18 août 2020 | International, Terrestre
by Ashley Roque
Industry is bracing for surprise entries and team changes in the US Army's up-gunning competition with at least one big switch up: Pratt Miller partnering up with Rafael Defence and Oshkosh Defence.
After a two-and-a-half-month deadline extension, all Medium Calibre Weapons System (MCWS) programme proposals and bid samples are due to the army on 24 August. Although many vendors are remaining tight lipped over whether they are still competing, Janes has confirmed with multiple, wholly separate, sources that Pratt Miller is no longer teaming up with CMI Defence and is now saddled up with Rafael and Oshkosh for its bid.
The service declined to comment on any team changes and said specific vendor information, including system performance and on-going participation, are considered “source selection sensitive”.
“The US [government] does not and has not provided vendor direction on who to partner with or what systems to utilise to protect the integrity of the competition,” Ashley John, director for public and congressional affairs for the Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems, told Janes on 12 August. “Each vendor partnership is independent of government input and has been developed directly from party to party.”
Under the competition, the army wants to select a team to outfit Stryker vehicles with 30 mm cannons. Service plans called for a two-phased, concurrent approach involving a design integration study phase to help inform requirements development and the acquisition strategy, and a separate Stryker MCWS request for proposal (RFP).
19 avril 2023 | International, C4ISR
The director of the National Reconnaissance Office said the agency is manufacturing the prototypes and plans to start launching in eight to 12 months.
8 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial
AFWERX, the catalyst for fostering innovation within the U.S. Air Force, announced Easy Aerial as one of the top 92 participating teams selected from across the globe competing to build the Base of the Future Challenge. The AFWERX Challenge is centered around six topics – Base Security, Installation Resilience, Leveraging Technology for Operational Effectiveness, Reverse Engineering, Culture of Innovation, and Airman and Family Wellbeing. The proposals selected to advance represent innovative solutions ranging from new base security technology and VR training modules to virtual assistants and apps designed for wellness and leadership development. Located in Brooklyn, New York, Easy Aerial is competing in the Leveraging Technology for Operational Effectiveness Challenge alongside a diverse group of teams – originating from the vast regions of North America, Europe, Australia and other allied countries – that represent entrepreneurial startups, small businesses, large enterprises, academic institutions and research labs all vying to build the Base of the Future and modernize the Department of Defense. “The AFWERX Base of the Future Challenge is critical to our mission of increasing collaboration between large businesses and entrepreneurs to accelerate solutions for the Air Force,” stated Mark Rowland of AFWERX. “On behalf of AFWERX and the Department of Defense, we congratulate the teams advancing to the next phase. Their contributions are invaluable and have the potential to create game-changing results across the Air Force enterprise.” The Leveraging Technology for Operational Effectiveness Challenge strives to leverage artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing and machine learning to build an Air Force base that becomes a leader in innovation. With the rebuild of the Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, the U.S. Air Force has the potential to create an installation that will be a model for Air Force bases of tomorrow by implementing state of the art operational technology, automation, artificial intelligence, digital integration, and cybersecurity to build the newest installation and ensure it becomes a premier innovation hub for industry and government. Designed and manufactured in the United States, Easy Aerial drone-based monitoring and inspection solutions are fully autonomous, all-weather capable, portable, rugged, and specifically designed for military applications. The company has developed an autonomous solution for rapid maintenance inspection of large aircraft. The system features a tethered drone attached to a self-directing base station that moves around an aircraft capturing and securely storing high-resolution images and video from multiple angles. The system dramatically reduces the time needed for current routine and emergency maintenance inspections in large hangars with scaffolding erected around the aircraft. The AFWERX Fusion 2020 Showcase recently featured 370 of the participating teams selected from a record-breaking 1,500+ submissions received for the Base of the Future Challenge. Throughout the event, teams pitched their solutions to a panel of subject matter experts from the relevant sectors of the Air Force. The top 92 selections were identified and invited to further engage with the Air Force during the week of August 31 with the hope of obtaining contracts. The Base of the Future theme was inspired by Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, which was decimated by Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 storm that occurred in 2018. For decades, Tyndall had been home to many generations of Airmen and their families. In the storm's aftermath, nearly 500 buildings were destroyed or damaged beyond repair. Fortunately, Congress approved a $3 billion military construction rebuild program, sparking hope that Tyndall would re-emerge stronger than ever before. The aspirational initiative seeks to create a robust installation that will become a universal symbol of innovation and excellence that can scale across the U.S. Air Force. To learn more about the Base of the Future Challenges, click here. ABOUT AFWERX Established in 2017, AFWERX is a product of the U.S. Air Force, directly envisioned by former Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson. Her vision of AFWERX — to solve some of the toughest challenges that the Air Force faces through innovation and collaboration amongst our nation's top subject matter experts. AFWERX serves as a catalyst to unleash new approaches for the warfighter through a growing ecosystem of innovators. AFWERX and the U.S. Air Force are committed to exploring viable solutions and partnerships to further strengthen the Air Force, which could lead to additional prototyping, R&D, and follow-on production contracts. Source: Press Release Posted in News, Tethered and tagged drones, uav, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned aircraft systems on September 7, 2020 by The Editor. https://www.uasvision.com/2020/09/07/easy-aerial-selected-finalist-in-usaf-afwerx-fusion-challenge/
26 août 2020 | International, C4ISR
The U.S. Air Force has awarded BAE Systems a $495 million contract to continue to provide a wide range of instrumentation support and sustainment services to military and government agencies for the U.S. and its allies. BAE Systems has been involved in the Instrumentation Range Support Program (IRSP) for 35 years and this new contract extends the company's role in ensuring the accuracy and operational reliability of tracking systems in support of national security missions. The single-award contract has a ceiling amount of $945 million over seven years. “Since 1985, we have been the sustainment contractor of choice for the IRSP program to ensure test ranges are operational and mission ready,” said Pete Trainer, vice president and general manager of BAE Systems' Air Force Solutions business. “We are pleased to continue our instrumentation sustainment, engineering support, and maintenance services for the 27 IRSP test ranges worldwide. Our work improving the mission readiness of these systems ensures air, missile, and space situational awareness is provided seamlessly to the warfighter and decision makers.” BAE Systems will service components and subsystems for instrumentation tracking systems such as radars, telemetry and optical range mission systems, flight termination systems, data acquisition systems and global positioning systems. Under the firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost-reimbursable indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract, work will be performed on the 27 ranges globally that are part of the IRSP. They include those in the U.S. operated by the U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as allied ranges operated in the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Republic of Korea and Switzerland. BAE Systems is a leading systems integrator supporting militaries and governments, and U.S. intelligence community members across the globe. The company is the world's premier provider of radar life-cycle support service, sustainment, and modernization for radar, telemetry, and optical tracking systems. http://www.canadiandefencereview.com/news?news/2937