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Berwyn, Pa., November 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Triumph Group (NYSE: TGI) and Embraer announced today a cooperative agreement to jointly develop and demonstrate the airworthiness of a thermoplastic primary structure in flight. Triumph Aerospace Structures has been developing a thermoplastic elevator assembled using induction welding. The primary detail parts for the elevator structure will be made of unidirectional carbon reinforced thermoplastic material, a first for the industry. "Triumph has made great progress in the innovation of thermoplastic structure joining," said Dave Dennison, Vice President of Engineering for Triumph Aerospace Structures. "We are excited to demonstrate the major leap in the technical maturity we have developed in large thermoplastic primary structures and induction welding." Embraer will integrate the thermoplastic elevator structure in an aircraft platform and perform in-flight tests to demonstrate the technology readiness. "Working with Triumph to achieve a certifiable component has been a rewarding experience. Thermoplastics manufacturing and integration can certainly add value to our products, said Richard S. Oliveira, PhD, Composites Specialist for the Chief Engineering Office, Embraer S.A. Triumph has made significant investment in thermoplastic technology, and an in-flight testing of the elevator will demonstrate the technology is ready to progress from the lab into production. About Embraer A global aerospace company headquartered in Brazil, Embraer celebrates its 50th anniversary with businesses in Commercial and Executive aviation, Defense & Security and Agricultural Aviation. The company designs, develops, manufactures and markets aircraft and systems, providing Services & Support to customers after-sales. Since it was founded in 1969, Embraer has delivered more than 8,000 aircraft. On average, about every 10 seconds an aircraft manufactured by Embraer takes off somewhere in the world, transporting over 145 million passengers a year. Embraer is the leading manufacturer of commercial jets up to 150 seats and the main exporter of high value-added goods in Brazil. The company maintains industrial units, offices, service and parts distribution centers, among other activities, across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe. About Triumph Group Triumph Group, Inc., headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, designs, engineers, manufactures, repairs and overhauls a broad portfolio of aerospace and defense systems, components and structures. The company serves the global aviation industry, including original equipment manufacturers and the full spectrum of military and commercial aircraft operators. More information about Triumph can be found on the company's website at www.triumphgroup.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/triumph-and-embraer-collaborate-to-demonstrate-advancements-in-thermoplastic-structures-300950054.html SOURCE Triumph Group View source version on Triumph Group: http://ir.triumphgroup.com/file/Index?KeyFile=400806303

DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Dynetics Inc., Hunstville, Alabama (HHM402-19-D-0023), was awarded a five-year base with possible five-year option, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a ceiling value of $737,992,267. This contract will provide support services for the Missile and Space Intelligence Center. Work will be performed at Redstone Arsenal and Huntsville, Alabama, with an expected completion date of Oct. 31, 2029. The contract was awarded through a full and open solicitation, and one offer was received. The Virginia Contracting Activity, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE COUNTERINTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY AGENCY METIS/Celestar JV, Tampa, Florida, was awarded a $100,000,000 single award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). The contract provides administrative support services to support DCSA. Work locations under this contract will be determined at the individual task order level. Most work will be performed at DCSA Headquarters at the Russell-Knox Building, Quantico, Virginia, and at various DCSA field offices as directed. No funds will be obligated on the base contract award. Due to a small business size protest on Sept. 24, 2019, fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $3,200,000 are being obligated on the first task order within the next two days. The anticipated delivery schedule includes a five year base period. The request for proposal was posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website on June 27, 2019. Forty proposals were received. The DCSA Contracting Office, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HS0021-20-D-0002). AIR FORCE Mission Essential Personnel LLC, New Albany, Ohio, has been awarded a $95,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for advisory and assistance services. This contract provides for technical and analytical services to support and improve policy development, decision making, management, administration and systems operation. Work will be performed primarily at Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE); USAFE bases; USAFE geographically separated units; U.S. European Command; U.S. Africa Command; and U.S. Army in Europe, including Installation Management Command, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 12, 2026. This contract is the result of a competitive acquisition, and 11 offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $2,500 are being obligated at the time of the award. The 764th Specialized Contracting Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, is the contracting activity (FA5641-20-D-0001). NAVY CH2M Hill Constructors Inc., Englewood, Colorado (N62470-13-D-6019); Environmental Chemical Corp., Burlingame, California (N62470-13-D-6020); Kellogg, Brown, & Root Services Inc., Arlington, Virginia (N62470-13-D-6021); and URS Group Inc., Morrisville, North Carolina (N62470-13-D-6022), are being awarded an $80,000,000 modification to increase the maximum dollar value of an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contract for global contingency construction projects worldwide. The work to be performed provides for the Navy, the Navy on behalf of the Department of Defense, and the Navy on behalf of other federal agencies when authorized, an immediate response for construction services. The construction and related engineering services would respond to natural disasters, humanitarian assistance, conflict or projects with similar characteristics. Work will be predominately construction. The contractor, in support of the construction effort, may be required to provide initial base operating support services, which will be incidental to construction efforts. After award of this modification, the total cumulative contract value will be $966,000,000, raising the contract value from $886,000,000. The contract completion date was May 2019. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on subsequent modifications for work on existing individual task orders. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Jacobs-Ewingcole JV, Pasadena, California, is awarded a $15,313,983 firm-fixed-price modification to increase the maximum dollar value of task order N62473-19-F-4996 under an architect-engineer indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for China Lake Conceptual Master Planning Site Payout and Development at Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake. The work to be performed is to provide design and engineering services in support of the NAWS China Lake earthquake restoration program. Work will include project definitions for the following: air operations facility and air traffic control tower, Michelson Mission Systems Integration Laboratory, magazines and inert storage facility, aircraft rescue and fire-fighting (ARFF) station and community support facilities. Additionally, work will include design build request for proposal development for the following: Hangar 3 replacement, apron, taxiway and utilities, the integration lab, air operations facility and air traffic control tower, the Michelson Mission Systems Integration Laboratory, aircraft parking apron in support of Hangar 2 replacement, the advanced weapons hangar, magazines and inert storage facility, ARFF station and the community support facilities. The contractor shall provide all labor, supervision, engineering, materials, equipment, tools, parts, supplies and transportation to perform all work described in the request for proposal. After award of this modification, the total cumulative task order value will be $21,822,789. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by September 2021. Fiscal 2020 military construction, (Navy) contract funds for $15,313,983 will be obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N62473-18-D-5801). ARMY Chinook Systems Inc.,* Arlington, Virginia (W912DY-20-D-0008); Exp Federal, Chicago, Illinois (W912DY-20-D-0009); Shearer and Associates,* Huntsville, Alabama (W912DY-20-D-0010); and HDR Engineering, Omaha, Nebraska (W912DY-20-D-0011), will compete for each order of the $49,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architectural and engineering services for cyber in support of the various divisions and programs. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 18, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity. The Ross Group Construction Corp., Tulsa, Oklahoma, was awarded a $35,042,773 firm-fixed-price contract for construction, repairs, new roofing system, metal wall panel repair, demolition and deconstruction of existing materials and renovations of office space, conference rooms, server rooms, a dock and receiving area and information technology-related activities. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $35,042,773 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (W912BV-20-C-0001). J.F. Brennan Company Inc., La Crosse, Wisconsin, was awarded a $12,828,650 firm-fixed-price contract for construction and installation of lock chamber bulkhead recesses. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Morris, Illinois, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 20, 2020. Fiscal 2020 civil construction funds in the amount of $12,828,650 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W912EK-20-C-0011). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Biomet 3I LLC, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $49,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for dental equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency Electronic Catalog. This was a competitive acquisition with 100 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Florida, with a Nov. 4, 2024, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DH-20-D-0021) Aptiv Services 3 US LLC, Irvine, California, has been awarded a maximum $28,370,372 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract for F-15 aircraft electrical special purpose cable assemblies. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is California, with a Nov. 5, 2024, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Richmond, Virginia (SPE4A6-20-D-0016). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2009294/source/GovDelivery/

November 5, 2019 - A contract worth £2.8 billion has been signed to provide state-of-the-art armoured fighting vehicles to the British Army. The Defence Secretary has announced that the army will receive more than 500 Boxer 8×8 high mobility, network-enabled armoured vehicles to transport troops onto the frontline. Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, said: “Our men and women of the Armed Forces deserve to have the best equipment to do their job. “The Boxer vehicle is a leader in its field and I look forward to it arriving in units from 2023.” The vehicles will form part of the Army's Strike brigades, new units set up to deploy rapidly over long distances across varied terrains. Boxer is modular by design to meet these requirements – the same vehicle base can be rapidly reconfigured to fill different roles on the battlefield, from carrying troops across deserts to treating severely injured service personnel on the journey to hospital. Initially the Army will buy a mixture of the troop-carrying variant, ambulances, command vehicles, and specialist designs to carry military equipment. Sir Simon Bollom, Chief Executive of Defence, Equipment and Support (DE&S), said: “This is excellent news for the Army and I'm delighted that we can now move forward with a contract for the Mechanised Infantry Vehicle. “We are looking forward to continuing to work closely with the Army and our partners across industry to deliver the best equipment and support for our troops.” The UK announced in 2018 that it would re-join the Boxer programme within the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) and explore options to modernise its vehicle fleet and meet the Army's Mechanised Infantry Vehicle requirement. The UK played a central role in the original design, development and testing of the Boxer. In re-joining the programme last year, the UK reassumed the rights it had as a project partner. Major General Simon Hamilton, Mechanised Infantry Vehicle Programme lead for the British Army, said: “I am delighted that we have committed to delivering the Mechanised Infantry capability through the purchase of around 500 battle-winning Boxer vehicles for the British Army. Boxer completes the suite of platforms to equip our new state-of-the-art STRIKE brigade where, alongside Ajax, Boxer's low logistic need, extended reach, high-mobility, and advanced digitisation will ensure STRIKE is ready for any global scenario.” This contract was signed ahead of the pre-election period due to the strong value-for-money agreement reached with industry and other OCCAR nations, which expires on December 31st 2019, and announced today due to expected market implications. It would be possible for a new Government to take a different position. The MOD Permanent Secretary, as the Accounting Officer, considered the value for money implications and, on this basis, determined the most appropriate course of action is to proceed with the contract award ahead of the election. View source version on MOD UK: https://des.mod.uk/armoured-vehicle-contract-secured-british-army/

Perth, Western Australia, November 6, 2019 – Barrett Communications have recently been awarded a multiyear contract to supply the Canadian National Defence Department (DND) with Very High Frequency (VHF) radio communications equipment. This new contract follows on from the earlier contract awarded to Barrett in 2016. The Barrett PRC-2080+ VHF radio systems are designed for multi-role military applications providing rugged reliable field proven communications. The PRC-2080+ system is offered in hand portable, manpack, vehicle, base and rebroadcast system configurations, giving flexibility for its deployment in the field. Andrew Burt, Barrett Communications CEO commented “We have many exciting developments and contracts coming from the America's right now. We are pleased to have secured this contract demonstrating the confidence the Canadian DND has in Barrett communications equipment.” View source version on Barrett Communications: https://www.barrettcommunications.com.au/news/barrett-secures-canadian-dnd-contract/

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — As the U.S. Air Force looks to increase the size and capability of its aircraft inventory, the service should assess the possibility of using drones as a low-cost and highly available alternative to manned airplanes, posits a new study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The CSIS report, which was obtained by Defense News and other news outlets ahead of its Oct. 29 release, compares three recent congressionally mandated studies on the Air Force's future force structure by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments think tank, the federally funded research organization MITRE Corp. and the service itself. All three studies were broadly supportive of retaining existing unmanned aircraft, or as the Air Force terms them, Remotely Piloted Aircraft or RPAs. However, the CSIS report makes the case that the low cost and high mission capable rate of RPAs like the MQ-9 Reaper or RQ-4 Global Hawk merits more attention when making future force planning. “I think we need a roadmap for RPAs in terms of what are the new missions that we can begin to transition over to RPAs and some new operational concepts for how we use them,” CSIS senior analyst Todd Harrison told reporters at a Oct. 28 briefing. “I say this more from a cost perspective and a readiness perspective because our RPA fleet stands out from the rest of the Air Force in that it costs a lot less to operate [them] and we utilize them much more,” he said. “We need to leverage that. That's a strength that we need to double down on.” Harrison pointed to two data points supporting a wider use case for RPAs. Despite clocking in the highest number of flight hours per airframe, drones boast some of the highest mission capable rates in the Air Force's inventory, averaging near 90 percent for the MQ-9 and its predecessor, the MQ-1, and around 75 percent for the RQ-4 Global Hawk. Those aircraft are also cheap to operate, with some of the lowest costs per flying hour or total ownership costs in the inventory, Harrison said. The Air Force, MITRE and CSBA studies provide solid support for keeping the Air Force's current RPA force. The Air Force's study, which proposes a growth to 386 total operational squadrons, would add two squadrons of unmanned strike aircraft, although it does not say what kind of aircraft should be acquired. It also recommends an increase of 22 squadrons of aircraft devoted to command and control or the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission sets, but does not provide a breakdown of what specific capability gaps need to be addressed or whether they could be filled by unmanned aircraft. The MITRE and CSBA study, by contrast, advocate retaining the current inventory of MQ-9 Reapers and RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drones. CSBA also recommends the procurement of a new, stealthy MQ-X drone that could be used for strike, electronic attack and other missions in a contested environment. Despite the broad support, the three studies do not necessarily portend a wider acceptance or demand for unmanned aircraft in the next budget, Harrison said. “I wouldn't count on it happening that soon. I think this is a wider term change that's going to be needed. Part of it is a cultural change within the Air Force and part of it requires some real strategic thinking about what are the types of missions where unmanned is going to make sense and how do we best leverage those,” he said. “The RPAs that we have today, they didn't come about overnight. They evolved. A lot of the time they faced a lot of institutional resistance, but they proved themselves. They proved themselves valuable in the kind of fights that we've been in in the past 20 years.” One mission area that could be flown by unmanned aircraft in the future is aerial refueling, Harrison said. The Navy in 2018 awarded Boeing a contract to produce an unmanned carrier-based tanker drone known as the MQ-25. That aircraft, like all Navy planes, will use the simpler probe and drogue for refueling. Refueling via a rigid boom, as utilized by Air Force tankers, makes for a more challenging development, but the remote vision system on Boeing's KC-46 tanker — which allows the boom operator to steer the boom using a series of cameras as his or her only visual cue — is a step in the right direction, he said. Another potential area for expanded RPA use could be the development of low-cost drones that can be flown in swarms or as “loyal wingmen” to manned aircraft, the CSIS report stated. These “attritable” aircraft can be expended during a conflict without making an adverse impact on the mission or putting human pilots at risk. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/10/29/unmanned-aircraft-could-provide-low-cost-boost-for-air-forces-future-aircraft-inventory-new-study-says/

Fifteen people from ten companies participated in this training sessions by McCarter & English, LLP. Thanks to Daniel Kelly and Zlatko Hadzismajlovic for sharing their expertise on the basics of accessing the US market and doing business with the US government (regulation, exports, intellectual property, cybersecurity...). Thanks to Andrea Townrow, director of the Québec Trade Office in Philadelphia for joining us. https://lnkd.in/gJZjQeQ

The U.S. Air Force is to install sensors on the military service's fleet of aircraft to manage millions of pieces of information and streamline maintenance under a predictive maintenance enterprise agreement signed with the U.K.-based SDL this month. SDL said that the agreement will support maintenance and operations personnel with diagnostic checklists and repair procedures and that the predictive maintenance system will interact with other Air Force systems, such as health monitoring, materials management and maintenance management systems. Other high-profile clients using SDL in non-aviation applications include Amazon [AMZN], Nike [NKE], and Ikea. Under the enterprise agreement with the Air Force, SDL is to provide the SDLContenta Publishing Suite for Technical Order (TO) creation, management and delivery, which includes supporting the translation of technical information into predictive maintenance and analysis data across all Air Force assets. Thomas Labarthe, SDL's chief revenue officer, said that the Air Force “is a diligent organization, looking to streamline processes and gain maximum efficiencies across its global operations.” As the Air Force's enterprise technical data solution, SDL is to work closely with the Air Force “to deliver efficiencies across its operations,” Labarthe said. SDL said that the Air Force identified the SDL solution as “the only system” that could meet the service's enterprise requirements, as the Air Force's inventory of technical orders is produced from a variety of source formats, including FrameMaker, Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML), Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and S1000D. The Air Force Technical Order Authoring and Publishing (TOAP) system is to help manage technical maintenance content in support of all Air Force programs, including the new T-X trainer aircraft program, and various programs aligned under the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center. https://www.defensedaily.com/u-s-air-force-signs-predictive-maintenance-enterprise-agreement-u-k-based-sdl/air-force/

DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Troy Crosby has been appointed Assistant Deputy Minister of Materiel at the Department of National Defence. His appointment is effective Nov. 11. The ADM Materiel position opened up in August when Pat Finn decided to retire. At that time, Crosby (pictured above) assumed the role of Acting ADM(Materiel). In addition, Rear Admiral Simon Page will retire from the Royal Canadian Navy and will be appointed Chief of Staff Materiel. Page will start in that position starting Dec. 16th. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/troy-crosby-named-new-assistant-deputy-minister-of-materiel-at-dnd

By Brian Mersereau Defence Watch Guest Writer During the recent federal election, the issue of considering a new Defence Procurement Agency or DPA surfaced again. The Liberals made such an organization part of their defence platform this time around as part of their plan to improve military procurement. While positive outcomes could result from a new organizational structure, simply installing one will not in and of itself create an efficient procurement model. It most certainly will not address in any substantive manner why taxpayers pay far too much to acquire the defence capabilities Canada needs to protect our sovereign interests in a world that has become increasingly unstable in recent years. It appears that, in many cases, Canada pays more per unit of capability to satisfy its defence needs than most of its allies. Unfortunately, though quite logically, this phenomenon has effectively shrunk the size of our armed forces as the number of platforms we can afford to acquire continues to dwindle due to high costs. While this approach can create short-term jobs, they are ultimately unsustainable since there is no international market for our higher-priced solutions. This is not the direction in which Canada should be headed. Before Canada decides to move ahead with a new procurement agency, it should assemble a “smart persons” panel or forum to thoroughly review the existing system and establish the mandate and objectives of whatever type of organization results from said review. Such a review group must be composed of people from the public and private sector with significant experience, not skewed with staff whose procurement experience primarily consists of exposure to the Canadian “way”. During this review, the panel must examine various issues which are currently perceived to be an impediment to the efficiency of Canada's procurement system. Based on my own years of experience on both the buy and sell sides of the procurement equation, the following areas merit some serious thought: Organizational Structure The fewer individuals, departments and oversight committees with their fingers in the “procurement pie”, the quicker and more coherently things will get done. Even at today's interest rates, time really is money for all involved in the process. Adding more time to a schedule for another management review quite often has a negative impact. While I understand governance and oversight committees have their place, their overinvolvement can produce negative outcomes if mandates are not absolutely clear and if individuals on these committees have limited experience with respect to the issue at hand. Risk Canada's ongoing method for defence procurement is that it will not assume any risk on their side of a contract. If Canada insists the private sector must accept all risk, the private sector will so oblige – but at a significant price and to the detriment of schedules and timelines. As contract prices necessarily increase, so do governments costs to manage the contract. In reality, the most efficient procurement solution for Canada would see some elements of risk managed by the buyer, rather than entirely borne by the seller. More consideration needs to go into balanced risk-sharing formulas. Process Canada has an extremely hands-on procurement process for major systems during the competitive phase, as well as during the implementation of the contract. Even in this digital age, Canada hamstrings its own progress with the sheer degree of detail and bureaucracy it requires; unbelievably, freight trucks are still required to deliver proposals. It seems as though, on occasion, the buyer thinks it knows more about designing and engineering the defence systems Canada needs than the actual designers and engineers for whom it is a primary occupation. Requirements of little or no consequence are painstakingly spelled out in the greatest of detail. Such an approach has a tremendous impact on the amount of time consumed by both the buyer and seller, again driving up costs and extending schedules. Less “hand holding” by the customer must be seriously considered. Sole Source In the procurement world, “sole source” is often viewed as a dirty phrase. Frequently, Canada attempts to run competitions in scenarios where the chances of achieving any meaningful savings or benefits related to competition are low at best. This takes years and drives costs higher at no measurable gain for the buyer. The parameters of when and under what circumstances Canada should move directly to a sole source should be thoroughly reviewed. Significant resources are being wasted managing nearly meaningless processes. Skills Canada's internal skill set for managing large, complex defence procurements does not appear to be adequate. As a result, it turns more and more often to the expertise of external third parties in order to keep up with large private sector firms at the negotiation table from a knowledge and experience standpoint. While there will always be a need for some third-party expertise, project managing many external suppliers in the negotiation phase – each of whom have their own agendas – only further complicates the already convoluted procurement process. Canada would be much better off with an enhanced internal core staff. If Canada takes the time to review the appropriateness of some form of DPA model, it must cast the net wider and review other critical aspects of the procurement process – or else any organizational changes will inevitably succumb to the systematic inertia of the overall process. A failure to do so means Canada will continue struggling mightily to stand-up the level of defence and security necessary to secure its citizens in an increasingly turbulent world. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/a-new-defence-procurement-agency-would-it-solve-anything