22 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval
By THERESA HITCHENSon May 21, 2020 at 5:50 PM
WASHINGTON: A number of US allies may now join Space Command in the US military's baseline plan for protecting and defending satellites during war, Operation Olympic Defender, we hear, following in the footsteps of the first country to sign up, the United Kingdom.
SPACECOM today announced its leader, Gen. Jay Raymond, has signed the first order under OOD in his capacity as head of the combatant command. OOD is the US military's operational plan for protecting and defending US and allied satellites in conflict.
“This is a major milestone for the newly established command,” Raymond said. “As the threats in the space domain continue to evolve, it is important we leverage and synchronize capabilities with our allies not only to understand each other's national perspectives, but to work seamlessly together to optimize our multinational space efforts.”
Strategic Command created OOD in 2013 as the foundational plan for how the military will protect and defend US and allied satellites in a conflict. As Breaking D readers know, OOD was updated in 2018 to open up allied participation.
“The purpose of OOD is to strengthen allies' abilities to deter hostile acts in space, strengthen deterrence against hostile actors, and reduce the spread of debris orbiting the earth,” the SPACECOM release explains.
OOD is only one of a number of operational plans for space war Raymond has been working on since SPACECOM was established as a geographic command with an area of responsibility (AOR) 100 kilometers above sea level and up to infinity.
He told reporters yesterday that he last week inked the new “campaign plan” for SPACECOM's day-to-day operations; every Combatant Command has such a campaign plan; this will be SPACECOM's first. “That's our foundational plan, if you will,” Raymond explained, “that drives our day-to-day activities across the command of SPACECOM.”
In addition, SPACECOM now has responsibility for developing, updating and enacting when the ball drops specialized contingency plans for space war, mapped to specific adversary countries. Former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter back in 2016 set the precedent, naming Russia, China, Iran and North Korea as the key strategic challengers to the US military.
SPACECOM's announcement today also noted that the United Kingdom was the first ally to publicly acknowledge this past July its participation in OOD. London subsequently sent additional personnel to Combined Space Operations Center (CSpOC) and the 18th Space Control Squadron at Vandenberg AFB to support its decision, SPACECOM added. CSpOC is responsible for command and control of day-to-day space operations and includes allies representation. The 18th Space Control Squadron is responsible for space domain awareness operations.
Up to now, many allies were leery of signing up due to the fact that space operations were being commanded by STRATCOM, which also oversees US nuclear war planning. Public opinion in many US allies, such as Germany and Italy, traditionally has been strongly anti-nuclear. It is not by chance that even the UK, which had joined OOD under STRATCOM's control, kept its participation silent until now.
“Some of those same concerns were initially raised about having USSTRATCOM be the lead agency for signing SSA data sharing agreements with other countries,” noted Brian Weeden, head of program planning at Secure World Foundation and a former Air Force officer who worked on space situational awareness operations at STRATCOM.
“But the hesitation to include allies in Olympic Defender was on our end as well,” Weeden added. “National security space is sort of the last bastion of America's “crown jewels” and there are a lot of people in that community who are very reluctant to open the kimono to our allies, even the allies who we've been deeply collaborating on intelligence sharing for decades.”
DoD and expert sources say interest in participation in space war planning has increased not just because of SPACECOM's standup, but also because concerns about Russian and Chinese efforts to build up their military space capabilities.
Indeed, NATO in December declared space an operational domain of joint allied action — albeit insisted that this does not mean NATO endorses space weaponization. France last summer adopted an aggressive space strategy, including pursuit of offensive anti-satellite weapons. Japan on May 19 announced its new Space Operations Squadron, under the Japanese Air-Self Defense Force, to monitor and protect Japanese satellites.
For example, the number of countries signing SSA agreements with DoD has jumped to 25, with Peru signing a memorandum of understanding with SPACECOM just last week to gain access to data about space objects collected by the military's Space Surveillance Network of radar and optical telescopes, as well as data to help the country's satellites avoid on-orbit collisions.
“This agreement will give Peru access to the highest quality satellite tracking data available to assist them with PerúSat-1 and its eventual follow-on and will provide a linkage to the experts at the 18th Space Control Squadron. In addition, the SSA Agreement enables Peru to request seven advanced services available only to agreement holders,” SPACECOM said in a May 12 announcement.
Spain, France and Italy — all of which operate military satellites — have expressed interest in participating in OOD, we are told. Besides the UK, the other members of the so-called “Five Eyes” — Australia, Canada and New Zealand — who already shared intelligence with the US are expected to join in.
Although Germany has been hesitant to be seen as pro-space weapons, Berlin has a sophisticated military space program and is unlikely to stay outside of operational planning if rival France joins in.
Japan too can be expected to sign on, as it has been seeking myriad ways to be more active in partnering with the US military on space protection — including agreeing to host US military payloads on Japanese satellites.
https://breakingdefense.com/2020/05/major-milestone-as-allies-join-spacecoms-war-plan
10 mars 2021 | International, Aérospatial
Plombé par les désaccords entre Dassault et Airbus, le programme de successeur du Rafale et de l'Eurofighter est dans l'oeil du cyclone.
8 août 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
AIR FORCE United Launch Services, Centennial, Colorado, has been awarded a $156,752,771 firm-fixed-price modification (P00003) to previously awarded contract FA8811-19-C-0002 for National Security Space Launch Delta IV Heavy Launch services. This modification provides for launch vehicle production services for National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Launch Mission Three, the last of three planned NRO launch missions under this contract. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract from $310,784,574 to $467,537,345. Work will be performed in Centennial, Colorado; Decatur, Alabama; and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and is expected to be completed by January 2024. Fiscal 2019 missile procurement funds in the amount of $144,637,202 are being obligated at the time of award. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity. (CORRECTION: The May 9, 2019, announcement of this contract's modification for Launch Mission Two incorrectly stated the total cumulative face value of the contract at the time as $449,813,010. The actual total cumulative value was $310,784,574.) Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, California, has been awarded a $22,500,000 cost-plus incentive-fee modification (P00017) to previously awarded contract FA8808-18-C-0002 for changes to the payload driven by selection of a host space vehicle. The contract provides for the delivery of two Enhanced Polar System Recapitalization (EPS-R) payloads. Work will be performed at Redondo Beach, California, and is expected to be completed by December 2023. Fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $5,900,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity. TFAB Defense Systems LLC,* Warner Robins, Georgia, was awarded an $8,918,791 firm-fixed-price contract for engineering services. This contract provides for develop the software, test hardware and related documentation for test program sets for use with the Air Force's Versatile Depot Automatic Test Station family of testers to isolate failures within line replaceable units and shop replaceable units. Work will be performed at Warner Robins, Georgia, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 6, 2022. This award is the result of a Small Business Set Aside sole-source acquisition. No funds are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Sustainment Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity for contract (FA8571-19-D-A003). ARMY Southwest Valley Constructors Co., Albuquerque, New Mexico, was awarded an $80,869,000 contract for design-build horizontal construction in support of the Department of Homeland Security in McAllen, Texas. Three bids were solicited with three bids received. Work will be performed in McAllen, Texas, with an estimated completion date of April 28, 2021. Fiscal 2019 Department of Homeland Security funds in the amount of $80,869,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-19-C-0118). Oshkosh Defense LLC, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was awarded an $11,812,335 modification (P00240) to contract W56HZV-15-C-0095 for Authorized Stockage List. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2021. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 other procurement, Army and procurement Marine Corps funds in the combined amount of $11,812,335 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. Stantec Consulting Services Inc., Louisville, Kentucky, was awarded a $9,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for geotechnical services. 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 Aug. 7, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-19-D-0046). NAVY Data Link Solutions LLC, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is awarded a maximum potential value $75,000,000 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award contract (N00039-15-D-0042) for the Block Upgrade II retrofit of Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) low volume terminals. The terminals provide secure, high-capacity, jam-resistant, digital data and voice communications capability for Navy, Air Force and Army platforms, and for Foreign Military Sales customers. Work will be performed in Wayne, New Jersey (50%); and Cedar Rapids, Iowa (50%), and is expected to be completed by December 2026. No funding is being obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as individual delivery orders are issued. This contract modification was not competitively procured because it is a sole-source acquisition pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) - only one responsible source (Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 6.302-1). The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity and awarded the contract on behalf of the MIDS Program Office. Oceaneering International Inc., Chesapeake, Virginia, is awarded a maximum value $34,316,273 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Virginia class submarine sail racetracks, payload tube loading platforms and multiple all-up-round canister special support equipment ladder kits with shipping crates. Work will be performed in Chesapeake, Virginia, and is expected to be complete in August 2024. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $3,368,978 will be obligated at time of award, and not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304 (a) via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N64498-19-D-4031). Stantec Consulting Services Inc., Burlington, Massachusetts, is awarded $17,695,256 for firm-fixed-price modification to task order N40085-18-F-5881 under previously awarded contract N40085-17-D-5004 for design of a multi-mission dry dock at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. This modification will provide for all architectural and engineering services necessary for the final design, including developing the design-bid-build solicitation documents. Work will be performed in Massachusetts (90%); and Maine (10%), and is expected to be completed by March 2021. Fiscal 2021 military construction (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $17,695,256 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity. RTL Networks Inc.,* Denver, Colorado, is awarded a $14,399,532 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide services in the areas of cooperative cyber risk assessments and cyber table tops of fighter/attack (fixed and rotary wing) and surveillance aircraft or similarly complex aircraft, tactical unmanned aerial vehicles, GPS guided weapons or similarly complex weapons, training simulators, Portable Electronic Maintenance Aids equipment, software and development environments, and associated communications and networks. Work will be performed in China Lake, California (50%); Placentia, California (48%); and Denver, Colorado (2%), and is expected to be completed in August 2024. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business set-aside; two offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division, China Lake, California, is the contracting activity (N68936-19-D-0040). The Lockheed Martin Corp., Rotary and Mission Systems, Mitchel Field, New York, is awarded $11,498,789 for cost-plus-incentive-fee modification P00018 for new scope under previously awarded contract N00030-18-C-0045 to provide U.S. Trident II (D5) Strategic Weapon System efforts for the navigation subsystem. Work will be performed in Mitchel Field, New York, with an expected completion date of Dec. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2018 research, development, tests and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $11,498,789 are being obligated on this award. This contract was a sole-source acquisition pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Treadwell Corp., Thomaston, Connecticut, is awarded a not-to-exceed $7,330,400 ceiling-priced delivery order N00104-19-F-J80J under previously awarded basic ordering agreement N00104-15-G-A408 for repair of 98 items in support of the Navy's Electrolytic Oxygen Generator System. The contract is a four-year contract with no option periods. Work will be performed in Thomaston, Connecticut, and is expected to be completed by September 2023. Working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $3,591,896 will be obligated at the time of award and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One firm was solicited for this sole-sourced requirement under authority 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), with one offer received. Naval Supply Systems Command, Weapon Systems Support, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/1928698/source/GovDelivery/
2 janvier 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Fort Worth, Texas, December 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) delivered the 134(th) F-35 aircraft for the year today, exceeding the joint government and industry 2019 delivery goal of 131 aircraft. One hundred and thirty-four deliveries represent a 47% increase from 2018 and nearly a 200 percent production increase from 2016. Next year, Lockheed Martin plans to deliver 141 F-35s and is prepared to increase production volume year-over-year to hit peak production in 2023. "This achievement is a testament to the readiness of the full F-35 enterprise to ramp to full-rate production and we continue to focus on improving on-time deliveries across the entire weapons system," said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager of the F-35 program. "We have met our annual delivery targets three years in a row and continue to increase production rates, improve efficiencies and reduce costs. The F-35 is the most capable fighter jet in the world, and we're now delivering the 5(th) Generation weapon system at a cost equal to or lower than a less capable 4th Generation legacy aircraft." The 134(th) aircraft is a Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing (STOVL) model for the United States Marine Corps. In 2019, deliveries included 81 F-35s for the United States, 30 for international partner nations and 23 for Foreign Military Sales customers. Unit and Sustainment Costs Decrease, Readiness Improving Using lessons learned, process efficiencies, production automation, facility and tooling upgrades, supply chain initiatives and more - the F-35 enterprise continues to significantly improve efficiency and reduce costs. The price of an F-35A is now $77.9 million, meeting the $80 million goal a year earlier than planned. The F-35's mission readiness and sustainment costs continue to improve with the global fleet averaging greater than 65% mission capable rates, and operational squadrons consistently performing near 75%. Lockheed Martin's sustainment cost per aircraft per year has also decreased four consecutive years, and more than 35% since 2015. Program Maturity and Economic Impact With more than 490 aircraft operating from 21 bases around the globe, the F-35 plays a critical role in today's global security environment. Today, 975 pilots and 8,585 maintainers are trained, and the F-35 fleet has surpassed more than 240,000 cumulative flight hours. Eight nations have F-35s operating from a base on their home soil, eight services have declared Initial Operating Capability and four services have employed F-35s in combat operations. In addition to strengthening global security and partnerships, the F-35 provides economic stability to the U.S. and international partners by creating jobs, commerce and security, and contributing to the global trade balance. Thousands of men and women in the U.S. and around the world build the F-35. With more than 1,400 suppliers in 47 states and Puerto Rico, the F-35 Program supports more than 220,000 jobs. For additional information, visit www.f35.com. About Lockheed Martin Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 105,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lockheed-martin-delivers-134-f-35s-in-2019-exceeding-annual-commitment-300979931.html SOURCE Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company