8 mai 2020 | International, Naval

Britain to restart competition for fleet solid support ships, but who’s allowed to bid?

By: Andrew Chuter

LONDON — Britain is set to restart a competition later this year to build up to three large logistics ships to support deployment of the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier fleet, having suspended the procurement effort last year.

Ministry of Defence officials are refusing to give an exact date for the restart, despite Defence Secretary Ben Wallace recently telling the parliamentary Defence Committee that he thought it would take place in September.

“It will be, I think, in September, but I can correct that if I am wrong. We are hopefully going to reissue the competition sooner rather than later,” he told lawmakers.

A Defence Committee spokeswomen said the panel is still waiting on a concrete date from the MoD.

“Following the session with the secretary of state for defense, Ben Wallace, the committee wrote to the department asking for clarification on a number of issues, including the timing of the Fleet Solid Support program. The committee has not yet heard back from the Ministry of Defence,” she said.

The competition to build up to three 40,000-ton vessels in a requirement known locally as the Fleet Solid Support program was expected to have been worth as much as £1.5 billion (U.S. $1.9 billion) at the time the competition was unexpectedly terminated Nov. 5.

The MoD said at the time that it took the action due to a failure to find a value-for-money solution in negotiations with shipbuilders. In his evidence to the committee, Wallace described the program as “ effectively delinquent.”

The warships, which will be operated by the Royal Navy's logistics supplier, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, are a key element of Britain's plan to replace aging Fort-class ships with modern support ships to supply ammunition, dry stores and spares to aircraft carrier strike groups and other maritime task groups.

The program had been mired in controversy since the Conservative government opted to open the design to international competition, rather that adopt a “Buy British” policy. The move caused an outcry from politicians, industry and unions who believed naval logistics vessels should be included in the list of warships, like frigates and destroyers, that are off limits to foreign shipbuilders.

Ministers and procurement officials argued they had no choice but to follow European Union competition rules, which say logistics ships are not warships and are therefore subject to regulations requiring open competition.

Critics pointed out that other European Union member states have previously blocked foreign bids for similar ships.

Industry executives suspected the the cash-strapped MoD was running an open competition to keep the procurement cost to a minimum, following in the example of its purchase of four new fleet oilers for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary built by South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.

The U.K. has now left the European Union but is in a transitory period where trade rules still apply. That period is currently set to end Dec. 31.

The MoD declined to answer Defense News' question on whether the new competition will be held under EU rules, or whether the U.K. will exempt itself from the rule, opening up the possibility for a British-only bid.

Defence Procurement Minister James Heappey told Parliament this year that the MoD is reviewing the procurement strategy, the requirements and the schedule ahead of the competition restart.

MoD officials said this week that the review is still underway.

Defense consultant Howard Wheeldon of Wheeldon Strategic Advisory said with the new coronavirus taking its toll on the country's economy, there should be no question that the procurement is limited to local business.

“Having pulled the plug on the original plan, and with potential new U.K. players back in the fray, such as Harland and Wolff, the MoD would risk a very damaging backlash if it tried to do another foreign deal — and rightly so,” he said. “Buying on the basis of lowest cost is rarely the right solution for defense equipment procurement. The new world order that I see emerging elsewhere allows freedom to put national interests first. Thus for the U.K., the right decision on future solid support ships is that these vessels should be British-designed and -built.”

What about the original competition?

The MoD brought the original competition to a close on the eve of the Conservative government calling a general election for Dec. 12, 2019. Campaigners took that as a sign the government was moving toward a “Buy British” policy.

Their position was reinforced last autumn when the MoD published an updated, independent review of the nation's national shipbuilding strategy, which advocated for a policy change that would see logistics ships and other types of vessels added to the list warships closed to foreign bids.

The review, conducted by former shipbuilding chief executive John Parker, said Britain was not currently adopting “the right strategic approach” in allowing ships like the fleet solid support vessels to be built overseas.

By the time the MoD suspended the competition, two of the five short-listed bidders remained: Navantia of Spain; and Team UK, a consortium of BAE Systems, Babcock International, Cammell Laird and Rolls-Royce.

A BAE Systems spokesperson told Defense News on Wednesday that the company is waiting for the MoD to show its hand on the procurement process, and in the meantime remains focused on its commitment to build Type 26 frigates for the Royal Navy.

“We are engaged with our U.K. partners and await guidance from the MoD on next steps in the procurement process for the Fleet Solid Support program. We have a long-term commitment to shipbuilding in the U.K. with continuity of production in Glasgow through into the 2030s, and we are focused on delivering our existing commitments,” the spokesperson said.

https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/05/07/britain-to-restart-competition-for-fleet-solid-support-ships-but-whos-allowed-to-bid/

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25 août 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense

Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - August 24, 2020
ARMY Veraxx Engineering Corp., Chantilly, Virginia, was awarded a $218,000,000 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, fixed-price-incentive and time-and-materials) contract for advanced planning and preview systems, mission simulators and rehearsal capabilities that enable live, virtual and constructive training in support of special operation's unique joint training and mission requirements. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 23, 2028. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (W900KK-20-D-0014). Astlanda Ehitus Ou, Harjumaa, Estonia (W912GB-20-D-0017); Framaco International Inc., Rye Brook, New York, (W912GB-20-D-0018); Relyant Global LLC, Maryville, Tennessee (W912GB-20-D-0019); Semi SA, Madrid, Spain (W912GB-20-D-0020); SKE Support Services GmbH, Goldbach, Germany (W912GB-20-D-0021); and Tartu Bryan JV, Colorado Springs, Colorado (W912GB-20-D-0022), will compete for each order of the $49,950,000 firm-fixed-price contract for providing real property repair and maintenance, design build, environmental work, force protection work and construction services for U.S. forces and/or facilities throughout Estonia. Bids were solicited via the internet with 11 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 23, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wiesbaden, Germany, is the contracting activity. Southwest Water Design LLC,* Albuquerque, New Mexico, was awarded a $40,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for civil works and hydrology and hydraulics services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 15 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 24, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque, New Mexico, is the contracting activity (W912PP-20-D-0003). Phillips Contracting Co. Inc.,* Columbus, Mississippi, was awarded a $24,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for rental of construction equipment. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 23, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W91278-20-D-0076). B&K Construction Co. LLC,* Mandeville, Louisiana, was awarded a $15,218,859 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of hurricane protection features in Plaquemines Parrish, Louisiana. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in New Orleans, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 21, 2025. Fiscal 2020 civil construction funds in the amount of $15,218,859 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Mississippi, is the contracting activity (W912P8-20-C-0050). Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Connecticut, was awarded a $13,500,000 order-dependent contract for technologies to be developed and demonstrated in the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft technology risk mitigation and maturation effort. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 23, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W911W6-20-D-0005). GiaCare and MedTrust JV LLC,* Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was awarded a $7,779,386 modification (P00001) to contract W81K04-19-D-0021 for registered nursing services for the San Antonio Military Health System. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2024. U.S. Army Health Contracting Activity, San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE SRC Tec, North Syracuse, New York, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $90,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for force protection Counter-small Unmanned Aerial System (C-sUAS) with Medusa sustainment. This contract provides for the acquisition, upgrade, sustainment, installation support and design and analysis support of C-sUAS and subsystems manufactured by SRC Tec. Work will be performed at locations to be determined in each delivery order and is expected to be completed Aug. 24, 2028. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 procurement funds in the amount of $2,137,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8730-20-D-0045). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Aurora Industries LLC,** Orocovis, Puerto Rico, has been awarded a maximum $25,608,088 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for coats. This is a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with 10 responses received. Location of performance is Puerto Rico, with an Aug. 23, 2021, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-20-D-1283). NAVY General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, is awarded a $15,485,103 modification (P00009) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N00019-18-C-1063. This modification adds performance for site relocation activities and exercises an option to extend intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services utilizing contractor-owned/contractor-operated MQ-9 unmanned air systems. Work will be performed in Yuma, Arizona (34%); Poway, California (14%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (52%), and is expected to be completed in December 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $15,485,103 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Management Services Group Inc.,* doing business as Global Technical Systems, Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded a $13,601,735 firm-fixed-price modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-20-C-5608 for procurement of network, processing, and storage technical Insertion 16 (NPS), Modification 1 storage equipment, which will be incorporated into area storage area network cabinets during production. The NPS program consists of enterprise products in use across surface Navy combat systems which introduce powerful commercially available off-the-shelf processors as part of a general strategy to achieve a modular and open architecture design. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by June 2021. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy); fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); fiscal 2018 other procurement (Navy); fiscal 2015 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); fiscal 2014 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); and government of Australia funding in the amount of $13,601,735 will be obligated at time of award and funding in the amount of $2,069,033 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Areté Associates, Northridge, California, is awarded a $9,745,580 cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, cost-with-no-fee contract for integration services supporting incremental upgrades, block upgrades and future generations of MK 18 Family of Systems unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), additional UUVs and remotely operated vehicles. This 17-month contract includes no options. Work will be performed at Tucson, Arizona (75%); and Valparaiso, Florida (25%). The period of performance is from Aug. 24, 2020, through Jan. 23, 2022. Fiscal 2020 funds will be obligated using other procurement (Navy). Funds in the amount of $6,885,495 will be obligated at the time of award. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is awarded using other than full and open competition in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations Subpart 6.302-5 and 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(5). Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific in San Diego, California, is the contract activity (N66001-20-C-0025). *Small Business **Small disadvantaged business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2323086/
11 mars 2022 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

Le secrétaire général de l'OTAN salue le rôle majeur du Canada dans la réponse apportée à l'invasion russe en Ukraine
Aujourd'hui (9 mars 2022), le secrétaire général de l'OTAN, Jens Stoltenberg, a pris la parole à la Conférence d'Ottawa sur la sécurité et la défense, organisée par la Conférence des associations de la défense. Il y a mis en avant le soutien constant apporté par le Canada à l'Ukraine.
28 juin 2018 | International, C4ISR

Army: Individual Soldiers Will One Day Control Swarms of Robots
By Matthew Cox Army robotics officials at Fort Benning, Georgia are trying to give individual soldiers the capability to control swarms of air and ground robotic systems for missions that often require large numbers of troops to accomplish. U.S. ground forces have used small ground robots and unmanned aerial systems for years, but only on a small scale, said Don Sando, director Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate at Benning. "To really get a large benefit from robotic systems, we have to break the one-soldier, one-robot link, because right now, you generally need one operator for one robotic system and that is effective and interesting, but when I can have dozens of robotic systems controlled by one soldier, now I have a significant advantage," Sando told a group of defense reporters today on a conference call. A single soldier could conduct reconnaissance over "large areas with fewer soldiers and many dozens of robotic systems," Sando said. "That starts to matter especially in conditions such as dense urban environment," Sando said. "The problem with urban environments is they consume soldiers ... limited lines of sight, tunnels, buildings -- all the things that just take manpower to overcome and control. "If we can expand that with robotic systems, both air and ground, then that has significant impact." The concept could be developed to enhance communications battlefields when networks are hampered by enemy activity as well as natural obstacles. "If our communications infrastructure is going to be contested, as we know it will, then how can I regenerate quickly and effectively in a given area with robotic systems, both air and ground, to create that network?" Sando said. CDID officials are developing a common controller that can control air and ground robots regardless of the model. "We are very close on that; we did some assessment last year. We proved the feasibility of about three different versions of controllers that can effectively control air and ground robotic systems," Sando said. "The advantage to that is a soldier only has to learn one system as opposed to every robot has its own unique controller." The goal is to make a decision on a common controller by late fiscal 2019, Sando said. But the problem is more than just choosing the right controller. "How do you train a soldier, and how do you train leaders to do that? Sando said. "It's one thing to have two hands on your rifle -- one soldier, one system. It's one thing to be a small unit leader, to have a few subordinate leaders under your control -- it's something else to have dozens of under your control." Organizations continue to come to Benning to "practice and develop algorithms to employ swarming unmanned aerial systems," Sando said. "The next thing beyond that is OK, how do I swarm ground robotic systems? How can I do that?" he said. "That is the thing we are least developed on and that's the thing we want to start trying to emphasize. "We are going to continue to develop that and test that and I think that poses the next really large return on investment as we expand robotic systems." https://www.military.com/defensetech/2018/06/27/army-individual-soldiers-will-one-day-control-swarms-robots.html

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