3 juillet 2019 | International, Autre défense

Peraton Awarded $185.8 Million Tactical Aerostat Systems Contract

(Source: Peraton news release)

Peraton was awarded the Tactical Aerostat Systems (TAS) contract in support of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), under the U.S. General Services Administration's One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) vehicle. The five year contract, valued at $185.8 million, is comprised of one base with four option years.

Under the TAS program, Peraton will help provide round-the-clock regional domain awareness and long-range persistent ground surveillance along the United States–Mexico border. Operating from sites across the Rio Grande Valley in Southeast Texas, TAS are strategically used to enhance mission coverage by maintaining surveillance of challenging terrain and over-the-horizon situations, enabling USBP to detect, identify, classify, and track cross-border activity.

"The TAS program builds on our decade-plus partnership with DHS CBP providing integrated logistics support for the Tethered Aerostat Radar System program," said John Coleman, president, Defense and Homeland Security sector. "Peraton operates and maintains the critical communications infrastructures that equip USBP agents with the vital intelligence to enforce functional borders – facilitating the flow of legal immigration and goods while preventing illegal trafficking of people and contraband across our nation's borders."

With its legacy of delivering maximal aerostat availability through effective logistics management, while implementing staffing efficiencies, integrating emerging technologies, and satisfying evolving mission demands, Peraton's deep expertise drives the strong customer partnerships that advance desired mission outcomes.

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=eec2e7e4-68e1-4e91-86ba-8746cb036548

Sur le même sujet

  • US Navy to develop drone deployment strategy

    22 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval

    US Navy to develop drone deployment strategy

    By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy's top officer has ordered his staff to develop a comprehensive strategy to field unmanned systems in the air, on the water and under the sea over the coming years. Dubbed “unmanned campaign plan,” it looks to tie together all the disparate programs into a coherent way forward, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday told Defense News in a July 16 interview. “We've got ... a family of unmanned systems we're working on,” Gilday said. “Undersea we've got extra-large, large and medium [unmanned underwater vehicles]; on the surface we have small, medium and large [unmanned surface vessels]; and in the air we have a number of programs. “What I've asked the N9 to do is come to me with a campaign plan that ties all those together with objectives at the end. I've got a bunch of horses in the race, but at some point I have to put my money down on the thoroughbred that's going to take me across the finish line so I can make an investment in a platform I have high confidence in and that I can scale.” Gilday's drive toward an unmanned campaign plan comes after two consecutive years of congressional criticism that the Navy is forging ahead too quickly on unmanned systems without first having designed or developed critical new technologies and mechanical systems. The criticisms have resulted in marks in legislation that deliberately slows down the development of the systems that both the Navy and the Office of Secretary of Defense have said are necessary to offset a rising China without breaking the bank. In the interview, Gilday acknowledged the Navy hadn't adequately mapped out its unmanned future in a way that would inspire confidence. “What I've found is that we didn't necessarily have the rigor that's required across a number of programs that would bring those together in a way that's driven toward objectives with milestones,” Gilday said. “If you took a look at [all the programs], where are there similarities and where are there differences? Where am I making progress in meeting conditions and meeting milestones that we can leverage in other experiments? At what point do I reach a decision point where I drop a program and double down on a program that I can accelerate?” In the most recent National Defense Authorization Act, currently working its way through Congress, lawmakers appear poised to restrict funding for procurement of any large unmanned surface vessels, or LUSV, until the Navy can certify it has worked out an appropriate hull as well as mechanical and electrical system, and that the design can autonomously operate for 30 consecutive days. Furthermore, the Navy must demonstrate a reliable operating system and ensure any systems integrated into the platform — sonars, radars, etc. — are likewise functioning and reliable, according the text of the subcommittee's markup of the fiscal 2021 NDAA, Congress's annual defense policy bill, which was obtained by Defense News. In short, the language would mean the Navy could not spend procurement dollars on a large unmanned surface vessel until it has a working model, and it may not try to develop those technologies on the fly. In a June interview with Defense News, Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., head of the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, said the panel supports unmanned system development but doesn't want the Navy repeat mistakes. “The message I want people to understand is that we fully support the move toward unmanned, whether that's on the surface or undersea,” Courtney said. “But we want to make sure that some of the real nuts and bolts issues ... are worked out before we start building large unmanned platforms. “We want to make sure that, again, we don't end up with situations like LCS [the littoral combat ship] where we're trying to figure out what the mission is at the same time we're building them.” Conceptualize and control That's a criticism the CNO hears and is working to address. Gilday is pushing on two major efforts to get better answers on what the Navy is trying to accomplish with unmanned systems: a concept of operations, and a network to control them with. “The concept of operations that the fleet is working on right now will be delivered in the fall, and that talks conceptually about how we intend to employ unmanned in distributed maritime operations,” Gilday said, referencing a Navy plan to physically expand its maneuvers to complicate enemy targeting rather than aggregate around an aircraft carrier. But beyond how unmanned tech will fit into a distributed fleet, the Navy is looking at where those systems should be located and how they will be supported. That's leading the Navy to consider stationing the systems and support elements overseas. “What would a day-to-day laydown look like of unmanned forward?” Gilday asked. “The Navy has got to be forward: For obvious reasons we don't want the fight back here; the Navy exists to operate forward. That's where we need to be in numbers. And with unmanned, if you are not there at the right time, you are irrelevant. “There also has to be a number of unmanned [systems] forward. I can't just decide to rally unmanned out of San Diego or in the Pacific northwest at a time when they'll be too late to need.” The other big piece of the puzzle is something Gilday has previously referred to as akin to a new “Manhattan Project,” a rapid, well-funded project to field a network that can control all the various unmanned and networked systems, sensors and weapons. And to do that, he's linking in with the Air Force's Joint All Domain Command and Control, or JADC2, effort. “The other piece of this is the Navy Tactical Grid,” Gilday explained. “Coming into the job, the projections for the Navy Tactical Grid was for delivery in about 2035. I knew that was way, way too late. “So, on a handshake with [Air Force Chief of Staff] Gen. [David] Goldfein, I said: ‘Look, I am all in, and my vision is that the Navy Tactical Grid would be the naval plug into JADC2.' So the Navy Tactical Grid ends up being a very critical element of the unmanned campaign plan because it becomes the main artery to operate those platforms. “Without it, I have a bunch of unmanned that I shouldn't be building because I can't control it very well.” https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/07/21/the-us-navy-is-trying-to-get-its-act-together-on-unmanned-systems/

  • Pilots try out new helmet in F-16V flight tests

    7 août 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    Pilots try out new helmet in F-16V flight tests

    Seth J. Frantzman JERUSALEM — Recent flight tests of the F-16V fighter jet incorporated a new version of the pilot's helmet that introduces a visor with optical inertial trackers and is designed to provide improved durability, accuracy and comfort for long flights. The Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System II is manufactured by Collins Elbit Vision Systems, a joint venture between Collins Aerospace and Elbit Systems of America. The flight tests followed a safety qualification test for the helmet last year meant as a step toward making the JHMCS II the baseline helmet for the F-16 Fighting Falcon Viper (V) Block 70/72, made by Lockheed Martin. The safety test was performed on the ground, and the helmet was subjected to wind blasts. Jeff Hoberg, a co-general manager with the joint venture, said the helmet was specifically created for aircraft like the F-16V and builds on the legacy of the earlier JHMCS variants used on F-15, F-16 and F-18 jets. With an optical inertial tracker, the JHMCS II is more accurate than previous models, and its improved center of gravity mitigates pilot fatigue, as the helmet aligns better with the spine, Hoberg said. The optical tracking is made possible by upgrades to algorithms and software, the placement of a tracking part on the front of the helmet above the eyes, and a reference unit on the dashboard console of the aircraft. “Likewise it has a color display, and when you add color to the display, air crew can absorb more information,” he added. The next step for the helmet, Hoberg explained, is to continue flight tests this year and through early next year, with the expectation that the new variant will be certified as the baseline helmet for the F-16V. The JHMCS II is the only helmet-mounted display integrated and tested on the F-16V. “Flight tests is the next milestone as we partner with Collins Elbit Vision Systems on the JHMCS II, and we look forward to continued collaboration,” said Danya Trent, vice president of the F-16 program at Lockheed. The F-16V aircraft, equipped with an active electronically scanned array radar, are part of a new Lockheed production line in Greenville, South Carolina, announced last year. The company said in a 2019 interview that it expected hundreds of aircraft to be upgraded to the Viper model and up to 500 more to be sold in the next decade, with F-16s estimated to be keep flying into the 2040s. The fourth-generation “V” model first flew in 2015 and is going through a flight test phase. F-16V sales and upgrades to the variant are in the works for Taiwan, Bahrain and Bulgaria, among other countries. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/2020/08/06/pilots-try-out-new-helmet-in-f-16v-flight-tests/

  • Fincantieri’s Marinette Marine announces Mark Vandroff as new shipyard CEO

    15 juin 2021 | International, Naval

    Fincantieri’s Marinette Marine announces Mark Vandroff as new shipyard CEO

    Fincantieri’s Marinette Marine announced a leadership change at the Wisconsin shipyard, with retired U.S. Navy captain Mark Vandroff set to take over as CEO in July.

Toutes les nouvelles