18 septembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial

Boeing wants government to force Northrop to partner on ICBM replacement

By: Aaron Mehta

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Months after announcing it would not bid on the Air Force's ICBM replacement program, Boeing is officially lobbying both Congress and the service to force a shotgun marriage with Northrop Grumman, against the latter company's will.

Frank McCall, Boeing's director of strategic deterrence systems, told reporters Tuesday that the company was actively seeking “government intervention” on the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program, one which would require Northrop to add Boeing as at least a major sub-contractor, if not a co-equal partner.

“We think clearly it's time for the Air Force or other governmental entities to engage and direct the right solution. Northrop has elected not to do that,” McCall said during the Air Force Association's annual conference. “So we're looking for government intervention to drive us to the best solution.”

Technically, GBSD is still an open competition. However, Northrop stands as the only competitor still making a bid. Lockheed Martin was knocked out in late 2017, and Boeing dropped out of the competition in July. Boeing claimed Northrop's acquisition of solid-fueled rocket motor manufacturer Orbital ATK, now known as Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, gave the competitor an unfair advantage.

Boeing has since made overtures toward Northrop, arguing that a partnership involving the two companies would benefit the development of GBSD. But Boeing on Friday announced that Northrop had rejected any teaming attempts. Now, it seems, the company has decided to stop playing nice and start getting real.

McCall reiterated that Boeing would not be bidding as a prime on the GBSD request for proposal as is. He also would not rule out the possibility of launching a protest with the Government Accountability Office, should the Air Force not force Northrop to accept Boeing as part of its team.

“I'm not spending any time thinking, ‘what if it doesn't work.' We're going to make it work,” he said.

Both Boeing and Northrop are currently under contract for a tech maturation phase, which runs into next year. Asked whether the company was worried whether its TMRR contract could be cancelled early given its stance that it will not bid, McCall said: “Certainly that's a concern."

However, “the service is maintaining our work," he added. They continue to accept our deliverables, continue to fund our contract. So, I think we're in good shape with the service.”

Because both teams are under that development contract, McCall argued that the Air Force should take the two teams and let them begin sharing information, with the service making the final decision on what pieces of each bid would work best when combined.

“What I am suggesting is the Air Force pull us in a room together and say ‘you've got 30 days to go figure out what is the right integrated baseline for the country to move forward with,'” he said. “While we have offered to Northrop a menu of things to choose from, we think the Air Force is really in a better position to go through that menu, go through the Northrop menu, and select the best option for the future.”

Should the Air Force not choose that route, McCall was open that Boeing has begun engaging members of Congress to circumvent the Pentagon and force its hand.

He pointed to Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama as someone who has already raised shown support for Boeing's position. McCall declined to name others, but should this turn into a legislative fight, it could come down to Boeing's supporters – with strongholds in Alabama, Washington and Missouri – versus those of Northrop Grumman.

A wild card may come in the form of Lockheed Martin, who was announced as part of a ten-company national team for Northrop's bid earlier this week; as the world's largest defense firm, Lockheed could bring to bear significant firepower in Congress, and would likely be happy to knock Boeing out of the ICBM game.

The Boeing executive declined to say what specific parts of the GBSD program Boeing was targeting should it end up with Northrop, but indicated that nuclear command and control — part of Lockheed's workshare under Northrop's planned team — would be one aree where Boeing's experience could come into play.

Asked what percentage of workshare on the program Boeing would be satisfied with should the team-up happen, McCall declined to give a number, saying: “We told Northrop, we don't care if you're the prime or we're the prime. We're not dictating a workshare percentage.”

https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/air-force-association/2019/09/17/boeing-calls-for-government-intervention-on-icbm-replacement-fight

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3 juin 2019 | International, C4ISR

The Army wants to talk to anyone, anytime, anywhere
By: Mark Pomerleau As the Army moves forward with its multipronged network modernization, the branch has set its sights on servicewide communications capabilities integrated from top brass down to the smallest tactical units. Army leaders expressed the need for technologies to enable units' communication from the tip of the spear down to systems in vehicles and at command units. “The ‘integrated' part of ‘integrated tactical network' is making sure we don't field a set of stovepiped capabilities that do not provide the robust capability that we think we want for the future fight,” Maj. Gen. David Bassett, program executive officer for Command, Control, Communications-Tactical, told C4ISRNET. “We've got to field this as an integrated capability. It's not just about focusing on one piece or the other. We've got to work it all together along with network operations tools that help soldiers employ those system.” The Army's integrated tactical network (ITN) is described as a mix of existing programs of record and commercial off-the-shelf capabilities that allow a unit to communicate in congested environments and provide situational awareness. The network also feeds into programs such as the Command Post Computing Environment (CPCE). CPCE is a web-enabled system that will consolidate disparate command post tools, programs and tasks and help the Army to react faster than the enemy. This includes the Tactical Ground Reporting System (TIGR), Global Command and Control System-Army (GCCS-A), Command Web and Command Post of the Future (CPOF). This uniform interface will be available from the command post to ground vehicles to dismounted soldiers, allowing each to upload and share information in a centralized database. During exercises last year, soldiers worked through how to identify targets on the ground and pass that information through the network via vest-mounted tablets and a Google Maps-type function. “Target acquisition from an operator's perspective starts in the ITN. Then it will make its way eventually to CPCE if we can get the ITN and CPCE to talk to each other, which is definitely the next bridge line for these systems,” Maj. John Intile, executive officer for 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, told C4ISRNET during a battalion event at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. The Army's fire support Command and Control (C2) system, Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS), is slated to be incorporated in CPCE after the first round of aforementioned systems. “While the integrated tactical network in our first line of effort is focused on the lower echelon war-fighting units, the Command Post Computing Environment ... is really done at the corps and down trace units,” Maj. Gen. Peter Gallagher, director for the network cross-functional team, told C4ISRNET. https://www.c4isrnet.com/c2-comms/2019/05/31/the-army-wants-to-talk-to-anyone-anytime-anywhere/
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Mattis out: Defense secretary says his views no longer aligned with Trump
By: Leo Shane III and Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Thursday announced he will step down from that post by the end of the February, leaving a significant leadership void in President Donald Trump's Cabinet. In his resignation letter Thursday, Mattis told Trump he was making the move to allow the president to find “a secretary of defense whose views are better aligned with yours.” Mattis, a former Marine Corps general, is regarded highly among defense experts and is a well-respected military mind among lawmakers. On numerous occasions over the last two years, both Republicans and Democrats have lauded him as a calming presence within the turbulent Trump administration and a voice of reason for the sometimes impulsive commander in chief. He's also wildly popular among troops. A Military Times poll conducted in late September found that nearly 84 percent of troops had a favorable view of his work leading the armed forces. Among officers, the figure was almost 90 percent. But Mattis' relationship with Trump had appeared to sour in recent months as the president pushed for more aggressive military policies. Read Mattis' full letter here. Pentagon officials appeared caught unaware by sudden decisions made in the Oval Office on forming a new Space Force, sending troops to the southern U.S. border, and banning transgender recruits from the ranks. This week, Mattis and other top defense officials appeared to be surprised by Trump's plans for a rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria. On Twitter Thursday, Trump hailed Mattis for “tremendous progress” on helping to rebuild the military, including “the purchase of new fighting equipment” and “getting allies and other countries to pay their share of military obligations.” He said a new secretary of defense would be announced in coming days. Expect the names of Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Jack Keane, a retired Army general who was an early supporter for Trump, to pop up in discussions. In his resignation letter, Mattis said he was “proud of the progress that has been made over the past two years in ... putting the department on more sound budgetary footing, improving readiness and lethality in our forces, and reforming the department's business practices.” But he also took aim at several Trump policies that caused friction between the White House and the Pentagon. In the letter, Mattis wrote that he believes America “must be resolute and unambiguous in our approach to those countries whose strategic interests are increasingly in tension with ours.” That includes “treating allies with respect” and doing “everything possible to advance an international order that is most conducive to our security, prosperity and values.” He also specifically mentioned both the defeat-ISIS coalition of 74 nations and NATO as “proof” alliances that have benefited America, The timing of the resignation — just a day after Trump ordered the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, reportedly over the objections of Mattis — is noteworthy, especially given Mattis' reference to the ISIS coalition in his letter. Appearing on CNN shortly after the announcement, Trump's senior adviser Stephen Miller did nothing to quell the idea that Mattis quit over the Syria decision, saying it is time for Trump “to get a new secretary of defense who will be aligned with the president” on a variety of issues, specifically calling out Syria and burden sharing among NATO allies. Miller also reiterated Trump's statements that it is time for Syria and Russia to take over the fight against ISIS, while railing against the decision of America to stay in Afghanistan and Iraq. When asked by CNN's Wolf Blitzer if the administration intended to leave those countries as well, Miller said “I have absolutely no policy announcements of any kind to make tonight, whatsoever.” For months, speculation has swirled around whether Mattis could survive into year three of the administration, particularly after Trump labeled him as “sort of a Democrat” during an interview in October. However, he appeared to solidify his position within the administration in the days leading up to the mid-term elections, with a full-throated support for the president's decision to send troops to the border. Mattis said the February leave date is designed to ensure a new defense secretary is in place well before September's changeover of the chairman of the joint chief of staff. Just two weeks ago, Trump announced that Gen. Mark Milley, the current army chief of staff, would be his nominee to replace current chairman Gen. Joe Dunford. The announcement, coming almost 10 months before Dunford's term was over, caught many by surprise, and now sets up the military for a wholesale leadership change in 2019. It also represented another pressure point between Trump and the secretary. Both Mattis and Dunford supported the candidacy of Gen. David Goldfein, the Air Force's top officer, but Trump picked Milley instead. Along with Dunford, all of the joint chiefs are in line to turn over in 2019, meaning a new secretary will also have a new group of the highest uniformed officials to work with. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/12/20/mattis-out-defense-secretary-says-his-views-no-longer-aligned-with-trump

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Boeing wants government to force Northrop to partner on ICBM replacement

Sur le même sujet

GM Defense joins General Dynamics team in bid to replace US Army's Bradley vehicle General Dynamics Land Systems brings General Motors Defense onto its team to pitch an optionally manned fighting vehicle as it competes to develop an initial design.

GM Defense joins General Dynamics team in bid to replace US Army's Bradley vehicle
General Dynamics Land Systems brings General Motors Defense onto its team to pitch an optionally manned fighting vehicle as it competes to develop an initial design.