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David Pugliese The first of the new fixed wing search and rescue aircraft that will be used by the RCAF for operations has arrived in Canada. The aircraft landed in Newfoundland and is now making its way to Canadian Forces Base Comox, BC. “With the arrival of this aircraft in Canada, several key activities at CFB Comox will begin to support the transition of the Canadian fixed-wing search and rescue responsibility to the CC-295,” the RCAF noted in a statement to this newspaper. “This includes the start of aircrew training, operational testing, and the opening of the new training facility in Comox, B.C.” Each aircraft must complete initial operational capability preparations and testing to be ready for service. That also includes training so crews can operate and maintain the new planes. The aircraft won't be used for search and rescue operations until sometime in 2022, according to the RCAF. Briggs Aero sent out a photo on Twitter of the new aircraft arriving in Newfoundland on Wednesday. Airbus expects all of the 16 aircraft ordered by Canada to be delivered by the fall of 2022. A C-295 aircraft, destined for the RCAF as a trainer for maintenance crews, arrived at CFB Comox in February. Although almost identical to a C-295, that aircraft does not have nor need the full mission equipment capability to conduct search and rescue missions, Esprit de Corps military magazine has reported. It is not one of the 16 C-295 aircraft being procured under the fixed wing search and rescue project. Instead, it is considered an additional asset that is part of the training solution. “It will be used to train maintenance technicians on rigging, removal and reinstallation procedures,” explained National Defence spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier. “Therefore, not all components need to be operationally functional and can instead be less expensive replicas.” It will be registered as a training asset, not an aircraft. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/rcafs-first-c-295-search-and-rescue-aircraft-arrives-in-canada

La ministre des Armées Florence Parly assure que les prélèvements de Rafale sur la flotte de l'armée de l'Air au profit de la Grèce, qui compte acquérir 18 avions de combat français dont plusieurs d'occasion, seront réalisés "avec infiniment de sérieux" pour éviter tout impact. Revenant sur la vente de Rafale à la Grèce, la ministre des Armées Florence Parly cherche à rassurer, en promettant de minimiser l'impact pour l'armée de l'Air de la France. Dans un contexte de tensions accrues avec la Turquie voisine, Athènes a annoncé samedi son intention d'acquérir 18 Rafale, dont six appareils neufs et douze d'occasion, selon le Premier ministre grec Kyriakos Mitsotakis, qui a évoqué de premières livraisons à la Grèce en 2021. "C'est une excellente nouvelle pour l'Europe", a insisté Florence Parly, interpellée en commission défense de l'Assemblée nationale sur le risque de trou capacitaire pour l'armée de l'Air, très engagée sur de multiples fronts mais qui va devoir céder à Athènes certains appareils sur sa flotte actuelle de 102 Rafale. "C'est ma priorité de m'assurer que de tels prélèvements n'auront pas d'impact opérationnel sur nos forces. C'est ma responsabilité première", a réagi Mme Parly. "Nous examinons ces possibles prélèvements avec infiniment de sérieux", a-t-elle assuré. "Est-ce à dire qu'il n'y a pas de marge de manoeuvre, qu'il n'y a pas de solution intelligente? La réponse est évidemment non", a poursuivi la ministre. "Il y aura un petit creux sur une période qui reste à définir mais on fera en sorte de minimiser l'impact au maximum pour l'armée de l'Air", commente-t-on au ministère des Armées, en soulignant notamment que "l'armée de l'Air rénove 55 Mirage qui permettent d'assumer un certain nombre de missions". Entre 2022 et 2024, Dassault Aviation doit produire 28 appareils pour la France. En fonction de la cadence de production, tout ou partie des 6 avions neufs grecs pourraient être finalement prélevés sur les 28 à produire pour Paris. "Nous ne pouvons pas à la fois vouloir promouvoir une politique de préférence européenne et puis nous désoler lorsque la Grèce fait ce choix", une première pour un pays européen, a poursuivi la ministre devant la commission parlementaire, en vantant également "une très bonne nouvelle pour notre industrie" dans un contexte économique profondément assombri par la crise sanitaire. "Sans les exportations d'armement, nous ne pourrions pas assurer à nous seuls l'entretien et la pérennité des chaînes industrielles", a-t-elle insisté. En outre, "les activités d'exportation permettent aussi de réduire le coûts d'acquisition pour nos armées des capacités dont nous avons besoin". https://www.capital.fr/economie-politique/florence-parly-cherche-a-rassurer-sur-les-prelevements-de-rafale-pour-la-grece-1380855

Dans le cadre d'un long dossier spécial consacré au MCO (maintien en condition opérationnelle), Air & Cosmos a interviewé Monique Legrand-Larroche, ingénieure générale hors classe de l'armement, à la tête de la Direction de la maintenance aéronautique (DMAé) pour faire un point d'étape sur les contrats de verticalisation et évoquer les enjeux liés aux conséquences de la pandémie. « Les premiers retours du programme Ravel (Rafale verticalisé) sont bon, déclare-t-elle. Nous partions d'une situation qui était saine. Sur le Rafale, nous avions déjà une bonne disponibilité et Ravel vise à nous faire gagner une dizaine d'avions disponibles, mais aussi à garantir une disponibilité de haut niveau, alors même que le Rafale va vieillir. Nous avons mis en place une sorte d'assurance avec Ravel ». Air & Cosmos du 18 septembre 2020

INTRODUCTION The CDA Institute, in partnership with NDIA and NORAD/USNORTHCOM hosted a three-part virtual roundtable focused on NORAD modernization. The goal was to allow experts from industry, academia, and government to break down silos and engage in direct conversations about North American continental defence challenges and what form NORAD modernization might to address them. The forum was created to imagine the art of the possible. More specifically, the goal of these three events were to identify security gaps and brainstorm actionable solutions to the issues identified during the discussions. 12 August 2020: Domain Awareness/Sensors 26 August 2020: Defeat Capabilities 9 September 2020: JADC2/JADO This report is focused on the first of these three events and will be followed up by two upcoming exposés of the conversations that took place during the subsequent panels. The Domain Awareness / Sensors event was 2 hours in length and took place on 12 August 2020. NORAD Deputy Commander L. Gen Pelletier provided introductory remarks. This was followed by a white paper overview from Dr. Thomas Walker of Lockheed Martin. Director of the Centre for Defence & Security Studies and University of Manitoba's, Dr. Andrea Charron served as a guest speaker, providing an overview and context for the discussion that would follow. Director, Operations for NORAD HQ, Brig Gen Pete. M Fesler also helped set the scene with a short presentation. Following this, LGen (Ret'd) Guy Thibaut, Chair of the CDA Institute moderated a panel discussion on awareness and sensors with several industry representatives. The panel consisted of: Sunil Chavda, Director, New Satellite Systems Development, Telesat Canada Ravi Ravichandran, Vice President, CTO BAE Systems Mike Walsh, Chief Engineer, Radar and Sensor Systems, Lockheed Martin Jerome Dunn, Chief Architect, NG Counter Hypersonics Campaign Launch & Missile Defense Systems, Northrop Grunmman Mark Rasnake, Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) Enterprise Capture Lead, Boeing The following report will outline the major points of consensus and contention reached by participants during the webinar, a backgrounder on the case for NORAD modernization, sections on obstacles to modernization, all domain awareness requirements, design considerations for Canadian industry, and data plans. This report was created by the CDA Institute and is intended to read as an overview of the key points made by our invited experts. The report was produced by rapporteurs from the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network (NAADSN), a Department of National Defence MINDS Collaborative Network. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY NORAD's defences are challenged by advanced new weapons like hypersonic glide vehicles. These new weapons have proliferated across all military domains, designed to threaten North America and place its political autonomy and financial stability at risk. North American homeland defence needs to modernize to meet these new threats. A major component of this new thinking is the development of All Domain Awareness capabilities provided by a multi-layered sensor system (an ecosystem) that can detect, identify, and track these and other new threats at great distances and provide the right information to the right assets at the right time. High financial costs and tight timelines are major obstacles to NORAD implementing an All Domain Awareness capability. These factors necessitate an approach to All Domain Awareness that emphasizes the technological readiness levels of industry. What ‘off the shelf' technology is available that can be modified and brought to bear quickly? Experts from across the defence industry elaborated on the design of the multi-layered sensor system that will enable a future All Domain Awareness capability. Sensors should be multi-mission, able to detect, identify, and track more than one threat from “birth to death”. These sensors should be modular, scalable, and software-defined with an open architecture for quick adaptability and upgradability. Throughout the discussions, the need to integrate these multi-layered sensors into a holistic system was emphasized. The goal is to create All Domain Awareness that seamlessly converges with renewed Command and Control (C2) and defeat capabilities to enable NORAD's deter, detect, and defeat mission. Many decisions have yet to be made that will drive the design of the multi-layered sensor system. Where should these sensors be placed that provides the best coverage? Furthermore, the data this system provides will be valuable and could be partly shared with allies and industry. How can industry ensure the integrity of this data? Lastly, where and how does human decision-making come into a largely autonomous system. POINTS OF CONSENSUS All Domain Awareness is paramount to enabling NORAD's deter, detect, defeat mission. A renewed multi-layered system will be a combination of new, old, and repurposed equipment. Solutions will favour “off the shelf” technology that can be modified and upgraded. Most of the sensor technology to meet NORAD requirements exists today or will shortly. The system must have seamlessly layered sensors to detect, identify, and track full spectrum of threats across All Domains, from ballistic missiles to advanced hypersonic glide vehicles to cheap aerial drones. Data must be shared widely to be effective but policy must be developed to ensure that information can be shared to the right people at the right time. Multi-layered sensors should be able to detect and identify a threat at its ‘birth' and track until its ‘death.' The Arctic poses unique challenges for remote ground-based sensors and space-based sensors in polar orbits. The NWS is nearing its end of serviceable life but a replacement is not possible yet. Instead, the life of the NWS will need to be extended in parallel with new systems and capabilities. POINTS OF CONTENTION How much of the world, beyond North America and its approaches, will All Domain Awareness have to cover to be effective? The disposition of the renewed all domain awareness sensor network, with debate over how much of it should be space or terrestrially based. Where does the human decision-making process to ‘not shoot' or chose other options (such as to exploit, probe, surveille) come into a largely autonomous ‘kill chain'? Extent of compatibility/upgradability of older Cold War Domain Awareness architecture to work with new systems. Integrity of sensor data. Could it be tampered with? THE CASE FOR NORAD MODERNIZATION In opening the webinar, NORAD Deputy Commander LGen Alain Pelletier presented the broad challenge facing NORAD. Following 9/11 the command focused on violent extremist organizations, putting its energies into looking inward across North American airspace to prevent such a terror attack from happening again. This reorientation of NORAD has since been exploited by adversaries, with China and Russia having developed new capabilities specifically to bypass NORAD's largely Cold War-era defences. As the world shifts towards a state of great power competition, this threat becomes more acute. By being able to defeat NORAD, these states can essentially hold North America hostage, preventing it from intervening in conflict overseas. Brig Gen Pete M. Fesler, Deputy Director of Operations at NORAD's Headquarters, explained that America's long mobilization times have been noted as a vulnerability. By exploiting seams, adversaries can target military bases, airports, and seaports from far away, greatly disrupting the long and complex mobilizations required to project military power abroad. Future overseas conflict involving the great powers will thus see North America struck to delay its forces from intervening abroad, buying time for an adversarial victory. LGen Pelletier stated that NORAD's adversaries are agile, rapidly evolving their capabilities to exploit vulnerabilities in the command's aging defences or circumventing these defences entirely. Jerome Dunn of Northrop Grumman elaborated on how these new threats can avoid NORAD's current sensors and that they can come in quantity. While NORAD's current defences are designed to deal with a few ballistic missiles from a rogue state, such as North Korea, these defences can be easily overwhelmed by large numbers of aerospace threats from a power like Russia. NORAD must address advanced new aerospace weapons such as hypersonic glide vehicles. A requirement to defend against sophisticated cyber-attacks was repeatedly emphasised throughout the seminar. Lockheed Martin's Mike Walsh also pointed out that NORAD needs a response for swarms of cheap unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that can attack vulnerable Arctic infrastructure that supports NORAD's current Domain Awareness capability. A diversity of threats to NORAD have proliferated across the spectrum of military domains, from cyberspace to aerospace. Ultimately, NORAD's defences have been overtaken by advancing technology. LGen Pelletier made clear that with aging systems and just two percent of NORAD's original force strength to draw upon from Cold War peak, the command can no longer deter great power adversaries as it had during the Cold War. This potentially places Canada into the ‘hostage situation' outlined above, putting its political autonomy and economic growth and stability at unacceptable risk. With its ability to meet its mission statement to deter, detect, and defeat threats against the United States and Canada degrading, NORAD cannot continue its current course. NORAD must be modernized. Obstacles to the Modernization of NORAD and the defence of North America Dr. Andrea Charron, Director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies (CDSS) and co-lead of the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Networks cautioned not to expect that endless financial resources will be available. The COVID-19 pandemic, she highlighted, has placed great strain on federal budgets, creating new fiscal realities and old agreements about cost splitting connected to the NWS are likely to change. CDAI Chair LGen (ret'd) Guy Thibault also emphasized this point. COVID-19 will put future pressure on Ottawa's coffers as the pandemic unfolds, making NORAD modernization spending uncertain. Dr. Charron also raised the importance of meaningful consultations with indigenous peoples about the old and potential new sensors that are located in indigenous territories. Aside from the growing fiscal challenges are the looming time constraints facing NORAD modernization. Dr. Charron stated the obvious, “ the North Warning System, are on borrowed operational time.” Brig Gen Fesler elaborated that there were multiple systems coming to the end of their useful lives. These sensors are rapidly becoming obsolete and cannot wait for a twenty-year procurement plan. Both Charron and Fesler emphasized to the audience that these two factors were driving the overall approach to NORAD modernization : prolonging the service life of useful existing architecture and mixing it with new sensors through the process of incremental improvement to achieve, over time and with a new emphasis on homeland defense All Domain Awareness. Telesat's Sunil Chavda observed that the subsequent engineering challenge was not in the new technologies NORAD modernization requires, but in bringing this eclectic approach together as a holistic system. LGen Pelletier made clear that while NORAD would have to push its all domain sensors far out into the world, covering the Arctic is the most challenging of the command's environments to surveille. Walsh elaborated on these challenges, pointing out the wide range of threats from multiple adversaries passing through the Arctic. The sensors that are needed to address these threats will be placed into “a resource constrained space,” characterized by vast distances with little infrastructure to support them. These remote sensors will have to be able to reliably cope with the Arctic's harsh climate and severe weather. Walsh stated that while space-based sensors will be helpful to surveille the arctic there are constraints imposed by what orbit the satellite is in. Fidelity can be sacrificed for distance as well. All Domain Awareness Requirements Dr. Thomas Walker of Lockheed Martin stated that the primary concern of NORAD modernization is the technology readiness levels of industry, the command wanting solutions now. What ‘off the shelf' technology is available that can be modified and brought to bear quickly? What current NORAD systems can be retrofitted? Walker conveyed that NORAD was open to making all sorts of solutions work so long as they emphasised little to no development timelines and speed of implementation. All Domain Awareness is a core capability requirement of NORAD. Dr. Walker emphasized that the multi- layered sensor system NORAD needs to develop to enable this capability must be able to detect, identify, and track all types of missiles ranging from ballistic to cruise missiles and new hypersonic glide vehicles. He also stressed that this new sensor system must detect threats at great distance to increase warning and reaction times as much as possible, both of which are central to decreasing the risk these weapons pose to Canada. Brig Gen Fesler elaborated that the proposed multi-layered sensor system must ensure that detection sensors are separate from defeat sensors. The layering of the sensors has to be seamless, closing current gaps in coverage that make NORAD so vulnerable to developing threats such as hypersonic glide vehicles. Closing these gaps requires a combination of multi-spectral sensor capabilities (a combination of radar, infra-red, radio frequency, acoustics, etc.). Lastly, he emphasised Dr. Walker's point that All Domain Awareness must occur at longer ranges to detect and engage threats as early as possible. Preferably the extent of Domain Awareness would allow for a threat to be identified and track from its ‘birth.' Design Considerations for Canadian Industry Lockheed Martin's Mike Walsh, working on next generation sensors, presented three considerations for NORAD modernization. The first was the concept of multi-mission sensors that could detect and track more than one threat. These sensors could adapt what they do and where they do it to handle a high volume of threat. Second, sensors should be software defined and open architecture for quick adaptability and upgradability. This would facilitate C2 networking without requiring a hardware update, increasing the lifespan of the renewed system and keeping down future costs. Lastly, industry should provide sensors that are modular and scalable. This means adapting sensors developed for other parts of the world for use with NORAD, making the renewed system quick to install, cheap, and easily upgradable. Chavda, who works on satellite systems development, emphasized the need to integrate the proposed multi-layered sensors into a holistic system. This requires a paradigm shift. How is the processed data displayed for action? He pointed out that there is limited development and no superclusters working on this. This means bringing in the commercial sector to tackle how information is managed, providing new opportunities for industry products and services. Ravi Ravichandran of BAE Systems, with an extensive background in technology development, asked industry to consider how technology enables a mission. The language surrounding Domain Awareness has become mission-focused, having shifted away from being about platforms and sensors. Domain Awareness cannot be considered in isolation, it has to be connected to C2 and defeat mechanisms. Data to decision-makers and their thinking needs to happen ‘at the speed of relevance,' which means understanding computing and data structures. Faster computing is required, the processing behind complex systems having struggled in the past. He agreed that sensors should be reconfigurable in real time, supported by an open architecture. He concluded that the ability to anticipate battle management demands should drive Domain Awareness. Dunn, working on countering hypersonic threats for Northrop Grumman, stressed that the architecture of the sensor system must be able to account for all threats, from ‘birth to death.' Engage on Remote to engage a threat as early as possible is of paramount importance for a successful defeat outcome since this allows a Shoot Asses Shoot shot doctrine. Dunn emphasized that new ways of engaging these threats are needed, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) weapons. Engaging threats remotely could represent another paradigm shift in thinking. He posited that ‘kill chains' could be forged on the fly rather than pre-planned, leading to the combination of “any sensor, best shooter.” Lastly, he wanted industry to consider building in systems redundancy; All Domain Awareness cannot just rely upon space assets. Punch Moulton argues that terrestrial sensors cannot provide All Domain Awareness alone; the sensor system must be based mostly in space. This will provide NORAD with the global level awareness needed to detect threats originating outside of North America ‘from birth.' Second, he suggests participants should consider that NORAD states are also a part of NATO. Tying the two organizations together should help NORAD address deficits in awareness across the North Atlantic whilst giving the command a chance to secure NATO funding for its modernization. Lastly, he stressed the necessity of integrating a holistic multi-layered sensor system with the C2 and defeat mechanisms; the best shooter is the weapon that gets the right information at the right time. The goal should be ‘best sensor, best shooter.' DATA PLANS A major theme of the webinar was the sharing of sensor data with allies and industries. Moulton largely considers the sharing of data to be a policy question – one that should be tackled from the beginning – using the example of NORAD sharing US-Canada ‘Two Eyes' data with the other twenty-eight members of NATO. He also raised this issue in relation to dual-use technology that can be shared with American and Canadian civilian departments and industries. As the technology goes forward, he cautions that the policy needs to be in place that collectively says what can and cannot be shared in an open architecture system. Dr. Charron argues that sensors should be capable of dual use by military/civilian government agencies. This generates additional value beyond defence, contributing data for use across government and possibly the commercial sector. LGen Thibeau commented that such an approach improves the economic case for NORAD modernization as this type of defence investment could be seen as developing northern infrastructure. Similarly, LGen Pelletier commented sharing this data across departments and agencies means “everyone is a contributor” to NORAD modernization. Dr. Charron recommended creating a lexicon to facilitate the sharing of data due to the number and diversity of potential beneficiaries. She also suggests there may be lessons that can be taken from NORAD assuming its maritime warning mission. Similarly, LGen Thibault offered the example of Canada's procurement of SPY-7 radars, and the role of Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) working with partners and the commercial sector in providing sensor data as a potential model. Walsh raised the significant challenges NORAD modernization poses to project teams having to work across governments and industry. He highlighted the need for more collaboration between government and industry on operational analysis (on sensors, C2, and defeat capabilities) which could improve this working relationship. It was noted, however, that more industries are declining to work with the military – a challenge that needs to be resolved. Dr. Charron recommend that the Canadian government send a ‘finishing advocate' to NORAD. Such an advocate would increase the success rate of projects by matching the ‘hoovering' practice of attracting ideas and technology to NORAD's particular problems, seeing them through to fruition. She recommended this advocate approach as part of an overarching Canadian science and technology strategy. Another major theme of the webinar was that the sensor did not matter so much as the actionable data it provided. What does matter is where the sensor is placed to provide the best coverage. Chavda stated that getting the technology into the right place was a challenge. Dunn stressed this point with respect to space-based sensors, emphasizing that they have to be put in the right orbit to be effective. He projects that some operational ability will be flying in two to three years. The expert panel agreed that most of the technology to make the types of sensors envisioned exists today. For technology that must be developed, both Dunn and Chavda argued that rapid prototyping must be able to fail early and more often for best results, especially for space-based sensors. Physical demonstrations are important. Ravichandran pointed out that digital prototyping is getting better, driving down development costs. Digital prototyping is beginning to allow for digital demonstrations – not just of components, but of systems as well. Such an approach will allow for system designs to be tested before being physically built and put into place. A common element running throughout the discussion was that NORAD should have its All Domain Awareness, C2, and defeat capabilities fully converge and be as autonomous as possible. Dunn explained that a full convergence system would see sensors push data to C2, with the sensors changing with the defeat needs for intercept, thus completing a seamless ‘kill chain.' Dr. Charron asked what would happen if NORAD did not want to shoot at a particular threat that it detects (which could leave room for a diplomatic solution). I.e. the sensors cannot only feed information that leads only to the defeat of a target. The sensors must provide information that allows for flexible responses including the exploitation, tracking or gathering of intelligence of a target, not just its defeat. The human decision-making process within this tightly knit kill chain was largely omitted from discussion but the participants concurred that it was an important subject for consideration and future discussion. Lastly, LGen Pelletier raised the issue of data integrity during his closing remarks. Could he trust that the data he was being provided by sensors was safe, secure, and reliable? Could All Domain Awareness capability be tampered with? This question is salient given the sophistication of adversaries, the core importance of information sharing, and the long supply chains of contractors and sub-contractors needed to build and maintain NORAD's All Domain Awareness capability. https://cdainstitute.ca/norad-modernization-report-one-awareness-sensors/

SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR. How do you keep a laser focused on a target moving at hundreds of miles per hour? The answer is crucial to Lockheed lasers being fitted on Army trucks and Air Force fighters over the next few years. WASHINGTON: “Lockheed Martin is working to fly a laser on tactical fighters within the next five years,” Lockheed laser expert Mark Stephen told reporters yesterday afternoon. “We're spending a lot of time to get the beam director right.” That beam director, which keeps the laser beam on target, is a crucial but easily overlooked component of future laser weapons. The Air Force Research Lab's SHiELD program aims to put defensive laser pod on fighters to defend them against incoming anti-aircraft missiles. An offensive laser to shoot down enemy aircraft would have to hit harder and at longer distances, so it's a more distant goal: Such weapons are envisioned for a future “sixth generation” fighter — like the NGAD prototype now in flight test — to follow the 5th-gen F-35, while the SHiELD pod will go on non-stealthy 4th gen aircraft like the F-16, as in this Lockheed video. But the company's new beam-director design is actually getting its first workout on an Army system, the truck-mounted IFPC Energy Laser, which will defend against artillery rockets, drones, and, potentially, subsonic cruise missiles. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/09/lockheed-aims-for-laser-on-fighter-by-2025/

NAVY Collins Aerospace, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is awarded a $316,733,831 modification (P00015) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N00421-18-D-0004. This modification exercises an option for the procurement of 11,313 AN/ARC-210(v) radios for installation in over 400 strategic and tactical airborne, seaborne and land based (mobile and fixed) platforms for the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Coast Guard, other government agencies and Foreign Military Sales customers. Work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is expected to be completed by September 2023. No funds are being obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Marathon Construction Corp., Lakeside, California (N62473-16-D-1802); Granite-Healy Tibbitts JV, Watsonville, California (N62473-16-D-1803); Reyes Construction Inc., Pomona, California (N62473-16-D-1804); Manson Construction, Seattle, Washington (N62473-16-D-1805); and R.E. Staite Engineering Inc.,* San Diego, California (N62473-16-D-1806), are awarded $75,000,000 to increase the aggregate capacity of the previously awarded suite of firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award construction contracts. The maximum dollar value including the base year and four option years for all five contracts combined is increased from $240,000,000 to $315,000,000. The contracts are for new construction, repair and renovation of various waterfront facilities at various locations predominantly within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest area of responsibility (AOR). Work will be performed predominantly within the NAVFAC Southwest AOR including, but not limited to, California (98%), and will be available to the NAVFAC Atlantic AOR (2%) as approved by the contracting officer. No funds are being obligated on this award and no funds will expire. Future task orders will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy); operations and maintenance (O&M) (Navy); O&M (Marine Corps); and Navy working capital funds. The original contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 13 proposals received. NAVFAC Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $70,847,707 modification (P00023) to previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract N00019-19-C-0010. This modification provides requirements decomposition through system functional review for the F-35 Super Multi-Function Aircraft Data Link Band 5 receiver warning capability in support of the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and non-Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Work will be performed in Nashua, New Hampshire (35%); San Diego, California (20%); Fort Worth, Texas (20%); Baltimore, Maryland (15%); and Hunt Valley, Maryland (10%), and is expected to be completed by June 2023. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $821,960; fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force) funds in the amount of $821,960; non-DOD participant funds in the amount of $356,080 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. Testek LLC, Wixom, Michigan, is awarded a $38,071,331 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract is for the production and delivery of up to 42 Aircraft Generator Test Stands (AGTS), 41 for the Navy and one for a Foreign Military Sales customer. The AGTS will be used to conduct full functional testing of the new F/A-18E/F and EA-18G G4 generator converter units, the V-22 Constant Frequency Generator and Variable Frequency Generator, the ALQ-99 Ram Air Turbine Generator and generators tested by the legacy Aircraft Engine Component Test Stand (AECTS) at those sites where the AECTS is being replaced by the AGTS. Work will be performed in Wixom, Michigan, and is expected to be completed by September 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 Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N68335-20-D-0048). General Electric Aviation, Lynn, Massachusetts, is awarded a $19,631,873 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N00019-20-F-0748) against previously issued basic ordering agreement N00019-16-G-0005. This order provides project management as well as recurring and non-recurring engineering support, materials and documentation to implement, manage and report on the B-Sump Additive Manufacturing, Temperature Distortion Sensitivity Test, second source bearing, second source external hose and fittings, Second Source Accessory Gear Box, and emergency oil system elimination cost reduction initiatives in support of the CH-53K T408 engine. Work will be performed in Lynn, Massachusetts (80%); Patuxent River, Maryland (15%); and Evendale, Ohio (5%), and is expected to be completed by December 2024. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $14,997,273; and fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,634,600 will be obligated at time of award, $14,997,273 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio, received a ceiling increase modification in the amount of $140,000,000 to an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the production of Non-Standard Commercial Vehicle 2 (H92222-16-D-0043). This modification raises the contract ceiling to $310,000,000 to account for additional emergent Special Operations Forces requirements. The work will be performed in Columbus, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by July 2023. This modification was awarded through a sole-source acquisition in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) and Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302.1. U.S. Special Operations Command, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity. MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY Modern Technology Solutions Inc. (MTSI),* Huntsville, Alabama, is being awarded a noncompetitive cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with a total value of $68,503,410. Under this new contract, the contractor will support the extension of Missile Defense System capabilities through evaluation, identification and maturation of new technologies and future concepts (e.g. hypersonics, cruise missiles, cyber offense and defense, artificial intelligence/machine learning, quantum science, left-through-right-of-launch integration, fully networked command and control and directed energy) to support the Concepts and Performance Lab (CAPL) under the Missile Defense Agency's Advanced Technology initiative. The CAPL program shall support these initiatives by maturing advanced interceptor and sensor concepts models and simulations, algorithm development/implementations, laboratory experiments and/or ground and flight-testing required for technical and operational assessment of capabilities. The work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama. The period of performance is Sept. 17, 2020, through Sept. 16, 2023, with two one-year options. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,800,000 are being obligated on this award. The Missile Defense Agency, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (HQ0860-20-C-0006). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY LOC Performance Products Inc.,* Plymouth, Michigan, has been awarded a maximum $47,634,898 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for left and right final drives. 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 Michigan, with an Aug. 30, 2025, ordering period end date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-20-D-0093). Golden State Medical Supply Inc., Camarillo, California, has been awarded a maximum $10,306,354 fixed-price, requirements contract for Duloxetine HCL DR (hydrochloride, delayed release) capsules. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. This is a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods. Locations of performance are California and Spain, with a Sept. 16, 2021, performance completion date. Using customers are Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Indian Health Services and Federal Bureau of Prisons. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D2-20-D-0098). ARMY Marinex Construction Inc., Charleston, South Carolina, was awarded a $33,998,700 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance and new work dredging. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Charleston, South Carolina, with an estimated completion date of July 10, 2022. Fiscal 2020 civil construction funds in the amount of $31,639,750 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston, South Carolina, is the contracting activity (W912HP-20-C-0008). Benaka Inc.,* New Brunswick, New Jersey, was awarded a $9,162,000 firm-fixed-price contract for design and build renovations and additions for an Army Reserve Center. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Orangeburg, New York, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 7, 2022. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) Reserve funds in the amount of $9,162,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-20-C-0038). General Dynamics Information Technology, Falls Church, Virginia, was awarded an $8,204,786 modification (P00026) to contract W81XWH-17-F-0078 for administrative support services for the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Activity. Work will be performed at Fort Detrick, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $8,204,786 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Zodiac-Poettker HBZ JV LLC,* St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded a $7,516,000 firm-fixed-price contract to design and construct a dining facility for the Veterans Affairs (VA) Law Enforcement Training Center and Eugene J. Towbin Healthcare Center. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work will be performed in North Little Rock, Arkansas, with an estimated completion date of April 12, 2022. Fiscal 2019 VA minor construction funds in the amount of $7,516,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock, Arkansas, is the contracting activity (W9127S-20-C-6013). DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY Strategic Analysis Inc., Arlington, Virginia, has been awarded a $10,040,273 modification (P00008) to previously awarded contract HR0011-19-F-0101 for engineering, artificial intelligence and machine learning, social science, chemistry, physics, mathematics, materials and front office technical and administrative support services. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $19,805,466 from $9,765,193. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, with an expected completion date of September 2021. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $2,237,061 are being obligated at time of award. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES Logistics Management Institute, Tysons, Virginia, has been awarded a $7,714,127 firm-fixed-price-level-of-effort and time-and-materials contract. The contract provides a broad range of Department of Defense logistics and program support operations to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment, the Office of Deputy Assistant Secretaries of Defense for Logistics and the Office of Deputy Assistant Secretaries of Defense for Materiel Readiness. This includes analytic support, meeting facilitation, statistical and data analyses and subject matter expertise in various logistics disciplines and government/commercial supply chain practices; strategic communications; operational contract support; private security contractors; vendor threat mitigation; and strategic integration. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $7,714,127 are being awarded. The expected completion date is June 25, 2025. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HQ0034-20-F-0505). AIR FORCE Riverside Research Institute, New York, New York, has been awarded a $7,051,887 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the research and development of algorithms and tools to produce high-quality radio frequency modeling data. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2025. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,140,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-20-C-1131). *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2352082/source/GovDelivery/

Pierre Cheminade Défendre et promouvoir la position de la région bordelaise dans la compétition mondiale de la mobilité spatiale, c'est l'ambition du SpaceHub lancé conjointement par des acteurs publics et privés dont la Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bordeaux Métropole, ArianeGroup et Dassault Aviation. Malgré la vente d'avions Rafale à la Grèce, qui bénéficiera directement à l'usine Dassault de Mérignac, la filière régionale de l'aéronautique-spatial-défense (ASD) a bien besoin de signaux positifs dans un contexte compliqué, tout particulièrement pour les avionneurs civils et leurs sous-traitants. Alors que Technowest vient de lancer un appel à projets pour repérer et accompagner trois nouvelles startups de l'ASD, le conseil régional de Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bordeaux Métropole, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, ArianeGroup et Dassault Aviation se mobilisent pour fédérer les énergies en matière spatiale. Une nouvelle initiative après que la présidence bordelaise de la Communauté des villes Ariane en 2020 a subi le confinement et la crise sanitaire de plein fouet tout comme le festival Big Bang. La démarche SpaceHub, présentée le 7 septembre en présence d'une myriade de partenaires publics et privés (*), vise à ainsi à démontrer que le territoire tient son rang en matière de mobilités spatiales dans un contexte plus concurrentiel que jamais avec les progrès à marche forcée réalisés par les acteurs du New Space. Deux activités seront développées de concert pour mêler étroitement recherche fondamentale et applications concrètes : un centre d'analyse prospective dédié à la mobilité spatiale travaillant avec les universités et grandes écoles françaises et internationales ainsi qu'avec les agences spatiales, civiles et de défense ; un centre d'exploration et d'accélération des concepts spatiaux "pour aboutir rapidement aux meilleures solutions, obtenir des financements associés à ses projets innovants et générer de nouvelles opportunités d'affaires." Le tout dans une logique d'ouverture et de collaboration. Une démarche qui s'inscrit également dans une logique de relance économique à moyen terme tant les innovations et technologies développées initialement pour le spatial se traduisent, dans un second temps, dans l'économie et les usages plus grand public, de la communication à la santé en passant par l'environnement et la mobilité. (*) Les partenaires industriels du projet (ArianeGroup et Dassault Aviation), le CEA, les représentants de l'écosystème de la recherche (Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, Inria, Chaire défense & aérospatial de Sciences Po Bordeaux, etc.), des acteurs majeurs soutenant le projet (Thales, Cnes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine Academic Space Center, l'association Hyfar-Ara et la Fondation Bordeaux Université). https://objectifaquitaine.latribune.fr/business/aeronautique-et-defense/2020-09-17/avec-spacehub-la-region-bordelaise-veut-tenir-son-rang-dans-la-mobilite-spatiale

Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― As Congress readies a stopgap spending measure this week, the defense industry is girding for a long-term funding patch that could delay both new procurement programs and needed fiscal certainty into next year. Democrats say they are considering whether to offer a continuing resolution that would stretch 2020 funding levels into next February or March, or whether to go along with a stopgap through mid December, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is seeking. Trade groups said this week that passing a CR by the Sept. 30 deadline is better than a government shutdown, but they warned that because CR's ban most new start programs, that will add more turbulence for firms already suffering from pandemic-related economic shocks. “As threats continue to multiply and the COVID-19 crisis continues, sustained and stable funding in national security takes on new meaning for the U.S. military and the defense industrial base that supports it,” Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO Eric Fanning, said in an email to Defense News. AIA represents roughly 340 manufacturers. “Relying on continuing resolutions, for any length of time, removes that stability, undermining the shared supply chain and endangering the solid progress made in readiness and modernization over the last several years.” Defense advocates say continuing resolutions of any length are inefficient for government and disruptive to the budget certainty that businesses need in order to make decisions, but the pandemic and sagging economy add new wrinkles. Smaller defense firms, many hit by cash flow problems related to the pandemic, were of particular concern to shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries, which was among large firms that accelerated millions of dollars in payments to help small suppliers over recent months. “The effects of a long term continuing resolution can be harmful to the defense industrial base by delaying or prohibiting work,” HII spokesperson Beci Brenton said in an email. “Our greatest concern with a long term CR is the impact to our thousands of suppliers located in all 50 states who are already impacted by the COVID pandemic.” Despite a longstanding deal on the budget top lines, only the House has passed full-year appropriations bills, which means Congress will need more time to pass an FY21 appropriations package. Congress would likely need to draft a CR this week and pass it next week to avert a government shutdown. That's just what House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters this week that House leaders are planning. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., say they have agreed to a “clean” CR, free of policy riders. It's not expected to include COVID relief funds, but further details have not been announced. Beyond timing, the defense industry is also watching which anomalies Congress includes to permit select new start programs. The White House sent Congress a list that included the Columbia-class submarine and new W93 submarine-launched nuclear warhead, as well as funds to ramp up the new Space Force ― along with select federal programs across multiple agencies. The National Defense Industrial Association's senior vice president, Wesley Hallman, said delaying new starts means delaying new revenue streams for companies and, for some, new hiring decisions. “How many new starts are planned for 1 October, I can't tell you, but if we go to March or February there are more new starts over that entire period,” Hallman said. “If it's bad in October, it's really bad if it's going into March.” Professional Services Council president and CEO David Berteau, whose group represents services contractors across government, said his member are worried about long delays for a budget deal. “Our members are always concerned because it slows down new contract awards, and it adds uncertainty to every program manager ― not only in the Defense Department, but across the federal government ― because they don't know how much money they're going to get or when they're going to get it,” Berteau said. The duration of the CR has special political dimensions this year. If the bill runs through December, President Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Senate would negotiate over the final spending package. Depending on the outcome of the election, a CR that stretches into the next calendar year could be negotiated by a President Joe Biden or a Democratic-led Senate, which would give Democrats more leverage. Berteau was concerned that Biden, like Trump in 2017, would not enter office Jan. 20 ready to immediately hammer out a budget deal. It took until that April for Trump to sign a deal, and it took President Bill Clinton ― who entered office under similar circumstances in 1993 ― until that June. “If you don't get it now, history says you won't get it for six months,” said Berteau, “and that's debilitating for industry.” “Our members are always concerned because it slows down new contract awards, and it adds uncertainty to every program manager ― not only in the Defense Department, but across the federal government ― because they don't know how much money they're going to get or when they're going to get it,” Berteau said. The duration of the CR has special political dimensions this year. If the bill runs through December, President Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Senate would negotiate over the final spending package. Depending on the outcome of the election, a CR that stretches into the next calendar year could be negotiated by a President Joe Biden or a Democratic-led Senate, which would give Democrats more leverage. Berteau was concerned that Biden, like Trump in 2017, would not enter office Jan. 20 ready to immediately hammer out a budget deal. It took until that April for Trump to sign a deal, and it took President Bill Clinton ― who entered office under similar circumstances in 1993 ― until that June. “If you don't get it now, history says you won't get it for six months,” said Berteau, “and that's debilitating for industry.” https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/09/16/defense-industry-worries-congress-will-punt-budget-deal-into-2021/

David B. Larter WASHINGTON — A rash of technical and safety problems has left the U.S. Navy's fleet short by about 90 fighter pilots. Fixing the issue is an uphill battle, a top aviator said last week. The Navy has seen a slew of issues, including problems with the oxygen flow to the pilots causing negative and unsafe physiological responses in pilots and trainees, as well as readiness and engine trouble with aircraft. All of this has extended the time it takes to create a fighter pilot from three to four years, and the issues have created a gap in the number of pilots in the fleet, naval air training chief Rear Adm. Robert Westendorff said at a virtual Tailhook symposium on Saturday. “We can't just snap our fingers and produce those immediately. The time to train of a strike fighter pilot is about three years; due to the bottlenecks we've had, its getting closer to four years,” Westendorff said. “We're doing everything we can to get that back down to the three-year mark. But the recovery plan is a three-year plan. And if we stay on track, it should take us about three years.” An issue with the T-45′s engines “dramatically reduced” the availability of the aircraft this year, but the program is getting back on track, Westendorff said. Additionally, the general shortfall of F/A-18 Super Hornets throughout the fleet has impacted training, but Naval Aviation has been focused on bringing those numbers back up in recent years by fixing jets unable to fly for mechanical reasons. Naval air training has been beset in recent years with controversy over the so-called physiological episodes, the cause of which has been very hard to pin down. The Navy now believes it's a complex issue involving air flow and air pressure related to the breathing apparatus, and measures have been put in place to mitigate it, USNI News reported in June. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/09/17/the-us-navy-is-short-almost-100-fighter-pilots/