Nouvelles

By: Nigel Pittaway MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia's defense minister announced initiatives Monday that will fund early development work on a range of advanced guided weapons and new mine countermeasures/hydrographic ships for the Royal Australian Navy. The guided weapons program, to be developed under Project Sea 1300, is part of a 20-year, AU$24 billion (U.S. $19 billion) investment in maritime weapons that will deliver long-range anti-ship missiles, extended-range surface-to-air missiles, advanced lightweight torpedoes and maritime land-strike capabilities to the Navy. Under Project Sea 1300, the Australian government will continue to invest in the international development program for the Evolved Seasparrow Block 2 surface-to-air missile. Funds will also be used to further develop the SM-2 Block IIIC and SM-6 Block I missiles. The weapons upgrades will be integrated into the Navy's current and future major surface combatant fleet, beginning with the eight Anzac-class frigates, which are undergoing a series of upgrades via a midlife capability assurance program. “All of these new weapons will enhance the protection of our maritime resources and also our nation's border. They will also hold potential adversaries out to much greater distances — up to 1,500 kilometers [932 miles],” Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said. Reynolds added that the investment is in line with the recent Defence Strategic Update, which noted that “a number of nations” in the Asia-Pacific region are developing maritime capabilities, including sophisticated long-range strike weapons. “These announcements are not about any one nation in particular. They are about ensuring Australia has the sovereign capability in the maritime, land and air domains to protect our nation from any potential threats,” she said. Reynolds also announced that the government will acquire eight new, role-adaptable ships for mine countermeasures and hydrographic missions under Project Sea 1905. The new ships will be a variant of the Arafura-class offshore patrol vessels currently under construction for the Navy and will be built at Henderson in Western Australia. The government previously promised to build three vessels for the mine countermeasure and hydrographic roles; the new commitment for five more ships will attract an additional investment of AU$5 billion. “[The Department of] Defence has also released an invitation for Australian industry to provide us with a toolbox of robotic and autonomous systems for these eight new vessels,” the minister said. “And I would encourage all Australian companies — and we have many companies who are at the leading edge of autonomous systems, vehicles and vessels — to have a look at this and to work with Navy to develop options,” she said. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2021/01/26/australia-invests-in-advanced-maritime-weapons-minehunters/

Yet industry executives believe foreign arms sales will remain a priority of the new administration. BY MARCUS WEISGERBER GLOBAL BUSINESS EDITOR JANUARY 26, 2021 02:51 PM ET Raytheon Technologies executives told investors Tuesday that it expects the Biden administration to block at least one arms deal to a Middle Eastern ally as the U.S. shifts its weapons export policy. Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes, speaking on the company's quarterly earnings call, said Raytheon has removed from its books a $519 million projected sale of an “offensive weapon system” to a “customer in the Middle East...we can't talk about.” On the same call, CFO Toby O'Brien said the sale involves an “offensive munition.” The scale of the deal indicates that the execs were referring to the planned sale of some 7,500 Paveway bombs to Saudi Arabia. Last April, Raytheon said in a regulatory filing that its arms sales could be hurt by lawmakers' concerns about Riyadh's role in Yemen's civil war and about the Saudi crown prince's involvement in the murder of a U.S.-based Saudi journalist. Still, in December, Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration was moving ahead with the sale. “We had assumed that we were going to get a license to provide these offensive weapon systems to our customer,” Hayes said. “With the change in administration, it becomes less likely that we're going to be able to get a license for this. And so we appropriately decided that we could no longer support the booking of that contract.” During his Senate confirmation hearing last week, now-confirmed Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the Biden administration would “end our support for the military campaign led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen.” Still, Hayes said the company does not anticipate issues selling defensive weapons, like Patriot missile interceptors, and other types of arms in the region. “Look...peace is not going to break out in the Middle East anytime soon,” Hayes said. “I think it remains an area where we'll continue to see solid growth.” Similarly, Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet expected foreign arms sales to remain a priority in the Biden administration. “As far as international business, including foreign military sales, the tendency of the people in the Biden administration [and] in the president's own statements, reiterate his view that alliances are important that they need to be cultivated, and that they have real value in deterrence and national defense,” Taiclet said. “I do think that we'll have a more open environment for [foreign military sales] and direct commercial sales to our international partners.” Taiclet said foreign weapon sales are a way to generate American jobs and stimulate the U.S. economy. “If jobs and the economy are important, the promotion of international defense sales, one would surmise, would also be important,” Taiclet said Tuesday morning on Lockheed's quarterly earnings call. While arms sales create jobs growth, a 2019 Center for International Policy report said those claims, particularly during the Trump administration, were greatly exaggerated. Still Taiclet, a former U.S. Air Force pilot, said arms sales are a way to deepen relationships with an ally. “I can tell you that there's no better way to get a tighter bond with an ally than sell them jet fighter aircraft,” he said. “All the way back in the mid-[19]80s, when I was in pilot training, we had Saudis in our class, for example.” https://www.defenseone.com/business/2021/01/raytheon-expects-biden-block-500m-bomb-sale-saudi-arabia/171645/

NAVY BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems, Nashua, New Hampshire, is awarded an $81,348,624 firm-fixed-price modification (P00005) to previously awarded contract N00019-19-C-0001. This modification exercises an option to procure 1,512 radio frequency countermeasures for Lot 12 of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft in support of non-U.S. Department of Defense participants, Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers and for the Navy. Work will be performed in Nashua, New Hampshire (74%); Landenberg, Pennsylvania (7%); Topsfield, Massachusetts (2.5%); Industry, California (1.6%); Hamilton, New Jersey (1.5%); Carson, California (1.3%); Dover, New Hampshire (1.1%); Londonderry, New Hampshire (1%); Chartley, Massachusetts (1%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (9%), and is expected to be completed in March 2024. Fiscal 2021 procurement of ammunition (Navy and Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $27,761,832; fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $26,040,168; fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $15,925,392; and FMS funds in the amount of $11,621,232 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $64,121,341 modification (P00013) to firm-fixed-price order N00019-20-F-0571 against previously issued basic ordering agreement N00019-19-G-0008. This modification exercises options for the procurement of Digital Channelized Receiver/Techniques Generator and Tuner Insertion program technology to upgrade F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft with Digital Tuner Insertion Program electronic warfare racks and high efficiency low voltage power supply. These upgrades will enable for future upgrades to Lot 15 Block 4 configuration, including Technical Refresh Three for the Air Force and non-Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in June 2025. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $57,865,601; and non-DOD participant funds in the amount of $6,255,740 will be obligated at the 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. Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, Marlborough, Massachusetts, is awarded a $19,950,844 modification to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N00039-16-C-0050 to produce, test and deliver fully integrated Navy Multiband Terminals (NMT). NMT is a multiband capable satellite communications terminal that provides protected and wideband communications. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $557,882,121. Work will be performed at Largo, Florida (54%); South Deerfield, Massachusetts (25%); Stow, Massachusetts (13%); and Marlborough, Massachusetts (8%), with an expected completion date of May 2022. Fiscal 2021 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $19,950,844 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This sole-source contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Jacobs Government Services Co., Alexandria, Virginia, is awarded a $15,000,000 firm-fixed-price modification to exercise an option under previously awarded contract N40080-17-D-0018 for architectural/engineering design services within the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Washington, D.C., area of responsibility. Award of this option brings the total cumulative contract value to $90,000,000. Work will be performed at various administrative facilities located within, but not limited to, Maryland; Washington, District of Columbia; and Virginia, and is expected to be completed by December 2021. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Task orders under this award will be primarily funded by fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy); fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps); and fiscal 2021 Navy working capital funds. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Laurel Technologies Partnership, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, is awarded an $11,044,416 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N63394-20-C-0008 to exercise options for Programmable Power Supply MK 179 Mod 0 production units in support of the Vertical Launch System (VLS). This option exercise is for the manufacture, assembly, test and delivery of additional production units of the VLS Programmable Power Supply MK 179 Mod 0. The VLS provides area and self-defense, anti-air warfare capabilities, counter-air and land attack cruise missile defense and surface and subsurface warfare capabilities. Work will be performed in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and is expected to be completed by March 2022. Fiscal 2021 defense-wide procurement funding in the amount of $11,044,416 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Sierra Nevada Corp., Sparks, Nevada, has been awarded a $29,791,307 firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursement-no-fee order modification (P00002) to contract FA8509-20-F-0014 for the MC-130J Airborne Mission Networking program low rate initial production. This order provides for the procurement of production kits, spares and weapon system trainer support. Work will be performed in Centennial, Colorado, and is expected to be completed Jan. 19, 2023. Fiscal 2021 U.S. Southern Command other procurement funds in the amount of $5,522,844; fiscal 2021 Air Force other procurement funds in the amount of $6,564,225; fiscal 2020 Air Force other procurement funds in the amount of $6,937,237; and fiscal 2019 other procurement funds in the amount of $10,767,001, are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity. Collins Aerospace, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been awarded an estimated $27,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for KC-135 Aero-I satellite communications replacement. This contract provides to identify, develop, integrate and test a commercial off the shelf Iridium Satellite Communication system to replace the current C/KC-135 International Marine/Maritime Satellite system. Work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, and is expected to be completed July 31, 2026. This contract involves optional Foreign Military Sales to Turkey and France. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and seven offers received. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $3,800,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (FA8105-21-D-0002). AAR Allen Service Inc., doing business as AAR Aircraft Component, Garden City, New York, has been awarded a $9,188,386 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for F-16 accessory drive gearbox (ADG) and jet fuel starter (JFS) repairs. This contract provides for the repair of both ADG and JFS, which are utilized in the secondary power system of the F-16 C/D aircraft. Work will be performed in Garden City, New York, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 26, 2026. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and three offers were received. Defense working capital funds, a no year appropriation, in the amount of $1,498,440 are being obligated on the initial order. The Air Force Material Command, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8251-21-D-0005). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Genesis Vision,* doing business as Rochester Optical, Rochester, New York, has been awarded a maximum $29,700,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for optical lenses. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a three-year base contract with two one-year option periods. Location of performance is New York, with a Jan. 25, 2024, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DE-21-D-0015). ARMY Sikorsky Aircraft Cor., Stratford, Connecticut, was awarded a $26,009,930 modification (P00165) to contract W58RGZ-17-C-0009 to exercise an option for two Army Black Hawk Exchange and Sales Team UH-60M aircraft. Work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2021. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $26,009,930 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. AITC-Five Domains JV LLC, Winter Springs, Florida, was awarded a $19,803,618 firm-fixed-price contract to provide train, advise, assist and mentor services for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2021 Foreign Military Sales (Saudi Arabia) funds in the amount of $19,803,618 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (W900KK-21-C-0009). Perspecta Enterprise Solutions LLC, Herndon, Virginia, was awarded a $15,304,502 firm-fixed-price contract for an eight-month bridge to continue support to integrate, sustain, modernize and protect the information technology (IT) architecture, infrastructure and associated IT services of Human Resource Command. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Fort Knox, Kentucky, with an estimated completion date of June 26, 2021. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $7,427,207 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J21C2001). Eastman Aggregate Enterprises LLC, Lake Worth, Florida, was awarded a $14,040,069 firm-fixed-price contract for the Beach Erosion Control and Hurricane Protection Project beach renourishment. Bids were solicited via the internet with eight received. Work will be performed in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 27, 2022. Fiscal 2018 civil construction funds in the amount of $14,040,069 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity (W912EP-21-C-0006). Poseidon Barge Ltd., Berne, Indiana, was awarded an $8,379,000 modification (P00002) to contract W912BU-19-P-0051 for the purchase of and modification to the structure of pontoons. Work will be performed in Berne, Indiana, with an estimated completion date of May 26, 2022. Fiscal 2019 revolving funds in the amount of $8,379,000 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2483503/source/GovDelivery/

AIR FORCE Chugach Range and Facilities Services JV LLC, Anchorage, Alaska, has been awarded a $112,991,156 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-reimbursable contract for Ascension Island Mission Services. This contract provides for radar tracking, space surveillance tracking, telemetry, timing and sequencing, communications, airfield operations, operations, maintenance and engineering support for facilities, systems, equipment, utilities and base operating support responsibilities. Work will be performed on Ascension Island Auxiliary Airfield and is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and five offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $104,367 are being obligated at the time of award. The 45th Contracting Squadron, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA2521-21-C-0015). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY FedMedical Inc.,* Summerville, South Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $30,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for pulse oximeters, exam/surgical lights and related accessories. This was a competitive acquisition with 137 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is South Carolina, with a Jan. 24, 2026, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D1-21-D-0005). Lions Services Inc.,** Charlotte, North Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $10,480,000 modification (P00007) exercising the first one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-20-D-B082) with two one-year option periods for improved combat helmet chinstraps. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is North Carolina, with a Jan. 28, 2022, ordering period end date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NAVY Alabama Shipyard LLC, Mobile, Alabama, is awarded a $19,679,483 firm-fixed-price contract (N32205-21-C-4128) for a 76-calendar day shipyard availability for the regular overhaul/dry docking on USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE 1). The contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the total contract value to $21,847,693. Work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by May 24, 2021. Contract funds in the amount of $19,679,483 are obligated in fiscal 2021 using working capital funds (Navy). This contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the beta.Sam.gov website and three offers were received. The Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Progeny Systems Corp.,* Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $15,480,788 cost-plus-fixed fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-19-C-6204 to exercise options for engineering and technical services for Navy submarines and aircraft carriers. This option exercise is under Small Business Innovation Research Topic N05-051, for software build production, engineering and technical services and includes all material travel, subsistence and incidental material in support of the related production orders and services. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (30%); Groton, Connecticut (25%); Bremerton, Washington (15%); Las Vegas, Nevada (10%); Cleveland, Ohio (10%); Chesapeake, Virginia (4%); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (2%); San Diego, California (2%); and Kings Bay, Georgia (2%), and is expected to be completed by January 2022. Fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) $1,900,000 funding will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. General Electric Co., Niskayuna, New York, is awarded a $10,197,968 cost-type contract to develop a mobile automated manufacturing platform to provide just-in-time manufacturing of nucleic acid countermeasures to rapidly produce, formulate and package doses of nucleic acid therapeutics or prophylactics. This two-year contract includes three one-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to an estimated $41,219,762. Work will be performed at the contractor's facilities in Niskayuna, New York (52%); San Diego, California (24%); Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France (20%); and Seattle, Washington (4%). The period of performance of the base award is from Jan. 25, 2021, through Jan. 24, 2023. If all option periods are exercised, the period of performance would extend through Jan. 24, 2026. Funds in the amount of $1,973,062 will be obligated at the time of award. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Fiscal 2021 funds will be obligated using research, development, test and evaluation funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This contract was competitively procured via a DARPA broad agency announcement solicitation (HR0011-20-S-0006) published on the beta.SAM.gov website. Ten proposals were received and two were selected for award. The Naval Information Warfare Center, Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-21-C-4014). *Small business **Mandatory source https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2482200/source/GovDelivery/

By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army's new Infantry Squad Vehicle is a cramped ride and offers limited protection from certain threats, according to a recent report from the Pentagon's chief weapons tester, but it still meets the service's requirements in tests and evaluations, the product lead told Defense News. The ISV “key requirements are being met and we are increasing soldier operational readiness by providing an operationally relevant vehicle that can transport small tactical units to a dismount point faster and in better physical and mental condition for the fight,” said Steven Herrick, the Army's product lead for ground mobility vehicles within the Program Executive Office Combat Support and Combat Service Support. The vehicle was designed for easy transport to operational environments with the infantry's current rotary and fixed-wing transport platforms. The key performance parameters required that the vehicle's weight not exceed 5,000 pounds and that it fit inside a CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopter. Those requirements “force dimensional requirements only allowing the vehicle to be a certain height, width and length,” he said. The requirements led to a vehicle that makes it hard for soldiers with all their gear needed for a 72-hour mission to comfortably fit inside and be able to access rucksacks on the move. The Army assessed three vendors in developmental testing from December 2019 through January 2020. The service chose General Motors Defense to supply the vehicle to the force, with the company beating out an Oshkosh Defense and Flyer Defense team as well as an SAIC and Polaris team. All offerings were capable of carrying a nine-soldier infantry squad with weapons and equipment during movement, the director of operational test and evaluation said in the report. But the Pentagon also noted the ISV “has not demonstrated the capability to carry the required mission equipment, supplies and water for a unit to sustain itself to cover a range of 300 miles within a 72-hour period.” The Army, however, has assessed the ISV requirement and solution set is in alignment, Herrick said. The DOT&E report, he said, “indicates a desire to include more equipment than a standard nine-soldier squad would carry on a 72-hour mission.” This lack of space, the report stated, “may create a logistics and operational burden” and might limit the type of missions and duration for ISVs. The soldiers that participated in the touch point evaluating the vehicles were asked to bring their Advanced Combat Helmet and Improved Outer Tactical Vest with plates; individual weapon; night vision devices; and ruck with three days' worth of supplies, Herrick said. “All vendors' ISVs are cramped and soldiers cannot reach, stow, and secure equipment as needed, degrading and slowing mission operations,” the report explained. During tests “soldiers on all ISVs could not readily access items in their rucksacks without stopping the movement, dismounting, and removing their rucksacks from the vehicle.” The soldier touch point took into account soldier comfort, visibility and ability to execute the mission, Herrick said. This was all factored into the Army's decision to choose GM Defense's vehicle. “Additionally, no current or planned combat or tactical vehicle allows access to rucksacks while moving to support operator safety,” Herrick noted. “Crew spaces on the ISV are designed to allow mission performance of specific duty tasks.” Units also lacked reliable communication capability, according to the report, using hand-held or manpack radios between 62 and 300 miles. The ISV does not have a mounted radio requirement. “Communication between the squad leader, soldiers, and the platoon leader was intermittent and not reliable,” the report found. Because of the concept of the ISV providing an effective aid to insert soldiers into combat operations, the requirements support just what the soldier carries, so there is no mounted requirement yet, Herrick said. That requirement could be added as a growth capability later. The DOT&E report also noted that the ISV doesn't have an underbody and ballistic survivability requirement, which could mean the unit would be susceptible to certain threats, but the ISV's speed as well as its small, low profile might help deal with those issues. Adding protection to the vehicle would sacrifice the speed the squad needs to rapidly inject itself into operations. Overall, GM Defense's vehicle had the highest reliability among the three vendors, demonstrating 585 mean miles between operational mission failures. The Army's user requirement is 1,200 mean miles for that situation. Herrick noted that reliability and maintainability testing was not scheduled or conducted by Army Test and Evaluation Command or the program office, so the calculations used in the DOT&E report were “not supported by traditional [reliability and maintainability] RAM elements, such as scoring conferences and time for the vendor to implement changes.” The mileage accumulated and referenced in the report was “not meant to evaluate RAM by the Army, but rather to provide the program office and contractor an initial insight on the capability of the system over 500 miles,” Herrick added. The vehicle's RAM testing is scheduled to begin this month, he added.. The service wasn't able to evaluate every aspect of the vehicle before moving into production, but it plans to test the vehicle's ability to be carried by a Chinook during its initial operational test and evaluation this year. Now that the Army has chosen the GM Defense vehicle, it has already initiated developmental testing that will lead to an initial operational test and evaluation in August 2021 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. That testing began in November 2020. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2021/01/25/infantry-squad-vehicle-is-a-cramped-ride-but-army-says-it-meets-requirements/

The UK's first fleet of uncrewed fighter aircraft is one step closer to reality following a £30-million contract to design and manufacture a prototype in a three-year deal supporting more than 100 jobs in Belfast. Published 25 January 2021 From: Ministry of Defence, Northern Ireland Office, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, The Rt Hon Brandon Lewis MP, and Jeremy Quin MP The uncrewed combat aircraft will be designed to fly at high-speed alongside fighter jets, armed with missiles, surveillance and electronic warfare technology to provide a battle-winning advantage over hostile forces. Known as a ‘loyal wingman', these aircraft will be the UK's first uncrewed platforms able to target and shoot down enemy aircraft and survive against surface to air missiles. In a boost for Northern Ireland's defence industry, Spirit AeroSystems, Belfast, have been selected to lead Team MOSQUITO in the next phase of the Project. Utilising ground-breaking engineering techniques, the team will further develop the RAF's Lightweight Affordable Novel Combat Aircraft (LANCA) concept, with a full-scale vehicle flight-test programme expected by the end of 2023. Northern Ireland Secretary, Brandon Lewis said: This is fantastic news and underlines the distinct strengths in Northern Ireland's economy, through its advanced engineering and manufacturing capabilities. This ground-breaking project will involve significant investment which will not only support local employment, but also reinforce Northern Ireland's contribution to the security of our nation. Team MOSQUITO, which also includes Northrop Grumman UK, will mature the designs and manufacture a technology demonstrator to generate evidence for a follow-on LANCA programme. If successful, Project Mosquito's findings could lead to this revolutionary capability being deployed alongside the Typhoon and F-35 Lightning jets by the end of the decade. Defence Minister, Jeremy Quin said: This is a great win for the Northern Ireland defence industry and will showcase some of the most pioneering engineering work currently being undertaken in the UK. The £30 million project will accelerate the development of the UK's future air power by delivering cutting-edge uncrewed aircraft, maintaining our position as a world leader in emerging technologies. Working with innovative partners from across the UK, Project Mosquito is transforming traditional approaches to combat air to enable the rapid development of technology. By utilising the latest software development techniques and civilian aerospace engineering and manufacturing expertise, the project will deliver dramatic reductions in costs and development timelines, so their innovations can reach the front-line quicker than ever before. This game changing research and development project will ensure the final aircraft design will be capable of being easily and affordably updated with the latest technology so we remain one step ahead of our adversaries. The aircraft's flexibility will provide the optimum protection, survivability and information as it flies alongside Typhoon, F-35 Lightning, and later, Tempest as part of our future combat air system. Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston, Chief of the Air Staff said: We're taking a revolutionary approach, looking at a game-changing mix of swarming drones and uncrewed fighter aircraft like Mosquito, alongside piloted fighters like Tempest, that will transform the combat battlespace in a way not seen since the advent of the jet age. Director Future Combat Air, Richard Berthon said: Project Mosquito is a vital element of our approach to Future Combat Air, rapidly bringing to life design, build and test skills for next generation combat air capabilities. Autonomous ‘loyal wingman' aircraft create the opportunity to expand, diversify and rapidly upgrade Combat Air Forces in a cost-effective way, now and in the future. As announced by the Prime Minister in November 2020, the UK's Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme is set to benefit from a portion of the extra £1.5 billion investment into military research and development, which will help ensure our Armed Forces are prepared to meet the threats of tomorrow. LANCA originated in 2015 in Dstl to understand innovative Combat Air technologies and concepts that offer radical reductions in cost and development time and is a RAF Rapid Capabilities Office led project under the Future Combat Air System Technology Initiative (FCAS TI). The UK MOD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) provides the project management and is the MOD's technical authority for LANCA and Project Mosquito on behalf of the RCO. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/30m-injection-for-uks-first-uncrewed-fighter-aircraft

By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin-owned Sikorsky and Boeing have pitched a tweaked version of the team's coaxial technology demonstrator — the SB-1 Defiant — which it plans to submit for the U.S. Army's Future Long-Range Assault (FLRAA) competition, according to the companies. The modified, competition-ready aircraft design is being called Defiant X, taking the same surname as little brother Raider X, which is Lockheed's submission for the Army's other helicopter competition — the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program — running nearly in parallel. Both aircraft build off and scale up from Sikorsky's X2 demonstrator which flew for the first time in 2008. Lockheed Martin came out with Raider X roughly two years ago at the Association of the U.S Army's annual trade show. “One thing that always comes out is the importance of this aircraft at the X,” Tim Malia, Sikorsky's FARA director, said at the time. “The ‘X' is defined by the Army as the terminal area where they actually have to go do the work, do the reconnaissance, do the attack mission. The operation at the X is really critical for this program and for this platform.” And according to the Lockheed-Boeing team, it's no different with Defiant. Modernizing its vertical lift fleet is the Army's third-highest priority behind Long-Range Precision Fires and Next-Generation Combat Vehicle development. The Army intends to field both a FLRAA and FARA by roughly 2030. Defiant X made its public debut Jan. 25 featuring changes to the outer mold line compared to the demonstrator airframe, such as a sharper nose cone; a tricycle-style landing gear; changes to the exhaust system and an integrated mission systems package. The “enhancements to the design” are born from roughly 1,500 hours running algorithms in a systems integration lab, 135 hours logged in the Propulsion Systems Test Bed, and 31 flights, adding up to 26 hours of flight time, the companies reported. Some of the changes to the airframe were made to reduce thermal signature and improve aerodynamic handling. The exhaust system alterations also reduce thermal signature, the team conveyed. The landing gear changes are meant to improve stability, landing and taxiing in combat and more austere environments, according to the companies. Adding integrated mission systems is a requirement for the FLRAA competition in order to upgrade and continuously improve aircraft capability through a modular open system architecture. The MOSA will allow the systems to stay relevant in a Joint All Domain Operations environment and on the battlefield in 2035 and beyond. Defiant X will also come with “fly-by-wire flight controls integrated with autonomy capability leading to safety and workload reduction for the crew and operations in complex and degraded visual environments,” the team noted. Lockheed and Boeing are claiming that, as of now, Defiant X is the only offering that can sling-load equipment during missions “at an operationally relevant distance.” “One of the key words here is versatility,” Heather McBryan, Boeing's director of sales and marketing for future vertical lift, told reporters during a Jan. 22 roundtable held in advance of Defiant X's public debut. “Although the FLRAA mission is about more than just flying fast, and although we know the pacing mission is the air assault mission, this aircraft is going to be asked to do a whole lot of other things on a daily basis and our design and capability really provides that extreme lifting power for those types of missions.” To date, the SB-1 Defiant helicopter — as part of the Army's technology demonstration and the ongoing follow-on competitive risk reduction effort — has reached 211 knots in straight-and-level flight and 232 knots in a descent. “During the [competitive development and risk reduction], we've done hundreds of trade studies to refine this transformational capability and worked closely with our Army partner,” Jay Macklin, director of Future Vertical Lift business development with Sikorsky, said in the same call with reporters. “The design you're going to see today is a result of those studies. The CDRR has provided a great vehicle to share data back and forth to help the Army again understand and come to a decision on exactly what they are looking for,” he said. The team, according to Macklin, continue to also run tests in a digital combat environment that allows the ability to look at and test designs and maintenance procedures, fly and run operational analysis in order to ensure the best design. While Defiant X came out looking a certain way, according to newly released renderings and animations, that doesn't necessarily mean something won't change before the actual aircraft is built and ready to fly, according to McBryan. The Army released a draft request for proposals in December for FLRAA, announcing its unsurprising intentions to limit the competition to the Sikorsky-Boeing team and Bell because they are the only ones that can meet all of the service's technical and production requirements after spending years building and flying Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator aircraft meant to help define requirements and the realm of the possible for a next-generation medium-sized helicopter. Bell is expected to submit a tiltrotor that would likely not stray too far from its V-280 Valor aircraft flown in the technology demonstration. Bell's demonstrator first flew in December 2017. Defiant took longer to get off the ground due to challenges in manufacturing its complex rotor blades. Defiant's first flight took place in March 2019. The Army is plans to drop the RFP in fiscal 2021, with plans to choose a winner to produce the aircraft in FY22. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2021/01/25/lockheed-boeing-team-pitch-defiant-x-its-candidate-for-the-armys-long-range-assault-helo-competition

Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — The Missile Defense Agency selected two companies to build prototype sensors capable of tracking hypersonic weapons from space. L3Harris and Northrop Grumman will create the prototypes for the agency's Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor. L3Harris won a $122 million award Jan. 14, while Northrop Grumman received a $155 million award Jan. 22. In tandem with the Space Development Agency's tracking layer, the HBTSS constellation is the Pentagon's answer to hypersonic weapons, which are too dim to effectively track with current sensors in geostationary orbit and can potentially avoid terrestrial sensors. The constellation will be closer to the planet's surface in low Earth orbit, allowing sensors to more easily see the dimmer threat. However, being closer to the Earth's surface results in a far narrower field of view for each satellite. In order to get worldwide coverage, the Pentagon is pursuing a proliferated constellation made up of dozens of satellites. SDA's tracking layer satellites will initially pick up a threat, with each satellite tracking the weapon and then passing off custody to the next satellite as the weapon leaves its field of view. Ultimately, the threat will be passed on to the more sensitive HBTSS, which can provide targeting data. “The combination of high speed, maneuverability and relatively low altitude of some of the emerging advanced missile threats makes them challenging targets for our current missile defense systems,” the agency said in a statement. “HBTSS is needed, since we cannot populate the Earth and the oceans with terrestrial radars to meet this need. The ‘birth-to-death' tracking that HBTSS can provide when integrated with terrestrial sensors will make it possible to maintain custody of missile threats from launch through intercept regardless of location.” Four companies were in the running to build the new HBTSS prototypes, but MDA stated on Jan. 22 that L3Harris and Northrop Grumman will be the two moving forward into the on-orbit prototype demonstration. The other transaction authority contracts covers the prototypes through launch and early on-orbit testing. According to MDA, the prototypes should “demonstrate the sensitivity and fire-control quality of service necessary to support both the emerging hypersonic threat kill chain and dim upper-stage ballistic missiles.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2021/01/25/missile-defense-agency-picks-two-vendors-for-hypersonic-weapon-tracking-sensor-prototypes

By: Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey on Jan. 23 launched its first locally built frigate, the I-class TCG Istanbul, advancing a program that involves the production of four corvettes and four frigates. Under the MILGEM program, Turkey manufactured and delivered four Ada-class corvettes to the Navy. The Istanbul is the first of the four I-class frigates. The Istanbul was built under a 2019 contract awarded by the government procurement agency SSB to STM, a government-controlled defense company. The warship will be used in advanced air defense, naval warfare and patrolling missions, and it will support underwater warfare missions. It will be delivered to the Navy in 2023. “The MILGEM program dates back to early 2000s. But it is delivering critical platforms just when needed, i.e., when Turkey needs hard power to support its assertive foreign policy in the eastern Mediterranean,” defense analyst Ozgur Eksi said. Turkey and its traditional Aegean rival Greece came close to military conflict several times during 2020 due to their disputes over continental shelf, airspace, territorial waters, demilitarization of Greek islands and islets, air traffic centers, and exclusive economic zones in addition to the broader territorial disputes around Cyprus. The I-class frigates will feature weapons systems including a locally made 16-cell MDAS vertical launching system (a total of 64 surface-to-air missiles yet to be specified); four-by-four SSM launch canisters for the Atmaca weapon; an Aselsan-made 76mm Gokdeniz close-in weapon system; two Aselsan-made 25mm machine guns; and a HIZIR torpedo countermeasures system. The ship class' specifications are: Dimensions: Length: 113.2 meters; Beam: 14.4 meters; Draught: 4.05 meters Displacement: 3,000 tons Speed: Max: 29-plus knots; Economic: 14 knots Range with economic speed: About 5,700 nautical miles Main Propulsion: CODAG, two MTU 20V 4000 M93L diesel engines (driving two shafts) and a LM2500 gas turbine (in CODAG configuration) Power generation: Four diesel generators Platforms: Capacity to carry two S70 Seahawk helicopters (one in the hangar and one on the platform); Two rigid hull inflatable boats Endurance: Minimum 15 days of operational capability without replenishments https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2021/01/25/heres-what-we-know-about-turkeys-newly-launched-homemade-frigate