16 août 2023 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité
Orders flooding in on Pentagon’s $9 billion cloud contract
The Pentagon in late 2022 tapped Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle for its potential $9 billion Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability, or JWCC.
6 novembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial
Unmanned aircraft could provide low-cost boost for Air Force’s future aircraft inventory, new study says
By: Valerie Insinna
WASHINGTON — As the U.S. Air Force looks to increase the size and capability of its aircraft inventory, the service should assess the possibility of using drones as a low-cost and highly available alternative to manned airplanes, posits a new study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The CSIS report, which was obtained by Defense News and other news outlets ahead of its Oct. 29 release, compares three recent congressionally mandated studies on the Air Force's future force structure by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments think tank, the federally funded research organization MITRE Corp. and the service itself.
All three studies were broadly supportive of retaining existing unmanned aircraft, or as the Air Force terms them, Remotely Piloted Aircraft or RPAs. However, the CSIS report makes the case that the low cost and high mission capable rate of RPAs like the MQ-9 Reaper or RQ-4 Global Hawk merits more attention when making future force planning.
“I think we need a roadmap for RPAs in terms of what are the new missions that we can begin to transition over to RPAs and some new operational concepts for how we use them,” CSIS senior analyst Todd Harrison told reporters at a Oct. 28 briefing.
“I say this more from a cost perspective and a readiness perspective because our RPA fleet stands out from the rest of the Air Force in that it costs a lot less to operate [them] and we utilize them much more,” he said. “We need to leverage that. That's a strength that we need to double down on.”
Harrison pointed to two data points supporting a wider use case for RPAs.
Despite clocking in the highest number of flight hours per airframe, drones boast some of the highest mission capable rates in the Air Force's inventory, averaging near 90 percent for the MQ-9 and its predecessor, the MQ-1, and around 75 percent for the RQ-4 Global Hawk.
Those aircraft are also cheap to operate, with some of the lowest costs per flying hour or total ownership costs in the inventory, Harrison said.
The Air Force, MITRE and CSBA studies provide solid support for keeping the Air Force's current RPA force.
The Air Force's study, which proposes a growth to 386 total operational squadrons, would add two squadrons of unmanned strike aircraft, although it does not say what kind of aircraft should be acquired. It also recommends an increase of 22 squadrons of aircraft devoted to command and control or the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission sets, but does not provide a breakdown of what specific capability gaps need to be addressed or whether they could be filled by unmanned aircraft.
The MITRE and CSBA study, by contrast, advocate retaining the current inventory of MQ-9 Reapers and RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drones. CSBA also recommends the procurement of a new, stealthy MQ-X drone that could be used for strike, electronic attack and other missions in a contested environment.
Despite the broad support, the three studies do not necessarily portend a wider acceptance or demand for unmanned aircraft in the next budget, Harrison said.
“I wouldn't count on it happening that soon. I think this is a wider term change that's going to be needed. Part of it is a cultural change within the Air Force and part of it requires some real strategic thinking about what are the types of missions where unmanned is going to make sense and how do we best leverage those,” he said.
“The RPAs that we have today, they didn't come about overnight. They evolved. A lot of the time they faced a lot of institutional resistance, but they proved themselves. They proved themselves valuable in the kind of fights that we've been in in the past 20 years.”
One mission area that could be flown by unmanned aircraft in the future is aerial refueling, Harrison said. The Navy in 2018 awarded Boeing a contract to produce an unmanned carrier-based tanker drone known as the MQ-25. That aircraft, like all Navy planes, will use the simpler probe and drogue for refueling.
Refueling via a rigid boom, as utilized by Air Force tankers, makes for a more challenging development, but the remote vision system on Boeing's KC-46 tanker — which allows the boom operator to steer the boom using a series of cameras as his or her only visual cue — is a step in the right direction, he said.
Another potential area for expanded RPA use could be the development of low-cost drones that can be flown in swarms or as “loyal wingmen” to manned aircraft, the CSIS report stated. These “attritable” aircraft can be expended during a conflict without making an adverse impact on the mission or putting human pilots at risk.
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23 octobre 2023 | International, Terrestre, C4ISR
Serbia highlights importance of Chinese defence equipment | Reuters
Chinese military equipment has strengthened the Serbian armed forces significantly, its deputy prime minister told Chinese state media, in particular an air-defence system and drones.
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17 décembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - December 16, 2020
ARMY Central Lake Armor Express,* Central Lake, Michigan (W91CRB-21-D-0004); Bethel Industries Inc.,* Jersey City, New Jersey (W91CRB-21-D-0005); Carter Enterprises LLC,* Brooklyn, New York (W91CRB-21-D-0006); Point Blank Enterprises Inc., Pompano Beach, Florida (W91CRB-21-D-0007); and Slate Solutions Inc.,* Sunrise, Florida (W91CRB-21-D-0080), will compete for each order of the $837,591,519 firm-fixed-price contract for the Soldier Protection System. Bids were solicited via the internet with 11 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 14, 2029. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Towill Inc., Concord, California, was awarded a $22,666,666 firm-fixed-price contract for photogrammetric and Light Detection and Ranging (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 Dec. 15, 2025. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis, Missouri, is the contracting activity (W912P9-21-D-0022). Oxford Federal LLC, Lone Tree, Colorado, was awarded an $11,554,000 firm-fixed-price contract for design-build construction at sites in Israel. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Tel Aviv, Israel, with an estimated completion date of June 8, 2022. Fiscal 2021 Foreign Military Sales (Israel) funds in the amount of $11,554,000 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District, is the contracting activity (W912GB-21-F-0023). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Belmont Instrument LLC, Billerica, Massachusetts, has been awarded a maximum $133,570,787 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract under solicitation SPE2DH-16-R-0002 for a hospital and portable rapid blood infuser product line, military kits, associated consumables and accessories. This was a competitive acquisition with 132 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Massachusetts, with a Dec. 15, 2025, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D1-21-D-0004). The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded an estimated $108,537,739 modification (P00122) to five-year base contract SPRPA1-14-D-002U with one five-year option period adding consumable items supporting various aircraft. Location of performance is Missouri, with a Sept. 16, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force and military forces in Australia, Finland, France, Israel, Greece, Kuwait and Switzerland. Types of appropriation are fiscal 2021 defense working capital funds and Foreign Military Sales funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a maximum $41,709,797 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order (SPRPA1-21-D-9002) against five-year basic ordering agreement SPRPA1-14-D-002U for consumable and depot-level repairable parts for the KC-46 military unique program. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a three-year base contract with two one-year option periods. Location of performance is Missouri, with a Dec. 15, 2023, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. OFD Foods LLC,* Albany, Oregon, has been awarded a maximum $34,162,535 fixed-priced with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for boil-in-bag dehydrated egg mix. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. This is a four-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Oregon, with a Dec. 11, 2024, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army, Navy and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE3S1-21-D-Z230). The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a $10,849,059 modification (P00122) against five-year basic ordering agreement SPRPA1-14-D-002U for additional F/A-18 A-D and E-G aircraft integrated product support. This is a firm-fixed-price contract. Locations of performance are Missouri, California, Virginia, Washington, Nevada and South Carolina, with a Dec. 31, 2023, performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 Navy operation, maintenance and procurement funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NAVY Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Mississippi, is awarded a $43,498,975 cost-plus-award-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-4203 to exercise Option Period One for the accomplishment of follow on CG 47 class integrated planning yard services. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and is expected to be completed by December 2024. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy); and other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,176,352 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea System Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Jacobs Technology Inc., Tullahoma, Tennessee, is awarded a $30,618,831 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity modification for the exercise of Option Two to extend services for a base operations support services contract at Naval Station (NAVSTA), Mayport, Florida; Marine Corps Support Facility (MCSF) Blount Island, Florida; and outlying areas. The work to be performed provides for base operations support services to include port operations, facility investment, custodial, pest control, integrated solid waste management, grounds maintenance and landscaping, utilities management, electrical, wastewater, steam, water, base support vehicles and equipment and environmental. After award of this option, the total cumulative contract value will be $89,063,257. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Florida, at NAVSTA Mayport (62%); MCSF Blount Island (37%); and outlying areas (1%). This option period is from January 2020 to December 2020. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (O&M) (Navy); fiscal 2021 O&M (Marine Corps); fiscal 2021 Navy working capital funds; and fiscal 2021 family housing O&M (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $24,963,973 for recurring work will be obligated on individual task orders issued during the option period. Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity (N69450-18-D-1800). Ark Construction Management LLC,* Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is awarded a $25,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for roof maintenance in the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC), Public Works Department, Pennsylvania, area of responsibility. This work to be performed under this contract will include provide roofing repair and replacement at locations in and around the Philadelphia and Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, areas. A task order in the amount of $5,000 is being issued to fulfill the minimum guarantee. Work will be performed in Philadelphia and Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of December 2025. Fiscal 2021 Navy working capital contract funds in the amount of $5,000 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by Navy working capital funds and operation and maintenance (Navy). This contract was competitively procured via the beta.SAM.gov website with five proposals received. NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-21-D-0014). DynCorp International LLC, McLean, Virginia, is awarded an $18,120,424 modification under contract N62742-17-C-3570 in the amount of $18,120,424 which provides for the exercise of the fourth option period under a cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for various support services to Department of Defense (DOD) components. The work to be performed provides for various support services to DOD components (e.g., Naval Mobile Construction Battalions, Naval Expeditionary Combat Command Pacific, Explosive Ordnance Detachment Group One, Coastal Riverine Group One, etc.) conducting humanitarian assistance, civic assistance, minor military construction projects, contingency efforts, supporting various exercises and other projects located at various sites, usually in remote areas in the Philippines, Cambodia, Timor-Leste and other countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania. After award of this option, the total cumulative contract value will be $135,215,620. Work will be performed at various locations in Southeast Asia, South Asia and Oceania, and this option period is from January 2021 to December 2021. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $3,187,500 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $9,297,472 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-17-C-6259 to exercise an option for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) 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 August 2024. FMS funds in the amount of $2,968,429 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Country name(s) are withheld due to international agreement. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Hyatt Equities LLC, doing business as Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront, Jacksonville, Florida, is being awarded an $8,324,815 firm-fixed-price, three-month contract for lodging, meal and laundry services. This contract includes one three-month option period which, if exercised, could bring the cumulative value of this contract to $16,729,503. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Florida. Work is expected to be completed April 12, 2021. If all options are exercised, work will continue through July 11, 2021. Fiscal 2021 military personnel (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $8,324,815 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.SAM.gov website, with 16 proposals received. The Regional Contracting Office, Parris Island, South Carolina, is the contracting activity (M00263-21-C-0001). AIR FORCE CORRECTION: The $79,569,583 contract announced on Dec. 14, 2020, to The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri (FA8634-21-C-2702) for F-15 Eagle Passive Active Warning and Survivability System low rate initial production was actually awarded today, Dec. 16, 2020. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2449367/source/GovDelivery/