Nouvelles

Guy Norris Details of the U.S. Navy's new generation, electrically powered aircraft launch and recovery system, currently under test for the first time on the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) carrier, are visible in a large-scale model at the Singapore Airshow. The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) is in development to replace the traditional steam piston catapult launch system on current carriers. The new configuration also includes the electrically powered Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG), which replaces the hydraulic arresting gear in use on the Navy's 10 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. The EMALS catapult, which is powered by a linear induction motor, is designed to accelerate aircraft more gradually than the steam system and put less stress on the aircraft. The system is also lighter and more flexible than the current design and is capable of launching a wider range of aircraft weights. The AAG is also designed for a broader range of aircraft, including UAVs. The large-scale cutaway model shows the linear induction motors of the EMALs as well as the banks of rotary engines incorporated in the AAG. Fine control of the arresting forces is provided by a large induction motor, which is coupled to energy-absorbing water turbines. Tests on the Ford, the eponymous lead ship of navy's first new class of carriers since the 1970s, are part of efforts to assess the performance of the technology for launch and landing operations. The system has proved more challenging to develop than expected, and improvements are underway to boost reliability for the required sortie generation rate. The service is evaluating aircraft compatibility before the scheduled deployment of the Ford in 2022. https://aviationweek.com/shownews/singapore-airshow/us-navys-aircraft-launch-rail-gun-revealed

By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The Pentagon's fiscal 2021 budget request seeks to buy fewer munitions needed for the fights in Afghanistan and Iraq as it attempts to pivot towards investments in the kind of weapons that will be used in a high-end fight against China or Russia. The DoD has requested $21.3 billion in munitions, including $6 billion for conventional ammunition, $4 billion for strategic missiles and $11.3 billion for tactical missiles. Munitions and missiles make up 8.8 percent of overall procurement in the budget request. The department is pursuing a two-pronged approach, according to a budget summary provided by the Pentagon. The first is to make sure “U.S. worldwide munition inventories are sufficiently stocked” for ongoing needs. The second is to ensure “sufficient procurement of more advanced high-end weapon systems, which provide increases standoff, enhanced lethality and autonomous targeting for employment against near-peer threats in more contested environment.” Examples of that kind of high-end munition includes the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) and the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), both of which have enhanced procurement in the budget request. Major munitions buys in the budget include: 20,338 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) - $533 million. That is down 8,050 units from the FY20 enacted. 7,360 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) - $1.2 billion. That is down 1,163 units from FY20 enacted. 2,462 Small Diameter Bomb 1 (SDB 1) – $95.9 million. That is down 4,616 units from FY20 enacted. 1,490 Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II) - $432 million. That is down 197 units from FY20 enacted. 8,150 Hellfire missiles - $517 million. That is down 640 units from FY20 enacted. 601 AIM-9X sidewinders - $316.6 million. That is down 119 units from FY20 enacted. 125 Standard Missile-6 - $816 million. That is the same amount as purchased in FY20 enacted. 400 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) - $577 million. That is up 10 units from FY20 enacted. 53 Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) - $224 million. That is up 36 units from FY20 enacted. The slowdown of procurement for munitions comes as the U.S. dropped 7,423 munitions onto Afghanistan in 2019 —the highest number of bombs released in nearly a decade. “For munitions, we continue to carefully manage production and stockpiles," Pentagon comptroller Elaine McCusker said Monday. "The JADM stockpile is healthier due to our last four years of increased procurements. The SM-6 is being procured at the maximum rate of production, continuing a five-year, multi-year procurement contract.” Keeping the munitions industrial base humming is important for the Pentagon. A May 2018 report identified major gaps in the munitions industrial base, warning that key components for America's weapons could disappear entirely if a small handful of suppliers were to close up shop. https://www.defensenews.com/smr/federal-budget/2020/02/10/heres-how-many-bombs-the-us-plans-to-buy-in-the-next-year

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — At long last, the U.S. Air Force has definitively stated it will not procure light attack planes, putting to bed a three-year-long debate about whether to buy upward of 300 low-cost aircraft for the counterterrorism fight. In a statement to Defense News, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek confirmed that the service will not move forward with a program of record for light attack planes. Instead, U.S. Special Operations Command has requested $106 million in the fiscal 2021 defense budget for its armed overwatch requirement, according to Defense Department budget materials. As part of that program, SOCOM is set to acquire as many as 75 light attack aircraft, the command stated in a Feb. 3 solicitation. The funding would support “prototype demonstrations and the testing of Special Operation Forces-unique capabilities and air worthiness release efforts” as well as the “procurement of aircraft, mission kits and associated support equipment,” according to the department. Last year, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein said the Air Force would continue experimenting with light attack aircraft, using funding from FY18 and FY19 to buy a handful of AT-6 Wolverine turboprop planes from Textron and A-29 Super Tucanos from a Sierra Nevada Corp.-Embraer team. Then, in FY22, the service would be ready to decide whether to venture into a program of record, he said. The Air Force still intends to buy two AT-6s and two A-29s, Stefanek said. However, the scope of their future operations has become more limited as the service opted to not pursue a larger buy. At Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, “[the] AT-6 will be used for continued experimentation on exportable network/data link capabilities for allies and partners,” said Stefanek, referencing a project under development known as Airborne Extensible Relay Over-Horizon Network, or AEROnet. “The Air Force has prior year funds available to continue the experiment,” she added. Meanwhile, U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command pilots will use the A-29s to conduct training at Hurlburt Field, Florida, allowing them to act as instructor pilots and advisers for partner nations that plan to operate the A-29, Stefanek said. For the past year, Air Force leaders have been sending signals that their interest in buying light attack aircraft was waning. The service originally considered a buy of several hundred planes that would be able to augment pilot absorption and provide a less expensive alternative to using high-cost fighters like the F-15 and F-35 for low-threat strikes against terrorist groups. However, a national defense strategy that prioritizes the fight against near-peer adversaries like Russia and China made it difficult to justify buying an aircraft fleet only survivable in the most uncontested environments. In contrast, SOCOM has been bullish on light attack capabilities, with its commander, Gen. Richard Clarke, describing it as “a need for SOCOM” and “a need for our nation.” In the FY20 national defense policy bill, Congress instructed the Air Force to coordinate with SOCOM on light attack capabilities and included an option “to transfer a portion of funds authorized for Air Force light attack aircraft experiments to procure aircraft for supporting the combat air adviser mission of the Special Operations Command.” While the Air Force seemed most interested in the A-29 and AT-6 as potential light attack platforms, SOCOM appears to want to explore all options. The command is holding an Armed Overwatch industry day March 4-5 to discuss an upcoming demonstration of prototype aircraft. https://www.defensenews.com/smr/federal-budget/2020/02/10/sorry-sierra-nevada-corp-and-textron-the-us-air-force-isnt-buying-light-attack-planes

By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is requesting $4.5 billion in funds for the European Deterrence Initiative, the second straight year that the department has cut its request for the program. The EDI is a special part of the department's Overseas Contingency Operations funding, focused on reassuring allies in Europe and deterring Russian aggression on the continent. The Pentagon requested $4.8 billion for EDI in FY18, a request which grew to $6.5 billion in FY19. The FY20 request, however, dropped it down to $5.9 billion. Congress plussed up the funding to $6.5 billion, meaning the department's request for this year would be a $1.5 billion cut. Funding will go towards rotational force deployment and the implementation of previously funded multiyear agreements. It will also support additional exercises in Europe and the prepositioning of U.S. equipment on the continent. Two European officials contacted by Defense News downplayed concerns, with one saying that a drop in funding is normal given the number of infrastructure projects that are being completed. Included in the EDI funding is $250 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which can be used to replace any “weapons or defensive articles” provided to Ukraine by the U.S. government. Such funding became a flashpoint in 2019, eventually leading to the impeachment of President Donald Trump, who was acquitted in the Senate last week. In the last National Defense Authorization Act, Congress requested that the Pentagon submit a five-year plan for EDI in FY21. Overall, the OCO funding request is $69 billion, slightly down from the $71.3 billion enacted by Congress for FY20. Other major OCO funds include $16.2 billion for operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria; $7.6 billion for the replenishment of major munitions that have been expended around the globe; and $4 billion to train and support Afghanistan security forces. OCO also funds $600 million in security cooperation funding, which has now been rebranded as the National Defense Strategy-Implementation fund, or NDS-I. https://www.defensenews.com/smr/federal-budget/2020/02/10/european-defense-initiative-funding-drops-in-defense-budget-request

The U.S. Air Force is undertaking a number of avionics upgrades for Boeing [BA] C-17 and Lockheed Martin [LMT] C-130H transport aircraft, as the supplier base for legacy avionics systems falls, according to the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. “Diminishing Manufacturing Sources Material Shortfalls (DMSMS) are driving avionics-related upgrades,” AFLCMC wrote in email responses to questions from Defense Daily. The AFLCMC C-17 program office (AFLCMC/WLM) at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is undertaking a nearly $286 million C-17 Replacement Head-Up Display (RHUD) program with Elbit Systems of America to replace the 1980s-era C-17 HUD by the defunct U.K.-based GEC Avionics, whose former business is now part of Leonardo. The Elbit Systems RHUD for the C-17 has a Projector Unit (PU) and a Computer Unit (CU) that “displays symbols and real-world conformal imagery over an increased field of view to include the capability to display threat warnings and quadrant, supports two independently selectable video inputs for autonomous landing growth requirements, provides aircraft Electronic Bore-sighting capability, [and] provides improved reliability with a Mean Time between Failure (MTBF) of 3,000 operating hours,” according to AFLCMC/WLM. A GEC Avionics brochure issued in 1987 for the C-17 HUD said that the HUD has an MTBF of 7,000 operating hours, but, “based on current performance, the actual [HUD] MTBF is between 1,600 and 1,800 hours (lower than predicted),” according to AFLCMC/WLM. “The Statement of Requirements for the Replacement Head Up Display (RHUD) development delivery order requested 3,000 hours MTBF at maturity.” In addition, for the Boeing C-17 aircraft, the Air Force is undertaking “satellite communications upgrades for increased coverage and throughput speeds along with mitigation of obsolescence issues due to satellite service dates” and “upgrades of legacy aircraft avionics to capabilities of current commercial production aircraft, large area displays, [and] improved weather radars,” AFLCMC/WLM said. Under a $209 million Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) program for the C-17, AFLCMC is replacing the aircraft's L-Band Aero-I and Aero-H antennas, providing air traffic control data link capabilities, replacing the Collins Aerospace [UTX] ARC-210 Gen 3 radios with ARC-210 Gen 6 radios, and replacing KYV-5 cryptography with next-gen KYV-5M, AFLCMC/WLM said. Last July, the Air Force picked Honeywell [HON] to install its JetWave Ka-band fuselage-mounted antenna (MCS-8100 and tail-mounted antenna (MCS-8000) on 70 C-17s to provide real-time weather, video conferencing, large file transfer, encryption capabilities, in-flight briefings, intelligence surveillance reconnaissance video and secure communications in all areas, including over water and remote areas. The C-17 BLOS program will “enable dynamic re-tasking and command and control support of MAF [Mobility Air Forces] aircraft,” the Air Force said. JetWave uses Inmarsat‘s Global Xpress Ka-band service to provide worldwide connectivity with up to 50 Mbps of bandwidth to defense customers, according to Honeywell Aerospace. In December, AFLCMC completed Block 21 upgrades for all 275 C-17s, operated by the Air Force and allied nations, according to AFLCMC/WLM. The upgrades included hardware and software for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out (ADS-B Out) required by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and aviation authorities in Europe for planes operating in controlled airspace. “In addition to ADS-B Out, Block 21 included an Identification of Friend or Foe (IFF) modification and other communication/navigation capability software updates,” AFLCMC said. “These additional modifications significantly improve the aircraft's flight management systems.” For the C-130H, the Air Force last June awarded L3Harris [LHX] a nearly $500 million contract for avionics upgrades to 176 Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard aircraft under the C-130H Avionics Modernization Program (AMP). L3Harris has chosen Collins Aerospace to provide its commercial off-the-shelf Flight2 integrated avionics system. Collins Aerospace said that is providing seven multifunctional displays (MFDs), three control display units (CDUs), and a new digital autopilot that will replace more than 100 analog instruments in C-130H cockpits. The AFLCMC C-130 program office (AFLCMC/WLN) at Robins Air Force Base said that the C-130H AMP increments 1 and 2 include “compliance with latest commercial and military Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) standards, a new flight management system, new commercial and military GPS receivers, improved [RNP] Required Navigation Performance], compliance with VHF 8.33KHz channel spacing requirements and ADS-B Out and Mode S Enhanced Surveillance (EHS) requirements, military satcom voice and data via the Lockheed Martin Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), improved UHF anti-jam capability via the Collins Aerospace Second generation Anti-jam Tactical UHF Radio for NATO (SATURN), Real-Time Information into the Cockpit (RTIC), Link 16, [and a] digital map.” The C-130H upgrades also include a terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS), according to AFLCMC/WLN. RTIC is to allow the C-130H aircraft to share data with other systems over multiple data link networks. https://www.defensedaily.com/u-s-air-force-upgrading-c-17-c-130h-avionics-supplier-base-legacy-systems-falls/air-force/

AIR FORCE Honeywell Inc., Clearwater, Florida, has been awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with estimated ceiling of $3,517,000,000 for Embedded GPS Inertial Navigation System Modernization (EGI/EGI-M) follow-on production and sustainment. This contract provides production, sustainment and engineering technical services in support of the EGI/EGI-M system. Work will be performed in Clearwater, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2035. This contract will allow foreign military sales. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 procurement funds in the amount of $1,635,018 are being obligated for the first order of EGIs for the F-15 aircraft. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8576-20-D-0001). Engility Corp., Andover, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $655,000,000 firm-fixed-price, cost reimbursable indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for services supporting the Space and Missile Systems Center Development Corps Innovation & Prototype Operations at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. This contract provides engineering, development, integration, and sustainment services supporting the current Ground System Enterprise throughout its evolution, including the transition to and buildout of Enterprise Ground Services. Work will be performed at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico; and Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, and is expected to be complete by July 2, 2027. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition with five proposals received. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, is the contracting activity (FA8818-20-D-0009). Highlight Technologies LLC, Fairfax, Virginia, has been awarded a $7,708,136 hybrid firm-fixed-price, time and materials modification (P00004) to previously-awarded contract FA8730-19-F-0176 for the Kessel Run Enterprise Services Software Environment for Kessel Run Experimentation Labs. This modification provides the software environment management services for the Kessel Run Experimentation Labs and brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $14,502,143. Work will be performed in Boston, Massachusetts, and is expected to be complete by Aug. 14, 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $2,483,737 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity. NAVY Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a not-to-exceed $347,714,510 modification to a previously-awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm-target advance acquisition contract (N00019-20-C-0009). This modification procures long lead materials, parts, components and support necessary to maintain on-time production and delivery of 43 lot 15 F-35 aircraft for non-Department of Defense (DoD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (30%); El Segundo, California (25%); Warton, United Kingdom (20%); Orlando, Florida (10%); Nashua, New Hampshire (5%); Nagoya, Japan (5%); and Baltimore, Maryland (5%), and is expected to be completed in December 2023. Non-DoD participant funds in the amount of $204,964,510; and FMS funds in the amount of $142,750,000, 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. WSP USA Inc., Federal Way, Washington, is awarded a $100,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity architect-engineering contract for waterfront projects at various locations in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Northwest (NW) area of operations. Initial task order is being awarded at $5,900,965 for multi-mission dry dock alternatives feasibility and engineering study in support of environmental impact statement development, Naval Base Kitsap and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The work to be performed provides for an interdisciplinary team to furnish engineering and design services for waterfront projects at various locations predominantly serviced by NAVFAC NW. The design and engineering services will require expertise in architectural, mechanical, electrical, civil, structural, geotechnical, corrosion control, coastal, naval architect, fire protection, survey, cost and environmental disciplines as it pertains to Department of Defense facilities and systems. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by March 2021. All work on this contract will be performed in Washington state (90%); Alaska (1%); Idaho (1%); Iowa (1%); Minnesota (1%); Montana (1%); Nebraska (1%); Oregon (1%); North Dakota (1%); South Dakota (1%); and Wyoming (1%). The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of January 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Navy (O&M,N) contract funds in the amount of $5,900,965 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by O&M,N. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website with four proposals received. NAVFAC NW, Silverdale, Washington, is the contracting activity (N44255-20-D-0001). Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut, is awarded a $38,204,181 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously-awarded contract N00024-12-C-2115 to exercise options to procure onboard repair parts for Virginia class attack submarines Pre Commissioning Unit (PCU) Arkansas (SSN 800) and PCU Utah (SSN 801). Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut, and is expected to be completed by February 2023 for PCU Arkansas and August 2023 for PCU Utah. Fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $9,797,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The statutory authority for this sole-source award is in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii) - only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. BAE Systems Platforms & Services, Minneapolis, Minnesota, is awarded a $19,187,652 fixed-price-incentive (firm target) modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-15-C-4103 for long lead time materials in support of the Virginia class attack submarines (SSN 804) and (SSN 805) propulsor components. This modification provides the required long lead time materials needed for the fixed components in support of the SSN 804 and SSN 805 Virginia class submarine propulsor. Work will be performed in Louisville, Kentucky (90%); and Minneapolis, Minnesota (10%), and is expected to be completed by February 2024. Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $19,187,652 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. American Petroleum Tankers LLC, Blue Bay, Pennsylvania, is awarded $15,792,900 for a firm-fixed-price modification with reimbursable elements to a previously-awarded contract N32205-17-C-3502. This modification provides for the second one-year option for one U.S.-flagged vessel in support of the Department of Defense Logistics Agency Energy aboard the Motor Vessel Evergreen State. Work will be performed worldwide, and is expected to be completed, if all options are exercised by Jan. 8, 2023. This contract includes a one-year firm period of performance, three one-year option periods and one 11-month option period. Working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $10,140,250 for fiscal 2020; and $5,652,650 for fiscal 2021, are obligated and will not expire. The Navy's Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Co., Integrated Defense Systems, Marlborough, Massachusetts, is awarded a $12,941,188 firm-fixed-price delivery order under previously-awarded basic ordering agreement N00024-19-G-5107 for shipboard and shore-based spare parts. This order covers installation and checkout, coordinated shipboard allowance list and coordinated shore-based material/maintenance allowance list spares. Work will be performed in Andover, Massachusetts (86%); Marlborough, Massachusetts (9%); and Chesapeake, Virginia (5%), and is expected to be completed by March 2022. This contract involves foreign military sales to the Republic of Korea (51%); and government of Japan (49%). Foreign Military Sales funding in the amount of $12,941,188 will be obligated at the time of award. This order was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1), this order was not competitively procured (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-20-F-5108). POWER Engineers Inc., Hailey, Idaho, is awarded a $10,493,283 firm-fixed-price task order N62742-20-F-0306 modification P00003 under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for various electrical engineering projects and related services at various locations in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Pacific area of operations. The work to be performed provides design and engineering services to prepare a design-bid-build construction package consisting of full plans, specifications, detailed cost estimate and other services as required to construct a new multi-story operations center to replace Building 112. Also included are two new single-story warehouses at U. S. Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station Finegayan and at United States Naval Base Guam (U.S. NBG); an underground pathway and ducting to support a 23-mile 288-strand fiber optic cable between Andersen Air Force Base and U.S. NBG. Work will be performed in Dededo, Guam, and is expected to be completed by November 2020. Fiscal 2019 military construction (planning and design) contract funds in the amount of $10,493,283 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. NAVFAC Pacific, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-16-D-0002). CORRECTION: A contract action announced on Feb. 6, 2020, to Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut, for $7,598,226 should have identified a definitized contract action to previously-awarded contract N00024-16-C-2111, not “undefinitized.” All other information in the announcement is correct. ARMY L3 Technologies Inc., Muskegon, Michigan, was awarded a $59,056,763 contract for 235 eHydro-Mechanically Propelled Operational Reliability [THOR] II Transmission 800s in a mix of both new and remanufactured configurations. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Muskegon, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 Army working capital funds in the amount of $59,037,500 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-15-C-0119). EA-SCF JV,* Hunt Valley, Maryland, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for environmental services at Fort Belvoir. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 6, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W912DR-20-D-0014). Dyncorp International LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded an $11,361,712 modification (P00028) to contract W58RGZ-19-C-0025 for aviation maintenance services. Work will be performed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Bangor, Maine; and Kuwait, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2020. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement, Army; and operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $11,361,712 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama is the contracting activity. Escal Institute of Advanced Technologies Inc., North Bethesda, Maryland, was awarded a $9,258,000 modification (P00001) to contract W911S0-19-D-0009 to provide industry standard, nationally recognized training and certifications to verify and validate student proficiency in cybersecurity roles as defined in the Joint Cyberspace Training and Certification Standards Concept of Operations. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 5, 2021. Fort Gordon, Georgia, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Otis Products Inc.,* Lyons Falls, New York, has been awarded a maximum $33,688,736 firm-fixed-price contract for gun cleaning kits. This was a competitive acquisition with two offers received. This is a three-year base contract with two one-year option periods. Location of performance is New York, with a Feb. 6, 2023, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio (SPE7LX-20-D-0076). UPDATE: Atlantic Diving Supply Inc., doing businesses as ADS Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (SPE8EC-20-D-0051), has been added as an awardee to the multiple award contract issued against solicitation SPE8EC-17-R-0010 announced May 31, 2017. UPDATE: Truck Country of Wisconsin Inc., De Forest, Wisconsin (SPE8EC-20-D-0053), has been added as an awardee to the multiple award contract issued against solicitation SPE8EC-17-R-0008 announced April 20, 2017. UPDATE: Wright & Wright Machinery Co., Inc.,** Monticello, Kentucky (SPE8EC-20-D-0054), has been added as an awardee to the multiple-award contract issued against solicitation SPE8EC-17-R-0002 announced Nov. 8, 2016. *Small business **Veteran-owned small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2078385/source/GovDelivery/

By: Sam LaGrone The first of a new generation of carrier onboard delivery aircraft delivered to the Navy, the service announced on Friday. Manufacturer Bell-Boeing turned over a CMV-22B Osprey to the Navy in a ceremony at its Texas assembly facility after four years of design and production. “There is nothing more important than delivering capabilities to the fleet with speed,” James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, said in a statement. “I am proud how the program and industry team have leveraged non-traditional approaches such as using existing MV-22 testing data to shrink the time in the CMV-22 acquisition cycle.” The delivered aircraft is now assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (HX) 21. “The first operational squadron, Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30, is scheduled to receive the aircraft this summer,” the Navy said. The first flight of the aircraft was in December, reported USNI News at the time. The delivery comes ahead of an aggressive testing and fielding schedule for the new COD that is anticipated to deploy next year in parallel with the first deployed squadron of F-35C Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). Vinson is currently in a drydock availability undergoing upgrades to field the F-35Cs. The CMV-22B will be key to the deployment as the new COD will be able to carry the engine power module for the F-35s, a key logistics requirement for any JSF deployment. The new Ospreys are based on the Marines existing MV-22B with key differences. “The CMV-22B will be capable of transporting up to 6,000 pounds of cargo and/or personnel over a 1,150 nautical mile range. This expanded range is due to the addition of two new 60-gallon tanks installed in the wing for an additional 120 gallons of fuel and the forward sponson tanks were redesigned for additional capacity,” read a statement from the Navy. “The CMV-22B variant has a beyond-line-of-sight high-frequency radio, a public address system for passengers, and an improved lighting system for cargo loading.” The tilt-rotor will replace the 1960s era C-2A Greyhounds used for the COD mission. The Navy is getting 39 Ospreys as part of a $4.2-billion contract modification with Bell-Boeing the Pentagon announced in July 2018. https://news.usni.org/2020/02/08/bell-boeing-delivers-first-cmv-22b-to-navy-for-cod-mission

by Reuben F. Johnson While it is hard to believe, next year will mark almost 15 years since the Indian Air Force (IAF) embarked on a process to procure a new fighter. It will also be eight years since the force selected the Dassault Rafale for its Medium-Multirole Combat Aircraft (M-MRCA) program—a selection that was eventually not carried through to a license-production run as originally planned. The M-MRCA effort was planned for a procurement of 126 fighters by the IAF with an option for 63 additional units. All but 18 of these aircraft were to be license-assembled in India on a Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) production line. In 2012, India eventually selected the Dassault Rafale from a competition that included Russia's Mikoyan MiG-35, the Saab JAS-39E from Sweden, the Eurofighter, and both the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and a developed version of the Lockheed Martin F-16. The latter two are U.S. products. REPLACEMENT CRISIS However, in “winning a competition” such as this, a French industry official told AIN, “you do not really ‘win' anything. What you supposedly win is the right to then sit down and negotiate a contract—and if you cannot come to some agreement, then you get nothing after having spent tens of millions [of dollars] for all the years it takes to bid a major program in a place like India.” By 2015 the two sides had not come to an agreement on localized production, and in 2016 the new government of prime minister Narendra Modi ordered 36 Rafales “off-the-shelf,” the first of which has already been officially handed over to India. Seven of the aircraft should be delivered to the IAF between April and May 2020. This, however, still leaves the force woefully short of the force levels it says are needed to meet New Delhi's national security requirements. There is still no suitable replacement for the older (but modernized) MiG-21 Bison aircraft in service. There is also no solution to address the gap created by the 2018 Indian decision to withdraw from the HAL/Sukhoi joint program with Russia for a Future Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) program. India was to have purchased 127 of this aircraft, which would have been a heavily-modified version of the Sukhoi Su-57. After an IAF inspection of one of the program's prototypes, the force was calling for 43 major changes to the design to correct what it saw as deficiencies with the original configuration. VERSION 2.0 The consequence is that India—after some twists and turns—is on a path to issue another tender for what will be at least 100 of some aircraft to fill the void created by these developments. Originally, the program was to have been a competition for only single-engine airplane designs, which would have limited the competition to the JAS-39 and the F-16. The latter has now been re-christened the “F-21,” due to all of the changes that have been made to the design to accommodate Indian requirements. One of the changes was to add a probe-and-drogue refueling option in addition to the traditional USAF flying boom refueling method. This “single-engine only” competition was then widened to allow all of the twin-engine aircraft that participated in the original M-MRCA tender—with Russia's Sukhoi Su-35 now also thrown into the mix. This has prompted more than one observer to dub the still-officially unannounced re-running of the tender as “M-MRCA ver 2.0.” NEEDED: A SHORTER ACQUISITION CYCLE What makes this impending competition all the more critical for India's future defense posture is that the next-generation of aircraft carriers that will be coming online with the Indian Navy that will require a force of CATOBAR (catapult-assisted take-off barrier-arrested recovery) fighter aircraft. Both the Rafale-M and Boeing's Super Hornet are available for this mission and Saab has a design for a carrier-capable Maritime Gripen variant of the JAS-39E on the shelf that can be realized within a short time frame. What remains to be seen is whether or not a new tender can be carried out without making it a repeat of the arduous seven-year process that the original M-MRCA turned out to be. Suggestions had been made last year that a new tender could be carried out without an extensive set of flight trials to shorten the evaluation and down-select cycles. While there is no agreement on which aircraft type or types fit the requirements of both the IAF and the Indian Navy, there are numerous observers both inside and outside of India who disparage the manner in which the selection of a new fighter type has been carried out. “As it stands now, the methodology for buying a new fighter is an objectively dysfunctional process,” said one Indian aerospace expert. “The problem is that it will never change as long as the OEMs keep rewarding those who propagate that process without demanding that it change.” https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2020-02-06/india-prepares-new-fighter-tender

In December of 2019 the Department of National Defence (DND) put a call for engineering and costing studies related to a space-based surveillance system. Today DND published the companies selected to continue the process for the three streams. The three space-based surveillance system streams are: Stream 1 – Constellation Design concept. Stream 2 – Data Exploitation concept. Stream 3 -Alternate mission type design concept (non-SAR). Up to nine proposals would be selected. Seven were announced today. The companies were notified that they had been selected in late January. They have until March 31, 2020 to complete their work. No value was published for the contracts. Stream 1 – Constellation Design Concept Scope: DG Space requires a detailed engineering and costing analysis to be conducted on a space-based surveillance system constellation design concept that best meet its requirements, as described in its SBS-RD (Space-Based Surveillance Requirements document). Follow-on analysis may also be required. The companies selected for Stream 1 are; MDA Systems Ltd. UrtheCast Corp. Stream 2 – Data Exploitation Concept Scope: DG Space requires a detailed engineering and costing analysis to be conducted on a space-based surveillance system data exploitation design concept that best meet its requirements, as described in its SBS-RD (Space-Based Surveillance Requirements document). Additional analysis may also be required. The companies selected for Stream 2 are; MDA Systems Ltd. Airbus Defence and Space GmbH UrtheCast Corp. Stream 3 – Alternate Mission Concept Scope: DG Space requires a detailed engineering and costing analysis to be conducted on a space-based surveillance system alternate mission type (non-SAR) design concept that best meet its requirements, as described in its SBS- RD (Space-Based Surveillance Requirements document). Additional analysis may also be required. The companies selected for Stream 3 are; MDA Systems Ltd. Satconsult https://spaceq.ca/dnd-selects-seven-engineering-and-costing-proposals-for-space-based-surveillance-system