Nouvelles

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY W & G Machine Company Inc.,* Hamden, Connecticut, has been awarded a maximum $27,604,800 firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aviation flutter dampeners. This was a competitive small business set-aside acquisition with two offers received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Connecticut, with a June 23, 2025, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (SPRRA1-19-D-0049). Federal Prison Industries Inc.,** Washington, D.C, has been awarded a maximum $27,189,820 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for extreme cold/wet weather jackets. This is an 18-month base contract, with one one-year option period. Locations of performance are Kentucky, Georgia, and Washington, D.C, with a July 8, 2020, performance completion date. Using military services are Army and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-19-D-F019). Medical Place Inc.,*** Montgomery, Alabama, has been awarded a maximum $15,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for hospital equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency electronic catalog. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with 68 responses received; 18 contracts have been awarded to date. Using customers are Department of Defense and other federal organizations. Location of performance is Alabama, with a Jan. 8, 2024, performance completion date. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DH-19-D-0009). NAVY Dakota Creek Industries Inc., Anacortes, Washington, is awarded a $26,710,222 firm-fixed-price modification to previously-awarded firm-fixed-price contract N00024-18-C-2205 to exercise options for the detail design and construction (DD&C) of two yard tug 808-class harbor tugboats (YT 812 and YT 813) and accessory items to include 50-man inflatable buoyant apparatus and Navy Mk-7 life raft, as well as packaging and delivery to final destination. The base contract award was for the DD&C of four tugboats including YT 808, YT 809, YT 810 and YT 811. The contract includes options for accessory items (hoisting system, life rafts, special towing lights and electronic navigation charts), packaging and delivery, crew familiarization and provisioned item orders. Work will be performed in Anacortes, Washington, and is expected to be completed by August 2021. Fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $13,339,017; and fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $13,371,205 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Integral Aerospace, Santa Ana, California, is awarded $14,315,721 for modification P00001 to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-18-C-1036). This modification provides for external fuel tank testing and exercises option year one for the production and delivery of 114 external fuel tanks in support of the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in Santa Ana, California, and is expected to be completed in May 2020. Fiscal 2017 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $14,315,721 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $9,276,687 modification to previously awarded contract N00024-13-C-6402 for the Air Launch Accessory (ALA) and ALA shipping container for the ALA of the High Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare Weapon Capability in support of the P-8A integration efforts. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri, and is expected to be completed by May 2020. Fiscal 2019 weapons procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $9,276,687 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Co., McKinney, Texas, is awarded $7,124,695 for firm-fixed-price delivery order N00383-19-F-G000 under previously awarded basic ordering agreement N00383-14-G-005D for the repair of the APY-10 radar system used in support of the P-8A aircraft. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Florida (66 percent); and McKinney, Texas (34 percent). Work is expected to be completed by January 2021. Fiscal 2019 working capital funds (Navy) in the full amount of $7,124,695 will be obligated at time of award and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One source was solicited for this non-competitive requirement in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1, with one offer received. Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, has been awarded an $8,565,000 cost-plus fixed-fee contract to provide assessments and alternatives of offensive capabilities within the domains of air, land, sea, space and cyberspace, missions and warfare areas that asymmetrically mitigate threat effectiveness, impose cost, and/or create ambiguity in adversary decision-making. Work performance will take place in the National Capital Region, including Arlington, Virginia; and Alexandria, Virginia. Fiscal 2018 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $100,000; fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $8,115,000; and fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $350,000 are being obligated on this award. The expected completion date is Dec. 29, 2019. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HQ0034-13-D-0003). ARMY Navistar Defense LLC, Lisle, Illinois, was awarded an $8,069,336 fixed-firm-price Foreign Military Sales (Iraq) contract for Navistar transport and cargo vehicles. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in Lisle, Illinois, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 8, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $8,069,336 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-19-F-0168). *Woman-owned small business **Mandatory Source ***Service-disabled, veteran-owned small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1727817/source/GovDelivery/

DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The Canadian International Trade Tribunal is recommending a review of key performance requirements used in the procurement of two emergency towing vessels for the west coast. Heiltsuk Horizon, a partnership of majority partner Heiltsuk Nation of Bella Bella, British Columbia and Horizon Maritime Services Limited, a Canadian marine services company, complained to the CITT in August that the winning supplier did not meet important safety requirements of the tender process. The CITT has recommended Public Services and Procurement Canada re-evaluate some of its mandatory requirements and that no further expenditure under the contact be undertaken. However, the tribunal also recommended that the contract remain with the winning bidder, Atlantic Services Limited/Atlantic Towing, until the evaluation can be completed. In August, the federal government announced the firm had been awarded a three-year contract worth $67 million for the lease of two emergency offshore towing vessels that would operate in the waters off the coast of British Columbia. The vessels were to be capable of towing large commercial ships in distress, such as tankers and container ships, before they get too close to shore, according to the federal government. As part of the contract, the firm, which is an Irving company, would also provide training in offshore emergency towing to Canadian Coast Guard personnel and partners, including Indigenous communities, involved in marine safety. But Heiltsuk Horizon challenged that award, pointing out that the contract was awarded without the required proof the vessels met the mandated towing power. The firm welcomed the CITT ruling. “From day one, we stated the procurement process was flawed,” Chief Councillor Marilyn Slett, Heiltsuk Nation, Bella Bella, BC, said in a statement Tuesday. In a letter to Heiltsuk Horizon, the CITT recommends Public Services and Procurement Canada reevaluate the “bollard pull” (towing power) of the vessels in all bids received. The CITT also awarded Heiltsuk Horizon costs incurred in submitting the complaint. In a statement late Tuesday, Public Services and Procurement Canada noted it is currently reviewing the CITT's reasons and recommendations in order to determine its next steps. “The contract with Atlantic Towing remains in place,” it added. “Given the importance of the services provided by the Emergency Offshore Towing Vessels in the context of Canada's Oceans Protection Plan, these services will continue. It is important to note that one of the two vessels has already been used in an emergency situation.” Mary Keith, vice president of communications for Irving, issued a statement from Atlantic Towing, pointing out that the tribunal did not declare the firm's bid non-compliant. “This is good news and reaffirms the integrity of the rigorous and transparent award process by PWGSC that also involved a third party fairness monitor,” the statement added. “The Tribunal has requested verification of one item and we are confident in our full compliance. The Bollard Pull on our vessels are verified and certified by one of the world's leading marine certification companies.” https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/trade-tribunal-calls-for-review-of-west-coast-vessel-contract

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — As the U.S. government shutdown continues into its 18th day, defense firms and industry advocates are beginning to worry that the pause in business could eat into companies' cash flow. The Defense Department is funded for fiscal 2019, with Congress having passed a spending bill for the new fiscal year in September. That means work on the military's weapons programs continue apace, but many defense companies also hold contracts with agencies that are not currently funded, like the Department of Homeland Security — which includes the Coast Guard as well as Customs and Border Protection — and NASA. The Aerospace Industries Association, a lobbying group that represents defense and commercial aviation companies, warned that impacts to the aerospace sector extend beyond the 800,000 federal workers who are furloughed or working without pay. For example, weapons sales and transfers to U.S. allies and partners are stalled as a result of the closure of the departments of State and Commerce, AIA said in a Jan. 8 statement. Research projects at NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are suspended, “setting back development of game changing technologies.” And meetings between the government and industry have been canceled or delayed. “Every day the shutdown lasts, the impacts grow and become more difficult and more expensive to fix,” said AIA President and CEO Eric Fanning. “It's time to get these dedicated public servants back to work.” Tony Moraco, the CEO of government service and information technology firm SAIC, told investors Jan. 7 that the effects of the shutdown are expected to be short term and primarily affecting accounts with NASA, the FAA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Moraco characterized the effect on SAIC and Engility — the latter of which is set to merge with the former this year — as a “modest impact on revenues and potentially cash collection, which we think we can recover — mostly — if this is resolved in the near term.” But SAIC Chief Financial Officer Charlie Mathis said the government is already behind on payments to the two companies by about $40 million to $50 million. “If we get through this quickly, they could catch up,” he said, but the shutdown would have to be resolved within a week for the companies to hit their cash-flow goals for their fiscal year ending Jan. 31. Furthermore, the companies are seeing a hit of about $10 million per week in revenue as the shutdown progresses, and “if it continues, that number could increase,” Mathis said. The probability of an extended shutdown seems to be rising. The government shutdown started Dec. 22 amid disagreements between President Donald Trump and Congress over funding for a border wall that would separate the United States and Mexico. But with Democrats now controlling the House of Representatives, a deal on funding for the wall may take weeks and could propel this shutdown past the 21-day mark of the 1995 shutdown, currently the longest on the books, according to CNN. Defense contractors will eventually get paid back for work accomplished while the government was shut down, but there could be long-standing consequences. If the shutdown persists for a protracted amount of time, there could be repercussions for the federal government's recruiting pipeline, as well as the balance of federal employees and contractors, said Byron Callan, an analyst for Capital Alpha Partners. “How will this shutdown impact the ability of federal agencies impacted by the shut-down to recruit and retain skilled individuals?” he wrote in an emailed analysis of SAIC's investor meeting. “There might be near-term collateral damage if people leave government service, but a 1-3 year factor to consider is how this shutdown and the potential for future ones accelerates reliance on federal service contractors.” https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2019/01/08/us-government-shutdown-creating-angst-for-defense-contractors

By: Mark Pomerleau The Navy awarded a contract for cyber, electronic warfare and information warfare services to nine companies in a deal that could eventually be worth as much as $962 million. The companies include Grove Resource Solutions Inc., Millennium Corp., SimVentions Inc., BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services Inc., Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI NSS Inc., General Dynamics Information Technology, Leidos, Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. and Scientific Research Corp. The new contract, run out of the Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in South Carolina, will provide cyber mission engineering support services and deliver “information warfare capabilities through sea, air, land, space, electromagnetic, and cyber domains through the full range of military operations and levels of war,” according to a Nov. 30 contract announcement. According to a Jan. 7 press release from General Dynamics, the company will compete for individual task orders to provide “state-of-the-art solutions for the Navy and Marine Corps' warfighting needs.” A spokesman clarified that GDIT expects to compete for the opportunity to provide C4ISR capability to the Navy and Marines with the potential to develop prototypes depending on specific requirements. The spokesperson added that the contract might present opportunities to assist in the Navy's premier electronic warfare program Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program as requirements overlap. https://www.c4isrnet.com/c2-comms/2019/01/08/9-companies-will-compete-for-work-on-the-navys-giant-engineering-contract

By: Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's procurement authorities are working to identify why some of the industry's most talented individuals are migrating to Western countries — an exodus that could stall several indigenous programs. Turkey's procurement authority, the Presidency of Defence Industries — also known as SSB and which directly reports to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — conducted a survey to better understand the migration. A parliamentary motion revealed that in recent months a total of 272 defense industryofficials, mostly senior engineers, fled Turkey for new jobs abroad, with the Netherlands, the United States and Germany topping the list, respectively. Other recipient countries are Britain, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Poland, France, Finland, Japan, Thailand, Qatar, Switzerland and Ireland, according to the SSB's internal study. The companies affected by the exodus are state-controlled entities: defense electronics specialist Aselsan, Turkey's largest defense firm; military software concern Havelsan; missile-maker Roketsan; defense technologies firm STM; Turkish Aerospace Industries; and SDT. Findings among those who left and responded to the survey include: 41 percent are in the 26-30 age group. “This highlights a trend among the relatively young professionals to seek new opportunities abroad,” one SSB official noted. 40 percent have graduate degrees; 54 percent have postgraduate degrees; and 6 percent have doctorates or higher degrees. 59 percent have more than four years of experience in the Turkish industry. The largest group among those who left (26 percent) cited “limited chance of promotion and professional progress” as the primary reason to seek jobs in foreign companies. Other reasons cited include lack of equal opportunities in promotion (14 percent); low salaries (10 percent); and discrimination, mobbing and injustice at work (10 percent). 60 percent said they found jobs at foreign defense companies after they applied for vacancies. 61 percent are engineers and 21 percent are industry researchers. Among the respondents' expectations before they would consider returning to Turkish jobs were higher salaries, better working conditions, full use of annual leave, professional management and support from top management for further academic work. They also want the political situation in Turkey to normalize and for employees to win social rights in line with European Union standards. They also want to guarantee there won't be employee discrimination according to political beliefs, life styles and religious faith. They added that mobbing should stop and that employees be offered equal opportunities. A recent article in The New York Times, citing the Turkish Statistical Institute, said more than a quarter-million Turks emigrated in 2017, an increase of 42 percent over 2016, when nearly 178,000 citizens left the country. The number of Turks applying for asylum worldwide jumped by 10,000 in 2017 to more than 33,000. “The flight of people, talent and capital is being driven by a powerful combination of factors that have come to define life under Mr. Erdogan and that his opponents increasingly despair is here to stay," according to The New York Times. "They include fear of political persecution, terrorism, a deepening distrust of the judiciary and the arbitrariness of the rule of law, and a deteriorating business climate, accelerated by worries that Mr. Erdogan is unsoundly manipulating management of the economy to benefit himself and his inner circle.” One senior engineer who left his Turkish company for a job with a non-Turkish, European business told Defense News: “I know several colleagues who want to leave but have not yet found the right jobs. I expect the brain drain to gain pace in the next years, depending on Western companies' capacity to employ more Turkish talent.” https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2019/01/08/turkish-brain-drain-why-are-defense-industry-officials-ditching-their-jobs-in-turkey-for-work-abroad

By: Justin Lynch They have been hacked, tricked and stolen from. Now the message is clear -- no more. The Navy is looking to support research in 36 areas that can help protect weapons systems from cyberattacks, Naval Air Systems Command said in a Jan. 7 update to a broad agency announcement. “It's not necessarily cutting edge research, but it is the first step in cybersecurity quality control that should have already been done,” said Bryson Bort, the founder and chief executive officer of Scythe, a cybersecurity platform. The Navy had admitted as much. Research into protecting the department's weapons comes amid reports that the American military suffers from sustained cyberattacks. In December, an Inspector General report found that some in the Pentagon were not taking basic cybersecurity steps to protect its ballistic missile system. Although the Pentagon's weapons are worth roughly $1.66 trillion, an October report from the Government Accountability Office found that “nearly all” American missiles, jets, ships and lethal equipment in development are vulnerable to cyberattacks. The announcement comes after Congress has mandated the Pentagon address its cyber vulnerabilities. Three of the research areas the Navy is interested are commonly described as the pillars of strong cybersecurity, no matter the institution. They include: Dynamic reconfiguration In an effort to confuse attackers, the Navy wants to research “dynamic reconfiguration.” The National Institute of Standards and Technology defines the term as “changes to router rules, access control lists, intrusion detection/prevention system parameters, and filter rules for firewalls and gateways.” "Organizations perform dynamic reconfiguration of information systems, for example, to stop attacks, to misdirect attackers, and to isolate components of systems, thus limiting the extent of the damage from breaches or compromises,” NIST officials wrote. Research by the University of Maryland's Christian Johnson found that pairing predictive analytics with dynamic reconfiguration tactics, the new approach can lead to the "successful development of learning models that identify specific classes of malware such as ransomware,” Johnson wrote in a paper for the RSA conference. Deception tactics Experts have long used strategies of physical war in digital battles, including with the use of denial and deception tactics. The Navy wants to boost understanding of this area to better secure its weapons systems. In 2015, researchers at MITRE, which conducts federally funded research, advocated for a 10-step process for planning and executing deception operations. “Leveraging classical denial and deception techniques to understand the specifics of adversary attacks enables an organization to build an active, threat-based cyber defense,” a team of researchers wrote. But the Intelligence Advanced Research Project Activity, the intelligence community's research arm, says that the use of deceptive software and hardware in cybersecurity is still in its infancy. “Many techniques lack rigorous experimental measures of effectiveness,” the organization said, adding that “information is insufficient to determine how defensive deception changes attacker behavior.” Artificial intelligence If there was a common denominator of the federal government's investment in cybersecurity it is the use or artificial intelligence. The Navy has embraced artificial intelligence since its Task Force Cyber Awakening project in 2015. “We see that the more we automate our networks and the more we use machines to do the heavy lifting, the better. Our brains do not have the intellectual capacity to process all of that information,” Rear Adm. Danelle Barrett, Navy Cyber Security Division Director,told Defense Systems, a trade publication, in a 2017 interview. More than half of the challenges and research opportunities announced by IARPA in 2018 involved machine learning, according to an analysis by Fifth Domain. Cyber Command has embraced the technology in a short time period, Capt. Ed Devinney, director of corporate partnerships at the body, said during the November Cyber Con conference hosted by Fifth Domain. “If you talked to anyone at the command two or three years ago about a system that would be all autonomous, you probably wouldn't get much traction. But I think there is a growing understanding and consensus that we need to operate at machine speed, especially when talking about active defense of the network,” Devinney said. He said that everyone likes to use the phrases “artificial intelligence” and “machine learning,” however “there aren't that many people who do AI very well.” https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/2019/01/07/3-ways-the-navy-wants-to-protect-its-weapons-from-cyberattacks

NAVY General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., (NASSCO)-Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia, is awarded a $91,477,172 undefinitized contract action as a modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-16-C-4306) for USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) fiscal 2019 Dry-docking Planned Incremental Availability. A Dry-docking Planned Incremental Availability includes the planning and execution of depot-level maintenance, alterations, and modifications that will update and improve the ship's military and technical capabilities. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, Virginia, and is expected to be complete by February 2021. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $45,738,586 will be obligated at time of award and $45,738,586 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center, Norfolk, Virginia, is the administrative contracting activity. Clark Nexsen Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded a maximum amount $60,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity architect-engineering contract for multi-discipline architect-engineering services in Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Mid-Atlantic area of responsibility (AOR). The work to be performed provides for comprehensive architect-engineering services required for planning, design, and construction services in support of new construction, repair, replacement, demolition, alteration, and/or improvement of Navy and other governmental facilities. Facilities may include, but are not limited, personnel housing facilities, (bachelor enlisted quarters and bachelor officers quarters, hospitality); office facilities (medical, training, secure facilities); training facilities (operational, maintenance, and classroom), and industrial maintenance facilities (vehicle maintenance ships, shore intermediate maintenance activities, aircraft maintenance hangars, public works ships, and warehouses). Projects may involve single or multiple disciplines, including, but not limited to, architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, civil, landscape design, fire protection, commissioning and interior design. Task Order 0001 is being awarded at $528,950 for preliminary design authority to validate planning requirements and develop preliminary design deliverables in support of P1035, corrosion control and paint facility. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by March 2019. All work on this contract will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities within the NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic AOR including, but not limited to Norfolk, Virginia (27 percent); Portsmouth, Virginia (27 percent); Virginia Beach, Virginia (26 percent); Yorktown, Virginia (15 percent), and other facilities within the NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic AOR (5 percent). The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date January 2024. Fiscal 2019 military construction (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $528,950 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); and operations and maintenance (Navy). This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 12 proposals received. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-19-D-9041). L-3 Technologies Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah, is awarded $12,556,242 for modification P00006 to a previously awarded, firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-18-C-1030) to manufacture, test, deliver, manage, and support the common data link Hawklink AN/SRQ-4 systems for the MH-60R aircraft. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah (60 percent); Atlanta, Georgia (14 percent); Mountain View, California (6 percent); Exeter, New Hampshire (2 percent); Derby, Kansas (1 percent); El Cajon, California (1 percent); Boise, Idaho (1 percent); Dover, New Hampshire (1 percent); Sunnyvale, California (1 percent); York Haven, Pennsylvania (1 percent); Bohemia, New York (1 percent); Oxnard, California (1 percent); Littleton, Massachusetts (1 percent); Providence, Rhode Island (1 percent); Cedar Park, Texas (1 percent); Minnetonka, Minnesota (1 percent); Phoenix, Arizona (1 percent); Stow, Massachusetts (1 percent); Salinas, California (1 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (1 percent); Skokie, Illinois (1 percent); and Toronto, Canada (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2020. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $12,556,242 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Southeastern Kentucky Rehabilitation Industries Inc., Corbin, Kentucky, has been awarded a maximum $7,229,250 modification (P00016) exercising the fourth one-year option of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-15-D-N006) with four one-year option periods for various types of caps. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Kentucky, with a Jan. 9, 2020, performance completion date. Using military services are Army and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1725637/source/GovDelivery/

THERESA McGUIRE, © 2018 FrontLine (Vol 15, No 6) The Arctic Ocean is so beautiful in the late summer and early fall, but can be deathly cold & unpredictable. Having a well-prepared, self-sufficient team is critical when it comes to marine safety and emergency response. We had sailed from the port of St John's, Newfoundland on August 21st, and were heading toward Resolute, Nunavut, on the six-deck, Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Henry Larsen, high-endurance, multi-tasked icebreaker. Onboard as the Health Officer, I was looking forward to another safe Arctic mission on the 100-metre-long ship. Henry Larsen is well equipped with additional transportation equipment and emergency vessels that included a Bell 429 helicopter, two new lifeboats, two hydrographic survey boats, a Zodiac Fast Rescue Craft, a metal barge for scientific technical work, and a variety of inflatable rafts. In addition to assisting in scientific research, the Canadian Coast Guard's expanded mandate includes marine SAR (search and rescue), icebreaking, supporting and maintaining marine communications and navigation, and even responding to environmental pollution. We are always ready for the wide range of search and rescue calls, which can come from vessels in distress or downed aircraft. If you're working on a Coast Guard vessel, you'd better be comfortable working in unusual environments and working independently – and that's also true for any health professionals on board. As a former army nurse and now occupational health nurse specializing in workplace health and safety, I enjoy these missions immensely with a full scope of nursing practice and a supportive crew to assist if needed. Sick bay on the Larsen is also well equipped, with oxygen, emergency airways and medications, sutures, defibrillator and ECG, and trauma and mass casualty kits all at the ready. Full article: https://defence.frontline.online/article/2018/6/10844-Sailing-into-the-Ice

Nicolas Berrod Après deux années de rénovation, le « Charles-de-Gaulle », à nouveau opérationnel, s'apprête à reprendre la mer. Nous avons pu passer 48 heures à bord, au côté de l'équipage, actuellement en pleine phase d'entraînement. « Wave off ! » Le cri de l'officier résonne sur le pont d'envol pour signifier à tout le monde de... « dégager ». Bienvenue à bord du « Charles-de-Gaulle », le seul porte-avions de la marine française, qui vient de subir un lifting intégral d'une durée de deux ans, pour un coût total de 1,3Mds €. Avant de repartir en mission dans quelques mois, ce mastodonte de 42 000 t pour 261 m de long poursuit ses entraînements au large de Toulon, son port d'attache. « On était orphelins, le Charles-de-Gaulle nous a manqué », sourit Christophe, capitaine de frégate et chef des pilotes. Avec ses collègues, ils ont eu beau s'être entraînés sur piste classique et sur un porte-avions américain le temps de la rénovation, rien ne vaut à leurs yeux le prestige du bateau français, en service depuis 2001. Le « Charles-de-Gaulle » aura un successeur, a assuré Emmanuel Macron, lorsqu'il sera mis hors service vers 2040. Coût estimé : minimum 3 Mds€. Et durée de la construction : 15 ans... au moins ! Chiens jaunes Alors, en attendant, la France compte sur son unique porte-avions, véritable village flottant de 2000 habitants - un équipage de 17 à 55 ans, dont 140 officiers de pont, 300 techniciens, 33 cuisiniers, 2 boulangers, 17 % de femmes au total. Après 18 mois passés à la cale, il faut le remettre en service. D'où, en cette fin d'automne, un entraînement intensif en Méditerranée, à quelques dizaines de kilomètres des côtes françaises. Entre quatre et vingt Rafales (NDLR : avions de combat) sont catapultés trois fois par jour, décollant sur une piste d'à peine quelques dizaines de mètres. Au signal des « chiens jaunes », ces officiers de pont reconnaissables à leur gilet coloré, les avions atteignent en quelques secondes les 200 km/h. Ce lundi-là, une poignée de jeunes pilotes - entre 22 et 26 ans - effectuent leur baptême de vol sur le « Charles-de-Gaulle ». Pour pouvoir manœuvrer sur un porte-avions, il leur faut avoir un minimum de 100 heures de vol sur Rafale. « On porte une attention toute particulière à ces jeunes », glisse, l'œil rivé à la piste, Jean-Philippe, chef des « chiens jaunes ». À l'issue de leur vol - ce jour-là dans un ciel dégagé -, ces pilotes doivent accrocher l'un des trois brins d'arrêt situés sur la piste pour apponter. Ces épais c'bles qui stoppent le Rafale d'un coup sont indispensables sur une piste aussi courte. « C'est comme si on pilait sur autoroute », glisse un officier, qui scrute à l'horizon les premiers avions sur le retour. Paradoxalement, au moment de toucher le pont à 250 km/h, les pilotes doivent remettre les gaz à fond. Car, s'ils ratent les brins, il faut pouvoir redécoller à temps ! « On appelle ça un bolter, c'est un peu un bizutage pour les nouveaux », sourit l'expérimenté capitaine Christophe, 2000 heures de vol sur Rafale derrière lui. Article complet: http://www.leparisien.fr/politique/le-porte-avions-charles-de-gaulle-reprend-la-mer-comme-neuf-06-01-2019-7981617.php