SpaceX's Starlink wins Pentagon contract for satellite services to Ukraine

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  1 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  COVID-19 News: Virus Hurting Army Small Businesses

  By Connie Lee The COVID-19 pandemic is putting particular stress on the Army's second- and third-tier suppliers, said the service's secretary April 30. The Army is racing to ensure its manufacturing supply chain is able to stay afloat amid economic challenges posed by the virus, said Ryan McCarthy. “Some of these are small companies [that have] 15,000 people, and you get a couple people sick, you shut the whole company down,” he said during a virtual event hosted by Brookings Institution. The supply chain will "be a challenge for us months and months ahead.” The pandemic is also hurting overseas manufacturing in areas such as Mexico, Europe and East Asia, where the Army has little influence, he noted. The service is working with the State Department to figure out how to keep overseas workers employed and keep the supply chain running, he said. “We are limited in our ability to affect them and get them back to work,” McCarthy said. “It presents challenges that are far beyond our reach and ... influence, so we're going to have some real heart-to-hearts with manufacturers going forward.” Despite these issues, the Army is continuing to prioritize modernization, he said. Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said the service is moving forward with weapons assessments, noting that it was recently able to conduct a successful hypersonic weapons test. As part of its plan to keep up with great power competition, the service is pursuing 31 new signature systems. “Over half of our procurement budget is going towards these new weapon systems,” McCarthy said. “We've got to put them into formation. Much of our iron is 50 years old. That probably is the prime area where we put the most energy.” Meanwhile, the Army is collaborating with other organizations in search of a vaccine. There are 10 to 15 top potential vaccine candidates worldwide that are in various stages of maturity, McCarthy said during a Pentagon briefing the same day. To speed up the timeline, the service plans on investing in the ones that seem to be moving the fastest, he noted. “We can double down and invest in the fastest horse, if you will, in this 15 candidate race, and then that compresses the timeframe that will ultimately get you to the answer and bring a vaccine to life,” he said. “You'll hear ranges on how fast it can go.” Some of these vaccines are currently in human trials, with the bulk of the work slated for summer and early fall, he noted. “It's moving faster than probably any point in history because of the extraordinary collaboration that's going on today,” he said. However, this may involve accepting some risks in the process, McConville noted at the briefing. “You can save time by taking risks,” he said. “You may get ready to produce something, and that horse may not get to the final race and that may not be the most efficient use of money, but by taking risks, you can really move things very, very quickly.” https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2020/4/30/covid-hurting-army-small-businesses

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  3 octobre 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - October 02, 2019

  AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Co., doing business as Lockheed Martin Space, Sunnyvale, California, has been awarded a $163,950,489 fixed-price, incentive-firm target modification (P00148) to previously awarded contract FA8810-13-C-0002 for space based infrared system contractor logistics support. This action is a bilateral supplemental agreement executed in accordance with justification and approval 18-14. Work will be performed at outside the continental U.S. locations; Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado; Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado; Greeley Air National Guard Station, Colorado; and Boulder, Colorado, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds are used and no funds are being obligated at the time of the award. The total cumulative face value of the modification is $163,950,489. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity. ASES LLC, doing business as Field Aerospace, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has been awarded a $21,346,897 firm-fixed-price contract modification (P00023) to previously award contract FA8106-18-C-0002 to exercise Option One for full rate production to begin for the T-1A Avionics Modification Program. This contract provides for the replacement of the avionics suite in the Air Education and Training Command fleet of 178 T-1A trainer aircraft, 16 operational flight trainers and 14 part task trainers. Work will be performed at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Randolph Air Force Base, Texas; Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas; Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma; Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi; and Pensacola Naval Air Station, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 14, 2025. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $9,993,753; and 2019 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $11,353,143 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. The Texas Workforce Commission, Austin, Texas, has been awarded a $17,085,515 contract modification (P00003) to previously awarded contract FA3016-18-D-0009 to exercise the first option period for Joint Base San Antonio/Ft. Sam Houston full food services. The contract modification exercised the first option period. Work will be performed at Joint Base San Antonio Ft. Sam Houston and Camp Bullis, and work is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2020. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $32,640,593. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $4,459,745 are being obligated at the time of the award. The 502d Contracting Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, is the contracting activity. CACI Inc. - Federal, Chantilly, Virginia, has been awarded a $12,693,283 cost-plus-fixed-fee task order to previously awarded contract FA8723-19-D-0001 for support vehicle programmed depot maintenance. This action is an in-scope bilateral supplemental agreement executed in accordance with the terms of Mobile Command and Control Systems contract. Work will performed at Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Greeley Air National Guard Station, Colorado, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2023. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $12,693,283. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $4,916,938 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity (FA8823-19-F-0013). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Eaton Aeroquip LLC, Jackson, Michigan, has been awarded a maximum $69,387,451 fixed-price contract for hoses, assemblies and other related parts. This was a competitive acquisition with one offer received. This is an eight year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Michigan, with an Oct. 1, 2027, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2028 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio (SPE7MX-20-D-0003). DEFENSE HEALTH AGENCY Four Points Technology LLC, Chantilly, Virginia (HT0015-19-F-0161), was awarded a firm-fixed-price order for $12,428,715 (12-months), using fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds, subject to availability. This is an enterprise level order on National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solution for Enterprise Wide Procurement (SEWP) for InterSystems Software renewal. This procurement is for InterSystems Software maintenance renewal to support the existing InterSystems Software deployed across the Department of Defense. These products provide relational databases collating all patient health information into a query engine application for use by healthcare providers. The requirement was competed on NASA SEWP as a 100% service disabled veteran owned small business set aside for InterSystems renewal, and Four Points Technology LLC provided the lowest-price-technically-acceptable quote. The amount of $12,428,715 for the base year is obligated at the time of award. The Defense Health Agency Enterprise Medical Support – Contracting Division (EMS-CD), located in San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Sept. 30, 2019) NAVY General Electric Co., Lynn, Massachusetts, is awarded a $10,592,822 modification (P00002) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-18-C-1061). This modification exercises an option to procure two F414-GE-400 production install engines, five engine devices, and 29 engine device K-seals in support of Lot 23 engine production for the F/A-18E/F aircraft. Work will be performed in Lynn, Massachusetts (48%); Evendale, Ohio (20%); Hooksett, New Hampshire (14%); Rutland, Vermont (9%); and Madisonville, Kentucky (9%), and is expected to be completed in August 2021. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,592,822 will be obligated at time of award, all 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 The Boeing Co., Mesa, Arizona, was awarded a $7,892,950 modification (P00038) to contract W58RGZ-16-C-0023 for the Communication Interface System Obsolescence for the Apache AH-64E full rate production. Work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement, Army funds in the amount of $7,892,950 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. CORRECTION: The Sept. 6, 2019, announcement of an award to BAE Systems Inc., York, Pennsylvania, for a modification (P00015) to contract W56HZC-18-C-0133 included an incorrect estimated work completion date. The estimated completion date is March 31, 2022. All other information in the original announcement remains the same. U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND Louis Berger Aircraft Services, Greenville, South Carolina (HTC711-17-C-C002), has been awarded a $7,226,021 modification (P00008) for air terminal ground handling services contract in Kuwait. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $20,265,296 from $13,039,275. Work will be performed at Al Mubarak Air Base, Kuwait, with an expected completion date of Sept. 30, 2020. Fiscal 2020 transportation working capital funds were obligated at time of award. The U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Oct. 1, 2019) *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/1978068/source/GovDelivery/

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  4 août 2020 | International, Terrestre

  US weapon sales boss talks China, arms exports and his agency’s future

  By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — After years of working various jobs related to security cooperation, Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper took over the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency in August 2017. It was an appointment that coincided with a major push by the Trump administration to increase weapon sales as an economic driver. Three years later, as he gets ready to retire, Hooper sat down with Defense News for an exclusive exit interview. This interview was edited for length and clarity. You came in as DSCA director in 2017, when the Trump administration was making a concerted push to increase arms sales abroad. Has that push been successful? Certainly I think the answer to that question is: “Yes, absolutely.” When I assumed responsibility at DSCA, we saw a convergence of three authorities that helped to create conditions that would help us to move forward and to elevate security cooperation. The first one was the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, which [gave me] responsibilities in the Department of Defense to reform security cooperation, in ways that would make it more efficient and effective. The second one was the revision and the updating of the administration's arms transfer policies. And the third was the National Defense Strategy with which has three lines of effort, the second of which was strengthen alliances and attract new partners. So those three authorities created by convergence — what I call a perfect storm of authorities — and conditions to allow us to elevate and push for security cooperation and foreign military sales. And I made it my mission to take advantage of those conditions to move it forward. You have talked often about the need to both trim time and cost for partners and allies buying American systems. What are some highlights for you? In 2018, we lowered the admin surcharge rate from 3.5 to 3.2 percent. And since the new rates have gone into effect, our partners have saved $250 million on FMS cases. Next, we reduced the transportation rates in 2018. And since that reduction has gone into effect, since Aug. 15, 2018, our partners saved about $15 million. Then this year, we reduced the FMS contract administration surcharge from 1.2 percent to 1 percent. Although we don't have enough data as of yet to determine actual savings, we estimate that our allies and partners will save about 17 percent on contract administration over the life of each FMS case, which averages about seven or eight years. That perfect storm of authorities allowed us to move forward with many of the initiatives that we've been able to accomplish over my tenure as DSCA director. And then the Defense Security Cooperation University. I'm very proud of that, and we were able to bring that online in less than two years: The establishment of a civilian career field for security cooperation specialists, so that we are able to train and educate a cadre of people specifically focused on security cooperation, and foreign military sales through their mid-career and all the way to their capstone years. We all know one big FMS case can skew an entire year's numbers, but do you feel confident that enough has been done to ensure FMS sales will continue to grow? Although we tell everyone what the total value was of the cases that were implemented in that year, we think a three-year running average is a much more accurate measure of the success of FMS over time. And if you look at the three-year running average, over the past three years we're actually up around 16 percent, I believe. So the answer to your question is, yes, I think that we're still on a very positive trajectory. And I think that's the result of many of the changes that have taken place over the last three years that were made possible by the authorities that we were given. So for example, we looked at those surcharge [changes], we revised our financial collection policies to align collections with the actual anticipated billing requirements. And so by decreasing those early collections, foreign partners will experience less financial strain, aligning FMS procurement with fiscal realities. And we've also introduced new flexible financing options for our allies and partners to fit their own unique national budget and fiscal requirements. I'm very optimistic that we're going to continue to see positive trends in our foreign military sales this year, and in the years to come. The DSCA job is moving from a three-star role to a civilian job, with Heidi Grant taking over. You've often talked about the benefit of having years of relationships, going back to your younger officer days, with officers from other countries. Do you see any downside with the position being civilian? What's most important about this position is the person coming into it, and Heidi Grant has all the qualifications that you would need to be an exceptional DSCA director. She has time in combatant commands; of course time on the Air Force secretary's [staff]; her time as the director of the Defense Technology Security Administration. So it is the right person, with the right skill set, to be an upstanding director of DSCA and, frankly, I'm excited to see all the accomplishments that she's going to have. There is speculation that a potential Biden administration could roll back some of the arms control changes made under the Trump administration. If that were to happen, what would be the impact? I'm not going to hypothesize here about what ifs. What I can say is that we're clearly on a very positive trajectory as a result of the three steps that have taken place. And I think that the results that have come forward — I mean, the results that we've seen today are a reflection of the NDAA, the conventional arms transfer policies and National Defense Strategy. Future administrations will of course consider things as they will consider them. And I wouldn't want to speculate on that. But I think the progress we've made today speaks very, very strongly toward the effectiveness of the measures in place. We hear a lot about Russia and China looking at foreign arms sales as a way to exert influence around the globe. Are they successful in pushing the U.S. out of certain markets? Both of our main strategic competitors are mounting challenges to the United States, and I think we see that in a number of places all over the world. But I would say that the proper characterization of this is that they are challenging us. They are competing with us. Certainly they've mounted challenges around the world and in providing goods and services that are not quite the quality of the United States, trying to replace the United States as the partner of choice. Whether it's been successful or not, I think that we have recognized that they've mounted this challenge and we've taken some of the steps that I've articulated for you here that we've done to ensure that we remain the partner of choice and that we complicate their efforts to compete with us. In addition to providing partners with the hardware, our approach ensures that we strengthen these institutions — logistics, doctrine, infrastructure, institutional support, financial management — so that they can learn how to pay the people who will actually fix the equipment. And this is what makes our approach so unique. And this is why we will win this great power competition. Our values set us apart from the other great power competitors. You were the defense attache to the embassy in Beijing for two years, and obviously have a view on China's efforts from your current spot. How do you asses the country's defense export capacity? Certainly, the Chinese are going to look across the spectrum, but certainly they're looking in areas where they think they can challenge us. We know, of course, that the Chinese have marketed UAVs and other things. So they'll look for market niches in areas where they think they can be competitive with the United States. They have economic reasons for doing so, as well as strategic reasons for doing so. But once again, their approach stops at the point of sale. And this is the inherent weakness in their approach and the inherent strength in our approach. Do you think UAVs will be the main area that China targets? No. I used that solely as one example. We've seen attempts by the Chinese to compete across the spectrum, from small arms, small missile sets and others all the way up to more sophisticated equipment such as UAVs and others. We've seen a comprehensive effort by the Chinese to compete across the spectrum of defense articles and services. And I think we've seen a comprehensive effort on their part to try and market systems that replicate U.S. systems and U.S. capabilities across the spectrum, from small arms through artillery systems and other things. So I think we have to be vigilant across the spectrum of defense articles and services to where the Chinese are probing. I think the Chinese will generally try to press forward in areas where they sense that the U.S. position is perhaps a bit weaker, and they will push forward in those areas. And I think rather than having a strategy of competing in any particular sector of defense articles and services, I think that they're more interested in trying to compete across the spectrum, where what they perceive to be potential areas where they might be able to make some advances, and moving forward in those. In what areas is the U.S. potentially vulnerable, and are those where the U.S. needs to increase sales? I don't look at it that way. Defense exports are driven by a rapidly evolving security environment and emerging threats. And so we can't really predict this system or that system, or this category of systems. That said, we know what our military leaders are saying: that [the capabilities] they need in the field to ensure our strategic and operational edge [is what] our allies and partners will want as we move into the more modern areas of conflict. In the past, there was a lag between when the United States would introduce a system and when our allies and partners would ask for us to export it, and those days are behind us. We're in a world where interoperability is the key to success, and we cannot afford to have delays in when we introduce new technology and when we consider exporting them. Now, there are inherent challenges here, between conducting the cost-benefit analysis of risk versus gain, but we have the talent and the ability to rapidly assess these, and to move forward and provide our partners their defense articles and services that they want and that they need, and that will make them better allies and partners for the United States. So rather than predict any particular segment, I would say that the steps that we're taking to improve our overall approach will ensure that whatever the evolution of systems and the evolution of threats is, we will be able to respond and react quickly, and work with our allies and partners to provide them those defense articles and services in a timely fashion. Both the commercial and defense industries are investing heavily in new technologies, including artificial intelligence, which can be tricky to export. How does this work going forward? That's a great question. And I'll tell you, early this year I took a visit out to Silicon Valley and Stanford, and had an opportunity to talk to some of the people out there. Ever since I came back from that trip, I've been thinking about this question and related questions. And, to be honest with you, I think we've yet to determine — we know that this will be one of the principal challenges for security cooperation moving forward. We absolutely know this. And I'm confident that we're thinking deeply about this because I've had this discussion with my colleagues and others. I don't have any solutions for you right now. But I think we've all come to the conclusion that the rapid evolution of technology is going to require us to conduct risk assessments and cost-benefit analysis more quickly, without sacrificing the due diligence necessary to determine the relative cost and benefits of whether or not we want to move forward with [exporting] a certain technology. We all recognize that we have a challenge to come together and determine how we will move forward in the security cooperation realm to address space, cyber, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. Should there be a hard and fast rule for whether technology like AI can be exported, given its nature? Listen, never ever forget that security cooperation is a policy function at its core. That's why DSCA resides in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. And policy is a process of adjudicating on a case-by-case basis, based upon a number of economic, diplomatic and political factors, as well as the right steps to take to secure the security of the United States. Just as security cooperation now is a case-by-case consideration of a number of factors, I don't see why, as the technology evolves, it would be any different. All of this, everything we do, is on a case-by-case basis because our national security is predicated on a comprehensive assessment of the situation as it exists, the factors impacted on that situation and the ramifications of a decision for the security of the United States. https://www.defensenews.com/interviews/2020/08/03/us-weapon-sales-boss-talks-china-arms-exports-and-his-agencys-future/