16 novembre 2017 | International, Aérospatial, Terrestre
Gen. Jonathan Vance said that despite speculation, there was never a plan in the works to deploy troops on a single UN operation.
OTTAWA—Training foreign troops will be the “flagship” of Canada's newly announced peace operations strategy, says the country's top soldier, who concedes that elements of the plan still require months more work.
Prime Minster Justin Trudeau on Wednesday took the wraps off his government's long-awaited effort to reengage with United Nations peace missions.
Elements of the strategy include $15 million in funding to boost participation by women soldiers in UN operations; an initiative to end the recruitment of child soldiers; and the promise of Canadian personnel to assist with training.
It also pledges up to six helicopters, two transport aircraft and a quick reaction force of up to 200 personnel to support UN missions.
But apart from Trudeau's promise of a single transport aircraft for UN operations based in Uganda, the plan offered no details on possible deployments.
Gen. Jonathan Vance, the chief of defence staff, said it would be “inappropriate” to say when those might start.
“I'm not even going to hazard a guess on that one right now. Step number one is now to get into detailed planning with the UN and find out . . . the what, the where and the when,” he said in an interview.
This week's announcement was months in the making. The Liberals pledged in the 2015 election to “recommit” to UN peace operations, in part by providing specialized capabilities such as medical teams and engineering support. That promise was followed in August, 2016 by a commitment to deploy up to 600 troops and 150 police officers on UN operations.
Canada's contributions to UN peace missions are at their lowest levels in years with just 23 military personnel currently assigned to such operations.
That's not likely to change soon. In the wake of Wednesday's commitments, Vance made clear that it will take many months yet of planning and discussions with the United Nations to determine how Canada's offers of personnel and equipment can best fit with ongoing missions.
“Some of the ‘when' on smart pledges is years away. Some of the ‘when' on other potential operations is sooner than that,” he said.
Some observers criticized the Liberal government for not committing personnel to a single mission, choosing instead to disperse personnel among many possible locations.
But Vance said that despite speculation, there was never a plan in the works to deploy troops on a single UN operation, saying, “I've never received guidance that said do a mission with 600 (troops).”
Suggestions that troops were headed to Mali, for example, or that the announcement had been delayed “didn't match the reality of the work we were doing,” Vance said.
“There were a lot of assumptions made about, ‘hey, we're going to Africa',” Vance said
Instead, he said that Canada was working with the United Nations “to figure out a new way of doing business.” And he said repeated fact-finding trips by bureaucrats and politicians, including visits to African countries, were not about scouting any one particular mission.
“That's us doing research . . . that allowed us to arrive at an approach that government could consider,' he said.
“We've been working for over a year to determine what are the various options available to government in terms of how to improve UN performance overall with Canadian troops,” Vance said.
Yet given that Africa is the location of many UN missions so “it's very likely a place where we would offer contributions,” Vance said.
The peace support strategy calls for a new training and advisory team to work with a nation before and during a deployment to improve their own ability to conduct peace operations. It also says that Canada will contribute to training centres and schools.
Vance said such activities will be the “flagship” of the plan.
“We're going to try and leverage the Canadian expertise, one of the best trained militaries in the world and best equipped, . . . so that UN mission performance can improve,” Vance said.
Defence analyst Dave Perry said elements of the peacekeeping strategy make sense. The problem, he said, is that the government itself had raised expectations with its drawn-out decision-making and rhetoric about its intentions.
“It wasn't just what the government was saying publicly. I think there were also a number of commitments that were strongly intimated to some of Canada's key allies,” Perry said in an interview.
“My sense is that the different options that were put forward by the department of national defence for whatever reasons weren't palatable to the government,” said Perry, a senior analyst with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
While he said the contributions to UN operations were “modest,” Perry said Canada is better off providing military support to other missions, such as coalition efforts to combat Daesh, or NATO roles.
“Bluntly, there are better ways of achieving Canadian national objectives in the world that through UN missions,” Perry said.
23 février 2021 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
Two sea power advocates in Congress are making the case to grow the Navy's budget, along with the Air Force and cyber capabilities, at the expense of the other services.
15 novembre 2022 | International, C4ISR
How can we build resilient software systems out of unreliable parts?
10 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
NAVY Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $126,934,433 cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost only contract modification to previously awarded contract N00024-17-C-6259 to exercise and fund options for Navy engineering services, materials and spares. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (65%); Clearwater, Florida (32%); Syracuse, New York (2%); and Marion, Florida (1%), and is expected to be completed by December 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Navy (63%); and fiscal 2020 research development test and engineering, Navy (37%) funding in the amount of $1,400,676 will be obligated at time of award, of which $882,426 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Harper Construction Co., Inc., San Diego, California (N62473-16-D-1881); Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Irvine, California (N62473-16-D-1882); M. A. Mortenson Co. doing business as Mortenson Construction, Minneapolis, Minnesota (N62473-16-D-1883); R. A. Burch Construction Co., Inc.,* Ramona, California (N62473-16-D-1884); RQ Construction LLC, Carlsbad, California (N62473-16-D-1885); Solpac Construction, doing business as Soltek Pacific Construction Inc., San Diego, California (N62473-16-D-1886); and Straub Construction Inc., Fallbrook, California (N62473-16-D-1887), are awarded $92,000,000 to increase the aggregate capacity of the previously awarded suite of firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award construction contracts. The maximum dollar value including the base year and four option years for all seven contracts combined is increased from $332,000,000 to $424,000,000. The contracts are for new commercial and institutional building construction projects at various locations within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest area of responsibility, including but not limited to California (90%); Arizona (6%); Colorado (1%); Nevada (1%); New Mexico (1%); and Utah (1%). All work will be performed at various federal sites within the NAVFAC Southwest area of responsibility. No funds are being obligated on this award and no funds will expire. Future task orders will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy); operations and maintenance (O&M) (Navy); O&M (Marine Corps); and Navy working capital funds. The original contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 21 proposals received. The NAVFAC Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Core Services Group Inc.,* Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded a $29,000,000 commercial firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide test and evaluation support services for Commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force Aviation Warfare Division. The contract will include a 60-month base ordering period with an additional six-month ordering period option pursuant of Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.217-8. The option to extend services, if exercised, will bring the total value to $32,000,000. The base ordering period is expected to be completed by November 2025; if the option is exercised, the ordering period will be completed by May 2026. All work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,500 will be obligated to fund the contract's minimum amount and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Individual task orders will be subsequently funded with appropriate fiscal year appropriations at the time of their issuance. This contract was competitively procured with the solicitation posted on beta.sam.gov as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business set-aside using commercial items procedures, with four offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center, Norfolk, Contracting Department, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00189-20-D-0020). Science Application International Corp., Reston, Virginia, is awarded a $17,816,869 single-award, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide advanced technical training of shipboard communication and network systems in support of the Water Front Training Delivery Program for the Center for Information Warfare Training, Pensacola, Florida. The contract will include a five-year base ordering period with no options. Work will be performed in Pensacola, Florida (52%); San Diego, California (22%); Virginia Beach, Virginia (19%); and Groton, Connecticut (7%). Work is expected to be completed by September 2025. Fiscal 2021 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $100,000 will be obligated to fund the contract's minimum amount and funds will expire at the end of the fiscal year. Individual task orders will be subsequently funded with appropriate fiscal year appropriations at the time of their issuance. This contract resulted from a full and open competitive solicitation through the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center, Norfolk, Contracting Department, Philadelphia Office, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00189-20-D-Z032). Bell Textron Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded an $8,941,785 firm-fixed-price modification (P00018) to previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm-target contract N00019-17-C-0030. This modification increases the total contract value to produce, deliver, install and integrate, in country, a fully assembled AH-1Z flight training device for the government of Bahrain. Work will be performed in Broken Bow, Oklahoma (50%); Fort Worth, Texas (30%); and St. Louis, Missouri (20%), and is expected to be completed in May 2022. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $8,941,785 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Life Cycle Engineering Inc., North Charleston, South Carolina, is awarded an $8,364,504 firm fixed price modification to task order N32253-19-F-3000 against previously issued SeaPort-e multiple award contract N00178-07-D-4077. This modification exercises Option Period One for the accomplishment of the technical, engineering, management, programmatic and education support services at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. Work will be performed in Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by September 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $8,364,504 will be obligated at time of modification award and expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity. Sabre Systems, Inc.,* Warrington, Pennsylvania, is awarded an $8,174,314 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N68335-20-F-0212) against previously issued basic ordering agreement N68335-16-G-0022. This order provides support for the rapid research, development, maturation, procurement, integration, training and sustainment of cyber resilient and full spectrum cyber warfighting capabilities for the Digital Analytics, Infrastructure and Technology Advancement Group. These solutions support various systems within the Naval Air Systems Command portfolio throughout all phases of acquisition, operational field demonstrations, prototyping, experiments, operational assessments, extended user evaluations and fleet/force deployments. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in September 2025. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Defense wide) funds in the amount of $667,721; and fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $52,000 will be obligated at time of award, $52,000 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Raytheon Missiles Systems, Tucson, Arizona, has been awarded a ceiling $125,000,000 four-year, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (FA8675-20-D-0002) for the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) system improvement program. This contract provides for delivery of software updates to the AMRAAM inventory. Software development activities are expected to use a recognized agile framework consisting of government/Prime collaboration through repeatable increments of study, development, integration, test and capability demonstration. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2026. An initial task order (FA8675-20-F-1026) will be awarded concurrently with the basic contract, for a total cost-plus-fixed-fee face value of $1,192,809. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $678,402 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity. FPM Remediations Inc., Oneida, New York, has been awarded a ceiling $60,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for base realignment and closure (BRAC) environmental construction optimization services to support the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) Installations Directorate (CIB). These performance-based remediation efforts support the AFCEC BRAC mission and enhance BRAC program capabilities within AFCEC/CIB. The requirements support a variety of environmental restoration services and construction necessary to maintain regulatory selected remedies, implement optimization to enhance remedial progress and advance sites to completion in a cost-effective manner. The efforts will be executed in accordance with technical and regulatory requirements to ensure protection of human health and the environment. Work will be performed at the following deactivated Air Force bases: Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas; Brooks AFB, Texas; Carswell AFB, Texas; Eaker AFB, Arkansas; England AFB, Louisiana; Kelly AFB, Texas; Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina; Reese AFB, Texas; Buckley Annex, Colorado; and Lowry AFB, Colorado. Work is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2030. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and four offers were received. Fiscal 2020 BRAC funds in the amount of $2,466,636 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Installation Contracting Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA8903-20-D-0003). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Valneva USA Inc.,* Gaithersburg, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $60,601,800 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Japanese Encephalitis vaccines. This is a one-year base contract with two one-year option periods. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. Locations of performance are Maryland and United Kingdom, with a Sept. 8, 2021, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DP-20-D-0005). Vinyl Technology, Monrovia, California, has been awarded a maximum $10,996,200 modification (P00011) exercising the first one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-19-D-1188) with three one-year option periods for Advanced Technology Anti-G Suits. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is California, with a Sept.16, 2021, ordering period end date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ARMY Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio, was awarded a $49,525,698 modification (P00006) to contract W9132V-19-F-0005 for geospatial research, development, technology and evaluation of current and emerging geospatial technologies that will help characterize and measure phenomena within the physical and social environments encountered by the Army. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 28, 2023. Fiscal 2020 revolving funds in the amount of $1,038,309 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi, is the contracting activity. Moog Inc., Elma, New York, was awarded a $46,659,837 firm-fixed-price contract to overhaul and upgrade cylinder assembly actuators for UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 9, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-20-D-0032). Lockheed Martin, Orlando, Florida, was awarded a $22,335,977 modification (P00035) to contract W31P4Q-19-C-0071 for engineering services in support of the Hellfire and Joint-Air-to-Ground missiles. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 2, 2022. Fiscal 2018 and 2020 missile procurement (Air Force) funds; 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds; 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds; and 2018 and 2020 missile procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $22,335,97 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Optimal GEO Inc.,* Athens, Georgia (W912P9-20-D-0027); and Surdex Corp., Chesterfield, Missouri (W912P9-20-D-0026), will compete for each order of the $16,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for photogrammetric and lidar surveying and mapping. Bids were solicited via the internet with 38 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 3, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis, Missouri, is the contracting activity. David Boland Inc.,* Titusville, Florida, was awarded a $15,472,000 firm-fixed-price contract for renovation of Building 546 at Missile Command Headquarters. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 25, 2023. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $15,472,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-20-C-0036). Speegle Construction,* Niceville, Florida, was awarded a $13,214,700 firm-fixed-price contract to construct a two-story, 39,500 square-foot facility with reinforced concrete foundation and floor slab, steel structure, masonry walls, metal roof, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, fire detection and protection and mass notification system. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work will be performed at Hurlburt Field, Florida, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 16, 2022. Fiscal 2024 military construction (Defense-wide) funds in the amount of $13,214,700 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W91278-20-C-0028). BAE Systems Land & Armaments L.P., San Jose, California, was awarded a $10,457,946 modification (P00143) to contract W56HZV-15-C-0099 for Bradley Fighting Vehicle current fleet sustainment logistics management. Work will be performed in San Jose, California, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 9, 2022. Fiscal 2018 procurement (Defense-wide) funds in the amount of $10,457,946 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity. Limno-Tech Inc.,* Ann Arbor, Michigan, was awarded a $9,900,000 fixed-price-level-of-effort contract for research and development services for water quality and contaminant modeling. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 8, 2025. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi, is the contracting activity (W912HZ-20-D-0004). Accenture Federal Services, Arlington, Virginia, was awarded an $8,293,896 modification (P00001) to contract W52P1J-20-C-0005 for unified enterprise resource planning capability support services. Work will be performed at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 8, 2026. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $8,293,896 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. CORRECTION: The contract announced on Sept. 8, 2020, for Amentum Services Inc., Germantown, Maryland (W56HZV-20-F-0396), for $29,034,547, was announced with an incorrect award date. The correct award date is Sept. 9, 2020. *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2341844/source/GovDelivery/