29 avril 2024 | International, Sécurité
14 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
We Need $10B to Pay Contractors’ Coronavirus Expenses, Pentagon Tells Congress
It's the first time a defense official has put a specific price tag on DoD's COVID relief efforts.
The Pentagon needs Congress to approve “around $10 billion” to cover defense contractors' coronavirus-related expenses, a top defense official said Monday.
Alan Shaffer, deputy defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, became the first Defense Department official to put a price tag on the relief effort.
“If there is another supplemental or stimulus package for realistic economic adjustment, we could be looking at somewhere around $10 billion in additional program costs,” Shaffer said during a taped appearance on the Government Matters television show that aired Monday afternoon.
Also on Monday, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow told Fox Business that the Trump administration is putting together a fourth coronavirus stimulus package.
The CARES Act allows defense companies to recoup money they used to keep employees working amid the pandemic. While Congress authorized these reimbursements, they did not appropriate the funding.
Until now, Pentagon officials have been vague in saying how much money was needed to cover the costs. During a June 11 House Armed Services Committee hearing, Ellen Lord, the defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, said the Defense Department would request in the “lower end” of “tens of billions of dollars.”
Last week, defense analyst Jim McAleese estimated that between $12 billion and $15 billion would be needed to cover companies' coronavirus expenses. If Congress does not appropriate the funds, the Pentagon would likely cut weapons buying and research funding to cover the costs, the CEOs of most major U.S. defense firms wrote in a July 7 letter to White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought.
Factory shutdowns and trouble receiving parts from suppliers in the U.S. and globally have caused manufacturing disruptions across weapons programs. The current spike in COVID-19 cases in the southern United States in Florida, Texas, and Arizona, states with large defense manufacturing hubs, further disruptions to weapons projects are possible.
“We're going to be at this for a while,” Schaffer said. “The exact number of months — your crystal ball is as good as mine.”
Pentagon officials have been closely monitoring the aviation sector, where a substantial drop in commercial airline passenger travel has prompted airlines to ground planes and cancel new aircraft orders. In recent weeks, the Pentagon has awarded more than $400 million in bailouts to aviation, shipbuilding, space and even textile companies that manufacture military uniforms. Shaffer in the interview that aired Monday said more bailouts through so-called Defense Production Act Title 3 might be necessary.
“I think we're going to have to look at what we can do through Defense Production Act title 3 [and] through other mechanisms to make sure that we remain viable in the aircraft [industry],” he said. “We've seen some projections from the industry that suggest the aircraft industry will take two to three years to rebound.”
While Shaffer said “shipbuilding should be OK,” he said, “we're watching the space industrial sector very closely because we've seen a contraction in the commercial side for space launch.”
Major U.S. defense firms are scheduled to report second-quarter earnings before the end of the month.
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16 juillet 2024 | International, Terrestre
US Army to spend $26bn on gamification and simulation training by 2028
Record investment in gamified training comes amid a US military drive to recruit younger prospects, prompting ethical concerns.
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8 novembre 2018 | International, Terrestre
More than meets the eye: Army selects next-gen camouflage system
By: Kyle Rempfer The Army has finally selected a company to provide it with the next generation of ultra light-weight, general-purpose camouflage. The Army's Ultra-Light Camouflage Netting System, or ULCANS, will be an all-weather, state-of-the-art signature concealment system that provides multi-spectral protection for troops and equipment. The program aims to replace the legacy woodland and desert camouflage variants developed in the 1990s, and will be developed in light and dark woodland, snow and alpine, desert, and urban variants. The Army hopes ULCANS will better conceal the signatures of troops and equipment from high-end sensor threats on the battlefield. The contract to produce the next-generation camouflage was awarded to Fibrotex USA Inc., according to a company statement provided to Army Times. The contract is a 10-year, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity award, with a total value of $480 million. Fibrotex is expected to begin full-rate production in early 2019, according to the company. ULCANS is the result of nearly two years of testing, trials and data collection conducted by the U.S. Army's Natick Soldier Systems Center in Massachusetts. Natick tested camouflage technologies from major global manufacturers against the Army's most advanced battlefield surveillance sensors. Many of the technologies underpinning ULCANS are based on developments by Fibrotex's Israel-based parent company over the last two decades, but have been specially modified for the U.S. Department of Defense. The Fibrotex system will provide multi-spectral camouflage, which conceals objects from detection across several portions of the electromagnetic spectrum at the same time. Traditional military camouflage simply hides an object in the visible spectrum, but the multi-spectral design obscures detection in the infrared, thermal and radar spectrum as well. “Today more than ever, military forces and opposition groups are using night vision sensors and thermal devices against our troops, but by using Fibrotex's camouflage, concealment and deception solutions, we make them undetectable again, allowing them to continue keeping us safe," said Eyal Malleron, CEO of Fibrotex USA. Fibrotex will also deliver the ULCANS material in reversible designs — allowing for the first time a different pattern and capability on each side, enabling soldiers, vehicles and systems to disappear into light or dark woodland, snow or alpine and desert or urban environments in any operational theater. “We have more than 50 years of experience, with thousands of hours in the field and a deep understanding of conventional and asymmetric warfare," Malleron said. "The U.S. Army tested our best camouflage solutions, and the camouflage repeatedly demonstrated the ability to defeat all sensors known to be operating in the battlefield and throughout the electromagnetic spectrum.” ULCANS will also be manufactured stateside, in a new state-of-the-art facility in McCreary County, Kentucky, creating hundreds of new skilled American jobs over the next decade, according to Fibrotex. “I firmly believe we have the best workforce in the country, and that their hard work and dedication has earned these new jobs, helping deliver a vital new military contract from McCreary County," Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., said in a press statement. "I take great pride in knowing that our people are crafting these products to keep our warfighters and allies safe, giving them an edge on the battlefield.” The new facility is being established next to Outdoor Venture Corporation, which is a strategic partner to Fibrotex USA and already designs modular personnel tents and command post tents for the Army. https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/11/07/more-than-meets-the-eye-army-selects-next-gen-camouflage-system