22 novembre 2021 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité
DoD identifies companies to bid on its new cloud effort
The Department of Defense has issued solicitations to select companies to bid on it's new multicloud effort.
1 octobre 2019 | International, Aérospatial
Air Force paints a digital future where data from satellites play central role
by Sandra Erwin
In a few months the Air Force will start a series of experiments to try to connect fighter aircraft and other weapon systems into a single network so they can all share critical data and intelligence, much of which is collected by satellites in space. Will Roper, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, described the venture as the “first demonstration of what you could call ‘step 1' of ABMS.”
ABMS is short for Advanced Battle Management System, and it is a hard concept to explain because it is not like a traditional piece of hardware or software. It can be best described as a network where data is piped in from sensors located in space, at sea, in the air or on the ground. That information would be instantly analyzed with artificial intelligence tools and shared across the network. This is the type of technology that will “allow us to be more collaborative,” Roper told reporters at the recent 2019 Air Space & Cyber symposium.
Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein is “driving this idea across the Air Force,” said Roper. Goldfein has been a champion of ABMS and wants to make it a “large dollar item in our 2021 budget,” said Roper. The thinking is that the Air Force will spend less money on shiny new platforms and more on exploiting data and advanced networks. It would be like the “Internet of Things, but applied to military systems,” said Roper.
Air Force leaders initially pitched the ABMS idea to Congress two years ago as a vision of the future where access to timely data is key to success in the battlefield. They suggested that the Air Force should invest in ABMS rather than spend billions on new command-and-control airplanes. Congress gave the plan a skeptical reception but the Air Force will continue to press its case.
In a keynote speech at Air Force Association's Air Space & Cyber conference last week, Goldfein described the future as one of “multi-domain operations” where all weapons and military forces receive up-to-the-minute intelligence and are able to share that data, something that ABMS would make possible.
“What I'm talking about is a fully networked force where Air Force paints a digital future where data from satellites play central role each platform's sensors and operators are connected,” said Goldfein.
While the concept seems straightforward, putting it into practice is not. One of the challenges is how to handle the vast amounts of data available from satellites and the infrastructure required to bring this data to the ground, analyze the data and then transport it to where it's needed.
Some of the crucial technologies that will enable ABMS or any similar efforts will come from the world of commercial space and cloud computing. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center has recognized this as it pursues a project called CASINO, short for Commercially Augmented Space Inter Networked Operations.
CASINO is a spinoff of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Blackjack program that is attempting to demonstrate the military utility of small satellites in low Earth orbit. SMC has made CASINO one of its signature efforts to show how commercial technology could be used to process and distribute data from large LEO constellations.
The Pentagon's Silicon Valley-based Defense Innovation Unit on Sept. 10 awarded a contract of undisclosed value to Ball Aerospace and Microsoft to demonstrate cloud processing capabilities in support of the CASINO project. The companies will have to show how simultaneous, worldwide data streams from large, distributed constellations of small satellites can be processed quickly using Microsoft's Azure cloud and Ball Aerospace algorithms.
This is about making satellite data more actionable more quickly, Azure Global vice president Tom Keane said. One of the questions this project seeks to answer is “what would it take to completely transform what a ground station looks like, and downlink that data directly to the cloud?” Keane said.
Perhaps one option is to place electronically steered flat panel antennas on the roof of a data center to connect multiple LEO satellites. Ball Aerospace algorithms in this project will process data streams from up to 20 satellites. With the data in the cloud, customers can direct it to where it's needed. Clearly, there is a long way to go to achieve what Goldfein calls the “Air Force That We Need” — one where all U.S. and allied forces are connected and get relevant information quickly. But you have to start somewhere.
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2 mai 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense
Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - May 1, 2019
ARMY Callan Marine Ltd., Galveston, Texas (W912EP-19-D-0023); Cashman Dredging and Marine Contracting Co. LLC, Quincy, Massachusetts (W912EP-19-D-0024); Cavache Inc.,* Pompano Beach, Florida (W912EP-19-D-0025 ); Continental Heavy Civil Corp., Miami, Florida (W912EP-19-D-0026 ); Cottrell Contracting Inc.,* Chesapeake, Virginia (W912EP-19-D-0027); Great Lakes Dredge and Dock, Oak Brook, Illinois (W912EP-19-D-0028); J.T. Cleary Inc., Spring Valley, New York (W912EP-19-D-0029); Manson Construction Co., Seattle, Washington (W912EP-19-D-0030); Marinex Construction Inc., Charleston, South Carolina (W912EP-19-D-0031); Norfolk Dredging Co., Chesapeake, Virginia (W912EP-19-D-0032); Orion Marine Construction Inc., Tampa, Florida (W912EP-19-D-0033); Southern Dredging Co. Inc.,* Charleston, South Carolina (W912EP-19-D-0034); The Dutra Group, San Rafael, California (W912EP-19-D-0035); Waterfront Property Service LLC, doing business as Gator Dredging,* Clearwater, Florida (W912EP-19-D-0036 ); Weeks Marine Inc., Covington, Louisiana (W912EP-19-D-0037); Cavache Inc.,* Pompano Beach, Florida (W912EP-19-D-0038); CJW Construction Inc.,* Santa Ana, California (W912EP-19-D-0039); Coastal Dredging Co. Inc.,* Hammond, Louisiana (W912EP-19-D-0040); Cottrell Contracting Inc.,* Chesapeake, Virginia (W912EP-19-D-0041); Florida Dredge and Dock LLC,* Tarpon Springs, Florida (W912EP-19-D-0042); Southern Dredging Co. Inc.,* Charleston, South Carolina (W912EP-19-D-0043); Southwind Construction Corp.,* Evansville, Indiana (W912EP-19-D-0044); and Waterfront Property Service LLC, doing business as Gator Dredging,* Clearwater, Florida (W912EP-19-D-0045), will compete for each order of the $495,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for dredging and shore protection projects. Bids were solicited via the internet with 24 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity. HB&A LLC,* Colorado Springs, Colorado (W9128F-19-D-0004); Kenneth Hahn Architects Inc.,* Omaha, Nebraska (W9128F-19-D-0005); and Yeager Architecture Inc.,* Overland Park, Kansas (W9128F-19-D-0006), will compete for each order of the $30,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for preparation of studies, analysis and design services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 22 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity. PRIDE Industries, Roseville, California, was awarded a $20,122,695 modification (P00008) to contract W91247-18-C-0011 for repair and maintenance support. Work will be performed in Fort Polk, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2023. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $5,772,517 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Mission Installation Contracting Command, Fort Polk, Louisiana, is the contracting activity. A. WBE-CCI JV One LLC,* Itasca, Illinois, was awarded a $7,828,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of a new Air National Guard Fire Crash Rescue Station. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Peoria, Illinois, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 30, 2020. Fiscal 2019 military construction funds in the amount of $7,828,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Property and Fiscal Office Illinois is the contracting activity (W91SMC-19-C-6001). S.D.S Lumber Co.,* Bingen, Washington, was awarded a $7,757,620 modification (P00007) to contract W912EF-18-C-0010 for towboat services. Work will be performed in Walla Walla, Washington, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2021. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $3,638,716 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla, Washington, is the contracting activity. STG Inc.,* Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $7,645,240 firm-fixed-price contract for operational and technical engineering. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $7,645,240 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W91RUS-19-F-0142). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Beacon Point Associates LLC, Cape Coral, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $49,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for medical/surgical supplies. This was a competitive acquisition with 16 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no options. Location of performance is Florida, with a May 14, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DE-19-D-0005). Allied Tube and Conduit Corp., Harvey, Illinois, has been awarded a maximum $46,000,000 firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for barbed tape concertina wire. This is a competitive acquisition with two responses received. This is a two-year base contract with three one-year option periods. Locations of performance are Illinois and Ohio, with an April 30, 2022, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE8E6-19-D-0002). American Medical Depot (AMD), Miramar, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $45,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for medical/surgical supplies. This was a competitive acquisition with 11 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Florida, with a June 11, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DE-19-D-0009). Kandor Manufacturing Inc., Kandor, Puerto Rico, has been awarded a maximum $13,896,462 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Navy working uniform, Blouses/Trousers Type II and III, and maternity blouses. This was a competitive acquisition with five responses received. This is an 18-month base contract with three one-year option periods. Location of performance is Puerto Rico, with an Oct. 29, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-19-D-1163). (Awarded April 30, 2019) AIR FORCE Rockwell Collins Inc., Collins Aerospace – Mission Systems, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been awarded a $43,033,042 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for Next Generation Application Specific Integrated Circuit Preliminary Design Review (PDR). This contract provides for the design, develop, and test of modernized Global Positioning System receivers that are intended for future military applications to the PDR level. Work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is expected to be complete by April 2021. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $9,000,000 are being obligated at time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA8807-19-C-0003). International Business Machines Corp., Yorktown Heights, New York, has been awarded a $7,500,000 other transaction agreement for experimental purposes to provide an IBM Q access license. This agreement provides for remote access to the IBM Q System, a quantum computer with approximately 20 to 50 qubits. Work will be performed in Yorktown Heights, New York, and is expected to be complete by April 30, 2022. Fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $5,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-19-9-0334). NAVY Systems Application and Technologies Inc., Largo, Maryland, is awarded a $14,583,586 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to procure continued support services to the Air Vehicle Modification and Instrumentation (AVMI) Department and the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). Required services include support for the designing, developing, procuring, building, installing, testing and evaluating, calibrating, modifying, operating and maintaining instrumentation on aircraft and engines for the Navy and other government and commercial customers. Work will be performed at Patuxent River, Maryland (74 percent); China Lake, California (13.5 percent); and Point Mugu, California (12.5 percent), and is expected to be completed in November 2020. Working capital (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with four offers received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00421-19-C-0023). *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1831787/source/GovDelivery/