12 juin 2018 | International, Naval
The littoral combat ship program continues to push ships to the fleet as the program begins to wind down ahead of the Navy's planned transition to a future frigate.
In Marinette, Wisconsin, Lockheed and Fincantieri's latest mono-hull LCS, the Sioux City, completed acceptance trials in Lake Michigan, according to May 31 announcement. That ship is preparing to commission in Annapolis, Maryland, in the Fall after some weather and mechanical delays pushed back trials. The Sioux City is the sixth mono-hull LCS.
Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, in May delivered its eighth trimaran LCS, the Tulsa, and the second LCS delivered by the yard this year. The first one, the Manchester, was commissioned May 26.
Both yards are still churning on a backlog of LCS. The ships will be coming fast and furious over the next couple of years as Austal, Lockheed and Fincantieri all pursue strategies to secure the contract to build the Navy's future frigate, known as FFG(X).
At Marinette, the yard has seven other ships in production as well as one in long-lead procurement. Austal is working on five other LCS and the last three expeditionary fast transport ships of the 12 ordered.
Between the two shipyards, there are no fewer than three proposals for the FFG(X).
Fincantieri is pushing hard to make FREMM the Navy's next frigate, which would likely be built at Marinette. You can read all about the FREMM below:
Lockheed is also likely eyeing Marinette for its proposal for FFG(X), a variant of the Freedom mono-hull LCS, for which it is the prime contractor.
Austal is likewise proposing a variant of its trimaran LCS and the stakes for that shipyard are especially high since it is coming to the end of both its programs. Lockheed and Fincantieri are anticipating an order of a Freedom LCS variant multi-mission surface combatant for Saudi Arabia's naval recapitalization.
All three of the contractors are among five competing for the FFG(X) contract. Navantia and Huntington Ingalls are the other two.
13 février 2019 | International, Terrestre
Oshkosh [OSK] Defense announced Friday it has received a $237.7 million order from the Army to recapitalize 407 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks (HEMTT) and 25 Palletized Load System (PLS) trucks and deliver 601 new PLS trailers. The recapitalization... https://www.defensedaily.com/oshkosh-receives-237-7-million-army-recapitalize-400-heavy-tactical-trucks
1 octobre 2020 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité
Andrew Eversden WASHINGTON — Palantir, the Silicon Valley-based software company that successfully sued the Army in 2016, wants to become “the central operating system for all U.S. defense programs," the company wrote in paperwork filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its initial public offering. The software company, known for its controversial work with the U.S. government, went public on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday said that it wants its big data analytics platforms to “become the default operating system for data across the U.S. government.” Palantir, according to the filing, views the U.S. government's push toward alternative acquisition methods as a primary opportunity to for their company to grow. The federal government, particularly the Defense Department, is increasingly using what's known as Other Transaction Authorities and Small Business innovation Research contracts to eliminate the long timelines associated with the traditional contracting process. In 2019, research showed that those types of awards accounted for nearly 10 percent of the department's research, development, test and evaluation spending. “Our software is well positioned for this new procurement approach. Our platforms have been tested and improved over years of use across industries and can rapidly be deployed by the government with minor configurations. This gives us a significant edge over contractors selling custom tools,” the filing states. Palantir expects that there is $26 billion worth of work in the federal space, the filing stated. The company offers two big data analytics platforms, Foundry and Gotham, for data-driven decisionmaking by its customers. According to the filing, the company is currently working with Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, Special Operations Command and “other defense agencies,” along with several other civilian agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs. The filing also states that the Army uses the platform to “keep one million troops ready for their missions, and every battalion in the U.S. Army uses our software for intelligence analysis.” In its filing, the the company specifically cites the DoD's $144 billion in fiscal 2020 on procurement funds and $105 billion on research, development, testing, and evaluation dollars as areas where its software “can contribute to programs covered by both of those budgets.” In 2016, Palantir sued the Army over its procurement strategy for an intelligence analysis system. After winning that case, which forced the Army to seek commercial solutions before building their own system. Since winning the case in 2018, the company has received $134.5 million in revenue from Army accounts, up from about $52 million in the previous 10 years. “Our victory in federal court is transforming the procurement of goods and services across the U.S. federal government,” the filing states. “For us, this shift in government acquisition represents a significant expansion of our [total addressable market] with the U.S. federal government. We are working towards becoming the central operating system for all U.S. defense program.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/industry/2020/09/30/palantir-wants-to-be-the-central-operating-system-for-all-us-defense-programs/
21 avril 2024 | International, Naval
AV’s Switchblade 300 Block 20 loitering munition system (LMS) will provide the Marine Corps with organic, anti-armor/anti-personnel, precision fires capability at the tactical level.