Japan confirms single prime contractor for F-X

Sur le même sujet

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  18 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval

  The US Navy is short almost 100 fighter pilots

  David B. Larter WASHINGTON — A rash of technical and safety problems has left the U.S. Navy's fleet short by about 90 fighter pilots. Fixing the issue is an uphill battle, a top aviator said last week. The Navy has seen a slew of issues, including problems with the oxygen flow to the pilots causing negative and unsafe physiological responses in pilots and trainees, as well as readiness and engine trouble with aircraft. All of this has extended the time it takes to create a fighter pilot from three to four years, and the issues have created a gap in the number of pilots in the fleet, naval air training chief Rear Adm. Robert Westendorff said at a virtual Tailhook symposium on Saturday. “We can't just snap our fingers and produce those immediately. The time to train of a strike fighter pilot is about three years; due to the bottlenecks we've had, its getting closer to four years,” Westendorff said. “We're doing everything we can to get that back down to the three-year mark. But the recovery plan is a three-year plan. And if we stay on track, it should take us about three years.” An issue with the T-45′s engines “dramatically reduced” the availability of the aircraft this year, but the program is getting back on track, Westendorff said. Additionally, the general shortfall of F/A-18 Super Hornets throughout the fleet has impacted training, but Naval Aviation has been focused on bringing those numbers back up in recent years by fixing jets unable to fly for mechanical reasons. Naval air training has been beset in recent years with controversy over the so-called physiological episodes, the cause of which has been very hard to pin down. The Navy now believes it's a complex issue involving air flow and air pressure related to the breathing apparatus, and measures have been put in place to mitigate it, USNI News reported in June. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/09/17/the-us-navy-is-short-almost-100-fighter-pilots/

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

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - January 15, 2020

  AIR FORCE F.K. Horn GmbH & Co., Kaiserslautern, Germany (FA5613-20-D-0001); SKE Support Services GmbH, Goldbach, Germany (FA561320D0002); Mickan GmbH & Co., Amberg, Germany (FA5613-20-D-0003); BB Government Services GmbH, Kaiserslautern, Germany (FA5613-20-D-0004); J&J Worldwide Services, Austin, Texas (FA5613-20-D-0005); and Wolff & Müller Government Services GmbH & Co., Stuttgart, Germany (FA5613-20-D-0006), have been awarded an estimated $425,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the multiple award construction contract. This contract provides for a broad range of design-build, sustainment, maintenance, repair, alteration, renovation and minor construction projects to include residential and commercial work for the Kaiserslautern Military Community, Spangdahlem Air Base, as well as supporting installations throughout Germany. Work will be performed primarily at Headquarters U.S. Air Force in Europe (USAFE); Ramstein Air Base; Spangdahlem Air Base; and USAFE geographically separated units in Germany. The contract will expire on Jan. 14, 2025. This contract is the result of a competitive acquisition and seven offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of 1,000 Euros are being obligated for each awardee at the time of the award. The 700th Contracting Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, is the contracting activity. L3Harris Technologies Inc., Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been awarded a $12,929,064 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification (P01033) to a previously-awarded contract F19628-02-C-0010 for the National Space Defense Center (NSDC) sustainment effort. This modification provides sustainment support for the NSDC at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, which is housed within the Distributed Space Command and Control – Dahlgren program of record. Work will be performed at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2020. The total cumulative face value is $12,929,064. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $12,929,064 are being obligated at time of award. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity. ARMY F3EA Inc.,* Savannah, Georgia, was awarded a $245,000,000 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-sharing, and firm-fixed-price) contract for special operations forces requirements analysis, prototyping, training, operations and rehearsal IV. Bids were solicited via the internet with 10 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 14, 2027. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (W900KK-20-D-0005). Rogers, Lovelock & Fritz, Orlando, Florida, was awarded a $100,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architecture and engineering design services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 13 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 14, 2030. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, Missouri, is the contracting activity (W912DQ-20-D-4000). Bechtel National Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $35,709,723 modification (P00184) to contract W52P1J-09-C-0012 for the increased permitting requirements request for equitable adjustment at Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant as a result of additional work in the sample management office, waste plan analysis and odor monitoring. Work will be performed in Pueblo, Colorado, with an estimated completion date of July 12, 2020. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation, Army funds in the amount of $35,709,723 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. LLC, Oak Brook, Illinois, was awarded a $10,723,250 firm-fixed-price contract for coastal storm risk management work. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Southampton, New York, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2020. Fiscal 2018 flood control and coastal emergencies, civil works funds in the amount of $10,723,250 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York, New York, is the contracting activity (W912DS-20-C-0006). NAVY Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Syracuse, New York, is awarded a $19,330,296 firm-fixed-price modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-19-C-6269 to exercise options for the procurement of eight multi-function modular masts for new-construction Virginia-class submarine Block V hulls. Work will be performed in Nashua, New Hampshire (70%); and Syracuse, New York (30%), and is expected to be completed by September 2023. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $19,330,296 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona, is awarded a $9,075,931 firm-fixed-price delivery order (N00019-20-F-0499) against a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-15-D-0034). This delivery order provides for repair and sustainment services for 155 high-speed anti-radiation missiles in support of the Air Force, the government of Morocco and the government of Turkey. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed in December 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Air Force) funds in the amount of $8,824,266; and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds in the amount of $251,665 will be obligated at time of award, $8,824,266 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This order combines purchases for the Air Force ($8,824,266; 97.2%); and FMS customers ($251,665; 2.8%). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2058353/source/GovDelivery/

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  6 octobre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Making the case for commercially successful tech

  Peter Villano Despite the Pentagon's efforts to develop advanced technology to strengthen national security and stay competitive, barriers remain, keeping much of the most promising emerging technology out of the government. Pockets of success do exist; Air Force acquisition in particular evaluates dual-use technologies through AFWERX and investment arm AFVentures. To truly enhance our national security, however, more needs to be done to fund companies that have proven, viable emerging technologies. Most nontraditional companies with proven technologies that don't have national security experience already work with Fortune 500 companies and in highly regulated, complex industries. The problem is that most of these companies are still overlooked for collaboration with the government and the Pentagon. In an effort to leverage our nation's commercial innovators, the Small Business Innovation Research program requires federal agencies with large research and development budgets, like the Department of Defense, to set aside funds for small businesses. But the government's definitions for eligible small businesses can disadvantage tech companies that have already succeeded in the private sector. The SBIR program has been successful in many ways, but most awards go to companies already focused on the government. Robert Rozansky and Robert D. Atkinson wrote that nearly a fifth of all SBIR awards go to companies that have already won 50 or more times, evidencing failure to reach the most promising technology companies. A 2019 report from the Alliance for Digital Innovation claimed that the federal government's failure to adopt commercial technology has wasted $345 billion over the past 25 years. And a report from Govini noted that approximately 59 percent of DoD research and development funding is concentrated in the top 10 vendors, limiting innovation. As calls for public sector innovation remind us, the DoD needs the most advanced technology from the private sector. There are critical steps the DoD should take to fix this problem. First, the government should reform the SBIR program and dedicate new, flexible resources to find and utilize viable, commercially successful tech companies. The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2020 provides additional SBIR flexibility for small businesses more than 50 percent owned by venture capital. But the DoD has yet to fully promulgate this new flexible authority and is missing an opportunity to work with proven, VC-backed companies. The Small Business Administration should adjust the eligibility standards for the SBIR program to incentivize growth and, more importantly, take advantage of companies with more venture funding and a proven record of past performance. The number of repeat winners indicates that the SBIR program is not casting a wide enough net. Second, the DoD should further streamline acquisitions, reward acquisition executives who move fast, and expand flexible programs such as AFWERX, SOFWERX and the Defense Innovation Unit. Mike Madsen, deputy director and director of strategic engagement of DIU, said: “What [DIU has] represented is a lowering of those barriers to entry, making it easier for those leading-edge technology companies to get their technology to the men and women in uniform.” In the National Defense Authorization Act that passed the House, there is a charter for the National Security Innovation Network, which will expand and coordinate these efforts within the DoD. I strongly encourage the Senate to adopt the NSIN charter as well, and ensure its effort remains fully funded. The DoD alone awarded over 179 contracts in 2018 to nontraditional companies leveraging the other transaction authority, a flexible prototype authority outside of federal acquisition regulations. These contracts represent another way to engage high-growth tech companies. The DoD should continue to leverage OTAs. Third, the DoD should seek out federally focused accelerators and VCs in the private sector to inform, source and evaluate high-growth tech companies to drive federal missions forward. Federally focused tech accelerators like Dcode, and its investment network Dcode Capital, source promising tech for the government and ensure commercial tech is fully vetted and equipped to succeed in the federal marketplace. The DoD is also establishing in-house, VC-like programs, with AFVentures as an example. “This has been a year in the making now, trying to make our investment arm, the Air Force Ventures, act like an investor, even if it's a government entity,” the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, Dr. Will Roper, explained. Buy-in from Congress will also be crucial to the success of these initiatives, starting with the NSIN section of the NDAA. Working with the right private sector partners is vital, and organizations like Dcode reduce risk for the government. Defense organizations don't need to reinvent the wheel to work with commercially successful tech. Use what's available today to reduce barriers and risk, reform existing methods, and increase engagement with trustworthy resources to work with more viable commercial tech companies that can move our country forward. https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/10/03/making-the-case-for-commercially-successful-tech/