26 juin 2018 | International, Aérospatial

US Air Force announces rocket deal with SpaceX for military satellite

By:

WASHINGTON — U.S. Air Force Space Command will send a new military satellite into space in 2020 with the help of SpaceX.

The AFSC's Space and Missile Systems Center announced Friday a $130 million contract with the rocket design and manufacturing company.

The relatively low-cost price tag secured the deal for SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, beating out main rival United Launch Alliance (composed of Boeing and Lockheed Martin) by tens of millions of dollars and earning praise from the Air Force.

Lt. Gen. John Thompson, program executive officer for the Space and Missile Systems Center, approved the contract, saying it “directly supports [the Center's] mission of delivering resilient and affordable space capabilities to our nation while maintaining assured access to space.”

The agreement for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle service contract includes “launch vehicle production, mission integration and launch operations” from SpaceX, according to a news release.

The Heavy Falcon can deliver a payload of 70 tons to low-Earth orbit.

SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell highlighted the price savings in a statement, saying her company's services offer “the American taxpayer the most cost-effective” and “reliable” services for national space missions.

https://www.defensenews.com/space/2018/06/22/us-air-force-announces-rocket-deal-with-spacex-for-military-satellite/

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  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - September 18, 2019

    19 septembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - September 18, 2019

    AIR FORCE Altamira Technologies Corp., McLean, Virginia (FA7146-19-D-0700); Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Virginia (FA7146-19-D-0710); Deloitte Consulting LLP, Arlington, Virginia (FA7146-19-D-0720); Fulcrum IT Services, Centreville, Virginia (FA7146-19-D-0730); ManTech Advanced Systems International Inc., Herndon, Virginia (FA7146-19-D-0740); MCR Federal LLC, McLean, Virginia (FA7146-19-D-0750); Novetta Inc., McLean, Virginia (FA7146-19-D-0760); and SAIC, Reston, Virginia (FA7146-19-D-0770), have been awarded a not-to-exceed $950,000,000 multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for analytical and technical services. This contract vehicle provides for analytical and technical services for the Secretary of the Air Force's Concepts, Development, and Management Office. Work will be performed as indicated in each order and is expected to be completed by September 2029. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and 10 offers received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $5,000 are being obligated to each of the eight initial task orders. The Secretary of the Air Force's Concepts, Development, and Management Office, Fairfax, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Range Generation Next LLC, Sterling, Virginia, has been awarded a $122,345,824 fixed-price-incentive-firm target modification (P00262) for the previously awarded contract FA8806-15-C-0001 in support of operations, maintenance and sustainment on the Launch and Test Range System. The modification exercises the fifth option period effective Oct. 1, 2019. Work will be performed at the Western Range, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; and the Eastern Range, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2020. No funds are being obligated at time of award. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity. Thales Air Traffic Management Inc., Clarksburg, Maryland, was awarded a $21,818,801 modification (P00012) to contract FA8730-18-C-0034 for the purchase of six additional deployable instrumental landing systems. Work will be performed in Clarksburg, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2022. This sole source award is the result of a priced option of the contract previously mentioned. Fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2019 other production funds in the amount of $21,818,801 are being obligated at the time of the award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity. L3Harris Technologies Inc., Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been awarded a $12,880,167 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract modification (P01000) to a previously awarded contract F19628-02-C-0010 for fiscal 2020 Eglin sustainment support. This modification provides sustainment support for the Eglin AN/FPS (Army, Navy/Fixed Ground Detecting/Range and Bearing Search)-85 Radar. The Eglin AN/FPS-85 Radar is a computer-controlled, phased-array radar set operating as a functional entity in the Air Force Space Command Space Surveillance Network. The radar set concurrently performs the functions of detection, target recognition, acquisition and track of many space objects. Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2020. Total cumulative face value is $12,880,167. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds are being used and no funds are being obligated at time of award. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity. M1 Support Services, Denton, Texas, has been awarded a $12,366,227 modification (A00038) to contract FA3002-15-C-0006 for Trainer Maintenance Services. This action is to exercise Option Period Five. Work will be performed at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas; and satellite site at Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2020. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $76,725,152. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds will be used and no funds are being obligated at the time of the award. The 82d Contracting Squadron, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, is the contracting activity. ARMY BAE Systems Land & Armaments L.P., York, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $148,271,911 modification (P00018) to contract W56HZV-17-C-0242 for M88A2 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift and Evacuation System vehicles. Work will be performed in York, Pennsylvania, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2022. Fiscal 2019 procurement of weapons and tracked combat vehicles, Army funds in the amount of $148,271,911 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. Knight Construction & Supply Inc.,* Deer Park, Washington, was awarded an $18,326,100 firm-fixed-price contract for Dalles 480 ton Intake Gantry Crane replacement. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Dalles, Oregon, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2023. Fiscal 2019 Bonneville Power Administration; and operations and maintenance, civil funds in the amount of $517,800 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland, Oregon, is the contracting activity (W9127N-19-C-0024). Affolter Contracting Co. Inc.,* La Marque, Texas, was awarded a $9,089,400 firm-fixed-price contract for Peggy Lake Placement Area dewatering and dike raise. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Houston, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 21, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, civil funds in the amount of $9,089,400 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W912HY-19-C-0017). NAVY J. Walter Thompson U.S.A. LLC, doing business as Wunderman Thompson, of Atlanta, Georgia, is being awarded a $79,169,854 firm-fixed-price, one year contract for full service advertising agency support to furnish supplies and services to enhance the Marine Corps' recruiting efforts. This contract includes four one-year option periods which, if exercised, could bring the cumulative value of this contract to $529,904,636. Work will be performed in Atlanta, Georgia, and is expected to be completed December 2020. If all options are exercised, work will continue through December 2024. This award is subject to the availability of funds. Fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $79,169,854 will be obligated when funding becomes available and will expire Sept. 30, 2020. This contract was competitively procured via solicitation on the Federal Business Opportunities website, with three proposals received. The Marine Corps Installations Command Contracting Office, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M95494-19-C-0020). The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is being awarded a $30,880,590 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to establish organic depot and intermediate level maintenance repair capability of the Consolidated Automated Support System Operational Test Program Sets for Stores Management System components in support of the P-8A Poseidon Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri (80%); and Grand Rapids, Michigan (20%), and is expected to be completed in September 2024. Fiscal 2017 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $30,880,590 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N68335-19-C-0543). Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona, is being awarded a $25,493,505 cost-plus-fixed fee contract for critical design review of the Tomahawk Weapons System Military Code, to include studies, analysis, design, development, integration and test of hardware and software solutions. In addition, this contract provides for identification of the kit bill of materials, fabrication, assembly, integration, test and documentation of an AGR5 kit. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California (55.6%); and Tucson, Arizona (44.4%), and is expected to be completed in March 2021. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,558,963 will be obligated at time of award, $1,883,848 of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Forcepoint Federal LLC, Salt Lake City, Utah, is being awarded an estimated $13,462,622 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price and time and materials contract for the purchase of software and associated technical support services. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and at contractor facilities in northern Virginia. Work is expected to be completed by 2024. The contract includes a single five year ordering period. No funding is being placed on contract at time of award. Contract funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $414,895 will be obligated on the first delivery order. Funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured because it is a sole-source acquisition pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) – only one responsible source, and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements (Federal Acquisition Regulation subpart 6.302-1(a)). The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N00039-19-D-0034). SCI Technology Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, is being awarded a $13,345,676 firm-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Tactical Operation Center Network (TOCNET) Generation 4 Ground Mobility Vehicle 1.1 kits and TOCNET G4 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) kits. These kits are in support of the U.S. Special Operations Command family of operations vehicles production sparing efforts for the GMV 1.1 and MRAP system variants. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, and is expected to be completed in September 2023. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N68335-19-D-0151). Alliant Techsystems Operations LLC (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Inc.), Northridge, California, is being awarded a $10,640,798 modification (P00001) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price (N00019-19-C-0049) for the full rate production Lot 8 Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM). This modification provides for conversion of government-provided AGM-88B High Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARMs) into 4 AGM-88E AARGM all up rounds (AURs) for the Navy; and 11 AGM-88E AARGM AURs for the government of Italy, to include related supplies and services necessary for their manufacture, sparing, and fleet deployment. Work will be performed in Northridge, California (80%); Ridgecrest, California (10%); and Sanguinetto, Italy (10%), and is expected to be completed in March 2022. Fiscal 2017 weapons procurement (Navy) funds; and cooperate partner funds in the amount of $10,640,798 will be obligated at time of award, $2,334,813 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchase for the Navy ($2,334,813; 22%); and the government of Italy ($8,305,985; 78%) under a cooperative agreement. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. MBF Architects PA,* New Bern, North Carolina, is being awarded a maximum amount $10,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity architect-engineering (A-E) contract for a multi-discipline A-E services for Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS), Cherry Point, North Carolina in Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic area of responsibility. The work to be performed provides for comprehensive A-E services required for planning, design and construction services in support of new construction, repair, replacement, demolition, alteration and/or improvement of military and other governmental facilities. Facility types may include, but are not limited to, personnel housing facilities (bachelor enlisted quarters and bachelor officers' quarters, hospitality); office facilities (medical, training, secure facilities); training facilities (operational, maintenance and classroom); industrial maintenance facilities (vehicle maintenance shops, shore intermediate maintenance activities, aircraft maintenance hangars, public works shops and warehouses); and related utilities (steam, natural gas, potable water industrial wastewater, sanitary sewer, storm water, compressed air, fire suppression and alarm systems, electrical distribution, control systems, lighting, energy management and communications). Projects may involve single or multiple disciplines, including, but not limited to, architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, civil, landscape design, fire protection and interior design. Task order 0001 is being issued in the amount of $5,000 for the minimum guarantee. All work on this contract will be performed at MCAS, Cherry Point, North Carolina. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of September 2024. Supervision, inspection and overhead 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 military construction, (Navy). This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with 15 proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-19-D-9247). Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $9,179,045 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order (N00019-19-F-2789) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-12-G-0012) in support of the H-1 Upgrade helicopter. This order provides for five aircraft wiring and integration remote terminal/cockpit wiring and integration remote terminal/flight control computer/flight controller computer refreshed test stations. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in May 2022. Fiscal 2017 and 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,179,045 will be obligated at time of award, $7,631,175 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Weldin Construction LLC,* Palmer, Alaska , is being awarded an $8,374,300 firm-fixed-price task order N44255-19-F-4422 under a multiple award construction contract for a special project to install new oily wastewater treatment system and associated utilities at Naval Base Kitsap, Bremerton, Washington. Work will be performed in Bremerton, Washington, and is expected to be completed by October 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $8,374,300 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Four proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Northwest, Silverdale, Washington, is the contracting activity (N44255-17-D-4008). Frawner Corp.,* Anchorage, Alaska, is being awarded an $8,114,000 firm-fixed-price task order N62473-19-F-5330 at under a multiple award construction contract for repair of Zone one (3rd Street) high temperature hot water at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center. This project is for the removal, replacement and new high temperature hot water piping, valves, insulation and incidental related work including, but not limited to, modifications and expansion of associated pipe. This project will provide for the installation of a new high temperature hot water supply and return lines in the existing underground utility corridor. Work will be performed in Twentynine Palms, California, and is expected to be completed by March 2021. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance, (Marine Corps) contract funds in the amount of $8,114,000 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Three proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, Facilities Engineering Acquisition Division, Twentynine Palms, California, is the contracting activity (N62473-19-D-1202). Meggitt Defense Systems Inc., Irvine, California, is being awarded an $8,089,578 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for nine liquid palletized system units in support of Lot 8 full rate production P-8A aircraft. Work will be performed in Irvine, California (78%); Sumner, Washington (8%); Niagara, New York (4%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (10%), and is expected to be completed in April 2024. Fiscal 2017 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,089,578 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-19-D-0039). WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES John Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, Laurel, Maryland, has been awarded a $11,442,418 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. This contract is to support the government with development of prototypes, test plans, rapid fielding, operational experiments and changes in existing acquisition programs with a focus on identification and reduction of programmatic and technical risk provides for applied research. Work performance will take place primarily in Laurel, Maryland. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $607,000; fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $8,835,418; and fiscal 2019 procurement funds in the amount of $2,000,000 are being obligated on this award. The expected completion date is May 30, 2024. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HQ0034-19-D0006). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/1964752/source/GovDelivery/

  • Don’t Use COVID As Excuse to Slash Defense Spending

    20 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Don’t Use COVID As Excuse to Slash Defense Spending

    Opponents of defense spending may cite the economic consequences of COVID-19 — huge deficits and ballooning national debt— in an effort to slash the Department of Defense's budget. If they succeed, American military supremacy will erode further, inviting aggression from adversaries and decisively undermining American security. By BRADLEY BOWMANon May 20, 2020 at 4:01 AM Even as many Americans huddle in their homes to avoid the coronavirus, our adversaries have continued to use military power to test and undermine the United States. Since the crisis began, Moscow has sent bombers to probe American air defenses near Alaska. China escalated its belligerent activity in the South China Sea. Iran has harassed U.S. naval vessels in international waters. North Korea launched a barrage of missiles. Hackers have pummeled defense networks and suppliers with cyberattacks. All the while, terrorists have continued attacking U.S. and partner forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Authoritarians and terrorists apparently did not get the memo that they were supposed to play nice during the pandemic. They clearly still believe they can advance their interests and undermine ours with the employment of cyber and kinetic military power. Despite this, opponents of defense spending may cite the economic consequences of COVID-19 — huge deficits and ballooning national debt— in an effort to slash the Department of Defense's budget. If they succeed, American military supremacy will erode further, inviting aggression from adversaries and decisively undermining American security. To be clear, the United States did not find itself in this tenuous position overnight. America's military edge has been eroding for years. For many years after 9/11, Washington repeatedly failed to provide the Pentagon with the timely, predictable and sufficient funding necessary to maintain current readiness and modernize its forces. When confronted with this difficult choice, defense leaders were often forced to postpone vital weapon modernization research and development programs to resource and support the next units to deploy. Meanwhile, Beijing and Moscow studied how the United States fights wars and undertook comprehensive efforts to modernize their weapons and revamp their operational concepts. So, by 2018, the military balance of power had shifted so significantly that the National Defense Strategy (NDS) Commission — a group of bipartisan national security experts not prone to hyperbole — sounded the alarm. “The security and wellbeing of the United States are at greater risk than at any time in decades,” they warned. “America's military superiority—the hard-power backbone of its global influence and national security—has eroded to a dangerous degree.” Thankfully, the U.S. has now emerged from what the 2018 National Defense Strategy called a “period of strategic atrophy” and taken concerted action. With increased defense funding in the last few years and a focus on great power competition, the Department of Defense is undertaking the most significant U.S. military modernization effort in decades. In order to win the intense military technology competition with Beijing and others, the Pentagon is focusing its research and development on artificial intelligence, biotechnology, autonomy, cyber, directed energy, hypersonics, space and 5G. Simultaneously, the Pentagon and combatant commands are working to develop a new joint concept to employ these new weapons. Despite these positive efforts, U.S. military supremacy has continued to erode. Consider Indo-Pacific Command's report submitted in March warning that the military balance of power with China continues to become “more unfavorable.” The United States, it said, is accumulating “additional risk that may embolden our adversaries to attempt to unilaterally change the status quo before the U.S. could muster an effective response.” This is because America has not yet deployed most of the weapons and capabilities it has been developing and is still crafting its new joint warfighting concept. To be sure, each of the U.S. military services are sprinting to field key systems, weapons, and capabilities in the next few years. But the Chinese Communist Party and its People's Liberation Army are sprinting too, and there is no time to waste. The bipartisan experts on the NDS Commission recommended that “Congress increase the base defense budget at an average rate of three to five percent above inflation” in the coming years. If Congress ignores its own commission and slashes defense spending, U.S. military supremacy will continue to erode and could eventually disappear. The far left and libertarians often respond to such arguments by emphasizing the size of the U.S. defense budget. What they fail to mention is that U.S. defense spending, measured either as a percentage of gross domestic product or a percentage of federal outlays, is near post-World War II lows. That doesn't mean assertive congressional oversight is not needed; there is certainly room for improvement at the Pentagon. Indeed, defense leaders must continue to ruthlessly establish priorities, eliminate waste, and implement efficiencies—while credibly demonstrating tangible stewardship to Congress and taxpayers. One should not dismiss the severe economic impacts of the coronavirus. The Congressional Budget Office has highlighted the potentially dire consequences for the federal deficit and debt. But Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security's mandatory spending — not discretionary defense spending — is the primary driver, by far, of fiscal unsustainability. If the American people and their representatives in Congress provide the Department of Defense sufficient resources over the next few years, the U.S. military will be able to complete and field vital modernization programs. This will ensure U.S. troops have what they need and will enable the United States to re-assert the military superiority that has been so beneficial to peace, prosperity, and security. The coronavirus has certainly demonstrated the need for better domestic health security programs and has delivered a body blow to the U.S. economy. But if political leaders respond by slashing the Department of Defense's budget, Washington risks making American military superiority yet another casualty of the coronavirus. Bradley Bowman, former advisor to Sens. Todd Young and Kelly Ayotte, is senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/05/dont-let-the-covid-deficit-hurt-defense-spending

  • US Navy must be able to compete in ‘gray zone’ conflict, says top service officer

    6 septembre 2018 | International, Naval

    US Navy must be able to compete in ‘gray zone’ conflict, says top service officer

    By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy has to be able to confront great powers in areas short of open warfare, the service's top officer said Wednesday at the second annual Defense News Conference. China and Russia have employed tactics to harass neighbors and challenge the U.S. Navy, from the former's island building projects in the South China Sea to the latter's harassment of U.S. forces at sea, which it has used to score political points with its population. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson told the crowd that competition with other great powers has to be seen on a spectrum and that the Navy must compete in all realms to stay ahead. “This competition is [defined] by a spectrum,” Richardson said. “You've heard terms like ‘gray war,' ‘competition below the level of conflict': All of these sorts of phrases try to grasp at this very smooth spectrum, from competition all the way to conflict. Our response to that going forward is going to be key to ensure that we are not only competitive but ahead. It's not sufficient to be competitive, we want to be winning.” The Navy has to be competitive in all its warfare domains to achieve the objectives laid out in the recent National Defense Strategy, spearheaded by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, that moves the military away from low-end counterterror operations and refocuses on high-end conflict. Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/smr/defense-news-conference/2018/09/05/us-navy-must-be-able-to-compete-in-gray-zone-conflict-says-top-service-officer

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