Nouvelles

ARMY BFBC, Bozeman, Montana (W9126G-19-D-0018); Texas Sterling Construction Co., Houston, Texas (W9126G-19-D-0019); Bristol Construction Services LLC,* Anchorage, Alaska (W9126G-19-D-0023); Burgos Group LLC,* Albuquerque, New Mexico (W9126G-19-D-0026); Gibraltar-Caddell JV, Montgomery, Alabama (W9126G-19-D-0022); Fisher Sand & Gravel, Dickinson, North Dakota (W9126G-19-D-0027); Southwest Valley Constructors Co., Albuquerque, New Mexico (W9126G-19-D-0017); Randy Kinder Excavating Inc.,* Dexter, Missouri (W9126G-19-D-0024); Martin Brothers Construction,* Sacramento, California (W9126G-19-D-0028); SLSCO Ltd., Galveston, Texas (W9126G-19-D-0021); Posillico Civil Inc. Coastal Environmental Group Inc., Farmingdale, New York (W9126G-19-D-0020); and CJW JV, Santa Ana, California (W9126G-19-D-0025), will compete for each order of the $5,000,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for design-build, design-bid-build horizontal construction task orders in support of the Department of Homeland Security San Diego, El Centro, Yuma and Tucson Border Patrol sectors, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South-Western Division and South Pacific Division. Bids were solicited via the internet with 38 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 7, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity. Science and Engineering Services LLC,* Huntsville, Alabama (W58RGZ-19-D-0045); Y-Tech Services Inc.,* Huntsville, Alabama (W58RGZ-19-D-0046); and Tyonek Worldwide Services Inc.,* Madison, Alabama (W58RGZ-19-D-0047), will compete for each order of the $2,440,000,000 hybrid (cost, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide modifications to aviation systems. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 3, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Ashridge Inc.,* St. Stephen, South Carolina, was awarded a $16,951,622 firm-fixed-price contract for the Savannah Harbor oysterbed revetment repair, rock along the shoreline to prevent erosion, repairing the boat dock, and repairing the barge dock. Bids were solicited via the internet with eight received. Work will be performed in Hardeeville, South Carolina, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 29, 2020. Fiscal 2018 civil works; and operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $16,951,622 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity (W912HN-19-C-5003). Southeast Cherokee Construction Inc.,* Montgomery, Alabama, was awarded a $13,341,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Judge Advocate General School expansion. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Montgomery, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 20, 2020. Fiscal 2017 military construction funds in the amount of $13,341,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W91278-19-C-0017). NAVY ICF Inc. LLC, Fairfax, Virginia, is awarded a $330,714,321 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $802,045,896. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3409). Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, is being awarded a $304,326,147 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $741,278,402. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3410). Perspecta Engineering Inc., Chantilly, Virginia, is awarded a $303,565,184 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $739,941,512. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3415). Parsons Government Services Inc., Pasadena, California, is awarded a $293,786,547 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $710,979,159. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3412). BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services Inc., Rockville, Maryland, is awarded a $276,573,342 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $677,769,136. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3407). Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia, is awarded a $273,941,498 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $672,034,026. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3408). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Herndon, Virginia, is awarded a $273,242,902 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $673,172,297. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3411). Scientific Research Corp., Atlanta, Georgia, is awarded a $240,305,587 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $577,918,499. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3414). Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia, is awarded a $234,743,621 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $569,177,650. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and work is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); other procurement (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy); and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and Foreign Military Sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0001 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-3413). Raytheon Co., Largo, Florida, is awarded a $15,267,422 cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost-only contract for design agent and engineering services efforts to support the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC). The CEC program provides a sensor network with integrated fire control capability that significantly improves strike force air and missile defense capabilities by coordinating measurement data from strike force air search sensors on CEC-equipped units into a single, integrated real-time, composite track air picture. CEC improves battle force effectiveness by improving overall situational awareness and by enabling longer range, cooperative, multiple, or layered engagement strategies. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $279,340,117. Work will be performed in St. Petersburg, Florida (95 percent); and Largo, Florida (5 percent), and is expected to be complete by September 2022. If all options are exercised, work will continue through April 2024. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $8,009,206 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-5200). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Aerospace Systems, Melbourne, Florida, is awarded $15,264,314 for modification P00025 to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-14-C-0036). This modification increases the ceiling and period of performance of the contract. In addition, this modification increases the full-scale fatigue repair time on contract to achieve the required simulated flight hours. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California (59 percent); Melbourne, Florida (35 percent); and Bethpage, New York (6 percent), and is expected to be completed in May 2022. No funds will be obligated at time of award. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. L3 Technologies Inc., doing business as L3 KEO, Northampton, Massachusetts, is awarded a $14,110,638 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-16-C-5366 for MK 20 MOD 1 Electro-Optical Sensor Systems, radar cross section kits, shock ring kits, engineering support services, and spares for both the Navy and Coast Guard. The MK 20 Electro-Optical Sensor System is a major component of the MK 34 Gun Weapon Systems employed by the DDG 51 class, CG 47 class and the Coast Guard's offshore patrol centers. The systems procured are required to support the Gun Weapon Systems by performing safety check-sighting, look-point-shoot, target ranges, identification of air and surface targets in support of anti-air warfare and anti-surface warfare. This contract modification includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $79,453,206. Work will be performed in Northampton, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by August 2021. If all options are exercised, work will continue through November 2021. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 other procurement (Navy); and fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $14,110,638 will be obligated at time of the 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. L3 Technologies Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah, is awarded $13,686,773 for modification P00004 to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N0001919C0014) to expand the analysis and design of the Next Generation Jammer Low Band (NGJ LB) controller, receiver, exciter, and power generation subsystems. In addition, this modification provides for NGJ LB technique development, incorporation of updated goals documents, and environmental testing of the transmitter group. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah (53 percent); Carlsbad, California (15 percent); Boulder, Colorado (14 percent); Stuart, Florida (14 percent); Guthrie, Oklahoma (2 percent); and Fullerton, California (2 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2020. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $13,686,773 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. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Bethpage, New York, is awarded a $13,517,069 modification (P00003) to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N0001919C0015) to expand the analysis and design of the Next Generation Jammer Low Band (NGJ LB) controller, receiver, exciter, and power generation subsystems. In addition, this modification provides for NGJ LB technique development, incorporation of updated goals documents, and environmental testing of the transmitter group. Work will be performed in Bethpage, New York (40 percent); Linthicum, Maryland (32 percent); North Amityville, New York (12 percent); Tempe, Arizona (12 percent); and Melville, New York (4 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2020. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $13,517,069 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. Georgia Tech Research Corp., Atlanta, Georgia, is awarded an $8,138,096 cost reimbursement contract for development of vector sensors and arrays for deep and shallow water applications. Work will be performed at the contractor's facility in Atlanta, Georgia, and is expected to be completed March 31, 2024. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $332,401 will be obligated at the time of award. No funds will expire at end of current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under long range broad agency announcement (BAA) N00014-18-S-B001 for science and technology projects for advancement and improvement of Navy and Marine Corps operations. Proposals will be received throughout the year under the long range BAA; therefore, the number of proposals received in response to the solicitation is unknown. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00014-19-C-2045). AIR FORCE M1 Support Services L.P., Denton, Texas, has been awarded a $23,342,767 firm-fixed-price modification (P00088) to previously awarded contract FA8106-13-C-0008 for C-21 sustainment. This modification provides for the exercise of Option Six, which includes maintenance and repair support of the C-21 fleet. Work will be performed at various locations worldwide, and is expected to be complete by May 31, 2020. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $124,152,363. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind,** Little Rock, Arkansas, has been awarded a maximum $11,085,645 modification (P00015) exercising the second one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-17-D-B019) with two-one-year option periods for flame resistant, operational camouflage pattern, intermediate weather outer layer jackets. This is a firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Arkansas, with an Oct. 31, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. *Small business **Mandatory source https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1842189/source/GovDelivery/

(CIO Mag) – L'avionneur français affiche plus que jamais sa détermination à ouvrir davantage les données géospatiales, les images satellites et les algorithmes aux start-up et développeurs. Objectif : les aider à développer leurs propres services et de les vendre. Pour ce faire, Airbus a officialisé cette semaine le lancement à Berlin d'une plateforme dédiée et dénommée UP42. Selon le site des « Echos » qui donne l'information, le groupe français a mobilisé une trentaine de personnes au sein de cette filiale. Laquelle doit permettre à la société de surfer sur un marché de l'imagerie satellitaire en pleine expansion à l'heure actuelle et évalué à plusieurs dizaines de milliards d'Euros. https://cio-mag.com/democratisation-de-lacces-des-developpeurs-aux-images-satellites-airbus-lance-une-plateforme-dediee/

By: Kelsey D. Atherton The future of war is a synergy in euphemisms, launched as a co-branding event. AeroVironment — maker of missile systems, including the one-way guided flying “switchblade” missile — announced May 7 that it is partnering with Kratos, maker of target and combat drones. The desired effect is cheap but smart drones to launch cheaper but smart missiles. It's an attempt at answering a question that has plagued the United States since the dawn of the jet age: As the costs of piloted craft go up, can anything be done to restore a numerical advantage in the sky? “AeroVironment tube-launched small unmanned aircraft and tactical missile systems to be integrated with Kratos high-speed, low-cost attritable drones to dramatically enhance situational awareness and system effectiveness,” reads the announcement. Switchblade is tube-launched, and it flies like a small unmanned aircraft up until the point where it hits its target and explodes. “Tactical missile system” is the formal term, though it's also known as a kamikaze drone or a suicide drone. Its flight time is too short to lump it in with the larger category of “loitering munitions,” but they're kindred spirits in function. As sensors got cheap and powerful and small, smart missiles with drone-like navigation systems became possible. The high-speed low-cost attritable drone made by Kratos is the Mako, an adaptation of the company's BQM-167 Aerial Target. Like the roughly $900,000 apiece target it's based upon, the Mako is designed to be cheap enough that it can be fielded in numbers and replaced without straining the Pentagon's budget. (In 2017, the combat-capable Mako was pitched as costing between $1.5 million and $2 million each. Not cheap in most senses, but relative to the going rate for a fifth-generation fighter, it's a bargain.) Taken together, the Switchblade and the Mako could be “attritable aerial assets,” flying things that are useful, but not so expensive that losing them drastically alters the ability of commanders to direct fights or of pilots to win them. Cheap and flying alone doesn't win much on its own; the craft have to prove that they can actually perform the tasks assigned them. Here, here is that crucial synergy. Kratos and AeroVironment are working together to see if the Mako can launch, communicate with and control Switchblades. The larger drone would serve as a node in a network between a human and the airborne munition. The exact location of control, between the drone and the flying munitions and the human directing them, is unclear. Would the Switchblades seek targets based on what the Mako's sensors could spot? Would that information get relayed to the human controller in time to approve of or call off the strike? These are questions that can be answered in the course of a development. If the combination of drone mothership and munition wingmates works, it could reduce the overall material cost of conducting an airstrike, while likely leaving unchanged the potential human toll. https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2019/05/08/smart-drones-to-command-and-launch-smarter-missiles

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — Swedish aircraft manufacturer Saab will build a T-X production facility in West Lafayette, Indiana, where it will manufacture its portion of the Air Force trainer jet it is developing with Boeing, the company announced Wednesday. The company plans to invest $37 million in the site, which will produce “major structural sections” and conduct final assembly of Saab's piece of the jet, according to a Saab news release. Then those elements will be sent to Boeing's facility in St. Louis, Missouri, to be mated with the rest of the trainer. Construction on the new facility will begin in 2020, and Saab intends to hire at least 300 full-time employees from the area during the initial years of the site's operation. The announcement, made Wednesday during a ceremony at West Lafayette-based Purdue University, fulfills a promise Saab officials made in 2017 to establish a new manufacturing center in the United States once the Boeing-Saab team had won the T-X contract. At the time, Saab President and CEO Håkan Buskhe said the company was still considering site locations, as well as whether to repurpose an existing production facility or construct a new campus. However, he was confident at least 90 percent of the jet could be made in the United States — an important qualifier under the Trump administration, which has touted “Buy American” policies. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Purdue University President Mitch Daniels and Buskhe attended the ceremony on Wednesday. “After careful consideration, we have chosen West Lafayette, thanks to the visionary leadership of both the State of Indiana and the world-leading Purdue University,” Buskhe said. “Today's announcement is a part of our growth strategy in the United States, and deepens our relationship with the U.S. customer. We see great possibilities here for this facility and our partnerships.” In addition to building the new facility, the Swedish company will partner with Purdue University, a hub of engineering talent in the Midwest, to conduct research on advances in sensors, artificial intelligence and autonomous technologies. During the ceremony, Buskhe noted the scope and level of investment of these activities has not been decided. Under the T-X program, Saab and Boeing will produce at least 351 trainers for the U.S. Air Force. The Navy and Marine Corps is also interested in buying the jet, and the Air Force is considering its use for simulating adversaries during combat and for light-attack missions — a prospect that could land the Saab-Boeing team additional sales in the hundreds. The Air Force awarded the $9.2 billion T-X contract to Saab and Boeing last year, and the service's first T-X squadron is expected to be operational in fiscal 2024. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2019/05/08/saab-to-build-new-t-x-plant-in-indiana/

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday stated its intent to sole source A-29 Super Tucanos from Sierra Nevada Corp. and Embraer. But a similar solicitation for Textron's AT-6 Wolverine will be forthcoming, an Air Force spokeswoman confirmed. The Air Force intends to put out a final solicitation to the SNC-Embraer team this month and will award a contract by the end of the fiscal year, according to a May 8 notice on FedBizOpps. “We expect a separate procurement action for the AT-6,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told Defense News. Stefanek added that the service still intends to buy two to three of each aircraft for more experiments at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and with the special operations community at Hurlburt Field, Florida. Earlier this year, the Air Force acknowledged it was unprepared to move its light-attack experimentation effortinto a full-fledged program of record. Instead, the service kept both options — Textron's AT-6 and the SNC-Embraer A-29 — on the table and requested $35 million to continue testing the jets in fiscal 2020. Some analysts and lawmakers have accused the Air Force of slow-rolling the program in an attempt to see it quietly canceled, despite congressional enthusiasm for buying new attack planes. However, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein maintains that future experiments will help the Air Force narrow down light-attack capabilities that the service and foreign nations need. He has also said the service will be ready to make procurement decisions around the FY22-FY24 time frame. “The United States Marine Corps has already said they're joining us,” Goldfein said in March. “We're going to invite allies and partners, and with the authorities you've given us now that we own those prototypes, we will continue to experiment to build the interoperable network that we've already advanced.” According to the pre-solicitation, the light-attack aircraft “will provide an affordable, non-developmental aircraft intended to operate globally in the types of Irregular Warfare environments that have characterized combat operations over the past 25 years. Additionally, it will support Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) with the ability to accomplish its mission of Close Combat Air support to partner nations.” The Air Force has said that funding for the initial AT-6 and A-29 buys will come out of the estimated $160 million in unspent funds that Congress appropriated for the effort in previous budgets. Congress has appropriated $200 million in total for the effort since it was announced in late 2016. https://www.defensenews.com/2019/05/08/air-force-to-give-sierra-nevada-corp-a-sole-source-contract-for-light-attack-planes-but-textron-will-be-getting-an-award-too

QinetiQ has been awarded a C$51m (c£30m) contract to deliver unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) that will drive enhanced situational awareness for the Canadian Armed Forces. The contract will be delivered from QinetiQ's state-of-the-art unmanned vehicle manufacturing and operational facilities in Medicine Hat, Alberta. The vertical take-off UAS will provide Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) services to the Royal Canadian Navy and Special Operations Forces Command, for both domestic and international operations. The system, based on the UMS SKELDAR V-200 UAS, will be equipped with a number of sensors including an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar and Electro-optic infrared (EO/IR) camera. Robert Aube, Managing Director of QinetiQ in Canada says, “We are delighted with this contract win to deliver critical over-the-horizon situation awareness to the Royal Canadian Navy and Special Operations Forces Command. This generates tactical advantages for commanders while minimising the risk to manned helicopters and personnel. As a result of the contract, we will be pleased to see a large number of jobs created in the Southern Alberta region where UAS repair and overhaul services will be carried out.” Aube continues, “We are dedicated to providing a world-class service for the Canadian Armed Forces and the information collected and used by a UAS system of this calibre will be critical for the men and women serving Canada, both domestically and abroad.” Iain Farley, Managing Director International Business at QinetiQ says, “International growth is a core part of QinetiQ's strategy and to facilitate this, we continue to make significant investments in our subsidiary businesses and complementary acquisitions. This contract provides an important proof point that this strategy is delivering. The investment we have made in Canada has helped secure our largest Canadian contract to date and provides us with a solid foundation for delivering further QinetiQ products and services into the Canadian market and beyond.” QinetiQ will work with four principal partners to deliver the ISTAR services: Canadian-UAV, Leonardo, UMS SKELDAR and Wescam: “This is an important contract win for us alongside our partners including QinetiQ and confirms our stated strategic commitment to working with global navies following our announcement last year with the German Navy,” explains Axel Cavalli-Björkman, CEO of UMS SKELDAR, the UAV joint venture between Sweden's Saab and UMS AERO GROUP of Switzerland. “With multiple systems to be delivered in Q3 this year, the Royal Canadian Navy have secured a maritime UAV platform that not only includes our heavy fuel engine manufactured by German-based Hirth Engines, but also has an ability to carry multiple payloads.” “L3 WESCAM is proud to have been chosen by QinetiQ, as it confirms our role as a trusted global supplier of advanced imaging technologies to the UAS market,” said Cameron McKenzie, Vice President, Global Sales & Business Development of L3 WESCAM. “In fact, this order marks many strategic firsts for WESCAM in the Canadian marketplace, including a first for our MX™ Series turrets to be used by the Royal Canadian Navy, a first order for our MX-8 and MX-10D in Canada and our first contract with QinetiQ in Canada.” Sean Greenwood, President, and CEO of Canadian UAVs says, “It's a privilege and an honor to be able to work with the Canadian Armed Forces and QinetiQ, especially on such a novel project. This is the foundational contract the Canadian UAV industry has been waiting for to become world-class in autonomous vehicle service delivery and technology development. QinetiQ's recognition of CUAVS' work to date with Transport Canada in developing advanced UAV operations and their commitment to supporting local SMEs has been fundamental to our growth and cannot be understated.” Wayne Smith, Head of Radar Campaigns from Leonardo says, “We are pleased to be a part of this project with QinetiQ. Our PicoSAR Active Electronically Scanned Array radar provides an unrivalled all-weather capability for Unmanned Aerial Systems. It delivers a high resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar imaging and Ground Moving Target Indication capability that will allow the SKELDAR V-200 to easily acquire a true, all-weather ground mapping and surveillance capability.” https://www.suasnews.com/2019/05/qinetiq-wins-c51m-contract-with-the-canadian-armed-forces-unmanned-aircraft-system-service-program

by Sandra Erwin Airbus is ramping up satellite production in Florida and hopes to attract Pentagon buyers. WASHINGTON — The first project of the newly created Space Development Agency will be to design a large constellation of commercially produced satellites in low Earth orbit to serve as a communications layer and take over military space missions ranging from missile tracking to navigation. Airbus is preparing to start cranking out 32 satellites every three weeks for the broadband venture OneWeb. It built an assembly line on Florida's Space Coast to manufacture up to 648 satellites for OneWeb but also hopes to ramp production to fill orders for the Defense Department, intelligence community and other U.S. government buyers, Nicolas Chamussy, the outgoing head of Airbus Space Systems told SpaceNews on Monday at the Satellite 2019 conference. The company received a $2.9 million contract last fall from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to produce satellite buses for DARPA's Blackjack program, an experiment intended to show the military utility of LEO constellations and mesh networks. DARPA will marry up commercial satellite buses with military sensors and payloads. Former DARPA official Fred Kennedy conceived the Blackjack project and is now head of the Space Development Agency. He said the SDA will tap into the commercial industry's mass satellite production capabilities in order to build a military constellation in LEO. Airbus' main satellite manufacturing plant is in Toulouse, France. It now has U.S.-based design teams staffed with U.S. citizens as well as the Florida production facility, Chamussy said. “It's an opportunity for the U.S. government” to take advantage of these capabilities, he said. The U.S. plant only builds commercial satellites but it could be expanded to produce classified spacecraft, he said. The contract with DARPA has been valuable to Airbus to learn about U.S. defense programs and as a stepping stone to possibly other projects, Chamussy said. “With DARPA, we are learning how to work together, we are trying to understand if our platform is a valuable asset for the U.S. government.” The company is focused now on making satellites and installing OneWeb payloads, but “we can install whatever you want,” he said. For the military, the same satellites could carry positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), electronic warfare, Earth observation or weather payloads. “This is the beauty of have a design team and dedicated facility in U.S.,” said Chamussy. Airbus is hoping to be chosen as the satellite supplier to Canadian satellite operator Telesat, which also received a DARPA Blackjack contract to study the use of commercial buses in LEO-based military systems. Airbus is competing against a Maxar Technologies-Thales Alenia Space team for a contract worth an estimated $3 billion to build Telesat's megaconstellation. Chamussy told reporters at a news conference on Monday that the company expects to submit a proposal in the coming months. “We are still waiting for the request for proposals,” he said. Chamussy insisted that the Telesat concept is very different than OneWeb because the Canadian operator is asking for a full “end to end” system that includes not just the satellites but also ground systems and managed services. Airbus announced last month that Chamussy will be stepping down as executive vice president of Airbus Space Systems under Airbus Defence and Space. He will be replaced by Airbus Defence and Space executive Jean-Marc Nasr. Chamussy declined to comment on whether he will stay at Airbus or in what capacity. https://spacenews.com/airbus-eyes-opportunities-in-future-u-s-military-leo-constellations/

Murray Brewster · CBC News A little joke used to make its way around the Harper Conservative government every time National Defence presented Andrew Scheer's former boss with the bills for new equipment — about how Stephen Harper would emit an audible 'gulp' of alarm when they crossed his desk. Scheer, in the first of a series of election-framing speeches for the Conservatives, pledged yesterday to wrap his arms around Canada's allies, take the politics out of defence procurement, buy new submarines, join the U.S. ballistic missile defence program and expand the current military mission in Ukraine in an undefined way. What was absent from the Conservative leader's speech — a greatest-hits medley of road-tested Conservative policy favourites, blended with jabs at the Trudeau government's record — was an answer to the first question his supporters usually ask on these occasions: How are you going to pay for it? Deficit hawk or defence hawk? The Liberals have set the federal government on course to increase defence spending by 70 per cent by 2027. The cost of what Scheer is proposing — submarines and missile defence — would have to be shoehorned into that framework somehow. Either that, or he'd have to radically redesign the current defence spending program. Scheer's speech was greeted with raised eyebrows by more than one defence sector observer. "When he starts talking about deficits, you can kiss all that goodbye," said Stephen Saideman, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University. "In other speeches, he talked about being a deficit hawk. That would have real implications for the defence stuff." The Harper government increased defence spending during the Afghan war and made a series of promises to revitalize the military, but ended up cutting its budget and postponing projects in order to eliminate the deficit. 'Harper all over again' Saideman said Scheer's speech did not offer an ironclad guarantee that he'd avoid doing the same thing, and was even inaccurate in its characterization of the Liberals' record on defence spending. A full half to two-thirds of the defence and foreign policy vision Scheer laid out, he said, was "Harper all over again" — but with some surprising differences. His embrace of allies was much warmer than it was with the previous Conservative crowd, which tended to look upon NATO with a jaundiced eye. "I will reinvigorate Canada's role in the alliances we share with our democratic allies. This includes existing alliances like NORAD, NATO, the Commonwealth, La Francophonie and the Five Eyes, but it will also include overtures to India and Japan," Scheer said. He also pledged a Conservative government would do more in Eastern Europe. "This will include expanding upon the current missions to support Ukraine and providing Ukraine's military with the equipment they need to defend their borders," said the Conservative leader. Scheer didn't say in his speech what he wants Canada to do in Eastern Europe that it isn't doing now — short of putting combat troops on the front line of Ukraine's breakaway eastern districts, or selling offensive weapons to Kiev. Scheer did promise to take the lead on a potential United Nations peacekeeping mission, a proposal that has been out there in the international community for months and has largely gone nowhere. Other ideas that often go nowhere filled out the rest of Scheer's speech — like the promise of a fix for the Canadian military's complex, cumbersome system for buying equipment. Politicians are to blame, Scheer said. "Military procurement in Canada is hyper-politicized, to our detriment," he said. "By playing politics with these matters, governments have diminished the important responsibility to adequately and expediently equip the Armed Forces." To accept that argument, one must set aside his party's favourite rallying cry during the politically blistering F-35 debate of half a dozen years ago: If you don't support the plane, you don't support the troops. Politics-free procurement? Michael Byers, a University of British Columbia defence policy expert, said removing politics from procurement decisions would be a fantastic step forward, one that could save taxpayers boatloads of money by doing away with pet projects and regional interests. "It's an admirable goal, but he would be the first prime minister ever to take the politics out of defence procurement," he said. "So, I'm skeptical about whether he would actually do so ... I take that statement with a very large grain of salt." The absence of a clear fiscal pledge also troubles Byers, who noted that replacing Canada's Victoria-class submarines with either German or Swedish-built boats would be expensive. So would participation in ballistic missile defence, which has various levels of participation from research and development all the way up to anti-missile radar and batteries. It is, he said, all about the dollars. "I think that when we talk about defence spending and defence budgets, we have to talk about real money going out the door in terms of signed contracts," said Byers. "And neither the Conservatives nor the Liberals have been able to deliver much in the way of signed contracts for the last 20 years." https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/scheer-rolls-out-an-ambitious-defence-agenda-but-critics-ask-where-s-the-money-1.5127028

DANIEL LEBLANC The American government is once again urging Canada to acquire U.S.-built fighter jets to replace its fleet of CF-18s, one day after it emerged the Pentagon recently threatened to pull the F-35 out of the $26-billion competition for new aircraft. The contradictory messages from the U.S. government showcase how the Americans are trying to prevent a tendering process that would favour European manufacturers at the expense of either the Lockheed Martin F-35 or the Boeing Super Hornet. The Canadian government is weeks away from launching a competition for 88 new fighter jets, with the two American firms set to enter into a competition against the Swedish Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon, which is built by a consortium that includes Airbus. In a statement on Tuesday, the American government called on Canada to make sure its fighter jets can operate alongside U.S. military aircraft around the world. The “crucial” point, according to the American government, is Canada's participation in the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) that controls the Canadian and American airspace. Only U.S.-built fighter jets currently operate in NORAD and European aircraft would face technological hurdles in gaining the ability to fully integrate into the bi-national military alliance. “We continue to believe in the importance of NATO and NORAD interoperability as a crucial component of Canada's acquisition of defence assets,” said Joseph Crook, a spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Ottawa. Mr. Crook added the American government remains “hopeful that U.S. firms are able to participate in open and transparent competition processes that can support Canada's NATO and NORAD obligations, especially when it comes to co-operative engagement capabilities.” On Monday, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute published letters from American officials who warned their Canadian counterparts last year that the F-35 might be pulled from the competition unless Canada's requirements for industrial benefits were modified. The American government is concerned about Canada's Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) policy, which requires the winner of the contract to invest the equivalent of the acquisition cost in Canada. Built by Lockheed Martin, the F-35 is a stealth aircraft developed by an international consortium of allied militaries under a program that specifically rejects the application of traditional industrial benefits. Canada has been a member of the program since 2006. In an interview after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said he has sought to reassure the Americans by pointing out that the Canadian government will focus mostly on technical capabilities in deciding which aircraft to purchase. “First of all, the capabilities of the aircraft is the number one priority. Making sure we meet the needs of the Canadian Armed Forces – the Air Force in this particular case – is the number one priority. We will always make sure that will happen,” Mr. Sajjan said. He added that obtaining benefits for the Canadian economy is also important, while suggesting the matter will have less importance in the final weighting of the bids. “This obviously factors into the equation, but the capability requirements for the Canadian Armed Forces is always the number one priority,” he said. In a speech laying out his foreign-affairs policy on Tuesday, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said he will seek to modernize the NORAD alliance if his party forms the next government, including through the purchase of fighter jets that can defend North America alongside the U.S. fleet. “I will act to select a new fighter jet through an open competition and make sure the new jets are interoperable with our American allies,” Mr. Scheer said. Vice-Admiral Mathias Winter of the U.S. Navy said in a letter last December that Canada has received US$1.3-billion in economic benefits from its participation in the F-35 program to this point. “The F-35 supplier team will submit an F-35 offer only if (1) the ITB requirement is waived entirely and (2) there is no future ITB obligation arising from selecting the F-35,” Vice-Adm. Winter said in his letter. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-us-government-urges-canada-to-acquire-american-fighter-jets-in-2/