Rheinmetall eyes do-over in new pitch of its Lynx vehicle to the US Army

Sur le même sujet

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  9 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Le F-35 gagne en efficacité pour la destruction des défenses anti-aériennes

  Le Pentagone lance un programme prévoyant l'ajout de modifications structurelles sur les F-35 les plus récents, pour leur permettre de remplir plus efficacement les missions SEAD et DEAD (Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses). Ces modifications s'appliqueront à tous les modèles de F-35, aux Etats-Unis et auprès des autres pays clients, rapporte Air & Cosmos, qui souligne que jusqu'à présent, le F-35 pouvait remplir la mission SEAD de manière empirique, «en utilisant sa capacité de bombardement et ses équipements de guerre électronique adossés à sa faible signature radar». Air & Cosmos du 9 juin

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

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - January 15, 2019

  ARMY BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP, York, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $474,084,062 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for system technical support and sustainment system technical support. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 14, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-19-D-0040). ACC Construction Co. Inc., Augusta, Georgia, was awarded a $30,006,388 firm-fixed-price contract for a Special Operations Forces tactical equipment maintenance facility. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work will be performed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 5, 2020. Fiscal 2017 and 2018 military construction funds in the amount of $30,006,388 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington, North Carolina, is the contracting activity (W912PM-19-C-0008). Tecmotiv (USA) Inc.,* Niagara Falls, New York, was awarded a $19,644,207 firm-fixed-price Foreign Military Sales (Egypt) contract for M60 engine overhaul parts package. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Niagara Falls, New York, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 25, 2020. Fiscal 2011 foreign military sales funds in the amount of $19,644,207 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-19-C-0042). DynCorp International LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded an $18,537,068 modification (P00205) to contract W58RGZ-13-C-0040 for aviation field maintenance services. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2019. Fiscal 2017 and 2019 aircraft procurement, Army; and operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $18,537,068 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Mississippi Limestone Corp.,* Friars Point, Mississippi, was awarded an $18,399,991 firm-fixed-price contract for articulated concrete mattress casting at the Mississippi River. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Delta, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 21, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $18,399,991 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Mississippi, is the contracting activity (W912EE-19-C-0002). Avatar Environmental LLC,* West Chester, Pennsylvania (W912DQ-19-D-3004); GEO Consultants Corp.,* Kevil, Kentucky (W912DQ-19-D-3005); Trevet-Bay West JV II LLC,* San Diego, California (W912DQ-19-D-3006); and TriEco LLC,* Louisville, Kentucky (W912DQ-19-D-3007 ), will compete for each order of the $12,000,000 hybrid cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract for environmental architect engineer services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 10 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 14, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, Missouri, is the contracting activity. Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $9,742,355 modification (P00030) to contract W911QX-16-C-0012 for support of Saturn Arch Aerial Intelligence System for day and night image collection and exploitation of Improvised Explosive Device “hot spot” areas. Work will be performed in Bridgewater, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 16, 2019. Fiscal 2018 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $ 2,062,117 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP, York, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $7,201,316 modification (P00024) to contract W56HZV-17-C-0059 for the maintenance of M88 recovery vehicles, technical data package maintenance and total ownership cost reduction. Work will be performed in York, Pennsylvania, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 18, 2020. Fiscal 2018 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $7,201,316 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY ZOLL Medical Corp., Chelmsford, Massachusetts, has been awarded a maximum $400,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for patient monitoring and capital equipment systems and accessories. This was a competitive acquisition with 36 responses received. This is a five-year base contract with one five-year option period. Location of performance is Massachusetts, with a Jan. 13, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D1-19-D-0011). (Awarded Jan. 14, 2019) Valneva USA Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $70,051,600, firm-fixed-price contract for the Japanese Encephalitis Vaccine. 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 one-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Maryland and the U.K., with a Jan. 14, 2020, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DP-19-D-0001). Dental Health Products Inc.,* New Franken, Wisconsin, has been awarded a maximum $37,500,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for dental equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency electronic catalog. This was a competitive acquisition with 68 responses received; 20 contracts have been awarded to date. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Wisconsin, with a Jan. 13, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are Department of Defense and other federal organizations. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DH-19-D-0005). (Awarded Jan. 14, 2019) NAVY Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded $68,933,454 for cost-plus-incentive fee delivery order 0104 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-14-G-0020). This order provides for the design, development, documentation, integration, and test of upgrades to the U.S. Reprogramming Laboratory to execute the Mission Data (MD) programming and reprogramming mission for the F-35 Digital Channelized Receiver/Technique Generator and Tuner Insertion Program (DTIP) and non-DTIP configurations. These efforts are in support of Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps operational aircraft, as well as all training aircraft within the continental U.S. with MD products. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (65 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (25 percent); and Eglin Air Force Base, Florida (10 percent), and is expected to be completed in May 2021. Fiscal 2018 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps) funding in the amount of $20,000,000 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This order combines purchases for the Air Force ($34,466,727; 50 percent); Navy ($17,233,364; 25 percent), and the Marine Corps ($17,233,363; 25 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. C4 Planning Solutions, Blythe, Georgia, is awarded a maximum ceiling $45,488,761 firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contract with a five-year ordering period and option to extend services up to six months for tactical systems support and professional engineering services for the Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity. This contract contains an option, which if exercised, will bring the contract value to $49,999,196. Work will be performed at Camp Pendleton, California (41 percent); Okinawa, Japan (15 percent); Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (four percent); Norfolk, Virginia (four percent); Alexandria, Virginia (four percent); Quantico, Virginia (four percent); New Orleans, Louisiana (two percent); and additional various locations outside the continental U.S. (26 percent), and work is expected to be completed by March 6, 2024. If the option is exercised, work will continue through Sept. 6, 2024. Fiscal 2017 (Marine Corps) operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $515,910; and fiscal 2019 (Marine Corps) operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $146,903 will be obligated under the initial task order immediately following contract award. Although expired, the fiscal 2017 contract funds in the amount of $515,910 are available for this effort in accordance with 31 U.S. Code 1558. The contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contract activity (M68909-19-D-7605). AECOM Management Services Inc., Germantown, Maryland, is awarded a $35,162,580 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, fixed-price contract resulting from solicitation N00189-18-R-0044 that includes provisions for economic price adjustment to provide third party logistics support services and hazardous material supplies as required by Marine Corp. Pacific and tenant Navy commands in Okinawa, Japan. The contract includes a five-year base ordering period with an option to extend services for a six-month ordering period pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.217-8 which if exercised, the total value of this contract will be $38,965,976. All work will be performed in Okinawa, Japan, and work is expected to be completed February 2024. If the option is exercised, work will be completed by August 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $768,053; fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $1,211,512; and working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $138,000 will be obligated at time of award. Operations and maintenance (Navy and Marine Corps) funds will expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with the solicitation posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity. (N00189-19-D-0001) BAE Systems Hawaii Shipyards Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii, was awarded a not-to-exceed $9,576,151 undefinitized contract action modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-14-C-4412 for scheduled Surface Incremental Availability (SIA) on USS Halsey (DDG 97). The scheduled SIA is the opportunity in the ship's life cycle primarily to conduct structural repairs and alteration to systems. Work will be performed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by May 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $4,689,804; and fiscal 2018 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $98,255 will be obligated at time of award. Funds in the amount of $4,689,804 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Jan. 14, 2019) Global Technical Systems Inc.*, Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded an $8,510,970 firm-fixed–price delivery order N00024-19-F-5610 under previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00024-14-D-5213 for the procurement of 15 Common Processing System (CPS) Technical Instruction Twelve Hybrid (TI-12H) water-cooled production units for Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program and two CPS TI-12H air-cooled production units for ship self defense systems. The CPS is a computer processing system based on an Open Architecture (OA) design. CPS consists of the CPS enclosure assembly and three subsystems: the processing subsystem, the storage/extraction subsystem, and the Input / Output (I/O) subsystem. It is intended to support the computer requirements of various Navy combat systems. This contract will provide for production, testing and delivery of CPS (water cooled, air cooled, and air-cooled commercial equivalents), spares, and associated engineering services. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is expected to be complete by October 2019. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $8,510,970 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. (Awarded Jan. 14, 2019) Lockheed Martin Corp., Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded a fixed-price-incentive firm target modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-18-C-2300 to exercise an option for the construction of one fiscal 2019 littoral combat ship. The specific contract award amount for this ship is considered source-selection sensitive information (see 41 U.S. Code 2101, et seq., Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101 and FAR 3.104) and will not be made public at this time. Lockheed Martin will perform and oversee all necessary design, planning, construction and test and trials activities in support of delivery of this ship to the Navy. Work will be performed in Marinette, Wisconsin (40 percent); Washington, District of Columbia (7 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (6 percent); Beloit, Wisconsin (2 percent); Iron Mountain, Michigan (2 percent); Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1 percent); Waunakee, Wisconsin (1 percent); Crozet, Virginia (1 percent); Coleman, Wisconsin (1 percent); Monrovia, California (1 percent); and various locations below 1 percent (38 percent), and is expected to be completed by February 2026. Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding 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. *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1732604/source/GovDelivery/

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  7 mai 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  Here's the Air Force's plan to revolutionize the way it trains pilots

  Oriana Pawlyk, Military.com When Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson visited AFWERX's Pilot Training Next program in Austin, Texas, last year, she watched as trainees took flight from the seats in front of her — through the use of virtual reality. It piqued her interest enough to ask service officials to explore waysthat similar flight simulator programs could be introduced to high schools to get young students involved in the nation's endeavors to create more pilots. Officials with Air Education and Training Command (AETC) are now gearing up to present Wilson's successor with a business case for more widespread use of the system, within the force. The move provides a glimpse into Air Force leaders' thinking as they overhaul the pilot training curriculum, introducing one that augments time airborne in the cockpit with simulators and technology on the ground. It comes as the Air Force readies itself for the possibility of complex conflict with a peer-level adversary equipped with long-range missiles and advanced combat aircraft. It's a future that may represent a strong contrast to recent decades, in which the Air Force has flown in largely uncontested airspace supporting ground troops. The service is attempting to boost its pilot ranks amid a longterm pilot shortage, even as its trainer fleet ages. Air Force officials say they want to move away from the service's old-fashioned, "industrial" approach to training — having pilots sit in classrooms for weeks then moving on to a trainer. This means using virtual reality earlier and more frequently in the training pipeline. As the service prepares to bring its latest trainer, known as the T-X, into the fold, it is proposing a more "concentrated dose" of training to seamlessly transition from virtual reality to the trainer and, finally, to the Formal Training Unit, or FTU. The system is well poised to reform in a few ways, said Gen. Mike Holmes, commander of Air Combat Command (ACC). Using the low-cost immersive environment of virtual reality, together with "competency-based learning," and moving skillset testing at the graduate level to an earlier place in the model, "would experience our pilots much faster," he said. "Those are two things that are poised to make a revolutionary changein how well we train pilots and in how long it takes us to train pilots," Holmes said Tuesday in an interview with Military.com. "I want to see how fast and well I can produce experienced pilots." Pilots end up leaving the service if they feel dissatisfied and lack a sense of purpose, added Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast, AETC commander. "You have to fly a lot to be good at what you do, and we don't have the money, and we don't have the weather, and we don't have the range space ... [because of] sequestration. And all these things that are politically driven oftentimes are frustrating the force," Kwast said in a separate interview. Airline hiring efforts are the biggest factor that drives pilot retention and production problem in the services, officials have said. Old learning mechanisms also bog down the system, often adding to pilots' frustration, Kwast said. "We would [add] layers of things over time" through the course of a pilot's service, "basically assuming, 'You can't handle the truth!' or 'You're not smart enough to be able to learn this holistically, we have to give it to you piecemeal and then you'd put it together in your brain over time.' That's why it would take seven years to make a great mission commander pilot." But now, he said "We're breaking that paradigm." Trainer fleet in trouble? The service still relies heavily on its trainer fleet for training, even though virtual reality is the new frontier, Holmes said. "There's still no substitute for being in a real airplane," he said. "I think we'll always want a mix of learning our skills cheaply, but also build on decision-making in a real airplane." The T-38 Talon has been the backbone of the Air Force's undergraduate pilot training, or UPT, program for decades. But last year, the trainer fleet was plagued with a series of crashes, two of which were fatal. Those selected to fly bombers and fighters typically receive their advanced pilot training in the T-38. The T-1A Jayhawk, meanwhile, is used in advanced training for students who are slated to go into cargo or tanker aircraft. The T-6 Texan II, used for instrument familiarization and low-level and formation flying, also has had its share of problems. Last year, the Air Force ordered an operational pause for the T-6 fleet after pilots suffered a series of unexplained physiological episodes, or UPEs. As a result, AETC on Feb. 1 ordered an indefinite operational pause for all T-6 aircraft at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi; Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma; and Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. That pause was lifted Feb. 28. A team of experts determined that the T-6's On-Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS) filter and drain valvesfailed at higher rates than expected. The discovery led to repairs and increased inspections, but pilotscontinued to suffer from UPEs. A T-6 trainer from Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, crashed just last week. The Air Force is preparing to receive new trainer jets to replace its current Northrop Grumman-made T-38s, some of which date to the mid-1960s. In September, the service awarded Boeing Co. a $9.2 billion contract to build its next aircraft for training pilots, known as the T-X program. The first T-X aircraft and simulators are scheduled to arrive at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, in 2023. The service has committed to buying 351 T-X jets, 46 simulators and associated ground equipment. The pay ment structure, officials have said, also allows for an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity option to give the Air Force the opportunity to purchase up to 475 aircraft and 120 simulators. Delays to this program or other unforeseen challenges could have catastrophic consequences, said retired Gen. T. Michael "Buzz" Moseley, former Air Force chief of staff. "My anxiety over this when I was the chief [is that] we are one sortie away from this older inventory having a problem," Moseley, an F-15 Eagle pilot, said in a recent interview with Military.com. "Here we are in 2019, and we're going to fly these airplanes until 2024 before T-X starts coming in." Kwast and Holmes agreed that the T-38 fleet will continue to undergo any upgrades necessary to keep them flying as long as it makes sense. "You can make anything last longer; it just takes more money to sustain," Kwast said. "I guarantee that the T-1, the T-38 and the T-6 all can last as long as we need them to last, depending on the business case and the amount of money you want to spend. But will the T-38 or the T-1 become too expensive, and [therefore], we have to jump to a different technology? Then we would look at other options." Boeing said it stands ready to produce the T-X. "Our T-X program, including engineering, manufacturing and test, is located in long-established Boeing St. Louis facilities," wrote Rachelle Lockhart, spokeswoman for the company's T-X program, in an email. "In fact, we built and assembled our first two T-X aircraft in St. Louis prior to contract award to prove the maturity of our design, repeatability in manufacturing and performance. We're now on contract, executing on schedule as planned, as are our suppliers." She added the trainer's production schedule could be advanced at the Air Force's request. "The US Air Force plan calls for a full production rate of 48 jets a year, and we will meet the customer need," Lockhart said. "Should the Air Force request a higher rate of production, we are well positioned to accommodate it." Full article: https://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-plan-to-revolutionize-pilot-training-2019-5