17 octobre 2024 | International, Terrestre
From CamoGPT to life skills, the Army is changing how it trains troops
Gen. Gary Brito, head of Army Training and Doctrine Command, discusses what training updates mean for new and career soldiers.
24 mars 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
Pentagon loosens cash flow for industry, more measures likely coming
By: Aaron Mehta
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has opened up cash flow for the defense industry, the latest in a series of moves from the department to combat economic damage brought about by the new coronavirus pandemic.
In a memo released Sunday, the department announced that progress payment rates for defense items under contract will increase from 80 percent of cost to 90 percent for large businesses, and from 90 percent to 95 percent for small businesses. The move will allow industry to receive more cash up front than under normal circumstances.
The order was signed by Kim Herrington, acting principal director for defense pricing and contracting at the Department of Defense. In a statement, spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Andrews called the move “an important avenue where industry cash flow can be improved."
The Defense Contracting Management Agency “will work on mass modifications to contracts where applicable (vs one by one) using DCMA authorities,” Andrews said. “In addition, the Department is accelerating payments through several means to prime contracts and directing prime contracts to expedite payments to subcontractors.”
The increase in cash flow was sought by both industry and supporters in Congress. An increase in early payments was one of the requests made by the Maine delegation to Defense Secretary Mark Esper last week. The Pentagon plans to return to normal operations once the national emergency caused by COVID-19 has passed.
Notably, the announcement of the move included a warning that “it is especially important to understand that during this crisis the [defense-industrial base] is vulnerable to adversarial capital, we need to ensure companies stay in business without losing their technology.” Over the last two years the department has focused on ensuring Chinese investment is limited in the defense-industrial base.
The move comes after the DoD issued guidance to industry that defense contractors are considered “critical infrastructure” under a Department of Homeland Security definition, which should allow contractors to continue to work even if local governments issue orders to freeze work, as has happened in New York and San Francisco.
However, that guidance was advisory in nature and does not have the full legal authority that industry leadership had sought, per a Friday letter to Esper from the Aerospace Industry Association.
“Recent DHS and USD (A&S) memoranda have been helpful on a case-by-case basis, but they are advisory in nature and not legally binding; to establish stability for our operations across the nation, the federal government should legally establish national security programs and our workforce as essential,” read the letter, signed by AIA head Eric Fanning; Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden; and Kelly Ortberg, special adviser to the Office of the CEO of United Technologies.
In an investors note, analyst Roman Schweizer of Cowen noted: “These new policies provide clarity on issues companies have been concerned about, but we do not think they alleviate all of industry's concerns nor do they eliminate all the disruption. But they are positive signs that DoD will help mitigate reasonable impact.”
More efforts are likely to emerge in the coming days, including new measures from the Small Business Administration and its small business emergency loan program to help protect small key defense suppliers who are particularly vulnerable at this time.
Major defense industry partners are also seeking relief in fulfilling contract milestones that could be impacted by the outbreak.
“We encourage DoD to publish regulatory authority requiring contracting officers to consider financial relief as part of requests for equitable adjustments for measures we take in response to COVID-19,” the AIA letter read. “This includes relief related to bans, closures, quarantines and other travel restrictions, the loss of public infrastructure and public transportation, restricted access to resources and tools, and other public safety restrictions.”
On Friday, the Acquisition and Sustainment division of the Small Business Office reached out to the defense industry's small businesses and is working with the Small Business Administration and its small business emergency loan program to help protect these companies.
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5 octobre 2018 | International, Terrestre
Army testing more effective ghillie suits
By David Vergun, Army News Service FORT BELVOIR, Va. -- The Army is looking for an improved ghillie suit to replace the flame-resistant, camouflage suit now worn by snipers to keep them from being seen by the enemy. The current ghillie suits are bulky, somewhat uncomfortable and hot in warm weather, said Debbie Williams, a systems acquisition expert with Program Executive Office Soldier, Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment. The current suit is known as the Flame Resistant Ghillie System, or FRGS. The replacement the Army is looking for will be called the Improved Ghillie System, or IGS, Williams said. She added that although the term "flame resistant" is not in the new name, the IGS will still have flame-resistant properties. Soldiers will receive most of their protection from the base layer worn under the IGS, such as the Flame Resistant Combat Uniform, or FR ACU. The IGS will be a modular system, worn over the field uniform, she said. It will be modular in that it can be taken apart, with pieces added or subtracted as needed, such as sleeves, leggings, veil, cape and so on. Another change is that the IGS will not come with the accessory kit, like the one supplied with the FRGS, Williams said. It was found that Soldiers were not using a majority of the items in their accessory kit or preferred a different material. Williams said the cost of the IGS will be lower than the current $1,300 FRGS. Mary Armacost, a textile technologist with Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment, said the IGS will be made of lighter, more breathable material than the FRGS. Also, the material for the skeins that accompany the IGS will be stiffer than that of the FRGS, thereby making the IGS more effective at camouflaging the Soldier. A request for proposal for the IGS went out Aug. 28 and closed Sept. 24, she said. Vendors must each provide three samples. About 3,500 suits are expected to be produced under the contract for approximately 3,300 snipers in all three Army components, as well as Soldiers in U.S. Special Operations Command, Williams said. After the samples are obtained, lab and field testing will begin at various locations in November, she said. For example, the Army's Night Vision Laboratory will do full-spectrum testing. It will also use night vision goggles to see how well the suits remain hidden in darkened conditions. Daytime testing for visual camouflage effectiveness will take place as well, with sniper-qualified Soldiers at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, Williams said. Additionally, acoustic testing will be done by the Army Research Laboratory to determine how much noise the IGS produces in field conditions. ARL will also test the effectiveness of the fabric regarding tear resistance and fire retardant effectiveness, she added. Following all of this, a limited user evaluation should commence next spring using instructors from the Sniper School at Fort Benning, Georgia. https://www.army.mil/article/211933
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9 octobre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense
Contract Awards by US Department of Defense – October 08, 2020
Navy Gulf Warehousing Co., Doha, Qatar (N68171-21-D-0016); Marine Agency Co. Ltd, Pusan, Republic of Korea (N68171-21-D-0019); and Seaway Agencies Pty Ltd, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (N68171-21-D-0030), are awarded an estimated $1,061,000,000 under the previously awarded request for proposals (N68171-20-R-0001) multiple award of firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts to provide husbanding, management and integration services consisting of general charter and hire, utilities, force protection, communications and land transportation services to support maritime forces of the Department of Defense, other U.S. government agencies and nations, including Navy ships, Marine Corps, Military Sealift Command (MSC), Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, NATO and other foreign vessels participating in U.S. military or NATO exercises and missions. The contracts will run concurrently and will include a five-year base ordering period with one five-year option, with individual requirements performed under task orders when specific dates and locations are identified. If the option period is exercised, the total estimated value of the contracts combined will have a ceiling value of $2,122,000,000. The ordering period of the contract is expected to be completed by October 2025; if all options are exercised, the ordering period will be completed by October 2030. Work will be performed in 30 geographic regions: United Arab Emirates (14%); Philippines (10%); Djibouti (7%); eastern U.S. and U.S. territories (6%); Southeastern Asia 2 (5%); Indian Ocean (5%); Republic of Korea (5%); South America (5%); Singapore (4%); western California (4%); Southeastern Asia 1 (3%); Bahrain (3%); Oman (3%); Oceania (2%); China and Russia (2%); United Kingdom/Western Europe (North Sea) (2%); Italy (2%); Eastern Europe/Black Sea (2%); Western Europe (Mediterranean) (2%); Northern Atlantic (2%); Panama (2%); North America (2%); Japan (1%); Greece (1%); Africa (1%); Middle East (1%); Central America (1%); Caribbean and Bermuda (1%); eastern U.S. territories (1%); and western U.S. territories (1%). Due to the fact that the specific requirements for husbanding support cannot be predicted at this time, more specific information about where the work will be performed cannot be currently provided. Fiscal 2021 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,000 will be obligated ($3,000 on each of the three contracts to fund the contracts' minimum amounts), and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Additional funds will be obligated at the task order level with the appropriate fiscal year funding as issued by the main type commanders for each area of responsibility. Typical funding issued by each of the customers include operations and maintenance (Navy) funds from U.S. Fleet Forces Command; and working capital funds (Navy) from MSC. The requirement was competitively procured for the award of multiple contracts with the solicitation posted on beta.SAM.gov; Navy Electronic Commerce Online (NECO); and Euro NECO with 36 offers received. The Naval Supply Systems Command, Fleet Logistics Center, Sigonella, Naples Detachment, Italy, is the contracting activity. (Southeastern Asia 1 is aligned to the Pacific Islands [Palau, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia-France, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Western Samoa]. Southeastern Asia 2 is aligned to Southeastern Asian mainland countries [Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam]. Arete Associates, Northridge, California, is awarded a $17,976,258 firm-fixed-price modification to exercise Option Three of previously awarded contract N61331-18-D-0012 to provide Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis Block I systems. This option is for additional Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) Block 1 production systems. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (35%); Destin, Florida (35%); and Santa Rosa, California (30%), and is expected to be completed by September 2021. No funding will be obligated at time of award and will be obligated at the time a delivery order is issued. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division, Panama City, Florida, is the contracting activity. McKean Defense Group LLC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is awarded a $12,228,590 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-no-fee pricing to provide engineering support for Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services to include technical and programmatic services for networking, communications and computer systems and associated certification and information assurance for new developments, current operations and planned upgrades. This one-year contract includes four one-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the overall potential value of this contract to an estimated $69,793,839. Work will be performed in the continental U.S.: San Diego, California (76%); Norfolk, Virginia (4%); Hawaii (4%); Washington, D.C. (3%); Charleston, South Carolina (3%); and outside continental U.S.: Japan (4%); Guam (2%); Bahrain (2%); and Italy (2%). The period of performance of the base award is from Oct. 8, 2020, through Oct. 7, 2021. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through Oct.7, 2025. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Fiscal 2021 funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); shipbuilding construction (Navy); and other funding, which may include Foreign Military Sales; Program Directive Air; and Navy working capital fund. This contract was competitively procured via Request for Proposal N66001-19-R-0036, which was published on the beta.SAM.gov website. Two offers were received and one selected for award. The Naval Information Warfare Center, Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-21-D-0008). ARMY Ibis Tek Inc.,* Butler, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $229,062,184 firm-fixed-price contract for the Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles protection kit. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 7, 2027. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-21-D-0095). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Dairy Brands Fluid LLC,* doing business as Pet Dairy, Charlotte, North Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $22,800,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for fresh milk and dairy. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a three-year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are North Carolina and South Carolina, with an Oct. 7, 2023, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-21-D-V381). Aeronix Inc.,* Melbourne, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $8,516,838 fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for data interface units. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a two-year base contract with three one-year option periods. Location of performance is Florida, with an Oct. 7, 2022, ordering period end date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE8ES-21-D-0005). * Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2377069/source/GovDelivery/