17 septembre 2021 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

Contracts for September 16, 2021

Sur le même sujet

  • Defense Secretary Mark Esper on how the Navy can get to 355 ships

    10 février 2020 | International, Naval

    Defense Secretary Mark Esper on how the Navy can get to 355 ships

    By: Aaron Mehta and David B. Larter WASHINGTON — Despite expected cuts to shipbuilding programs in the fiscal year 2021 budget request, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is committed to a bigger, but much lighter, naval force, he said in an exclusive interview with Defense News. In the wake of reports that the Navy may cut shipbuilding in its upcoming budget request, Esper said he is “fully committed” to building a fleet of 355 ships or larger. But to get there, the Navy is going to have to fundamentally reshape itself around smaller ships that can be more quickly bought than the large, exquisite designs the service now relies on — a shift that could have big implications for both the industrial base and the carrier force. Such a plan would mark a departure from the current Navy force structure assessment that calls for twice the number of larger ships over small surface combatants: 104 large, 52 small. But inverting that structure is essential to building a bigger, more deadly fleet that lives within the constraints of future budgets that the Pentagon expects to remain largely flat, Esper said. To get there, the Navy must push hard on fielding lightly manned ships, Esper said, an effort that has been a major focus of Naval Sea Systems Command's Unmanned Maritime Systems Program Office in recent years. The first step, though, is getting through the process of figuring out what the fleet should look like. “What we have to tease out is, what does that future fleet look like?” Esper said. “I think one of the ways you get there quickly is moving toward lightly manned [ships], which over time can be unmanned. “We can go with lightly manned ships, get them out there. You can build them so they're optionally manned and then, depending on the scenario or the technology, at some point in time they can go unmanned. “To me that's where we need to push. We need to push much more aggressively. That would allow us to get our numbers up quickly, and I believe that we can get to 355, if not higher, by 2030.” Cuts versus growth In addition to the reported cut of a Virginia-class submarine out of the FY21 budget, it is expected that other cuts may be coming in the short term for the Navy. Late last year, a memo from the White House's Office of Management and Budget to the Defense Department, obtained by Defense News, outlined a series of cuts over the next five years that OMB contends would shrink the size of the fleet. The cuts outlined in the OMB memo included cutting a submarine, a next-generation frigate and a Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer from the 2021 budget. On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that the Navy intends to request eight ships in its 2021 budget, which would be four fewer than was requested in 2020, but that the budget restored the missing Arleigh Burke. The Navy contends that even with the cuts, the service is still on a path to growth. In a recent interview with Defense News, acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly said the budget documents that leaked were not final. Esper noted that his stamp on the 2021 budget was relatively limited, given he took office in August, at which point most of the service budget work had already been completed. “The services have already developed their budgets at that point,” Esper said. “So now it's at OSD level. As you know, at this point I was able to go through budgets, free up money. I was able to move some money around, but, to me, my big impact will be on the upcoming budget.” Lighter Navy Esper's backing of a larger Navy built on the backs of lightly or optionally manned ships echoes calls by Modly to get to a fleet of 355 ships in the next 10 years, and is in line with recent statement by the Navy's top officer, Chief of Naval Operations Michael Gilday. At the USNI Defense Forum in December, Gilday said the Navy needed to change the way it built its ships. “I know that the future fleet has to include a mix of unmanned,” Gilday said. “We can't continue to wrap $2 billion ships around 96 missile tubes in the numbers we need to fight in a distributed way, against a potential adversary that is producing capability and platforms at a very high rate of speed. We have to change the way we are thinking.” Congress, however, has been reluctant to back the push for more unmanned ships, believing that the Navy hasn't done enough work on how the concept of operations would work or how they'd support them. Esper said his office would be taking a leading role in bringing Congress to the table on a new fleet design. “DoD will run this ... I want to invite some of our congressional interested parties in, certainly from the defense committees, to observe the process and watch what we're doing and how we're going about it,” Esper said. “That's part of what I want to do, is to invite folks in.” Retired Navy and defense officials will also be involved in the planning and outreach process to make sure the department is on the right track, Esper continued. “We talk about the gray beards as validators, folks who make sure that nobody's putting their finger on the scale, that we've considered all factors,” Esper said. “I want it to be that type of process, if we can get there.” Expanding the fleet with more small, lightly manned ships will also increase opportunities for smaller shipyards to enter the shipbuilding industrial base, a proposal that may be attractive for congressional members in an election year. The secretary stressed that “the United States must have an expanded and healthy industrial base with modern shipyards” to make such a reality happen, adding that “I think we can actually expand the number of shipyards in the United States and highly skilled workers [as well] around the country to ensure adequate capacity.” In terms of planning, Esper said the Pentagon's Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE), along with the Navy, will be conducting a series of war games and exercises in the coming months in order to figure out the way forward. But any major decisions will be based around the completion of a new joint war plan for the whole department, which the secretary said should be finished this summer. “I think once we go through this process with the future fleet — that'll really be the new foundation, the guiding post,” Esper said. “It'll give us the general direction we need to go, and I think that'll be a big game changer in terms of future fleet, for structure, for the Navy and Marine Corps team.” The Carrier Question As the Defense Department looks to craft a lighter Navy, the obvious question is: What will become of the Navy's 11 super carriers? Defense Department officials such as Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin have publicly questioned whether ground-based hypersonic missiles might more effectively deter China than an aircraft carrier that he believes is increasingly vulnerable. Esper said he's not sure what the ultimate answer is on aircraft carriers – but rejected the idea there is a binary choice to be had. “This discussion often comes down to a binary: Is it zero or 12?” Esper said. “First of all, I don't know. I think carriers are very important. I think they demonstrate American power, American prestige. They get people's attention. They are a great deterrent. They give us great capability.” The Navy may have to think about new ways of building carriers, however, if they are going to stay relevant in the future, Esper said. As an example, he pointed to what Japan is doing with its F-35B jump-jet models, which have been tested for use on lighter ships previously designed for use with helicopters. “There are various ways to do carriers,” Esper said. “So, we can talk numbers or we can talk the sizes of carriers, right? There's been discussion in the past about: do you keep building big carriers or do you go to smaller carriers, Lightning carriers? Acting Secretary Modly and I have talked about that. “I think this gets into the future fleet designs we look at. That will be one element that we look at.” https://www.defensenews.com/breaking-news/2020/02/09/defense-secretary-mark-esper-on-how-the-navy-can-get-to-355-ships

  • Researchers Uncover Vulnerabilities in Open-Source AI and ML Models

    30 octobre 2024 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Researchers Uncover Vulnerabilities in Open-Source AI and ML Models

    Discover critical vulnerabilities in open-source AI tools that could lead to data theft and code execution. Update your software now!

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - January 29, 2020

    30 janvier 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - January 29, 2020

    NAVY Geocent LLC, Metairie, Louisiana (N66001-20-D-3417); M.C. Dean Inc., Tysons, Virginia (N66001-20-D-3418); McKean Defense Group LLC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (N66001-20-D-3419); Parsons Government Services Inc., Pasadena, California (N66001-20-D-3420); Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia (N66001-20-D-3421); Serco Inc., Herndon, Virginia (N66001-20-D-3422); Systems Technology Forum Ltd., Fredericksburg, Virginia (N66001-20-D-3423); Valkyrie Enterprises Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (N66001-20-D-3424); and VT Milcom Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (N66001-20-D-3425), are each awarded a $56,339,692 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award contract with cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price and cost (no fee) pricing. Support includes project management, administration, drafting, technical integration, testing, maintenance, engineering, logistics, facilities and security for software and hardware of new and existing command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems and networks. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This two-year contract includes two three-year option periods, which, if exercised, would bring the overall potential value of this contract to an estimated $249,033,405. Work will be performed primarily in the Indo-Asia-Pacific Region and Navy Region Southwest including Hawaii, Guam, Japan, California, Nevada, Washington state, Oklahoma, South Korea, Singapore, Philippines and Australia; and outside this region in Bahrain, Djibouti and Italy. Work will be performed outside the continental U.S. (50%); and inside the continental U.S. (50%) on a full-time basis. The period of performance of the base award is from Jan. 29, 2020, through Jan. 28, 2022. If all options were exercised, the period of performance would extend through Jan. 28, 2028. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using operations and maintenance (Navy); and other funding, which may include working capital funds (DoD); Department of Homeland Security funds; and research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds. This contract was competitively procured via a request for proposal (N66001-19-R-0001) which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Naval Information Warfare Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. The Naval Information Warfare Center, Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Northrup Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum Heights, Maryland, is awarded a $15,752,580 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to exercise options to previously-awarded contract N00024-15-C-5319 for level of effort engineering services and associated travel to provide continuous support of two AN/SLQ-32(V)Y Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 3 System low rate initial production units. This option exercise is for the continued level of effort engineering services in support of SEWIP Block 3 low-rate initial-production units. SEWIP is an evolutionary acquisition and incremental development program to upgrade the existing AN/SLQ-32(V) electronic warfare system. SEWIP Block 3 will provide select Navy surface ships a scalable electronic warfare enterprise suite with improved electronic attack capabilities. Work will be performed in Linthicum, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by December 2020. Fiscal 2018 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $60,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Rockwell Collins Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is awarded an $11,301,660 fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract procures Joint Precision Approach and Landing Systems Airborne Radio Communication ARC-210 Generation 5 radio units for the Navy. Work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is expected to be completed in March 2021. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds for $403,110; and other procurement (Navy) funds for $3,627,990 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N68335-20-D-0006). BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services, Rockville, Maryland, is awarded a $10,536,004 modification (P00002) to a previously-awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00421-20-C-0003). This modification exercises an option to provide engineering and technical services for integrated communications and information systems radio communications for Navy ships, in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center, Webster Outlying Field, to support the integrated communications and information systems radio communications. Work will be performed in St. Inigoes, Maryland (60%); California, Maryland (30%); Bath, Maine (5%); and Pascagoula, Mississippi (5%), and is expected to be completed in July 2025. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds for $4,000,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. ARMY Continental Heavy Civil Corp., Miami, Florida, was awarded a $23,778,240 firm-fixed-price contract for the NASA Wallops Beach Renourishment Project in Accomack County, Virginia. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Wallops Island, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of March 12, 2021. Fiscal 2019 civil construction, Corps of Engineers funds in the amount of $23,778,240 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W91236-20-C-0002). AECOM Management Services Inc., Germantown, Maryland, was awarded a $17,000,000 modification (000260) to contract W52P1J-12-G-0028 for Army Prepositioned Stock (APS-2) logistics support services in support of maintenance, supply and transportation at Mannheim and Dulmen, Germany. Work will be performed in Mannheim and Dulmen, Germany, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 20, 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $17,000,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Vision Point Systems Inc.,* Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded a $13,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide corrosion engineering and logistics technical, analytical, programmatic, research and development, technical assistance, testing, training, and technical writing support for the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVCS) and Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) Life Cycle Management Center (LCMC). Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 28, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-20-D-0012). Dawn/Higley JV LLC,* Warren, Ohio, was awarded an $11,458,223 firm-fixed-price contract to repair and renovate interior and exterior of an aircraft maintenance hangar. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Mansfield, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 Air Guard sustainment, repair, maintenance in the amount of $11,458,223 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Property and Fiscal Office for Ohio 179th Mission Support Contracting, Mansfield, Ohio, is the contracting activity (W50S8R-20-C-0002). AIR FORCE Technica Corp., Sterling, Virginia, has been awarded a $13,591,345 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to exercise the first option period, Feb. 15, 2020, through Feb. 14, 2021. The contract provides weapon system engineering and maintenance services to include incremental software version development and installation, security patch installations, preventative maintenance, trouble shooting and responsive Tier 1, 2 and 3 support for the Cyberspace Vulnerability Assessment/Hunter (CVA/H) weapon system. Work will be performed in Sterling, Virginia, and is expected to be complete by Aug. 14, 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition. Offerors were solicited under the Network-Centric Solutions (NETCENTS) Network Operations and Infrastructure Small Business contract holders and seven offers were received. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation; operations and maintenance; and procurement funds in the amount of $13,591,345 are being obligated at the time of modification to exercise the first option period. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Cryptologic and Cyber Systems Division, Joint-Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA8732-14-D-0015, task order FA8307-19-F-0098). Starwin Industries LLC, Dayton, Ohio, has been awarded a $9,554,000 firm-fixed price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for F-16 Bugeye radomes. This contract provides for the supply of both left and right Bugeye radomes for the F-16 aircraft. Work will be performed in Dayton, Ohio, and is expected to be complete by Jan. 28, 2026. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition, two solicitations mailed and two offers received. Fiscal 2019 research and development funds (not multiyear) in the amount of $35,872 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, F-16 Division, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8232-20-D-0006). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Lions Services Inc.,** Charlotte, North Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $10,468,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for advanced combat helmet chinstraps. This is a one-year base contract with two one-year options periods. Location of performance is North Carolina, with a Jan. 28, 2021, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. 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-B082). * Small business ** Mandatory source https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2069174/source/GovDelivery/

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