Nouvelles

The F-35 maker is fighting to keep its monopoly on the Air Force's fighter-jet shopping list. While it's not unusual for companies to battle one another for weapons deals, these fights often occur behind the scenes, as lobbyists and executives spar inside the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill. But the fight over whether the U.S. Air Force should buy one or two types of $80 million fighter jets is spilling into the public view, in the pages of the trade press and in think tank reports. Air Force leaders say they need both the F-35 Lightning II, the newest fighter in the U.S. military arsenal, and the F-15EX, the latest version of the twin-engine jet first flown in 1972. Early last year, Lockheed began to fight back against Boeing's reappearance on the service's tactical-jet shopping list.The battle became a war in July when the Air Force placed a $1.2 billion order for eight jets and said it might spend up to $23 billion to buy up to 144 new F-15s in the coming years. It's rare for a conservative think tank to explicitly call for canceling defense programs; typically, they argue for increasing defense spending and buying more weapons. But the influential Heritage Foundation has consistently urged the Air Force not to buy the F-15EX. “I'm just kind of surprised by the broadsides that have been occurring lately,” Jeff Shockey, vice president of global sales and marketing for Boeing Defense, Space & Security and Boeing Global Services' government services portfolio, said in an interview Friday. The stakes are also higher now as defense spending has flattened and not expected to grow in the coming years. The latest attacks on the F-15 come as Congress is reviewing the fiscal 2021 defense spending and policy bills. J.V. Venable, a retired Air Force F-16 pilot who is a senior research fellow at Heritage, compared the F-15EX to antiquated dial-up internet. “In deciding to fund the acquisition of the F-15EX, Congress has chosen the dial-up option,” he argued in Defense One last month. “When the Air Force signs that contract, it will be stuck with already-dated equipment for the next 30 years.” This week, the Mitchell Institute, the Air Force Association's internal think tank, published a report that argues the F-15EX “ may address immediate shortfalls, but it ultimately fails to anticipate or prepare for a much more demanding future combat environment.” More than a decade ago, as the F-35 struggled with a long list of development problems and cost overruns, Boeing and its surrogates pushed Air Force leaders to consider buying new F-15s or even Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets. Now as the service prepares to buy new F-15s for the first time in nearly two decades, the script has flipped. The Air Force appears to have been persuaded by arguments that the F-15 is cheaper to fly than the F-35, and can more easily accept new applications and weapons. But Lockheed is firing back with arguments that the fifth-generation F-35 has stealth, weapons, sensors, and data capabilities that make it a far superior choice. “We believe the F-35 is a superior platform,” said Michele Evans, the president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, in an interview Thursday. "With its fifth-[generation] capabilities, we believe it brings capabilities that other platforms can't.” The F-15EX is intended to replace F-15C Eagles, planes that are largely flown by the Air National Guard for homeland defense. The F-15C is considered an air superiority fighter — meaning it's fine-tuned for air-to-air combat — and cannot strike ground targets. But the Air Force also flies the ground-pounding F-15E Strike Eagle, of which the F-15EX is a modernized derivative. “The F-35 and [F-15]EX are very complementary to one another,” Shockey said. “They do very different mission sets.” Evans, who oversees Lockheed's combat aircraft projects, said she does not view the F-15EX as a threat to the F-35. “I certainly respect the Air Force, that they've made a decision to procure the F-15EX and we're going to continue to make sure that we're driving upgrades and capabilities into the F-35 to keep it competitive and keep it the platform of choice for the U.S. Air Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps and our partner and [foreign military sales] nations,” she said. https://www.defenseone.com/business/2020/09/lockheed-boeing-battle-heats-usaf-looks-buy-f-15ex/168425/

"There's a lot of inefficiencies in the process. But it's basically a fight, with each community pressing its case to its own regulatory body," says Jennifer Warren, Lockheed Martin's vice president for technology, policy and regulation. By THERESA HITCHENSon September 11, 2020 at 2:19 PM WASHINGTON: The FCC's controversial decision to let Ligado proceed with its 5G wireless network over fierce DoD objections is just one more example of the broken state of the US regime for managing spectrum, industry experts say. “There's a lot of inefficiencies in the process. But it's basically a fight, with each community pressing its case to its own regulatory body,” Jennifer Warren, Lockheed Martin's vice president for technology, policy and regulation, told the Secure World Foundation (SWF) Summit for Space Sustainability this morning. This has led a little-known but highly influential government advisory panel to recommend a series of options for overhauling the US regulatory system — including the creation of a new agency — to empower a single entity to decide how to balance skyrocketing demands for bandwidth as availability dwindles. “[T]he United States' current approach for managing the use of spectrum is no longer effectively serving the needs of the entire stakeholder community and would benefit from reform,” the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC) says in a recent report. “Moreover, with the increased use of spectrum by all stakeholders, we agree that issues around allocations, spectrum-sharing and band adjacencies will need to be handled with both speed and skill to ensure that the US is making the most of its critical national resources.” CSMAC, created by the Commerce Department in 2004, comprises spectrum policy experts outside the government. The report, said Warren, who was one of the authors, was designed to kick start what many in industry see as an urgent debate about how US spectrum policies can accommodate a rapidly changing technological environment — particularly the emergence of 5G networking, which has the potential to revolutionize global communications. Currently, two different US government bodies have regulatory control of spectrum by different users with very different priorities. The FCC governs use of spectrum by the commercial telecommunications industry (both terrestrial and space-based). The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) governs access to bandwidth for government agencies, including DoD. This bifurcation was established by the 1934 Communications Act and remains in place despite massive upheaval in technology and spectrum use since then. The Ligado case underscores that, despite a 2003 memorandum of understanding between FCC and NTIA that pledges them to coordinate, there is no requirement that they reach consensus, Warren explained. Indeed, there isn't even a requirement that a disputed decision by the FCC, such as on Ligado, must be escalated for adjudication. Instead, the FCC has “unilateral decision-making power.” Indeed, the CMSAC report stresses that: “There are no statutory federal or non-federal bands. All such federal, non-federal, and shared band allocations result from agreements between NTIA and the FCC.” As Breaking D has reported extensively, DoD, the Intelligence Community, the Transportation Department, the FAA and even the Agriculture Department — not to mention congressional defense committee leaders — have charged that the Ligado plan will create serious interference to GPS receivers used both by commercial/civil users and US troops. Those concerns have been echoed by a number of commercial users groups, from airline pilots to construction workers to farmers. Not only does the current regulatory system block rational decisions on spectrum sharing among types of users, it also creates problems for the United States in its negotiations with other countries on spectrum usage at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Kimberly Baum, vice president of regulatory affairs at Echostar Corp., told SWF. The ITU is responsible for setting rules about how spectrum is used by whom at the international level via its Radio Regulations and frequency allocation tables — something that particularly affects satellites that usually serve more than one nation. Every three to four years, ITU holds a World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), the next of which is scheduled for 2023, where the 193 member nations propose changes to spectrum usage. The State Department is charged with bringing the US position on changes, developed by the FCC and NTIA, to Geneva. Baum, who also is co-chair of the Satellite Industry Association's (SIA) regulatory working group, explained that because the NTIA and FCC each works with its own constituents, sometimes for years, to craft those WRC proposals, differences between them are not resolved until the last minute — if at all. And this loses the time the US needs to try to convince other countries to back its views. (Indeed, as Breaking D readers know, a number of US lawmakers and policy experts are worried that internal US disarray on spectrum management rules for 5G is effectively ceding power at the ITU to China.) “I would love to see a concerted effort to make decisions that meaningfully accommodate multiple services and technologies in a more fair, thoughtful way,” Baum said. Any changes to the current regulatory system would require congressional action to rewrite the Communications Act, and re-allocate statutory authorities, said Warren. A next step, she said, might be for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to do a study of the issues and make recommendations to Congress. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/09/ligado-exemplifies-broken-us-spectrum-management-industry-experts

Sept. 11, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak After nearly shutting down production several times, Lockheed Martin is getting a surge of orders for the F-16. With a current backlog of 130 jets, and several countries on the cusp of making orders, the company sees a possibility of surpassing the 5,000th airplane of the type, Lockheed Martin Executive Vice President of Aeronautic Michele A. Evans said Sept. 9. “We're seeing a ... resurgence of the F-16 business,” Evans said in an interview with Air Force Magazine. The company is producing Block 70 Falcons for Bahrain, Bulgaria, and Slovakia at its Greenville, S.C., plant, where it moved the F-16 line last year, freeing up space at its Fort Worth, Texas, plant for the F-35 production line. “We're up to about 4,600 aircraft delivered and can see possibly getting up to 5,000,” Evans said. Production is ramping up to four aircraft a month at Greenville, which has increased its workforce to 400 employees, she noted. It is also operating under an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity Air Force contract to supply F-16s to Morocco and Taiwan and potential future or repeat customers. The IDIQ vehicle will streamline and speed up contracting so there is a “base configuration” of aircraft to be built, “and then we propose only the unique capabilities for each country,” in the form of specific sensors or capabilities, she said. “We then just negotiate that contract with those countries.” The backlog does not include India, where Lockheed is seeking a contract for an advanced version of the F-16 to be called the F-21. Along with partner Tata, Lockheed would build 114 airplanes in India, under license, if it wins the competition. The F-16 sales could also create future F-35 customers, Evans said. “For a lot of these countries, ... as we get them capable with the F-16, we believe the next step for many ... is future procurement of the F-35.” Evans said the U.S. Air Force is seeking more operational flight program and software updates for its own F-16s, and may be interested in other improvements as well. The Air Force is “looking to advance the capability” of its Falcons, she said. The current backlog will keep the F-16 in production through 2025, Evans noted, but Lockheed would consider increasing the rate of production if demand increases. Hitting 5,000 Falcons delivered would likely take more than seven years of sustained work, she said. However, “We don't see any issues in terms of being able to meet customer demand,” she added. Editor's Note: This story was updated at 9:41 a.m. Sept. 12 to include the correct number in the F-16 backlog. https://www.airforcemag.com/lockheed-new-demand-for-f-16s-could-push-type-past-5000-mark

Lee Berthiaume/ The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Time is running out for the federal Liberal government to name a new commander of the Canadian Armed Forces before it faces a confidence vote, with some observers worrying a delay could leave the military in limbo in the event of an election. Yet exactly who will be selected to succeed Gen. Jonathan Vance as chief of the defence staff remains a mystery because while there may be one seemingly obvious choice, there are others who might suit the Liberals better. "There's a generalized understanding that any of the individuals who have made it to three stars have demonstrated a pretty strong portfolio in terms of competencies and strengths," said Canadian Forces College professor Alan Okros. "It then becomes an issue about where does the priority fall?" The Liberal government has quietly indicated it wants to announce the new chief of defence staff before the speech from the throne on Sept. 23. Sources at the Department of National Defence, who are not authorized to discuss the search publicly, said interviews were conducted this past week Retired lieutenant-general Guy Thibault, who previously served as vice-chief of the defence staff, is one of those hoping for an announcement before a possible election. "You just don't want to have a chief in waiting with a chief caretaker in place," said Thibault, who now heads the Conference of Defence Associations Institute. The seemingly obvious choice is Lt.-Gen. Mike Rouleau. The former Ottawa police officer who re-enrolled in the Forces after 9/11 spent years in the field before becoming commander of Canada's special forces in 2014, at a time when the elite soldiers were in Iraq and elsewhere. Rouleau has since been burnishing his credentials in Ottawa, first as commander of the Canadian Joint Operations Command, which oversees all domestic and foreign operations, before recently taking over as Vance's second-in-command. "I think Mike is really the full-meal deal of all the current three-stars," said Thibault, echoing an assessment shared by many defence insiders and observers. Rouleau's appointment would signal a continuation of the current path set by Vance's five-year tenure — the longest in modern Canadian history — and enshrined in the Liberals' defence policy. That policy — known as Strong, Secure, Engaged — released in 2017 promised massive billions of dollars in investments over the next 20 years for more troops, new equipment such as warships and jets, and new capabilities in cyber and space. A similar signal would be sent if the Liberal government tapped Royal Canadian Air Force commander Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger, Canadian Army commander Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre or Royal Canadian Navy commander Vice-Admiral Art McDonald. They, along with Lt.-Gen. Christopher Coates, who recently moved into Rouleau's old job as head of the Canadian Joint Operations Command, would bring their own skills and styles, but they are also viewed as largely similar in terms of continuity. Some worry the economic damage caused by COVID-19 has made the defence policy unaffordable and that the government might bring out the axe. "If the government writ large turns its mind to budget cutting and deficit reduction, then National Defence is very, very unlikely to survive that for a number of different reasons," said defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. "The biggest one is just the straight arithmetic of it being the largest share of federal budget share." Vice-Admiral Darren Hawco was one of the key architects of the defence policy, with insiders speaking in glowing terms of the way the former frigate commander managed the backroom battles that led to its development. That included managing the priorities of the Air Force, Army and Navy against a set pot of money — an experience that would be especially important if the government wanted to start cutting. Many have wondered whether the Liberals will appoint a woman to become Canada's top military officer for the first time. Such a move would fit with the Liberals' progressive, feminist credentials and signal the government wants to see more action on addressing cultural issues such as racism as well as sexual misconduct and hate in the ranks. "There is still this huge frustration in the Prime Minister's Office (about) the military in not making progress on the sexual harassment side, and particularly the harassment, discrimination and hateful conduct stuff," said Okros. "It then becomes that issue of who is the right person to do that, and at one level, symbolic decisions may be of importance." That is where the first two female lieutenant-generals in Canada's history — Christine Whitecross and Francis Allen — come up. Whitecross in particular has been seen as a potential contender for the chief of the defence staff position for years, and the fact she spearheaded the military's fight against sexual misconduct in the early going could be a feather in her cap. Yet neither Whitecross nor Allen have much experience in the field and Perry said having a chief of the defence staff who didn't command a warship, fly an aircraft or lead soldiers in the field would be almost as groundbreaking as appointing a woman. "That would certainly be almost as notable for an organization that has a lot of cultural orientation around the operational end of things and putting people with those types of backgrounds into the top job," Perry said. Whichever way the government goes, says Thibault, "all of the three-stars currently in the mix wouldn't be where they are if they didn't have very significant experience and credibility and knowledge and skills and the right leadership qualities. "So you can take good confidence that they're all bona fide Canadian Forces leaders. And whoever is picked, I think we would recognize at the very beginning that they will all bring something unique and relevant to the position as chief of defence staff." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2020. https://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/news/next-defence-chief-will-signal-liberals-priorities-for-the-military-1.24202293

NAVY WR Systems Ltd. Fairfax, Virginia, is awarded a $490,500,000 single award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, performance based contract with provisions for cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price task orders. The contract is for maritime position, navigation and timing systems in-service engineering and technical support services. This contract includes a five-year ordering period with a total potential contract value of $490,500,000. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $25,000 will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia (98%); San Diego, California (1%); and Groton, Connecticut (1%), and is expected to be completed by September 2025. The contract was competitively procured by full and open competition via the Naval Information Warfare Command e-Commerce Central website, with two timely offers received. Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic, Charleston, South Carolina, is the contracting activity (N65236-20-D-8024). Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Owego, New York, is awarded a $28,508,412 cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price order (N00019-20-F-0340) against basic ordering agreement N000019-19-G-0029. This order provides non-recurring and recurring engineering support associated with software and hardware development for Phase I integration of the Digital Magnetic Anomaly Detection sensor into the MH-60R aircraft. Work will be performed in Owego, New York (66%); and Montreal, Canada (34%), and is expected to be completed in October 2023. Non-Department of Defense participant funds in the amount of 3,020,159 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. Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $9,049,721 modification (P00004) to cost-plus-fixed-fee order N00019-20-F-0571 against previously issued basic ordering agreement N00019-19-G-0008. This modification provides labor, engineering change order planning, installation and site support activities to operate the Cameri Regional Modification, Repair, Overhaul and Upgrade facility for F-35 aircraft for the government of Italy. Work will be performed in Cameri, Italy (85%); and Fort Worth, Texas (15%), and is expected to be completed by December 2020. Non-Department of Defense funds in the amount of $9,049,721 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. Eastern Research Group Inc., Chantilly, Virginia, is awarded an $8,997,911 cost-plus-fixed-fee bridge contract for analytical engineering and technical support services. Work will be performed in Indian Head, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by September 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $623,741 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1); only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division, Indian Head, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00174-20-C-0012). American Apparel Inc.,* Selma, Alabama, is awarded a $7,260,212 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the purchase of up to a maximum of 70,200 marine corps tropical combat uniforms. Work will be performed in Selma, Alabama, and is expected to be complete by September 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $1,201,631 will be obligated on the first delivery order immediately following contract award and funds will expire at the end of fiscal 2020. This contract was competitively procured via the official contract opportunities website beta.SAM.gov, with one offer received. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M67854-20-D-1690). ARMY Ashford Leebcor Enterprises III LLC, Williamsburg, Virginia, was awarded a $100,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide maintenance and repair of real property and minor construction work for the Fort Lee military installation. Bids were solicited via the internet with eight received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 10, 2025. U.S. Army Field Directorate Office, Fort Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W91QF5-20-D-0001). Guyco Inc., Lampasas, Texas, was awarded a $65,705,000 firm-fixed-price contract for renovation of Hammerhead Barracks at Fort Hood. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed at Fort Hood, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 4, 2022. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $65,705,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-20-C-0034). Lockheed Martin Corp., Owego, New York, was awarded an $18,998,690 fixed-price-incentive contract for the Modernized-Radar Frequency Interferometer. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Owego, New York, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2023. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Army); and 2020 Foreign Military Sales (Qatar) funds in the amount of $18,998,690 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-20-F-0414). Weeks Marine Inc., Covington, Louisiana, was awarded an $18,065,000 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance dredging of the Morehead City Harbor federal navigation channel. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Morehead City, North Carolina, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2021. Fiscal 2018, 2019 and 2020 civil operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $18,065,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington, North Carolina, is the contracting activity (W912PM-20-C-0022). Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. LLC, Oak Brook, Illinois, was awarded a $15,494,310 firm-fixed-price contract for pipeline dredging and channel improvement. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Freeport, Texas, with an estimated completion date of June 18, 2021. Fiscal 2020 civil construction and non-federal 96X8862 funds in the amount of $15,494,310 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W912HY-20-C-0034). SGJV LLC,* Virginia Beach, Virginia, was awarded a $14,947,159 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a new fueling facility at Columbus Air Force Base. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Columbus, Mississippi, with an estimated completion date of July 6, 2021. Fiscal 2020 military construction (Defense-wide) funds in the amount of $14,947,159 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W91278-20-C-0027). Stantec Consulting Service Inc., Fenton, Missouri, was awarded a $12,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for civil works design. Bids were solicited via the internet with ten received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 10, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis, Missouri, is the contracting activity (W912P9-20-D-0017). Raytheon Co., Marlborough, Massachusetts, was awarded a $9,842,441 modification (P00055) to contract W58RGZ-17-C-0070 for air traffic navigation integration and coordination services. Work will be performed in Marlborough, Massachusetts, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 24, 2021. No funds were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia, was awarded an $8,520,938 modification (000194) to contract W31P4Q-18-A-0011 for converged infrastructure engineering support for operational intelligence. Work will be performed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 10, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $8,520,938 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Boulder, Colorado, was awarded an $8,000,000 modification (P00094) to contract W9113M-12-C-0055 for engineering services support for the Joint Tactical Ground Station. Work will be performed in Boulder, Colorado, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2021. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Army) funds in the amount of $810,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Battistella S.p.A., Pordenone, Italy (FA5682-20-D-0001); Eiffage Infraestructuras SA, Sevilla, Spain (FA5682-20-D-0003); Ganter Interior GmbH, Waldkirch, Germany (FA5682-20-D-0004); and JV SKE Italy 2012, Vicenza, Italy (FA5682-20-D-0002), have collectively been awarded an estimated $96,000,000, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award construction contract. This contract provides for a broad range of design-build, sustainment, maintenance, repair, alteration, renovation and minor construction projects to include residential and commercial work for Aviano Air Base, Italy, as well as supporting installations throughout Italy. Work will be performed primarily at Aviano Air Base, and geographically separated units in Italy and is expected to be completed by Sept. 10, 2025. This contract is the result of a competitive acquisition and 12 offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $2,500 are being obligated to each awardee at the time of the award. The 31st Contracting Squadron, Aviano Air Base, Italy, is the contracting activity. A-Tech Corp., doing business as Applied Technology Associates, Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been awarded a $17,663,490 other transaction prototype project agreement. The purpose of the agreement is to obtain a ground-based Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) prototype for the purpose of fixed-site Air Force Air Base Air Defense against Group 1 and Group 2 unmanned aerospace system (UAS) threats. The objective of the Directed Energy Counter-UAS prototype effort is to develop, assemble, and ultimately test a prototype DEW in an operationally relevant environment. This prototype effort will be divided into two phases, with Phase 2 being an option. Phase 1 consists of prototype design, assembly and contractor test. Work will be performed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 10, 2021. This award is the result of competitive procedures under the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Consortium Initiative umbrella agreement FA8604-19-9-4050. A two-step solicitation was issued; 13 white papers and eight proposals were received. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) funds in the amount of $17,600,106; and fiscal 2020 RDT&E funds in the amount of $63,384 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8604-19-9-4050). Correction: The contract announced on Aug. 31 for General Dynamics Mission Systems, Marion, Virginia was announced with an incorrect award date, value amount and completion date. The contract was awarded Sept. 11. General Dynamics Mission Systems, Marion, Virginia, has been awarded a $17,536,820 firm-fixed-price contract for Wide Band Radomes. This contract provides for production of Wide Band Radomes supporting U.S. Air Force F-16 aircraft outfitted with Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars. Work will be performed in Marion, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 10, 2032. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal year (FY) 2018 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $14,421,156 and FY 2020 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $3,115,663 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8615-20-D-6067). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Benco Dental Supply Co., Pittston, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a maximum $32,860,940 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for pharmaceutical products. This was a competitive acquisition with 16 offers received. This is a one-year base contract with nine one-year option periods. Location of performance is Pennsylvania, with a Sept. 10, 2021, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 warstopper funds. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (SPE2D0-20-D-0015). General Electric Aviation, Cincinnati, Ohio, has been awarded a maximum $32,522,610 firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to overhaul F108 engines. This was a limited source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods. Locations of performance are Ohio and Canada, with a Sept. 10, 2021, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense appropriated funds and working capital funds. The Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Richmond, Virginia, is the contracting activity (SPE4AX-20-D-9005). Rohr Inc., doing business as Collins Aerospace, Chula Vista, California, has been awarded a $24,100,000 modification (P00003) to five-year, firm-fixed-price contract SPE4AX-18-D-9403 with one five-year option period for additional aviation-related spare parts and related services. This modification increases the base contract from $576,000 to $24,676,000. Location of performance is California, with an April 30, 2023, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2018 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Richmond, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Navistar Defense LLC, Melrose Park, Illinois, has been awarded a maximum $12,229,316 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for pneumatic wheel tires. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a three-year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Illinois and Ohio, with a Sept. 11, 2023, ordering period end date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2023 Army working capital funds. The Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (SPRDL1-20-D-0015). DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY L3Harris Technologies Inc., Colorado Springs, Colorado, was awarded a $22,152,476 cost-plus-fixed-fee completion contract for a research project for the Secure Advanced Framework for Simulation and Modeling (SAFE-SiM) program. SAFE-SiM seeks to build a government owned and controlled, faster-than-real time modeling and simulation environment. This capability would enable rapid analysis supporting senior-level decisions for concept of operations development, force structure composition, resource allocation and targeted technology insertion. Work will be performed in Colorado Springs, Colorado (23%); Arlington, Texas (25%); Round Rock, Texas (18%); Camden, New Jersey (13%); Chantilly, Virginia (8%); Culver City, California (7%); and Clifton Park, New York (6%), with an expected completion date of September 2021. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $5,275,000 are being obligated at the time of award. This contract was a competitive acquisition in which 10 offers were received. The Defense Advanced Research Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR0011-20-C-0145). DEFENSE HEALTH AGENCY Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Virginia, was awarded a $9,125,494.37 firm-fixed-price contract modification exercising Option Period Four on previously awarded task order HT0011-16-F-0011 for integrated professional services across the Military Health System (MHS). The underlying task order provides professional services to allow robust performance management and continuous process improvement support to maintain the MHS as a high-reliability organization. The exercised option includes additional strategic communications services valued at $457,791.30 for this current option period and supports communication and coordination with the Military Treatment Facilities through the Office of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO). This includes maintenance of the CMO website and increased support for the CMO office coordination, in addition to more frequent pushed messages and product development. This option will render continued execution of multiple work streams inherent to this contract with 54 deliverables that will unite the Services and the Defense Health Agency together as an integrated system. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $9,125,494.37 are obligated at time of award. The Defense Health Agency, Falls Church, Virginia, is the contracting activity. (Awarded September 4, 2020) Optum Health Care Solutions LLC, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, was awarded an $8,489,105.00 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract HT0011-17-C-0017 for Nurse Advice Line support services. The modification provides for additional resources to support a surge in the Nurse Advice Line due to significant increases in call volumes during the months of March, April and May 2020. At the onset of the pandemic in March, the demand for healthcare outpaced the capacity of the health system resulting in a rapid influx of calls into the Nurse Advice Line. Fiscal 2020 COVID-19 funds are being obligated at the time of award. The Defense Health Agency, Falls Church, Virginia, is the contracting activity. *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2345436/source/GovDelivery/

“We were at the highest level of readiness that we would have been at since the Korean War.” If that seems a perplexing statement from the commander of an Air Force that at one point during the current pandemic had about 70 per cent of its members working from home, LGen Al Meinzinger has a sound explanation. Though Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) headquarters sometimes resembled ghost towns, training schools were paused, operational training units (OTUs) were scaled back to critical force generation activity, and flight operations were at times curtailed, over 83 per cent of personnel were on short notice to activate. “I referred to it tongue and cheek as the team being readied in a martial arts crouch,” he said. “Nobody was away on course, nobody was out of country on temporary duty. Almost 100 per cent of our team was conducting operations, supporting operations or at home ... on a very high alert level to respond as directed.” When the coronavirus flared in communities across Canada in mid-March, the RCAF quickly adopted a posture intended to preserve the force. The health and safety of members and their families became the top priority. At the direction of the Chief of the Defence Staff and military and civilian health authorities, training courses for Reserve cadets, new recruits, technician trades and professional upgrades were halted and over a thousand students returned to barracks or home. Travel for leave was limited. Operational flights were re-routed to avoid COVID hot spots where possible. The operational tempo dipped but did not stop. Transport squadrons continued to support operations in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and elsewhere; fighter squadrons and 22 Wing North Bay, Ont., the Canadian Air Defence Sector, maintained the NORAD mission; and search and rescue units responded around the clock to calls across the country. 8 Wing Trenton, Ont., even became a quarantine site in the early days of the pandemic for Canadian passengers lifted from a cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, docked in Japan. But at Wings and in aircraft, new health and safety measures were introduced to mitigate the risk of infection and transmission. Students were sequestered. Access to workspaces was restricted and traffic flow through some buildings was altered to limit contact. Meetings migrated to Zoom and other video technology. Aircrews conducted virtual handovers. On transport planes, new protocols for mask wearing and passenger screening became the norm. “We have remained focused on the health of our people throughout,” said Meinzinger. “It was impressive how swiftly the team was able to introduce a raft of new protocols.” The payoff has been evident in the number of COVID-19 cases in the RCAF. At no point have they exceeded single digits, he noted. At the time of the interview in early July, no member was sidelined due to the virus. While personnel health was critical, the quick reaction to preserve Air Force capacity was a necessary precaution for what the RCAF suspected could be a busy period ahead. Following the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) had developed a contingency plan known as Operation Laser to counter a future pandemic. Accordingly, among the CAF's first responses to COVID-19 was the stand-up of six regional task forces to respond to provincial requests for assistance, each with an air detachment of either helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft to provide transport and other services. At the same time, the RCAF was bracing for the urgent calls for air assets under Operation Lentus, the CAF response to natural disasters. Spring flooding and summer forest fires have threatened Canadian communities with increasing frequency in recent years, and assistance with surveillance or evacuation appeared to be in the cards once again. “At the outset, we were looking at dealing with COVID-19 responses and potentially having to support the government with Op Lentus tasks,” said Meinzinger. Since training for Air Combat Systems Officers and Airborne Electronic Sensor Operators was on pause at 402 Squadron in Winnipeg, the RCAF even put the CT-142 Dash-8 “Gonzo” and its aircrews on standby to provide additional airlift. Resuming, at a distance The Air Force is now in the process of working through a business resumption plan that calls for a “controlled, conditions-based” return of activities. In truth, the plan is more about increasing the tempo at Wings, squadrons and headquarters. Mindful of the damage to readiness if core activity ground to a halt, operational squadrons continued to fly and OTUs maintained some flight and technician training for graduates earmarked for possible deployment. Now, it's a matter of ramping up while adapting to the unknowns of the pandemic. Already, about 50 per cent of personnel at 1 Canadian Air Division (1 CAD) and 2 Canadian Air Division are back in their offices and workspaces. “Readiness is everything from your level of flying currency, the recency of that flying, to your knowledge, so we wanted to make sure that we didn't see our readiness shift,” said Meinzinger. “But we are being very diligent in how we are ramping up.” His conditions include the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE), especially face masks, the ability to operate safely, and the ability to move personnel about the country while still meeting the guidelines of provincial health authorities. Already, some courses have resumed, albeit in modified classrooms, and training programs have adapted to shortened weeks in which different cohorts rotate every three days to “reduce the footprint” of both students and instructors. One of the consequences of COVID-19 could be a willingness to embrace distance working. As part of a multi-year retention strategy, the RCAF has been evaluating the merits of working remotely to limit the number of moves a member makes and better accommodate family situations where both spouses serve in the CAF and a move is not conducive for one. Before the pandemic, for example, the RCAF Aerospace Warfare Centre at 8 Wing Trenton, Ont., known as the RAWC, was “leveraging brains rather than bodies” by allowing team members to work remotely from locations such as Comox, B.C., and Gagetown, N.B. “We were already seeing that that model was very effective,” said Meinzinger. “Not only was it delivering operational output ... but more importantly, it was creating better balance in personal lives.” As RCAF headquarters moves to the Carling Campus in Ottawa, he's tasked his deputy commander, MGen Blaise Frawley, to “look at what a Headquarters 2.0 structure looks like, including how many [staff] could work from home for a majority of their work day.” “It's an adaptation and it obviously recognizes the need for a healthy workplace. We may see more shift work happening in the HQ, similar to the three-day model,” he explained. “There is a new reality with COVID-19 and that will probably reshape some of our thinking.” That reality will likely renew discussion around distance learning and the expanded role of simulation and other technologies in training programs. In an ideal world, the RCAF would have a distance learning package for every course “that students could immediately access in a pandemic,” he said. The Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering at 16 Wing Borden, Ont., is already well down that road with the use of virtual reality (VR) and other tools in the training curriculum of various trades. And CH-148 Cyclone crews are learning hoist mission training on a Bluedrop Training & Simulation VR system at 12 Wing Shearwater, N.S. More recently in June, the RCAF Command Team course for anointed Commanding Officers and unit Chief Warrant Officers was delivered at distance using “modern tools,” he said. “This pandemic has underscored the value of having a greater amount of simulation [and remote learning] within the enterprise.” Return engagement for pilots? As with any crisis, the pandemic response has highlighted capability gaps and opportunities. Assessing the full impact of COVID-19 remains a work in progress – “we're still drawing deductions,” said Meinzinger – but it has confirmed the agility of the Air Force to alter course on the fly. In the first months, units stepped up to develop and deliver PPE for the CAF, including the Aerospace Telecommunications and Engineering Support Squadron at 8 Wing Trenton, which re-rolled to produce medical-grade face shields for Health Services personnel. And when a gap in keeping infected patients isolated from the aircrew was identified, the Directorate of Aerospace Requirements spearheaded the rapid procurement of aeromedical bio containment containers to allow a medical practitioner to care for multiple infected patients in the back of a CC-177 Globemaster or CC-130J Hercules. “That procurement was pivotal and we'll reap the benefit of that work in the coming months” when it is delivered, said Meinzinger. “These systems will complement the superb work related to on-aircraft PPE tactics, techniques, and procedures that have been developed by the 1 CAD team to ensure the safety of our aircrew.” The pandemic might also help with the battle all western air forces have been waging for the past several years, as the commercial airline boom attracted both pilots and maintenance technicians. With civil aviation now in a tailspin and many pilots furloughed or laid off, the RCAF could see the return of former members. The CAF has been working to re-enrol recently retired members for the past few years, hoping to attract experience back to either the Regular or Reserve Force. After the effect of the pandemic on the aerospace sector became apparent, the RCAF launched a campaign on social media to “rejoin the team” and increased the capacity in its Intake and Liaison Team to help interested former members make the transition. To date, about 200 have expressed an interest and 100 are considered serious prospects, spanning a range of Regular and Reserve Force officer and non-commissioned member trades. In the past four months, about 55 have completed applications. Meinzinger expects that to increase. Following the upheaval to civil aviation after 9/11, the Air Force saw a similar trend line. “It takes a bit of time for individuals to contemplate their future,” he said. “There is a family decision [involved] ... but we anticipate in the coming months there will be [greater interest] from those individuals who are affected.” Though the emphasis is on recent military experience, “we'll take any calls,” he added, noting that the ambition of the government's defence policy means “we are going to need a bigger RCAF team.” Trying to predict the trajectory of the pandemic over the next months is almost impossible, but it's a question “I think about each and every day,” Meinzinger acknowledged. He has been drawing on a “fraternity” of air chiefs from allied countries to gather lessons and help shape the RCAF response. The only certainty is “to remain very agile” and adapt to what Gen David Goldfein, chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, has called the new non-normal. “The cadence and the rhythm of the pandemic is going to clearly shape the way that we move forward,” said Meinzinger. “We want to be as best prepared as we can be.” https://www.skiesmag.com/features/coping-with-covid-rcaf-adjust-new-world/

By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― Human fighter pilots, your jobs are safe for now. Weeks after an artificial intelligence algorithm defeated a human pilot in a simulated dogfight between F-16 jets, the Pentagon's director of research and engineering for modernization said Thursday at the Defense News Conference that it's more likely an AI will team with military pilots than replace them. “I don't see human pilots being phased out, I see them being enhanced, not physically, but I see their work, their effectiveness being enhanced by cooperation with artificial intelligence systems,” said Mark Lewis, who also serves as the acting deputy undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. The AlphaDogfight Trials in August marked the finale of the Pentagon research agency's AI air combat competition. The now-notorious algorithm, developed by Heron Systems, easily defeated the fighter pilot in all five rounds that capped off a yearlong competition hosted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ― which is overseen by Lewis and the Defense Department's research and engineering shop. “The key takeaway from that was the artificial intelligence system did so well because it wasn't so concerned about self-preservation, it was willing to do things that a human pilot wouldn't do. And that's the advantage of artificial intelligence,” Lewis said. “I think the real answer is teaming AI with a human for the best combination of both. So I'm pretty confident we're going to have human pilots into the future.” The AlphaDogfight Trials were a subset of the Air Combat Evolution program, or ACE, which is one of a few DARPA efforts exploring human-machine teaming, agency spokesman Jared Adams said in an email. ACE is using human-machine collaborative dogfighting to increase trust in combat autonomy, and the goal is for it to scale to more complex multi-aircraft scenarios to pave the way for live, campaign-level experimentation. Fiscal 2023 will see the first in a yearlong series of trials using tactical fighter-class aircraft (currently L-39 trainers), with safety pilots on board to assist in case of trouble. Those pilots would be given “higher cognitive level battle management tasks while their aircraft fly dogfights,” all while sensors gauge the pilot's attention, stress and trust in the AI, Adams said. DARPA foresees a single human pilot serving as a mission commander in a manned aircraft, orchestrating multiple autonomous, unmanned platforms that would all be engaged in individual tactics. ACE would ultimately deliver that capability. “ACE, therefore, seeks to create a hierarchical framework for autonomy in which higher-level cognitive functions (e.g., developing an overall engagement strategy, selecting and prioritizing targets, determining best weapon or effect, etc.) may be performed by a human, while lower-level functions (i.e., details of aircraft maneuver and engagement tactics) is left to the autonomous system,” Adams said. “In order for this to be possible, the pilot must be able to trust the autonomy to conduct complex combat behaviors in scenarios such as the within-visual-range dogfight before progressing to beyond-visual-range engagements.” In announcing the future trials using tactical aircraft on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said: “AI's role in our lethality is to support human decision-makers, not replace them.” “We see AI as a tool to free up resources, time and manpower so our people can focus on higher-priority tasks and arrive at the decision point, whether in a lab or on the battlefield, faster and more precise than the competition,” he added. But Esper warned that both Russia and China were pursuing fully autonomous systems, and drew a distinction between them and what he described as the U.S. military's ethically guided approach to AI. “At this moment, Chinese weapons manufacturers are selling autonomous drones they claim can conduct lethal targeted strikes,” he said. “Meanwhile, the Chinese government is advancing the development of next-generation stealth UAVs, which they are preparing to export internationally.” https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/09/10/ais-dogfight-triumph-a-step-toward-human-machine-teaming/

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army's Future Vertical Lift program is getting “significant” levels of attention from militaries around the globe, eight of which have already sent letters of interest to the service, the head of the FVL program said Sept. 10. “We're working with multiple international partners on bilateral agreements ... and we're pursuing those letters of interest,” Brig. Gen. Wally Rugen, director of the Army's Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team, said during a panel at the Defense News Conference. Rugen declined to comment on what nations have expressed interest in the program but said that the Army has remained engaged with those countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We've done a number of virtual meetings with our partners to keep the momentum up during COVID, and we have very good planning on our 2021 engagements going forward,” he said. “The exportability, interoperability and the cooperation is being studied deeply. [We're] talking about [liaison officers] coming into the FVL office.” The Army intends to develop and field two rotorcraft in the early 2030s as part of the FVL program: future attack reconnaissance aircraft, which will take over the reconnaissance mission currently performed by a mix of the AH-64 Apache helicopter and RQ-7 Shadow drone; and the future long-range attack aircraft, which will replace the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Both are on budget and on schedule, Rugen said. The service recently awarded 10 contracts worth a total of $29.75 million to companies that will develop a series of “air-launched effects” for its future vertical lift aircraft, which could include sensors, mesh networking technologies and other payloads. Future contracts for air-launched effects could present sales opportunities for foreign defense contractors, Rugen said during the panel. “There's a lot of opportunity for our international partners in this space. I think it's very wide open. And the reason it's so wide open is” is that such technologies are “affordable and effective,” he said. In addition to the effort focused on air-launched effects, the Army is in the middle of multiple future tactical UAV demonstrations, which will ultimately pave the way for a replacement of the Shadow drone. Soldiers are assessing the four candidate systems through a series of field tests and exercises: the V-Bat system offered by Martin UAV and Northrop Grumman; Textron's Aerosonde HQ; the Arcturus UAV JUMP 20; and L3Harris' FVR-90. “The soldiers are extremely excited but giving us good feedback,” Rugen said. “They're not being easy on us [on] what to fix, what to do different. And that's the kind of data and information that's going to give us just a rock-solid requirement that we can move out on and get this into units where it's militarized, ruggedized and ready to go.” https://www.defensenews.com/smr/defense-news-conference/2020/09/10/international-militaries-are-keeping-an-eye-on-the-us-armys-future-vertical-lift-program/

By: Seth J. Frantzman JERUSALEM — Unmanned helicopter maker Steadicopter has created two new models of its rotary unmanned aerial vehicles that use quieter electric engines and can perform maritime and covert missions. The Israeli company announced this month that it updated its existing Black Eagle 50 platform to two new models: the Black Eagle 25E and Black Eagle 50E. The coronavirus pandemic spurred focus on these new products, according to Noam Lidor, director of sales and marketing for Steadicopter. With the spread of COVID-19 slowing the global economy, the company found the time to review recent customer requests to develop a system more suitable for local and tactical missions. That resulted in providing the two new electric drones, which can be used for covert missions that require a quieter engine, or for maritime surveillance of facilities such as offshore gas platforms. The Black Eagle 25E weighs 18 kilograms and can carry a payload that increases its maximum weight to 25 kilograms. The 50 and 50E drones can weigh up to 35 kilograms, with the 50 weighing 27 kilograms and the 50E weighing a bit less due to the electric engine. With the lighter engine, the 50E can carry 10 kilograms of payload. Of the three options, the Black Eagle 50 has the longest range, at 150 kilometers, as well as the longest endurance, at 4 hours of flight time. The Black Eagle 50E can reach the highest altitude at 10,000 feet. Steadicopter is based in northern Israel and was founded in 2005. Like many Israeli companies that sell defense or security products, Steadicopter doesn't name customers. The Black Eagle 50 was shown at the Singapore Airshow in February 2020, DSEI in London in 2019 and Eurosatory in 2018. https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2020/09/10/helo-drone-maker-unveils-new-electric-aircraft-for-maritime-covert-missions/