29 novembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial
The U.S. Air Force has awarded contracts to seven companies that will provide advanced adversary and close air support threat services. The contracts—worth up to $6.4 billion over the next five years—have gone to Air USA Inc., Airborne Tactical Advantage Co., Blue Air Training, Coastal Defense, Draken International, Tactical Air Support and Top Aces Corp. Here is a look at the private fleets of aircraft from around the world that these companies will use to help alleviate the U.S. Air Force's pilot shortage.
https://aviationweek.com/combat-aircraft/sizing-us-air-force-s-adversary-aircraft-fleet
14 avril 2021 | International, Aérospatial
Lockheed Martin has secured a USD447.2 million contract for the production of 12 MH-60R Seahawk multirole naval helicopters for the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN). The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced on 12 April that work on the Fore...
15 juillet 2020 | International, Naval
By: Sam LaGrone July 14, 2020 8:48 PM • Updated: July 15, 2020 6:38 AM The Navy has awarded a contract for the first unmanned surface vessel it will design and build on its own, a key milestone for the eventual family of unmanned systems that will be a key component of the future surface fleet, according to a Monday contract announcement from the Pentagon. L3 Technologies won a $35-million contract to develop a prototype medium unmanned surface vehicle (MUSV) on Monday, which could grow to $281 million if options for eight follow-on craft are exercised, Naval Sea Systems Command announced. The contract calls for delivering the first prototype by the end of the Fiscal Year 2023, according to a release from NAVSEA. “The president's 2021 budget request for the Navy includes additional funding for a second MUSV prototype in FY23. The acquisition strategy for the FY23 vessel is to be determined, however, for flexibility, the development contract contains options for additional USVs,” read the statement. The award to L3 for MUSV is the Navy's first bite at the apple for developing a USV. DARPA contracted for two Sea Hunter vessels in what was originally the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program but has since shifted its focus to be the predecessor to MUSV. A Pentagon office also contracted for two Large USVs as part of the Overlord program, and the Navy will also take those vessels and use them to shape an eventual LUSV program of its own. The Navy envisions a family of unmanned systems that will be the backbone of a future fleet of netted “attritable” platforms that will provide lower-cost options compared to manned surface combatants like the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer or the new FFG(X) frigate program. “The initial focus is on the design, fabrication, testing and support of funded MUSV prototype vehicles. Rapid prototyping efforts will inform procurement of additional MUSV units,” Navy spokesman Capt. Danny Hernandez told USNI News on Tuesday. “The Navy will continue to assess the MUSV acquisition plan and has the option to conduct new or additional competitions, if warranted.” According to a notional list of requirements reviewed by USNI News in 2019, the MUSV would “function as a sensor and communications relay as part of a family of unmanned surface systems being developed by the service. The craft will be able to carry a payload equivalent to a 40-foot shipping container, will operate on its own for at least 60 days before needing to return to port, and be capable of refueling at sea,” reported USNI News. “The craft will have to also be able to autonomously operate under the rules of the maritime road at a cruising speed of about 16 knots with a minimum range of about 4,500 nautical miles and operate via a government-provided communication relay system.” L3 served as a subcontractor for Leidos, the lead contractor for the Sea Hunter program that DARPA contracted for before passing it off to the Navy. However, the next version of the MUSV will be different from the Sea Hunter, Navy officials told USNI News this week. “The MUSV and the existing Sea Hunter vessel have differing missions and requirements. The existing Sea Hunter vessel was designed and built with the mission of anti-submarine warfare and would be capable of tracking and following submarines using a hull-mounted sonar array over long distances. The MUSV will provide and improve distributed situational awareness in maritime areas of responsibility through [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] and [electronic warfare] implemented by modular payloads,” Hernandez told USNI News. While the program is under development, the current Sea Hunter has been assigned to Surface Development Squadron 1 and is set to operate with a carrier strike group in the near future. L3 Technologies Inc., Camden, New Jersey, is awarded a $34,999,948 fixed-price-incentive-firm-target contract for the detail design and fabrication of a prototype Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV). This contract includes options for up to eight additional MUSVs, logistics packages, engineering support, technical data, and other direct costs, which, if exercised, will bring the cumulative value of this contract to $281,435,446. Work will be performed in Morgan City, Louisiana (72.7%); Arlington, Virginia (9.8%); Jeanerette, Louisiana (8.1%); New Orleans, Louisiana (6.6%); Worthington, Ohio (1.7%); Lafayette, Louisiana (0.9 %); and Gautier, Mississippi (0.2%), and is expected to be completed by December 2022. If all options are exercised, work will continue through June 2027. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funding in the amount of $34,999,948 will be obligated at the time of award, and $29,779,038 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. https://news.usni.org/2020/07/14/navy-awards-contract-for-first-vessel-in-its-family-of-unmanned-surface-vehicles
14 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial
By THERESA HITCHENSon July 13, 2020 at 2:45 PM WASHINGTON: House appropriators are worried that the Air Force's latest try to replace the MQ-Reaper isn't fully baked and might lead to a capability gap between the service's planned divestiture of the venerable hunter/killer drone and any follow-on. “The Air Force's fiscal year 2021 budget request proposes to terminate production of MQ–9 aircraft, citing an excess of aircraft compared to projected operational requirements. The Committee does not accept this proposal and recommends additional funding for 16 MQ–9 aircraft. The Committee is concerned that the Air Force has reached this decision without adequate planning for a follow-on system,” the House Appropriations defense subcommittee (HAC-D) wrote in their report accompanying the draft 2021 DoD spending bill. The full committee will mark up the draft bill tomorrow, which adds $343.6 million for procurement of 16 MQ-9s — 16 more than the Air Force asked for, after it announced in February plans to terminate production at prime contractor General Atomics. The HAC-D's insistence on continuing the program echoes strong support from the House and Senate Armed Services Committees for continuing the Reaper program. The SASC version of the NDAA added $50 million to the program; the HASC added $108 million. The HAC-D noted that, while the Air Force has initiated a replacement program called the “Next Generation UAS ISR/Strike Platform,” initial operating capability isn't planned until 2031. (And everyone knows the likelihood of maintaining the originally planned IOC on a brand new program is slim.) Indeed, Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) already has extended the response time for interested vendors to offer concepts in response June 3 request for information (RFI) from July 15 to July 24, according to a July 7 announcement on beta.SAM. The RFI notes the effort is “still in the very early requirements definition phase and is conducting market research to inform our acquisition strategy.” Air Force acquisition czar Will Roper told the HASC in March that the service is currently studying a family of systems, ranging from high-end and expensive drones that would be highly survivable in peer conflicts to low-end, “attritable” aircraft that might be commercially acquired. “The purpose of this RFI is to research potential solutions for the Next Generation UAS ISR/Strike platform, the Next Generation Medium Altitude UAS and potential follow-on program to the MQ-9 weapon system. The Air Force is also interested in researching alternative ways to support future lower-end, lower-cost ISR missions which may include initiatives to modernize, augment, and/or replace existing systems. This RFI inquires about unique and innovative practices that can deliver relevant capability efficiently, timely and at a reduced life-cycle cost,” the RFI states. The HAC-D, however, wants the Air Force to pick up the pace and is demanding that Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett submit a report to Congress with the 2022 budget request “on an MQ–9 follow-on program to be designated as MQ–Next.” “The goal of the MQ–Next program should be to accelerate the development and fielding of a next-generation medium altitude unmanned aerial system,” the committee adds. “The report shall detail the desired features of such a system, the cost and timeline required to achieve development and fielding, proposed measures to ensure full and open competition, and an explanation of how such a system would fulfill the goals of the National Defense Strategy. Ironically, MQ-X was the name of the service's first effort to replace the Reaper, which was cancelled in 2012. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/07/air-force-lacks-adequate-plan-for-next-gen-reaper-hac-d/