force is a step in the right direction. The nation must rapidly innovate and instill the idea that failure is acceptable, he added. If the U.S. military does not let its people innovate and fail, Musk cautions, the nation may fall behind when developing future technology. For example, when SpaceX developed its Starlink constellation it started manufacturing satellites while still evolving the design. This helped the team discover what parts were difficult to build and redesign those sections for easier production. https://aviationweek.com/shows-events/air-warfare-symposium/musk-tells-usaf-fighter-era-over

Over the past ten years, the growing availability of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), commonly known as drones, has been a blessing for video enthusiasts and other tech addicts. But it also created a headache for safety authorities. To respond to this flourishing market, countermeasures are being developed in parallel, and represent a full-fledged business today. Very early after their appearance on the market, drones invited themselves on the battlefield. In 2014, the Islamic state was already using versions (Phantom 3 or 4) for reconnaissance. Then came the suicide drones, fitted with makeshift grenades. Conventional armies are also increasingly relying on them. If the United States used to have a quasi-monopoly on offensive UAVs at the beginning of the 21st century, countries such as China, Russia, and even Iran are constantly trying to fill the gap. In 2019, a wave of Iranian-made Qasef drones operated by the Houthi rebels took Saudi Arabia by surprise. Despite the presence of modern anti-aircraft missile systems such as the Patriot, the refineries of Abqaiq and Khurais, eastern Saudi Arabia, were heavily damaged, putting half of the country's oil production to a halt. Even in times of peace, UAVs can constitute a threat. In January 2019, drones caused a panic at London Gatwick Airport (LGW), United Kingdom, in the days preceding Christmas. The airport was closed for three days, creating a financial loss of several millions of pounds. The following months, less successful drone incidents also disturbed traffic at Changi Airport (SIN) in Singapore and at London Heathrow (LHR). To raise awareness of this danger and the lack of readiness, Greenpeace activists intentionally crashed several drones against French nuclear plants. A drone to rule them all In a similar fashion to the airports that have decided to rely on falconry to prevent birdstrikes, Fortem Technologies has decided to fight fire with fire. The US-based company offers several solutions to secure sites at risk from drone threats. A centralized system called SkyDome relies on an array of sensors, cameras and radars to monitor the surroundings and identify potential threats. The integrated artificial intelligence is capable of differentiating a bird from a drone, and to judge if the latter poses a threat or not. Once the threat is identified, SkyDome sends the HunterDrone capable to intercept the culprit and to fish it out of the air using a projectable net. Fortem Technologies has recently caught the interest of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). On February 3, 2020, the company announced it had been awarded a contract through the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). While the price of the contract is unknown, it appears that the DoD chose to acquire the whole set of solutions. “Fortem has a number of technologies that can help protect military bases without adverse effects to local communities,” the manufacturer said. The Israeli company Rafael also offers a centralized system, but with a different solution. Named DroneDome (in reference to the Iron Dome that defends Israel from missile threats) it relies either on a precise jammer, or on a powerful laser. It was this system that put an end to Gatwick's mayhem. It was also used in 2018 to secure the G20 Buenos Aires summit. Man-portable solutions also exist. During the last national day in France, the military presented to the officials two anti-drone rifles (the Nerod F5 by the French-based MC2-Technologies and the DroneGun Tactical by the Australian company DroneShield). The purpose of those Star-Wars-like devices is not to destroy the enemy drones as one could expect, but to jam their signals. When they lose contact with their control base, drones usually go back to their takeoff point or stay in stationary flight until they run out of battery. That solution avoids for dangerous debris to fall and create collateral damages, for example onto a crowd during an event. https://www.aerotime.aero/clement.charpentreau/24617-growing-threat-at-high-altitude-innovation-to-fight-drones

ARMY Ceradyne Inc., Irvine, California (W91CRB-20-D-0007); and TenCate Advanced Armor USA Inc., Hebron, Ohio (W91CRB-20-D-0008), will compete for each order of the $264,638,260 cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price contract for X-Side Ballistic Insert hard armor plates. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 27, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Southwest Valley Constructors Co., Albuquerque, New Mexico, was awarded a $175,415,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the design-build of the Rio Grande Valley Sector 07 border infrastructure construction project. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Rio Grande City, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 4, 2021. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 appropriation funds in the amount of $175,415,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W9126G-20-F-A001). Vectrus Systems Corp., Colorado Springs, Colorado, was awarded a $121,777,015 modification (P00053) to contract W91RUS-13-C-0006 for continued support of critical operation, maintenance and defense of Army communications. Work will be performed in Kuwait, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 28, 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $121,777,015 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Fechheimer Brothers Co, Cincinnati, Ohio, was awarded a $99,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for procurement of the Army Green Service Uniform. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 25, 2021. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911QY-20-D-0012). J & J Maintenance Inc., Austin, Texas, was awarded an $86,190,738 modification (P00004) to contract W81K04-19-D-0011 for healthcare environmental services in support of San Antonio Military Medical Center-North. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2021. U.S. Army Health Contracting Activity, San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, Michigan, was awarded an $83,859,066 modification (P00074) to contract W56HZV16-D-0025 to extend the period of performance by 12 months on the contractor's efforts to maintain and deploy the Stryker Family of Vehicles. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2021. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity. Leidos Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland, was awarded a $33,330,855 modification (P00030) to contract W58RGZ-17-C-0058 for contractor logistics support services in Afghanistan in support of the Afghanistan Air Force and Special Mission Wing. Work will be performed in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Gaithersburg, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2020. Fiscal 2020 Afghanistan Security Forces, Army and operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $33,330,855 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin JV, Tucson, Arizona, was awarded an $18,431,215 modification (P00022) to contract W31P4Q-19-C-0059. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of June 25, 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Army, and foreign military sales (Australia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Georgia, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Turkey, Ukraine and United Arab Emirates) funds in the amount of $18,431,215 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Rore Corp, San Diego, California, was awarded a $17,249,182 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a new jet fuel complex with field erected vertical storage tanks, pump shelter, truck fill stands, offloads, and refueler truck parking at the Air National Guard Base at the Fresno-Yosemite International Airport. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Fresno, California, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2022. Fiscal 2016 military construction, defense-wide funds in the amount of $17,249,182 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento, California, is the contracting activity (W91238-20-C-0005). National Conferencing Inc., Dumfries, Virginia, was awarded a $22,483,731 cost-no-fee contract for event planning and logistical support services for the Office of the Chief of Chaplains. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Dumfries, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of June, 30, 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Army funds and overseas contingency operations, defense funds in the amount of $14,714,154 were obligated at the time of the award. Field Directorate Office, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9124J-20-C-0005). National Industries for the Blind, Alexandria, Virginia, was awarded a $13,641,430 modification (P00005) to contract W911QY-19-C-0025 for Advanced Combat Shirts. Work will be performed in Alexandria, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $13,641,430 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Kiewit Infrastructure West Co, Vancouver, Washington, was awarded a $10,150,000 modification (P00017) to contract W912DW-18-C-0011 for construction of a fish passage facility at Mud Mountain Dam. Work will be performed in Buckley, Washington, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 22, 2022. Fiscal 2018 civil construction funds in the amount of $10,150,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle, Washington, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum Heights, Maryland, has been awarded a $262,281,057 firm-fixed price modification (P00027) to previously awarded contract FA8615-17-C-6047 for Active Electronically Scanned Array radars of Air Force F-16 aircraft. This modification is for the exercise of options to include 15 engineering, manufacturing and development and 90 production radars, as well as associated support equipment and spares. Work will be performed at Linthicum Heights, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 2022. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $553,448,803. Fiscal 2020 research and development funds in the amount of $34,182,567; fiscal 2018 procurement funds in the amount of $88,201,189; and fiscal 2020 procurement funds in the amount of $197,955,911 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Fighter Bomber Directorate, F-16 Division, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, has been awarded a $40,000,000 ceiling, hybrid indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the production of the Automated Radioxenon Concentrator and Spectrometer (ARCS) production units and spares. This contract will produce a multiple high sensitivity radioxenon sampler systems for the nuclear test monitoring requirements of the United States Atomic Energy Detection System network to verify international treaties. The current ARCS system was developed with the needs of both the Air Force Technical Applications Center and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) in mind. The CTBTO operates a world-wide network of nuclear sensing stations called the International Monitoring System. The work is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2028. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 other procurement funding in the amount of $4,519,077 will be obligated in Task Order 0001 at the time of award. The Acquisition Management Integration Center, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA7022-20-D-0003). Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, has been awarded a $17,957,968 cost reimbursable, no-fee contract for Seismic-Acoustic Monitoring Program IV. This contract provides operations and maintenance (O&M) and research and development (R&D) support to the Air Force Technical Applications Center mission by operating, maintaining and sustaining geophysical equipment in Korea. Work will be performed in Dallas, Texas, and locations in Korea, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2028. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 O&M funds in the amount of $1,023,637 and R&D funds in the amount of $418,105 are being obligated at the time of award. The Acquisition Management Integration Center, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA7022-20-C-0003). Tyonek Global Services LLC, Anchorage, Alaska, has been awarded a $15,060,087 contract modification (P00006) to previously awarded FA8773-19-C-A004 for cyber operations formal training support. The contract modification exercises option year one of the four year contract. Work will be performed at Hurlburt Field, Florida, and Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, and is expected to be complete by Feb. 28, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $ $3,765,021 are being obligated at the time of award. The 38th Contracting Squadron, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity. 22nd Century Technologies Inc., Somerset, New Jersey, has been awarded a firm-fixed price contract for $9,060,499 to execute option four (P00016) of previously awarded multi-year contract FA8773-15-C-0067 for essential capabilities to support the 33rd Network Warfare Squadron (33 NWS) in conducting its mission of Defense Cyber Operations (DCO) for the Air Force (AF) and supported unified commands and their combatant commands. The contractor plans, implements and executes the 33 NWS managed AF DCO Mission. In addition, support is required for conducting analysis of all network defense events, alerts and traffic on all network Intrusion Detection System and Intrusion Prevention System, Non-secure Internet Protocol Router Network and Secure Internet Protocol Router Network for the 33 NWS. Work will be performed at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, and is expected to be complete by Feb. 28, 2021. The award is the result of a competitive acquisition with eight proposals received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $8,315,457 are being obligated at the time of the award. The 38th Contracting Squadron, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity. Data Computer Corp. of America, Ellicott City, Maryland, has been awarded a $7,201,112 contract modification (P00025) to a previously awarded contract FA8806-16-F-0002 for Western Range Modernization Network. This contract modification is for an engineering change proposal that supports the modernization of the Western Range Communications Subsystems to an IP-based network that supports data, voice and video mission communication, ensuring that there is continuity of services. The location of performance is Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and is estimated to be completed by March 31, 2023. Fiscal 2019 space and procurement funds are being obligated at the time of award. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $89,028,641. Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the contracting activity. NAVY Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is awarded a $165,275,894 modification (P00028) to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm-target, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-17-C-0015) for the manufacture and delivery of two MV-22B variation in quantity aircraft for the Marine Corps and to provide funding for additional repairs in support of the Common Configuration-Readiness and Modernization Program. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (30%); Ridley Park, Pennsylvania (15%); Amarillo, Texas (13%); Red Oak, Texas (3%); East Aurora, New York (3%); Park City, Utah (2%); McKinney, Texas (1%); Endicott, New York (1%); various other locations within the continental U.S. (CONUS) (28%); and various other locations outside CONUS (4%); expected completion by September 2023. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $165,275,894 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas is awarded a $141,655,639 modification (P00028) to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm-target contract (N00019-18-C-1048). This modification provides for the stand-up of organic level repair capabilities for the combat aircraft F-35 communications, navigation and information system. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (39%); Fort Worth, Texas (28%); Melbourne, Florida (12%); Genoa, Italy (10%); White Plains, New York (5%); Oslo, Norway (4%); and Beverly, Massachusetts (2%), and is expected to be completed by June 2024. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $70,827,820, fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $35,413,910 and fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $35,413,909 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. AAI Corp. (doing business as Textron Systems), Hunt Valley, Maryland, is awarded a $21,795,236 fixed-price incentive modification to previously awarded contract N00024-14-C-6322 for low rate initial production for the Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) Unmanned Surface Vehicle Program. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Maryland (70%), and Slidell, Louisiana (30%), and is expected to be completed by August 2021. The UISS will allow the littoral combat ship to perform its mine countermeasure sweep mission and will target acoustic, magnetic, and magnetic/acoustic combination mine types. The UISS program will satisfy the Navy's need for a rapid, wide-area coverage mine clearance capability, required to neutralize magnetic/acoustic influence mines. UISS seeks to provide a high area coverage rate in a small, lightweight package with minimal impact on the host platform. Fiscal 2018 other procurement (Navy) and fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $21,795,236 will be obligated at time of award. Funds in the amount of $7,950,616 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. ACE Maintenance and Services Inc.,* Austin, Texas, is awarded an $18,382,094 for an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) modification contract extension under an IDIQ contract for janitorial services at Naval Support Activity Bethesda. Work will be performed in Bethesda, Maryland. The work provides all labor, management supervision, tools, materials and equipment required for base janitorial services. After award of this modification, the total cumulative contract value will be $98,217,616 with an option period from March 2020 to February 2021. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (O&M), (Navy); O&M, (Army); Navy working capital fund; and fiscal 2020 Defense Health Program funds in the amount of $18,195,525 for recurring work will be obligated on individual task orders issued during the option/extension period. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N40080-15-D-0305). PERC Water Corp.,* Costa Mesa, California, is being awarded a $17,209,469 firm-fixed-price contract for the operation and maintenance of the southern and northern tertiary treatment plants on Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Pendleton, California. Work will be performed in Camp Pendleton, California, and is expected to be completed by March 2025. The work to be performed provides for labor, supervision, management and materials to simultaneously perform the operation and maintenance services of the southern regional tertiary treatment plant and the northern regional tertiary treatment plant on MCB Camp Pendleton, including wastewater, custodial, pest control, integrated solid waste management, grounds maintenance and landscaping. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance contract funds in the amount of $2,930,349 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.SAM.gov website with two proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N62473-20-D-0019). Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Liverpool, New York, is awarded a $16,388,917 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of towed arrays and provisioned item orders to support an indefinite quantity of spares; cost-plus-fixed-fee for engineering services for post-delivery support, including repairs and engineering upgrades, the array refurbishment program, cost-only for travel and material in support of engineering services and refurbishments. Work will be performed in Liverpool, New York, and is expected to be completed by February 2025 for the production, integration, assembly, test and delivery of towed arrays as well as engineering services for repairs and refurbishment of existing towed arrays. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $286,797,228. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $300,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $9,008,489 and fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) in the amount of $2,201,055 will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured because it is a sole-source acquisition pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) with only one responsible source (Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 6.302-1). The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N00039-20-C-0003). VSE Corp., Alexandria, Virginia, is awarded a $10,034,417 firm-fixed-price contract with cost contract line items for materials, shipping and travel to support the procurement of equipment maintenance and test support services. This contract will provide vehicle maintenance and configuration support for the Assault Amphibious Vehicle and Amphibious Combat Vehicle family of vehicles in support of Program Executive Officer Land Systems, Quantico, Virginia. Work will be performed in Caroline County, Virginia, and is expected to be completed in April 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $240,000, fiscal 2020 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $2,772,662 and fiscal 2020 research development test and evaluation (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $1,507,003 will be obligated at the time of award. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $240,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured and was prepared in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1 and 10 U.S. Code § 2304(c)(1). The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M67854-20-C-0030). RQ Construction LLC., Carlsbad, California, is awarded an $8,634,814 for a firm-fixed-price contract modification under indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award construction contract task order (N40085-19-F-7171) for construction services for the Mariner Skills Training Center at Naval Station Norfolk. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by August 2021 and provides construction services for site work, rough grade, pile caps and grade beams. The total contract amount after exercise of this option will be $9,009,814. Fiscal 2020 military construction and Navy contract funds will be obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured by a multiple award construction contract with six proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-19-D-9069). RIBCRAFT USA LLC,* Marblehead, Massachusetts, is awarded an $8,477,452 for a firm-fixed-price delivery order to previously awarded contract N00024-19-D-2220 for construction of 10 Expeditionary 11 Meter Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RIB). Work will be performed in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by April 2022. With these 10 boats, 17 of the 48 possible RIBs will be under contract. The base contract also included options for associated support efforts related to the construction and delivery for crew familiarization, special studies, engineering and industrial services and provisioned items orders. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $8,477,452 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded an $8,346,395 firm-fixed-price modification (P00013) to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-fee contract (N00019-17-C-0030). Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in December 2020. This modification provides for the production and delivery of a fully assembled flight training device for an AH-1Z attack helicopter, excluding software integration, for the government of Bahrain. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of $6,259,796 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Medical Digital Developers LLC, doing business as D-Scope Systems, New Rochelle, New York, has been awarded a maximum $45,000,000 firm‐fixed‐price, indefinite‐delivery/indefinite‐quantity contract for supply integrated video imaging sharing systems and other available items for these systems. This was a competitive acquisition with five responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is New York, with a Feb. 27, 2025, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force and other federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D1‐20‐D‐0004). White Hand Global LLC,* Harrisonburg, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $8,698,744 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Bradley Fighting Vehicle metering fuel pump. This was a competitive acquisition with five responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Indiana, with a June 29, 2025, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-20-D-0069). UPDATE: Rosenbauer America LLC,* Lyons, South Dakota (SPE8EC-20-D-0055) has been added as an awardee to the multiple award contract issued against solicitation SPE8EC-17-R-0006 announced April 19, 2017. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2098309/source/GovDelivery/