22 septembre 2020 | International, Terrestre, C4ISR
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is seeing improvements in anti-jam capabilities in new radios crucial to securing manned-unmanned communications at its annual Network Modernization Experiment.
At NetModX '20, which runs from late July to early October at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, the Army's Combat Capabilities Development Command's C5ISR Center — or Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Center — is testing the resiliency of the new radios. The effort will help the service observe how they would perform in the field as the Army looks to partner humans and machines.
Initial data from the event suggests the two companies involved — Silvus and Persistent Systems — have improved their radio capabilities from last year, specifically in regard to anti-jam, according to Daniel Duvak, chief of the C5ISR Center's Radio Frequency Communications division.
But one major challenge is making the radios less detectable as the Army's tactical network team starts to focus on command post survivability — or reducing the electromagnetic signature of command post communications — while not sacrificing latency and throughput.
“If you want to make it less detectable, you know oftentimes you have to trade off the throughput or the range or one of those other products,” Duvak said. “So that's the piece and the real technical challenge that they're continuing to work on over the next few months. We've seen progress that they've made in those areas, but that's the piece that they're still working on.”
Robert Stevens, an electronics engineer at the Radio Frequency Communications division, told C4ISRNET that the radios are an important piece of the next-generation combat vehicle. And Duvak said the Army's tactical network modernization team — made up of the Network Cross-Functional Team and Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications-Tactical — wants to use the radios as a mid-tier radio solution.
The development and fielding of new science and technology projects can take more than five years; however, the Army wants to speed that up as it seeks to modernize systems in preparation for future conflicts with near-peer adversaries. At last year's Network Modernization Experiment, the C5ISR Center tested several vendors' radios to see where commercial technology stood.
Alternative contracting options, like broad agency announcements as well as cooperative research and development agreements, have proved critical to quickening radio development. Under the contracting mechanisms, vendors and the Army have more flexibility to experiment with radios and make iterative modifications as requirements change.
Duvak said this is different from how the Army did business years ago, when it would award yearslong contracts but eventually receive radios that no longer met current requirements.
“What we were able to do at this program was, in just about a year and a half of development time, take a couple of those products that we saw that were very promising and we were able to add and actually fund vendors to enhance those radios with those resiliency features that we were just talking about for the contested environment,” Duvak said. “Things like making them anti-jam, or more difficult for the adversary to jam, making them more difficult for the adversary to detect or intercept our communications.”
Duvak said the Army wants the new radio capabilities for Capability Set '23, a collection of new tactical network tools to be fielded to soldiers in fiscal 2023. The resiliency of communications is critical as the tactical network modernization team pivots to reduce the electronic signature of the service's command post under Capability Set '23. The team is looking to increase bandwidth and reduce latency as part of that set of tools.
Preliminary design review for Capability Set '23 is scheduled for April next year.
22 juillet 2022 | International, Aérospatial
“The loitering munition market is going to evolve certainly,” Rafael's Roman Palaria told Breaking Defense. “I personally believe that it's a new market that is building up very quickly.”
16 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
ARMY Shimmick Construction Co. Inc., Oakland, California, was awarded a $78,801,484 modification (P00012) to contract W912P5-17-C-0007 for Chickamauga Lock chamber replacement. Work will be performed in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with an estimated completion date of June 23, 2023. Fiscal 2020 civil construction funds in the amount of $78,801,484 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville, Tennessee, is the contracting activity. Heil Trailer International LLC, Gatesville, Texas, was awarded a $37,063,855 firm-fixed-price contract for mobile tactical retail refueling systems, authorized stockage list kits, production qualification testing (PQT) assets, log assets, support for PQT testing, refurbishment of PQT assets, refurbishment of integrated product support systems and contract data requirements lists. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 14, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-20-D-0047). Cashman/Dutra JV, Quincy, Massachusetts, was awarded an $18,027,778 modification (P00009) to contract W912WJ-18-C-0010 for improvement dredging. Work will be performed in Boston, Massachusetts, with an estimated completion date of June 16, 2021. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 civil construction funds and 2020 non-federal funds in the amount of $18,027,778 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Concord, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity. Versar Inc., Springfield, Virginia, was awarded a $10,200,664 firm-fixed-price contract to provide technical services including, but not limited to, inspections, assessments, repairs, testing, reports, training for facilities and operations-related projects within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work will be performed in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 14, 2022. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $10,200,664 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W912DY-20-F-0262). Kleinfelder Inc., Rancho Cordova, California, was awarded a $9,476,096 firm-fixed-price contract for civil and geotechnical engineering related design and construction services. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Sacramento, California, with an estimated completion date of April 22, 2023. Fiscal 2018 civil construction funds in the amount of $9,476,096 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento, California, is the contracting activity (W91238-20-F-0080). Moog Inc., Blacksburg, Virginia, was awarded a $9,360,000 firm-fixed-price contract for 180 slip rings. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Blacksburg, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of June 16, 2021. Fiscal 2020 procurement, defense-wide funds in the amount of $4,212,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-20-C-0121). AIR FORCE AECOM International Inc., Neu-Isenburg, Germany (FA5613-20-D-0008); Buchard-Horn GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (FA5613-20-D-0009); Dorsch Gruppe International GmbH, Weisbaden, Germany (FA5613-20-D-0010); igr AG, Rockenhausen, Germany (FA5613-20-D-0011); Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Arlington, Virginia (FA5613-20-D-0012); and Peschla + Rochmes GmbH, Kaiserslautern, Germany (FA5613-20-D-0013), have been awarded a $49,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for architecture-engineer (A-E) services. This contract provides multi-disciplined A-E services for design of various U.S. military buildings, structures and facilities in Europe. Work will be performed primarily at Headquarters U.S. Air Force in Europe (USAFE); Ramstein Air Base, Germany; and USAFE geographically separated units in Germany. Work is expected to be completed June 14, 2027. This contract is the result of a competitive acquisition and seven offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $582 are being obligated for each awardee at the time of the award. The 700th Contracting Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, is the contracting activity. HDT Global, Salon, Ohio, has been awarded a $17,581,114 fixed-price, incentive-firm modification (P00055) to contract FA8204-13-C-0010 for Transporter Erector Replacement Program (TERP) production. This modification exercises Lot Three, Option Three and provides the government five TERP units. Work will be performed at Cincinnati, Ohio; and Florence, Kentucky, and is expected to be completed Jan. 20, 2022. The total cumulative face value is $83,751,189. Fiscal 2020 missile procurement funds in the amount of $17,581,114 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a $13,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the research and development for adaptive and robust control for hypersonic engagement research effort. The five-year contract will support research and development to comprehend and address impacts of complex flight environments on advanced weapon systems. Work will be performed in St. Louis, and is expected to be completed March 2025 for the initial task order. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and one offer was received. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $760,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA8651-20-D-0036). Lockheed Martin Corp., King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a $7,329,960 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) Operational Realtime Combat Analysis (ORCA) Increment Two. This contract provides for enhancements to the software package known as the JASSM ORCA Increment Two. Work will be performed in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and is expected to be complete by June 14, 2021. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $3,299,806 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin, Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA8682-20-C-0007). NAVY Vigor Marine LLC, Portland, Oregon, is awarded a $30,269,098 firm-fixed-price contract (N32205-20-C-4037) for a 120-calendar day shipyard availability for the post shakedown availability of the expeditionary sea base U.S. Ship Miguel Keith (T-ESB 5). The $30,269,098 consists of the amounts listed in the following areas: Category “A” work item costs, additional government requirement, other direct costs, and the general and administrative costs. Work will be performed in Portland, Oregon. Work will include the furnishing of general services, shipboard access, clean and gas free tank voids and cofferdams, machinery room to pump room watertight door, machinery space deck utilization plan, hull perimeter lighting, machinery space closed circuit television monitoring system and bow camera, install of the third air condition plant in forward house, aft house grey water system isolation, segregate grey and black water transfer line, forward main fire loop installation, aft house habitability mods and engineering control room No. 1 deck head install. Work is expected to be complete by December 2020. The contract includes options which, if exercised, will bring the total contract value to $30,985,070. Funds will be obligated on June 15, 2020. Contract completion will be December 2020. Contract funds in the amount of $30,269,098, excluding options, are obligated for fiscal 2021 using operations and maintenance (Navy) funds. This contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the beta.sam.gov website and one offer was received. The Navy's Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N32205-20-C-4037). Summer Consultants Inc.,* McLean, Virginia, is awarded a $30,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity architect-engineering contract with a maximum amount of $30,000,000 for multi-discipline architect-engineer services for mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire-protection within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), Washington area of operations (AO). All work on this contract will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other facilities within the NAVFAC Washington AO including, but not limited to, Maryland (40%); Virginia (40%); and Washington, D.C. (20%). The work primarily includes design and engineering services for new construction, major repairs, renovations and alterations. Design services may include, design and engineering concepts, contract documents, construction cost estimates, surveys, shop drawing reviews, construction consultation and inspection and the preparation of construction record drawings. Engineering services may include technical reports and studies, site investigations and programming concepts. Work is expected to be complete by June 2025. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months. No task orders are being issued at this time and no funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. Future task orders will be primarily funded by operations and maintenance. This contract was competitively procured via Navy Electronic Commerce Online website and 10 proposals were received. NAVFAC Washington, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N40080-20-D-0017). BAE Systems Jacksonville Ship Repair, Jacksonville, Florida, is awarded a $20,447,455 cost-plus-award-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-19-C-2317 to exercise options for the U.S. Ship Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) post shakedown availability (PSA). Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Florida. The work to be performed will include correction of government-responsible trial card deficiencies, new work identified between custody transfers at the time of PSA. The incorporation of approved engineering changes will be included that were not incorporated during the construction period, which are not otherwise the building yard's responsibility under the ship construction contract. The PSA is accomplished within a period of approximately 16 weeks between the time of ship custody transfer to the Navy and the shipbuilding and conversion (Navy), obligation work limiting date. The PSA encompasses all of the manpower, support services, material, non-standard equipment and associated technical data and documentation required to prepare for and accomplish the PSA. Work is expected to be complete by July 2021. Fiscal 2014 and fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $12,902,625 will be obligated at time of award. Funding will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. The University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, is awarded a $16,542,048 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the development of state-of-the-art improvements to unmanned systems and in situ ocean sampling. Work will be performed at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California. The lines of effort will improve and implement new oceanographic sampling techniques and methods. Experimentation events will enable data collections to support the next generation of federated oceanographic data tasking, processing and dissemination for future warfighting and oceanographic applications. Work is expected to be completed by June 2025. The total cumulative value of this contract is $16,542,048. The base period is $16,542,048 and there are no proposed option periods. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,100,000 are obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under N00014-20-S-B001, “Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Navy and Marine Corps Science & Technology.” Since proposals are received throughout the year under the long range BAA, the number of proposals received in response to the solicitation is unknown. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00014-20-C-2039). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Honeywell International, doing business as Honeywell Aerospace-Tucson, Tucson, Arizona, has been awarded a maximum $27,243,370 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aircraft generator auxiliary power units in support of the Blackhawk helicopter platform. This was a limited acquisition as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1 (a)(2). This is a five-year base contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Arizona, with a June 15, 2025, ordering period end date. Using military service is the Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 (Army) working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (SPRRA1-20-D-0054). Dixie Chemical Co. Inc., Pasadena, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $12,619,380 firm-fixed-price, requirements-type contract for high-density synthetic hydrocarbon jet propellant and priming fluid. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Texas, Oklahoma, Utah, Michigan, Alabama, Virginia, California, Arizona, Louisiana, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Colorado, with a June 15, 2025, performance completion date. Using military services are Air Force and Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy – Aerospace Energy, San Antonio, Texas (SPE601-20-D-1510). U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND UPDATE: Two additional companies, Eastern Airlines LLC., Wayne, Pennsylvania (HTC711-20-D-CC03); and USA Jet Airlines Inc., Belleville, Michigan (HTC711-20-D-CC04), have been awarded firm-fixed-price contracts under the Domestic Airlift Charter Services, Federal Aviation Administration Part 121, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, fixed price Contract at an estimated overall program value of $697,000,000. These funds were obligated on individual task orders issued among sixteen contracts. The program initially began in October 2018. The contracts provide domestic air cargo and passenger charter services. Services shall be provided for the Department of Defense and other federal government agencies. Work will be performed within the continental U.S., all U.S. territories, Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean Islands. Performance is from June 15, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2023. Ordering is decentralized and will be determined at the task order level. U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2220903/source/GovDelivery/
2 octobre 2019 | International, Sécurité
Par Anne Drif Comme Linkurious et Earthcube, plusieurs entreprises innovantes du renseignement et de la défense sont sollicitées par des investisseurs étrangers, dont le fonds de la CIA In-Q-Tel. En France, elles n'ont pas ou peu d'alternatives de financement. "Il faut arrêter Hollywood !" l'che, amer, un entrepreneur français devant le déluge d'images sur l'innovation des armées qui anime la communication du ministère de la Défense depuis quelques semaines. Le "Flyboard Air" de Franky Zapata a failli battre pavillon américain . D'autres projets moins cathodiques sont poussés à prendre un drapeau étranger, faute de trouver les financements adéquats en France. La faille est désormais bien identifiée par les investisseurs étrangers, qui ont ciblé ouvertement ces derniers mois les startup françaises du secteur de la défense et de la sécurité. Le fonds de la CIA, In-Q-Tel, s'est intéressé de près à Linkurious, la startup qui a aidé dans l'affaire des "Panama Papers" en détectant les interconnexions entre personnes à partir de signaux faibles pour les banques, l'armée ou Bercy. Investisseurs américains ou qataris Le fonds d'investissement américain , qui vient de s'installer en Europe, a également approché Earthcube . Cette solution d'intelligence artificielle qui permet d'identifier en quelques secondes des micro pixels sur des images satellites est utilisée par la Direction du renseignement militaire. La société Elika, qui innove dans la linguistique opérationnelle pour permettre aux forces armées de communiquer dans un langage interallié a elle aussi reçu des propositions de fonds américains et qataris. Certaines - par exemple Dataiku, qui travaille pour Tracfin -, ont déjà basculé. La startup d'intelligence artificielle a bouclé un quatrième tour de table de 101 millions de dollars auprès de fonds anglo-saxons de premier ordre, comme Iconiq Capital, proche du CEO de Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. Des startup trop connotées De fait, les startup de la défense et du renseignement se lancent gr'ce aux subventions et aux contrats industriels noués avec la Direction générale de l'armement ou la nouvelle Agence d'innovation de la défense, mais peinent très vite à grandir avec des solutions de financement hexagonales. "Si on veut conserver un ADN tricolore, l'écosystème de financement reste à inventer. Les investisseurs français sont hésitants à l'idée de mettre de l'argent dans notre secteur", témoigne Arnaud Guérin, le cofondateur d'Earthcube. Chez Numalis, où l'on gère une méthode de calcul capable de corriger les systèmes critiques des missiles, des fusées ou des centrales nucléaires, on cherche aussi de l'agent frais. La startup, qui mobilise des subventions de BPI et reçoit l'aide d'un fonds régional, a tenté de convaincre des fonds de capital-risque et d'amorçage. En vain. Désintérêts "Nous n'y sommes pas arrivés, explique Arnault Ioualalen, le fondateur. Si l'on ne trouve pas d'acteur français, nous nous efforcerons de nous tourner vers des Européens. Mais les fonds classiques réfléchissent à cinq ans, un horizon beaucoup trop court pour la deep-tech." Les grands fonds français expliquent leur appréhension. "Nous ne pouvons pas investir dans ce qui touche de près ou de loin au commerce d'armes, explique Jean-Marc Patouillaud, managing partner de Partech. Le nombre limité d'acteurs, de clients, la nature des cycles et des processus de vente sont des facteurs de risques, sans compter le droit de regard des pouvoirs publics sur toute transaction." Coup de fil du ministère des armées Même constat de Benoist Grossmann, le directeur général d'Idinvest. "La cybersécurité et la géosurveillance sont peu matures, et il existe plein d'autres opportunités dans d'autres secteurs. Aux Etats Unis, c'est différent, le marché de la défense est beaucoup plus profond", ajoute-t-il. Quand les fonds français osent quand même s'intéresser au secteur, "la première chose qu'ils sondent est Bercy au titre du contrôle des investissements... Dans l'heure, ils reçoivent un coup de fil de la DGA !" témoigne un entrepreneur. En réalité, ce problème n'est pas nouveau. En témoigne la création de Definvest, le fonds de 50 millions d'euros monté l'an dernier par bpifrance pour le compte du ministère des Armées. Mais ce dernier ne répond que partiellement aux besoins, car il intervient uniquement... aux côtés de fonds privés, et ne prend jamais la main. Par le passé, d'autres tentatives semi-publiques avaient déjà échoué . Pré-carré des industriels La défiance est la même du côté des banques. "Nous avons fait le choix de ne pas lever de fonds étrangers, mais nous ne trouvons pas de financement bancaire, même pour 500.000 euros. Nous tentons donc de fonctionner avec des prêts d'honneur de Total, Airbus et Michelin. C'est forcément limité", déplore Karine Joyeux, la présidente d'Elika. Pour les startup, les verrous ne sont pas que financiers. "Ce que nous font comprendre en creux les institutions de la Défense, c'est qu'elles ne veulent pas voir l'émergence de startups qui viendraient concurrencer les grands groupes installés, s'agace un entrepreneur du secteur. L'armée pousse à ce que nous intégrions nos technologies dans ces grands groupes, mais nous voulons garder notre indépendance. Et ce n'est pas ce qui va pousser à créer des technologies de rupture !" Du coup, certaines startup préfèrent l'autofinancement, comme Linkurious. "Nous avons fait le choix de ne pas lever de fonds pour garder notre indépendance", explique le président exécutif Sébastien Heymann. Vers un abandon du secteur défense pour le civil D'autres jeunes pousses renoncent et se réorientent purement et simplement vers la seule clientèle civile. C'est le "pivot" opéré par Flaminem, pourtant présenté comme le futur concurrent français de la société américaine d'analyse de données Palantir. "Nous restons attentifs au marché régalien, mais ce n'est pas un domaine qui réagit suffisamment vite à notre échelle", explique Antoine Rizk, le CEO de Flaminem. La startup s'est donc entièrement tournée vers le vaste marché de la lutte contre la fraude et le blanchiment des banques. Moins sulfureux, mais plus "bankable". https://start.lesechos.fr/startups/actu-startups/ces-startups-du-renseignement-poussees-dans-les-bras-etrangers-16216.php