22 février 2024 | International, Aérospatial

Teledyne FLIR to Supply Canadian Government More Than 800 Drones Worth CAD$95 Million for Ukraine

The advanced multi-mission drone can handle a variety of payloads up to 3.5 kilograms, including munitions.

https://www.epicos.com/article/790374/teledyne-flir-supply-canadian-government-more-800-drones-worth-cad95-million-ukraine

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  • A new HUSAR in the sky: Rheinmetall wins Bundeswehr order to supply LUNA NG air-supported reconnaissance system

    1 octobre 2023 | International, Aérospatial

    A new HUSAR in the sky: Rheinmetall wins Bundeswehr order to supply LUNA NG air-supported reconnaissance system

    The amendment contract concretises the measures resulting from the takeover of the procurement contract by Rheinmetall

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - February 12, 2020

    13 février 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - February 12, 2020

    AIR FORCE Canadian Commercial Corp., Ottawa, Canada, has been awarded a $225,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for F-138 engine and component depot repair. This contract provides the Air Force with the depot repair support required for the F-138 engine and components. Work will be performed at Richmond, British Columbia, and is expected to be completed by Feb. 11, 2030. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of below $1,118,975 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (FA8124-20-D-0004). The Victor Group, San Antonio, Texas, has been awarded a $10,564,430 modification (P00016) to previously-awarded contract FA8052-18-C-0010 for Healthcare Aseptic Management Services to exercise Option Year One for medical aseptic housekeeping, waste management and linen management. Work will be performed at Dover Air Force Base (AFB), Delaware; Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts; Andrews AFB, Maryland; Bolling AFB, Washington, District of Columbia; Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; Langley AFB, Virginia; Scott AFB, Illinois; Whiteman AFB, Missouri; Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina; Minot AFB, North Dakota; and Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota, and is expected to be completed Feb. 13 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $10,564,430 will be obligated at the time of award. The total cumulative value of this contract including Option One is $24,234,322. The 773rd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Air Force Installation Contracting Center, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity. Main Building Maintenance Inc., San Antonio, Texas, has been awarded a $10,400,074 modification (P00015) to contract FA8052-18-C-0006 for Healthcare Aseptic Management Services to exercise Option Year One for medical aseptic housekeeping, waste management and linen management. Work will be performed at the Air Force Academy, Colorado; Buckley Air Force Base (AFB), Colorado; Peterson AFB, Colorado; Schriever AFB, Colorado; Beale AFB, California; Eielson AFB, Alaska; Elmendorf AFB, Alaska; Fairchild AFB, Alaska; Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota; FE Warren AFB, Wyoming; Hill AFB, Utah; Malmstrom AFB, Montana; McConnell AFB, Kansas; Mountain Home AFB, Idaho; Nellis AFB, Nevada; and Offutt AFB, Nebraska, and is expected to be completed on Feb. 13, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $10,400,074 will be obligated at time of award. The total cumulative value for this contract, not including Option One, is $9,677,258. The 773rd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Air Force Installation Contracting Center, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity. Titan Facility Services LLC, Gilbert, Arizona, has been awarded a $10,012,679 modification (P00019) to contract FA8052-18-C-0009 for Healthcare Aseptic Management Services to exercise Option Year One for medical aseptic housekeeping, waste management and linen management. Work will be performed at Little Rock Air Force Base (AFB), Arkansas; Barksdale AFB, Louisiana; Keesler AFB, Mississippi; Eglin AFB, Florida; Hurlburt Field AFB, Florida; MacDill AFB, Florida; Tyndall AFB, Florida; Patrick AFB, Florida; Charleston AFB, South Carolina; Shaw AFB, South Carolina; Moody AFB, Georgia; Robins AFB, Georgia; Columbus AFB, Mississippi; Altus AFB, Oklahoma; Tinker AFB, Oklahoma; and Vance AFB, Oklahoma, and is expected to be completed Feb. 13, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $10,012,679 will be obligated at the time of award. The total cumulative value of this contract including Option One is $19,858,371. The 773rd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Air Force Installation Contracting Center, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity. TFOM HHS Group JV, Austin, Texas, has been awarded a $9,843,221 modification (P00010) to contract FA8052-19-C-A002 for Healthcare Aseptic Management Services to exercise Option Year One for medical aseptic housekeeping, waste management and linen management. Work will be performed at Cannon Air Force Base (AFB), New Mexico; Holloman AFB, New Mexico; Kirtland AFB, New Mexico; Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona; Luke AFB, Arizona; Dyess AFB, Texas; Goodfellow AFB, Texas; Lackland AFB, Texas; Laughlin AFB, Texas; Randolph AFB, Texas; Sheppard AFB, Texas; Los Angeles AFB, California; Edwards AFB, California; and Vandenberg AFB, California, and is expected to be completed by Feb. 13, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds for $9,843,221 will be obligated at time of award. The total cumulative value of this contract, including Option One is $18,784,172. The 773rd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Air Force Installation Contracting Center, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity. NAVY Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Syracuse, New York, is awarded a $40,000,000 cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost-only modification to a previously-awarded delivery order N00024-19-F-6201 under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00024-19-D-6200) for the design, prototyping and qualification testing for electronic warfare systems equipment. This effort will award the design of Navy equipment. Work will be performed in Syracuse, New York, and is expected to be completed by February 2021. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funding for $8,207,000 will be obligated at time of award and not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Co., Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona, is awarded a $35,874,452 firm-fixed-price modification to a previously-awarded contract (N00024-18-C-5432) for over-the-horizon weapon systems. Under this contract, Raytheon Co., Missile Systems, will manufacture and deliver over-the-horizon weapon systems that consist of encanistered missiles (EM) loaded into launching mechanisms (LM) and a single fire control suite (FCS). This contract consists of firm-fixed-price EMs (tactical, telemetered and inert operational); FCSs; LMs; mission support equipment; training equipment and courses; cost-plus-fixed-fee engineering services; and cost-only travel and other direct costs. Work will be performed in Kongsberg, Norway (75%); Tucson, Arizona (15%); Schrobenhausen, Germany (4%); Raufoss, Norway (3%); McKinney, Texas (2%); and Louisville, Kentucky (1%), and is expected to be completed by February 2022. Fiscal 2020 weapon procurement (Navy) for $34,369,290 (95.8%); and other procurement (Navy) for $1,505,162 (4.2%), will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Childs Engineering Corp.,* Bellingham, Massachusetts, is awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity architect-engineering contract with a maximum amount of $15,000,000 for underwater and above-water inspection, material condition assessment, engineering and design services in support of sustainment, restoration and modernization and military construction projects at Department of Defense waterfront and ocean facilities at various locations. The work to be performed provides for architect-engineer services to include, but not limited to: field investigations; underwater inspections; engineering analysis of waterfront and ocean facility structural, mechanical and electrical systems and component conditions in comparison to design requirements, previous inspection reports and/or existing drawings of the facilities; review of construction plans and specifications of engineering features and related work associated with waterfront and ocean facility construction and repair; engineering calculations for structural analysis with or without previous design calculations; failure analysis and forensic engineering; waterfront and ocean facility engineering feasibility studies; design of facility repairs; preparation of design/build requests for proposals and invitation for bid contract plans and specifications; environmental studies in support of permit applications to federal, state, and local regulatory agencies; preparation of required permit documentation; design of underwater instrument and cable arrays, associated power and data cable installation and termination, including fiber optic elements; design of underwater instrument support structures and assemblies; design of termination junction boxes and support structures; design of underwater cable installation using horizontal direction drilling technology, including the establishment of directional drilling monitoring and response criteria to minimize environmental effects of directional drilling; documentation of findings and report preparation; cost estimation for waterfront and ocean facility rehabilitation; construction and installation schedules, development of maintenance action plans, underwater geotechnical and above water surveying. All work on this contract will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities predominantly in the U.S. but also worldwide to include Florida (15%); Connecticut (10%); Georgia (10%); Massachusetts (10%); Maine (10%); New Hampshire (10%); New Jersey (10%); Pennsylvania (10%); Rhode Island (10%); Illinois (2%); Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands (1%); South Carolina (1%); and Tennessee (1%). The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of February 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Navy (O&M, N) contract funds in the amount of $10,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by O&M, N funds. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website and Federal Business Opportunities website with five proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity (N39430-20-D-2207). Marine Solutions Inc.,* Nicholasville, Kentucky, is awarded as a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, architect-engineering contract with a maximum amount of $15,000,000 for underwater and above water inspection, material condition assessment, engineering and design services in support of sustainment, restoration and modernization and military construction projects at Department of Defense waterfront and ocean facilities at various locations. The work to be performed provides for architect-engineer services to include, but not limited to: field investigations, underwater inspections; engineering analysis of waterfront and ocean facility structural, mechanical and electrical systems and component conditions in comparison to design requirements, previous inspection reports and/or existing drawings of the facilities; review of construction plans and specifications of engineering features and related work associated with waterfront and ocean facility construction and repair; engineering calculations for structural analysis with or without previous design calculations; failure analysis and forensic engineering; waterfront and ocean facility engineering feasibility studies; design of facility repairs; preparation of design/build requests for proposals and invitation for bid contract plans and specifications; environmental studies in support of permit applications to federal, state, and local regulatory agencies; preparation of required permit documentation; design of underwater instrument and cable arrays, associated power and data cable installation and termination, including fiber optic elements; design of underwater instrument support structures and assemblies; design of termination junction boxes and support structures; design of underwater cable installation using horizontal direction drilling technology, including the establishment of directional drilling monitoring and response criteria to minimize environmental effects of directional drilling; documentation of findings and report preparation; cost estimation for waterfront and ocean facility rehabilitation; construction and installation schedules, development of maintenance action plans, underwater geotechnical and above water surveying. All work on this contract will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities in Mid-Atlantic region including Maryland (40%); Virginia (40%); and Washington, District of Columbia (20%). The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of February 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Navy (O&M, N) contract funds in the amount of $10,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by O&M, N funds. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website and Federal Business Opportunities website with five proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity (N39430-20-D-2208). Lloyd Collins JV, Houston, Texas, is awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, architect-engineering contract with a maximum amount of $15,000,000 for underwater and above water inspection, material condition assessment, engineering and design services in support of sustainment, restoration and modernization and military construction projects at Department of Defense waterfront and ocean facilities at various locations. The work to be performed provides for architect-engineer services to include, but not limited to: field investigations, underwater inspections; engineering analysis of waterfront and ocean facility structural, mechanical and electrical systems and component conditions in comparison to design requirements, previous inspection reports and/or existing drawings of the facilities; review of construction plans and specifications of engineering features and related work associated with waterfront and ocean facility construction and repair; engineering calculations for structural analysis with or without previous design calculations; failure analysis and forensic engineering; waterfront and ocean facility engineering feasibility studies; design of facility repairs; preparation of design/build requests for proposals and invitation for bid contract plans and specifications; environmental studies in support of permit applications to federal, state, and local regulatory agencies; preparation of required permit documentation; design of underwater instrument and cable arrays, associated power and data cable installation and termination, including fiber optic elements; design of underwater instrument support structures and assemblies; design of termination junction boxes and support structures; design of underwater cable installation using horizontal direction drilling technology, including the establishment of directional drilling monitoring and response criteria to minimize environmental effects of directional drilling; documentation of findings and report preparation; cost estimation for waterfront and ocean facility rehabilitation; construction and installation schedules, development of maintenance action plans, underwater geotechnical and above water surveying. All work on this contract will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities in various states to include Florida (28%); California (25%); Hawaii (25%); Texas (15%); Louisiana (5%); and Mississippi (2%). The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of February 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Navy (O&M, N) contract funds in the amount of $10,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by O&M, N funds. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website and Federal Business Opportunities website with six proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity (N39430-20-D-2209). Appledore Marine Engineering LLC,* Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, architect-engineering contract with a maximum amount of $15,000,000 for underwater and above water inspection, material condition assessment, engineering and design services in support of sustainment, restoration and modernization and military construction projects at Department of Defense waterfront and ocean facilities at various locations. The work to be performed provides for architect-engineer services to include, but not limited to: field investigations, underwater inspections; engineering analysis of waterfront and ocean facility structural, mechanical and electrical systems and component conditions in comparison to design requirements, previous inspection reports and/or existing drawings of the facilities; review of construction plans and specifications of engineering features and related work associated with waterfront and ocean facility construction and repair; engineering calculations for structural analysis with or without previous design calculations; failure analysis and forensic engineering; waterfront and ocean facility engineering feasibility studies; design of facility repairs; preparation of design/build request for proposals and invitation for bid contract plans and specifications; environmental studies in support of permit applications to federal, state, and local regulatory agencies; preparation of required permit documentation; design of underwater instrument and cable arrays, associated power and data cable installation and termination, including fiber optic elements; design of underwater instrument support structures and assemblies; design of termination junction boxes and support structures; design of underwater cable installation using horizontal direction drilling technology, including the establishment of directional drilling monitoring and response criteria to minimize environmental effects of directional drilling; documentation of findings and report preparation; cost estimation for waterfront and ocean facility rehabilitation; and construction and installation schedules, development of maintenance action plans, underwater geotechnical and above water surveying. All work on this contract will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities within the Northwest states and all Pacific U.S. territories including Washington state (80%); Alaska and American Pacific territories (18%); and Oregon (2%). The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of February 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Navy (O&M, N) contract funds in the amount of $10,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by O&M, N funds. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website and Federal Business Opportunities website with seven proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity (N39430-20-D-2210). Jacobs Government Services Co., Irvine, California, is awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, architect-engineering contract with a maximum amount of $15,000,000 for underwater and above water inspection, material condition assessment, engineering and design services in support of sustainment, restoration and modernization and military construction projects at Department of Defense waterfront and ocean facilities at various locations outside of the continental U.S. The work to be performed provides for architect-engineer services to include, but not limited to: field investigations, underwater inspections; engineering analysis of waterfront and ocean facility structural, mechanical and electrical systems and component conditions in comparison to design requirements, previous inspection reports and/or existing drawings of the facilities; review of construction plans and specifications of engineering features and related work associated with waterfront and ocean facility construction and repair; engineering calculations for structural analysis with or without previous design calculations; failure analysis and forensic engineering; waterfront and ocean facility engineering feasibility studies; design of facility repairs; preparation of design/build requests for proposals and invitation for bid contract plans and specifications; environmental studies in support of permit applications to federal, state, and local regulatory agencies; preparation of required permit documentation; design of underwater instrument and cable arrays, associated power and data cable installation and termination, including fiber optic elements; design of underwater instrument support structures and assemblies; design of termination junction boxes and support structures; design of underwater cable installation using horizontal direction drilling technology, including the establishment of directional drilling monitoring and response criteria to minimize environmental effects of directional drilling; documentation of findings and report preparation; cost estimation for waterfront and ocean facility rehabilitation; construction and installation schedules, development of maintenance action plans, underwater geotechnical and above water surveying. All work on this contract will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities worldwide. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of February 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Navy (O&M, N) contract funds in the amount of $10,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by O&M, N funds. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website and Federal Business Opportunities website with five proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity (N39430-20-D-2211). Client Solution Architects LLC, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is awarded a $7,560,402 modification to a previously-awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee task order issued by the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command. This modification increases the value of the basic contract by $7,560,402; the contract's new total value is $26,964,672. This modification provides for the exercise of a cost-plus-fixed-fee option for an additional year of acquisition management, program management and integrated logistics support services for the Undersea Communications and Integration Program Office. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Navy (O&M, N); research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); and other procurement (Navy) funds for $1,530,328 will be obligated at the time of award. O&M, N funds for $374,000 will expire at the end of the fiscal year. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by February 2021. The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N00039-17-F-3001). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Carter Industries,* Olive Hill, Kentucky, has been awarded a maximum $30,294,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for men's and women's sage-green flyer coveralls. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is an 18-month base contract with two one-year option periods. Location of performance is Kentucky, with an Aug. 11, 2021, performance completion date. Using customer is Air Force and Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-20-D-1238). ARMY Bencor Global Inc., Frisco, Texas, was awarded a $24,500,000 modification (P00031) to contract W911WN-14-C-0002 for work related to East Branch Dam Cutoff Wall. Work will be performed in Wilcox, Pennsylvania, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 7, 2020. Fiscal 2020 funds in the amount of $24,500,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. Crosby Dredging LLC, Galliano, Louisiana, was awarded a $12,492,900 firm-fixed-price contract to dredge and remove approximately 1.3 million cubic yards of shoal material from the Turning and Anchorage Basin in the Sabine Neches Waterway. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Port Arthur, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 11, 2020. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W912HY-20-C-0004). *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2082835/source/GovDelivery/

  • FVL Q&A: 7 Leaders On The Future Of Army Aviation

    31 mars 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    FVL Q&A: 7 Leaders On The Future Of Army Aviation

    New Future Vertical Lift aircraft are just part of the solution. So are new tactics and technology upgrades for existing helicopters. By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR WASHINGTON: Drones. Helicopters. Networks. Revolutionary future aircraft. Pressing current missions. Every week, the seven senior officers of the Army's aviation community get together – in person or virtually – to check their collective bearings on all these issues and adjust their course into the future. Last month, I had the privilege of speaking to all seven as part of that weekly meeting. The “six-pack plus one” represents institutions across the Army: Maj. Gen. David Francis heads the helicopter training “schoolhouse” in Fort Rucker, Ala., formally known as the US Army Aviation Center of Excellence. Maj. Gen. Todd Royar heads Army Aviation & Missile Command (AMCOM), headquartered at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., which supports maintenance and sustainment Army-wide. Brig. Gen. Michael McCurry is director of Army aviation on the Army's headquarters staff in the Pentagon, under the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army for Operations, Plans, & Training (G3/5/7). Brig. Gen. Allan Pepin leads US Army Special Operations Aviation Command (USASOAC), which handles the unique air support needs of special ops forces. Col. Robert Barrie is the Deputy Program Executive Officer for PEO Aviation, the Army's aviation acquisition organization; he was standing in for the PEO, Patrick Mason. Mr. Geoff Downer directs special operations programs at Army Aviation and Missile Command. He's a member of the Senior Executive Service, making him the civilian equivalent of a general. Brig. Gen. Walter Rugen – the “plus one” added in recent years to the longstanding six-pack – heads the newest organization on the list: the Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team (FVL CFT) at the 17-month-old Army Futures Command. “If we have a failure, we have a culture where anybody in the six-pack can raise a red flag of concern,” Brig. Gen. Pepin said. “And if there's concern among the six-pack, we're willing to tell the senior leaders early, so we do not go down the road of lost investments.” We've used choice pieces of this hour-plus interview in our Future Vertical Lift articles so far, but as we wind up our FVL series, we wanted to give our readers the chance to hear from these leaders at greater length, in their own words (edited for clarity and brevity). Gen. David Francis Maj. Gen. David FRANCIS Commander, US Army Aviation Center of Excellence, Fort Rucker, Ala.: Speaking with you here today is what we affectionately refer to as the six-pack-plus-one. It's the senior officers that affect every aspect of Army Aviation. Oftentimes in aviation, we focus on material piece of this, just because of the cost – but you should understand that there are multiple things happening continuously. It's more than just the airframes themselves. There's a whole host of things that we look at, from potentially changing some of our infrastructure in terms of hangers and so forth to accommodate Future Vertical Lift, to how are we going to train? Brig. Gen. Allan Pepin Brig. Gen. Allan PEPIN Commander, US Army Special Operations Aviation Command (USASOAC): Tactics, techniques, and procedures alone won't allow you to fly into a contested environment and survive. And using technology alone will not let you survive. It has to be a combination of both technology and how we train. FRANCIS, Aviation Center: In counterinsurgency operations, the threat has allowed us to operate at altitude, above 1,000 feet, routinely. As we look to large-scale combat operations, we know that the threat will drive us lower [i.e. to evade radar]. That changes the way we train to fight that fight. When we operate in COIN, we operate in smaller elements [i.e. two helicopters or four on a mission]. When we get to large-scale combat operations, we have to operate more at a battalion level [i.e. 18-24 aircraft]. That means that what we have to be able to do, regardless of the platform, is train to that level of proficiency. Not only are we training our aviation forces, we're training as part of a combined-arms team — with ground-maneuver elements, with fires, with cyber, and all of the multi-domain things that we're going to bring to bear in a fight. We are also working, for the first time, on a distinct Aviation supporting concept to talk about how Aviation will fight and contribute in Multi-Domain Operations in 2028. This will all inform the Army concept, which will in turn inform the joint concept that is being written at the joint staff level as we speak. Brig. Gen. Walter Rugen Brig. Gen. Walter RUGEN Director, Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team (FVL CFT), Army Futures Command: We are converging with the other services. It's Joint All Domain Operations, no matter the domain. [The official domains of military operations are land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace – ed.]. We need an interface to communicate critical data, whether that data is sustainment or in the tactical operations realm. When you look at our lines of effort – the FARA [Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft], the future UAS [Unmanned Aerial Systems, i.e. drones], FLRAA [Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft] — those are important. But it really is the ecosystem that they bring. FRANCIS, Aviation Center: We know that as we go into a Multi-Domain Operations fight, our enduring fleet – the fleet that we have today, which consists of UH-6OM Black Hawks, AH-64E Apaches and CH-47F Chinooks – stays with us into the 2040s. So not only are we concerned about how we get to Future Vertical Lift, and the capability that brings, we're doing targeted modernization to our enduring fleet. What we have to do is improve our stand-off and our survivability with the introduction of some technology that will be available prior to the actual FVL platform, like the Long-Range Precision Munition and Air-Launched Effects [i.e. multi-purpose mini-drones]. Those combined, we think, will keep us very, very competitive in that [anti-aircraft] environment until we get the increased speed and survivability of our Future Vertical Lift platforms. RUGEN, Futures Command: When we look at ALE and Long-Range Precision Munition, what we're finding, in our modeling and our experimentation at Yuma last year, is you really generate that stand-off and overmatch against threats. We can stay outside their weapon engagement zone and put effects on them. Air-Launched Effects are what is going to find and fix these threats, and then what the Long-Range Precision Munition is going to do is finish that threat. In the Presidents' Budget [request for] 2021, there's $152 million dedicated to getting Spike N-LOS missiles into up to three Combat Aviation Brigades in the swiftest possible manner. We're currently projecting that it would be an FY22 initial capability. We're currently projecting that it would be an FY'22 initial [operational] capability. But that's just our initial increment of the Long-Range Precision Munition. We will follow that on with more detailed requirements to fix some of the challenges that we see already with Spike [and] improve upon that capability. FRANCIS, Aviation Center: Another example is the ITEP [Improved Turbine Engine Program]. That's going to be the engine that goes into FARA. It's also going to be retrofitted onto our UH-60 and AH-64 fleet. That's an extremely successful, well-funded program that is going to affect both of those fleets. Another is maintenance. Col. Barrie was the previous program manager for the CH-47. He initiated a process for the CH-47 fleet that is starting to bear results today in reducing the maintenance burden. We're looking to expand that across both our attack and utility fleets as well. Col. Robert Barrie Col. Robert BARRIE Deputy Program Executive Officer, PEO Aviation: We're finding ways that we can better leverage our investment dollars in the future. We balance the imperative that we have to modernize [with FVL] and the imperative that we have to maintain the readiness of the enduring fleet. When we're modernizing towards a future capability, are there opportunities [for spin-offs] that can benefit the enduring fleet? In similarly, shame on us if we are doing anything on our enduring fleet that does not reduce the risk for the development of our future fleet. For example, there's the Aviation Mission Common Server. We can now have processing capability that is government owned and the cost will be significantly reduced. As we go forward, we want to reduce risk on whatever we wind up doing for processing capability on our future fleets, but, in the near term, this allows us a processing capability that we have significantly more control over. Geoffrey Downer Mr. Geoff Downer Director of Special Programs, US Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM): How do we miniaturize components and gain capability on these other aircraft? We're working on degraded visual environments, electronic counter measures, terrain following, terrain avoidance. We're losing a lot of aircraft, and about 49 percent of our fatalities, due to degraded visual environment landings [i.e. when the pilot can't see clearly]. So we're actually working to put a degraded visual environment system on the aircraft. The idea is that they use LIDAR and IR cameras, so when the pilot is landing in a brown-out situation, he can look down and have a synthetic display that shows exactly where the obstacles are, with cues to where he can land and where he can't land. We've done testing, and the feedback from the testing is absolutely remarkable. We believe that this is going to add survivability to our enduring fleet. RUGEN, Futures Command: [That said], at the end of the day, we've squeezed everything we can out of these aircraft that were built in an industrial age, a very analog age. We want survivability in those very contested large-scale combat operations [in the future]. We want to be lethal. We want superior reach, so we want speed, range and endurance at range, in our next generation fleet. That's the aspect that the enduring fleet doesn't bring. In our survivability studies, with these advanced rotor craft configurations, we basically saw large percentage increases in survivability, from 24 percent to, in some scenarios, nearly 50 percent more survivable — just based on physical characteristics of the aircraft [i.e. not factoring in new electronics, tactics. etc.] Once our penetration force moves forward, we will generate joint force freedom of maneuver [i.e. not just for the Army, in other words, but for all the services] and our enduring fleet can now start coming forward to help us. Brig. Gen. Michael McCurry Brig. Gen. Michael MCCURRY Director of Army Aviation, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army for Operations, Plans, & Training (G3/5/7): Once we've kind of fractured the Anti-Access/Area Denial piece in Multi-Domain Operations, then we're able to exploit using some of our enduring fleet systems. That overlap of new and old capabilities — that's not new. I fought in Desert Storm. I flew in OH-58 Kiowa helicopter [which first entered service during Vietnam] and I was teamed with an AH-64 Alpha [which entered service in the 1980s]. We've got to look at, where are the most critical spots to bring capability to first? We will outfit those units [with FVL] first, and then we'll cascade those capabilities throughout the Army. Gen. FRANCIS, Aviation Center: As we always done as Army Aviation, you can't field it all at the same time. So there's a sequence to the fielding plans that are developed based on priorities leveled by the G3 [staff] and the Army. RUGEN, Futures Command: We want it to be backwards and forwards compatible. We have to be able to extend the network forward and integrate it in a denied environment [i.e. in the face of enemy jamming and hacking]. We've done high-fidelity modeling about how to operate in that environment, with waveforms and architecture that will be resilient. Then we followed that up with an experiment in conjunction with our Special Operations partners up at China Lake. We called it A3I: architecture, autonomy, automation and interfaces. That system architecture [has] open systems, interfaces, and gateways, so we can push data machine to machine. We're refining our data formats to auto-populate nine-lines [i.e. calls for urgent medical evacuation], calls for fires [i.e. artillery and air strikes], our production, exploitation and dissemination of intelligence.” Really, the brains behind this is really been our SOF [Special Operations Forces] partners. DOWNER, Special Programs: We set up this demonstration in September of last year, using a Black Hawk [helicopter], a Grey Eagle [drone], and a Small Glide Munition [guided bomb]. SOF is still involved in this, we're still using our team, our resources, and the technology that we developed [to build] the network in the sky. RUGEN, Futures Command: Then, ultimately, probably one of the hardest things we're going to do is affordability. That gets into our sustainment and logistics concept. Long-term, 68 percent of our total cost of ownership is the sustainment of the fleet. Then-Brig. Gen. Todd Royar during a 101st Airborne Division exercise. Maj. Gen. Todd ROYAR Commander, Army Aviation & Missile Command (AMCOM) In our current systems, Army Aviation has done a phenomenal job of leading the Army on condition-based maintenance. We are pretty far out there about collecting data and knowing when something is going to fail. However, we did that by platform, and each individual platform uses a different system to be able to do that. As we move forward, the intent is to go ahead and make sure that we have a common platform for condition-based maintenance. We think this will fundamentally change how maintenance is done, which will ultimately drive down cost. In the draft documents [on FVL], we have put the hooks in there to make sure that industry knows that that is going to be a requirement. When we send out the proposals to industry, we will direct that certain things be common as far as condition-based maintenance is concerned: what they measure, how they measure it, how the ones to zeros are holding, so that the unit can get that same data, regardless of whether they're looking at FARA, FLRAA, or one of our enduring systems. That effort is a combination, primarily, between the PEO and my office. We have touchpoints with Future Vertical Lift, to make sure that for the new systems, those requirements are written in. This will be a component of MOSA, the Modular Open Systems Architecture. RUGEN, Futures Command: The number one challenge we have with MOSA is discipline and management. What allowed the enduring fleet of aircraft to wind up with different architectures [is] there was not a driving central body that said, “this is the architecture that you are going to go with.” With MOSA, we have that. It really comes down to defining that government standard, and defining that government interface, and then holding to it. The PEO has led the charge with the architecture control working group, meeting quarterly, with industry participating. This is aligned with the Network CFT [Cross Functional Team]. PEPIN, Special Ops: We have to be able to adapt quickly, and that MOSA environment is key. We have to break away from just doing more hardware add-ons to platforms, because it takes an incredible amount of time. [With the Modular Open Systems Architecture], all that's just a software upgrade, you reboot and turn it back on again. You can do it at the speed of need. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/03/fvl-qa-7-leaders-on-the-future-of-army-aviation

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