13 juillet 2020 | International, Terrestre

As Defender 2020 drill winds down, US Army plans for 2021 edition

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WASHINGTON — As the last portions of the altered Defender 2020 exercise kick into gear, the U.S. Army is beginning to plan its 2021 edition, a top general said Thursday.

Speaking at a Defense News virtual panel on trans-Atlantic alliances Brig. Gen. Sean Bernabe, deputy commander of U.S. Army Europe, expressed confidence that Defender 2021 will be able to happen despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“We've been continuing to look forward now that we've gained some confidence that we can train large-scale, collective [military exercises] in this environment,” Bernabe said. “We've been looking further and further forward. As we speak, we're planning exercise Defender Europe 2021, to take place in the late spring, early summer of 2021, focused in the Black Sea and Balkans.”

Planning “is underway, again informed by our experiences between March and June. Having validated that we can do it, we're confident that we'll figure it out in partnership with our allies,” he added. “I feel confident that we will [be able to] maintain readiness and interoperability across Europe, despite COVID, regardless of how long it may be a part of our operating environment.”

Bernabe predicted the 2021 exercise will likely be smaller than 2020′s planned version, which should be no surprise.

Defender 2020 was billed as the third-largest military exercise in Europe since the end of the Cold War, a major test of the United States' ability to move stateside forces to locations across Europe, including Poland, the Baltics, some Nordic nations and Germany. A total of 20,000 soldiers were expected to participate.

However, the COVID-19 outbreak forced the Army to hit pause on the exercise in March just as it was starting. Several smaller, related drills were canceled outright, and U.S. forces were sent back home. A smaller associated exercise picked up again in June.

Bernabe's comments came just hours before the Army announced that a combined arms battalion would deploy to Europe between July 14 and Aug. 22 as part of the “final phase” of the modified Defender 2020 exercise.

The deployment will involve 550 soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas, with the 1st Cavalry Division Headquarters in Poznan, Poland, serving as mission command.

Approximately 55 Abrams tanks and Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles will take part. The tanks will be equipped with the Trophy active protection system so the Army can “assess and experience the dynamics of moving and installing the system in a field environment.”

At the end of June, the European Union put citizens of the United States on a list of countries barred from traveling to EU member states due to the continued spread of COVID-19. However, military movements are exempt from that rule, and Bernabe believes the Army has a good plan in place for the intake of forces into Europe.

“To be good neighbors, we are using some very, I'd say, aggressive approaches to make sure that we are screening and testing for COVID as personnel arrive,” he said. “Make sure that we're putting in the mandatory 14 days' [quarantine], making sure that we continue screening, we wear masks, we practice physical distancing to make sure that we're not bringing infection into Europe while we focus on maintaining the military readiness.

“So thankfully we've worked with our host nations to continue to flow personnel into and out of Europe.”

https://www.defensenews.com/news/your-army/2020/07/10/as-defender-2020-winds-down-army-planning-for-2021-underway/

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  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - March 03, 2020

    4 mars 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - March 03, 2020

    AIR FORCE Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum Heights, Maryland, has been awarded a $262,281,057 firm-fixed-price modification (P00027) to contract FA8615-17-C-6047 for Active Electronically Scanned Array radars of Air Force F-16 aircraft. This modification is for the exercise of options to include 15 engineering, manufacturing and development (EMD); and 90 production radars, as well as associated support equipment and spares. Work will be performed at Linthicum Heights, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by December 2022. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $553,448,803. Fiscal 2020 research and development funds in the amount of $34,182,567; fiscal 2018 procurement funds in the amount of $88,201,189; and fiscal 2020 procurement funds in the amount of $197,955,911 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Fighter Bomber Directorate, F-16 Division, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. CAE USA-Mission Solutions Inc., Tampa, Florida, has been awarded a $10,586,540 firm-fixed-price modification (P00033) to contract FA4890-17-C-0006 for the F-15E, F-16 and F-22A contract aircrew training and courseware development contract. The contract modification is for exercising Option Year Three. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $50,064,347. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds will be obligated in the amount of $10,586,540 by April 1, 2020. The performance locations are as follows: Langley Air Force Base (AFB), Virginia; Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina; Shaw AFB, South Carolina; Tyndall AFB, Florida; Nellis AFB, Nevada; Hill AFB, Utah; and Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. Work is expected to be completed by March 31, 2021, for this option period. Air Combat Command Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Langley AFB, Virginia, is the contracting activity. ARMY Technica, Charleston, South Carolina, was awarded a $181,708,286 cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price contract for logistics support services at Fort Bliss, Texas. Bids were solicited via the internet with seven received. Work will be performed in Fort Bliss, Texas, with an estimated completion date of April 3, 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $181,708,286 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-20-F-0184). Airbus Helicopters Inc., Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $122,655,293 modification (P00012) to contract W58RGZ-18-C-0007 for procurement of 15 UH-72 Aircraft. Work will be performed in Columbus, Mississippi, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement, Army funds in the amount of $122,655,293 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. The Ross Group Construction Corp., Tulsa, Oklahoma, was awarded a $26,755,960 firm-fixed-price contract to renovate Bldg. 1634 Volar Barracks, Fort Polk, Louisiana. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work will be performed in Fort Polk, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 12, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $26,755,960 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-20-C-0013). NAVY QED Systems Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (N64498-20-D-0005); Gryphon Technologies LC, Washington, District of Columbia (N64498-20-D-0006); McKean Defense Group LLC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (N64498-20-D-0007); and HII Fleet Support Group LLC, Virginia Beach, Virginia (N64498-20-D-0008), are awarded $49,497,614 for an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts for services related to technical, process and programmatic support for integrated logistics and technical documentation. Work locations will vary according to individual task orders; 25% of the work will be executed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and 75% of work will be accomplished at contractor site locations to include Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Norfolk, Virginia; San Diego, California; Marionette, Wisconsin; Kings Bay, Georgia; Port Hueneme, California; Corona, California; Honolulu, Hawaii; Bremerton, Washington; Mayport, Florida; Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; Yokosuka, Japan, Manama, Bahrain; Washington, District of Columbia, and other areas as directed. Work is expected to be completed by March 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $100,000 ($25,000 per task order) will be obligated at time of award via individual task orders and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. These contracts are the result of a full and open competitive procurement via the Federal Business Opportunities website. Seven offers were received and in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(a). The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. Aptim Federal Services LLC, Alexandria, Virginia, was awarded a $10,498,157 firm-fixed-price task order (N62473-20-F-4299) under a multiple award construction contract for a mini-mart and gas station at Naval Base San Diego. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and consists of fuel dispensers and overhead canopies. The mini-mart will include a covered retail area, a walk-in beverage cooler, and reach-in coolers and freezers. Additionally, the building will include a receiving area, patron restrooms, employee lounge, office and support spaces. Work is expected to be complete by December 2021. Fiscal 2020 non-appropriated funds (Navy) and contract funds are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Two proposals were received for this task order. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N39430-15-D-1632). (Awarded Feb. 28, 2020) https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2100985/source/GovDelivery/

  • A new electric, unmanned ammunition loader emerges for the Rafale

    2 octobre 2018 | International, Aérospatial

    A new electric, unmanned ammunition loader emerges for the Rafale

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  • Lockheed nets $184.5M for organic depot level repairs on F-35s

    8 novembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial

    Lockheed nets $184.5M for organic depot level repairs on F-35s

    BySommer Brokaw Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin has been awarded $184.5 million repair capabilities on a production lot of F-35 aircraft operated by the Pentagon and other non-Department of Defense program participants. The contract, announced Wednesday by the Department of Defense, tasks Lockheed with establishing organic depot level repair capabilities for the F-35 aircraft under a previously awarded low-rate initial production Lot 11 contract. The work, to support the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and non-DoD participants, is expected to be complete by March 2023. Half of the work will be done in Fort Worth, Texas, where Lockheed is headquartered, with the rest at locations across the United States. Among the aircraft systems and parts the company will be working on are common components, conventional controls, surfaces and edges, electrical/mechanical activation, firewall shutoff valve, radar, wing flap actuator system, hydraulic power generation system, arresting gear, standby flight display, fuel system fan, alternating current contractor module and rudder pedals, according to a Pentagon press release. The F-35 aircraft uses advanced sensors "packaged within a supersonic, long-range, highly maneuverable fighter," according to Lockheed Martin, which allows the stealthy fifth generation aircraft to serve simultaneously in attack and intelligence-gathering roles. Last month, the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin reached a $34 billion deal for 478 F-35s as the price per aircraft dropped. A Lockheed Martin statement noted the deal lowered the cost of an F-35-A, the U.S. Army's variant of the aircraft, below $80 million, in Lot 13 and Lot 14, representing a 12.8 percent reduction from Lot 11 costs, and an average of 12.7 percent savings across all of the combat aircraft's variants from Lots 11 to 14. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/11/07/Lockheed-nets-1845M-for-organic-depot-level-repairs-on-F-35s/9821573147758/

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