19 août 2022 | International, C4ISR
AEye partners with Booz Allen to tap markets for Lidar detection tech
The companies plan to offer defense customers AEye's 4Sight software-definable lidar system to help warfighters identify potential threats.
14 décembre 2018 | International, Terrestre
By: Adam Stone
The Army is rolling out a new streamlined tool for updating critical software on thousands of vehicles that use the Joint Battle Command-Platform (JBC-P) system.
Vehicles depend on the Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below system to deliver communications, friendly and hostile-force tracking, maps and other key intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance functionality. But FBCB2 is out of date, and upgrades have required the pricey and time-consuming replacement of both hardware and software.
“We wanted to give war fighters the option of doing a software-only upgrade,” said Dan Ghio, JBC-P deputy product manager. “We will still hit them with the full hardware upgrade eventually. This just gets us to a more common software baseline in the meantime. It's a stopgap for those who can get at least some of the upgrades done.”
The upgrades started rolling out in the spring and so far over 800 vehicles have completed the process. Of the 103,000 fielded platforms, roughly 20,000 to 30,000 can be updated using the new approach, which applies to platforms such as Humvees and Mine-Resistant Ambushed-Protected vehicles. All upgrades should be completed by fiscal 2023, said Lt. Col. Shane Sims, JBC-P product manager.
“We started with a unit at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, just to see if we were on track,” Sims said. “The process is pretty easy. You call our help center and our folks will send out a new hard drive with the new software loaded on it. Once you attach it to the system it's a 10-minute process to load it up.”
While it would have been technically possible to upload the software via the internet, connectivity constraints made the hard drive a better option. “These are users with very limited bandwidth. It would take a very long time to fully download a new operating system,” Sims said.
By sending out new hard drives, the engineers also help to position the system for future enhancements, while reducing the overall burden of system support.
“We want to keep pushing more and more capabilities out into the field, but right now our support teams in the field have to support 18 different hard drives. There is a huge sustainment cost to supporting all of that,” Sims said. “We're a huge Army and the more we standardize, the better it is.”
The latest software version includes a few significant functional enhancements. The user interface has been modernized and made more intuitive; engineers have hardened the security on the back end and made the system more reliable, Ghio said.
By creating a “standardized, repeatable and intuitive process” for upgrades, he said, Army aims to empower war fighters to take control over their most critical technologies.
“We believe solders and commanders can take on some of the [technology] mission themselves if given the right tools and the right instructions,” Sims said. “As we move to the future, we are going to have to rely on our units to modernize things on their own. That will allow us to inject new capabilities at a much faster pace.”
Looking ahead, Army engineers are still looking to overcome the bandwidth limitations that presently prohibit them from pushing out upgrades online.
“We are definitely looking at ways to do an over-the-air update,” Sims said. “It would be a lot of easier, just the same way you do an update to an iPhone or an Android. We could send a message to the entire force and have everyone updated at once. That would improve our security posture and would serve to keep everyone current.”
At the same time, safety and security concerns factor heavily, as the Army looks to enhance systems on vehicles that are equipped for live fire. “A software malfunction on a firing system would be a catastrophic event, so we have to make sure that our software doesn't interfere with any of the safety mechanisms on these platforms,” Sims said.
https://www.c4isrnet.com/it-networks/2018/12/13/need-to-upgrade-army-vehicle-software-got-10-minutes
19 août 2022 | International, C4ISR
The companies plan to offer defense customers AEye's 4Sight software-definable lidar system to help warfighters identify potential threats.
8 décembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
ARMY West-MGE JV,* Tempe, Arizona, was awarded a $40,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for civil works and hydrology and hydraulics services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 15 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 7, 2025. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque, New Mexico, is the contracting activity (W912PP-21-D-0001). AIR FORCE International Enterprises Inc., Talladega, Alabama, has been awarded a $12,469,948 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ), requirements contract for F-16 modular low power radio frequency (MLPRF) and dual mode transmitter (DMT) repairs. This contract provides for the repair of both MLPRF and DMT, which function as part of the radar systems of each F-16 C/D aircraft. Work will be performed in Talladega, Alabama, and is expected to be completed Dec. 6, 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and one offer was received. Funding for the initial order is not presently available due to the contract being a requirements-type IDIQ. The Air Force Material Command, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8251-21-D-0004). U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND Air Transport International Inc., Wilmington, Ohio, has been awarded a task order HTC711-21-F-W009 under contract HTC711-19-D-W002 in the estimated amount of $7,650,630. The contract provides international, commercial, door to door, cargo transportation services. Multiple or single modes (e.g. airlift, sealift, linehaul) of transportation may be used in any combination to move cargo globally. The task order period of performance is from Dec. 4, 2020, to March 6, 2021. Fiscal 2021 transportation working capital funds were obligated at award. U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Dec. 4, 2020) *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2438179/source/GovDelivery/
10 janvier 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
NAVY Dignitas Technologies JV, LLC,* Orlando, Florida, is awarded a $99,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable, firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides total life cycle support for the Multipurpose Reconfigurable Training System 3D® and the Virtual Interactive Shipboard Instructional Tour 3D™ programs to include development, production, integration, test and evaluation, delivery and sustainment. Work will be performed Orlando, Florida, and is expected to be completed in January 2025. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was a small business set-aside, competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; four offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (N61340-20-D-0008). MTS Advantage LLC (MTSA), Dumfries, Virginia (N65236-20-D-8002), is awarded a $90,820,000 single award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, performance based service contract utilizing cost-plus-fixed-fee task orders. The contract is for Cyber Red Team and operational test support services and provides for information assurance, cyber defense, cyber systems security and network infrastructure program management. Work will be performed worldwide and is expected to be completed by January 2026. If the option is exercised, work would continue until July 2026. If all options are exercised, the cumulative value of the contract will increase to $99,902,000. Contract funds in the amount of $25,000 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract includes a five-year ordering period and one six-month option-to-extend-services in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Clause 52.217-8. The single award contract was competitively procured by full and open competition after the exclusion of sources via the Naval Information Warfare Center e-Commerce Central website and the Federal Business Opportunities website, with four timely offers received. Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic, Charleston, South Carolina, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, is awarded a $42,297,380 modification (P000163) to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm target, firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-14-C-0067). This modification exercises an option for integrated logistics services and site activation support of P-8A aircraft for the Navy and the government of Australia. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington (56%); Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (38%); and Brisbane City, Australia (6%), and is expected to be completed in September 2021. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $39,820,706; and Royal Australian Air Force unique funds in the amount of $2,476,674 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Navy ($39,820,706; 94%); and the government of Australia ($2,476,674; 6%) under a formal cooperative agreement. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Alutiiq Solutions LLC,* Anchorage, Alaska, is awarded a $7,519,828 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide support services to include research and analysis, strategic initiative support, executive leadership management support and administrative, operational and technical program support to the Naval Air Systems Command Strategic Leadership Services Team. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (60%); and Arlington, Virginia (40%), and is expected to be completed in February 2025. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. This contract was a small business 8(a) set-aside competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; one offer was received. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00421-20-D-0007). Marathon Construction Co.,* Lakeside, California, is awarded a $7,375,000 firm-fixed-price task order (N62473-20-F-4093) under a multiple award construction contract to repair the deteriorated quay wall at Naval Base San Diego. The work to be performed provides for the renovation of several sections of the quay wall along the piers at Naval Base San Diego. Work includes repair of the quay wall substructure, steel sheet piles, relieving platform and berthing system defects. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by January 2022. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $7,375,000 is being obligated at the time of this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Two proposals were received for this task order. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N62473-16-D-1802). AIR FORCE ArmorSource LLC, Hebron, Ohio, has been awarded a $17,374,500 firm-fixed-price contract for Next Generation Ballistic Helmets. This contract provides for the manufacturing and delivery of up to 24,300 LGD Sniper Gen II Ballistic Helmets with delivery to continental U.S. and outside the continental U.S. active duty Air Force security forces squadrons. The ordering period for the helmets will be complete by Jan. 8, 2023. This award is a result of a competitive acquisition with nine offers received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $9,996,415 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Installation Contracting Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8003-20-D-0001). ARMY Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $7,741,646 hybrid (cost-no-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, and firm-fixed-price) contract for General Electronic Test Station test equipment, installation, test program set, hardware, software, upgrades, training, engineering services and repair parts. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 8, 2024. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $880,405 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-20-C-0016). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY American Water Operations and Maintenance LLC, Camden, New Jersey, has been awarded a $7,288,260 modification (P00017) to a 50-year utilities privatization contract (SP0600-17-C-8322) with no option periods incorporating an increase to the operations, maintenance, renewal and replacement charges for water and wastewater utility service systems. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract. Location of performance is Ohio, with a Nov. 30, 2068, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 Air Force operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2053783/source/GovDelivery/