BAE Systems to Sustain Air Traffic Control Systems Under $65.7M Navy Contract

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  25 juin 2020 | International, Naval

  US Navy announces intent to ink $10B in contracts for first 2 Columbia subs

  By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy is poised to ink almost $10.4 billion in contracts with General Dynamics Electric Boat to procure the first two Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, which carry more than a dozen nuclear missiles on constant deterrent patrols. The announcement, released by the Defense Department Monday afternoon, detailed an award of $869 million to Electric Boat to complete design work on the subs as part of a contract modification. The announcement also establishes the Navy's intent to award an additional $9.5 billion for the first two hulls, which will happen once Congress officially approves the two-ship buy and appropriates the money. “The intent would be to award that option as soon as possible after the FY21 appropriation to ensure we keep this No. 1 priority on track,” said James Geurts, the Navy's assistant secretary for research, development and acquisition. “That will allow us to begin full-rate construction of the first ship, begin advanced construction on the second ship, with the intent of beginning construction of the second ship in 2024.” The first ship is slated for a 2028 deliver and to go on its first patrol in 2031. The total buy is planned for 12 submarines. In a statement Rep. Joe Courntey, D-Conn., who represents the Electric Boat's district, praised the announcement, saying it was years in the making. “This award is the culmination of nearly a decade's worth of preparation for this milestone moment for our region and our nation,” Courntey said. “The replacement of our sea-based strategic deterrent comes only once every other generation, and this work is already fueling unprecedented growth in the workforce in Groton and transformation of the shipyard.” The Columbia-class subs are the Navy's top acquisition priority, and a monstrously expensive one at that. All in, the program will cost roughly $109 billion, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report, and the service faces an enormous challenge in balancing the rest of the fleet's priorities with the Columbia bill. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/06/22/us-navy-announces-intent-to-ink-10-billion-in-contracts-for-first-2-columbia-subs/

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  25 juillet 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR

  Rebuilding America’s Military: Thinking About the Future

  Dakota Wood SUMMARY America's military—engaged beyond capacity and in need of rebuilding—is at a crucial juncture. Its current “big-leap” approach to preparing for future conflict carries great risk in searching for revolutionary capabilities through force-wide commitments to major single-solution programs. The Heritage Foundation's Rebuilding America's Military Project (RAMP) recommends that the U.S. military instead adopt an iterative, experimentation-heavy approach that can achieve revolutionary outcomes at less risk through evolutionary improvements that build on each other until transformative tipping points are reached. Critical to this is a military culture that is immersed in the study of war and a force of sufficient capacity to prepare for the future while also handling current operational commitments. https://www.heritage.org/defense/report/rebuilding-americas-military-thinking-about-the-future

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  8 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval

  House Appropriators Add 12 F-35s, Boost Weapons Spending, But…

  "To us, it means that there is going to be much more tension and debate over future modernization programs as flat investment will not enable DoD to recapitalize in a timely and militarily relevant pace," says defense analyst Byron Callan. By COLIN CLARKon July 07, 2020 at 7:38 PM WASHINGTON: House appropriators made their first cut at the annual defense spending bill today, approving spending $3.5 billion below the Trump Administration's request — although lawmakers added a substantial $4.1 billion for several weapons systems, including 12 additional F-35s. Overall, the House Appropriations Committee trimmed $3.5 billion from the Trump Administration's 2021 budget request while still fully paying for a 3% pay raise and force structure increases to all but the Marines, who will lose 2,100 people. The appropriators approval of an increase in F-35 buys makes it unlikely the House Armed Services Committee's skepticism of the Joint Strike Fighter program will prevail. The HASC added no more planes above the administration request for 79 aircraft of all three models and docked at least a score of supporting line items by a total of $561 million. By contrast the SASC added $1.36 billion to buy more Air Force F-35As, Marine F-35Bs, and Navy F-35Cs, plus spare parts. In other bump ups, the HAC funds 11 V-22 aircraft, adding $1.1 billion to buy two more than the request. It also adds three P-8A Poseidon aircraft for the Navy Reserve, three more than the request for an additional $510 million. And echoing the House authorizing committee's support, the HAC added 16 MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles to the Pentagon request, for a cost of $344 million. But making sense of the HAC-D bill is difficult because it's not yet clear what and where they've cut, as veteran defense stock analyst Byron Callan notes. It all gets complicated by the CARES Act and adjustments to contracts that have been made. Overall, Callan says, it looks as if fiscal 2020 — last year — may have been the peak of whatever Trump defense boost there has been. But it's all uncertain. “Absent the pandemic budget impacts, however, the markups so far suggest that FY20 was a peak for DoD investment. This does not mean investment is at the peak and headed fast downhill in FY21 and beyond,” Callan writes. “To us, it means that there is going to be much more tension and debate over future modernization programs as flat investment will not enable DoD to recapitalize in a timely and militarily relevant pace.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/07/house-appropriators-add-12-f-35s-boost-weapons-spending-but/