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  10 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Watch India test its new homemade hypersonic vehicle

  By: Vivek Raghuvanshi NEW DELHI — India on Monday conducted a successful test of a fully indigenous hypersonic technology demonstrator vehicle powered by an air-breathing scramjet engine, the Defence Ministry announced. With the test, India joins the U.S., Russia and China in the race for hypersonic technology development. The flight test took place Sept. 7 around 11 a.m. on an island off the coast of Odisha. The demo vehicle was indigenously developed by the government's Defence Research and Development Organisation, and it has the ability to fly at six times the speed of sound, according to defense scientists here. The ministry said the hypersonic cruise vehicle was launched using a solid rocket motor, which took it to an altitude of 30 kilometers. Then the cruise vehicle separated from the launch vehicle and the air intake opened as planned, the ministry added. “The successful demonstration proved several critical technologies including aerodynamic configuration for hypersonic manoeuvers, the use of scramjet propulsion for ignition and sustained combustion at hypersonic flow, thermo-structural characterisation of high-temperature materials, separation mechanism at hypersonic velocities, etc.,” DRDO said in a statement. A top DRDO scientist told Defense News that the vehicle will be used to launch both hypersonic and long-range cruise missiles. "DRDO has spent around $4.5 million on its [HTDV] prototype development cost, and three more tests will be carried out in the next five years to make this platform into a full-fledged hypersonic weapon that is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads, "he said. DRDO spent about $30 million on the design and development phases. Congratulating DRDO, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “The scramjet engine developed by our scientists helped achieve a speed of 6 times the speed of sound! Very few countries have such capability today.” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called the test a “landmark achievement” toward India becoming self-reliant and less dependent on foreign technology. “It's now time to progress to the next phase with all critical technologies being established by the successful [HTDV] flight test, using the indigenously developed scramjet propulsion system,” he added. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2020/09/09/india-tests-homemade-hypersonic-vehicle

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  21 janvier 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - January 18, 2019

  NAVY Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded $439,563,841 for modification P00008 to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive contract (N00019-17-C-0030). This modification exercises an option for the production and delivery of 25 Lot 16 AH-1Z aircraft and 25 stores control units. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (60 percent); and Amarillo, Texas (40 percent), and is expected to be completed in January 2022. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $439,563,841 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Global PCCI, Irvine, California, a joint venture, is awarded a maximum value $250,000,000 cost-plus-award-fee, fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Emergency Ship Salvage Material (ESSM) system. The primary purpose of this contract is to manage the facilities with emergency response equipment stockpiles pre-positioned to support and augment the Navy fleet capability in the areas of salvage, diving, pollution response, and underwater ship husbandry maintained by the Supervisor of Salvage, SEA 00C. This contract includes five ordering periods, which if executed, would make the maximum value of this contract $250,000,000. Work will be performed worldwide, and is expected to be completed by January 2024 when all five ordering periods have been executed. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $5,000 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-D-4323). Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, Tewksbury, Massachusetts, is awarded a $38,140,569 cost-plus-fixed fee, cost only contract for Dual Band Radar (DBR) Design Agent Technical Engineering support efforts. The work to be performed is for engineering services for DBR system upgrades or redesigns, engineering change proposals, product support, test equipment procurement, installation integration support, combat system integration testing, program management support, studies and analysis. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $98,839,761. Work will be performed in Tewksbury, Massachusetts (70 percent); Andover, Massachusetts (20 percent); Moorestown, New Jersey (5 percent); and Arvonia, Virginia (5 percent). Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) in the amount of $1,737,000; and fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation funding in the amount of $800,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was procured using other than full and open competition under the statutory authority of 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) - only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-5509). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Bell Boeing Joint Project Office, California, Maryland, has been awarded an estimated $143,863,184 firm-fixed-price requirements contract for performance based logistics and engineering support for the V-22 platform. 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 an 11-month base contract with four one-year option periods. Locations of performance are Texas and Pennsylvania, with a Nov. 30, 2019, performance completion date. Using military services are Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 various Air Force, SOCOM and Navy appropriated funding. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE4AX-19-D-9410). ARMY AECOM Energy & Construction, Greenwood Village, Colorado, was awarded a $63,007,995 modification (P00003) to contract W912EK-19-C-0002 for Illinois River Basin, LaGrange Lock and Dam, major rehabilitation, demolition; temporary facilities, surveying, dewatering, protecting lock chamber, blasting, removing and replacing horizontal concrete. Work will be performed in Versailles, Illinois, with an estimated completion date of July 27, 2021. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $24,700,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Odyssey International Inc.,* Mesa, Arizona, was awarded a $14,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a company operations facility. Bids were solicited via the internet with eight received. Work will be performed in Fort Gordon, Georgia, with an estimated completion date of May 22, 2020. Fiscal 2015 and 2017 military construction funds in the amount of $14,000,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity (W912HN-19-C-3000). Oshkosh Defense LLC, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was awarded an $8,048,749 modification (P00150) to contract W56HZV-15-C-0095 for test and field service support for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2019. Fiscal 2019 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $8,048,749 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. *Small Business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1736461/source/GovDelivery/

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  11 décembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Terrestre

  Army preps for competition limited to Bell and Sikorsky for long-range assault helicopter

  By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The Army is taking its final steps before starting a competition to acquire a Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, and has done so by issuing an intent to solicit bids using means “other than full and open competition,” according to a Dec. 9 post on on the government contracts website Beta.Sam.Gov. This step means that unless a surprise vendor can meet all of the Army's technical and production requirements for FLRAA in the next two weeks, the future aircraft will be supplied by either Bell or Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky. Bell and a Sikorsky-Boeing team have been pitted against one another for years to build and fly technology demonstrators to inform requirements ahead of the FLRAA competition and both are part of a competitive demonstration and risk reduction phase. Bell's V-280 Valor tiltrotor had it's first flight nearly three years ago and Sikorsky and Boeing's SB-1 Defiant coaxial helicopter flew for the first time in March 2019. The draft request for proposals is expected to be released by the end of the year with a final solicitations expected in fiscal 2021. Modernizing its vertical lift fleet is the Army's third highest priority behind Long-Range Precision Fires and Next-Generation Combat Vehicle development. The Army intends to field both a FLRAA and Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft by roughly FY30. Bell and Lockheed Martin are also competing against each other in the FARA competition. Bell's offering is the 360 Invictus and Lockheed's entry is the Raider X. In the case of FLRAA, the winner must build eight production aircraft for the first unit equipped by FY30. The plan is to award a contract to a winner in FY22. The winner will proceed to deliver a preliminary design review roughly eight months following the award. According to the pre-solicitation, “the Army has determined through extensive market research, including a July 2020 sources sought, that only two sources exist in the market space that have the capability and capacity of developing, manufacturing, testing and delivering both prototype and initial production FLRAA in the time allocated to achieve the Army's goal of an FUE in FY 2030.” The Army stated that Bell and Sikorsky are those two sources, but notes that “any other responsible, qualified sources, ... that can develop and produce the FLRAA weapon system to achieve First Unit Equipped (FUE) no later than 2030 are encouraged to full identify their interest and capabilities in accordance with the requirements,” within 15 days after publication of the pre-solicitation. Such a vendor would need to deliver a preliminary design review in FY22, start building prototype aircraft in the third quarter of FY23 and eight production aircraft by 2030. Vendors must also prove they are able to build 24 aircraft per year at full-rate production. Those aircraft must be able to fly at 2,000 feet pressure altitude in 85 degree heat with a full payload that consists of 12 troops at 290 lbs each and four crew at 281 lbs each. When the draft RFP drops, it is likely to contain a schedule to deliver air vehicle prototypes and mission systems. The Army was debating between two schedule options to deliver prototypes by roughly mid-2026. The FLRAA program has strong support from Congress. This year's annual defense policy bill authorized $5 million in increased investment in FLRAA advanced component development and prototyping on top of the Army's nearly $648 million request. The FY21 spending bill has yet to go through conference committee, but both the House and Senate proposed additional funding for FLRAA. The House Appropriations Committee proposed a $20 million increase while the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee proposed a $79 million addition. Lawmakers added $76 million in funding to FLRAA's top line in FY20 to drive down technical risk and speed up delivery through the competitive demonstration and risk reduction effort. In FY20, Congress cut $34 million from the Army's other future vertical lift effort — the FARA program — which threatened the service's ability to provide some of its government-furnished equipment to competitors chosen to build and fly prototypes. The Army is supplying its new Improved Turbine Engine Program engine, a 20mm gun, an integrated munitions launcher and its modular open-systems architecture. The Army has since shored up that funding, according to service aviation leadership. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/12/10/army-preps-for-competition-limited-to-bell-and-sikorsky-for-long-range-assault-helicopter/