Pentagon unveils $850 billion budget request amid spending uncertainty

Sur le même sujet

• 

  3 octobre 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval

  Intel Agency Studies MQ-25 For Surveillance Role

  Steve Trimble The U.S. Navy's MQ-25 is being developed as a carrier-based aerial refueler, but an intelligence agency is showing interest in the unmanned aircraft system for a maritime surveillance role. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has commissioned Boeing to study the integration requirements for installing the company's Multi-Mission Pod (MMP) on the MQ-25. Boeing developed the MMP using internal funding for the P-8A, a submarine hunter derived from the 737NG. It is designed to carry multiple payloads, including communication and electronic intelligence receivers. The NGA-sponsored study will evaluate how to use the MMP to introduce the agency's “maritime program” on the P-8A and MQ-25 fleets. The agency on Sept. 30 published a “justification and approval” notice for the study contract awarded to Boeing in May. Such notices are required to justify any contract awarded to a single contractor without a competition. In this case, the sole source award was justified because the MQ-25 is still early in the development phase, the NGA says, so Boeing is the only company that has access to the design data. The Navy awarded Boeing an $805 million in August 2018 to deliver four MQ-25 aircraft during the engineering and manufacturing development phase. The overall value of the deal has since risen to $944 million, of which $436 million, or 46.1%, has been obligated, according to the USASpending.gov procurement tracking site. Last month, Boeing completed the first flight of a company-funded test asset for the MQ-25 program at an airport in Illinois. The study also suggests the P-8A and MQ-25 fleet could be used to help replace the electronic intelligence capability once performed by the Lockheed EP-3E fleet. The Navy has said that the EP-3E will be replaced by a family of manned and unmanned aircraft, including the P-8A and the MQ-4C unmanned aircraft system. https://aviationweek.com/defense/intel-agency-studies-mq-25-surveillance-role

• 

  17 septembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR

  France wonders: Can we always count on American support?

  By: Pierre Tran PARIS — The U.S. is a close and valued ally to France, but the European country seeks continentwide strategic autonomy in defense and security, with a stronger and more cooperative industrial base, said French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly. “The United States is our ally and our friend, and it will remain so,” she said Sept. 11 at the Summer defense university, a gathering of parliamentarians, officers and foreign guests. “Our cooperation in defense and security is intense and highly valued.” Parly had planned to pass on that message when she saw U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in Washington on Thursday, but that trip to the U.S. — which included a presentation at the Atlantic Council — was canceled due to Hurricane Florence hitting the East Coast. “Can we always count, in every place and in every circumstance, on American support?" she said. “Listen to the statements of the U.S. president, read his tweets: The message sent is clear and without ambiguity,” she added. “We have to count on ourselves ... build a European strategic autonomy.” But Robbin Laird, an analyst with U.S.- and France-based consultancy ICSA, said the U.S. is very present in Europe. “Despite the president's comments on NATO and Article 5, his administration has committed significant resources in Europe,” he said, referring to the alliance's charter that calls for a united response should a member nation come under attack. Mattis was recently “very visible in Finland,” attending a trilateral meeting with Finnish and Swedish senior officials, Laird said, noting the upcoming NATO Trident Juncture exercise in Norway in October and November. “It is clear Trump would welcome a more European capability; a real defense capability is what he is looking for, not just words,” he said. On the industrial front, Parly said France and Germany have signed up for projects for a Future Combat Air System — centered on a new fighter jet— and a new tank. This is a “historic step for Europe, for the future of our equipment and the strength of our industry,” she said. These were long-term commitments, open to other nations, she added. Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/09/14/france-wonders-can-we-always-count-on-american-support/

• 

  2 juillet 2024 | International, C4ISR

  Intelligence Community’s IT roadmap shows way to a data-centric future

  Opinion: To achieve data-centricity at scale, the IC must govern and manage data cohesively, at every point of the data lifecycle.