11 mars 2024 | International, Terrestre
Locking in on the same drone year after year may not make sense amid rapidly changing circumstances, he said.
23 mars 2022 | International, Aérospatial
"We are poised to go ahead and take a significant step forward" in teaming autonomous drones up with piloted fighters and bombers, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said March 9.
12 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Nathan Strout An early version of the Senate's annual defense bill would provide additional funding for space-based sensors capable of detecting and tracking hypersonic weapons, according to a summary released June 11. However, details on the proposal are scant. Congress has become increasingly concerned over the threat posed by hypersonic weapons under development by China and Russia. Too dim to be reliably picked up by current space-based sensors and able to maneuver around terrestrial sensors, hypersonic weapons make much of the current missile warning system obsolete, as it was designed for ballistic missile threats. To counter this threat, the Defense Department has proposed a solution: a proliferated constellation of satellites operating in low Earth orbit. Once a hypersonic threat is detected, the constellation tracks it while passing custody from satellite to satellite as the weapon moves around the globe. This Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor, or HBTSS, will be part of the new National Defense Space Architecture, a proliferated constellation that will eventually be made up of hundreds of small satellites operating primarily in low Earth orbit. The Space Development Agency is overseeing this effort and plans to begin placing its first satellites on orbit in fiscal 2022. The Missile Defense Agency listed HBTSS as an unfunded priority during the prior budget cycle, and ultimately Congress did allocate $108 million to the agency for the program in FY20. Now the Senate Armed Services Committee says it will provide additional funding for the program for FY21, but it has yet to say by how much. The summary also does not note where the funding for HBTSS will go. Determining which agency would be in charge of HBTSS was a source of friction between the Pentagon and Congress in 2019, with the latter pushing for MDA to take primary responsibility for the effort, while the White House claimed it was too early to put one agency in charge. Ultimately, legislation passed by Congress in December directed MDA to be the lead agency for the development and deployment of HBTSS. However, the Missile Defense Agency's proposed FY21 budget transfers HBTSS funding responsibility to the Space Development Agency. At the same time, MDA awarded four $20 million contracts to companies to develop HBTSS prototypes in October. The four companies selected were Northrop Grumman, Leidos, Harris Corporation and Raytheon. The SDA recently issued a request for proposals for wide field of view satellites that references medium field of view satellites which are expected to be launched in 2023. According to SDA Director Derek Tournear, those will be the first space components of MDA's HBTSS. Still, it's unclear whether Congress will endorse moving HBTSS funding responsibility to SDA in FY21. When faced with criticism over that move from legislators at a March hearing, MDA Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill assured them that his agency would remain in charge of sensor development for HBTSS, with SDA providing money to MDA for the effort. Hill said the decision to move the funding was made by Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Michael Griffin SDA is asking for $137 million for space technology development in FY21, which includes funding for space sensor technology. The agency expects to begin placing payloads on orbit in FY22. The budget request does not specifically break out funding for HBTSS. MDA has also asked for $207 million for hypersonic defense. That funding will help the agency develop a regional glide phase weapon system and maturing technologies for future hypersonic defense architectures. It does not include funding specifically for HBTSS, as that has transitioned to SDA. CORRECTION: This story has been corrected to show that the medium field of view satellites are not part of the SDA's wide field of view solicitation. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/06/11/senate-bill-promises-more-funding-for-space-based-hypersonic-defense-but-mum-on-details/
25 octobre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND Wyle Laboratories Inc. (KBRwyle), Houston, Texas, has been awarded a $500,000,000 maximum ceiling value, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (H92400-19-D-0001) for contractor-provided personal services and expertise to U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to support the Preservation of the Force and Family Program. The support will be provided at 26 geographic locations inside and outside of the continental U.S. The contract has a base period of five years with one three-year option period for a total ordering period of up to eight years. This contract was awarded through full and open competition with eight proposals received. USSOCOM, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity. ARMY General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, was awarded a $192,660,310 modification (P00071) to contract W58RGZ-17-C-0018 for Gray Eagle performance-based logistics. Work will be performed in Poway, California, with an estimated completion date of April 23, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $41,825,728 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. NAVY Konecranes Nuclear Equipment and Services LLC, New Berlin, Wisconsin, is awarded a $54,928,445 firm-fixed-price contract to provide one 140-ton portal crane at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The work to be performed provides for the contractor to design, fabricate, assemble, shop test, deliver, install, inspect, field test and make ready for use one 140-ton portal crane. The crane shall be a portal type with a rotating superstructure, luffing boom, main hoist and an auxiliary hoist designed to meet the dimensional and functional requirements of the specification. Crane installation and utilization will be performed in Kittery, Maine, and is expected to be completed by May 2021. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $54,928,445 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with two proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N62470-19-C-1000). General Dynamics Mission Systems, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is awarded a $18,537,696 cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for research and development, and sustainment efforts for the U.S. SSBN Fire Control Sub-system (FCS); the United Kingdom FCS; and the U.S. SSGN Attack Weapon Control System, including training and support equipment and U.S./UK Shipboard Data System. Work will be performed in Pittsfield, Massachusetts (98 percent); Kings Bay, Georgia (1 percent); and Dahlgren, Virginia (1 percent), with an expected completion date of September 2019. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,904,897; United Kingdom funds in the amount of $2,635,000; and fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $406,801 are being obligated on this award. Funds in the amount of $406,801 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Subject to the availability of funding, fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,590,998 will be obligated which will also expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00030-19-C-0003). Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded $8,700,187 for cost-plus-fixed-fee order N0001919F0276 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-14-G-0020). This order provides support services to design a non-Department of Defense (DoD) participant strategic facility in support of the F-35 aircraft. Work will be performed in Kansas City, Missouri (72 percent); and Fort Worth, Texas (28 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2020. Non-DoD participant funds in the amount of $8,700,187 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics, Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut, is being awarded a $7,316,141 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-15-C-4305) to exercise a priced option to maintain Navy certification, protect and operate the Navy floating dry dock, ARDM-4 Shippingport. The contractor will also accomplish organizational level repairs and preservation to the government furnished dry dock. Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut, and is expected to be completed by October 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,900,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair, Groton, Connecticut, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Unimed Government Services,* Lakeville, Minnesota, has been awarded a maximum $25,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for hospital equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency electronic catalog. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with 58 responses received; 17 contracts have been awarded to date. Using customers are Department of Defense and other federal organizations. Location of performance is Minnesota, with an Oct. 22, 2023, performance completion date. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2018 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DH-19-D-0005). *Woman-owned small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1669872/