18 mai 2023 | International, Naval

Spain’s Navantia expects new warship sales to Saudi Arabia

The Spanish shipbuilder is already doing some preliminary outreach with Saudi companies for a yet-to-be specified combat ship program.

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2023/05/18/spains-navantia-expects-new-warship-sales-to-saudi-arabia/

Sur le même sujet

  • The Air Force can be an “angel investor” for some startups

    20 septembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial

    The Air Force can be an “angel investor” for some startups

    Air Force Busts Out Credit Cards To Buy High Tech Gear The Air Force can be an “angel investor” for some startups, said Will Roper, the service's top acquisition official. By PAUL MCLEARY WASHINGTON The Pentagon has been trying for years to replicate the speed of Silicon Valley-style startup culture, with only sporadic — and limited — success. But the Air Force says it's doubling down on the effort, and is looking to start using government credit cards to buy small amounts of gear from tech firms that don't have much interest in forming long-term relationships with the government. The Air Force can be an “angel investor” for some startups, said Will Roper, the service's top acquisition official (and former head of the Pentagon's Strategic Capabilities Office). “The benefit is huge because it finally pulls startups into orbits around our program offices,” Roper told reporters at the Air Force Association conference on Tuesday. “Even if round one of their product isn't ready, they're aware of us as an angel investor. We're not trying to have them work for the government. We just want their products to make sense for us.” Roper is eyeing a series of startup days that will be held across the Air Force, beginning with an initiative between the Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX to knock out fifty contracts in fifty hours by the end of October. In 2015, then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter established the DIUx office in Silicon Valley, in the hope that a presence in the midst of tech startup boom country would convince small companies that working with the government would pay off. So far, the results have been modest, with most firms declining to sign up to be a part of the painfully slow and cumbersome government contracting process. What worries the Pentagon is that rivals like China don't suffer the same competition with the private sector for top talent. The government in Beijing compels technology firms to work with the government, which has led to a series of rapid-fire advances in artificial intelligence and surveillance technologies developed by large tech firms being sucked up by the government. In the United States, many tech firms are far more wary. Over 3,000 Google engineers recently signed a petition to refuse to work with the Pentagon on Project Maven, a program that collects and sorts data from drones to assist in targeting. The engineers objected to working on a program that could be used in bombing campaigns. Google will withdraw from the program. At the same time, Google leadership is working with the Chinese government on developing a Chinese-specific search engine that censors information Beijing wants to keep from its citizens. Roper knows the hurdles he faces. He's not looking to lock these companies into long-term contracts or relationships: “We're looking to buy into their ideas...I would love for them to sell us their product on their way to being bought up by Amazon.” In order to get there, the plan is for the Air Force to review the companies who want to partner with them and send out invitations to do a live pitch. At the end of a day of pitches, the idea is for 60 to 80 percent of the companies to walk out with a deal the same day. That's where the credit cards come in. Roper said he wants his people to use theirs to literally buy tech on the spot with a swipe. “The authorities that govern government purchase cards are broad and so we had both our government contracting professionals and legal professionals come back and they determined that we can do small business awards using a [government card],” he said. The new authority helps both sides: The companies get the cash, and the government doesn't drive away a potential partner by throwing months of lag time at them before a deal can be done. Even other transaction authority agreements, which are used when the Pentagon needs to move fast, “take three to four months — and that's in a good case — [but] that's too long for a startup.” https://breakingdefense.com/2018/09/air-force-busts-out-credit-cards-to-buy-high-tech-gear/

  • San Diego shipyard inks $10 million contract for Bonhomme Richard firefighting and cleanup

    23 juillet 2020 | International, Naval

    San Diego shipyard inks $10 million contract for Bonhomme Richard firefighting and cleanup

    By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON – The shipyard presiding over the renovations on the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard when it caught fire July 12 was awarded a $10 million contract modification for their efforts with firefighting and follow-on clean up. The contract with General Dynamics NASSCO San Diego was among those announced Wednesday in the Defense Department's daily roundup. The work includes “USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) emergency firefighting support, dewatering, safety and initial clean-up efforts,” the announcement reads, and will be completed by November of this year. The fire, which broke out July 12, began in the lower vehicle storage area amidships and damaged 11 of the Bonhomme Richard's 14 decks, according to a letter to all Navy flag officers and master chiefs obtained by Defense News. The Navy has said there was no known welding or other “hot work” going on at the time of the fire, and it is unclear what caused the blaze. The Navy is conducting a safety investigation, which are not usually releasable to the public to encourage witnesses to speak freely, and a more formal administrative investigation accompanied by accountability recommendations that can be released. The Navy's top officer Adm. Michael Gilday told Defense News in a July 16 interview he was committed to transparency in the investigation. This is a very, very serious incident that I think will force the Navy to stand back and reevaluate itself,” Gilday said. “We've got to follow the facts, we've got to be honest with ourselves and we've got to get after it. My intention, once the investigations are done, is to make this available for the public to debate, including what we need to do to get after any systemic problems that we might have.” https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/07/22/san-diego-shipyard-inks-10-million-contract-for-bonhomme-richard-firefighting-and-cleanup/

  • Victor-model Black Hawk gets the OK to fly in national airspace

    6 avril 2022 | International, Terrestre

    Victor-model Black Hawk gets the OK to fly in national airspace

    The U.S. Army's UH-60 Victor-model Black Hawk utility helicopter has received certification to fly in national airspace, enabling a second initial operational test.

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