Nouvelles

By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — The air forces of Germany, France and Spain have agreed on a set of performance benchmarks to help their governments guide the development of a next-generation fighter jet set to fly in 2040, the German military announced Tuesday in a statement. The document, approved earlier this month, is meant to help officials identify what features from a collection of 10 possible system architectures are worth keeping when the time comes to settle on a path forward for the Next-Generation Weapon System, or NGWS. That system, with the manned next-gen fighter at its heart, is slated to become the central element of the Future Combat Air System, or FCAS, the most ambitious and expensive weapons program in mainland Europe. As envisioned, a small fleet of attack and surveillance drones, or “remote carriers,” would accompany each jet, and all elements would be interlinked by an artificial intelligence-powered “combat cloud,” according to a project description. The 10 different system architectures for NGWS currently in the mix lean in different directions — for example, when it comes to armaments, maneuverability and range of the main jet and its companion drones, the German Bundeswehr statement explained. The three air force top officials — Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz of Germany, Gen. Philippe Lavigne of France and Javier Fernandez of Spain — also agreed on a “Common Understanding Connectivity,” a guide for connecting national systems into the future FCAS scenario. The document will enable the program's partner nations to “synchronize” their respective development programs, according to the German statement. The industry leads for the Future Combat Air System program, Airbus of Germany and Dassault of France, unveiled a mock-up of the future fighter jet at the Paris Air Show last year. The plan is to begin testing a prototype in 2026. Earlier this year, France and Germany formally kicked off the next phase of the overall program, with each government contributing $85 million toward the development of technology demonstrators. German lawmakers, who fear an overtly strong French industry influence in the FCAS program, have linked the project to progress on the Main Ground Combat System, another highly visible bilateral program aimed at building a common battle tank. France has the lead on the next-generation fighter, while Germany leads the tank project. The German parliament's strategy of keeping a close watch on the aerial program by approving only relatively small tranches of money has Dassault CEO Eric Trappier worried about the ability to hit deadlines, French newspaper La Tribune reported last week. Speaking before a French Senate committee in mid-May, Trappier proposed a Franco-German programming law to ensure a more rapid development pace, according to the newspaper. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/05/26/three-european-air-forces-approve-performance-benchmarks-for-next-gen-fighter-jet/

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NAVY AECOM Technical Services Inc., Los Angeles, California (N62470-19-D-8022); Aptim Federal Services LLC, Alexandria, Virginia (N62470-19-D-8023); CH2M Hill Constructors Inc., Englewood, Colorado (N62470-19-D-8024); Environmental Chemical Corp., Burlingame, California (N62470-19-D-8025); Fluor Intercontinental Inc., Greensville, South Carolina (N62470-19-D-8026); and Perini Management Services Inc., Framingham, Massachusetts (N62470-19-D-8027), are awarded a $1,000,000,000 modification to increase the maximum dollar value of an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contract for global contingency construction projects worldwide. The work to be performed provides for the Navy on behalf of the Department of Defense and other federal agencies for immediate response for construction services when authorized. The construction and related engineering services will respond to natural disasters, humanitarian assistance, conflict or projects with similar characteristics and will be predominately construction. The contractor, in support of the construction effort, may be required to provide initial base operating support services, which will be incidental to construction efforts. After award of this modification, the total cumulative contract value will be $2,087,443,694. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with a completion date of March 2024. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on subsequent modifications for work on existing individual task orders. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Co. Integrated Defense Systems, Tewksbury, Massachusetts, is awarded a $29,222,688 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Receive Only Cooperative Radar and its system. This contract provides for the development of new detection algorithms and operating modes for the AN/SPY-6(V)1 radar system, which will improve detection and tracking capabilities of the radar system. Work will be performed in Marlboro, Massachusetts (98%); and Fairfax, Virginia (2%). The work to be performed includes modelling and simulation of new operating modes, revisions of code to incorporate new algorithms, integration of algorithms into demonstration hardware and field tests using representative AN/SPY-6(V)1 demonstration hardware. Work is expected to be completed by May 25, 2023. The total cumulative value of this contract is $29,222,688. This is a three-year base contract with one two-year option period, which, if exercised, would increase cumulative contract value to $47,513,260. The action will be incrementally funded with an initial obligation of $6,722,688 utilizing fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds that will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under N00014-19-S-B001, “Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology.” Since proposals are received throughout the year under the long range BAA, the number of proposals received in response to the solicitation are unknown. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00014-20-C-1073). Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $15,989,488 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N00019-20-F-0817) against a previously-issued basic ordering agreement N00019-19-G-0008. This order procures support to manage diminishing manufacturing sources in support of the F-35 program for the Air Force, Navy and non-Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be complete by June 2020. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $6,545,775; fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $6,545,774; and non-DOD participant funds in the amount of $2,897,939 will be obligated at time of award, $6,545,775 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. CACI Inc. - Federal, Chantilly, Virginia, is awarded a $14,899,365 firm-fixed-price contract (N32205-20-C-4008) for 365-calendar day worldwide logistics services. The $14,899,365 consists of the amounts listed in the following areas: labor, materials and travel. Work will be performed worldwide. Work will include worldwide support services in the functional areas of sustainment logistics, corrective maintenance logistics system support, combat logistics force load management, material handling equipment, ordnance handling equipment support and ordnance management. Work is expected to be complete by June 2021. The contract includes one option period, which if exercised, will bring the total contract value to $29,628,581. Funds will be obligated on June 1, 2020. Contract funds in the amount of $14,899,365, excluding the option period, are obligated for fiscal 2020 using Navy working capital funds and (transportation) working capital funds. This contract is a sole-source and one offer was received. The Naval Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Grammatech Inc., Ithaca, New York, is awarded a $7,569,838 modification (P00010) to previously-awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract N68335-17-C-0700. This modification exercises an option to procure continued services and materials necessary to conduct research and develop the Late-Stage Software Customization and Complexity Reduction project. Work will be performed in Ithaca, New York. Specifically, this modification provides for the research and development of five software tools – Grammatech Transformer (GTx)-Reducer, GTx-Optimizer, GTx-Hardener and Vertex and LiftBridge. These software tools improve the viability of late stage customization against software binaries. Work is expected to be complete by May 2022. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $469,719 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity. CORRECTION: The May 15, 2020, announcement of an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00383-20-D-XE01) awarded to S&K Aerospace LLC,* St. Ignatius, Montana, for the repair, overhaul and upgrade of 361 commercial common items used on P-8A Poseidon maritime aircraft included incorrect solicitation information. The contract was competitively procured with the solicitation posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website as a small business set-aside (SBSA) requirement and not as an 8(a)SBSA. ARMY Ernst & Young LLP, Washington, D.C., was awarded a $93,000,000 modification (P00023) to contract W91CRB-18-F-0238 for professional commercial audit support services. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 20, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $12,337,384 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics Mission Systems Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded a $16,211,164 modification (P00068) to contract W58RGZ-18-C-0043 for engineering services and contractors on the battlefield. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 17, 2023. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $16,211,164 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. ProSecure LLC,* Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded an $11,165,786 firm-fixed-price contract for armed guard security services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 12 received. Work will be performed in the cities of Rufus, The Dalles and Cascade Locks, Oregon, with an estimated completion date of July 3, 2025. Fiscal 2020 civil expenses funds in the amount of $11,165,786 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland, Oregon, is the contracting activity (W9127N-20-C-0003). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Paragon-One Group LLC,* Gaithersburg, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $57,792,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for managed print software services. This was a competitive acquisition with six responses received. This is a three-year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are inside and outside the continental U.S., with a May 25, 2023, performance completion date. Using customer is Defense Logistics Agency. Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2020 through 2023 working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Contracting Services Office, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania (SP7000-20-D-0003). Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Connecticut, has been awarded a maximum $7,946,333 firm-fixed-price delivery order (SPRPA1-20-F-C12U) against a five-year basic ordering agreement (SPRPA1-17-G-C101) for H-53 hydraulic fluid tanks. 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 five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Connecticut, with an April 30, 2025, performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 Navy working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Burlington Industries LLC, Greensboro, North Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $7,935,500 modification (P00007) exercising the second one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-18-D-1054) with four one-year option periods for poly/wool gabardine cloth. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract. Location of performance is North Carolina, with a May 29, 2021, performance completion date. Using military service is Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. AIR FORCE Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, has been awarded an $8,800,167 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for model-based intent-driven adaptive software (MIDAS). The objective of this contract is to develop a new approach to evolutionary software development and deployment that extends the results of model-based software engineering and provides an integrated, end-to-end framework for building software that is focused on growth and adaptation. The scope of this effort includes research, design, development, demonstration, testing, integration and delivery of the MIDAS software system that enables rapid adaptation of software to changes in requirements, platforms and computational resources at a scale and speed appropriate for the complex software ecosystem upon which the U.S. government, military and economy depend. Work will be performed in Nashville, Tennessee, and is expected to be completed by May 7, 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and 20 offers were received. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-20-C-0215). *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2197963/source/GovDelivery/

By: The Associated Press BEIJING — A study says Southeast Asian countries are cutting defense spending as a result of the economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus outbreak, potentially opening up room for China to further assert its claims in the region. Aristyo Rizka Darmawan, a maritime security expert at the University of Indonesia, writes that slashing defense spending is seen as a relatively easy way to cut costs when countries are facing pressure on their budgets. “Indonesia, for example, has announced it will slash its defense budget this year by nearly US$588 million. Thailand has likewise reduced its defense allocation by $555 million. Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines all face similar pressure,” Darmawan wrote in the online journal of the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank. “Less defense spending will invariably mean less patrols at sea.” China recently announced it will increase its defense spending by 6.6 percent in 2020, despite a major downturn in the country's economic growth due to the pandemic. The increase is the lowest in years, but will still allow China to expand its ability to enforce its territorial claims in the South China Sea and grow its military presence in the Western Pacific and Indian oceans. Another key priority is maintaining a credible threat against Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy that China considers its own territory, to be brought under its control by military force if necessary. China has maintained its presence in the South China Sea throughout the virus outbreak. Recent frictions include Chinese ships shadowing Malaysian mineral exploration operations and the sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat by a Chinese maritime security vessel. However, China's foreign minister dismissed claims that the country is exploiting the coronavirus outbreak to expand its regional footprint, labeling such accusations as “sheer nonsense.” State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters at a news conference on Sunday that China is cooperating closely on anti-virus efforts with Southeast Asian countries, several of whom have overlapping territorial claims with China in the strategically vital waterway. While China has long been stepping up its presence in the region, Wang said other countries — likely meaning the United States and its allies — have been creating instability with military flights and sea patrols. “Their ill-intentioned and despicable moves are meant to sow discord between China and [Southeast Asian countries] and undermine the hard-won stability in the region,” Wang said. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2020/05/26/downward-trend-southeast-asian-countries-cut-defense-spending/

By: Eric Lofgren Congress' unprecedented fiscal response to COVID-19 has many in the defense community wondering whether belt tightening will hit the Pentagon. On May 19, the Congressional Progressive Caucus wrote a letter arguing for substantial defense budget cuts to support additional spending on the pandemic. Nonprofit progressive supporters have been asking to cut a much larger $350 billion each year from the Pentagon in their “Moral Budget” proposal. What the progressives perhaps do not fully appreciate is the “stickiness” of defense budgets. In economics, stickiness refers to rigidity in the movement of wages and prices despite broader economic shifts pushing for new equilibrium. The phenomenon is apparent in defense budgets as well. Most expectations are that the fiscal 2021 budget will remain over $700 billion. Consider an analogy: the 2008 financial crisis. Lehman Brothers collapsed just a couple weeks before fiscal year 2009 started, leaving that $666 billion defense budget largely beyond recall. The following years' budgets were $691 billion, $687 billion, $646 billion and then finally in FY13 a more precipitous 10 percent fall to $578 billion. It took four years for the Pentagon to really feel the squeeze of the financial downturn. The uninitiated may believe COVID-19 happened with enough of lead time to affect the FY21 budget. Congress received the president's budget in February 2020 and has until the start of October to make targeted cuts without encountering another continuing resolution. The defense budget, however, represents the culmination of a multiyear process balancing thousands of stakeholder interests. It reflects a vast amount of information processed at every level of the military enterprise. The Pentagon's work on the FY21 budget request started nearly two years ahead of time and includes a register of funding estimates out to FY25. Moreover, defense programs are devised and approved based on life-cycle cost and schedule estimates. Cuts to a thorough plan may flip the analysis of alternatives on its head, recommending pivots to new systems or architectures and upsetting contract performance. Not only are current budgets shaped by many years of planning, but they get detailed to an almost microscopic level. For example, the Army's FY21 research, development, test and evaluation request totaled $12.8 billion, less than 2 percent of the overall Pentagon request. Yet the appropriation identifies 267 program elements decomposing into a staggering 2,883 budget program activity codes averaging less than $10 million each. Congressional staff is too small to understand the implications of many cost, schedule and technical trade-offs. To gather information on impacts, the Pentagon is thrown into a frenzy of fire drills. More draconian measures, like the FY13 sequestration, leading to indiscriminate, across-the-board cuts can sidestep hard questions but comes at a significant cost to efficiency. Targeted cuts at a strategic level, such as to the nuclear recapitalization programs and other big-ticket items, can expect stiff resistance. First, there is real concern about great power competition and the damage that may be wrought by acting on short-term impulses. Second, targeted programs and their contractors will immediately report the estimated number of job losses by district. Before measures can get passed, a coalition of congressional members negatively impacted may oppose the cuts. Resistance is intensified considering the proximity to Election Day. Budget stickiness is built into the political process. The FY22 budget is perhaps the first Pentagon budget that can start inching downward. More than likely, severe cuts aren't in the offing until FY23 or FY24 at the very earliest. That gives time for policymakers to reflect on the scale of the rebalancing between defense and other priorities. In some important ways, congressional control of the Pentagon through many thousands of budget line items restricts its own flexibility. For example, continuing resolutions lock in program funding to the previous year's level until political disagreements can be resolved. The military cannot stick to its own plans, much less start new things. If budget lines were detailed at a higher level, such as by major organization or capability area, then the Pentagon could make more trade-offs while Congress debates. Similarly, if the Pentagon had more budget flexibility, then Congress could more easily cut top lines and allow Pentagon leaders to figure out how to maximize with the constraint during the year of execution. Congress could gain the option to defer the hard questions that can make cuts politically difficult. The Space Force recently released a proposal for consolidating budget line items into higher-level capability areas. It reflects the idea that portfolio-centric management is an efficient method of handling rapid changes in technologies, requirements or financial guidance resulting from economic shocks. Until such reforms are pursued, expect defense budgets to remain sticky. Eric Lofgren is a research fellow at the Center for Government Contracting at George Mason University. He manages a blog and podcast on weapon systems acquisition. He previously served as a senior analyst at Technomics Inc., supporting the U.S. Defense Department's Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office. https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/05/26/will-defense-budgets-remain-sticky-after-the-covid-19-pandemic/

Le secteur de la défense pourra jouer un rôle important pour le rebond économique du pays, estime Christian de Boissieu. Il ne se délocalise pas. Il suscite la création d'emplois qualifiés. Un plan de relance dans la défense permettrait ainsi de renforcer la sécurité et la souveraineté, tout en stimulant l'investissement privé. Par Christian de Boissieu (professeur émérite à l'université Paris-I et vice-président du Cercle des économistes) Publié le 20 mai 2020 à 8h50Mis à jour le 20 mai 2020 à 11h03 La crise actuelle affecte l'économie française avec une ampleur inégalée depuis 1945 : la récession est à la fois imparable et profonde. Tous les secteurs sont touchés. L'ampleur du rebond dépendra, entre autres facteurs, de la capacité de l'Etat à accompagner la reprise, ce qui passe par un plan de relance aux deux niveaux, national et européen. L'enjeu est alors d'identifier les secteurs pertinents. Par hypothèse, le secteur de la défense est orienté vers la sécurité et la souveraineté, au moment même où ces valeurs s'affirment avec force. Il pourrait également jouer un rôle important pour relancer l'économie du pays. Le secteur industriel de la défense ne s'est pas délocalisé ; il n'a donc pas à se relocaliser comme d'autres activités stratégiques. Il crée un grand nombre d'emplois qualifiés. Les entreprises de défense occupent une place centrale dans le système national d'innovation. Elles réalisent, pour leurs activités civiles et de défense, 25 % de la R & D effectuée par les entreprises françaises. Elles ont une activité de dépôt de brevets importante, plusieurs entreprises de défense se classant chaque année dans le top 10 des brevets déposés à l'Inpi, et elles participent grandement à la structuration des réseaux de recherche. Efficience opérationnelle Un plan de relance incluant la défense aurait un impact économique notable, renforcé par la dualité militaire/civil des activités de défense. Les dépenses d'équipements militaires ou de R & D sont des dépenses d'investissement ; elles suscitent des retombées de nature à stimuler la productivité. Pour des raisons stratégiques, les chaînes de production et de recherche sont également plus nationales que dans le reste de l'économie. Les études montrent que ces spécificités se traduisent par un effet multiplicateur des dépenses publiques élevé (multiplicateur d'impact sur le PIB d'environ 2 au bout de dix ans). Elles indiquent également que, loin de les évincer, les dépenses d'équipement militaire ou de recherche dans la défense sont complémentaires des investissements privés. Financer la R & D défense permettrait ainsi de soutenir la recherche française à un moment où celle-ci va être fortement affectée. En outre, la relance par la défense non seulement ne dégrade pas la balance commerciale, à la différence de nombreux secteurs, mais, au contraire, l'améliore en stimulant la recherche, en augmentant l'efficacité des processus de production et en renforçant, aux yeux de l'extérieur, l'efficience opérationnelle du matériel militaire français. Par ailleurs, la base industrielle et technologique de défense a toujours eu une forte dimension locale en contribuant à l'aménagement du territoire et au maintien de l'activité dans de nombreuses zones industrielles sous-dotées. Cette proximité ne serait que renforcée par une relance passant aussi, et sans exclusivité, par la défense. Stimuler l'investissement privé Une telle relance doit d'abord être nationale, mais elle doit s'accompagner d'une initiative de l'Union européenne. C'est l'occasion unique de faire enfin décoller l'Europe de la défense. Ainsi, la proposition initiale d'un budget de 13 milliards d'euros pour le Fonds européen de défense pour les six prochaines années, soit moins de 1 % du budget de l'UE, doit être retenue au moment où les autres continents ne cessent d'augmenter leurs dépenses de défense. Un plan de relance dans la défense permettrait ainsi de renforcer la sécurité et la souveraineté tout en stimulant l'investissement privé, la recherche civile et en provoquant un impact économique important. Autant d'éléments nécessaires dans la période qui s'ouvre. Christian de Boissieu est président du Conseil scientifique, de la chaire Economie de défense, IHEDN et membre du Cercle des économistes. https://www.lesechos.fr/idees-debats/cercle/opinion-un-plan-de-relance-pour-la-defense-1204431

By ARIE EGOZIon May 26, 2020 at 5:26 PM TEL AVIV: The strict U.S warning to Israel to limit ties with China has its first result as the Chinese failed to win a tender for the construction of the giant desalination plant in central Israel. The Palmahim site is in close proximity to Israel's missile test and satellite launch facility. The Soreq 2 facility, with the capability to process 200 million cubic meters of water per year, is expected to be the largest of its kind in the world, increasing the state's desalination capacity by about 35%. The new desalination plant joins five facilities already operating in Israel. Two weeks after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and warned against further Chinese involvement in projects in Israel the Chinese company lost and an Israeli company, IDE. That may lead to a confrontation with the Chinese. Two weeks ago, Netanyahu told Pompeo that the issue was under discussion by the Foreign Investment Committee at the Treasury. The US fears Chinese investments could create dependencies on China's companies and countries, and is working to prevent them. The next challenge: the Chinese and the power companies. In coming days, a decision will be made whether to award the Chinese government company China Harbor's bid for the power plant of Ramat Hovav, part of the huge reform of Israel's once government-owned electricity sector. “The fact that the (Pompeo) visit takes place in these problematic times proves its urgency ” an Israeli source told BD. Pompeo came to Israel with a very strict message – stop all Chinese investment in Israel, either in high tech companies or infrastructure. Israeli officials said the message relayed during Pompeo's visit included a very specific political warning – Israel must stop any action that strengthens the Chinese Communist Party, even if that means canceling planned projects. For context, think of the numerous times President Trump has called the coronavirus the Chinese virus and blamed China for supposedly hiding the truth about the virus' origins. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/05/israel-pressed-by-us-blocks-first-big-chinese-deal/

London May 26, 2020 - Leonardo and Thales are proud to announce the first successful firings of the Thales ‘Martlet' Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) from Leonardo's AW159 Wildcat helicopter. The firings were conducted as part of the UK MoD's Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (FASGW) programme and demonstrated the integration of the Martlet onto the AW159 platform. This represents a major milestone for the programme and will enable this high-end capability to enter service with the Royal Navy later this year. The firing trials were conducted from 27th April to 21st May 2020 and despite the current COVID-19 situation, Leonardo and Thales were able to support the UK Ministry of Defence by completing this critical activity. All of the teams involved had to adopt strict distancing procedures, in some cases having to find new ways of working, in order to make sure that the trials could go ahead. It is a testimony to the professionalism of those involved that these trials were successfully completed under such challenging and novel circumstances. “This major milestone demonstrates that the combination of the AW159 Wildcat and Martlet missile will be a flexible and effective tool for the Royal Navy. Next year the Wildcat fleet will embark on Carrier Strike Group missions with HMS Queen Elizabeth on its maiden operational deployment. As the only British company to design and manufacture helicopters on-shore, we're extremely proud to be equipping the UK Armed Forces with world-beating sovereign capabilities.” said Nick Whitney, Managing Director of Leonardo Helicopters (UK). “The successful live firings of the Thales LMM Martlet from the AW159 Wildcat is a key milestone in the programme, delivering a significant step-change in capability for the platform. LMM Martlet will ensure that the Wildcat has the best-in-class offensive capability to protect HMS Queen Elizabeth and her task group during her maiden operational deployment next year. With each platform capable of carrying up to 20 Martlet, the Wildcats deployed with the task group will be a significant deterrent to anyone wishing to interfere with UK interests.” said Philip McBride, General Manager, Integrated Airspace-protection Systems, Thales UK. In July 2014, Leonardo signed a contract with the UK Ministry of Defence to integrate, test and install the MBDA Sea Venom (heavy) and Thales LMM (light) missile systems onto Royal Navy AW159 Wildcat helicopters, a programme called Future Anti Surface Guided Weapon (FASGW). The FASGW (light) part of the programme has now seen the LMM, with its associated launcher and airborne laser guidance unit, successfully integrated into the Leonardo AW159 Wildcat sensor, displays and avionics systems. The LMM provides a step-change in capability for the Royal Navy which, in the maritime environment, faces a major challenge in engaging smaller, fast-moving, asymmetric threats, due to their high mobility, their small thermal and radar signatures and the severe background clutter encountered. The LMM is capable of surmounting these issues where traditional electro-optic and radar guidance systems do not provide the certainty of hit required. On-board the AW159 Wildcat platform, the LMM Martlet could also allow operators to engage air targets such as UAVs and other maritime helicopters. The launchers are mounted to the AW159 via the new Leonardo Weapon Wing, developed at the Company's design and manufacturing facility in Yeovil and first trialled last year. Each weapon wing will be able to carry either ten Martlet or two Sea Venom missiles and generates additional lift for the helicopter in forward flight, reducing demands on the main rotor. The twin-engine multi-role AW159 is able to conduct missions ranging from constabulary to high end warfighting where it has the capability to autonomously detect, identify and attack targets on land and at sea, including submarine threats. The high-performance platform has state-of-the-art systems, including a Leonardo Seaspray multi-mode electronically-scanning (E-scan) radar, and integrated electronic warfare Defensive Aids Suite (DAS). Over 50,000 flight hours have been logged by the helicopter. The AW159 has also been chosen by the British Army, the Republic of Korea Navy and the Philippine Navy as a new maritime operator of the helicopter. About Leonardo Leonardo, a global high-technology company, is among the top ten world players in Aerospace, Defence and Security and Italy's main industrial company. Organised into five business divisions, Leonardo has a significant industrial presence in Italy, the United Kingdom, Poland and the USA, where it also operates through subsidiaries such as Leonardo DRS (defense electronics), and joint ventures and partnerships: ATR, MBDA, Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space and Avio. Leonardo competes in the most important international markets by leveraging its areas of technological and product leadership (Helicopters, Aircraft, Aerostructures, Electronics, Cyber Security and Space). Listed on the Milan Stock Exchange (LDO), in 2019 Leonardo recorded consolidated revenues of €13.8 billion and invested €1.5 billion in Research and Development. The Group has been part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) since 2010 and became Industry leader of Aerospace & Defence sector of DJSI in 2019. Contact Ph. +39 0632473313 (Press Office) Ph. +39 0632473512 (Investor Relations) leonardopressoffice@leonardocompany.com ir@leonardocompany.com About Thales Thales is a global technology leader combining a unique diversity of expertise, talent and cultures. Our architects design and deliver decisive technologies for decisive moments in five markets: Defence & Security, Digital Identity and Security, Aerospace, Space, and Ground Transportation. In 2018, the company generated revenues of €19 billion with 80,000 employees in 68 countries. With its 30,000 engineers and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design, develop and deploy equipment, systems and services that meet the most complex security requirements. Thales in the UK is a team of over 6,500 experts, including 4,500 highly skilled engineers, located across 10 key UK sites. In 2018, Thales UK's revenues were around £1.3 billion. Each year Thales invests over £575 million into its UK supply chain, working with over 2,000 companies. With a heritage of over 130 years, Thales in the UK understands the importance of developing skills for the future, which is why they have over 400 apprentices and graduates across the UK. Thales is committed to supporting its people, and continuously developing talent, and highly skilled experts. www.thalesgroup.com > Lightweight Multirole Missile - LMM (Martlet) is a new lightweight, precision strike, missile, which has been designed to be fired from airborne and ground tactical platforms in surface, ground attack and air defence roles; thus the multirole element of the name. The missile, sealed in its canister and designed to be maintenance free for 15 years' storage, consists of a two-stage motor, warhead and dual mode fuse, together with guidance electronics and a highly accurate control actuator system. A combined fragmenting and shaped charge warhead provides proven lethality against a wide range of conventional and asymmetric light skinned and armoured threats. The unique LMM laser guidance beam, generated from a sophisticated Laser Transmitter Unit (LTxU), projects low power coded signals direct to the LMM in flight thus ensuring precision engagement, command override and immunity against countermeasures. In the naval domain, the system has been designed to counter the challenging threats ranging from Jet Skis and Fast Inshore Attack Craft (FIAC) to larger maritime combatants. In 2019 Thales and the Royal Navy conducted a series of successful LMM (Martlet) ship-launched firings from a Type 23 frigate against a representative target set. These firings confirmed that LMM (Martlet) offers a mature, low-cost, high value solution to strengthen the inner layer defence capability of surface ships through re-use of current investment and the commonality and modularity between the helicopter and ship-based systems. Contact Thales Media Relations – Adrian Rondel, Media Relations, adrian.rondel@uk.thalesgroup.com, +44 (0)7971414052 View source version on Leonardo: https://www.leonardocompany.com/en/press-release-detail/-/detail/26-05-2020-leonardo-aw159-wildcat-helicopter-conducts-first-successful-firings-of-thales-martlet-lightweight-multirole-missile-lmm-

"The answer isn't 'we've just gotta go fast'," said one critic. By THERESA HITCHENSon May 26, 2020 at 4:10 PM WASHINGTON: The latest version of the Air Force's long-overdue report to Congress on space acquisition reform fails to address a number of foundational questions, critics say, including: go fast to do what; who gets to decide the what; and who is accountable if things go pear shaped? DoD is asking Congress to cut legislative strings and approve special powers to streamline space acquisition programs worth billions — pushing the need for speed to ensure the US military's technical edge over China and Russia, as first reported by colleague Sandra Erwin. The proposed changes are focused mainly on ways to get the Space Force out from under current acquisition rules, both those imposed by Congress and internally by DoD regulations. They also are “mostly a rehashed list of things that every service has asked for since time immemorial,” one national security space veteran told Breaking D, with a virtual eye roll. Or in the words of the recently-released teaser for the upcoming Netflix comedy “Space Force”: “Your attitude seems to be: ‘Give us money and don't look'.” “The problem is, I think, it's asking for a lot of trust from Congress that in space in particular hasn't been necessarily warranted to date,” said Joshua Huminski, director of the National Security Space Program at the Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress. A space acquisition report, due to Congress on March 31, was delivered on May 20. Air Force acquisition head Will Roper called a press briefing last Friday to discuss it, only to abruptly cancel a couple hours later with no explanation. A congressional aide told Breaking D on Friday afternoon that they could not release the version of the report transmitted to Congress because it was not a final version; and an Air Force spokesperson later confirmed that — well after business hours on Friday evening and before the long Memorial Day weekend). So, it's not really the final version. The spokesperson said: “The Department of the Air Force continues to work with DoD and interagency partners to finalize the Space Force Alternative Acquisition System report. An initial version of the report was delivered to the Hill, but we anticipate delivering the final report to Congress soon.” As one space analyst notes wryly: “Not exactly a clean rollout.” The nine proposed reforms are required because “current space threats demand a shift to a system that more broadly delivers agile solutions to meet an ever-evolving technical baseline and integrate into an open architecture,” according to the current report language. Three of the recommendations will require legislative changes; one will require agreement from the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Specifically, the nine recommendations address the following acquisition authorities for the Department of the Air Force and the Space Force: Unique Acquisition Category (ACAT) Thresholds, Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP) Definition, and Milestone Decision Authority Delegation for Space Systems. “Efficient Space Procurement (ESP)” Codification for the DAF/USSF. USSF-Unique “New Start” Notification Procedures. Budget Line Item Restructure. Modified JCIDS [Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System that sets program requirements] Approach for Space Systems. New Policy Regarding Key Decision Point and Reporting Requirements for Development, Fielding, and Sustainment of Space Systems. “Useable End Item” Determination Authority. Separate USSF Topline Budget. USSF-Unique Head of Contracting Activity (HCA). As an example of bending the current DoD rules for the Space Force, the “Budget Line Restructure” asks Congress for authority to move money around by combining individual programs within in a large “portfolio” of similar efforts — an effort unlikely to win congressional approval, if past attempts are a guide. Numerous critics noted it goes directly against the intent of Congress when it mandated in 2016 that DoD develop a Major Force Program to allow better tracking of both the macro military space budget and individual projects from year-to-year via a specific, standardized “program element number” in budget documentation. Further, as Breaking D readers know, the report punts on one of the key mandates included in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA): to create a Space Acquisition Executive separate from the Air Force acquisition authority, a position now held by Roper. The NDAA requires that the Air Force appoint a Senate-confirmed assistant secretary for space acquisition and integration. That person, the act said, “will “synchronize with the Air Force Service Acquisition Executive on all space system efforts, and take on Service Acquisition Executive responsibilities for space systems and programs effective on October 1, 2022.” The SAE is to oversee the Space and Missile Systems Center, the Space Rapid Capabilities Office (SpRCO), and the Space Development Agency (SDA) — all of which currently have separate acquisition authorities and lines of oversight. Roper has fought tooth and nail against a fully separate SAE since it was proposed by Congress, according to numerous DoD sources even threatening to resign if it is created outside his purview. Sources close to the debate say that Gen. Jay Raymond, who currently is double hatted as head of the Space Force and Space Command, also does not want to see a change in the status quo that would put another layer of acquisition oversight in the mix. Thus, the current version of the draft report simply states that Roper will hold SAE authority for now. This, several sources said, in reality is a place holder signaling that DoD intends to recommend in future that Congress essentially ditch the idea. “We want to ignore your direction on the separate SAE [Space Acquisition Executive] – thanks, but we know better,” the former national security space official summed up. “And it ain't a signal – it's a shot across the bow.” “On face value, I think it does seem to suggest they are trying to avoid the separate Space Acquisition Executive, which when combined with the bucketing of money is unlikely to be well received by Congress,” Huminski said. “Congress is going to want some balance here, at least I think,” he added. “If the Space Force wants the authority to move money around within the portfolios, they are going to need to provide some measure of confidence to Congress that it is being done in an efficient and transparent manner, which could be the SAE—at least someone accountable for those money moves.” Failure to restructure the space acquisition organization, critics point out, leaves open the critical question of how DoD plans to fix the problem of lack of coordination with the Army and Navy on user equipment, for which they have acquisition authority. (We're looking at you, GPS III.) While the Space Force in the near term will comprise only Air Force personnel either seconded or transferred, the expectation is that eventually it will include Army and Navy personnel as well. A number of critics further charge that the requested changes do not sufficiently address the fact that previous space program cost overruns and schedule delays can be attributed to lack of coherent, coordinated and disciplined management at the program level within Space and Missile Systems Center itself, not due to outside factors. “All of the changes they've asked for are external to the Space Force,” said one former DoD official, rather than taking a hard look at past program management. “Instead it's: ‘Congress has to change; Ellen Lord [DoD acquisition czar] has to change; the JROC [Joint Requirements Oversight Council] has to change.” “The answer isn't ‘we've just gotta go fast',” the official added. “One of the biggest challenges is the proverbial acquisitions rubber meeting the road—unless the Space Force changes what they are buying, changing how they buy it may not matter,” Huminski explained. “If the same architectures and same vehicles and same capabilities are bought, just faster, what was the point of changing anything at all?” DoD sources defend the proposal, saying that Congress asked for, and expected to receive, ‘bold recommendations' on how to change the current space acquisition system. Noting that there are many conflicting pressures, one DoD source said that concerns about transparency and who does what exactly have been overtaken by concerns that the Space Force “be empowered to go fast, innovate, and achieve the space dominance wanted by POTUS.” Another government official keeping tabs on the issue said sympathetically that in some ways, “they are damned if they do, and damned if they don't.” While some in Congress likely will be annoyed by the recommendations push to get out from under current regulations, the source said, others would have complained loudly if DoD failed to move from the status quo. Spokespeople for a number of key House and Senate members involved in defense oversight did not respond to requests for comment. However, DoD sources and several analysts with close Hill ties said Congress is most likely to be concerned by the recommendations that infringe upon Congress's own powers. For example, members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees are almost certain to protest the recommendation that assumes approval if Congress doesn't respond to “New Start” notifications within 30 days. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/05/space-acquisition-speed-may-not-fix-problems-critics-say