The Air Force made a surprise decision to sole-source the Long Range Standoff Weapon. Here’s who will move forward.

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  23 janvier 2020 | International, Naval

  India makes initial bid selections for $7 billion submarine project

  By: Vivek Raghuvanshi NEW DELHI — India on Tuesday announced the selection of domestic and foreign defense companies for the construction of six diesel-electric submarines with air-independent propulsion technology as part of an effort worth more than $7 billion. The submarines will be manufactured in India under the Navy's P75I program and guided by the Ministry of Defence's Strategic Partnership model, which aims to build indigenous capabilities, a senior ministry official told Defense News. Two domestic shipyards companies — state-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited and private sector firm Larsen & Toubro — were shortlisted to collaborate with five overseas original equipment manufacturers — Rubin Design Bureau of Russia, Naval Group of France, Navantia of Spain, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems of Germany, and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering of South Korea. “The defence acquisition council approved the shortlisting of Indian strategic partners and potential original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who would collaborate to construct six conventional submarines in India,” the MoD said in a statement. An expression of interest was issued in June 2019 to four domestic companies: Mazagon; Larsen & Toubro; Reliance Naval and Engineering Limited; and a consortium of Hindustan Shipyard Limited and Adani Defence. An internal MoD committee rejected the Hindustan-Adani Defence bid because it did not meet eligibility requirements, and the ministry noted that Reliance Naval and Engineering did not meet financial requirements. A separate, restricted expression of interest was issued in July 2019 to the five foreign OEMs as well as Saab of Sweden. Saab chose not to participate in the program, citing lack of clarity. For the P75I program, the Rubin Design Bureau is offering the Amur 1650 submarine; France is offering the Scorpene 2000; Navantia has offered the S-80-class sub; TKMS offered its HDW class 214; and Daewoo is offering its KSS-III. The MoD official said submissions were accepted in September and selection done early this month. A senior Indian Navy official said the OEMs must provide full technology transfer of critical systems of the submarines such as air-independent propulsion technology, sensors, and communication and electronic warfare suites. They must also help establish a domestic supply chain for spare parts and material as well as assist in training the local labor force, the official added. The OEMs are free to set up joint ventures or equity partnerships, or make royalty arrangements with Indian prime partners and other domestic suppliers. Another MoD official said a request for proposals will be issued to two shortlisted Indian companies who will set up a technical partnership with one of the five shortlisted OEMs and submit both financial and technical bids by the end of 2020. Thereafter, the technical and financial bids will be evaluated, with final selection expected in mid-2022. The selection will be made based on the lowest price offered, he added. Under the P75I program, the submarines must be made up of 65 percent indigenous material. The MoD said any contract between an Indian strategic partner and a foreign OEM must include provisions for the protection of classified information. In addition, the shortlisted OEMs must confirm their willingness to cooperate with the selected Indian company, including life-cycle support and transfer of technology. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/01/22/india-makes-initial-bid-selections-for-7-billion-submarine-project/

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  27 février 2024 | International, Terrestre

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  2 mai 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  Shanahan: Super Hornet on track to meet readiness goals, but F-16s and F-22s still struggling

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The Super Hornet is set to meet the 80 percent mission capable rate goal by the end of the year, the Pentagon's top civilian said Wednesday, but it remains unclear whether the F-35, F-22 and F-16 will be able to meet the mark. Last fall, former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis gave the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps until the end of fiscal year 2019 to bring their F-35s, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, F-22 Raptors and F-16s up to an 80 percent mission capable rate — a key metric to determine the health of a flying squadron's aircraft. Of those, the “real emphasis was on the F-35 and F/A-18,” acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan said May 1 during a House Appropriations Committee panel, and the Super Hornet has made a “tremendous” amount of headway over the past year. “The Navy has made significant progress with the F/A-18s. I think they're on track to meet the goal in September,” he told lawmakers. However, Shanahan suggested that the F-22 and F-16 are unlikely to hit the 80 percent goal, adding that the F-22 “has struggled” and the F-16 “is a bit of a high bar” to clear. Shanahan was unclear on whether the F-35 — which is available in three different variants used by the Air Force, Marine Corp and Navy — will be able to meet the mandate this year. “The F-35s, being brand new aircraft, that [80 percent] should be the baseline where we start,” he said. “The F-35 will come home. We're going to drive that home.” The Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps didn't not provide information about the F-35's progress by press time, but the most recent statistics do not seem promising. The services have stopped publishing mission capable rate statistics last year, citing operational sensitivities, but a March report by the Government Accountability Office found that all variants of the F-35 operated at a mission capable rate of about 50 percent from a period of May to November 2018. However, Mattis' mandate specifies that only the F-35s used by operational squadrons must meet the readiness marker. Because there are only a small number of operational F-35 squadrons, and those units typically have newer and more reliable aircraft, the services may stand a better chance of getting to the 80 percent rate. Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek concurred with Shanahan's assessment of the F-16 and F-22, saying that damage from Hurricane Michael to Tyndall Air Force Base's F-22s and ongoing difficulties with maintaining the F-22's low observable coating were likely to prevent the Raptor from achieving an 80 percent mission capability rate this year. However, the service is still “optimistic” that it will be able to get its F-16s over the finish line by the end of FY19, she said. Given the low availability of tactical aircraft in recent years, it would be a massive accomplishment to get any of the fighter jets to meet the 80 percent goal. In August, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer told reporters that half of the service's Super Hornet aircraft were mission capable — a huge increase from 2017 when two-thirds of the fleet were not available to fly. In 2017, the last year the Air Force put out data, F-22s held a 49 percent mission capable rate and the F-16 hovered around 65 to 70 percent, depending on the model. Despite the services' difficulties meeting the aviation readiness goal, Shanahan maintained that pushing toward an 80 percent mission capable rate for those platforms was a worthy endeavor. “It's a lot of iron to keep on the ground, and given all the training missions and the productivity we can generate, I think holding that standard is smart for now,” he said. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/navy-league/2019/05/01/shanahan-super-hornet-on-track-to-meet-readiness-goals-but-f-16s-and-f-22s-still-struggling