News

Nathan Strout The Pentagon has cleared 100 megahertz (MHz) of contiguous mid-band spectrum to be used for commercial 5G following a 15-week review, determining that they can share that bandwidth while minimizing impact on military radars. While that 3450-3550 MHz mid-band spectrum is highly desired by commercial 5G developers, it's been historically used by the military for critical radar operations for air defense, missile and gunfire control, counter-mortar, bomb scoring, battlefield weapon locations, air traffic control, and range safety. But now, leaders from the Department of Defense say the Pentagon can continue using the spectrum for those purposes while making it available for commercial development. DoD Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy said the department will move toward sharing most of that spectrum without limits while setting up a Spectrum Relocation Fund Transition Plan to minimize risks. “DoD is proud of the success of the [America's Mid-Band Initiative Teams (AMBIT)] and is committed to working closely with industry after the FCC auction to ensure timely access to the band while protecting national security,” Deasy told reporters Aug. 10. The White House and Department of Defense established AMBIT to free up spectrum for 5G development quickly back in April. Over a 15-week period, the working group was able to bring together 180 subject matter experts, and ultimately were able to identify 100 MHZ of spectrum used by the military that could be safely shared with commercial 5G efforts.The decision expands the amount of connected mid-band spectrum open for 5G development to 530 MHz. The Federal Communications Commission will auction off the spectrum. One government official said action was expected by the end of this fiscal year. https://www.c4isrnet.com/industry/2020/08/10/pentagon-clears-100-mhz-of-spectrum-for-5g-development

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (left) spoke to Ranking Member Mac Thornberry during a hearing in July. Credit: Greg Nash/Getty Images I am surprised by the vigorous hand-wringing this summer over the prospects for defense spending in a Democratic-dominated government beginning in January 2021. There's every indication that the... https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/budget-policy-operations/opinion-can-pentagon-spend-more-smartly

AIR FORCE United Launch Services LLC, Centennial, Colorado, has been awarded task orders for $337,000,000 for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 2 contract. The NSSL Phase 2 contract is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery requirements contract for launch service procurements supporting launches planned between fiscal 2022 through fiscal 2027. This launch service contract includes early integration studies, launch service support, fleet surveillance, launch vehicle production, mission integration, mission launch operations, mission assurance, spaceflight worthiness, and mission unique activities for each mission. Work will be performed in Centennial, Colorado; Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida; and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and is expected to be completed March 2028. Future launch services and launch service support will be placed annually on subsequent task orders, and will be publically announced upon issuance. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition, and four offers were received. Fiscal 2020 space procurement funds in the amount of $337,000,000 will be obligated in the first order year for launch service and launch service support task orders to United Launch Services. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA8811-20-D-0001). Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Hawthorne, California, has been awarded task orders for $316,000,000 for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 2 contract. The NSSL Phase 2 contract is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery requirements contract for launch service procurements supporting launches planned between fiscal 2022 through fiscal 2027. This launch service contract includes early integration studies, launch service support, fleet surveillance, launch vehicle production, mission integration, mission launch operations, mission assurance, spaceflight worthiness, and mission unique activities for each mission. Work will be performed in Hawthorne, California; Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida; and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and is expected to be completed March 2028. Future launch services and launch service support will be placed annually on subsequent task orders, and will be publically announced upon issuance. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition, and four offers were received. Fiscal 2020 space procurement funds in the amount of $316,000,000 will be obligated in the first order year for launch service and launch service support task orders to Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA2211-20-D-0002). BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration, Greenlawn, New York, has been awarded an estimated $144,000,000 five-year firm-fixed-price requirements contract for common avionics and electronic components applicable to B1-B, ASQ-151, APX-113, ALQ-172, USM-464, AN/ALQ-155, ALQ-161, USM-638, B-52 platforms. This contract provides for sustainment of spares/buys, repairs and engineering services related to various systems and components that are sole source to BAE. Work will be performed in Greenlawn, New York; San Diego, California; and Nashua, New Hampshire, and is expected to be completed March 22, 2026. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 Consolidated Sustainment Activity Group funds will be used, but no funds are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Sustainment Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8538-20-D-0008). J G Contracting, Nipomo, California, has been awarded a $55,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for simplified acquisition of base engineering requirements. The contract provides all management, labor, material, equipment, transportation, supervision and minimal designs to accomplish numerous, concurrent projects for a broad range of maintenance, repair and minor construction work. Work will be performed at Edwards Air Force Base, California; and Air Force owned/operated facilities located at Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, and is expected to be completed July 31, 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and 12 offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $142,743 are being obligated at the time of award. The Directorate of Contracting, Edwards AFB, California, is the contracting activity (FA9301-20-D-0004). Apogee Research LLC,* Arlington, Virginia, has been awarded a $41,663,526 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00001) to contract FA8750-20-C-1510 for deliverables that include software and technical reports. The contract modification is for the development and testing of technologies to enable the transition of system technology integration tool chain for heterogeneous electronic systems. This will allow capabilities to rapidly integrate into new mission capabilities for interoperability within and across Department of Defense platforms. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia; Menlo Park, California; Woburn, Massachusetts; and Malden, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed July 31, 2025. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $489,650 are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $48,250,998. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded a $21,948,817 cost-plus-award-fee task order under the ground subsystems sustainment contract for the Minuteman III Fast Rising B-Plug service life extension. Work will be performed in Layton, Utah, and is expected to be completed Nov. 17, 2022. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,356,951 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8204-20-F-0077). NAVY BAE Systems Jacksonville Ship Repair LLC, Jacksonville, Florida, is awarded an $83,501,649 firm-fixed-price contract for the execution of USS Carney (DDG 64) fiscal 2020 extended dry-docking selected restricted availability and the USS Winston Churchill (DDG 81) fiscal 2021 depot modernization period. These availabilities will include a combination of maintenance, modernization and repair for both the USS Carney and USS Winston Churchill. This contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $211,604,822. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy); and other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $83,501,649 are obligated at time of award, $66,389,135 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Work will be performed in both Jacksonville, Florida, and is expected to be complete by July 2022. This contract was competitively solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website with one offer received in response to Solicitation No. N00024-19-R-4468. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $77,400,000 undefinitized contract modification (P00041) to previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract N00019-17-C-0001. This modification provides for the development and installation of flight test instrumentation on one F-35B Lot 14 aircraft and one F-35C Lot 14 aircraft for government testing in support of the F-35 program. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (65%); Palmdale, California (32%); Grenaa, Denmark (2%); and Hoogerheide, Netherlands (1%), and is expected to be completed in June 2023. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force) funds in the amount of $23,255,516; and non-Department of Defense funds in the amount of $6,088,968 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. Black Construction-Tutor Perini JV, Barrigada, Guam, is being awarded firm-fixed-price task order N62742-20-F-9924 at $44,093,863 under a multiple award construction contract for design and construction of explosive ordnance compound facilities at Naval Base Guam. The work to be performed provides for the design and construction of a consolidated operations facility, maintenance facility, armory and multipurpose/training facility. The options, if exercised, provide for a civil engineering support equipment canopy, a service craft and boat accounting report canopy, electronic security systems, audiovisual equipment, furniture fixtures and equipment, munitions and explosives of concern and material potentially presenting an explosive hazard work and additional concrete piles. The task order also contains eight unexercised options, which if exercised, would increase cumulative task order value to $50,937,800. Work will be performed in Apra Harbor, Guam, and is expected to be completed by December 2022. Fiscal 2020 military construction (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $44,093,863 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Five proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-19-D-1328). PrimeTech International Inc.,* North Kansas City, Missouri, is being awarded a $19,185,938 firm-fixed-price, time-and-materials bridge contract for a six-month base period with three one-month option periods for logistics services to manage, support and operate the Marine Corps Consolidated Storage Program warehouse network. Work will be performed in Barstow, California (23%); Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (18%); Camp Pendleton, California (13%); Okinawa, Japan (10%); Miramar, California (9%); Camp Geiger, North Carolina (7%); Twenty-nine Palms, California (4%); Cherry Point, North Carolina (4%); Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii (3%); Yuma, Arizona (2%); Beaufort, South Carolina (2%); Iwakuni, Japan (2%); New River, North Carolina (2%); and Bridgeport, California (1%). Work is expected to be completed June 2021. Fiscal 2020 overseas contingency operations funds in the amount of $12,623,942; and operations and maintenance funds (Marine Corps) in the amount of $161,657.82 will be obligated at the time of award and funds will be made available for each option period which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1); only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Marine Corps Logistics Command, Albany, Georgia, is the contracting activity (M67004-20-P-2004). Pole/Zero Acquisition Inc., West Chester, Ohio, was awarded an $8,858,994 modification (P00005) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N68335-18-D-0050. This modification increases the ceiling of the contract to provide for the production and delivery of up to 12 additional Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Antenna Interface Units (AIUs); 22 Very/Ultra High Frequency (V/UHF) AIUs; 12 UHF AIU Communications Tray (COMM-Tray); and 18 V/UHF AIU COMM-Tray assemblies and subassemblies in support of the P-8A aircraft. Work will be performed in West Chester, Ohio, and is expected to be completed in March 2023. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity. (Awarded July 27, 2020) DEFENSE HEALTH AGENCY Ernst & Young LLP, New York, New York (HT0011-16-F-0014), was awarded a fourth year option to a five year contract (one-year base and four option periods) with an estimated value of $61,223,977 to support the Defense Health Agency (DHA) with a period of performance from Aug. 8, 2020, through Aug. 7, 2021. This non-personal services contract provides audit readiness support. The contractor provides all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items necessary to perform audit readiness support. The Financial Operations Directorate (J-8), Defense Health Program Financial Reporting & Compliance Division has a continuing need for the services. Exercising the fourth option is the most advantageous method of fulfilling the government's need with regards to price efficiency, past performance and experience. Ernst & Young's performance is satisfactory and fulfills the contract's needs. The fourth year option will be funded with fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funding in amount of $13,218,137. The DHA Professional Services Contracting Division, Falls Church, Virginia, is the contracting activity. ARMY Rhoads Industries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $49,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to furnish construction related industrial support services to the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division. 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 Aug. 6, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (W912BU-20-D-0009). Duopross Meditech Corp.,* Farmingdale, New York, was awarded a $48,310,000 firm-fixed-price contract for safety needles/syringes in support of the COVID-19 pandemic response and Operation Warp Speed. V Bids were solicited via the internet with 16 received. Work will be performed in Farmingdale, New York, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 2, 2021. Fiscal 2020 public health and social services emergency funds in the amount of $48,310,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911SR-20-C-0045). (Awarded Aug. 3, 2020) Bates Engineers/Contractors Inc.,* Bainbridge, Georgia, was awarded a $46,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for rehabilitation/modernization of buildings, new building construction, demolition, paving, grading, drainage, excavation, clearing and grubbing, utility work of all types, environmental permitting related to construction, incidental design related to construction efforts, site safety and health efforts and field investigations related to construction projects for the North Alabama Area Office Region. Bids were solicited via the internet with 23 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 6, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W91278-20-D-0072). Pacific Federal Contractors LLC, Honolulu, Hawaii, was awarded a $20,402,508 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a single 61,800 square-foot hangar bay addition at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, with an estimated completion date of March 6, 2022. Fiscal 2019 military construction (Air Force) funds in the amount of $20,402,508 were obligated at the time of the award. National Guard Bureau, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W912J6-20-C-0001). Cardinal Health Inc., Dublin, Ohio, was awarded a $14,826,870 firm-fixed-price contract for safety needles/syringes in support of the COVID-19 pandemic response and Operation Warp Speed. Bids were solicited via the internet with 16 received. Work will be performed in Dublin, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 3, 2021. Fiscal 2020 public health and social services emergency funds in the amount of $14,826,870 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911SR-20-C-0044). (Awarded Aug. 4, 2020) J. F. Brennan Company Inc.,* La Crosse, Wisconsin, was awarded a $13,617,770 firm-fixed-price contract for dredging of Duluth-Superior Harbor. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Superior, Wisconsin, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 22, 2022. Fiscal 2020 civil construction funds in the amount of $13,617,770 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W911XK-20-C-0017). Gold Coast Medical Supply L.P.,* Camarillo, California, was awarded a $13,575,307 firm-fixed-price contract for safety needles/syringes in support of the COVID-19 pandemic response and Operation Warp Speed. Bids were solicited via the internet with 16 received. Work will be performed in Camarillo, California, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 2, 2021. Fiscal 2020 public health and social services emergency funds in the amount of $13,575,307 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911SR-20-C-0047). (Awarded Aug. 3, 2020) HTL-Strefa Inc.,* Marietta, Georgia, was awarded a $12,330,000 firm-fixed-price contract for safety needles/syringes in support of the COVID-19 pandemic response and Operation Warp Speed. Bids were solicited via the internet with 16 received. Work will be performed in Marietta, Georgia, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 2, 2021. Fiscal 2020 public health and social services emergency funds in the amount of $12,330,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911SR-20-C-0049). (Awarded Aug. 3, 2020) Quality Impact Inc.,* Foster City, California, was awarded an $8,800,000 firm-fixed-price contract for safety needles/syringes in support of the COVID-19 pandemic response and Operation Warp Speed. Bids were solicited via the internet with 16 received. Work will be performed in Foster City, California, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 2, 2021. V Fiscal 2020 public health and social services emergency funds in the amount of $8,800,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911SR-20-C-0050). (Awarded Aug. 3, 2020) CORRECTION: The 50,998,450 firm-fixed-price contract announced on July 31, 2020, to Duke Energy Progress LLC, Raleigh, North Carolina (W9124J-20-F-0052), to furnish financing, personnel, management, supplies, equipment, transportation and any other items and services not government furnished to install the energy conservation measures to meet Fort Bragg's energy goals and objectives, was actually awarded on Aug. 6, 2020. U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND Airbus DS Military Aircraft Inc., Mobile, Alabama, was awarded a $10,000,000 maximum ceiling firm-fixed-price contract (H92241-20-C-0005) in support of U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command for the sustainment and modernization of five CASA 212-200 CC60 aircraft with new avionics suites and aircraft maintenance refreshes. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $8,759,134 are being obligated at the time of award. The majority of the work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by August 2023. This contract is a non-competitive award and is in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302.1. U.S. Special Operations Command, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity. *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2305454/source/GovDelivery/

By: Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Adam Smith This week we broke a record: In the second quarter of 2020, the U.S. economy fell at an annual rate of 33 percent. As the largest annualized drop in our history, this staggering statistic underscores the breadth and depth of the coronavirus' effect across all industries, including the defense industrial base. As Congress considers competing proposals for COVID-19 relief, we must ensure that any additional funds provided to the Department of Defense are targeted to protecting jobs and strengthening our industrial base. But we owe it to taxpayers to apply oversight and negotiate on their behalf. We cannot panic and hand out blank checks to defense contractors. To do so would set an irresponsible precedent for years to come. Congress has acknowledged that our industrial base needs help during this pandemic. In March, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act included a provision, Section 3610, to allow employees of federal contractors with critical skills to remain paid if the federal facilities where they work closed due to the pandemic. This additional flexibility would keep workers ready to return as soon as conditions allowed. Since then, Section 3610 has taken on a life of its own, with senior administration officials estimating that agencies across the federal government could be on the hook for billions of dollars to carry out this law. With debate on the next coronavirus supplemental bill upon us, the calls for new funding are growing louder. We must explain to American taxpayers and workers what is, and is not, at stake. The confusion stems from two separate issues: whether to use the generous funding already provided to the Department of Defense to pay contractors for the time they were locked out of their workplaces; and to what extent the pandemic and economic shock will make it more expensive to build weapons and perform research now and in the coming years. The Department of Defense has unofficially asked Congress for nearly $11 billion in emergency funds to cover these costs for this year alone, split between these two purposes. The lack of detail in this request raises serious questions. For example, why are other federal agencies finding money in their regular budget to pay for their 3610 contractor pay claims, but the Pentagon cannot? Americans should know that the CARES Act appropriated $10.5 billion for defense needs, with nearly unlimited flexibility for the Department of Defense to reprogram these funds to address urgent priorities. In addition to that infusion of money, the department has numerous other ways to support defense contractors. At the outset of the coronavirus, the department worked with states and localities to deem defense contractors as essential and therefore able to continue working. In April, the department issued a regulatory change on progress payments for existing contracts, increasing the cash flow to the defense industrial base and encouraging major contractors to advance cash to the supply chain, infusing billions of dollars in cash to companies that needed near-term cash flow. And this brings us to our real problem with the $11 billion set aside for contractor reimbursements in this latest emergency appropriations bill: We do not know what it is for, what problems it will and will not fix, and why other funding and tools are not working. We also suspect that the Pentagon has not done its homework on behalf of American taxpayers before asking for this money. The proposal appears to be based on contractor requests, in the midst of a rapidly changing situation, without asking tough questions about how the funds would be used to prevent American job loss and what the long-term budgeting and recovery strategy may be. Before Congress provides many billions of dollars to make up for the work that has been lost due to coronavirus closures, we should know which programs have been impacted, how much each program may need to recover and whether taxpayers will be on the hook for more money if the disruptions continue. The Department of Defense, in particular, has a weapons budget that exceeds the highest levels of the Reagan-era defense buildup — even when adjusted for inflation. Given the amount of base and supplemental funds already at the department's disposal, Congress needs more thorough justification for additional spending, both for Section 3610 and for other needs. Generally speaking, it might make sense to appropriate additional funds to make sure that a shipbuilding program or airplane is completed on time. In other cases, however, taxpayers may reasonably question whether it is worth paying more money in light of other priorities. We have before us a unique opportunity to think strategically about future readiness risks and make the defense industrial base more resilient. Hastily throwing money at the problem is simply not the solution to a complex problem. We appreciate the hard work of the hundreds of thousands of companies, of all sizes, that make up the defense industrial base. When the Pentagon spends CARES Act dollars, or any appropriations, we depend on senior leaders to negotiate hard with defense companies to get the best deal for the taxpayers. There is nothing wrong with tough negotiating when billions of dollars are at stake; as public servants, it is our duty. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is the Democratic whip and the ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Committee's Defense Subcommittee. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., is the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/08/06/with-billions-of-dollars-at-stake-lets-responsibly-and-deliberately-spend-americas-funds/

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi NEW DELHI — The Indian government on Monday introduced a new draft policy that sets a $25 billion defense production target, including making $5 billion from exports, by 2025. The Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy is meant to bolster local production of weapons and platforms by developing “a dynamic, robust and competitive” defense industry. The draft policy also said the Ministry of Defence will set up a technology assessment cell to assess industry's ability to design, develop, produce and re-engineer assembly lines to manufacture major systems such as armored vehicles, submarines, fighter aircraft, helicopters and radars. “The DPEPP 2020 is envisaged as overarching guiding to provide a focused, structured and significant thrust to defense production capabilities of the country for self-reliance and exports,” the MoD said. However, some defense experts and analysts are unimpressed with the draft policy. Amit Cowshish, a former financial adviser for acquisition with the MoD, said the DPEPP is high on rhetoric but low on specifics. India's current defense production turnover is about $11.42 billion. Of this, $9 billion comes from state-owned enterprises and ordnance factories, while the private sector accounts for $2.42 billion. From the total amount, $1.53 billion comes from export business. It disregards financial reality, which is grimmer now due to the rampant pandemic than was the case in the past,” Cowshish said, referring to the spread of the coronavirus that has hit economies worldwide. A more productive defense industry in India will depend on how much money the government can spare for local procurement as well as the availability of materiel in the domestic market — two factors that should be a matter of concern, particularly with export targets, according to Cowshish. Currently, India spends about $18.52 billion annually on weapons and platform purchases, out of which 60 percent is sourced from domestic companies, with remaining supplies coming from foreign vendors. About $11 billion of those appropriated funds go toward India's 50 state-owned laboratories focused on defense research and development, nine state-owned companies, and 41 ordnance factories. Conversely, private defense companies, including 3,500 micro and small enterprises, get a little over $2 billion from this. A CEO of a private defense company in India, speaking to Defense News on condition of anonymity, said the draft policy fails to provide “a clear road map and direction for streamlining defense procurement and production.” He argued that defense production will only improve if there's mutual trust, hand-holding, active participation and patience in the development process between the private and public sector. Senior executives at the state-owned enterprises Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited would not comment on the draft policy, saying they are not authorized by the government to comment on MoD policy issues. However, Venkatesh Damal Kannan, a former research and development director with Hindustan Aeronautics, said achieving the $25 billion target would be possible if the current capital allocation of $18.52 billion for purchasing weapons and platforms is doubled. There should also be a willingness from the Indian military to field a larger number of indigenous products, Kannan added, and improved bureaucratic processes in the MoD. However, Cowshish said the military's arms requirements should not be held hostage by efforts for indigenization. “In the meantime, especially in situations like the one we are faced with vis-a-vis China, there is no alternative to buying equipment, platforms, ammunition from abroad if what is needed is not available in India,” he said. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2020/08/06/india-looks-to-make-25-billion-in-defense-production-by-2025/

NAVY Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, was awarded a $65,283,976 fixed-price-incentive and firm-fixed-price contract for fiscal 2020 Aegis modernization, new construction of guided missile destroyers and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) production requirements. This contract combines purchases for the Navy (96.9%); the Kingdom of Spain (2.3%); and the government of Japan (0.8%), under the FMS program. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey (70%); Clearwater, Florida (29%); and Owego, New York (1%). This procurement covers the production and delivery of multi-mission signal processor equipment sets; Aegis Combat System support equipment; and electronic equipment fluid coolers and kill assessment system 5.1 equipment. This contract action also provides MK 6 Mod 0 equipment for the government of Japan and the Kingdom of Spain FMS requirements. Work is expected to be completed by November 2024. Fiscal 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy); fiscal 2020 defense-wide procurement; and FMS case funding in the amount of $65,283,976 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. In accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) and (c)(4), this contract was not competitively procured (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Awarded July 31, 2020) Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $20,630,000 not-to-exceed, cost-plus-fixed-fee, undefinitized order (N00019-20-F-0078) against previously issued basic ordering agreement N00019-19-G-0008. This order procures various materials required for the 30P05 capability upgrade to all fielded pilot and maintenance training systems in support of the F-35 Program for the Navy, Marines, Air Force, non-Department of Defense (DOD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida (95%); and Fort Worth, Texas (5%), and is expected to be completed by December 2021. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,620,000; non-DOD participant funds in the amount of $1,310,000; and FMS funds in the amount of $1,385,000 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. ARMY Korte Construction Co., St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded a $34,420,210 firm-fixed-price contract to design and construct a two-story 72,140 square-foot Joint Simulation Environment facility at Edwards Air Force Base. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed at Edwards AFB, California, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2020 military construction (defense-wide) funds in the amount of $34,420,210 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles, California, is the contracting activity (W912PL-20-C-0030). Iron Mountain Solutions Inc.,* Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded a $15,541,629 modification (000148) to contract W31P4Q-17-A-0001 for technical support for the Utility Helicopter Project Office. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 8, 2021. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Army); operations and maintenance (Army); research, development, test and evaluation (Army); other procurement (Army); and Foreign Military Sales (United Arab Emirates) funds in the amount of $15,541,629 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Rockwell Collins Inc., Collins Aerospace, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been awarded a $14,000,000 firm-fixed-price modification (P00007) to contract FA8102-16-D-0005 for services and supplies in support of modernization, expansion and depot-level contractor logistic support. The contractor will provide support for Scope Command's High Frequency Global Communications System in support of Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard requirements. Work will be performed in Richardson, Texas, and is expected to be completed Aug. 30, 2021. This option exercise is the result of a sole-source acquisition. The estimated cumulative contract value is $70,000,000. No funds are being obligated at the time of the award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado, has been awarded a $9,682,027 contract for the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) Call 002 Vendor Flexibility effort. This contract seeks to establish the ability to communicate with Air Force platforms via multiple commercial space internet constellations using common user terminal hardware elements. Work will be performed in Westminster, Colorado, and is expected to be completed April 17, 2022. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition under the DEUCSI Advanced Research Announcement Call 002. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $4,536,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-20-C-9320). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2303639/source/GovDelivery/

AIR FORCE HHI Corp., Ogden, Utah (FA2517-20-D-0011); Pro-Mark Services, Inc., West Fargo, North Dakota (FA2517-20-D-0010); Native American Services Corp., Kellogg, Idaho (FA2517-20-D-0009); and Creative Times Dayschool LLC, Ogden, Utah (FA2517-20-D-0007), have collectively been awarded contracts valued at $422,222,224 in support of an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award construction contract. This contract provides for a broad range of design-bid-build/design-build services up to 100% and maintenance, repair and minor construction work on real property along the Front Range of Colorado and Wyoming. Work will be primarily performed at Fort Carson Army Base, Colorado, to include Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, and Pueblo Chemical Depot; Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colorado; Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado; Schriever AFB, Colorado; United States Air Force Academy, Colorado, to include Farish Memorial Recreation and Bulls Eye Auxiliary Airfield; Buckley AFB, Colorado; and F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming. Work is expected to be completed Feb. 2, 2028. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and 32 offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $5,000 will be awarded to each contractor at the time of award. The 21st Contracting Squadron Peterson AFB, Colorado, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Chico Produce Inc.,* doing business as ProPacific Fresh, Durham, California (SPE300-20-D-P351, $135,000,000), and Coast Citrus Distributors,* doing business as Coast Tropical, Union City, California (SPE300-20-D-S742, $15,000,000) have each been awarded a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract under solicitation SPE300-19-R-0006 for fresh fruit and vegetable support for the Northern California and Northwestern Nevada zones. These were competitive acquisitions with two responses received. They are five-year contracts with no option periods. Locations of performance are California and Nevada, with an Aug. 5, 2025, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Department of Agriculture schools and tribal reservations. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NAVY General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. – Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia, is awarded a $106,923,080, firm-fixed-price contract for the execution of the USS Bataan (LHD 5) fiscal 2020 selected restricted availability. This availability will include a combination of maintenance, modernization and repair of the USS Bataan (LHD 5). This contract includes options which, if exercised, will bring the cumulative value of this contract to $130,861,394. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia. This is a “long-term” non-docking availability and was solicited on a coast-wide (east and Gulf coasts) basis without limiting the place of performance to the vessel's homeport. General Dynamics NASSCO – Norfolk will provide the facilities and human resources capable of completing, coordinating and integrating multiple areas of ship maintenance, repair and modernization for USS Bataan (LHD 5). Work is expected to be completed by December 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy); and 2020 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $106,923,080 will be obligated upon contract award and funds in the amount of $1,816,383 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured using full and open competition via the Federal Business Opportunities website and one offer was received in response to Solicitation No. N00024-19-R-4467. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-20-C-4467). Kellogg Brown and Root Services Inc., Houston, Texas, is awarded a $75,000,000 maximum amount, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity job order contract for construction projects at Camp Lemonnier and Chabelley Air Field, Djibouti. No task orders are being issued at this time. Work will be performed in Djibouti, Africa. The work to be performed provides for various renovations, repairs, maintenance, replacements, alterations, demolition and construction projects for Camp Lemonnier and Chabelley Air Field, Djibouti. The construction may include minor alteration, repair of real property (industrial and commercial) and utilities. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months and work is expected to be completed by September 2025. Fiscal 2020 military operations and maintenance (Navy) (O&M, N) contract funds in the amount of $5,000 are obligated on this award for the guaranteed minimum and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by O&M, N and military construction (Navy). This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website and six proposals were received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Europe Africa Central, is the contracting activity (N33191-20-D-0811). General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. San Diego, San Diego, California, was awarded a $37,195,489, firm-fixed-price contract for the execution of the USS Lake Erie (CG 70) fiscal 2021 Selected Restricted Availability. This availability will include a combination of maintenance, modernization and repair of the USS Lake Erie. This contract includes a base period and options which, if exercised, will bring the cumulative value of this contract to $62,991,030. Work will be performed in San Diego, California. This is a “long-term” availability and was solicited on a coast-wide (west coast) basis without limiting the place of performance to the vessel's homeport. National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. will provide the facilities and human resources capable of completing, coordinating and integrating multiple areas of ship maintenance, repair and modernization for USS Lake Erie. Work is expected to be completed by January 2022. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy); and 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $37,195,489 will be obligated at time of award and funds in the amount of $3,633,807 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured using full and open competition via the Federal Business Opportunities website and three offers were received in response to Solicitation No. N00024-20-R-4401. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Awarded July 31, 2020) ARMY Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded an $11,916,585 modification (P00001) to contract W58RGZ-20-C-0024 to support the continued system operations and sustainment services and test and training services in support of the Saturn Arch Aerial Intelligence Systems Quick Reaction Capability Program. Work will be performed in Reston, Virginia; Bridgewater, Virginia; and Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of March 16, 2024. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $11,916,585 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. DR Reed and Associates Inc.,* Nederland, Colorado, was awarded a $9,800,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architecture and engineering services for civil works projects at various locations in the Los Angeles District. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 4, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles, California, is the contracting activity (W912PL-20-D-0032). CORRECTION: It was previously-announced that contract W911QY-20-C-0086 had been awarded on Aug. 3, 2020. The actual award date was Aug. 4, 2020. *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2302143/source/GovDelivery/

Mark Pomerleau Members of the National Guard from New England states concluded a two-week cyber exercise that sought to test the cyber skills of guardsmen and critical infrastructure operators. Cyber Yankee 2020, which took place July 21-31 in New Hampshire, involved more than 200 National Guard members and their civilian counterparts from across New England states, along with some active-duty partners and participants from local, state and federal agencies. In its sixth year, there was less attendance than previous years due to the coronavirus pandemic, but several were able to participate remotely. “Cyber Yankee is primarily a hands-on keyboard cyber incident response exercise for National Guard soldiers and airmen in FEMA Region 1, which are the six New England states,” said Lt. Col. Woody Groton, a member of the New Hampshire National Guard and the director for Cyber Yankee, according to a Facebook post by the New Hampshire Air National Guard. Groton said in a video that the exercise is primarily focused on the electrical and water sector. The exercise is “a great training opportunity for us to work with those people who would actually own the network that we would potentially respond on and for our soldiers and airmen to get that experience and for the engineers from those various entities, they get the training in working with us,” he said. The Guard units within the various states are a critical resource to defend against cyberattacks when they overwhelm localities. “If a large-scale attack happened against a power company, water company, or any other critical department around the state, we would be able to get activated and help them mitigate the threat,” Capt. Frederick Bond, 103rd Air Control Squadron cyberspace operator and exercise Team 3 lead from the Connecticut National Guard, said in a release. “It's similar to when a storm comes and we help remove fallen trees or shovel snow from roofs to help get critical infrastructure going again.” The friendly blue team had to deal with simulated attacks from an opposing red team. Social media posts were used to simulate a real internet environment, where forces must sift through the noise and discern what information is needed to make decisions and identify threat actors. In one case, these actors defaced a public website. “We found some discrepancies including website, it looks like it may have been defaced. The team is digging into finding the source of that defacement and then making steps to correct it,” Master Sgt. Eric Lewis, a blue team member in the New Hampshire Air National Guard, said in a video. Other actions tested included protecting computer files from being stolen or manipulated. “We received intel that potential threat actors may be using a certain capability to transfer files,” said Senior Airman Stephen LaLuna, 103rd Communications Flight cyber systems operations specialist with the Connecticut National Guard. “We see the traffic that's using it, that sets off a flag on our end to look deeper into that. If we determine it is malicious, we send it up the chain with our findings and recommendations to block it.” Officials explained that one of the most critical aspects of these training events is the partnerships built between Guard units, critical infrastructure operators and government entities so that when a crisis breaks out, everyone is acquainted. “We have built enduring partnerships with state government and the critical infrastructure sector. Something that if we did have a major cyberattack against one of those, we would be ready to respond and already know each other,” Groton said. Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified Lt. Col. Woody Groton. He is with the Army National Guard. https://www.c4isrnet.com/cyber/2020/08/03/new-england-guardsmen-test-their-skills-in-cyber-yankee-2020

Tony Osborne July 10, 2020 Over the last six years, an alphabet soup of defense initiatives has emerged from European leadership in Brussels. These European mechanisms for defense cooperation may have been slow to gain traction, but they are encouraging more pooling and sharing of assets, bolstering research and development funding, encouraging nations with similar requirements to work together and most of all, helping nations avoid repeating the mistakes governments made in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. The EU is mulling over third-nation access to PESCO and EDF European defense took a decade to recover from 2008 financial downturn NATO nations are concerned about a second Trump administration And soon they could help Europe's embattled defense industrial base bounce back, once the dust from the novel coronavirus pandemic has settled. Agencies such as the European Defense Agency (EDA) and initiatives such as the European Defense Fund (EDF), Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), Preparatory Action on Defense Research (PADR) and the European Defense Industrial Development Program (EDIDP) have emerged from the European Union (EU) and European Commission's (EC) call for EU member states to take more care of their own security and be less reliant on the U.S. The initiatives are leading to new partnerships that would have been unlikely in the past, aiming to fill capability gaps that no single European nation alone could have achieved. The big question is whether governments can overcome nationalist tendencies and be more willing to cooperate. And if so, will the projects produce something tangible? European defense cooperation has existed in different forms for decades, through development of the Panavia Tornado by Germany, Italy and the UK; the Franco-German work on the C-160 Transall airlifter; and the MBDA Meteor missile shared between Germany, Italy, France, Sweden and the UK. The difference this time is that such relationships were forged by national governments, but the new wave of cooperation is being stimulated centrally with EU and EC money, to improve coordination between the nations in an attempt to change the perception that such collaborations can sometimes cost more overall. The joint efforts are now being applied to a multiplicity of programs, large and small, and not just to those considered unwieldy or complex. Consider the creation of the Multinational Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) Unit, which will see six nations—Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway—jointly operating a fleet of Airbus A330 MRTT refueling tankers. More than eight years in the making, the pooling and sharing initiative emerged from the EDA and boosts the number of aerial refueling tankers available to European nations, with governments paying for flight hours on an annual basis. The first of the tankers was delivered to the Netherlands in early July. There has been cooperation in demonstrations of unmanned systems and sensor technology for increased maritime awareness through the Ocean2020 project, a PADR initiative, and with enhanced airlifter and helicopter training through a series of EDA-arranged training exercises (AW&ST July 20-Aug. 2, 2015, p. 63). The push for deeper European defense cooperation emerged in the years after the deep post-2008 economic downturn that prompted many European governments to adopt austerity budgets, introducing sweeping cuts to public spending that sharply curtailed capability. Budgets in some of the smaller nations were reduced by as much as 30%, according to research by the German Council on Foreign Relations. Overall, about €24 billion ($27 billion)—equivalent to around 11% of Europe's total defense spending—was cut in the years following 2008. “It took until [2019] for defense spending [by] NATO's European members to recover in constant dollar terms back to the level where it was when that 2008 financial crisis hit,” Bastian Giegerich, director of defense and military analysis at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, tells Aviation Week. When allied air forces began flying missions over Libya in 2011, they lacked aerial refueling, electronic-warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to find targets, and ended up relying heavily on U.S. assets that Washington had been reluctant to provide. The lessons only began being heeded when the European security situation deteriorated rapidly. The Arab Spring, which had caused the collapse of the Muammar Ghaddifi government in Libya and was continuing to ripple through North Africa and the Middle East causing instability on the edges of the Mediterranean, was quickly followed in 2014 by the Russian--backed insurrection in Eastern Ukraine and Moscow's annexation of Crimea. “This succession of events really highlighted to European leaders that they needed to get their act together,” says Daniel Fiott, security and defense editor at the EU Institute for Security Studies. As treasuries across Europe began to trickle money back into defense budgets, further alarm was generated by the rhetoric of U.S. President Donald Trump, who having berated several NATO members for not meeting the alliance's defense spending target of 2% of GDP, single-handedly “undermined alliance cohesion and coherence,” says Giegerich. Trump raised doubts about the U.S. commitment to NATO's Article 5, which states that an attack on one ally is an attack on all. That shock, “and the possibility that if Trump is reelected [this November] . . . he could do something radical within NATO,” has prompted a continued drive to modernize European capabilities, suggests Fiott. Britain's departure from the European Union provided the EU and EC with the impetus for reinforced defense cooperation; London had long resisted such attempts. “The UK line was always that the EU shouldn't try and develop certain mechanisms or capacities that they would see as potentially duplicating NATO,” says Fiott. In the fall of 2016, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told EU member states that Europe needed to “toughen up” and not “piggyback on the military might of others.” He added: “We have to take responsibility for protecting our interests and the European way of life.” According to the EC, the lack of defense cooperation between member states costs between €25-100 billion because of issues such as duplication of effort. It also notes that 80% of procurement and 90% of research and technology are run on a solely national basis. The EC claims that enhanced cooperation between member states could reduce annual defense expenditures across Europe by 30% through pooling procurement. Junker's words were followed up a year later with the EC's formation of the European Defense Fund for joint research and development of defense projects. The EDF was set up to incentivize joint development projects and provide co-financing if several member nations bulk-buy capabilities between them. This was preceded by the PADR and the EDIDP, a series of preparatory programs paving the way for the EDF (AW&ST June 12-25, 2017, p. 28). “[The] PADR and EDIDP test the way the institutions and the funding mechanisms work and help to generate some buzz in industry,” says Fiott. These programs began to deliver benefits in June, when the EC announced €205 million of funding to support 16 PADR and EDIDP initiatives. Projects including the development of a low-observable tactical unmanned aircraft system, research into high-resolution observation payloads for satellites, and studies for a beyond-visual-line-of-sight land-based battlefield missile system have been funded, a steppingstone toward creation of the EDF. Direct support is also envisaged for two large-scale projects, including the EuroDrone medium-altitude long-endurance aircraft system being developed by France, Germany, Italy and Spain and for the European Secure Software-Defined Radio (ESSOR) program. Some of the PADR and EDIDP initiatives are linked to the other major initiative, PESCO. Run by the European Defense Agency and the EU's External Action Service, PESCO calls on Euro-pean member states to make binding commitments to invest in and develop defense capabilities. PESCO projects are likely to receive funding from the EDF. There are currently some 47 PESCO projects supported by 25 member states. Several of the projects are aerospace-related programs. One is the Timely Warning and Interception with Space-based TheatER surveillance program (Twister)—led by France and supported by Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain—to develop a capability to track and counter emerging threats, including hypersonic gliders and supersonic cruise missiles. Another, Airborne Electronic Attack, led by Spain with support from France and Sweden, calls for the joint development of a pod-mounted electronic attack and countermeasure capability for combat aircraft. PESCO programs are also focused on training, joint forces activity and cyberwarfare. There are, however, debates as to whether the PESCO initiatives will deliver new capabilities. Some are seen as vanity programs, others may merely be national programs for which some nations have roped in other partners in a bid to secure funding. A review of the PESCO projects is currently underway. “We can't prove that cooperation delivers anything, and we don't know the criteria for having good cooperation and for having bad cooperation,” says Christian Molling, research director for the German Council on Foreign Relations. PESCO has also ruffled feathers. Last year, Pentagon procurement officials wrote to the EU threatening to apply sanctions, incorrectly assuming that PESCO initiatives would prevent U.S. industry from pursuing business in Europe. The EU is currently exploring whether third nations—non-EU nations—can access PESCO and EDF initiatives. Initial proposals to allow third-nation access have been received favorably by some member states, but the discussions are bound up in deliberations about the next EU budget. The U.S. may have been alarmed at the longer-term goals of EDF and PESCO, which by providing political and financial incentives boost productivity, innovation and the competitiveness of the European defense industrial sector. “[It] strengthens the argument to buy European and do things together,” says Giegerich. “That is a long-range threat . . . that may explain why the U.S. administration had such an allergic reaction to the EDF and PESCO last year,” he adds. EU and EC-led plans are not the only cooperative initiatives taking place. Two new combat aircraft programs have taken shape over the last three years, linking unlikely bedfellows with very different views on defense. France, Germany, and Spain are working on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), while the UK is leading its Tempest project with Italy and Sweden. Such flagship programs could have “a structuring effect on defense industrial capability in Europe for the next couple of decades,” says Giegerich. The nations will have to reconcile their differences, though France and Germany, the leading nations on FCAS, have markedly different approaches to defense exports, doctrine and deterrence. Hopes from industry that the two projects could be combined may be wishful thinking. There may be only a short window of opportunity for that to happen, perhaps 18-24 months, suggests Giegerich, before too many decisions on each of the projects are finalized. FCAS was born out of French and German ambitions to become pillars of European defense. With the entrance of Spain into the initiative, the program is likely to be eligible for support from the EDF in the future. It is conceivable that Tempest could benefit from such funding in the future, too, if the EC allows so-called third nations. How defense cooperation evolves is likely to depend on how nations emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and whether they choose to make cuts to defense, taking an austerity approach as in 2008, or to reinvigorate their economies with fiscal stimulus. The arguments for such cuts will be challenged in the current environment, suggests Giegerich. “While COVID is obviously a massive interruption to [European government] plans, none of the security problems that existed before have gone away,” he notes. In May, the defense ministers of the four major EU states—France, Germany, Italy and Spain—wrote to European leaders urging their nations to strengthen cooperation through efforts such as PESCO. “Security and Defense must therefore remain a top priority,” the letter states. “We want to live up to our responsibilities and be able to face present and upcoming challenges, at home and abroad. . . . Hence, we have to maintain, strengthen and develop our ability to act and react autonomously, as a Union.” The crisis has prompted governments to sit up and look at their strategic capabilities, critical industries and security of supply, says Fiott, and may prompt some nations to look closer to home again for their defense relationships. “The U.S. will always be a go-to player when it comes to certain capabilities,” says Fiott. “Dealing with the U.S. on one hand is really good. You get access to high-tech equipment and you can use it to undergird your defense relationship.” But buying from the U.S. means countries are exposed to the full force of U.S. legislative power. “You can't have any kind of autonomy in defense if ultimately Washington is able to veto you, the use of capabilities or even the exploitation of technology,” Fiott says. “That's certainly an issue that [European] governments are thinking about.” Another concern is that a deep economic recession in the U.S. could prompt Washington to reconsider its posture in Europe and speed up its repivot to China. U.S. plans to withdraw some 9,000 troops from Germany has sent ripples through NATO. The post-COVID-19 era could also provide an opportunity to put European defense mechanisms to good use. Reports that the EDF budget would be slashed as a result of the coronavirus crisis have proved unfounded. The EC plans to invest €9 billion in the EDF over the next seven years, down from the originally planned €13 billion, although this is still subject to approvals by EU member states. “There is now a time to make that argument that the EDF and the European military mobility initiatives should be fully funded and should perhaps even be beefed up compared to original plans,” says Giegerich. “The ball is now in the court of the EU member states.” “We are really fortunate in having already a lot of initiatives in place,” says Fiott. “It is not like we have to waste the next two, three, four years dreaming up new schemes.” https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/eu-initiatives-could-bolster-european-defense-post-covid