Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman Sign Letter of Intent with Rheinmetall to Manufacture F-35 Center Fuselages

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  15 septembre 2020 | International, Terrestre, C4ISR

  Army to award contract for GPS alternative by end of September

  Nathan Strout The Global Positioning System of satellites remains the prime source of positioning, navigation and timing for the military, but it's increasingly vulnerable as adversaries develop capabilities that can undermine the signal. Delivering capabilities that allow the war fighter to verify such data or replace it in a degraded or denied environment is a major problem that the Army now wants to solve. Col. Nickolas Kioutas — program manager for position, navigation and timing, Army Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors — is leading the Army's efforts to develop anti-jamming and anti-spoofing technology and get it into the hands of war fighters as soon as possible. Kioutas and Director of the Assured PNT Cross-Functional Team Willie Nelson held a media roundtable Oct. 4 announcing the fielding of one such solution: the Mounted Assured Position Navigation and Timing System (MAPS). Kioutas sat with C4ISRNET Oct. 15 at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual conference to discuss MAPS, the Military Encrypted GPS Signal and what he would like to see from industry as he looks for assured PNT solutions. C4ISRNET: Your office recently announced that you fielded MAPS with 62 Stryker vehicles in the Army's 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Germany. What's next in the development of the MAPS program? COL. NICKOLAS KIOUTAS: We've got two generations right now that we're working with. Generation 1 is really an anti-jamming capability that we fielded to 2CR second cavalry unit in Germany just this last month, and we're looking to upgrade now to our Gen. 2 capability, which would add the spoof protection. Right now we're doing prototyping with the Gen. 2 and we're actually going to compete the Gen. 1. Hopefully, it can integrate some spoof protection, but we'll be competing the Gen. 1 against the Gen. 2 to ask, “Hey, is that really the right capability to go forward with,” and field a lot more. Obviously, we just fielded 62. We still have in the pipeline some fielding of Gen. 1 before we make that final decision. And then we'll field either Gen. 2, or we'll decide to go to a Gen. 3 and continue fielding more of the Gen. 1 with upgraded spoof capabilities. C4ISRNET: And what did you learn with the fielding of the Gen. 1 capability? KIOUTAS: It's great to get a chance to do a little bit of something before you have to do a lot of something. You kind of learn some lessons and figure out what did the soldiers really like? What did they have problems with? Where can we make those little tweaks that allow us to do really well when we go to do the much broader army. C4ISRNET: Are there lessons from MAPS that can be applied to DAPS? Where is that program now? KIOUTAS: We are learning from what we're doing. It's really a change in the construct of how we do acquisitions. Instead of having the one huge program that's been perfectly thought out, perfectly tested and built, and then we get it to the field and it's 10 years too late and it's really not what we want, we're doing more iterative learning steps. So, everything that we learn even on the MAPS side — [which] is very similar technology — will apply to the DAPS side. With DAPS we're also developing some prototypes. We've got three vendors right now that we're working with to give us early prototypes, get them to the soldiers, let them touch and play with them, tell us what they like and what they didn't like, and then we'll do an initial capability set. And then we'll decide, hey, was there something that we can do different, better and then upgrade? So, [we're] constantly going to try to do that approach. C4ISRNET: The Air Force is working to develop M-Code, a military-grade GPS code with anti-jamming capabilities. How does the eventual delivery of that impact the development of anti-spoofing capabilities in the here and now? KIOUTAS: M-Code is important. It's a much better capability than the existing Selective Availability Anti-Spoof Model, or SAASM. However, it's not the complete answer, and what I always say is PNT does not equal GPS, because it's not just about GPS capability. It's about layering technologies with each other in order to be able to operate in a denied or degraded environment. C4ISRNET: M-Code delivery may be a ways out, but a limited version called M-Code Early Use is supposed to be available in the near future. How does that interim solution factor into assured-PNT solutions being developed now? KIOUTAS: There's probably two answers to that. One is we are already working with the M-Code to put it into the MAPS Gen. 2, as well as the DAPS system. So, we're going to have M-Code from the get-go. The other thing is, the Army has really got to decide how many M-Code modules are we going to buy between now and say 2028, when we're really going to get the increment 2 M-Code capabilities. So, we've really got to project out how many systems are we going to buy, what are they going to look like, [and] there's three different vendors so which vendor do we need to buy [from]? C4ISRNET: Let's talk about the Army's need for a modular open systems architecture as you develop APNT capabilities. How does that inform your acquisitions strategy? What do you want industry to know? KIOUTAS: For a modular open systems architecture, what we're really going to is [a] change from the previous way we did acquisition. Again, we're not going to do the one megalithic program that is perfectly designed and takes 10 years to build and then it gets to the field too late, we need a modular open systems architecture that allows us to be agile, that allows us to constantly take what industry is developing and integrate it to the solution to pace the threat. We're working with the CMOSS architecture to be able to put a bunch of different cards for our MAPS, maybe Gen. 3 capability. We're also working on a similar approach to the DAPS program. So, again, [we're] always looking for, not what is the best integrated solution, but what are the best individual solutions that we can take from across industry back to breed and integrate together. C4ISRNET: We're speaking at AUSA and around us many companies are showing off their assured PNT solutions. What are some of the APNT solutions you're excited to see from commercial industry? KIOUTAS: That's a good question. I don't really know the answer until we do some more testing. Of course, software-defined things are always great. The problem is there's sometimes problems with security and cybersecurity of those systems. And, so, there's probably a balance between do you really want a lockdown solution, where do you want that lockdown solution and where can you accept some risk and have a little more flexibility in software. https://www.c4isrnet.com/thought-leadership/2019/11/29/the-armys-position-on-next-generation-navigation/

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  26 mars 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - March 20, 2019

  NAVY The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a ceiling priced $4,040,458,297 modification to convert a previously awarded advanced acquisition contract (N00019-18-C-1046) to a fixed-price-incentive-firm-target multi-year contract. The target price for this multi-year contract is $4,001,410,000. This modification provides for the full-rate production and delivery of 78 F/A-18 aircraft, specifically 61 F/A-18E and 17 F/A-18F aircraft for fiscal years 2018 through 2021. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California (61 percent); Hazelwood, Missouri (9 percent); Longueuil, Quebec, Canada (2 percent); Torrance, California (2 percent); Bloomington, Minnesota (2 percent); Ajax, Ontario, Canada (2 percent); Vandalia, Ohio (1 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (1 percent); Irvine, California (1 percent); Palm Bay, Florida (1 percent); Santa Clarita, California (1 percent); Grand Rapids, Michigan (1 percent); Greenlawn, New York (1 percent); Endicott, New York (1 percent); Marion, Virginia (1 percent); and various locations within the continental U.S. (13 percent). Work is expected to be completed in April 2024. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,557,334,000 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. American Systems Corp., Chantilly, Virginia (M67854-19-D-7870); Calibre Systems Inc., Alexandria, Virginia (M67854-19-D-7871); Corps Solutions, Stafford, Virginia (M67854-19-D-7872); Obsidian Solutions Group,* Fredericksburg, Virginia (M67854-19-D-7873); Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia (M67854-19-D-7874); Solutions Through Innovative Technologies Inc., Fairborn, Ohio (M67854-19-D-7875); and Valiant Global Defense Services Inc., San Diego, California (M67854-19-D-7876), are awarded a multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with firm-fixed-pricing arrangements for the procurement of Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Training Systems Support (MTSS), with a combined maximum ceiling amount of $245,000,000. MTSS provides pre-deployment training to the Marine Corps Operating Forces within a joint and combined environment to improve warfighting skills. Training includes realistic computer-based simulation training; command, control, computers, communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance training; combined arms staff trainer training; MAGTF tactical warfare simulation; and Deployable Virtual Training Environment. Work will be performed at Quantico, Virginia (55 percent); Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (15 percent); Camp Pendleton, California (10 percent); Twentynine Palms, California (10 percent); and Okinawa, Japan (10 percent), and is expected to be completed by March 19, 2029. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued. The companies will compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with seven offers received. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Merrill Technologies Group,* Saginaw, Michigan (N68335-19-D-0038); and Precision Custom Components LLC,* York, Pennsylvania (N68335-19-D-0039), are each being awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts. These contracts provide for the delivery of various components in support of the aircraft launch and recovery and support equipment programs, to include critical safety item/critical application item. The estimated aggregate ceiling for all contracts is $42,240,000, with the companies having an opportunity to compete for individual orders. Work will be performed at contractor facilities in Merrill, Michigan; and York, Pennsylvania, and is expected to be completed in March 2024. No funds are being obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. These contracts were competitively procured via a 100 percent small business set-aside electronic request for proposals; three offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Herndon, Virginia, is awarded $37,496,252 for modification P00002 to firm-fixed-price delivery order N0001918F0478 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-15-G-0026). This modification provides for the procurement and delivery of seven MR-TCDL B-Kits, one Mission Avionics Systems Trainer B-Kit, and associated A- and B-Kit spares for the MR-TCDL upgrade to the E-6B Mercury aircraft. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah (73 percent); San Diego, California (25 percent); and Boston, Massachusetts (2 percent), and is expected to be completed in October 2021. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $37,496,252 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. Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Syracuse, New York, is awarded a $27,510,334 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-09-C-6247 for the procurement of fiscal 2019 electronic warfare AN/BLQ-10 kits and spares to support program requirements. Work will be performed in Syracuse, New York (99 percent); and Manassas, Virginia (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by October 2022. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $27,510,334 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. MEB General Contractors Inc., Chesapeake, Virginia, is awarded a $20,334,000 firm-fixed-price contract for consolidated fuel facilities at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. The work to be performed provides for the construction of a new 6400 sq. ft. petroleum, oils, and lubricants operations facility with privately-owned vehicle parking for 60 vehicles; a new 2400 gallons per minute (gpm) Type III pump house facility and control room; four new 600 gpm high speed truck fillstands; a new reinforced concrete parking area for 20 fuel refueler trucks; piping modifications to the three existing aboveground storage tanks; new interconnecting piping; spill containment provision; a cathodic protection system; and supporting site work and utilities for the new facilities. Work will be performed in Sumter, South Carolina, and is expected to be completed by March 2021. Fiscal 2018 military construction (Defense Logistics Agency) contract funds in the amount of $20,334,000 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with three proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity (N69450-19-C-1304). Air Cruisers Co. LLC, Wall Township, New Jersey, is awarded an $8,026,673 long-term contract for repair of five various life raft inflatables in support of the Multi-Place Life Rafts System for use on various aircraft. The contract will include a three-year contract with two one-year option periods which if exercised, the total value of the contract is estimated to be $13,754,049. Work will be performed in Liberty, Mississippi. Work is expected to be completed by March 2022; if all options are exercised, work will be completed by March 2024. No funds are obligated at the time of award. Annual working capital funds (Navy) will be obligated as individual task orders are issued. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was a sole-source, non-competitive requirement pursuant to the authority set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1, with one offer received. Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00383-19-D-UC01). ARMY American Mechanical Inc.,* Fairbanks, Alaska (W911KB-19-D-0012); Brice Civil Constructors Inc.,* Anchorage, Alaska (W911KB-19-D-0013); Central Environmental Inc.,* Anchorage, Alaska (W911KB-19-D-0014); Derian/OCC JV,* Anchorage, Alaska (W911KB-19-D-0015); and Patrick Mechanical LLC,* Fairbanks, Alaska (W911KB-19-D-0016 ), will compete for each order of the $200,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for design, construct and repair of utilidor/utility systems. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 18, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Anchorage, Alaska, is the contracting activity. Applied Visual Technology Inc.,* Orlando, Florida, was awarded a $10,153,464 modification (P00005) to contract W900KK-18-D-0019 for systems engineering and software support. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 19, 2020. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Company Deloitte Consulting LLP, Arlington, Virginia, has been awarded a $39,933,653 firm-fixed-price contract for technical and programmatic expertise and recommendations. This contract provides for force optimization analysis support to HQ Air Combat Command. Work will take place at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by June 15, 2022. This contract is the result of a competitive acquisition and three offers were received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $4,949,388 are being obligated at the time of award. Headquarters Air Combat Command Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity (FA4890-19-F-A024). (Awarded March 19, 2019) DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Freeman Holdings of Louisiana LLC, doing business as Million Air Lake Charles,* Lake Charles, Louisiana, has been awarded a minimum $18,832,439 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for fuel. This was a competitive acquisition with 148 responses received. This is a 47-month contract with a six-month option period. Location of performance is Louisiana, with a March 31, 2023, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (SPE607-19-D-0008). M&M Manufacturing LLC,** Lajas, Puerto Rico, has been awarded a maximum $13,781,250 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Navy Working Uniform blouses and Army Combat Uniform coats. This was a competitive acquisition with six responses received. This is an 18-month base contract with three one-year option periods. Location of performance is Puerto Rico, with a March 19, 2021, estimated performance completion date. Using military services are Navy and Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-19-D-1145). Eaton Aeroquip LLC, Jackson, Michigan, has been awarded a maximum $8,992,216 firm-fixed-price contract for hoses, assemblies and other related parts. This was a competitive acquisition with one offer received. This is a three-year contract with two one-year option periods. Location of performance is Michigan, with a March 20, 2022, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio (SPE7LX-19-D-0016). *Small business **Woman-owned small business in historically underutilized business zones https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1790554/

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  7 juillet 2020 | International, Terrestre

  US approves $7.5 billion in foreign weapons sales in one day

  By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — It was a happy Independence Day for American defense companies, with the U.S. State Department announcing Monday it has approved almost $7.5 billion in potential foreign military sales to five different countries. The potential sales, announced on the website of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, involve UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters for Lithuania, E-2D Hawkeye aircraft for France, MV-22 Osprey aircraft for Indonesia, Stryker infantry vehicles for Argentina and aviation fuel for Israel. DSCA announcements mean that the State Department has decided the potential FMS cases meet its standards, but is not a guarantee the sales will to happen in their announced forms. Once approved by Congress, the foreign customer begins to negotiate on price and quantity, both of which can change during the final negotiations. Israel: The biggest price tag, at $3 billion, is 990 million gallons of petroleum-based fuel for Israel, including JP-8 aviation fuel, diesel fuel and unleaded gasoline. Vendors will be selected “using a competitive bid process through Defense Logistics Agency Energy for supply source,” according to the announcement. Israel operates the American-made F-35I Joint Strike Fighter, among other aviation assets. France: The French request to purchase three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft comes with an estimated price tag of $2 billion. The aircraft is to replace France's legacy E-2C Hawkeye fleet. In addition to the aircraft, the country wants 10 T-56-427A engines, three AN/APY-9 radar assemblies, four AN/ALQ-217 electronic support measure systems and one Joint Mission Planning System, among other technologies. “The E-2D aircraft will continue and expand French naval aviation capabilities and maintain interoperability with U.S. naval forces,” the DSCA announcement read. “As a current E-2C operator, France will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment and support into its armed forces.” Primary work will be done at Northrop Grumman's Melbourne, Florida, location. There will be industrial offsets required in the future, but those have not been defined at this point. This is the first DSCA notification of an arms sale to France since at least September 2017, as the country prefers to rely on its domestic arms industry. Indonesia: Indonesia was cleared to spend an estimated $2 billion to buy eight MV-22 Block C Osprey aircraft. Also included are 24 AE 1107C Rolls-Royce engines; 20 each of the AN/AAQ-27 forward-Looking infrared radars, AN/AAR-47 missile warning systems and AN/APR-39 radar warning receivers; and 20 each of the M-240-D 7.64mm machine guns and GAU-21 machine guns, among other gear. The potential sale is announced at a time when the U.S. is seeking to beef up both its presence and the capabilities of partner nations in the Pacific in order to blunt Chinese interests in the region. This is the first DSCA notification of an arms sale to Indonesia since at least September 2017. “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of an important regional partner that is a force for political stability, and economic progress in the Asia-Pacific region. It is vital to U.S. national interest to assist Indonesia in developing and maintaining a strong and effective self-defense capability,” the DSCA notification read, adding the sale will “enhance Indonesia's humanitarian and disaster relief capabilities and support amphibious operations.” Primary work will be done by Bell Textron in Amarillo, Texas, and Boeing in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania. Lithuania: The Baltic nation of Lithuania plans to spend $380 million to procure six UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters. The standard U.S. configuration requested includes 14 T700-GE-701D engines, 12 M240H machine guns, night vision goggles, a number of radios and thousands of rounds of ammunition. “The proposed sale of these UH-60 helicopters to Lithuania will significantly increase its capability to provide troop lift, border security, anti-terrorist, medical evacuation, search and rescue, re-supply/external lift, combat support in all weather,” per the DSCA. “These UH-60 helicopters will allow for interoperability with U.S. and NATO forces in rapid response to a variety of missions and quick positioning of troops with minimal helicopter assets. Lithuania intends to use these defense articles and services to modernize and expand its armed forces to provide multi-mission support in its region and combat terrorism threats.” The Black Hawks will replace the nation's Soviet-made Mi-8 fleet. The U.S. is helping fund Lithuania's purchase through the European Recapitalization Incentive Program, or ERIP, a tool developed in 2018 alongside U.S. European Command to speed up the process of getting allied nations off Russian gear. The State Department kicked in $30 million of ERIP funding to help complete that deal. So far, three of the eight countries to receive ERIP funds have used them to purchase Black Hawk helicopters. Work will primarily be done at Sikorsky's Stratford, Connecticut, location and General Electric Aircraft Company in Lynn, Massachusetts. Argentina: The South American nation seeks 27 M1126 Stryker infantry carrier vehicles, with an estimated $100 million price tag. In addition to the vehicles themselves comes a pile of equipment, including 27 M2 Flex .50-caliber machine guns, radios and smoke grenade launchers. In addition, the vehicles come with special de-processing services outside of the continental United States as well as contractor-provided training. “The proposed sale will improve Argentina's capability to meet current and future threats by increasing operational capabilities and force availability,” per DSCA. “Argentina will use the Stryker vehicles to conduct stability operations in support of disaster relief and international peace keeping obligations.” Primary work will occur at the General Dynamics Land Systems facility in Anniston, Alabama. This marks Argentina's second FMS request of the fiscal year, after a December request for $70 million worth of support for its aging P-3C fleet. https://www.defensenews.com/global/the-americas/2020/07/06/us-approves-75-billion-in-foreign-weapon-sales-in-one-day