Nouvelles

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON —The United Arab Emirates on Jan. 20 signed off on a deal to purchase up to 50 F-35 joint strike fighter aircraft and 18 MQ-9 Reaper drones from the United States. According to Reuters, which broke the news, the agreement was one of the final acts of the Trump administration, occurring just an hour before President Joe Biden was inaugurated. A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed separately to Defense News that the U.S. and UAE officials on Wednesday signed a letter of agreement, which solidifies the terms of a foreign military sale between two nations. The departments of State and Defense did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The agreement delineates the cost of the aircraft, technical specifications and the schedule for F-35 deliveries to the UAE, people familiar with the deal told Reuters. Those sources could not confirm when the first F-35 is due to be delivered to Abu Dhabi, but stated that an initial proposal stipulated 2027 as one possible date. The UAE deal was previously estimated at a $23.37 billion value, including 50 F-35A fighters worth $10.4 billion, 18 MQ-9B drones worth $2.97 billion, and $10 billion worth of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions. Those dollar totals are expected to shift around during further negotiations with F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin and MQ-9 maker General Atomics. It's unclear whether the incoming administration will seek to undo the deal. Biden's pick for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, told reporters in late October that the sale is “something we would look at very, very carefully,” due to U.S. obligations to preserve Israel's qualitative military edge. In December, the Senate rejected an attempt to block the sale, with Republicans largely voting to preserve the deal. The first vote concerned the drones and munitions and failed 46-50, while the second concerned the F-35s and fell 47-49. Aaron Mehta and Joe Gould in Washington contributed to this report. https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2021/01/20/just-hours-before-bidens-inauguration-the-uae-and-us-come-to-a-deal-on-f-35-sales

January 19, 2021 - The German Navy is once again counting on simulation expertise from Rheinmetall when it comes to training its NH90 NTH Sea Lion helicopter crews. In December 2020 the European NH90 procurement and management organization, NAHEMA, awarded the company an order for an Asterion classroom solution destined for Naval Air Wing 3 at Nordholz on the North Sea coast. Delivery will take place later this year. The digital Asterion classroom will be used to train maintenance personnel for the NH90 NTH Sea Lion naval transport helicopter. Among other things, the system features a soft panel cockpit in which the instruments are depicted by touchscreens, coupled with a mission control console necessary for naval helicopter training. The package also includes Asterion software, desktop hardware and tablets. Asterion is a modern, integrated, holistic training concept for all phases of training. It accurately simulates the behaviour of the helicopter's full panoply of functions, including its hydraulic, electric and tactical systems. Due to ship in late summer, the digital Asterion classroom marks another milestone in Rheinmetall's longstanding partnership with the German Bundeswehr. A similar form of Asterion simulation software has already been integrated into the functional cockpit of the NH90 NTH Maintenance Training Rig, which is used to train maintenance personnel assigned to Naval Air Wing 5. The German Army also uses Asterion simulation technology in its ground crew training systems at the International Helicopter Training Centre at Faßberg in Lower Saxony. Here, Army Aviation maintenance and repair specialists are trained in operational and maintenance procedures in Rheinmetall-made cockpits, each a perfect replica of the ground forces version of the NH90. The NH90 programme is considered to be Europe's largest military helicopter programme, for which Rheinmetall is now supplying additional training resources. In the meantime, moreover, Asterion simulation technology is listed with the NH90 procurement and management organization NAHEMA, meaning that it can now be procured by any NH90 user nation, a number of which have already announced serious interest in the concept. Meanwhile, the German Navy has taken delivery of the first NH90 NTH Sea Lion multipurpose helicopters, whose maintenance crews will soon be undergoing comprehensive training in Rheinmetall simulators. Particularly in the initial phase, training and retraining of personnel to repair and maintain this highly sophisticated new helicopter is a top priority. Rheinmetall AG Corporate Sector Defence Press and Information Oliver Hoffmann Rheinmetall Platz 1 40476 Düsseldorf Germany Phone: +49 211 473-4748 Fax: +49 211 473-4157 View source version on Rheinmetall : https://rheinmetall-defence.com/en/rheinmetall_defence/public_relations/news/latest_news/index_26240.php

By: Nigel Pittaway MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia has selected Boeing's AH-64E Apache Guardian as it's next armed reconnaissance helicopter, replacing its Airbus Helicopters Tiger fleet under the Land 4503 program estimated to be worth AU$4-5 billion (U.S. $3–3.8 billion). The selection of the Apache follows the release of a request for information in July 2019 and was announced by Australian Defence Minister Linda Reynolds on Friday. The RFI called for 29 helicopters, with 24 to be based at a single location with two operational armed recon helo squadrons, and a five for training Army pilots and battle captains at the Australian Army Aviation Training Centre at Oakey, Queensland. The two operational Tiger squadrons are currently based in Darwin in the Northern Territory as part of the 1st Aviation Regiment. The RFI also stipulated an initial operational capability, represented by 12 helicopters, in 2026; and final operational capability with all 29 aircraft two years later. In addition to Boeing, Bell responded to the RFI with its AH-1Z Viper, and Airbus Helicopters with an updated Tiger. “The Apache Guardian is the most lethal, most survivable and lowest-risk option, meeting all of [the Department of] Defence's capability, through-life support, security and certification requirements,” Reynolds said. “By pursuing a proven and low-risk system offered by the Apache, [the Department of] Defence will avoid the ongoing cost and schedule risk typically associated with developmental platforms.” The Tiger was introduced to service in December 2004 but suffered poor availability rates and high ownership costs early in its career, before a remediation plan was implemented by the Department of Defence and industry around 2016. Reynolds said the issues with the Tiger fleet and other Australian military rotary-wing projects had informed the strategy to seek a proven and mature replacement. The decision to acquire the Apache was made under the Australian government's “Smart Buyer” policy, which allows for sole-source selection without a competition if there is a clear preference for a particular platform. A spokesman for Australia's Department of Defence said the government will now consider the acquisition of mission sensors and mission-relevant equipment, including the AN/APG-78 Longbow fire control radar, but no specific configuration or numbers of radars have been revealed. The spokesman said the department will continue to consider options to improve upon the Apache that maximize opportunities for the local defense industry, including warehousing services, training development, engineering services and maintenance, and repair and overhaul. “Additionally, early detailed transition planning will be conducted to ensure effective management of the skilled workforce, across [the Department of] Defence and industry, as [the Department of] Defence transitions the Tiger to the Apache,” the spokesman said. Boeing said the AH-64E provides Australia with a fully integrated, battle-proven capability and will continue to expand its industry capability and supply chain in Australia. “Apache is supported by an active production line and a U.S. Army modernization plan through to the late 2040s, thereby ensuring the platform remains the leading attack and reconnaissance capability through to 2050 and beyond,” a company spokesperson said. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2021/01/19/australia-selects-boeing-apache-as-next-armed-reconnaissance-helicopter

By: Andrew Chuter LONDON — U.S. combat jets and a destroyer are to join the British Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier on its maiden operational deployment to the Asia-Pacific region later in 2021, after officials formally approved the deployment Tuesday. British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and U.S. acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller co-signed a joint declaration approving the deployment of U.S. Marine and U.S. Navy assets as part of a carrier strike group led by the HMS Queen Elizabeth, the British Ministry of Defence announced. U.S. assets attached to the carrier strike group will include a detachment of Marine F-35Bs and the destroyer The Sullivans, the announcement said. The U.S. military has been regularly flying its short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing F-35Bs from the deck of the 65,000-ton Queen Elizabeth as the new carrier tests its capabilities. The warship was commissioned in December 2017, and the carrier strike group achieved initial operating capability in December 2020. The inclusion of Marine combat jets on the warship has long been planned by the two governments, not least because Britain has a modest numbers of F-35Bs available. The British carrier also will deploy Leonardo-built Merlin helicopters for anti-submarine missions and other duties. Wallace said in a statement that the U.K. “now possesses a 21st century carrier strike capability, which has been greatly assisted by the unswerving support and cooperation of the US at all levels over the past decade.” “This deployment embodies the strength of our bilateral ties and reflects the depth and breadth of this vital defence and security partnership,” he added. The British government has not officially announced where the deployment is expected to take the carrier force, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson previously said the group would be going to the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and the Pacific region. That's expected to include Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Oman; Britain has a naval support base in the latter. British officials previously signaled the carrier and its support ships could transit through the South China Sea, where the U.S. regularly conducts freedom of navigation operations in disputed waters claimed by China. A second carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, was commissioned in late 2019 and is scheduled to become operational in 2023. It was hit by a serious flooding incident last year, which caused the cancellation of a trip to the U.S. Eastern Seaboard for trials with the F-35B. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2021/01/19/american-warship-f-35-jets-to-deploy-with-british-fleet

By: Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's defense and aerospace exports stood at $2.3 billion in 2020, marking a 14.8 percent decline in comparison to 2019, official figures have revealed. The Turkish Exporters' Assembly, or TIM in its Turkish acronym, said disruption in production, supply and logistics processes due to restrictions imposed over the coronavirus pandemic caused the fall in exports. In 2020, the defense and aerospace industry accounted for 1.3 percent of Turkey's overall exports. TIM said the top market for Turkish manufacturers in 2020 was the United States, with $784.2 million in sales, or 4 percent less than in 2019. Turkey's staunch political ally in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, was the second-largest export market, with sales reaching $260.8 million, marking a 194 percent rise from the previous year. Another major market was the United Arab Emirates, a Gulf rival to Turkey in foreign policy. Turkish exports to the UAE were at $200.2 million, up 51 percent from 2019. Locally produced systems meet 70 percent of Turkey's military's requirements, compared to 35 percent in 2002. In that same period, the number of defense procurement programs rose from 66 to more than 700, or from $5.5 billion to $70 billion in contract value. Similarly, defense and aerospace industry turnover went up from less than $1 billion to more than $9 billion, and exports from $248 million to $2.7 billion. In 2020, there were seven Turkish companies on Defense News' list of the top 100 defense companies around the world. The government has declared its defense and aerospace industry exports target as $10.2 billion by 2023. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2021/01/19/turkey-reports-nearly-15-drop-in-defense-exports/

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing [BA] a nearly $1.7 billion contract for 12 KC-46 tankers in Lot Six of the production run of the aircraft, the Pentagon said on Jan. 12. Acting as cell towers to relay data between the cloud and front-line forces in future... https://www.defensedaily.com/u-s-air-force-awards-boeing-nearly-1-7-billion-lot-six-kc-46-tankers/air-force/

01/18/2021 | 12:16pm EST NEWS FROM SAAB 18 January 2021 CUE 21-001 Saab Proposes New Saab Sensor Centre in Canada Today at the AIx Space 2021 Conference Saab announced that it has offered to establish a new facility in Canada as part of its offer for Canada's Future Fighter Capability Project (FFCP). This would be known as the Saab Sensor Centre and would be located in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a focus on sensor technologies such as radar. The Saab Sensor Centre would provide career opportunities for Canadian engineering talent in the Vancouver area, as well offering research and development avenues for academia. One of the proposed projects is to develop a Space Surveillance Radar (SSR) in Canada, in co-operation with other companies within the Canadian space industry. It is envisaged that this surface radar will target the global market for greater awareness of objects in the Earth's orbit. "So much of modern life and military capability depends on space- based assets. Today space is anything but empty when it comes to the Earth's immediate vicinity with an increasing number of satellites and many more to come. We feel that Saab teamed with Canadian space partners are the perfect combination to co-develop a SSR for Canada and the global market," said Simon Carroll, President of Saab Canada Inc. A Saab radar demonstrator has been built and is the basis for a co- development opportunity of a SSR with Canadian companies and their world-leading expertise and knowledge. This demonstrator leverages radar technology as found in Saab's military radars that operate across the world including on Canadian and US naval ships. NEWS FROM SAAB Saab, in co-operation with the Swedish government, has offered 88 Gripen E fighter aircraft, for Canada's FFCP. The establishment of the Saab Sensor Centre is part of the associated Canada-wide Industrial and Technological Benefits program from Saab. For further information, please contact: Saab Press Centre, +46 (0)734 180 018 presscentre@saabgroup.com www.saab.ca Twitter: @Saab Facebook: @saabtechnologies LinkedIn: Saab Instagram: Saab Saab serves the global market with world-leading products, services and solutions within military defence and civil security. Saab has operations and employees on all continents around the world. Through innovative, collaborative and pragmatic thinking, Saab develops, adopts and improves new technology to meet customers' changing needs. This is an excerpt of the original content. To continue reading it, access the original document here. Attachments Original document Permalink Disclaimer Saab AB published this content on 18 January 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 18 January 2021 17:15:01 UTC https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/SAAB-AB-6491624/news/Saab-Proposes-New-Saab-Sensor-Centre-in-Canada-32221101/

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY US Foods Inc., Port Orange, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $390,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Florida, Cuba and Bahamas, with a Jan. 18, 2026, ordering period end date. Using military services are Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy and Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-21-D-3312). Federal Prison Industries Inc.,** Washington, D.C., has been awarded a maximum $24,708,000 modification (P00011) exercising the first one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-20-D-F056) with four one-year option periods for various types of trousers. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Locations of performance are Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Washington, D.C., with a Jan. 20, 2022, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NAVY General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut, is awarded a $41,554,227 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for engineering and technical design effort to support research and development concept formulation for current and future submarine platforms. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $305,521,179. Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut (96.1%); Bremerton, Washington (1.7%); Kings Bay, Georgia (1.7%); and Newport, Rhode Island (0.5%), and is expected to be completed by September 2021. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2025. Fiscal 2021 research, development, test and engineering (Navy) funds in the amount of $250,000 (80%); and 2020 research, development, test and engineering (Navy) funds in the amount of $63,000 (20%), will be obligated at time of award, of which funding in the amount of $63,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured and is a sole-source award pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(3) – Industrial Mobilization. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Sundance-EA Associates II,* Pocatello, Idaho, is awarded a maximum-value $30,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for environmental compliance services at Joint Region Marianas, Guam. The work to be performed is for a full range of environmental support activities for naval installation environmental compliance programs to ensure the supported components, tenant commands and facilities and contractor operations demonstrate and maintain compliance with all applicable federal, U.S. territory, and local statutes, and with Department of Defense and Navy policies, permits, instructions and guidance. Environmental compliance programs include clean air, safe drinking water, clean water, hazardous waste, pollution prevention, solid waste management, pesticide compliance, emergency planning and community right-to-know act, ozone-depleting substances management, storage tank management, environmental quality assessment, environmental sampling and analysis and overall environmental compliance oversight. Future task orders will be primarily funded by operation and maintenance (Navy) funds. Work will be performed in the Joint Region Marianas area of responsibility and is expected to be completed by January 2026. Work under the initial task order will be performed in Guam and is expected to be completed by January 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,447,016 will be obligated under the initial task order at 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 six proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Marianas, Guam, is the contracting activity (N40192-21-D-1820). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Melbourne, Florida, is awarded a $29,776,196 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N00019-21-F-0064) against previously issued basic ordering agreement N00019-20-G-0005. This order procures five aerial refueling retrofit kits and installation on the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. Work will be performed in Ronkonkoma, New York (44.53%); Baltimore, Maryland (16.62%); Irvine, California (6.48%); Hauppauge, New York (5.85%); Columbia, Maryland (4.75%); Dorset, England (3.17%); East Aurora, New York (2.64%); North Hollywood, California (2.02%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (13.94%), and is expected to be completed in May 2022. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $29,776,196 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Range Generation Next LLC, Sterling, Virginia, has been awarded a $14,600,345 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P000327) to contract FA8806-15-C-0001 for a telemetry end-to-end processing system. This modification supports an increase in launch and test range requirements. Work will primarily be performed at Eastern Range, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida; Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida; and Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and is expected to be completed May 11, 2023. Fiscal 2020 Air Force space procurement funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson AFB, Colorado, is the contracting activity. ARMY Transportation Management Services Inc., Sandy Spring, Maryland, was awarded a $13,874,720 firm-fixed-price contract to provide transportation services throughout the National Capital Region from Jan.16, 2021, through Jan. 31, 2021. Bids were solicited via the internet with eight received. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (National Guard) funds in the amount of $13,874,720 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army National Guard Bureau, Operational Contracting Division, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W912R1-21-F-0002). *Small business **Mandatory source https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2476202/source/GovDelivery/

By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is tapping industry for drones that can deliver supplies to infantry brigade combat teams in the field, according to a request for information posted to the federal contracting website Beta.Sam.Gov on Jan. 13. Army Futures Command's Sustainment Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate as well as the Marine Corps' Capabilities Development and Integration office began looking in earnest at a concept called the “Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply System,” about two years ago with the hope of getting a capabilities development document signed in three years. But the concept has been alive for much longer. In 2018, the JTAARS concept was on an evaluation list for the Joint Warfighting Assessment in Grafenwoehr, Germany. The services plan to field the system by 2026. The drone should already be technologically mature to demonstrate capability, weigh less than a Group 3 drone — or less than approximately 1,300 pounds — and be able to haul up to 800 pounds of supplies to the field to provide an organic sustainment capability for infantry brigade combat teams in a multidomain operational environment, according to the request for information. The drone should also be able to operate in a 110-mile radius at day or night, and in bad weather conditions, as well as plug into current and future tactical command-and-control systems, the RFI read. Setup time to launch a package should take 15 minutes, and two to four soldiers should be able to lift it out of a transport container, the RFI said. This means the system should be lightweight and easy to use, the document explained. The drone must automatically launch, navigate in GPS-denied environments, drop cargo, land and return to its point of origin, the document added. The system should also be able to avoid obstacles and pick optimal flight paths and landing sites on its own, the RFI explained. Turnaround time between missions should be minimal, according to the RFI, and the system should be modular and open in order to integrate a variety of payloads and software needed, but it also must be secure from cyberattacks. The Army and Marine Corps have worked on autonomous resupply concepts for over a decade. Perhaps most well-known is the evaluation of Lockheed Martin's K-MAX unmanned helicopter, which had the capability to sling-load cargo. Two of the aircraft were evaluated for several years in Afghanistan beginning in late 2011; one aircraft crashed. The services completed the operational assessment but did not pursue the capability beyond that. While the Army has focused on robotic ground convoys for resupply — including developing leader-follower capability — it's expected that autonomous resupply will happen in the air before ground systems provide sustainment due to the increased complication of navigating unpredictable terrain and obstacles on land. And as the commercial sector — such as Amazon and Google — continues to invest in the drone delivery market, systems designed for the task will become more reliable, more capable and less expensive, likely benefiting the U.S. military. That market is projected to be worth almost $29 billion by the late 2020s. Responses from industry are due Feb. 12. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2021/01/15/us-army-taps-industry-for-autonomous-drones-to-resupply-troops