20 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

DoD Needs Supply Chain Strategy To Survive Future Crises: Roper

"We were in a very frenzied state," Air Force acquisition head Will Roper says of DoD efforts to stave off the collapse of key suppliers during the early weeks of the coronavirus crisis.

By THERESA HITCHENSon July 17, 2020 at 4:38 PM

WASHINGTON: Air Force acquisition head Will Roper says DoD needs to develop a new supply chain strategy that incentivizes industry to build a more diverse, responsive and resilient supply chain.

“What I hope sticks on the other side of COVID-19 is a strategic focus on the supply chain,” he told a webinar co-sponsored by Government Matters and the Farnborough International Association today, on the even of the virtual air show. “Government has to have a strategy. We have to explain to industry what we consider good supply chain management practices to be, and not to be. And we need to write that in plain English, which the government has a tough time doing frequently.”

That strategy also has to be followed up with incentives for industry to do the right thing, he said. “We have to put our money where our mouth is,” Roper said.

For example, he said, it should include incentivizing contractors, big and small, to use digital manufacturing technologies that allow companies to quickly pivot to different missions in times of need.

“That's a strategic capability for the nation. We need to encourage that,” he said.

Roper noted that the Air Force is attempting to do just that with its centerpiece Advanced Battle Management Program (ABMS), being designed as a technology foundation for running future all-domain wars via the Joint All-Domain Command and Control System (JADC2).

“We've got a pretty cool program called the Advanced Battle Management System. It's not a cool name — it's kind of like Castle Anthrax in Monty Python: ‘it's not a good name but it's the one we've got',” he joked. “That's a program where adaptability is king.”

He explained that the service is working with industry to both explain, and reward, technology initiatives that will give operators the ability to rapidly upgrade or switch out old capabilities for new ones. As Breaking D readers knows, ABMS is attempting to iterate technologies developed under the program on a four-month cycle.

Roper said the first three weeks of the COVID-19 crisis threw DoD into a maelstrom as acquisition authorities tried to cope with the potential of supplier collapse. “We were in a very frenzied state,” he said.

The Air Force is the executive agent for all DoD use of Defense Production Act Title III contracts to support industry suffering from the coronavirus pandemic. However, the Defense Industrial Base Sector Coordinating Council under the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) actually chooses which companies to support based on service requests — including for the Air Force.

While Roper sees ongoing problems from COVID-19 impacts on suppliers, especially small firms for whom cash-flow is highly important, he said that the Air Force and DoD are in a much better place now to handle them as they arise.

“I don't think we'll see something as frenzied as what we went through during the first three weeks of COVID,” he said. “I think if this continues in future, we will have to take aggressive actions when there are hotspots that fire up in the country. Smaller companies are always going to be at risk by a few number of COVID-19 cases — they're going to have to shut down their facilities, they're going to have to clean, they're gonna have to be work force quarantining — and for companies of that size, having cash on hand to make payroll, to make invoicing, is critically important. Cash flow and liquidity is everything during a crisis. But we're more ready for that.”

This is in part because leaders have a better grasp on what companies are likely to be at risk, Roper explained. “Now, we know who those critical suppliers are we have insight into our supply chain that we have ever had,” he said.

For example, the small launch industry is one sector that Roper continues to keep a close eye on.

“Small launch is still a big need for our industrial base for the Space Force and we want to try to try to do whatever we can to keep that market healthy,” he told reporters on July 14.

Roper expressed some disappointment about OSD's July 1 decision to rescind a June-announced award of $116 million for six small launch companies: Aevum, Astra, X-Bow, Rocket Lab, Space Vector and VOX Space. He explained that OSD determined there “were some additional small business needs” that came up, because the small launch package was one of the last DPA approved actions, it was “the first to be put back in the batter's box.”

“My hope is that whenever there's new Title III funding, or when resources free up due to other efforts not executing as planned, that those are the first to go back into the hopper. If I were asked today to put in one new Title III initiative, it's small launch,” he added.

As Paul reported, Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord on June 22 said she is seeking approval for a funding package request in the “lower double digit billions” from the White House to cover COVID-19 related costs, including paying for industry claims of supply chain and workforce reductions.

And a group of CEOs from major defense primes, in a letter obtained by Breaking D, are asking for DoD help in seeking yet more COVID-19 stimulus funds from Congress.

https://breakingdefense.com/2020/07/dod-needs-supply-chain-strategy-to-survive-future-crises-roper

Sur le même sujet

9 décembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial

Germany in talks with Lockheed Martin over ‘fragile’ missile defense program
By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany – German defense officials are negotiating with contractors Lockheed Martin and MBDA Deutschland about a bid proposal for a next-generation antimissile program that the government believes is missing crucial components, according to a new defense ministry report. Information about the status of the high-profile TLVS program, short for Taktisches Luftverteidigungssystem, is included in the latest, unclassified portion of a biannual assessment by the defense ministry on the progress of key military acquisition programs. The document constitutes the defense ministry's first public evaluation of the U.S.-German industry consortium's second and final bid, submitted in June. “The analysis of the second offer shows that the proposal still falls short of the government's requirements because key elements and services were not included, some of which had been previously agreed,” the document states. Additionally, some performance requirements, which are left unexplained in the report, were not addressed in the industry bid, it adds. Talks with the companies are ongoing to clarify outstanding issues by the end of 2019, the defense ministry wrote. Overall, the government considers the program to be “fragile” based on a high degree of technological and managerial complexity. That is compared to a more upbeat assessment in the previous report, dated June, which found “significant progress” had been made over the previous six months. The defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment on what elements the Lockheed Martin-MBDA proposal was lacking. A Lockheed spokesman referred questions to the German government, writing in an email, “It is a matter for the German MoD to comment on the content of its latest project report and position relating to TLVS.” The report offers an explanation for why defense officials have been unable to articulate a time table for submitting the multibillion-dollar program to the German parliament for consideration. For one, the government must first wait for a foreign military sales process to play out with the United States over access to key performance data of the Lockheed-made PAC-3 MSE interceptor, the primary missile of the TLVS system. Germany launched the petition for the requisite goods and services in April 2019. In addition, officials are unable to formulate a path for integrating a secondary interceptor into the system, the IRIS-T SL, to be made by Germany's Diehl Defence, officials wrote. That is because the most recent Lockheed-MBDA proposal lacks the detailed interface documentation that would be needed to integrate such an interceptor into TLVS. Without that information, however, officials are unable to solicit a bid from Diehl, according to the report. German officials consider the ability to use IRIS-T missile a must-have for TLVS because those missiles are domestically made and because they are cheaper. Amid the runaway program complexity giving officials headaches, the government still appears to believe in the promise of the TLVS system as a replacement of the country's fleet of Patriot batteries. If it can be made to work, the military expects a “technological advantage” that will position the country as a NATO leader in missile defense, the report states. Officials will make decisions about the way ahead after ongoing talks with industry come to an end, it adds. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/12/06/germany-in-talks-with-lockheed-martin-over-fragile-missile-defense-program
11 mars 2022 | International, Terrestre

DoD SBIR 22.4 Annual BAA Topic Pre-Release: Army Topic Release 2 – A224-004, A224-005, and A224-006
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10 juin 2020 | International, Naval

Leonardo signs a framework agreement for the maintenance of defence systems in-service with the Danish Navy
Rome June 9, 2020 - Leonardo has signed a twenty-year framework agreement with the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) which provides for logistics support and the possible future upgrade of the seventeen 76/62 Super Rapid Gun Mounts which are in-service on the Danish Navy's Iver Huitfeldt Class Frigates, Thetis Class Inspection Ships and Knud Rasmussen Class Inspection Ships. The agreement is worth up to a total value of 70 million Euros and can be extended in line with the needs of DALO and future budgets. The 76/62 Super Rapid (SR) Gun Mount is a lightweight, rapid-fire naval gun which delivers performance and flexibility in all air defence and anti-surface roles, particularly in an anti-missile role. The 76/62 SR is suitable for installation on ships of any type and class, including small naval units. The scope of the agreement between Leonardo and DALO ranges from basic support supplies, such as spare parts, tools and technical logistics services, up to gun upgrades and the provision of brand new 76/62 SR guns in their most up-to-date configurations. The first purchase orders are expected to be for materials necessary to maintain operational guns and for a plan to replace all original consoles with a new digital version. The deal highlights Leonardo's ability to ensure customers to perform their mission, by offering logistics solutions which maximise the value and utility of its products over time. It consolidates the Company's partnership with DALO, one of the most important customers in the naval defence systems sector, a relationship which formed in the 1980s and is projected to last long into the future. View source version on Leonardo: https://www.leonardocompany.com/en/press-release-detail/-/detail/09-06-2020-leonardo-signs-a-framework-agreement-for-the-maintenance-of-defence-systems-in-service-with-the-danish-navy

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