Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - October 21, 2019

Sur le même sujet

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  16 février 2018 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

  Airbus explores A320neo military derivatives

  Airbus has revealed that it is exploring the introduction of military derivatives of the A320neo family. Speaking at the Singapore air show, Fernando Alonso, head of military aircraft at Airbus Defence & Space, said that the new platform could undertake missions such as VIP transport, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and maritime patrol. "We have the knowledge of converting the A330 into the A330 MRTT [multirole tanker transport], and have a more efficient process." Alonso says that the efficiency of new-generation engines will enable a more capable military derivative. Any future conversion will require between "six to eight months" to complete, he says. Airbus is in talks with a number of operators, including the armed forces of Asia-Pacific nations such as Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, alongside European stalwarts France, Germany and the Netherlands. The airframer is also working to add new capabilities to its existing military platforms: the A400M, A330 MRTT and C295. It will allow A400M operators to drop up to 60 paratroopers from both sides of the aircraft simultaneously, while the A330 MRTT is expected to be ready to conduct automatic air-to-air refuelling "in less than three years". Airbus is also exploring the possibility of allowing the remodelled widebody to take on ISR missions. Airbus is still proceeding with an "armed version" of the C295 medium transport, with the derivative in the engineering, development and testing phase. Flight tests will begin in late 2018. "There are big opportunities for us in Asia-Pacific: big fleets are here, budgets are here. We are able to fulfill needs in a more agile way," says Alonso. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/singapore-airbus-explores-a320neo-military-derivati-445670/

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  24 avril 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Saab Signs Support Contract With British Army

  April 23, 2020 - Saab has signed a three-year contract with the UK Ministry of Defence for the provision of support and services to the Direct Fire Weapon Effects Simulator (DFWES) capability. The contract valued at 320 MSEK came into effect on April 1, 2020. DFWES is a laser based Tactical Engagement Simulation (TES) system, that allows dismounted and mounted soldiers to simulate the effects of direct and indirect fire. This order includes support and maintenance for the British Army's DFWES capability. In addition to the existing sites in the UK, Canada and Germany, this contract includes continuation of support to the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines, the Infantry Battle School in Brecon and the Infantry Training Centre Catterick. “We are proud that Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) continues to choose Saab as a partner to provide the British military with the DFWES capability. This ensures that British soldiers and marines can continue to receive the best possible support for their training and is a testament to the close and long-term cooperation between Saab and the UK”, says Magnus Lewis Olson, Head of Saab in the United Kingdom. The high fidelity, interoperable and deployable DFWES capability supports individual, collective and mission specific training around the globe. For further information, please contact: Saab Press Centre, +46 (0)734 180 018 presscentre@saabgroup.com Saab serves the global market with world-leading products, services and solutions within military defence and civil security. Saab has operations and employees on all continents around the world. Through innovative, collaborative and pragmatic thinking, Saab develops, adopts and improves new technology to meet customers' changing needs. View source version on Saab: https://saabgroup.com/media/news-press/news/2020-04/saab-signs-support-contract-with-british-army/

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  16 août 2019 | International, Terrestre

  Slippery slope: MDA boss fights transfer of missile defense system to Army

  By: Jen Judson HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The new U.S. Missile Defense Agency director is opposed to the transfer of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System, or THAAD, to the Army — something Senate authorizers want to do this year in the fiscal 2020 authorization bill. Talk of transferring THAAD to the Army has been ongoing for roughly a decade. The Army officially operates the system, but the MDA conducts its development and continued modernization. Both MDA and Army leadership have said if Congress were to authorize a transfer, they would not oppose the move as long as the necessary funding is made available and not taken from other portfolios within the service. But there's still a fear that programs transferred to the services is where they go to die, either in their entirety or at least the chance of continued system modernization. For instance, there could be a plan down the road to extend the range of the THAAD interceptor. Historically, at times, when programs are transferred, funding meant to further improve systems has been cannibalized for more pressing, immediate needs within the armed services. “Why would we hand that off to the Army or Air Force, that sort of transfer to a service where it won't be prioritized? They have many other priorities,” MDA Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill told Defense News in an exclusive interview at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama. “I don't like organizational experiments on programs that are delivering more fighting capability,” he added. The challenge Before Congress, the military or the MDA consider transferring such a capability, a better definition for “transfer of services” must be ironed out, Hill said. He considers defining this one of his top challenges. “It gets suspicious when we don't have a fully defined term because all it really results in is fracturing of a program during a time where it's most critical to have those programs stable and taking care of the war fighter,” Hill said. “There's been a lot of discussion about the THAAD and the SM-3 [missile] transfer to the services. What does that mean?” The definition of transfer “ranges everything from a full-up transfer of the system over to the service, which assumes that the system is static and how it's designed today is how it's going to be designed forever,” Hill said. If it means transferring operations and sustainment responsibility, and then “put that in the done pile. The Army invests heavily in the operations and sustainment of that. I don't know what more we would want out of them,” he said. The argument MDA is examining whether it is doing enough to support the Army's successful operation and sustainment of the system, he noted, such as whether the service has the right logistics line in place and the right training. A THAAD transfer could also be disruptive to production at a time when THAAD interceptors are in high demand and orders continue to grow. Even if the transfer of THAAD meant the service would responsible for interceptor procurement, the MDA would have to break contracts for the Army to take over, which could result in delayed production, according to Hill. “We know right now, in today's operational environment, we need more,” Hill said. “So that makes no sense to me.” And for Hill, a THAAD transfer is a slippery slope. If the Army took complete control of the batteries, “then there's this discussion, ‘Well, let's include the TPY/2 radar and let's walk it a little bit further and let's take the homeland defense radars that are deployed globally that have a totally different mission.” The resistance to transfer THAAD in its entirety is not a sign of a resistance to transfer where it makes sense, Hill noted. “I often hear that we don't know how to transfer. Well look at the Aegis ships today. Navy procures those ships with ballistic missile defense capability. The Navy has come in and said: ‘Hey, we're going to build a multimission radar to include BMD capability in a SPY-6 [radar],' ” Hill said. “Man, what's wrong with that? That's fantastic.” MDA has also fully transferred the Patriot air and missile defense system to the Army. “Where Patriot is different, is it's a multimission system,” Hill said. “They have air defense as part of the maneuver force. It's sort of like cruise missile defense on a ship. We don't need to take over the Navy's cruise missile defense. ... Patriot is sort of the same thing.” THAAD is part of a wider integrated missile defense system, he added. “THAAD has to stay in MDA ... for the interoperability and integration into the other domains from across the services," Riki Ellison, chairman and founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, told Defense News. "THAAD is not an Army-centric weapon system. It should never be deployed as a standoff, alone weapon system.” The Joint Urgent Operational Need out of the Korean theater that calls for the integration of THAAD and Patriot is a prime example, Ellison noted. “MDA is the only one that has cross-domain [Command and Control, Battle Management and Communications] development and operational development as proven with the [Ground-Based Midcourse Defense] System," he said. Rebeccah Heinrichs, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said: “I'm afraid the Army won't fund THAAD if it's their responsibility. We need to free up more money in MDA so it can focus on research and development, so we have a dilemma. Something has to give.” Short of the defense secretary directing the services to fund and support systems like THAAD, Heinrichs said, “they're probably just going to have to stay in MDA. That means we need a much bigger top line in MDA ... to fund the new technologies needed for advanced threats, especially.” The agency is currently advising the Pentagon and Congress on the right plan for where THAAD should live. “That's something that we have to work internally," Hill noted, "and so we need to get our act together on both sides.” https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/smd/2019/08/14/mda-director-opposes-transfer-of-terminal-missile-defense-system-to-army/