30 octobre 2018 | International, Naval, C4ISR
By: Andrew Chuter
LONDON — Britain's Ministry of Defence has been given a £1 billion (U.S. $1.28 billion) spending boost in the Treasury budget announcement Oct. 29, with Chancellor Philip Hammond suggesting the money would be mainly spent on three strategic military programs.
Hammond said the additional money would be available in the coming months. Cyber, anti-submarine warfare and the Dreadnought nuclear submarine build program all got named as destinations for the extra cash.
“As a former defense secretary myself I understand the immediate pressure our armed forces are facing, so today I will provide £1 billion to cover the remainder of this year and next to boost our cyber, and anti-submarine warfare capacity and to maintain the pace of the Dreadnought program,” Hammond told Parliament.
The increase caught many by surprise. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has been battling with Hammond for months for extra cash, but a massive funding commitment to the National Health Service made new funds toward security seem unlikely.
Jon Louth, the director for defence, industry and society at the Royal United Services Institute think-tank in London said the additional funding was good news, but fell well short of what is required.
“It's welcome, but comes nowhere near addressing the potential funding gap if you add up all the programs in the equipment plan. It does appear to be a significant increase in percentage terms, although the devil will be in the detail,” he said.
The RUSI analyst said the outcome was “better than we expected a few months ago. Politically people will be chalking that up as a win for Williamson in the context of the wider government budget. One billion pounds is a win,” he said.
Louth cautioned against getting too hung up on the chancellor's announcement about where the extra cash will be spent.
“I suspect when we come to see how the money is used next year it will potentially be a little different from the chancellor's headlines today,” he said.
Defense consultant Alex Ashbourne Walmsley of Ashbourne Strategic Consulting said the new money was a “sticking plaster, but it will buy the MoD a bit more time to work out how to do more with less.”
Earlier this year the MoD received a total of £800 million in funds to keep the program to build four Trident missile equipped Dreadnought nuclear submarines on track.
Some £600 million of that cash came from a £10 billion contingency fund set aside by the government for the Dreadnought program.
Ashbourne-Walmsley described the Dreadnought program as a “money pit.”
The MoD is trying to bridge a funding gap in its £179 billion 10-year equipment plan.
The black hole is put at anywhere between £4 billion and £20 billion by the National Audit Office, the government's financial watchdog. The final figure is dependent, in part, on how effective an ongoing efficiency drive is at the MoD.
The MoD budget for this year is £36.6 billion with 15.6 percent of that spent on equipment procurement and 18.7 percent on support.
The Conservative government is committed to increasing equipment spending in real terms by 0.5 percent a year until 2020.
A long running review, known as the Defence Modernisation Program, has been looking at how British armed forces can adapt and transform to meet the changing and growing military threat, while at the same time balancing the books — an effort that could require capability cuts in several areas.
Publication of that report has already been kicked down the road a couple of times. Although Williamson may announce something before the end of the year, analysts and industry executives expect little of substance ahead of a comprehensive spending review due to take place across all government departments next year.
Hammond appeared to say as much today when he told Parliamentarians the modernisation review will “form the basis for a comprehensive consideration of defense spending next year.”
“The Modernizing Defence Program is increasingly tied into the comprehensive spending review and the 10-year equipment plan in 2019. We might get a whitepaper in late winter or early spring to set up some of the themes but the details won't be out until beyond April,” said Louth.
Some industry executives though are starting to wonder if the modernization program could be published even by April. One executive who asked not to be named, said he wondered whether the comprehensive spending plan might be the trigger for a full blown strategic defense review, particularly if Brexit goes badly and the economy takes a big hit.
16 mars 2024 | International, Terrestre
In September, Anduril Industries executed the first end-to-end live fire test for ALTIUS-700M at Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah, and demonstrated flawless system performance with direct hits across six missions.
23 novembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
NAVY Stratascor LLC, Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded a $210,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, fixed-price contract for command, control, communications, and computer system afloat operations and sustainment support for capabilities aboard the Military Sealift Command (MSC) fleet of ships, and the MSC network operations centers. This contract includes a five-year ordering period. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and is scheduled to commence Jan. 1, 2018, and is expected to be completed Dec. 31, 2023. Navy working capital funds and U.S. Transportation Command working capital funds in the amount of $500,000 will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured, with proposals solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with five offers received. The Navy's Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220519D1000). Thales Defense and Security Inc., Clarksburg, Maryland, is awarded a not-to-exceed $13,999,410 for undefinitized contract action delivery order N00383-19-F-AQ00 under previously awarded basic ordering agreement N00383-17-G-AQ01 for repair of 58 dome sonars in support of the H-60 airborne low frequency sonar system. Work will be performed in Clarksburg, Maryland (50 percent); and Brest, France (50 percent). Work is expected to be completed by November 2020. Working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $10,499,557 will be obligated at the time of award and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One firm was solicited for this non-competitive requirement under authority 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), with one offer received. Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. PAE Applied Technologies LLC, Arlington, Virginia, is awarded a $12,473,525 cost modification to previously-awarded contract N66604-05-C-1277 for Hurricane Matthew repairs to the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC). AUTEC is the Navy's large-area, deep-water, undersea test and evaluation range. Underwater research, testing and evaluation of anti-submarine weapons, sonar tracking and communications are the predominant activities conducted at AUTEC. This modification increases the total value of the contract to $800,549,247. Work will be performed on Andros Island, Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and is expected to be completed by September 2019. No funding will be obligated at time of award, as work has been incrementally funded with fiscal 2017 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funding. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, is the contracting activity. Offshore Service Vessels LLC, Cut Off, Louisiana, is awarded a $10,493,750 firm-fixed-price contract with reimbursable elements for the West Coast Naval Special Warfare submarine support vessel MV Alyssa Chouest. This vessel will be utilized to launch and recover submersibles, divers and small craft. This contract includes a 12-month base period, three 12-month option periods, and one 11-month option period. If all options are exercised this would bring the cumulative value of the contract to $54,238,356. Work will be performed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and at sea, and is expected to be completed July 9, 2020. If all options are exercised, work will continue through June 8, 2024. Fiscal 2019 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $2,415,000 will be obligated at the time of award, and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with 50 plus proposals solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with six offers received. The Navy's Military Sealift Command Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220519C3518). URS Group Inc., Morrisville, North Carolina, is awarded a $10,010,000 modification on a firm-fixed-price task order under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62470-13-D-6022) for phase one of Hurricane Michael repairs for stabilization and repairs to multiple buildings at Naval Support Activity Panama City. The work to be performed provides for removal of carpet, walls, windows and other unsalvageable items due to water penetration, clean-up of roofing materials and tarping of rooftops to mitigate further water intrusion. Repairs include roof replacement, roof decking, and sealing roof penetrations. The repairs also include correction of architectural, structural, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, fire protection, electrical deficiencies and any other incidental related work as found due to the hurricane. After award of this modification, the total task order value will be $21,510,000. Work will be performed in Panama City, Florida, and is expected to be completed by September 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $10,010,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Noble Supply and Logistics, Rockland, Massachusetts, has been awarded a maximum $75,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, 192-day bridge contract for maintenance, repair, and operations support in the Central Command Area of Responsibility. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification using 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. Locations of performance are Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, with a June 1, 2019, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and other federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriate is fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE8E319D0002). AIR FORCE CACI NSS Inc., Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been awarded a $63,267,131 fixed-price-incentive firm-target modification (P00068) to contract FA8823-16-C-OOOC for support of Consolidated Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN) modification, maintenance and operations. The modification exercises the second option period effective Nov. 22, 2018. This contract provides for continued operations and maintenance at AFSCN mission locations, AFSCN factory compatibility testing and phase-in sustainment activities for same systems. Work will be performed at tracking stations in Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory; U.S. Territory of Guam; Ka'ena Point, Hawaii; New Boston Air Force Station, New Hampshire; Thule AFB, Greenland; Vandenberg AFB, California; Bordon and Hants, United Kingdom; and Eastern Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Work is expected to be completed by May 21, 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations maintenance funds in the amount of $40,267,131 are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $165,067,247. Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting Activity. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Littleton, Colorado, has been awarded a $16,113,613 definitization (P000012) to previously undefinitized contract FA8204-18-C-0009 (P00005) to implement security classification guide changes. Work will be performed in Littleton, Colorado, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 3, 2020. Fiscal 2018 research and development (3600) funds in the amount of $50,215 is being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Nuclear Weapon Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., El Segundo, California, has been awarded a $13,965,639 modification (P00110) for the Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) communication system, mitigation and anti-jam effort and additional strings. This effort will provide the WGS system with increased resilience. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California; and Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2021. Fiscal 2018 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $13,965,639 are being obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA8808-10-C-0001). CORRECTION: The $489,924,430 contract (FA8620-18-C-1000 PZ0004) announced on Nov. 19, 2018, to Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, San Diego, California, for the Japan Global Hawk Program was actually awarded on Nov. 20, 2018. ARMY Guyco Inc., Lampasas, Texas, was awarded a $57,538,500 firm-fixed-price contract to revitalize and renovate barracks. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Fort Hood, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 21, 2021. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $57,538,500 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-19-C-0008). Canadian Commercial Corp., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, was awarded an $18,742,500 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of strip stock and ground side and wheel side rubber materials. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 22, 2021. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W911RQ-19-D-0018). AMG JV, Leesburg, Virginia,* was awarded a $9,820,000 firm-fixed-price contract for renovation of an administration building. Bids were solicited via the internet with nine received. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 12, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $9,820,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W91236-19-C-0005). U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND Insitu Inc., Bingen, Washington, was awarded a maximum $18,000,000 modification (P00018) for an existing non-competitive, single award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (H92222-16-D-0031) for mid-endurance unmanned aircraft systems (MEUAS 1.5B) intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) services. An increase of $18,000,000 to a ceiling of $250,000,000 prevents a gap in ISR services until all task orders are transitioned to the current competitive MEUAS III contracts. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $18,000,000 are available for obligation as needed. U.S. Special Operations Command, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1696664/source/GovDelivery/
23 avril 2018 | International, Naval
By: Daniel Cebul WASHINGTON — To reach its acquisition goals, the Navy wants to make it easier to partner with small businesses. Speaking from the Sea-Air-Space Exposition to a Facebook Live audience, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition James Geurts outlined his views on the important role small businesses play in Navy acquisition programs. “Small business is an incredible source for innovation, for adaptability, for agility, and resilience,” Geurts said. “My main goal [is to figure out], how do we leverage small business for things they are really good at?” Geurts emphasized the importance of small business in achieving U.S. security goals. Looking at the National Defense Strategy for guidance, Geurtz summarized the document to be one focused on how the United States will continue to compete and win as a nation. “Winning teams figure out how to use all the players available, use them for what their strengths are, continue to grow them, and expand,” he said. “Small business is a big piece of that equation for us.” One way small businesses can get connected to the right program is by clearly communicating their technological capabilities and ability to execute awarded contracts. “If you're a small business you've got to let us know what your capabilities are,” Geurts said. By clearly communicating capability, businesses “make it easy for [the Navy] to know what capabilities you have so we can be fully informed in putting a program together,” he added. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/navy-league/2018/04/12/are-you-a-small-business-the-navy-wants-to-work-with-you/