5 mars 2024 | International, C4ISR
Elbit Systems subsidiary to supply shot-spotting sensors in Africa
A combination of electro-optical and acoustic sensors helps pinpoint the origin of weapons fire and explosions as far as 6 miles away.
14 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Air Force to Add 12 Weapons Systems for AI/ML-Informed Predictive Maintenance This Year
The U.S. Air Force is to add a dozen weapons systems to its Enhanced Reliability Centered Maintenance (ERCM) model that employs artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) for predictive maintenance.
Those systems are the Boeing [BA] F-15 fighter, B-52 bomber, RC-135 reconnaissance plane, C-17 transport, and A-10 Thunderbolt II close air support aircraft, the Lockheed Martin [LMT] AC/MC-130 gunships, F-16 fighter, and HH-60 helicopter, the Bell [TXT] and Boeing CV-22 tiltrotor, the Northrop Grumman [NOC] RQ-4 Global Hawk and the General Atomics‘ MQ-9 Reaper.
“We have a couple of different initiatives under what we would call the umbrella of predictive maintenance,” Air Force Lt. Gen. Warren Berry, the service's deputy chief of staff for logistics, engineering and force protection, said during a July 9 Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies' Aerospace Nation virtual discussion. “One is Condition Based Maintenance Plus [CBM+]. We have three weapons systems in there right now: the C-5, the KC-135, and the B-1. They've been doing it for about 18 to 24 months now, and we're starting to get some real return on what it is that the CBM+ is offering us. The other element is called Enhanced Reliability Centered Maintenance [ERCM], which is really laying that artificial intelligence and machine learning on top of the maintenance information system data that we have today and understanding failure rates and understanding mission characteristics of the aircraft and how they fail, and then laying that into the algorithms that then tell us when parts are likely to fail based on failure rates and the algorithms we plug in.”
“We're in the process of adding another 12 weapons systems under the ERCM umbrella this calendar year,” Berry said. Defense Daily has asked Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) for the names of the 12 systems.
AI/ML is to assume a significant role in predictive maintenance for the 11 combatant commands (COCOMs).
JAIC said that its Joint Logistics Mission Initiative (MI), one of six JAIC AI projects, is working “to develop a repeatable, end-to-end AI ecosystem” to bring EHM to scale across the Black Hawk fleet.
EHM, developed in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, “predicts the probability of an engine hot start so decision-makers can consider next steps,” including replacing the engine or holding it back for training missions instead of deployments in high-risk missions, Army Col. Kenneth Kliethermes, JAIC's Joint Logistics MI lead, said in a recent JAIC blog post.
Another JAIC mission initiative, the Joint Warfighting MI, “is working with several COCOMs to build, test, and expand its Smart Sensor, a video processing AI prototype that rides on unmanned aerial vehicles and is trained to identify threats and immediately transmit the video of those threats back to manned computer stations for real-time analysis,” according to the JAIC blog post.
Army Col. Bradley Boyd, the lead for the Joint Warfighting MI, said that the Smart Sensor could lead to “a dramatic reduction in the amount of data that has to be pushed back for a human to cull through.”
“Instead of staring at one video feed and hours and hours of trees and rocks and nothing happening, that person can instead be monitoring 10 video feeds because they are only seeing the stuff that really matters,” Boyd said in the JAIC blog post.
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7 septembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Terrestre, C4ISR
‘A Little Bit Disruptive’: Murray & McCarthy On Army Futures Command
By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR. "It's establishing buy-in over the next three, four, five years from the institution (of the Army)," Gen. Murray said. "It's about establishing buy-in on Capitol Hill, because if I don't have buy-in there, this won't survive.” DEFENSE NEWS CONFERENCE: The Army's new Futures Command won't tear down the most failure–prone procurement system in the entire US military. Instead, both its commander and the Army's No. 2 civilian emphasize they want to be just “a little bit disruptive” and “work with the institution.” That will disappoint critics of the service's chronically troubled acquisition programs who saw the Army's much-touted “biggest reorganization in 40 years” as an opportunity to tear the whole thing down and start again. The necessary change to Army culture “is going to take time,” brand-new four-star Gen. John “Mike” Murray said here yesterday, “and I think you do that by being a little bit disruptive, but not being so disruptive you upset the apple cart.” “It's hard, Sydney, because you know, you have to work with the institution,” Undersecretary Ryan McCarthy told me after he and Murray addressed the conference. “You don't want to go in there and just break things.” Work Through The Pain Reform's still plenty painful, acknowledged McCarthy, who's played a leading role in round after round of budget reviews, cutting some programs to free up funding for the Army's Big Six priorities. The choices were especially hard for 2024 and beyond, when top priorities like robotic armored vehicles and high-speed aircraft move from the laboratory to full-up prototypes. “You've got a lot of people out investing, and they're all doing good things, but they weren't the priorities of the leadership,” McCarthy told me yesterday. “You have to explain to folks why you're doing what you're doing. You need them focused on the priorities of the institution” – that is, of the Army as a whole, as set by leadership, rather than of bureaucratic fiefdoms with a long history of going their own way. But what about the pushback from constituencies who see their priorities being cut, particularly upgrades to keep current platforms combat-ready until their replacements finally arrive? “If you don't accept the risk that you talked about, (if you don't) slow down or stop the upgrade of legacy systems, you never get to next generation equipment,” brand-new four-star Gen. John “Mike” Murray said here yesterday, “and I think you do that by being a little bit disruptive, but not being so disruptive you upset the apple cart.” In other words, funding for incremental upgrades will crowd out funding for potential breakthroughs. That's largely because the incremental approach looks lower-risk – right up to the point where the enemy fields something revolutionary that your evolutionary approach can't counter. Full article: https://breakingdefense.com/2018/09/a-little-bit-disruptive-murray-mccarthy-on-army-futures-command
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22 juillet 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense
Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - July 19, 2019
MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY Lockheed Martin Corp., Missiles and Fire Control, Dallas, Texas, is being awarded a firm-fixed-price, $1,473,941,756 modification (P00019) to previously-awarded contract HQ0147-17-C-0032 for the procurement of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Interceptor support items in support of the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The value of this contract is increased from $3,890,665,224 to $5,364,606,980. One offer was solicited with one offer received. The work will be performed in Dallas, Texas; Sunnyvale, California; Huntsville, Alabama; Camden, Arkansas; and Troy, Alabama. The period of performance is from July 19, 2019, through July 31, 2023. KSA FMS funds in the amount of $340,940,179 are being obligated at time of award. The Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE United Technologies Corp., doing business as Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Connecticut, has been awarded a $253,708,434 indefinite-delivery-requirements contract for engine module remanufacture. This contract provides for F100-PW-100/-200/-220/-220E/-229/-229EEP engine module remanufacture for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) partner countries. Work will be performed at East Hartford, Connecticut; Midland, Georgia; and Midwest City, Oklahoma, and is expected to be completed by July 30, 2024. This contract involves foreign military sales to Chile, Indonesia, Taiwan, Poland, Greece, Iraq, Pakistan, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Thailand and Morocco. No funds are being obligated at the time of award. This award is the result of a sole source acquisition. The Air Force Sustainment Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (FA8121-19-D-0005). Raytheon Corp., Marlborough, Massachusetts, is being awarded a $191,011,135 modification (P00084) to previously awarded contract FA8705-14-C-0001 for exercising the production option under contract line numbers 0004, 0005, 0007, 0008 and 0018 for global aircrew strategic network terminal. This modification brings the total cumulative value of the contract from $499,014,088 to $690,025,223. Work will be performed at Largo, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 19, 2021. Fiscal 2019 procurement funds in the amount of $154,685,867 are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Material Command, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity. DynCorp International LLC., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $37,641,699 modification (P00004) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract FA7014-18-F-5045 for the executive airlift maintenance support contract. This contract provides for aircraft maintenance and back shop support of aircraft. Work will be performed at Joint Base Andrews, Naval Air Facility, Washington, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $37,641,699 will be obligated at the time of award. The 11th Contracting Squadron Services Flight, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity. The University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, has been awarded a $7,441,142 cost reimbursement contract for space solar array architecture, power generation, and energy storage and distribution research. This contract provides for the development of advanced materials, interfaces, and electrical contacts for high efficiency and high specific power tandem thin film photovoltaic technologies to meet the needs of the Air Force for on-demand power in space. Work will be performed at Bancroft, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by July 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and four offers were received. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $6,617,000 are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico, is the contracting activity (FA9453-19-C-1002). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Brit Systems LLC, Dallas, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $400,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for digital imaging network picture archiving communications system products and maintenance. This was a competitive acquisition with nine offers received. This is the sixth contract competitively awarded under the open solicitation, SPE2D1-15-R-0004. This is a five-year base contract with one five-year option period. Locations of performance are Texas, and other areas located within and outside the continental U.S., with a July 18, 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 (SPE2D1-19-D-0020). Hartford Provisions Co., doing business as HPC Foodservice, South Windsor, Connecticut, has been awarded a maximum $7,576,803 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution for customers located in the southern New England area (Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island). This was a sole-source acquisition in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a 219-day contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Connecticut, with a Feb. 22, 2020, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Air National Guard and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-19-D-3235). Awarded July 18, 2019 NAVY Allied Systems Co.,* Sherwood, Oregon, is awarded a $70,655,603 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide for the design, development, test and manufacture of production of the new Carrier Crash and Salvage Crane (CCSC) and Amphibious Crash and Salvage Crane (ACSC). The CCSC and ACSC will be used for lifting and moving disabled aircraft on carrier vessel, nuclear and landing helicopter assault, and landing helicopter dock class ship flight decks. The CCSC and ACSC will replace the legacy A/S32A-35A and -52 Carrier Vessel Crash Cranes; and the A/S32A-36A and -53 Amphibious Assault Crash Cranes. This effort also includes engineering and logistics support. Work will be performed in Sherwood, Oregon, and is expected to be completed in July 2024. 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, with three offers received. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N68335-19-D-0135). Progeny Systems Corp., Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $51,071,180 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the procurement of Navy systems engineering services, hardware and software. This contract includes options, which if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $93,171,904. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (70%); Virginia Beach, Virginia (10%); Charleroi, Pennsylvania (10%); and Middletown, Rhode Island (10%); and is expected to be complete by June 2020, and if all options are exercised, work would continue to completion by July 2027. Royal Australian Navy funding in the amount of $1,235,312; and fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $709,443 will be obligated at time of award and does not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(5). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-6118). Raytheon Co., Marlborough, Massachusetts, is awarded a $27,344,029 cost-plus, incentive-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-14-C-5315 to settle a request for equitable adjustment for contractor provision of Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) program Pacific Missile Range Facility site generators and associated support hardware resulting from a government change order. The AMDR contract includes engineering and manufacturing development (EMD), as well as options for up to nine low-rate initial production shipsets. This modification increases the value of the AMDR EMD phase to account for new scope resulting from a government change order directing the contractor to provide Pacific Missile Range Facility site generators and support. Work was performed in Marlborough, Massachusetts (60%); and Kekaha, Hawaii (40%), and was completed in June 2018. Obligation of funds is not required. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics Mission Systems, Fairfax, Virginia, is awarded a $26,053,985 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-only contract for the procurement of Navy systems engineering services. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $211,479,513. This contract involves foreign military sales to Australia. Work will be performed in Fairfax, Virginia (89%); Cape Canaveral, Florida (6%); and Pawcatuck, Connecticut (5%), and is expected to be completed by July 2021. If all options are exercised, work will continue through July 2027. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $210,242; and Royal Australian Navy funding in the amount of $600,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with three offers received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-6407). General Dynamics Mission Systems, Fairfax, Virginia, is awarded a $22,778,107 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-19-C-6407 to exercise options for Navy systems engineering services. Work will be performed in Fairfax, Virginia, and is expected to be completed July 2022. If all options are exercised, work will continue through July 2027. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,220,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. PC Mechanical Inc., Santa Maria, California, is awarded a $19,000,000 firm-fixed-price modification under a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N39430-15-D-1604) to exercise Option Four for inspection, overhaul, repair, refurbishment, preventive maintenance and logistics management information services to reconstitute the force of civil engineer support equipment (CESE) and civil engineer end items (CEEI) under the CESE/CEEI Life Extension Program (CLEP) at Naval Base, Ventura County. Work to be performed provides for management of CLEP to obtain inspection; overhaul; repair; refurbishment; preventive maintenance; and logistics management information services for automotive vehicles, construction equipment (motorized and non-motorized), special military construction and commercial support equipment, material and weight handling equipment, water well drilling equipment, mineral products and plant facility equipment, international standard organization shipping container assets, power production and environmental control unit equipment, fire and emergency response vehicles, and small boats and watercraft to support the Navy and other Department of Defense components worldwide. The total contract amount after exercise of this option will be $95,000,000. No task orders are being issued at this time. We work will be performed in Port Hueneme, California (60%); and Gulfport, Mississippi (40%), and is expected to be completed July 2020. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. Task orders will be primarily funded by fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy). The Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity. ARMY PAE Government Systems Inc., Arlington, Virginia, was awarded a $22,578,864 modification (P00012) to Foreign Military Sales (Afghanistan) contract W56HZV-17-C-0117 for contractor logistic support efforts to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. Work will be performed in Kabul, Afghanistan, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 30, 2022. Fiscal 2019 Afghanistan Security Forces funds in the amount of $22,578,864 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. TDX Quality LLC,* Anchorage, Alaska, was awarded a $19,315,709 firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of Alaska U.S. Property and Fiscal Office Building at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, with an estimated completion date of March 12, 2021. Fiscal 2019 military construction funds in the amount of $19,315,709 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Property and Fiscal Office, Alaska, is the contracting activity (W91ZRU-19-C-0003). Inland Dredging Co. LLC, Dyersburg, Tennessee, was awarded a $16,744,000 firm-fixed-price contract for furnishing one fully-crewed and equipped hydraulic pipeline cutterhead dredge on a rental basis for the removal and satisfactory disposal of shoal material. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 15, 2021. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, Louisiana, is the contracting activity (W912P8-19-D-0012). DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY Iridium Satellite LLC., Tempe, Arizona, was awarded a non-competitive, firm-fixed-price contract modification (P00013) for the extension of services on the current Airtime contract (HC104714C4000). The face value of this action is $8,836,000 funded by fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $478,194,000. Performance will be at the contractor's facility. The original solicitation was issued on the basis of other than full and open competition pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1), only one responsible source and no other type of supplies or services would satisfy agency requirements. The period of performance is July 22, 2019, through Aug. 21, 2019. The Defense Information Technology Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. *Small Business