1 janvier 2024 | International, Naval
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24 janvier 2020 | International, Terrestre
Bradley Replacement: Did Army Ask For ‘Unobtainium’?
WASHINGTON: For the third time in 11 years, the Army's attempt to replace the 1980s-vintage M2 Bradley ran afoul of the age-old tradeoff between armor and mobility, several knowledgeable sources tell Breaking Defense.
The General Dynamics prototype for the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle – the only competitor left after other companies bowed out or were disqualified – was too heavy to meet the Army's requirement that a single Air Force C-17 cargo jet could carry two complete OMFVs to a war zone, we're told. But the vehicle had to be that heavy, GD's defenders say, to meet the Army's requirement for armor protection.
Now, the Army hasn't officially said why it cancelled the current OMFV contract. Senior leaders – Chief of Staff, Gen. James McConville; the four-star chief of Army Futures Command, Gen. Mike Murray; and the civilian Army Acquisition Executive, Assistant Secretary Bruce Jette – have all publicly acknowledged that the requirements and timeline were “aggressive.” (Yes, all three men used the same word). Jette was the most specific, telling reporters that one vendor – which, from the context of his remark, could only be GD – did not meet all the requirements, but he wouldn't say which requirements weren't met.
So, while we generally avoid writing a story based solely on anonymous sources, in this case we decided their track records (which we can't tell you about) were so good and the subject was so important that it was worth going ahead.
“Industry told the Army the schedule was ‘unobtainium,' but they elected to proceed anyway,” one source told us: That's why the other potential competitors dropped out, seeing the requirements as too hard to meet. In particular, the source said, “industry needs more time to evaluate the trade [offs] associated with achieving the weight requirement.”
With more time, industry might have been able to refine the design further to reduce weight, redesign major components to be lighter, or possibly – and this one is a stretch – even invent new stronger, lighter materials. But on the schedule the Army demanded, another source told us, reaching the minimum allowable protection without exceeding the maximum allowable weight was physically impossible.
Why This Keeps Happening
The Army's been down this road before and stalled out in similar ways. The Ground Combat Vehicle was too heavy, the Future Combat Systems vehicles were too light; “just right” still seems elusive.
In 2009, Defense Secretary Bob Gates cancelled the Future Combat Systems program, whose BAE-designed Manned Ground Vehicles – including a Bradley replacement – had been designed to such strict weight limits that they lacked adequate armor. The Army had initially asked for the FCS vehicles to come in under 20 tons so one could fit aboard an Air Force C-130 turboprop transport. After that figure proved unfeasible, and the Air Force pointed out a C-130 couldn't actually carry 20 tons any tactically useful distance, the weight crept up to 26 tons, but the added armor wasn't enough to satisfy Gates' concerns about roadside bombs, then taking a devastating toll on US soldiers in Iraq.
Four years later, amidst tightening budgets, the Army itself gave up on the Ground Combat Vehicle, another Bradley replacement, after strict requirements for armor protection drove both competing designs – from General Dynamics and BAE Systems – into the 56-70 ton range, depending on the level of modular add-on armor bolted onto the basic chassis. (A much-publicized Governmental Accountability Office study claimed GCV could reach 84 tons, but that was a projection for future growth, not an actual design).
Not quite nine months ago, after getting initial feedback from industry on the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, the Army made the tough call to reduce its protection requirements somewhat to make it possible to fit two OMFVs on a C-17. If our sources are correct, however, it didn't reduce the armor requirement enough for General Dynamics to achieve the weight goal.
One source says that two of the General Dynamics vehicles would fit on a C-17 if you removed its modular armor. The add-on armor kit could then be shipped to the war zone on a separate flight and installed, or simply left off if intelligence was sure the enemy lacked heavy weapons. But the requirements didn't allow for that compromise, and the Army wasn't willing to waive them, the source said, because officers feared a vehicle in the less-armored configuration could get troops killed.
Other Options
Now, there are ways to protect a vehicle besides heavy passive armor. Some IEDs in Iraq were big enough to cripple a 70-ton M1 Abrams. Russian tanks get by with much lighter passive armor covered by a layer of so-called reactive armor, which explodes outwards when hit, blasting incoming warheads before they can penetrate. Both Russia and Israel have fielded, and the US Army is urgently acquiring, Active Protection Systems that shoot down incoming projectiles.
The problem with both reactive armor and active protection is that they're only proven effective against explosive warheads, like those found on anti-tank missiles. They're much less useful against solid shells, and while no missile ever fielded can use those, a tank's main gun can fling solid shot with such force that it penetrates armor through sheer concentrated kinetic energy.
(Protecting against roadside bombs and land mines is yet another design issue, because they explode from underneath, but it's no longer the all-consuming question it once ways. Advances in suspension, blast-deflecting hull shapes, and shock absorption for the crew have made even the four-wheeled Joint Light Tactical Vehicle remarkably IED-resistant and pretty comfortable).
If the Army were willing to take the risk of relying more on active protection systems, or give industry more time to improve active protection technology, it could reduce its requirements for heavy passive armor. Or the Army could remove the soldiers from its combat vehicles entirely and operate them with a mix of automation and remote control, which would make crew protection a moot point. In fact, the service is investing in lightly-armored and relatively expendable Robotic Combat Vehicles – but it still sees those unmanned machines as adjuncts to humans, not replacements. As long as the Army puts soldiers on the battlefield, it will want the vehicles that carry them to be well-protected.
Alternatively, the Army could drop its air transport requirements and accept a much heavier vehicle. Israel has already done this with its Namer troop carrier, a modified Merkava heavy tank, but then the Israel army doesn't plan to fight anywhere far away. The US, by contrast, routinely intervenes overseas and has dismantled many of its Cold War bases around the world. Air transport is a limited commodity anyway, and war plans assume most heavy equipment will either arrive by sea or be pre-positioned in warehouses on allied territory. But the Army really wants to have the option to send at least some armored vehicles by air in a crisis.
If the Army won't give ground on either protection or transportability, then it faces a different dilemma: They need to either give industry more time to invent something revolutionary, or accept a merely evolutionary improvement.
“We're going to reset the requirements, we're going to reset the acquisition strategy and timeline,” Gen. McConville said about OMFV on Tuesday. But, when he discussed Army modernization overall, he repeatedly emphasized that “we need transformational change, not incremental improvements.
“Transformational change is how we get overmatch and how we get dominance in the future,” the Chief of Staff said. “We aren't looking for longer cords for our phones or faster horses for our cavalry.”
https://breakingdefense.com/2020/01/bradley-replacement-did-army-ask-for-unobtainium
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15 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - July 14, 2020
NAVY Bay City Marine Inc.,* National City, California (N32253-17-D-0003); Caliedo & Sons Services Inc.,* Ewa Beach, Hawaii (N32253-17-D0004); Delphinus Engineering Inc.,* Eddystone, Pennsylvania (N32253-17-D-0005); Epsilon Systems Solutions Inc.,* Portsmouth, Virginia (N32253-17-D-0006); Propulsion Controls Engineering,* Aiea, Hawaii (N32253-17-D-0007); Pacific Shipyards International LLC,* Honolulu, Hawaii (N32253-17-D-0008); QED Systems Inc.,* Virginia Beach, Virginia (N32253-17-D-0009); Confluence Corp., doing business as Regal Service Co.,* Honolulu, Hawaii (N32553-18-D-0003); Marisco LTD,* Kapolei, Hawaii (N32253-18-D-0004); and Integrated Marine Services Inc.,* Chula Vista, California (N32553-18-D-0005), are awarded a $49,000,000 modification, increasing the ceiling for a total of $98,000,000 on the surface multi-award (SURFMAC), indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. The SURFMAC is a firm-fixed-price IDIQ for the procurement-involving repair, maintenance and alteration of U.S. government waterborne vessels and surface ships visiting or homeported in the Hawaiian Islands. Work will be performed on Oahu, Hawaii. Types of trades required are ship fitting, sheet metal, welding, pipefitting, painting, machining/mechanical, electrical, electronics, woodworking, lagging and rigging. Sample work includes, but is not limited to, ventilation, air conditioning, tank work, structural repairs, fumigation, electrical system repair, pump repair, fan repair, decking, fire system repairs and updates. Work is expected to be completed by September 2022. The 10 contractors may compete for delivery orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts. Funds will be obligated at the order level. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity. Ultra Electronics Ocean Systems, Braintree, Massachusetts, is awarded a $42,192,128 not-to-exceed, undefinitized modification to previously awarded contract N63394-19-C-0007 to exercise options for production of Next Generation Surface Search Radar (NGSSR) systems. The NGSSR will replace all variants of the current AN/SPS-67, AN/SPS-73, BridgeMaster E series and commercial-off-the-shelf radar systems. Work will be performed in Wake Forest, North Carolina (85%); Chantilly, Virginia (14%); and Braintree, Massachusetts (1%). This contract modification will acquire the first NGSSR production lot following a contract award for design and production of three qualification systems. The primary objective of NGSSR is to replace legacy systems due to current military threats and obsolescence issues. Work is expected to be completed by April 2023. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy); and 2017 and 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $21,096,064 will be obligated at time of award. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The NGSSR was not competitively procured in accordance with 15 U.S. Code 638(r)(4) under the Small Business Innovation Research Phase III program/2018 National Defense Authorization Act. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity. PAE Aviation and Technical Services LLC, Greenville, South Carolina, is awarded a $25,918,520 modification (P00026) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost reimbursable indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00421-15-D-0007. This modification exercises an option to extend services for organizational, selected intermediate and limited depot maintenance and logistics support for Northrop F-5F and F-5N aircraft in support of the Specialized and Proven Aircraft Program. Work will be performed in Key West, Florida (40%); Fallon, Nevada (30%); and Yuma, Arizona (30%), and is expected to be completed by January 2021. No funds are being obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. ARMY Swan Contracting LLC,* Petersborough, New Hampshire, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for rapid-response temporary roofing projects in the event of an emergency. Bids were solicited via the internet with 16 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2027. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-20-D-0034). Blue Tarpon Construction LLC,* Gulf Breeze, Florida, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for rapid-response temporary roofing projects in the event of an emergency. Bids were solicited via the internet with 16 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2027. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-20-D-0035). Venegas Construction Corp.,* Ponce, Puerto Rico, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for rapid-response temporary roofing projects in the event of an emergency. Bids were solicited via the internet with 16 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2027. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-20-D-0036). Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $34,951,039 hybrid (cost-no-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee) contract for system operations and sustainment services and test and training services in support of the Saturn Arch Aerial Intelligence Systems Quick Reaction Capability Program. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Reston, Virginia; Bridgewater, Virginia; and Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of March 16, 2024. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army Reserve) funds in the amount of $34,951,039 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-20-C-0024). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY US Foods Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $22,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a 127-day bridge contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Virginia and North Carolina, with a Nov. 17, 2020, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-20-D-3281). (Awarded July 10, 2020) New Maryland Clothing,* Baltimore, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $12,268,935 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for men's and women's uniform dress coats. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(3), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-3. This is a two-year base contract with one one-year option period. Location of performance is Maryland, with a July 13, 2022, ordering period end date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-20-D-1298). American Water Operations and Maintenance LLC, Camden, New Jersey, has been awarded a $7,636,368 modification (P00038) to 50-year contract SP0600-15-C-8302 with no option periods to increase the operations, maintenance, renewal and replacement charges for the water and wastewater utility systems at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract. Locations of performance are New Jersey and California, with a May 31, 2066, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2066 Air Force operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. AIR FORCE Thomas Instrument Inc., Brookshire, Texas, has been awarded a $7,100,000 requirements-type contract for the depot-level overhaul of the C-5 visor door actuator. Work will be performed in Brookshire, Texas, and is expected to be completed by July 13, 2025. This award is the result of a non-competitive acquisition. Fiscal 2020 defense working capital funds are being used and no funds are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Sustainment Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8538-20-D-0004). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2273894/source/GovDelivery/
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27 mars 2024 | International, Aérospatial
Space Force to upgrade sensors for in-orbit testing, training
Through a partnership with other Pentagon agencies, STARCOM plans to install new space domain awareness sensors on satellites in orbit as soon as 2025.