7 septembre 2022 | International, Aérospatial
The contract is valued at up to $1.013 billion, spanning five years
https://www.epicos.com/article/740363/rolls-royce-receives-us-military-contracts-valued-18-billion
15 août 2024 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité
Russian government-linked phishing attacks target NGOs, media, and U.S. officials, exploiting social engineering and Proton Mail in sophisticated camp
19 mars 2020 | International, Aérospatial
By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — A U.S. State Department fund to help European nations replace Russian-made weapons with American equipment has expanded to eight countries, but will be eschewing a second wave of funding in favor of targeted investments. In 2018, the State Department quietly launched a new effort known as the European Recapitalization Incentive Program, or ERIP, a new tool developed alongside U.S. European Command to speed up the process of getting allied nations off Russian gear. The U.S. benefits both strategically — getting partners and allies off Russian equipment to improve interoperability and deny Moscow funds for maintenance — and financially, thanks to the sale of American weapons abroad. ERIP funds, reprogrammed from unused dollars such as regional Foreign Military Financing, come in one-time bursts to help a country buy American-made alternatives to Russian kit. To get the money, the European nation must pledge to not buy Russian equipment in the future, while also at least matching the dollar value of the ERIP grant with domestic funding. The initial funding round consisted of six countries, totaling $190 million in reprogrammed fiscal 2017 dollars. As of last May, the State Department was considering a second round of ERIP grants and was at least in early discussions with Latvia about the funding. But in the time since, the department decided there won't be a second round, but rather ERIP will become a tool best used on a rolling basis. (Discussions with Latvia turned to different pots of money other than ERIP, according to a source.) “There was a lot of discussions about a second round, but the way it's kind of evolving is, rather than look at it as rounds is, look at it as opportunities,” a senior State Department official told Defense News on condition of anonymity. “It's a tool that we can use when opportunities arise for us to work with a partner to make a difference.” All told, the department has given out roughly $277 million in ERIP grants in the last two years — but, the official said, those relatively small dollars helped lock in roughly $2.5 billion in U.S. weapons sales. That's a win in “pure economic terms,” the official said, even before getting into the hard-to-quantify policy and political benefits. “It was a pretty bold decision in trying to help some of these countries acquire a pretty high capability capital intensive, and for some of them it's their first major [Foreign Military Sales] case, period.” Going forward, there may be tie-in money from EUCOM, which could kick in $1-3 million in small grants to nations that received ERIP dollars in order to help nations with maintenance costs on the newly bought American equipment. That money would likely come from DoD's Section 333 authority. Asked about that potential. DoD spokesman Lt. Col. Uriah Orland said the department "continues to work closely with the Department of State in the planning of security assistance with our European partner nations that enables them to reduce their dependencies on Russia's defense industry and build and/or sustain their own defense capabilities.” Targeted, ongoing funding Bulgaria presents a notable example for how the thinking on ERIP is evolving. The country spent several years debating what fighter jet to purchase, with the finalists coming down to new F-16s from Lockheed Martin, secondhand F-16s from Portugal, Eurofighter Typhoons from Italy and Saab Gripens from Sweden. As ERIP was envisioned, it would be used only for rotorcraft or ground vehicles. But with the government in Sofia teetering on the edge of rejecting the Lockheed deal, the U.S. State Department stepped in and used $56 million in ERIP dollars to push the F-16s over the edge and finalize a deal that could exceed $1.6 billion in costs. “For countries where it's a politically contentious issue, whether for economic or political reasons” the fund can help make a deal happen, the official said. “We were able to close that gap with an ERIP grant that enabled them to make the purchase and acquire the capability.” The second nation to get a targeted ERIP grant has been Lithuania, which in October announced plans to buy six UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to replace its Soviet-made Mi-8 fleet. The State Department kicked in $30 million of ERIP funding to help complete that deal. In fact, no one piece of equipment has benefited from ERIP as much as the UH-60, of which three of the eight ERIP grants has helped procure. The eight projects to date are: Albania: $30 million for UH-60 procurement. The UH-60 is produced by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary. Bosnia and Herzegovina: $30.7 million for the Bell Huey II. Croatia: $25 million for Bradley fighting vehicles, manufactured by BAE Systems. Croatia is also working to stand up local maintenance for the equipment. North Macedonia: $30 million for Stryker vehicles, produced by General Dynamics. Slovakia: $50 million for UH-60 procurement. Greece: $25 million earmarked, but the government is still debating what to buy. Likely to either be Bradley vehicles or the M1117 Armored Security Vehicle from Textron. Greece stands out because, as a higher-income nation, they are technically ineligible for Foreign Military Financing dollars, but a political decision was made to support them with ERIP anyway, the official said. Lithuania: $30 million for UH-60 procurement. Bulgaria: $56 million for eight Lockheed-produced F-16s. All of those deals except Greece and Lithuania are under contract, with a letter of request from Lithuania expected in the next few weeks. As to future opportunities, “we always kind of have our eye open, and we rely on the country teams out in the field to bring us these opportunities and think about them,” the official said. Although at the moment there are no potential ERIP projects in the works. “We continue to look at the Baltics, we look at the Balkans,” the official said, adding that “countries within Eastern Europe, the Baltics, the Balkans moving towards a new ground mobility or rotorwing systems with something to divest would be our top candidates.” All of those deals except Greece and Lithuania are under contract, with a letter of request from Lithuania expected in the next few weeks. As to future opportunities, “we always kind of have our eye open, and we rely on the country teams out in the field to bring us these opportunities and think about them,” the official said. Although at the moment there are no potential ERIP projects in the works. “We continue to look at the Baltics, we look at the Balkans,” the official said, adding that “countries within Eastern Europe, the Baltics, the Balkans moving towards a new ground mobility or rotorwing systems with something to divest would be our top candidates.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/03/18/special-us-fund-to-replace-russian-equipment-in-europe-is-shifting-its-strategy
7 août 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
NAVY Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, was awarded a $65,283,976 fixed-price-incentive and firm-fixed-price contract for fiscal 2020 Aegis modernization, new construction of guided missile destroyers and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) production requirements. This contract combines purchases for the Navy (96.9%); the Kingdom of Spain (2.3%); and the government of Japan (0.8%), under the FMS program. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey (70%); Clearwater, Florida (29%); and Owego, New York (1%). This procurement covers the production and delivery of multi-mission signal processor equipment sets; Aegis Combat System support equipment; and electronic equipment fluid coolers and kill assessment system 5.1 equipment. This contract action also provides MK 6 Mod 0 equipment for the government of Japan and the Kingdom of Spain FMS requirements. Work is expected to be completed by November 2024. Fiscal 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy); fiscal 2020 defense-wide procurement; and FMS case funding in the amount of $65,283,976 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. In accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) and (c)(4), this contract was not competitively procured (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Awarded July 31, 2020) Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $20,630,000 not-to-exceed, cost-plus-fixed-fee, undefinitized order (N00019-20-F-0078) against previously issued basic ordering agreement N00019-19-G-0008. This order procures various materials required for the 30P05 capability upgrade to all fielded pilot and maintenance training systems in support of the F-35 Program for the Navy, Marines, Air Force, non-Department of Defense (DOD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida (95%); and Fort Worth, Texas (5%), and is expected to be completed by December 2021. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,620,000; non-DOD participant funds in the amount of $1,310,000; and FMS funds in the amount of $1,385,000 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. ARMY Korte Construction Co., St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded a $34,420,210 firm-fixed-price contract to design and construct a two-story 72,140 square-foot Joint Simulation Environment facility at Edwards Air Force Base. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed at Edwards AFB, California, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2020 military construction (defense-wide) funds in the amount of $34,420,210 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles, California, is the contracting activity (W912PL-20-C-0030). Iron Mountain Solutions Inc.,* Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded a $15,541,629 modification (000148) to contract W31P4Q-17-A-0001 for technical support for the Utility Helicopter Project Office. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 8, 2021. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Army); operations and maintenance (Army); research, development, test and evaluation (Army); other procurement (Army); and Foreign Military Sales (United Arab Emirates) funds in the amount of $15,541,629 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Rockwell Collins Inc., Collins Aerospace, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been awarded a $14,000,000 firm-fixed-price modification (P00007) to contract FA8102-16-D-0005 for services and supplies in support of modernization, expansion and depot-level contractor logistic support. The contractor will provide support for Scope Command's High Frequency Global Communications System in support of Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard requirements. Work will be performed in Richardson, Texas, and is expected to be completed Aug. 30, 2021. This option exercise is the result of a sole-source acquisition. The estimated cumulative contract value is $70,000,000. No funds are being obligated at the time of the award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado, has been awarded a $9,682,027 contract for the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) Call 002 Vendor Flexibility effort. This contract seeks to establish the ability to communicate with Air Force platforms via multiple commercial space internet constellations using common user terminal hardware elements. Work will be performed in Westminster, Colorado, and is expected to be completed April 17, 2022. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition under the DEUCSI Advanced Research Announcement Call 002. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $4,536,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-20-C-9320). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2303639/source/GovDelivery/