28 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense
WASHINGTON — North Carolina-based defense technology company Curtiss-Wright announced Sept. 24 that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Pacific Star, a major tactical communications vendor for the U.S. Army.
Curtiss-Wright, based in North Carolina, bought PacStar for $400 million in an effort to boost its network communications business. According to a press release from Curtiss-Wright, PacStar's business will operate within the Curtiss-Wright defense business and is expected to generate $120 million in sales in 2020.
“The acquisition of PacStar establishes Curtiss-Wright as a critical supplier of advanced tactical and enterprise network communications solutions supporting a broad spectrum of high-priority U.S. military force modernization programs,” said David C. Adams, chairman and CEO of Curtiss-Wright Corporation, in a statement. “The combination of Curtiss-Wright's mission-critical mobile and secure COTS-based processing, data management and communications technologies with PacStar's highly complementary hardware and software solutions will enable us to deliver best-in-class platform network integration and tactical data link network management to the warfighter.”
Curtiss-Wright ranked No. 72 in Defense News' Top 100 annual report on the world's largest defense companies.
PacStar is an important vendor for the Army's tactical network modernization effort, where it provides products to improve tactical expeditionary communications. Back in July, PacStar was awarded work to support the fielding of satellite baseband communications to three Expeditionary Signal Battalion-Enhanced (ESB-E) units by Army Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications-Tactical. PacStar also provides networking and communications capabilities for the Marine Corps' Networking On-The-Move (NOTM) program.
“PacStar, which represents the largest transaction in Curtiss-Wright's recent history, is well-positioned to benefit from the military's continued investment in robust, secure and integrated battlefield network management and is expected to yield significant opportunities for revenue growth," Adams said. "Further, this acquisition supports Curtiss-Wright's financial objectives for long-term profitable growth and strong free cash flow generation within our disciplined and balanced capital allocation strategy.”
https://www.c4isrnet.com/industry/2020/09/25/curtiss-wright-acquiring-pacstar-for-400-million/
30 mars 2022 | International, Autre défense
"Alliances and partnerships are not things that we can take for granted," says Greg Kausner, the new head of global defense for Anduril.
2 février 2021 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
NAVY Raytheon Technologies Corp., Pratt and Whitney, Pratt and Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Connecticut, is awarded a $290,704,534 cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price incentive (firm target) contract. This contract provides material and support equipment for depot maintenance facilities, program administrative labor for non-recurring sustainment activities, mockup engines and modules for test cells, as well as supplies, services, and planning for depot activations in support of the F-35 Lightning II Program Lot 13 propulsion system for the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, non-Department of Defense (DOD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (30%); East Hartford, Connecticut (22%); Cherry Point, North Carolina (10%); Indianapolis, Indiana (6.75%); Windsor, Connecticut (3.25%); Yuma, Arizona (1.25%); Norfolk, United Kingdom (1%); Leeuwarden, Netherlands (1%); various locations within the continental U.S. (3.75%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (21%), and is expected to be completed in January 2024. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $89,468,714; fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $84,152,318; non-DOD participant funds in the amount of $45,225,342; and FMS funds in the amount of $15,886,074, will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-21-C-0006). Crowley Government Services Inc., Jacksonville, Florida (N62387-15-C-2505) is awarded a $25,484,291 modification under a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract to exercise a six month option period (P00128) for the operation and maintenance of five Navy ocean surveillance ships USNS Victorious (T-AGOS 19); USNS Able (T-AGOS 20); USNS Effective (T-AGOS 21); USNS Loyal (T-AGOS 22); and USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS 23), and missile range instrumentation ships USNS Invincible (T-AGM 24); and USNS Howard Lorenzen (T-AGM 25). This modification provides for the exercises of a six-month option period to the bridge contract that was awarded on July 22, 2020. Work will be performed at sea, world-wide beginning Feb. 1, 2021, and is expected to be completed by July 31, 2021. Working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $25,484,291 are obligated for fiscal 2021 and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This bridge was not competitively procured and was prepared in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1 and 10 U.S. Code § 2304(c)(1). The Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin, Mission Systems and Training, Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded a $14,184,813 cost-plus award-fee order N62786-21-F-0004, against previously awarded basic ordering agreement N00024-19-G-2313 to provide engineering and management services for LCS-21 post shakedown availability. Work will be performed in Mayport, Florida (37%); Moorestown, New Jersey (29%); Virginia Beach, Virginia (18%); Washington, D.C. (15%); and Baltimore, Maryland (1%), and is expected to be completed by July 2022. Fiscal 2015 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) $5,339,694 funding will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair, Bath, Maine, is the contracting activity. ARMY Ellume USA LLC, Valencia, California, was awarded a $250,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to procure reliable home use testing without prescription requirements to meet the demand to respond to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Valencia, California, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 1, 2022. Fiscal 2021 special funds in the amount of $250,000,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911NF-21-9-0003). NIKA Technologies,* Rockville, Maryland (W912DY-21-D-0017); Health Facilities Solutions, San Antonio, Texas (W912DY-21-D-0021); Polu Kai Tidewater,* Falls Church, Virginia (W912DY-21-D-0020); Vali Cooper International, Covington, Louisiana (W912DY-21-D-0018); VW International Inc., Alexandria, Virginia (W912DY-20-D-0019); and The Outfit Inc., New Braunfels, Texas (W912DY-21-D-0016), will compete for each order of the $50,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide medical project support services, facility support services, quantity verification and analysis services, project development support services and commissioning support 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 Jan. 31, 2026. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Indiana, has been awarded a $96,932,957 delivery order (FA8504-21-F-0022) to contract FA8504-17-D-0002 for C-130J propulsion long-term sustainment. This order provides funding for Option IV. Work will be performed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, and is expected to be completed Jan. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2021 Special Operations Command operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $7,109,327; fiscal 2021 Air National Guard operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $22,126,544; fiscal 2021 Air Force Reserve operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $12,187,542; fiscal 2021 Air Force operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $54,486,354; and fiscal 2021 Special Operations Command research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,023,191 are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $66,684,503. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins AFB, Georgia, is the contracting activity. Innovative Scientific Solutions Inc., Dayton, Ohio, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $44,195,532 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Technology for Sustained Supersonic Combustion (TSSC). This is for the Technical Area 2 portion of TSSC. The mission of this TSSC effort focuses on development and evaluation of advanced aero propulsion systems and components, airframe structures, internal/external aerodynamics including integration into air vehicles, weapons and launch components with an emphasis on decreasing weigh and evaluating the effect of engine scale to determine operability, durability and performance. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be completed February 2028. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and four offers were received. The first task order will be incrementally funded with fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $20,000 at time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-21-D-2401). Cyber Systems and Services Solutions, Bellevue, Nebraska, has been awarded a $17,765,741 firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P0010) to contract FA8773-18-D-0002 to exercise Option Three for defensive cyber realization, integration and operational support services. Work will be performed at Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA)-Lackland, Texas, and is expected to be completed Feb. 28, 2022. This modification is the result of a competitive acquisition and seven offers were received. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $8,764,731 are being obligated at the time of award. The 38th Contracting Squadron, JBSA-Lackland, Texas, is the contracting activity. University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, has been awarded a $12,500,000 cost-reimbursement contract for “Photovoltaic Sheets for High-Specific-Power Space-Based Energy Harvesting (PVS-EH)”. This contract is to provide, develop and demonstrate the concept of PV “sheets” (PVS), consisting of modular, interconnect able, high-efficiency PV power sources fabricated on low-weight flexible substrates using scalable processing. Under this program, the contractor will further the effort to study and develop advanced materials, interfaces and electrical contacts for high efficiency and high specific power tandem thin film photovoltaic technologies to achieve lightweight solar sheet technologies that enable specific powers to exceed 1000 W/kg onboard spacecraft self- sensing, attribution and autonomy. Work will be performed in Toledo, Ohio, and is expected to be completed February 2026. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, is the contracting activity (FA9453-21-C-0056). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded a $7,763,422 firm-fixed-price task order under the ground subsystems sustainment contract (FA8214-15-D-0001) for the Minuteman III Launch Control Center Block Upgrade production for the exercise of Option Year One of Malmstrom Wing I. Work will be performed in Ogden, Utah, and is expected to be completed Aug. 15, 2022. Fiscal 2021 missile procurement funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. Total value of the task order after exercise of the previously mentioned option is $26,428,083. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8204-20-F-0071). CORRECTION: The contract modification (P00014) awarded to Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Georgia, Jan. 27, 2021, had an incorrect obligation amount. The operation and maintenance funds being obligated at the time of award should be $50,418,022, not $44,482,293 (FA8106-18-D-0002). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Stryker Corp., Portage, Michigan, has been awarded a maximum $89,644,767 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for cranial and maxillofacial procedural packages and ancillary items. 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 one-year contract with four one-year option periods. Location of performance is Michigan, with a Jan. 31, 2022, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army, Navy and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DE-21-D-0011). Exxel Outdoors LLC,* Broomfield, Colorado, has been awarded a maximum $55,760,612 firm-fixed-priced, indefinite-delivery/definite-quantity contract for three-season sleep systems and components. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. This is a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods. Location of performance is Colorado, with a Jan. 28, 2022, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-21-D-1439). SNC Manufacturing LLC,** Orocovis, Puerto Rico, has been awarded a maximum $41,007,805 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for trousers. This was a competitive acquisition with eight responses received. This is a one-year contract with four one-year option periods. Location of performance is Puerto Rico, with a Jan. 31, 2022, ordering period end date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-21-D-1413). *Small business **Small disadvantaged business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2489417/source/GovDelivery/
12 mars 2019 | International, Aérospatial
By: Kyle Rempfer The XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator, a long-range, high-subsonic unmanned combat air vehicle, completed its inaugural flight Tuesday at Yuma Proving Grounds, in Arizona. The Air Force's fleet of current drones, such as the MQ-9 Reaper, are basically giant gas bags that fly — able to loiter for long periods above friendly forces in order to provide armed overwatch and intelligence. But the airspace over future battlefields will likely not be permissive, and so new drones will need to be developed. XQ-58A Valkyries were developed under the low-cost attritable aircraft technology program — meaning they're cheap and can be lost in combat without too much concern. The drone and its derivatives are anticipated to perform a range of missions, including suppression of enemy air defenses, offensive and defensive counter-air maneuvers, nap-of-the-earth or terrain masking flight and high-altitude flying. The Valkyrie appears to come with a stealthy, low radar signature design, meaning it may be able to be paired with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in a manned-unmanned configuration. When entering enemy airspace filled with counter-air systems, the Valkyrie could conceivably soak up enemy fire or even attack enemy positions and aircraft. The F-35 has been touted by the Air Force chief of staff as the “quarterback of the joint team," and not simply another stealth aircraft. The fifth-generation fighter is expected to come with a suite of information fusion capabilities, enabling its pilot to process information and coordinate on the battlefield like never before. Full article: https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/03/08/air-force-offers-glimpse-of-new-stealthy-combat-drone-during-first-flight