Army on path to use space sensors to help guns on the ground see farther

Sur le même sujet

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  2 décembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  Japan Could Pick And Choose Components From Tempest

  Bradley Perrett Japan says it wants international collaboration in developing its Future Fighter for the 2030s, but it wants to lead the project despite limited experience in fighter development. And it aims at a fighter much larger than any operated by a western European country ; the U.S. is not offering a possible joint project. That seems to leave only the choice of indigenous development, perhaps with help from a foreign technical partner. Nevertheless, participation in the UK's Tempest program may also be feasible. The Tempest project—which includes the Royal Air Force, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and MBDA—has a cooperation concept that leaves scope for Japan and other partners to use their own systems, weapons, propulsion and even airframes, says Air Commodore Daniel Storr, head of combat aircraft acquisition at the UK Defense Ministry. The model described by Storr gives Japan the flexibility to choose the size of its own fighter. Though evidently not an objective, this mix-and-match approach also creates an opportunity for Japan to continue to claim development leadership—but also to save money by sharing systems. The policy goal of running its own fighter program, stated in 2018, has looked like a big obstacle to Japan's participation in the Tempest or the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project initiated by France and Germany. But if the Future Fighter shared only some features with Tempest, Japan could reasonably say it was leading its own program. BAE Systems promoted the Tempest program at the DSEI Japan exhibition held in Tokyo fromNov. 18-20. Prospective FCAS prime contractors, such as Airbus, did not show their concept. Storr outlined the flexible model of cooperative development at an exhibition conference, but Japanese speakers at that event did not comment on the prospect of Japan joining Tempest. In a Nov. 1 interview with The Financial Times, newly appointed Defense Minister Taro Kono seemed to play down the possibility of participation in a European program, saying Japan should explore all possibilities but needed to maintain interoperability with U.S. forces. Storr addressed that point, emphasizing that working with the U.S. was a high priority for the UK too. Japan's alternative to international cooperation is developing a fighter by itself with the technical help of a foreign company. Lockheed Martin is supporting the Korea Aerospace Industries KF-X and BAE is helping the Turkish Aerospace Industries TF-X in such an arrangement. By working with Lockheed Martin, Boeing or Northrop Grumman, Tokyo would partially compensate the U.S. for its expenditures in defending Japan. But the U.S. would gain little from technical support fees, and Japan is already committed to buying 147 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightnings as the aircraft to precede the Future Fighters. The defense ministry has asked for the development of the Future Fighter to be launched in the fiscal year beginning April 2020. It is not clear whether that means mobilizing resources to commence full-scale development or taking some lesser step to firm up the commitment to create the aircraft. For the past year, the government's policy has been to launch no later than March 2024. However, Japanese companies, especially fighter builder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), are pushing for a launch as soon as possible. They want to transfer knowledge to young engineers from the older generation that developed Japan's last fighter, the MHI F-2, which the Future Fighter will replace. The UK does not want to commit to launching full-scale development of the Tempest before 2025, but its date for entry into service in 2035 meets Japan's objective, which is sometime in the 2030s. Meanwhile, the FCAS program is aiming at 2040. Sweden and Italy are cooperating with the UK during the current early stage of Tempest research, while Spain has joined France and Germany for FCAS work. Like Storr, BAE has stressed the advantages of partners taking only as much of the Tempest as they want. “There is a range of different partnership models that can be considered,” says Andy Latham, who is working on the program. “Japan has some great technology that any partner can benefit from. Their avionics industry is pretty effective.” The cooperation concept replaces the standard model, one in which partners spend years negotiating and compromising to define a design that all of them must accept. Instead, according to Storr, they can save time and money by agreeing to disagree—to the extent that each is willing to pay the extra cost of independent development and manufacturing of design elements. The Japanese defense ministry's studies point to a need for a very big fighter with an empty weight well above 20 metric tons (40,000 lb.), larger than the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. Superior endurance and internal weapon capacity are the key factors behind this choice. No western European country has operated a fighter more than about two-thirds as big, but Storr said a large configuration for the Tempest cannot be ruled out. The mockup exhibited at the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow was bigger than the F-22. Still, the UK and other European partners might want a much smaller fighter; concept designs that have not been shown are not as big as the mockup. But the concept for cooperation would allow for Japan to devise its own airframe while, for example, using the same engine and some weapons, software and avionics as other partners. The architecture of the software is intended to be open, accepting different programs easily. Tempest researchers will consider which systems and capabilities will go into the fighter and which will be incorporated into the ammunition or an accompanying drone, which could be fully reusable or optionally expendable, Storr says. The FCAS program is taking a similar approach. The Tempest will need great capacity for generating electricity, he says, and the weapon bay should be regarded as a payload bay, perhaps for holding additional fuel that would extend endurance on surveillance missions. The Japanese finance ministry is insisting upon private investment in the Future Fighter program, in part to ensure contractors are fully incentivized to prevent failure. Contractors will be able to make money in civil programs from technology developed for the fighter, says the ministry, which is highly influential but does not have a final say. “Judging from past program examples, it is clear that the Future Fighter program would bring a risk of a budget overrun and schedule slippage, but would also benefit the private sector,” the finance ministry said in an October presentation to the Council on Fiscal Policy, an advisory body. “The government and private sector should invest funds and resources to build a failure-proof framework.” Noting that MHI used technology from the F-2 program in its development and manufacturing of the outer wing boxes of the Boeing 787, the ministry says contractors can expect to gain similar opportunities for civil applications of technology from the Future Fighter program—so they should invest in it. https://aviationweek.com/defense/japan-could-pick-and-choose-components-tempest

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  12 septembre 2024 | International, Aérospatial

  Lockheed Martin Tapped for Additional Norwegian TPY-4 Radars, Completes Critical Design Review on Schedule

  Lockheed Martin’s TPY-4 radars are crucial components of Norway’s defense and are the most suitable choice for supporting all-domain deterrence in the Nordic region

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  27 novembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - November 26, 2019

  NAVY Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded an $831,008,187 modification to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm-target, firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-17-C-0001). This modification provides for the production and delivery of 15 lot 14 F-35A aircraft and associated red gear in support of the Government of Australia. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (59%); El Segundo, California (14%); Warton, United Kingdom (9%); Cameri, Italy (4%); Orlando, Florida (4%); Nashua, New Hampshire (3%); Baltimore, Maryland (3%); San Diego, California (2%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (2%), and is expected to be completed in March 2023. Non-U.S. Department of Defense participant funds in the amount of $831,008,187 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. Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $327,950,000 fixed-price-incentive-firm-target advance acquisition contract to procure long lead material, parts and components in support of the Lot 15 production and delivery of 48 F-35A Lightning II aircraft for the Air Force. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (35%); El Segundo, California (25%); Warton, United Kingdom (20%); Orlando, Florida (10%); Nashua, New Hampshire (5%); and Baltimore, Maryland (5%), and is expected to be completed in June 2023. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $327,950,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-20-C-0009). Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, is awarded a $29,180,420 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously-awarded contract N00024-16-C-5103 for additional Aegis combat system engineering, computer program maintenance, in-country support, staging support and implementation studies in support of current and future Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Aegis shipbuilding programs in support of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force, Republic of Korea Navy, Spanish Armada, Royal Australian Navy and Royal Norwegian Navy, with scope available to support other potential FMS customers. The current Aegis FMS programs supported include the Japanese Kongo and Atago-class ships, Korean KDX III class ships, Spanish F-100 and F-110 program, Norwegian F310-class ships and Australian Hunter and Hobart-class ships. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey (96%); Tokyo, Japan (1%); Seoul, South Korea (1%); Bergen, Norway (1%); and Adelaide, Australia (1%), and is expected to be completed by June 2020. FMS funding in the amount of $29,180,420 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. University of Missouri at Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri, was awarded a $27,248,586 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Short Pulse Research, Evaluation and non-Space, Weight and Power (SWAP) demonstration for Counter-Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-sUAS). Work will be performed in Kansas City, Missouri, and is expected to be completed by March 2022. The period of performance is 55 months including a 48-month base period, three 24-month option periods, two 32-month option periods, and three 36-month option periods, which will run concurrently Fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation, Navy funds in the amount of of $8,314,445 are obligated at time of award and incrementally funded with a base period valued at $7,913,051 and options at $19,335,535, and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was originally competitively procured under N00014-18-S-B001 FY18 long range broad agency announcement (BAA). Since proposals will be received throughout the year under the long range BAA, the number of proposals received in response to the solicitation cannot be determined at this time. Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia is the contracting activity (N00014-18- C-1017-P00006). (Awarded Nov. 25, 2019) Applied Physical Sciences Corp, Groton, Connecticut, was awarded a $23,225,953 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the multi-disciplinary tools, technologies, and experimental methods in support of future naval platform stealth and operations. Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut (87%); and Cheswick, Pennsylvania (13 %), and is expected to be completed by October 2024. The total cumulative value of this contract including the base period is $23,225,953. This contract has no options. Fiscal year 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation, Navy funds in the amount of $146,749 are obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under N00014-19-S-B001, “Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology.” Since proposals will be received throughout the year under the long range BAA, the number of proposals received in response to the solicitation cannot be determined at this time. Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00014- 20-C-0001). (Awarded Nov. 25, 2019) Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, is awarded a $17,620,319 fixed-price-incentive (firm target), cost and cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-14-C-5104 to exercise options for ship integration and test of the AEGIS Weapon System (AWS) for AWS Baselines through Advanced Capability Build (ACB) 12. The contract provides for AEGIS shipboard integration engineering, AEGIS test team support, AEGIS modernization team engineering support, ballistic missile defense test team support, and AWS element assessments. This contract will cover the AWS ship integration and test efforts for five new construction DDG 51 class ships, the major modernization of five DDG 51 class ships, and the major modernization of six CG 47 class ships. It will additionally cover the integrated combat system modifications and upgrades for all current ships with all AWS baselines up to and including ACB 12. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia (44%); Everett, Washington (42%); Pascagoula, Mississippi (4%); Bath, Maine (3%); Moorestown, New Jersey (3%); Camden, New Jersey (2%); and various places below one percent (2%), and is expected to be complete by November 2021. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy-OPN); fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance (Navy-OMN); and fiscal 2013 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy-SCN) funding in the amount of $10,882,412 will be obligated at the time of award, and $589,453 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year — fiscal 2020 OPN, 92%; fiscal 2020 OMN, 5%; and fiscal 2013 SCN, 3%. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $13,741,368 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order (N00019-20-F-0338) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-16-G-0001). This delivery order provides production engineering support for the installment and integration of weapon systems on the F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G aircraft. This delivery order also includes an option for research development, test and evaluation production engineering support. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (82%); and St. Louis, Missouri (18%), and is expected to be completed in December 2020. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $13,641,692 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. Centurum Information Technology Inc., Marlton, New Jersey, is awarded an $11,665,502 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide technical sustainment engineering, logistics and modernization support for integrated and non-integrated shipboard and ashore installations of satellite communications systems. Support will be provided to the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Army, Air Force and Department of Homeland Security programs. This one-year contract includes four one-year options, which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contact to an estimated $59,414,364. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (40%); onboard Navy ships (40%); and at the contractor's facilities in Marlton, New Jersey (20%). The period of performance of the base award is Nov. 26, 2019, to Nov. 25, 2020. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through Nov. 25, 2024. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and other procurement (Navy) funds. This contract was competitively procured via Request for Proposal N66001-18-R-0119, which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Two proposals were received and one was selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-20-D-0119). University of Missouri at Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri, was awarded an $8,514,445 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract N00014-18-C-1017. The total value of this contract is $27,248,586, including base and exercised options. This modification provides for the short pulse research, evaluation and non-space, weight and power demonstration for counter-small unmanned aerial systems. Work will be performed at Kansas City, Missouri, with an expected completion date of March 2022. Fiscal 2019 research, development test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,314,445 are obligated at time of award. Contract funds in the amount of $8,314,445 will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Nov. 25, 2019) Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama, is awarded a $7,993,893 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-11-C-2301) for littoral combat ships (LCS) industrial post-delivery availability (IPDA) support for LCS 24. This contract modification is for IPDA efforts for LCS 24. Austal USA will provide shipboard support to implement approved engineering change proposals, approved government-responsible deficiencies identified during test and trials, and crew-related activities and preventative maintenance. Austal will also provide program management support and logistics support for technical documentation affected by the work performed. Work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama (80%); and Pittsfield, Massachusetts (20%), and is expected to be completed by October 2020. Fiscal 2015 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $3,000,000 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 (N00024-11-C-2301). AIR FORCE M1 Support Services, Denton, Texas, has been awarded a $101,871,372 modification to previously awarded contract FA4890-16-C-0005 for the backshop and flight line maintenance of multiple aircraft types on Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The contract modification provides for the exercise of an option for an additional year of maintenance support under the multiple year contract. Work will be performed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2020. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $526,894,462. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $101,871,372 will be obligated at the time of the award. The Air Combat Command, Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, is the contracting activity. The Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory LLC, Laurel, Maryland, has been awarded a $93,000,000 bilateral modification (P00002) to previously awarded contract FA8819-18-D-0009 for additional engineering support services, systems engineering for complex systems, specialized research and development and other support functions. This modification increases the ceiling of the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract from the previously awarded amount of $93,000,000 to $186,000,000. Work will be performed at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, and is expected to be completed by May 10, 2025. The total ceiling of the contract is $186,000,000. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance; and fiscal 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 research and development funds are being used and no funding is being obligated at the time of the award. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity. Coulson Aircrane Ltd., Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada, has been awarded a $39,262,254 firm-fixed and cost-type contract to procure design, engineering, development, manufacture and install of a 4000 gallon fire retardant delivery system for California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The contract award provides a 27 month period of performance. Work will be performed at Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada, and is expected to be completed by February 2022. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $39,262,254. Fiscal 2018, 2019 and 2020 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $36,730,820 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8504-20-C-0001). Phoenix Management Inc., Austin, Texas, has been awarded a $12,097,480 face value, firm-fixed-price, cost reimbursable, labor hour modification (P00004) to previously awarded contract FA6606-19-C-A003 for base operations support services at Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts. This contract modification is for the addition of an option for an additional 12 months of service. Work will be performed at Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2020. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $20,942,258. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds are being used and no funds are being obligated at the time of award. The 439th Contracting Flight, Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Corp., Marlborough, Massachusetts, has been awarded an $8,517,484 modification (P00093) under previously awarded contract FA8705-14-C-0001 to exercise the interim contractor support, data and travel option for Global Aircrew Strategic Network Terminal. Work will be performed at Largo, Florida, and is expected to be completed by December 2020. The total cumulative value of the contract is now $348,366,192. Fiscal 2019 other procurement funds in the amount of $8,517,484 are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Material Command, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity. The Raytheon Co., Marlborough, Massachusetts, has been awarded an $8,308,308 cost-plus-fixed-fee change order contract modification (P00148) to the previously award contract FA8705-13-C-0005 for the Software InfoSec Module (SIM) Support Fixture (SSF). The contract modification is for the development and test of the SSF, which is used to maintain operational spare SIMS on the shelf to maintain the Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals Operation availability requirement for fielded sites. Work will be performed at Marlborough, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by August 2020. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $400,411,224. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 research, development, test and evaluation in the amount of $500,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity. ARMY Leidos, Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $71,539,840 modification (P00010) to contract W52P1J-18-C-0047 for support services at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant, Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant and the Anniston Field Office. Work will be performed in Reston, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 23, 2028. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation Army funds in the amount of $6,941,878 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Complete Mobile Dentistry,* Windsor, Wisconsin, was awarded a $19,832,365 firm-fixed-price contract for personal services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 21 received. Work will be performed in Windsor, Wisconsin, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2020. Fiscal 2020 Department of Defense acquisition workforce development funds in the amount of $19,832,365 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Health Contracting Activity, San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity (W81K04-20-F-0011). Complete Mobile Dentistry,* Windsor, Wisconsin, was awarded a $15,013,694 firm-fixed-price contract for personal services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 21 received. Work will be performed in Windsor, Wisconsin, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2020. Fiscal 2020 Department of Defense acquisition workforce development funds in the amount of $15,013,694 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Health Contracting Activity, San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity (W81K04-20-F-0014). Pick Electric Inc.,* Spokane, Washington, was awarded a $9,157,622 firm-fixed-price contract for upgrades to the direct current system and low voltage switchgears at the lower Granite Lock and Dam powerhouse. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Pomeroy, Washington, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 11, 2023. Fiscal 2020 firm-fixed-price funds in the amount of $5,351,690 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla, Washington, is the contracting activity (W912EF-20-C-0003). Crawford Consulting,* East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $9,900,000 firm-fixed-price contract for engineering and construction management services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 10 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York, New York, is the contracting activity (W912DS-20-D-0001). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Sustainment Technologies LLC, Bryan, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $32,500,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for hospital equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency electronic catalog. This was a competitive acquisition with 101 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Texas, with a Nov. 25, 2024, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DH-20-D-0024). U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Marietta, Georgia, was a awarded a maximum $93,000,000 modification on an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (H92403-18-D-0002-P00002) for operational flight program upgrades on SOF C-130 fixed wing aircraft along with systems engineering and integration support activities encompassing multiple third party systems sources for U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). The work will be performed in Marietta and is expected to be completed by April 2024. This contract was awarded on a sole-source basis. USSOCOM Headquarters, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity. *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2027618/source/GovDelivery/