Thales to provide new minehunting system to U.K. Royal Navy

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  27 juillet 2018 | International, C4ISR

  The Pentagon just got one step closer to awarding its $10 billion cloud contract

  Amanda Macias The Pentagon released its final request for proposal for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, contract. The lucrative winner-take-all deal may be valued at as much as $10 billion. Amazon is considered the front-runner for the contract since the tech giant already services the cloud system used by U.S. intelligence agencies. The Defense Department took a large step forward Thursday in its march toward procuring a secure cloud software, an acquisition potentially worth up to $10 billion. After a nearly two-month delay, the Pentagon released its final request for proposal for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, contract. The long-awaited final request for proposal simply outlines what companies will have to deliver in order to get the lucrative deal. The Pentagon's cloud project will transition massive amounts of data to a commercially operated secure cloud system. The deal is a "single-source" award, meaning that only one company will win the entirety of the contract. Amazon is considered the front-runner for the contract since the tech giant already services the cloud system used by U.S. intelligence agencies. Amazon's cloud boasts the highest possible security level, while many of its competitors' clouds do not. However, other cloud providers — such as IBM, Microsoft and Oracle — have worked with government agencies for many decades. That could help their chances of winning the decade-long JEDI contract. The DoD "has an incredibly unique and complex technology estate and finite set of talent and resources," Pentagon Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy said in a statement. "We need help learning how to put in place an enterprise cloud and the JEDI Cloud is a pathfinder effort that will help Department of Defense do that." Experts think the deal could be a seismic development in the defense-tech world. "This award could be market-shaping," Andrew Hunter, director of the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in an interview. "I think industry's concern is that this will be the premier cloud contract, the flagship one, and that other parts of DoD will gravitate to it," he added. "So, I think whoever wins the contract is likely to have a real advantage in the marketplace going forward but not necessarily a decisive one." The desire to award a multibillion-dollar, two-year cloud contract was largely set into motion after Secretary of Defense James Mattis visited Silicon Valley last year. Federal defense agencies widely use Microsoft's server software, which integrates easily with the company's Azure public cloud, and among employees, Windows is the most popular operating system, Leigh Madden, Microsoft's general manager of defense, told CNBC in a prior interview. "I think it certainly should make a difference," he said. Similarly, IBM has worked alongside the military for decades. "We look forward to submitting a thoughtful, comprehensive proposal for a JEDI cloud that will serve the long-term needs of America's men and women in uniform," Sam Gordy, IBM's Federal general manager, said in a statement. In the midst of all this, President Donald Trump has attacked Amazon on Twitter, particularly as he rails against The Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, for the newspaper's coverage of his administration. A Vanity Fair report said the Trump administration might try to "cancel Amazon's pending contract" with the Pentagon, but the department maintains that there has been no political pressure from the White House on who should win the multibillion-dollar deal. U.S. Navy Commander Patrick Evans, a Department of Defense spokesperson, reiterated that the Pentagon's process is "transparent" and will remain "a full and open competition." "No companies were pre-selected. We have no favorites, and we want the best solution for the department," Evans said. Similarly, chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana White also addressed speculation Thursday that Amazon was in the lead to take the lucrative defense contract. "The secretary has been very clear that we need to be good stewards of the American people's money," White said. "So, nothing is taken for granted and nothing is presumed. We will get a full, open and transparent competition, and this is the first of many competitions with respect to the cloud." The Pentagon is scheduled to award the contract in September. — CNBC's Jordan Novet contributed to this report. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/26/pentagon-takes-step-closer-to-awarding-10-billion-cloud-contract.html

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  30 avril 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Key lawmaker says DoD shouldn’t get funding boost in next coronavirus stimulus package

  By: Joe Gould and Leo Shane III WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said Wednesday he doesn't think upcoming economic stimulus packages related to the coronavirus outbreak should include more money for defense, saying other public health needs are more pressing. “Without question, with the pandemic and the needs of national security and the Defense Department, we're going to have to spend a lot of money,” said Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., in a teleconference with reporters. “The good news is we have a lot of money. “The defense [budget] bill last year was $738 billion. I'm not saying that there aren't needs within the Department of Defense, I'm saying they have a lot of money and ought to spend that money to meet those needs.” Smith's comments come as the Pentagon is readying a request for billions in a future economic package under consideration by Congress, which has already passed nearly $3 trillion in emergency funding bills in recent weeks. Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord said last week that the Pentagon is working with the White House budget office on a package to aid defense contractors hit by closures or other effects of the coronavirus pandemic. DoD has already announced it would make $3 billion in expedited “progress payments" to increase cash flow to primary contractors and more vulnerable, smaller subcontractors. But Smith said his priority in the next stimulus bill is public health, not the defense industry. “Of all the needs that we face in this country, [my priority is not] to spend more money on basic DoD to go buy more planes or ships or boats or anything like that,” he said. In an emergency spending package approved earlier this month, lawmakers gave the Defense Department about $10.5 billion in funding for defense health programs and Tricare response to the public health threat, as well as money for National Guard deployments to help state prevention efforts. Smith has been an advocate of military personnel taking a larger role in conducting and processing coronavirus tests for the general public, saying the Defense Department's logistical expertise and infrastructure could dramatically speed that work. He said he would back more money for those efforts, but “I have not seen an argument that makes sense to me [for putting] more money into defense to manufacture things.” The Senate is scheduled to return to Washington next week, but House lawmakers have postponed any votes for the near future. No timeline has been announced for when the next stimulus package could be completed. https://www.defensenews.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/04/29/key-lawmaker-says-dod-shouldnt-get-funding-boost-in-next-coronavirus-stimulus-package/

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  12 février 2020 | International, Terrestre

  Army Seeks New JLTV Competition In 2022

  The service is already slowing production of Oshkosh's Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and now wants to find an alternative manufacturer —which could create logistical or legal headaches. Other Oshkosh programs are also ramping down. By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR. PENTAGON: As the Army moves billions into new high-tech weapons, truck-maker Oshkosh is feeling the pinch. The 2021 budget request not only decreases spending on three Oshkosh vehicles, the 10-wheel FHTV, the 6-wheel FMTV, and 4×4 JLTV: It also calls for a new competition the following fiscal year for JLTV, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle originally meant to replace the Humvee. That's especially worrying for the Wisconsin company, because JLTV is the youngest program of the three and the most important for the company's long-term future. But then-Army Secretary Mark Esper — now Secretary of Defense — has publicly criticized JLTV as overly specialized for the kind of counterinsurgency conflicts the Pentagon is no longer focused on. While the Army insists it will still buy the planned total of 49,099 trucks, eventually, it keeps slowing down the annual rate and extended the deadline to complete production, which now won't end until 2042. (That leaves the Humvee in service, at least with some units, indefinitely). Why recompete? “We do that to drive the price down,” said Deputy Assistant Army Secretary John Daniels this morning, when my colleague Jen Judson asked about the proposal. But any new competition would be two fiscal years from now and Daniels declined to give any details. The only other information about the plan is buried on page 102 of the fifth volume of the Army's newly released procurement request for 2021, which also includes projections for 2022 and beyond. Under JLTV, the “justification book” says that: “Current contract options may be exercised through 30 November 2023 assuming contractual quantity headspace is still available. Current funding indicates headspace quantity of 16,901 may be achieved in FY 2021, with competitive follow on contract award anticipated in FY 2022. A split procurement will occur between the existing Oshkosh contract and the new competitively awarded contract based on the approved acquisition strategy. The Program Office continues to gather insight from industry partners to better understand their position to ensure strong competition for the follow on contract.” In plain English, this means Oshkosh's current contract to build Joint Light Tactical Vehicles runs though fall 2023. Since production will continue for decades, the Army will have to award a new contract to buy more JLTVs for itself, the other services and allies. But when it comes time to award that follow-on contract, the service doesn't want Oshkosh to be its only option: It wants at least one competitor to drive down costs. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/02/army-seeks-new-jltv-competition-in-2022