Possible Hypersonic Test 'Balk' May Add To Poor USAF Record | Aviation Week Network

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  21 octobre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

  USAF Scoping Out Upgrades to Counter-UAS Weapons

  Rachel S. Cohen The Air Force is in the market for upgrades to its counter-drone technologies, according to an Oct. 16 request for information posted on a federal contracting website. The service is in the early stages of deploying lasers, microwaves, and other weapons more advanced than a shotgun to deal with potentially threatening drones loitering around bases. In particular, the RFI is looking for ideas to fend off the smallest unmanned aerial systems like quadcopters. “These threats may have characteristics such as small size, low radar cross-sections, low infrared or radio frequency signatures (or no RF signatures), ability to hover, and low-altitude flight capability, which may render them difficult to detect and/or defeat,” the Air Force stated. “These UAS are typically either controlled remotely from a ground control station or capable of flying pre-planned routes.” Cheap aircraft can be turned into battlefield weapons when modified to drop hand grenades, and they can spy on military installations or heavily damage jets if sucked into an engine. American military officials have warned for years that small drones pose a pervasive threat to troops in the Middle East. Over the next year, the Air Force wants to pursue updates to counter-drone command-and-control, radar, and electronic warfare systems related to directed-energy weapons. It's soliciting concepts in 12 areas from lethality to crunching weather data. Responses are due Nov. 17. For instance, the service suggests automating the process of targeting, tracking, and shooting at an incoming drone instead of relying as heavily on a human operator. “At a minimum, the ideal configuration is for [a high-energy laser] system to have its beam director/optics automate all steps between acquisition, tracking, aimpoint selection, and only requires a human to interact with it through final approval to fire from operator/battle commander,” the RFI said. The service also considers being able to compile and send reports with the details of drone threats and conflicts to other units, which could give the military a better understanding of an enemy in a particular area. Pentagon researchers are looking into several different counter-UAS system designs spanning the weapons themselves to the subsystems that point and shoot them. The Air Force is currently testing high-powered lasers and microwaves overseas while it takes less-destructive approaches—like using gun-fired nets to trap quadcopters—in the continental U.S. https://www.airforcemag.com/usaf-scoping-out-upgrades-to-counter-uas-weapons/

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  15 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval

  Reaper Replacement Reveals Bold New GA-ASI Vision

  Steve Trimble In December 2018, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems executives still felt the bitter sting of a losing bid two months earlier for the U.S. Navy MQ-25 contract, but a clearly disappointed company president vowed to return for the next competition against the aerospace industry's largest companies. “If the [request for proposals] comes out for a major program of record, we're all-in,” said David Alexander in that December 2018 interview in his offices in Poway, California. “We'll maybe have a few more lessons learned on what to do and what not to do,” he added. "But we'll go in with both feet planted again and go after it.” Eighteen months later, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) is doubling-down on Alexander's commitment, releasing exclusively to Aviation Week a concept rendering of a next-generation unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that reflects the characteristics the company's designers view as essential for the class of aircraft that could replace the MQ-9 by the early 2030s. Ultra-long-endurance UAS proposed GA-ASI hints at propulsion advances GA-ASI was among at least five industry teams that responded to the U.S. Air Force's request for information (RFI) for a next-generation intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike UAS to enter service in fiscal 2030. Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin shared concepts for next-generation UAS designs on Sept. 11. Boeing and Kratos also responded to the Air Force RFI by the July 15 deadline but declined to release concepts at this nascent stage of the bidding process. Arguably, GA-ASI invented the role of the ISR/Strike UAS with the MQ-9, and the company's concept for the Reaper is no less provocative, featuring a jet-powered aircraft with distinctive, tear-shaped inlets and a long, high-aspect-ratio wingspan that appear optimized for ultra-long-range flight at high altitudes. “We're embracing ultra-long endurance to keep our next-generation ISR/Strike UAS in the fight for longer periods than many ever imagined possible,” Alexander said in a statement to Aviation Week. Although GA-ASI released no specifications with the rendering, it is clear Alexander means the next-generation concept should have even longer range that the 27-hr. endurance currently offered by the Air Force's MQ-9. The Air Force Research Laboratory defined ultra-long-endurance in 2019, when a popular light sport aircraft, the Pipistrel Sinus, was modified to fly autonomously for 2.5 days over the Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. The modified aircraft was called the Ultra-Long-Endurance Aircraft Platform. How the new GA-ASI concept achieves ultra-long endurance is likely to include intriguing surprises beyond the disproportionately long, thin-chord and highly swept wings. The tear-shape inlets appear to feed airflow through parallel ducts down the middle of the fuselage into a mysterious propulsion system. Alexander's statement hints that the aircraft's engine is a critical element of the ultra-long-endurance capability. “Our advancements in propulsion technology will give commanders a longer reach than ever before,” Alexander said. In the late-1990s, GA-ASI designed the MQ-9 to perform the hunter-killer UAS mission's three “F's”—find, fix and finish—by itself if necessary, with a targeting sensor embedded beneath the nose and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles along with GBU-12 laser-guided or GBU-38 GPS-guided gravity bombs under the wing. GA-ASI's next-generation UAS concept appears capable of performing the role in a similar stand-alone fashion. A faintly visible bulge under the leading edge suggests capacity for a large payload bay, allowing the future concept to carry sensors and weapons internally, unlike the MQ-9. But the Air Force's concept of operations is changing. Whether manned or unmanned, any aircraft in the future combat fleet must be capable of finding and striking targets on their own, but they are expected to be able to operate as part of a network. Data from onboard sensors must be shared to the network, and data coming from other sensors elsewhere on the network must be receivable. GA-ASI's concept is adapted to that approach, Alexander said. “We envision [the] next-gen ISR/Strike [aircraft] as a conduit, supplier and consumer of information,” hesaid. “We believe it is imperative that future unmanned systems are able to communicate, share information and collaborate—together and intuitively with their human counterparts—across systems and domains in record time.” The next-generation UAS also addresses the workforce needed to operate the MQ-9, including separate teams of pilots and sensor operators during cruise flight and takeoff and landing. GA-ASI notes that the company has already qualified technologies to enable the existing fleet to taxi, take off and land automatically as well as a ground control system that allows a single pilot to control six UAS. “Our team has been developing and delivering automation solutions for years,” Alexander said. https://aviationweek.com/shows-events/afa-air-space-cyber-conference/reaper-replacement-reveals-bold-new-ga-asi-vision

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  21 avril 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - April 20, 2020

  ARMY Shimmick Construction Co., Oakland, California, was awarded a $116,429,893 modification (P00012) to contract W912EK-19-C-0002 for rehabilitation of the LaGrange Lock and Dam. Work will be performed in Versailles, Illinois, with an estimated completion date of July 21, 2021. Fiscal 2020 civil construction funds in the amount of $116,429,893 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Luhr Bros. Inc., Columbia, Illinois, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for lease of dredge attendant plant and on-shore disposal of equipment for channel maintenance on the Ohio River. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-20-D-0011). Khotol Services Corp.,* Galena, Alaska, was awarded a $12,000,000 modification (P00004) to contract W911SA-17-D-2000 for sustainment, modernization and improvement projects for the 88th Army Reserve Centers. 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 30, 2020. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Honeywell Inc., Clearwater, Florida, has been awarded a cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract for engineering, manufacturing and development of the Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation System Modernization (EGI-M). Work will be performed in Clearwater, Florida, and is expected to be completed by April 19, 2024. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition and only one offer was received. The estimated total value of this contract is $99,146,127. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $20,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Position, Navigation & Timing Contracting Branch, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8576-20-C-0001). NAVY Timken Gears and Services Inc., King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, is awarded a $76,187,806 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-16-C-4202 to exercise options for main reduction gear shipsets for DDG-51 (Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers). Work will be performed in Santa Fe Springs, California (76%); Riverside, Missouri (9%); Latrobe, Pennsylvania (2%); Fitchburg, Massachusetts (2%); Erie, Pennsylvania (2%); New Castle, Delaware (1%); Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1%); St. Augustine, Florida (1%); and other locations below one percent (6%). The main reduction gears transmit the power from two main propulsion gas turbines to the propulsion shaft. Each DDG 51-class destroyer has two gear assemblies, one for each propulsion shaft. The DDG 51-class guided-missile destroyer is a multi-mission surface combatant with 67 delivered ships, and 21 more are currently under contract. Work is expected to be complete by November 2023. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $76,187,806 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems, Nashua, New Hampshire, is awarded a $17,381,169 modification (P00001) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N00019-20-C-0042. This modification procures the necessary hardware, technical engineering, management and logistics support to fabricate, assemble, test and deliver three T-1622/ALE-55(V) fiber optic towed decoys for a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customer and 102 electronic frequency converters for the Navy. Work will be performed in Nashua, New Hampshire (48%); Chelmsford, United Kingdom (12%); Mountain View, California (6%); Rochester, New York (4%); San Diego, California (4%); Landenberg, Pennsylvania (3%); Hamilton, New Jersey (2%); Commerce, California (2%); Los Osos, California (2%); Toledo, Ohio (1%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (16%). Work is expected to be complete by March 2022. Fiscal 2020 procurement of ammunition (Navy and Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $13,088,010; fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,027,080; and FMS funds in the amount of $266,079 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Hi-Q Engineering Inc.,* Poway, California, is awarded a $17,315,857 ceiling increase modification to previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract N65236-17-D-8006 for engineering, test and evaluation, logistics and technical services for fixed very low frequency/low frequency broadcast transmitter stations. Work will be performed in Dallas, Texas (35%); Poway, California (30%); Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (15%); Charleston, South Carolina (10%); and Norfolk, Virginia (10%), and is expected to be complete by May 2022. This modification brings the total cumulative value of the contract to $55,972,607. No funds are obligated at the award of this modification. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy); fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy); fiscal 2021 operations and maintenance (Navy); fiscal 2022 other procurement (Navy); and fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $17,315,857 will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic, Charleston, South Carolina, is the contracting activity. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Pascagoula, Mississippi, is awarded a $7,142,318 fixed-price incentive (firm target) modification to previously awarded contract N00024-13-C-2307 to exercise an option for the accomplishment of post-delivery availability (PDA) work items for DDG-121. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Immediately following the preliminary acceptance of the vessel, Huntington Ingalls Industries will complete the efforts required for PDA work items in the contractor's yard. The modification for PDA work items will be accomplished before the vessel departs and sails away from the contractor's shipyard. Work is expected to be complete by February 2021. Fiscal 2015 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); and fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $7,142,318 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY American Water Operations and Maintenance LLC, Camden, New Jersey, has been awarded a $12,581,850 modification (P00037) to a 50-year utilities privatization contract (SP0600-15-C-8302) with no option periods to incorporating an increase to the operations, maintenance, renewal and replacement charges for water and wastewater utility service systems. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract. Location of performance is California, with a May 31, 2066, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2157205/source/GovDelivery/