Teledyne FLIR Defense Receives $62 Million in Orders from U.S. Military for Centaur Unmanned Ground Vehicles

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  23 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  DoD Seeks Billions More For COVID-Related Delays

  DoD also looking for tens of billions in extra funding from the White House, public still waiting for specifics on where it will go. By PAUL MCLEARYon June 22, 2020 at 3:16 PM WASHINGTON: The Pentagon knows it needs “lower double digit billions” to cope with COVID-19 related costs, but remains vague about just how much money it is asking the White House to add to the $740 billion already requested for 2021. Defense officials disclosed weeks ago that a request was on its way, and it is now with the White House Office of Management and Budget waiting for approval. The money will be part of a large-scale effort to cover defense industry claims of supply chain and workforce reductions as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, and is covered explicitly by Section 3610 of the coronavirus relief package. Under that rule, contractors can ask the Pentagon and other federal agencies to cover things mandated by new government rules like personal protective equipment, cleaning, and staggering work shifts. Speaking with reporters at the Pentagon this morning, acquisition chief Ellen Lord said “sooner is better, I think, is the best way to put it,” when asked about when the funds will be available. Lord repeated the timeline she has been referring to for weeks, saying “we continue to assess a three-month slowdown to all programs due to COVID-19,” she said, “we have seen inefficiencies across most programs. COVID-19 is shutting down defense manufacturing facilities and production lines, disrupting supply chains and distressing the financial stability of the companies DoD relies on to protect the nation.” The vast majority of defense firms have operated at at least some reduced capacity over the past several months, and Lord said the Pentagon continues to see the biggest impacts in the aviation and ship building supply chains” In order to spur the system, the DoD has sped up planned payments to the defense industry, hitting the $2 billion mark in recent days, and each of the large prime contractors have “confirmed their detailed plans to work with their supply chains to accelerate payments to identify distressed companies, and small businesses.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/06/dod-seeks-billions-more-for-covid-related-delays

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  4 novembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  USAF Sees Five-Year Window To Invent A New Fighter Aircraft Industry

  By Steve Trimble and Lee Hudson The U.S. Air Force's vision to rapidly produce multiple fleets of advanced fighters the way Apple makes iPhones begins with an important change in plans for the secretive Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. For three years, the Air Force analyzed how to replace the Lockheed Martin F-22 by 2030. The original plan—defined as the Penetrating Counter-Air capability in the Air Superiority Flight Plan released in 2017—called for developing a conventional replacement for the F-22, with a next-generation F-X fighter featuring a dazzling array of new technologies, ranging from adaptive cycle propulsion to advanced weapons and new sensors. As an extended, two-year-long analysis of alternatives neared a conclusion in mid-2018, the Air Force decided to shift to a new approach. The new strategy led Air Force leaders to drain about half of the $13.2 billion budget previously allocated to the NGAD program through fiscal 2024 in the Defense Department's five-year spending plan sent to Congress in March. Instead of launching full development of the F-X within that five-year window, the Air Force is developing a radical new aircraft design process—even as spending continues on deliveries of Lockheed F-35As, Boeing F-15EXs and a host of fighter upgrade programs. “We're at a good point to attempt something new because we have hot production lines for fifth [generation fighters]. [And] fourth-gen fighters [are] going through major multibillion dollar modernizations,” says Will Roper, the assistant secretary of the U.S. Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics. “So it's a good time to try something new for a five-year window and see if we can create a new way to build airplanes for us that [is] between the building of one or two X-planes and the building of 1,000 units in a major defense acquisition program,” Roper, who is leading the new NGAD strategy, tells Aviation Week in an interview. Roper's comments on the sidelines of Aviation Week's DefenseChain Conference on Oct. 22, help clarify the dramatic shifts within the classified NGAD program over the last year. The U.S. Air Force essentially has delayed F-X development beyond the five-year spending plan to provide a window of time to invent a new business model for the combat aircraft industry, one ideally suited for a new era of air warfare with peer adversaries. The initiative will be supported by the new Program Executive Office for Advanced Aircraft that was established on Oct. 2. The office will be led by Col. Dale White, formerly the senior program director for the Northrop Grumman B-21 bomber development program at the Rapid Capabilities Office. Roper's vision for NGAD calls for a sharp break from the conventional acquisition approach adopted for the B-21, with a single prime contractor responsible for the full aircraft lifecycle, including at least a 10- to 15-year period between an initial contract award and delivering an operational capability. To Roper, the ideal model for NGAD is not another Western fighter program, but rather a consumer electronic device. Apple's customers buy an iPhone model that is designed to become obsolete within a few years, and replace it with a more advanced device, he says. The equivalent in the fighter business are aircraft designed to last perhaps 3,500 flight hours, which the U.S. Air Force buys in batches of hundreds and replaces in intervals of 10 years or less. “We want to retire airplanes when the next one is ready to be brought out—very similar to the iPhone model. So there's no reason to keep that old iPhone once you have the new one,” Roper says. Over the next five years, the Air Force wants to define the digital engineering-based approach to the hardware and common operating system approach to the software for the NGAD aircraft family. The goal is to attract new companies besides traditional defense firms to be involved in production, along with the specialized design units of the prime contractors such as Lockheed's Skunk Works, Boeing's Phantom Works and Northrop Grumman's Scaled Composites. “I could imagine companies that could build a few airplanes per month eventually breaking in and wanting to do it because there's an opportunity to do it frequently. And let's face it, design and cutting-edge airplanes [are] just wicked cool,” Roper says. https://aviationweek.com/defense/usaf-sees-five-year-window-invent-new-fighter-aircraft-industry

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  20 novembre 2020 | International, Terrestre

  Turkey in talks with South Korea to salvage Altay tank program

  By: Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish procurement and military officials as well as teams from a private manufacturer have been negotiating with a South Korean company to recover a program riddled with delays for the production of the country's first indigenous new-generation main battle tank. “This program has faced major delays due to failed access to significant components like the engine, transmission and armor,” a procurement official told Defense News. “I am not in a position to give a date for the start of serial production. All I know is we are trying hard to get it moved ahead.” In 2019, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office included the Altay tank as part of the military's 2020 inventory in a government document. In an October 2019 speech, Ethem Sancak — a senior shareholder in BMC, which makes the Altay — said the tank would be fielded within 24 months. It now appears that prediction was too optimistic. The presidential office's 2021 investment program, released earlier this month, does not even mention the Altay, let alone the tank entering service. According to a source with knowledge of the Altay program, BMC has been in talks with Hyundai Rotem to solve problems surrounding missing foreign technology for the Altay, which Turkish officials often portray as a fully national, indigenous Turkish tank. The South Korean company previously built public transportation and Bosporus crossing systems in Istanbul, Ankara and Adana as well as light rail systems in Istanbul and Izmir. “We are hoping our talks will eventually sort out the problems regarding the power pack — [the engine and transmission — that] we will use in the serial production cycle,” the source told Defense News. “We are probably talking about another couple of months of talks before we know which way we are headed.” He added that BMC is in indirect talks, through Hyundai Rotem, with two South Korean defense technology concerns: engine-maker Doosan and S&T Dynamics, which produces automatic transmissions. “Ideally a Doosan-S&T power pack will power the Altay if we can iron out differences and licensing issues,” he said. South Korea has experienced similar problems with its program for the mass production of the K2 Black Panther tank. Its deployment by the Army faced delays due to problems concerning the engine and transmission. The first 100 units were built with a Doosan 1,500-horsepower engine and an S&T Dynamics automatic transmission. Under a second contract, tanks began to be delivered in late 2016. But after S&T Dynamics' transmission failed durability tests, South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced the second batch would have a “hybrid” power pack consisting of the locally developed engine and the German RENK transmission system. “How the Turks can make use of a proven engine and a failed transmission remains to be seen,” said a London-based Turkey expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Turkey had hoped to power the Altay with the German MTU engine and RENK transmission, but talks with German manufacturers over the past couple of years failed due to a federal arms embargo on Turkey. Germany is one of a number of European governments that have limited exports to Turkey over its involvement in the Syrian civil war. A similar problem concerns the Altay's planned armor. Turkey was hoping a French armor solution would be continue to be available following an initial batch of 40 units. But recent political tension between the two countries over hydrocarbon explorations off Cyprus has put this in jeopardy. The source with knowledge of the Altay program said the armor will now be locally produced under a public-private partnership. The Altay program dates back to the mid-1990s, but it wasn't until November 2018 that the Turkish government awarded the tank's multibillion-dollar contract to BMC. In a competition, the firm defeated Otokar, which had already produced four Altay prototypes under a government contract. The contract involves the production of an initial batch of 250 units, life-cycle logistical support, and the establishment by the contractor of a tank systems technology center and its operation. As part of the contract, BMC will design, develop and produce a tank with an unmanned fire control unit. The contract said the first Altay tank is to roll off the assembly line within 18 months. Opposition parties in parliament have slammed the government over delays, but procurement officials claim the 18-month clause will apply after the first unit's production begins. The Altay program is broken into two phases: T1 and T2. T1 covers the first 250 units, and T2 involves the advanced version of the tank. Turkey also plans to eventually produce 1,000 Altays, to be followed by an unmanned version. The deal has proved politically controversy, particularly after the Erdogan administration leased for free a military-owned tank and turret factory by the Marmara Sea to BMC for a period of 25 years. The move prompted cries of nepotism, as BMC shareholder Sancak was a senior member of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party at the time. Ozgur Eksi, an independent defense analyst, questioned the choice of assigning a factory by the sea for tank production. “In the event of war, the Altay factory could be an easy target for the enemy fire,” he said. “This program could have been much better planned from a strategic point of view.” Nevertheless, Eksi added, “there is a political determination to get the Altays into the Army's inventory. Sooner or later, production will start.” https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/11/19/turkey-in-talks-with-south-korea-to-salvage-altay-tank-program/