30 avril 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
By: Joe Gould and Leo Shane III
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said Wednesday he doesn't think upcoming economic stimulus packages related to the coronavirus outbreak should include more money for defense, saying other public health needs are more pressing.
“Without question, with the pandemic and the needs of national security and the Defense Department, we're going to have to spend a lot of money,” said Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., in a teleconference with reporters. “The good news is we have a lot of money.
“The defense [budget] bill last year was $738 billion. I'm not saying that there aren't needs within the Department of Defense, I'm saying they have a lot of money and ought to spend that money to meet those needs.”
Smith's comments come as the Pentagon is readying a request for billions in a future economic package under consideration by Congress, which has already passed nearly $3 trillion in emergency funding bills in recent weeks.
Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord said last week that the Pentagon is working with the White House budget office on a package to aid defense contractors hit by closures or other effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
DoD has already announced it would make $3 billion in expedited “progress payments" to increase cash flow to primary contractors and more vulnerable, smaller subcontractors.
But Smith said his priority in the next stimulus bill is public health, not the defense industry.
“Of all the needs that we face in this country, [my priority is not] to spend more money on basic DoD to go buy more planes or ships or boats or anything like that,” he said.
In an emergency spending package approved earlier this month, lawmakers gave the Defense Department about $10.5 billion in funding for defense health programs and Tricare response to the public health threat, as well as money for National Guard deployments to help state prevention efforts.
Smith has been an advocate of military personnel taking a larger role in conducting and processing coronavirus tests for the general public, saying the Defense Department's logistical expertise and infrastructure could dramatically speed that work.
He said he would back more money for those efforts, but “I have not seen an argument that makes sense to me [for putting] more money into defense to manufacture things.”
The Senate is scheduled to return to Washington next week, but House lawmakers have postponed any votes for the near future. No timeline has been announced for when the next stimulus package could be completed.
27 mai 2024 | International, Aérospatial
Under the recently signed contract, the new aircraft are expected to be delivered in 2026 with two units dedicated to healthcare missions and disaster relief and one unit to be...
14 juin 2018 | International, Terrestre
PARIS ― The French Army and government procurement office will begin talks this summer for the acquisition of a new light armored vehicle, dubbed VBAE, with a view to equipping the service by 2025, according to a program director at the Direction Générale de l'Armement procurement office. Among the capabilities to be considered are an unmanned, remote controlled VBAE, Erwan told journalists June 12 at the the indoor stand of the Armed Forces Ministry at the Eurosatory trade show for land weapons. Erwan is the first name of the program director, whose last name has been withheld for security reasons. If the VBAE is made to be controlled remotely, it would be the first unmanned vehicle for the French Army. That vehicle will replace the VBL light vehicle. Illustrating future operations, the ministry's stand displayed a brief video of a virtual combat simulation in 2035. The screening took place between prototypes of the Griffon troop carrier and Jaguar reconnaissance and combat vehicle. The entire display was meant to emphasize the importance of an integrated network and firepower. The DGA and the Army will spend a year in discussions, leading to a draft that will define the project. They will then consult industry for their responses to the requirement, he said. The companies that show interest will be invited to “show what they can do” by demonstrating their capabilities from 2020-2021. That work will be undertaken under a new “innovation partnership” between industry and the government. A selection of industrial partners is expected to produce a technology demonstrator by the end of 2022. If the ministerial investment committee approves this, contracts will then be awarded and a program launched. The aim is for delivery of the vehicle by 2025. The DGA and the Army are also discussing the requirement for a military engineering vehicle, dubbed MAC. This vehicle would be used to open up terrain, clear improvised explosive devices and mines, and allow troops to advance. Those talks are part of an attempt by the DGA to speed up arms programs and deliver kit much faster ― tasks set by Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly. The acquisition of VBAE and MAC are part of the Army Scorpion modernization program. Army Gen. Charles Beaudouin told the Defence Committee of the lower-house National Assembly on May 16 that he was looking for an “innovative approach” in the acquisition of VBAE. “Instead of defining a requirement, thinking about the specifications and then calling on industry, we want to speak immediately with DGA and industry,” he said. “We have high hopes of launching this program during the multiyear military budget law, and then perhaps — call me crazy — see the first delivery before the end of the law.” The National Assembly and Senate have approved the 2019-2025 military budget law, which pledges a total €295 billion (U.S. $348 billion) for support of the military services. That DGA briefing was part of a Thales presentation of its role in the Scorpion program, in which the company supplies extensive onboard vehicle electronics, software-defined radios and sensors. The aim is to install algorithms and artificial intelligence in the vehicle, aiming to deliver a “digital transformation” intended to reduce stress on the crew, a Thales executive said. The intention is to make the systems easy to use. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/eurosatory/2018/06/12/the-french-army-could-have-its-first-unmanned-vehicle-by-2025/
20 avril 2021 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité
A badly needed war-fighting cloud capability ran into delays. The Pentagon's even more lucrative