25 mars 2024 | International, Terrestre
The Baltic Security Initiate saw an increase in funding, up to $228m, following the passage of US government funding legislation.
19 octobre 2023 | International, Terrestre, C4ISR
This agreement with LIG Nex1 builds on Northrop Grumman’s decades of delivering advanced defense solutions to the Republic of Korea
26 juin 2019 | International, Naval
By Allen Cone June 25 (UPI) -- L3 Technologies Inc. was awarded a $73.7 million contract for repair, upgrades and overall services for the U.S. Navy's submarine photonics mast programs. Ninety-eight percent of the work will be performed at the company's plant in Northampton, Mass., the Department of Defense announced Monday, and is expected to be completed by June 2025. Naval fiscal 2019 other procurement funding in the amount of $2.1 million will be obligated on the first delivery order at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. A photonics mast is a sensor on a submarine that functions much like a periscope but without requiring a periscope tube. This prevents water leakage in the event of damage. Virginia-class submarines include two photonics masts that host visible and infrared digital cameras atop telescoping arms, allowing the ship's control room to moved down one deck and away from the hull's curvature, according to the Navy. The non hull-penetrating device significantly reduces the signature of the periscope, "making it less identifiable as a U.S. Navy submarine because it appears similar to existing periscopes," according to L3. In 2013, L-3 was awarded a $48.7 million contract from the Naval Sea Systems Command to develop and build a new, slimmer version of its photonics mast for use on Virginia-class submarines. L-3 was contracted to produce up to 29 photonics masts over a subsequent four-year period, as well as engineering services and provisioning item orders with a contract maximum ceiling value of $157 million. The newest variant is the Block 4, including the Vermont, which was christened in 2018 and became the 19th in the Virginia class. Nine other subs are currently under construction, according to the Navy. L-3, which is one the leading submarine imaging providers in the world, will officially merge with Harris Corporation in an all-stock deal that will close on Saturday after receiving regulatory approval. "Receiving these approvals marks the successful completion of a thorough regulatory review process - clearing the way for one of the largest mergers in defense industry history," William M. Brown, Chairman, CEO and president of Harris, said in a statement. The company will be named L3Harris Technologies, Inc. Harris provides services in three business segments: communication, electronic, and space and intelligence. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/06/25/L3-awarded-737M-for-Navy-submarine-photonics-mast-programs/4961561472563/
27 mai 2020 | International, Naval
5/26/2020 By Jon Harper The Navy already plans to spend big on robotics platforms in the coming years. As operation and maintenance costs grow and defense budgets tighten, that trend could accelerate, analysts say. The sea service's future years defense program calls for about $12 billion for unmanned aircraft, surface vessels and underwater systems in fiscal years 2021 through 2025, according to Bloomberg Government. Senior officials have a stated goal of pursuing a 355-plus-ship fleet of manned vessels, but unmanned systems are “probably the future of the Navy,” Robert Levinson, senior defense analyst at Bloomberg Government, said during a recent webinar. About $7.9 billion in the future years defense program would go toward drones, including nearly $4.3 billion for the MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance aircraft and nearly $1 billion for the MQ-25 Stingray aircraft carrier-launched tanker, according to his presentation slides. An additional $2.2 billion would be allocated toward unmanned surface vessels, or USVs, and $1.9 billion for unmanned underwater vessels, or UUVs. Navy plans call for spending $941 million on USVs and UUVs in 2021 alone, a 129 percent increase relative to 2019, according to the slides. Operations, maintenance and personnel costs could squeeze modernization accounts in the coming years, Levinson noted. The 2021 Navy budget request included $125.8 billion total for those categories. In comparison, the request included $57.2 billion for procurement and $21.5 billion for research, development, test and evaluation. “With this budget being especially flat, you're really seeing the tension particularly in the Navy of, ... ‘Do we spend money on buying new stuff? Or do we need to spend the money on maintaining the stuff we have?'” he said. “You can buy more ships and put more money [into that], but then you need more sailors and you need more training of the sailors,” he noted. The COVID-19 pandemic could exacerbate funding constraints and further incentivize investments in unmanned platforms, Levinson said. “The Navy is really in a tough spot” trying to achieve its force level goals, he added. However, unmanned vessels are generally expected to be less expensive to procure, operate and maintain than manned platforms, which make them attractive as the sea service invests in new capabilities, Levinson noted. Meanwhile, the Marine Corps plans to restructure its forces to take on advanced adversaries, with a heavier emphasis on robotic platforms. “That has huge implications going out into the future” for acquisitions, Levinson said. “The Marine Corps' restructuring that's been announced is probably the biggest in a generation.” https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2020/5/26/navy-wants-$12-billion-for-unmanned-platforms