16 août 2022 | International, C4ISR

Torch.AI wins Pentagon 'insider threat' cybersecurity contract

The Pentagon will use the software as part of its System for Insider Threat Hindrance, or '€œSITH,'€ in another apparent military reference to Star Wars.

https://www.defensenews.com/cyber/2022/08/15/torchai-wins-pentagon-insider-threat-cybersecurity-contract/

Sur le même sujet

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - December 11, 2020

    17 décembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - December 11, 2020

    AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, has been awarded a ceiling $900,000,000 firm-fixed-price, time-and-materials, over-and-above, cost-reimbursement contract to stand up a continental U.S.-based contractor facility to perform depot-level maintenance and aircraft modification services in support of the F-16 aircraft. Support will include all aircraft modifications, unplanned drop-in maintenance, time compliance technical orders, scheduled inspections and contract field team support. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and four offers were received. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $1,402,952 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8232-21-D-0005). General Atomics Inc., Poway, California, has been awarded a $305,188,639 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Reaper (MQ-9) contractor logistics support. This contract provides for program management, contractor filed service representative support, depot repair, depot maintenance, sustaining engineering support, supply and logistics support, configuration management, tech data maintenance, software maintenance and inventory control point/warehouse support for the MQ- 9. Work will be performed in Poway, California, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2022. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $65,406,872 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8577-21-C-0001). Raytheon Co., Marlborough, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $29,224,207 modification (P00097) to contract FA8705-14-C-0001 for production of initial spares under already established contract line item numbers 0007, 0008, and 0009 for Global Aircrew Strategic Network Terminal. Work will be performed in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by July 31, 2023. Fiscal 2019 other procurement funds in the amount of $4,108,105; and fiscal 2020 other procurement funds in the amount of $25,116,102, are being obligated at time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $588,307,659. The Air Force Material Command, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity. GRP Paving and Construction, Tewskbury, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $25,862,782 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide repair/replacement of roadways, curbing and sidewalks. This will include the required demolition and earthwork at various locations throughout Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts; Sagamore Hill Electronics Research Annex, Hamilton, Massachusetts; Fourth Cliff Recreation Annex, Humarock Massachusetts; Cape Cod Air Force Station, Sagamore, Massachusetts; Patriot Golf Course, Bedford Massachusetts; and New Boston Air Force Station, New Boston, New Hampshire. Work is expected to be completed by December 2025. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $2,500 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA2835-21-D-0002). The Boeing Co., Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been awarded a $9,156,355 modification (P00005) to contract FA8823-20-C-0001 to exercise an option for systems engineering and sustainment support for the Wideband Global Satellite Communications constellation. Work will primarily be performed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and this option is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity. NAVY The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $109,155,844 firm-fixed-price order (N61340-21-F-0002) against previously issued basic ordering agreement N00019-19-G-0002 to procure P-8A training systems for the government of New Zealand. This order procures one Operational Flight Trainer (OFT) with one OFT Brief/Debrief Station (BDS); one Weapons Tactics Trainers (WTTs) with one WTT BDS; one 10-seat flight management systems trainer electronic classroom; one 10-seat mission systems desktop trainer electronic classroom; one training system support center; one scenario generation station; one virtual maintenance trainer; one maintenance support cabinet; and one 10-seat maintenance electronic classroom. Additionally, this order provides for software, books and other publications, contracts, logistics, engineering and management technical assistance required for the development, production, test and in-country delivery, installation and inspection of the training systems. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri (36%); Tampa, Florida (23%); Long Island, New York (12%); Ohakea, New Zealand (10%); San Francisco, California (8%); Huntington Beach, California (5%); Seattle, Washington (3%); and Jacksonville, Florida (3%), and is expected to be completed in January 2024. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $109,155,844 will be obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity. Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc., Monroeville, Pennsylvania, is awarded a $104,518,407 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-19-C-2112 for Naval Nuclear Propulsion Components. Work will be performed in Monroeville, Pennsylvania (99%); and Schenectady, New York (1%). Fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $47,478,413 (46%); 2020 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $45,375,262 (43%); and 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $11,664,732 (11%), 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, D.C., is the contracting activity. Raytheon Missiles and Defense, Marlborough, Massachusetts, is awarded a $82,710,850 cost-plus-fixed fee and cost only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-19-C-5501 to exercise the options for Air and Missile Defense Radar AN/SPY-6(V) integration and production support efforts. Work will be performed in Marlborough, Massachusetts (64%); Kauai, Hawaii (18%); Portsmouth, Rhode Island (8%); Moorestown, New Jersey (7%); Fair Lakes, Virginia (2%); and San Diego, California (less than 1%), and is expected to be completed by December 2021. Fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $17,309,691 (47%); 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,846,577 (24%); 2021 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $5,620,778 (15%); 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,412,405 (9%); 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,587,256 (4%); and 2016 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $50,000 (1%), 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, D.C., is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $68,162,655 modification (P00023) to cost-plus-incentive-fee order N00019-19-F-2474 against previously issued basic ordering agreement N00019-14-G-0020. This modification adds scope to procure additional Technical Refresh 3 (TR3) test assets to allow for test laboratory upgrades and for test aircraft modifications. This modification will result in the procurement and delivery of TR3 system laboratory and flight test assets for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and non-Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Work will be performed in Melbourne, Florida (98%); and Fort Worth, Texas (2%), and is expected to be completed in March 2023. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force) funds in the amount of $21,000,000; fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,000,000; and non-DOD participant funds in the amount of $881,107 will be obligated at time of award, $21,000,000 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. MHI Ship Repair and Services – Norfolk (MHI), Norfolk, Virginia, was awarded a $57,134,922 firm-fixed-price contract for the execution of the USS Oak Hill (LSD 51) fiscal 2021 selected restricted availability (SRA). This availability will include a combination of maintenance, modernization and repair of the USS Oak Hill (LSD 51). This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $71,850,462. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by July 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy); and fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $57,134,922 will be obligated at time of award, and funding in the amount of $51,832,242 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. In an effort to stabilize the industrial base for maintenance, a sole-source justification has been made in the industrial mobilization justification and approval, in accordance with the requirements of 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(3). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-21-C-4408). (Awarded Dec. 9, 2020) The Lockheed Martin Corp., Rotary and Mission Systems, Mitchell Field, New York, is awarded a $43,591,084 cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification (P00011) to previously awarded and announced contract N00030-20-C-0045 for the U.S. and United Kingdom (U.K.) to provide Strategic Weapon System Trident Fleet support, Trident II SSP Shipboard Integration (SSI) Increment 8, SSI Increment 16, Columbia class and U.K. Dreadnought class Navigation Subsystem development efforts. Work will be performed in Mitchell Field, New York (47%); Huntington Beach, California (36%); Clearwater, Florida (9%); Cambridge, Massachusetts (6%); and Hingham, Massachusetts (2%), with an expected completion date of Nov. 30, 2023. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $81,400 will be obligated; and shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $43,509,684 will be obligated. No funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was a sole-source acquisition in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) and (4). The Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Manu Kai LLC,* Honolulu, Hawaii, is awarded $37,000,000 for a bridge contract (N00604-21-D-4009) as a bridge action for previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00604-09-D-0001 with both cost-plus-award-fee and fixed-price-award fee line items for range operations support and base operations support services. This contract includes one three-month performance period with no option periods. Work will be performed at the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Island of Kauai, Hawaii. Work begins January 2021, and is expected to be completed by March 2021. Subject to the availability of funds, fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds (Navy) in the amount of $1,700,000 will be obligated at the time of award to fund the contract's minimum amount, and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was a sole-source pursuant to the authority set forth in 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1). The requirement was posted to the Navy Electronic Commerce Online and the beta.SAM.gov websites as a 100% 8(a) set-aside requirement, with one offer received. The Naval Supply Systems Command, Fleet Logistics Center, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $36,547,389 modification (P00037) to previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract N00019-18-C-1048. This modification adds scope to provide additional intermediate level maintenance capabilities in support of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for the Navy and the Marine Corps. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida (30.8%); Cedar Rapids, Iowa (30.1%); El Segundo, California (25.5%); Fort Worth, Texas (9.1%); Grand Rapids, Michigan (2.6%); and Endicott, New York (1.9%), and is expected to be completed in October 2023. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $36,547,389, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. M.C. Dean Inc., Tysons, Virginia (N66001-21-D-0030); Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia (N66001-21-D-0031); Serco Inc., Herndon, Virginia (N66001-21-D-0032); Systems Engineering Support Co., San Diego, California (N66001-21-D-0033); and VT Milcom Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (N66001-21-D-0034), are each awarded an $18,925,685 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee, multiple-award contract to provide production management, integration and fabrication and system and component procurement for network integration engineering facility production services. Technical services include basic research, end-to-end system design, prototype development, systems engineering, integration, deployment and life cycle support of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems. This one-year contract includes four one-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to an estimated $116,019,918. All work will be performed in San Diego, California. The period of performance of the base award is from Dec. 11, 2020, through Dec. 10, 2021. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through Dec. 10, 2025. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Fiscal 2021 funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using operation and maintenance (Navy); Department of Defense working capital funds; other procurement (Navy); research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); and shipbuilding and conversion (Navy). This contract was competitively procured via a request for proposal (N66001-20-R-0030) published on the beta.SAM.gov website. Six offers were received and five selected for award. The Naval Information Warfare Center, Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. L3 Harris Technologies Inc., Anaheim, California, is awarded a $13,999,957 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification (P00036) for new procurement options under previously awarded and announced contract N00030-18-C-0001. The work will provide services and support for flight test instrumentation (FTI) systems. Work will be performed in Anaheim, California (55%); Cape Canaveral, Florida (28%); Washington, D.C. (6%); Bremerton, Washington (3%); Kings Bay, Georgia (3%); Barrow-in-Furness, United Kingdom (3%); Laurel, Maryland (1%); and Silverdale, Washington (1%), with an expected completion date of Sept. 1, 2023. Fiscal 2021 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,694,024; fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,647,388; and fiscal 2021 United Kingdom funds in the amount of $1,025,720, are being obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract modification is awarded to the contractor on a sole-source basis under 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) and was previously synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (now beta.SAM.gov) website. The Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Scientific Research Corp., Atlanta, Georgia, is awarded a $12,129,112 modification (P00007) to previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price contract N00039-18-D-0006. The modification will allow for the completion of C4I system of systems testing, integration and installation services being performed onboard USS George Washington (CVN 73) under task order N00039-19-F-0017. The ceiling increase will allow for the completion of services onboard CVN 73 during its Chief of Naval Operations-directed refueling and complex overhaul maintenance availability currently ongoing. This action does not extend either the ordering period of contract N00039-18-D-0006 or the current period of performance of the CVN 73 task order N00039-19-F-0017. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia (90%); and Charleston, South Carolina (10%). The current period of performance for the order remains unchanged ending in September 2022. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) in the amount of $6,000,000 will be obligated at time of award of this modification and funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This sole-source modification was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) - only one responsible source (Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 6.302-1). The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. ARMY Manhattan Construction Co., Arlington, Virginia, was awarded an $87,562,320 firm-fixed-price contract for the design-bid-build construction of a 281,075 square-foot operations center building. Bids were solicited via the internet with eight received. Work will be performed in Richmond, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 21, 2023. Fiscal 2020 military construction (defense-wide) funds in the amount of $87,562,320 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W91236-21-C-2019). Mission Essential LLC, New Albany, Ohio, was awarded a $15,669,134 modification (P00004) to contract W50NH9-20-C-0008 for linguist services in support of U.S. Africa Command. Work will be performed in New Albany, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 14, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $1,470,000 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity. Textron Aviation Inc., Wichita, Kansas, was awarded an $11,396,670 firm-fixed-price contract for a King Air 250 aircraft. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Wichita, Kansas, with an estimated completion date of June 13, 2022. Fiscal 2021 Foreign Military Sales (Panama) funds in the amount of $11,396,670 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-21-C-0004). SRCTec LLC, Syracuse, New York, was awarded a $9,222,754 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract for procurement of hardware and services to address the system sustainment needs for the Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare Duke Family of Systems. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Syracuse, New York, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 10, 2021. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $9,222,754 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W56KGY-21-F-0013). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Gexa Energy LP, Houston, Texas (SPE604-21-D-8008, $41,038,553); and TXU Energy Retail Co., Irving, Texas (SPE604-21-D-8010, $14,444,141), have each been awarded a firm-fixed-price, requirements contract under solicitation SPE604-20-R-0409 to supply and deliver retail electricity and ancillary/incidental services. These were competitive acquisitions with six responses received. These are three-year contracts with no option periods. Location of performance is Texas, with a Jan. 31, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Air Force, Navy, Navy Reserves, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Air National Guard, and Department of Agriculture. Using customers are solely responsible to fund this contract and vary in appropriation type and fiscal year. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. DEFENSE COUNTERINTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY AGENCY iWorks Corp., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $16,686,139 firm-fixed-price contract (HS0021-21-C-0002) for the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). The contract provides for seamlessly vetting personnel for access, preserving the adjudicative decision and identifying and mitigating insider threat risk. Work will be performed in and around Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. This contract will be funded with fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds. The anticipated period of performance includes one 12-month base period and four 12-month option periods. The estimated lifecycle award value is $86,835,820. This requirement was synopsized on the government-wide point of entry website as a single-award, small business set-aside on Nov. 20, 2018. As a result, all small businesses were solicited and four offers were received. DCSA Acquisition and Contracting, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2444963/source/GovDelivery/

  • Three Generations Of Fighters Compete For Limited Resources

    10 décembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    Three Generations Of Fighters Compete For Limited Resources

    Steve Trimble December 10, 2020 Fateful decisions loom in the next 12 months for a global fighter market caught up in a pivotal debate over how much to invest in each of three generations of aircraft designs now in production or development. As next-generation fighters continue to take shape on industry drawing boards—and in one case, a secret flying demonstrator—a final decision in 2021 over whether to buy another batch of aircraft with a Cold War legacy or Lockheed Martin's 20-year-old-design F-35A stealth fighter confronts Canada, Finland, Israel, Switzerland and, perhaps most surprisingly, the U.S. Internal U.S. Air Force fighter road map capped the F-35 at 1,050 Canada, Finland and Switzerland contract awards expected in 2021 With 13 purpose-built fighter types now in production globally for export customers (excluding about half as many modified training jets), military buyers are spoiled with competitive options and motivated sellers. But a series of contract awards planned for the next 12 months could induce a long-awaited reckoning, especially among production lines for fighters produced in Europe and the U.S. Multiple decisions in favor of so-called fifth-generation capabilities could nearly complete the F-35's dominance over European and American fighter demand for the next decade. Alternatively, if the balance of new contracts falls to fourth-generation rivals, the F-35 is likely to continue to face intense competition from the same aircraft it was designed to replace. For now, pressure from F-35 competitors is surging, including from within the type's biggest customer. The U.S. Air Force's program of record for the F-35A stands at 1,763 total aircraft, a figure that has not budged in nearly two decades, despite changes to the assumptions that determined the original number. The pressure on the Air Force's orderbook for F-35As has been building for at least six years. Speaking on condition of anonymity in November 2014, a senior Air Force official said the service internally was considering a purchase of 72 new Boeing F-15s, Lockheed Martin F-16s or even the Navy's Boeing F/A-18E/Fs. Hindsight suggests the disclosure may have been intended as a negotiating ploy with Lockheed over F-35 prices, but the idea clearly never died. Indeed, the Air Force signed an order in July 2020 for the first eight of “at least” 144 Boeing F-15EXs, replacing an aging fleet of F-15C/Ds. By 2018, those F-15C/Ds already had outlived their original service-life estimates as victims of the Defense Department's decision in 2010 to truncate production of the Lockheed F-22 after 185 deliveries. With only a longeron replacement necessary to maintain structural integrity, the Air Force still was planning to keep the F-15 C/D fleet in service for at least another decade until a next-generation fighter became available. But then the Air Force discovered another major structural flaw: The entire fleet required new wing skins to remain airworthy. Rather than invest in a major structural refit, the Air Force announced plans in 2019 to retire the fleet. But the manner of the F-15C/D replacement plan came as a shock. Breaking from a two-decade-old strategy to buy only stealthy fighters, the Air Force decided to bypass the F-35A and order F-15EXs instead. With cockpit, flight-control and wing upgrades mostly funded by Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the Air Force developed a new, long-term role for a fourth-generation fighter. Such a role already had been envisioned behind closed doors by a new organization on the Air Staff. Created in January 2018 as an internal think tank, the Air Force Warfighting Integrating Capability (AFWIC) office had torn up the long-standing assumption that only stealthy fighters could perform a useful role. By the end of 2018, the AFWIC's team of analysts had adopted a new fighter road map, according to a source. The road map envisioned a “great power” war. The principal role for each F-35A was to launch two stealthy cruise missiles—Lockheed AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM)—from just inside defended airspace. That “kick-down-the-door” pairing would be combined with mass launches of multiple JASSMs each from F-15Es and F-15EXs, the source said. Other missions—namely, defensive counter-air and homeland defense—could be performed by the F-35. But other aircraft such as F-15EXs and F-16s also could be used. Driven by this new appreciation for a portfolio of fighter capabilities, the AFWIC team also reconsidered how many of each type would be needed. No fighter program escaped scrutiny, including the long-standing Air Force commitment to acquire 1,763 F-35As. AFWIC's fighter road map by the end of 2018 had capped F-35A deliveries at about 1,050 jets, the source said. Although that cap implies a 40% cut to the original plan for the F-35A, no change to the program of record was necessary, the source said. The Air Force has ordered 451 F-35As so far, according to the Aviation Week Network Military Fleet database. If new aircraft orders are maintained at a rate of 2-2.5 squadrons a year—48-60 jets—for the foreseeable future, the Air Force is at least 10 years away from hitting the 1,050 cap in AFWIC's fighter road map. In the meantime, the Air Force faces other decisions about whether to invest in more fourth-generation fighters, F-35As or next-generation aircraft. The Air Force still operates 232 Block 25 and Block 30 F-16C/D jets, which were delivered in the mid-1980s, according to the Military Fleet database. Air Force officials have said they expect to make a fleet replacement decision for these so-called “pre-block” F-16s in 4-7 years. When the Air Force established the program of record for buying 1,763 F-35As, the plan assumed replacing all of those pre-block F-16s. As a replacement decision enters the Pentagon's five-year budgeting horizon, however, Air Force officials have been more flexible. Last February, the head of Air Combat Command, who was then Gen. Mike Holmes, said low-cost, attritable aircraft would be considered for the pre-block F-16 replacement in the 2024-27 time frame. The fighter road map completed by AFWIC in 2018 considered the F-16 Block 70/72 and a potential fighter version of the Boeing T-7 as candidates for light-fighter sales to foreign militaries, the source said. “The trade space in the fighter road map is real, and the trade space is a combination of payload, range, speed and survivability,” the source said. “And I don't need all of one thing. I need a portfolio of things.” Over the past decade, the same debate has raged within the air forces of other countries, particularly for those that cannot afford to operate more than one type of fighter. The F-35 has fared well in those decisions. Among countries that have been offered the F-35, only Germany has rejected the stealth-fighter option so far. That record will be put to the test next year against a backdrop of national economic pressures imposed by the costs of the COVID-19 pandemic. Switzerland, Finland and Canada are evaluating proposals. A year-long political crisis in Israel delayed plans to order either F-15EXs or more F-35As, or both. A resolution to the country's presidential election was not reached until after the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Israel, to consume the attention of decision-makers. In other countries with a fighter aircraft-design capability, the debate over spending on tactical aviation includes a third dimension. Following several years of study and analysis, the next generation of designs is beginning to assume a tangible form. This is especially true in the U.S. defense industry. In a startling, mid-September announcement, Will Roper—assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics—declared the service had developed, built and flown a flight demonstrator for the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. Roper's announcement was light on details, including the time frame of the flight, details of the aircraft design and the status of the program now. But the concept of the need for an NGAD flight demonstrator was suggested in September 2019 by Gen. David Goldfein, who was then chief of staff of the Air Force. Several months before, the Air Force released a five-year budget plan that included a $6.6 billion funding cut for the NGAD program, a roughly 50% reduction compared to spending levels over the same period from only a year before. The spending cut made it unclear what had become of a notional concept popularized in 2015 and 2016 by U.S. defense contractors of a “sixth-generation fighter,” featuring a supersonic aircraft design lacking vertical tails and carrying advanced weapons such as an embedded high-energy laser for shooting down incoming missiles. Instead, the Air Force's leaner spending plan for the NGAD in 2019 supported a different concept for a next-generation fighter. Rather than a standalone aircraft that could, much like the F-35 and F-22 design requirement, prosecute a mission by itself with a diverse array of sensors to detect and identify targets in the air or on the ground in any weather, along with all of the munitions necessary to destroy those targets, the Air Force increasingly has emphasized adopting a family of systems to “close the kill chain.” The sensing and munition capabilities would be distributed among multiple aircraft that often must collaborate to complete a mission. At the same time, the Air Force is investing in several new technologies related to air dominance. A Next-Generation Adaptive Propulsion program aims to deliver an advanced new turbofan engine in fiscal 2025, with GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney developing rival designs. A new family of unmanned aircraft systems designed to augment or operate independently of crewed fighters is being developed under the Air Force Research Laboratory's Skyborg program. In his remarks in September 2019, Goldfein said the NGAD program now is focused on maturing five different technologies that the Air Force does not intend will come together on a single platform. A prototype aircraft, he said, was necessary to demonstrate those technologies in flight. In Europe, progress is being made toward a next-generation fighter. By August 2021, France, Germany and Spain expect to conclude Phase 1A of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) demonstrator program, with the goal of defining a wide range of technologies that will be carried into a flight demonstration scheduled to begin under Phase 1B at the end of 2026. A collaboration among the UK, Sweden and Italy under the Team Tempest consortium will enter 2021 with renewed support. A long-awaited defense review in London finally was published in November showing support for the Future Combat Air System Technology Initiative under a £1.5 billion ($2 billion) fund for military research over the next four years. Tens of billions more will be needed to complete development of the NGAD, FCAS and Tempest over the next two decades, even as Western governments continue to split modernization investments among three fourth-generation fighters—the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter and Saab JAS 39E/F Gripen—and the F-35. Maintaining the right balance of spending in each category will consume the debate over fighter aircraft decisions on the horizon. https://aviationweek.com/aerospace-defense-2021/defense-space/three-generations-fighters-compete-limited-resources

  • NATO's latest moves could bottle up much of Russia's naval power | CBC News

    20 juillet 2023 | International, Aérospatial, Naval

    NATO's latest moves could bottle up much of Russia's naval power | CBC News

    The NATO summit in Vilnius saw the alliance make some moves that have put Russia's Baltic and Black Sea fleets at risk of being confined to port — or even of being forced to abandon their home port.

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