10 janvier 2024 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR
The U.S. Department of Defense requested $1.8 billion for artificial intelligence in fiscal 2024.
7 mars 2022 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR
L’investissement ESG, très prisé en Europe, a longtemps pesé sur le cours de Bourse du Français Thales, qui tire 50%...
10 juillet 2018 | International, Naval
By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON ― The U.S. Navy is rapidly moving toward procuring the first hull in its new class of frigate in 2020, but a new report is raising questions about whether the Navy has done detailed analysis about what it needs out of the ship before barging ahead. The Navy may not have done an adequate job of analyzing gaps and capabilities shortfalls before it set itself on a fast-track to buying the so-called FFG(X) as an adaptation from a parent design, said influential Navy analyst Ron O'Rourke in a new Congressional Research Service report. In essence, the CRS report questions whether the Navy looked at what capabilities the service already has in the fleet, what capabilities it's missing and whether the FFG(X) is the optimal solution to address any identified shortfalls. O'Rourke suggests Congress push the Navy on “whether procuring a new class of FFGs is the best or most promising general approach for addressing the identified capability gaps and mission needs, and whether the Navy has performed a formal, rigorous analysis of this issue, as opposed to relying solely on subjective judgments of Navy or [Defense Department] leaders.” ““Subjective judgments, though helpful, can overlook counter-intuitive results regarding the best or most promising general approach,” the report reads. “Potential alternative general approaches for addressing identified capability gaps and mission needs in this instance include (to cite a few possibilities) modified LCSs, FFs, destroyers, aircraft, unmanned vehicles, or some combination of these platforms.” The Navy is looking to adapt its FFG(X) from an existing design such as Fincantieri's FREMM, one of the two existing littoral combat ships or the Coast Guard's national security cutter as a means of getting updated capabilities into a small surface combatant and into the fleet quickly. A better approach, O'Rourke suggests, would be to make a formal, rigorous analysis of alternatives to its current course. Failure to do so has led to a series of setbacks with the Navy's current small surface combatant program, the LCS. “The Navy did not perform a formal, rigorous analysis of this kind prior to announcing the start of the LCS program in November 2001, and this can be viewed as a root cause of much of the debate and controversy that attended the LCS program, and of the program's ultimate restructurings in February 2014 and December 2015,” O'Rourke writes. O'Rourke further suggests the Navy is relying too much on subjective opinions of Navy and Defense Department leaders, instead of a legitimate analysis. And indeed, the Navy has made rapid acquisition of the new ship the hallmark of the program. “Subjective judgments can be helpful, particularly in terms of capturing knowledge and experience that is not easily reduced to numbers, in taking advantage of the ‘wisdom of the crowd,‘ and in coming to conclusions and making decisions quickly,” O'Rourke argues. “On the other hand, a process that relies heavily on subjective judgments can be vulnerable to group-think, can overlook counter-intuitive results regarding capability gaps and mission needs, and, depending on the leaders involved, can emphasize those leaders' understanding of the Navy's needs.” Read the full report here. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/07/09/has-the-us-navy-thought-this-new-frigate-through-new-report-raises-questions/
20 janvier 2021 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY US Foods Inc., Port Orange, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $390,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Florida, Cuba and Bahamas, with a Jan. 18, 2026, ordering period end date. Using military services are Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy and Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-21-D-3312). Federal Prison Industries Inc.,** Washington, D.C., has been awarded a maximum $24,708,000 modification (P00011) exercising the first one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-20-D-F056) with four one-year option periods for various types of trousers. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Locations of performance are Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Washington, D.C., with a Jan. 20, 2022, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army 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. NAVY General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut, is awarded a $41,554,227 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for engineering and technical design effort to support research and development concept formulation for current and future submarine platforms. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $305,521,179. Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut (96.1%); Bremerton, Washington (1.7%); Kings Bay, Georgia (1.7%); and Newport, Rhode Island (0.5%), and is expected to be completed by September 2021. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2025. Fiscal 2021 research, development, test and engineering (Navy) funds in the amount of $250,000 (80%); and 2020 research, development, test and engineering (Navy) funds in the amount of $63,000 (20%), will be obligated at time of award, of which funding in the amount of $63,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured and is a sole-source award pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(3) – Industrial Mobilization. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Sundance-EA Associates II,* Pocatello, Idaho, is awarded a maximum-value $30,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for environmental compliance services at Joint Region Marianas, Guam. The work to be performed is for a full range of environmental support activities for naval installation environmental compliance programs to ensure the supported components, tenant commands and facilities and contractor operations demonstrate and maintain compliance with all applicable federal, U.S. territory, and local statutes, and with Department of Defense and Navy policies, permits, instructions and guidance. Environmental compliance programs include clean air, safe drinking water, clean water, hazardous waste, pollution prevention, solid waste management, pesticide compliance, emergency planning and community right-to-know act, ozone-depleting substances management, storage tank management, environmental quality assessment, environmental sampling and analysis and overall environmental compliance oversight. Future task orders will be primarily funded by operation and maintenance (Navy) funds. Work will be performed in the Joint Region Marianas area of responsibility and is expected to be completed by January 2026. Work under the initial task order will be performed in Guam and is expected to be completed by January 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,447,016 will be obligated under the initial task order at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.SAM.gov website, with six proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Marianas, Guam, is the contracting activity (N40192-21-D-1820). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Melbourne, Florida, is awarded a $29,776,196 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N00019-21-F-0064) against previously issued basic ordering agreement N00019-20-G-0005. This order procures five aerial refueling retrofit kits and installation on the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. Work will be performed in Ronkonkoma, New York (44.53%); Baltimore, Maryland (16.62%); Irvine, California (6.48%); Hauppauge, New York (5.85%); Columbia, Maryland (4.75%); Dorset, England (3.17%); East Aurora, New York (2.64%); North Hollywood, California (2.02%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (13.94%), and is expected to be completed in May 2022. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $29,776,196 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Range Generation Next LLC, Sterling, Virginia, has been awarded a $14,600,345 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P000327) to contract FA8806-15-C-0001 for a telemetry end-to-end processing system. This modification supports an increase in launch and test range requirements. Work will primarily be performed at Eastern Range, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida; Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida; and Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and is expected to be completed May 11, 2023. Fiscal 2020 Air Force space procurement funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson AFB, Colorado, is the contracting activity. ARMY Transportation Management Services Inc., Sandy Spring, Maryland, was awarded a $13,874,720 firm-fixed-price contract to provide transportation services throughout the National Capital Region from Jan.16, 2021, through Jan. 31, 2021. Bids were solicited via the internet with eight received. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (National Guard) funds in the amount of $13,874,720 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army National Guard Bureau, Operational Contracting Division, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W912R1-21-F-0002). *Small business **Mandatory source https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2476202/source/GovDelivery/