Elbit Systems to Supply the Advanced Skylark mini UAS System to the IDF

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  4 novembre 2019 | International, Naval

  SECNAV: Ford Issues Due To Cost Cap, Explains Timeline

  By Rich Abott | The Secretary of the Navy today said the cost cap on the first Ford-class aircraft carrier helped lead to problems resulting in delays to the advanced weapons elevators (AWEs) and explained the government's issues and changing strategy with the shipbuilder. Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer said on Wednesday at a Heritage Foundation press roundtable that the Navy and shipbuilder/AWE builder Huntington Ingalls Industries [HII] planned to build a test elevator site, similar to the electromagnetic advanced landing system (EMALS) located in Lakehurst, N.J. The Navy has used Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst to test the General Atomics advanced arresting gear (AAG) and EMALS hundreds of times before testing them on the first new carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78). “Then we had the cost cap come in. And as [HII president and CEO] Mike Petters can say, you know fine, the cost cap comes in and no one builds the land site elevator. We had to cut costs somewhere. Sometimes we're our own worst enemy,” Spencer said. In February, the Navy said it would start building the AWE land-based test site, after the fact, in Philadelphia (Defense Daily, Feb. 20). Spencer said he thinks about it and wonders if anyone was expecting there to be second and third order effects of a cost cap. “You don't get anything for free and you're not going to drive quality by cost cap. We have to start thinking differently when we go to cost control.” Spencer also further illuminated the Navy's work with HII on the elevators. Last week, he strongly criticized the company after delays on the AWEs, saying the Navy's faith and confidence with HII senior management on the project were very low (Defense Daily, Oct. 25). On Monday, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition James Geurts said the Navy-HII team's output on the elevators has been much better in the last few months and he was cautiously optimistic on progress of the Ford elevators (Defense Daily, Oct. 29). Spencer said in fall 2018 the Navy was finalizing the HII elevator plan. The company gave him a chart that said all 11 AWEs would be tested and certified by the end of the planned post-shakedown availability (PSA), which was then planned for July 15. He said HII management reported high confidence of this timeline while Naval Reactors told him due to throttle and bearing issues the PSA would likely be pushed into September or October, “so I had more margin there. Did I feel confident? Completely confident.” Then, in January, Spencer said he made a bet with President Trump that the AWEs would be finished with the PSA or he could be fired (Defense Daily, Jan. 8). Spencer explained this was meant to rally the shipbuilders. “What we weren't seeing down there was the spring in the step of the people on the waterfront, to be very frank with you. It was business as usual. So we said ok, here's a rally point, we're going to commit to this.” However, in May 2019 he said HII management “goes oops, here we are, elevators aren't going to be ready until the end of 2020, possibly 2021. And that's when I went, do they really know what they're doing?” Spencer called that a moment of inflection and called Thomas Fargo, chairman of the board of HII, asking if the board knew what was going on with management “because out trust and confidence on this specific project of the elevators has eroded significantly.” While Spencer said Fargo said yes, there were continued frustrations on the government side. “That's when Hondo [Geurts] and I said let's get a tiger team down there and let's take this over as the general contractor and HII can sub to us. And that's basically what's happened this last 3 months.” Spencer said he went to the president and, after explaining the situation, was told “it's a complex system, keep knocking down the dragons.” When asked if these lessons would apply to future ships, Spencer said the Navy wants to avoid a cost cap for the lead ship in a new class like upcoming guided-missile future frigate, FFG(X). “We have to have an open discussion on first of class. Now, these are proven designs so it's going to be a little different, but we are adjusting it here and there and yes we should expect some hiccups,” he continued. “Expectation management, I think, is key.” Going forward, Spencer argued perhaps the Navy should make requirements for ships more flexible. He compared the Navy's process to the airline industry, which requires an airplane that can fit a certain number of people to transport them a certain amount of miles and has few change orders, then examines the options. However, the government has shrunk the competitive base so far that contractors agree to following requirements but only if the government takes 60 to 100 percent of the risk. “In some cases, you'd love to say should we change requirements to requests? Because if in fact you're a shipbuilder, why should I definitively lock you in if you have better ideas? Where is the flow to say if you want to get here you might want to consider this, which his 80 percent of the solution versus I will drive to 100% of your solution but the cost is going to be up here?” Spencer said he understands it is difficult to change requirements because they serve a definite purpose but wondered at what cost and percent mission capability can the government make a compromise compared to the current inflexibility. Relatedly, Spencer said he has “medium confidence” that a recent $197 million reprogramming request to Congress to fund more Ford fixes will be enough, simply because “first of classes is tough.” “I'd be remiss if I said that was the last, to be very frank. I'd rather have the option to say we're going to come for more than saying no we're capped off now. I feel good on what we're finally learning on the end of this birthing process,” Spencer said. https://www.defensedaily.com/secnav-ford-issues-due-cost-cap-might-need-money/navy-usmc/

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  11 mars 2024 | International, Terrestre

  Biden's meager 1% US defense budget increase buys fewer ships, jets

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  13 août 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Griffin joins Rocket Lab board following Pentagon exit

  Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — Just over a month after leaving the Pentagon, former Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin has joined the board of Rocket Lab, a small launch provider with increasing business with the U.S. government. “Rocket Lab has established itself as the leader in dedicated small satellite launch, and it's a privilege to be joining the board at an exciting time for the business as it continues to increase launch cadence and expand into satellite manufacturing and operations,” Griffin said in a statement. “Space continues to be a highly contested domain crucial to our national security, and it's also a domain that presents significant commercial opportunity. The Rocket Lab team has a proven track record of executing on a clear vision to make space accessible to these diverse communities, and I look forward to supporting that vision.” As the U.S. government has sought to leverage the growing small launch market in recent years, Rocket Lab has been there to pick up the contracts. The U.S. Air Force has awarded the company multiple launch contracts in recent years, and the U.S. Space Force is expected to launch a payload with the company in the coming months. At the same time, the National Reconnaissance Office launched its first payload from New Zealand on one of the company's Electron rockets earlier this year. Although the company recently saw one of their launches fail to reach orbit, resulting in the loss of all commercial payloads onboard, a subsequent investigation has cleared Rocket Lab to resume launch activities and both NRO and the Space and Missile Systems Center have said they plan to continue doing business with the company. Griffin's addition to the board certainly reflects the company's desire to continue pursuing national security small launch contracts. “We are honored to welcome Mike to Rocket Lab's board of directors,” said Peter Beck, Rocket Lab's founder and chief executive. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from the civil, defense, and commercial space sectors that will be invaluable to our team as Rocket Lab continues to grow and meet the ever-evolving launch and space systems needs of the national security community and commercial sector alike.” Griffin has a long history in the space arena. In 2005 he became the 11th NASA Administrator, a position he held until his resignation in 2008. During his tenure he initiated development of the agency's first commercial cargo delivery service to orbit. More recently at head of R&E for the Department of Defense, Griffin was heavily involved in rethinking how the Pentagon approached the space domain. Griffin oversaw the establishment of the Space Development Agency in 2019, despite resistance from inside and outside of the Pentagon. Griffin was the agency's most high profile advocate, pushing for funding for the nascent organization from Congress and arguing that it should remain independent from the U.S. Air Force's traditional space acquisitions structure—at least initially. Over the agency's first year and a half, he helped articulate a unique identity for the SDA in developing a new proliferated constellation in low Earth orbit, which will eventually be made up of hundreds of satellites. That National Defense Space Architecture is now expected to be a key component to two of DoD's most pressing issues: Hypersonic missile warning and Joint All Domain Command and Control. During his tenure, Griffin was well known for his strong personality, which ruffled the feathers of both his colleagues at DoD and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Most notably, he clashed with former Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson over the establishment of SDA, and the day before he announced his resignation the House Armed Services Committee recommended removing the Missile Defense Agency from under his control. Griffin announced his resignation June 23, officially exiting the building July 10. He and his deputy, Lisa Porter—who resigned at the same time—have since opened up a new business together called Logiq Inc. White House Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios was announced as Griffin's successor. Aaron Mehta in Washington contributed to this story. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/08/12/griffin-joins-rocket-lab-board-following-pentagon-exit