Nouvelles

Manufacturing of the Flaperons, Inflight Opening Doors (IFOD), and Electrical Wiring and Interconnection Systems (EWIS) for the F-35 Follow-on agreement will cover a five year extension up to 2024 Continuous employment for approximately 600 employees At the roll-out event of the first operational Dutch F-35 in Fort Worth, Texas USA both GKN Fokker and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics confirmed via a protocol document the continuation of GKN Fokker's efforts on F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter specific to the manufacturing of Flaperons, Inflight Opening Doors (IFOD), Arresting Gear, and Electrical Wiring and Interconnection Systems (EWIS) content. Production will take place at GKN Fokker's sites in The Netherlands and Turkey with delivery taking place over the next five years. The protocol document was signed by Lockheed Martin's Vice President of F-35 Supply Chain Management, Drew Ruiz and by GKN Fokker's CEO John Pritchard. State Secretary of Economic Affairs Mona Keijzer, Royal Netherlands Air Force Commander-in-Chief, Lt. Gen. Dennis Luyt, and the Netherlands' Special Envoy for industrial participation, Maxime Verhagen all attended the ceremony. GKN Fokker has been a valued supplier on the F-35 program since 2002 and has produced and delivered the flaperons, inflight opening doors (IFOD), arresting gear, and designed and produced the electrical wiring interconnection system (EWIS) for all F-35 aircraft that are currently flying and in production. Source: GKN Aerospace http://www.asdnews.com/news/defense/2019/02/01/gkn-fokker-lm-aeronautics-collaborating-future-f35-long-term-agreement

DEFENSE COMMISSARY AGENCY Coast Produce Co., Los Angeles, California, is being awarded an indefinite-delivery, requirements type contract to provide fresh fruits and vegetable products for commissaries located in the west areas of the continental U.S. The award amount is estimated at $153,648,855 for the base year. Actual obligations using resale stock activity group, defense capital funds, will occur upon issuance of delivery orders during the period of performance. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract is for a 24-month base period beginning Feb. 25, 2019, through Feb. 21, 2021. The contract includes three one-year option periods. If all three option periods are exercised, the contract will be completed Feb. 21, 2024. The Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Lee, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HDEC02-19-D-0002). NAVY General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW), Bath, Maine, was awarded a $126,171,106 cost-plus-award-fee contract for DDG 51 class integrated planning yard services. BIW will provide expert design, planning and material support services for both maintenance and modernization. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $719,178,832. Work will be performed in Bath, Maine, and is expected to be completed by January 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy); and fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $21,022,460 was obligated at time of award, and $4,549,434 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured, in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) - only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-4452). (Awarded Jan. 30, 2019) Swiftships LLC,* Morgan City, Louisiana, is awarded a $26,683,722 modification to previously awarded fixed-price incentive contract N00024-18-C-2401 to exercise an option for construction of Landing Craft, Utility (LCU) 1701 and 1702. LCU 1700 will replace the existing LCU 1610 class of amphibious landing craft on a one for one basis. LCU 1700 will be a similarly rugged steel craft which will recapitalize the LCU 1610 capabilities and have a design life of 30 years. LCU 1700 craft will be a highly reliable and fuel efficient heavy lift platform whose capability will be complementary to the faster air cushion landing craft which have a significantly shorter range, smaller payload capacity, no habitability, and operating hour limitations. Work will be performed in Morgan City, Louisiana, and is expected to be completed by May 2021. Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $26,683,722 will be obligated at time of award, and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Kingfisher Systems Inc., Falls Church, Virginia, is awarded a $14,236,278 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for advanced cyber support services in support of the Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group. This one-year contract includes four one-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to an estimated $73,344,685. Work will be performed in Quantico, Virginia. The period of performance of the base period is from Feb. 4, 2019, through Feb. 3, 2020. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through Feb. 3, 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $5,500,000 will be obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0011 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare e-Commerce Central website, with five offers received and one selected for award. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-C-3406). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Military Aircraft Systems, Melbourne, Florida, is awarded $11,654,051 for modification P00068 to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-13-C-9999). This modification provides for non-recurring engineering to incorporate the Multifunctional Information Distribution System/Joint Tactical Radio System into the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft in support of the government of Japan. Work will be performed in Melbourne, Florida (75.15 percent); Norfolk, Virginia (8.98 percent); Ronkonkoma, New York (8.42 percent); St. Augustine, Florida (6.34 percent); Misawa, Japan (.32); and various locations within the continental U.S. (.79 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2020. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $11,654,051 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. Canadian Commercial Corp., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, is awarded an $11,382,478 firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursable indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides services in support of Navy ship and weapons systems test events such as target presentations, planning and conducting of test, and analysis and evaluation of the assigned surface weapons systems during test events as well as systems engineering and program management support. Work will be performed at Point Mugu, California (85 percent); Ridgecrest, California (6 percent); Las Cruces, New Mexico (3 percent); Kauai, Hawaii (2 percent); Salt Lake City, Utah (2 percent); Lompoc, California (1 percent); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in February 2024. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, California, is the contracting activity (N68936-19-D-0008). UPDATE: The contract deductive modification awarded to Gilbane Federal, Concord, California (N39430-15-D-1634) on Jan. 16, 2019, to decrease the value of the contract for the cleaning, inspection and repair of Fuel Storage Tanks 305, 307, and 308 at Defense Fuel Support Point, Tsurumi, Japan, was not signed on that actual date. The modification for $10,966,383 will now be executed Feb. 4, 2019. Work on Tanks 305, 307, and 308 is being removed from the contract by mutual agreement of the parties. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Beacon Point & Associates LLC,** Cape Coral, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $49,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for hospital equipment and accessories. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with 71 responses received. Location of performance is Florida, with a Feb. 3, 2024, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DH-19-D-0010). AIR FORCE Akima Logistics Services LLC, Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded a $13,536,602 firm-fixed-price contract for fuels and supply services. This contract provides for services to support all management, personnel and equipment to perform fuels and supply services. Work will be performed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by Feb. 29, 2020. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and five offers were received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $6,768,301 are being obligated at the time of award. The 11th Contracting Squadron, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity (FA2860-19-C-0004). DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY General Dynamics Mission Systems Inc., San Antonio, Texas, has been awarded an $11,816,042 modification (P00037) to previously awarded contract HR0011-16-C-0001 for classified information technology services. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $116,832,430 from $105,016,388. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, with an expected completion date of February 2020. Fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $5,430,798 are being obligated at time of award. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. *Small Business **Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1747970/

The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) will be seeking an upgrade to its CH-146 Griffon maintenance and flight training simulators as part of a life extension project for the multi-role utility helicopters. The first phase of the project, which is intended to keep the fleet of 85 Griffons flying until at least 2031, took off on Jan. 26 with the award of a $90 million contract to Bell Helicopter Textron Canada to develop and design options for the avionics systems, engines, integrated sensors and cockpit displays. A follow-on contract to install new systems and upgrade others is expected in 2022. Around the same time, the federal government will be inviting industry to respond to a request for proposals to modernize the Griffon simulators, according to a Department of National Defence spokesperson. “The upgrade to the flight simulation devices will be procured under a separate contract,” she said in an emailed response. The CH-146 simulators were built by CAE and delivered to the RCAF in the mid-1990s, shortly before the helicopters entered service between 1995 and 1997. CAE continues to provide in-service support. As part of what is being called the Griffon Limited Life Extension (GLLE) project, the RCAF wants to replace a number of the helicopter's avionics systems, including communications radios and cryptographic equipment, cockpit voice and flight recorders, the navigation systems, the automatic flight control systems, and the control display units. Obsolescence of critical components has been a problem for maintenance technicians for several years now. The design phase will also look at upgrades to the engines and to the sensor suite. The CH-146, which is based on the Bell 412, performs a variety of transport, close fire support and armed escort missions for tactical aviation and special operations forces. However, it has a top speed of around 260 kilometres per hour, well below that of the Boeing CH-147F Chinook that it escorts during missions such as Operation Presence in Mali. “These helicopters have performed extremely well over the years and with these new upgrades, they will continue to be a valuable asset that will allow our personnel to carry out missions and operations successfully well into the future,” RCAF commander LGen Al Meinzinger said in a statement. While aircrews would like more speed, more lift and bigger guns as part of any upgrade program, the current platform meets most of their needs, Col Travis Morehen, commanding officer of 1 Wing, the RCAF's tactical aviation headquarters in Kingston, Ont., told Skies in a recent interview. “I think we have done a really good job of exploiting what we can do with the Griffon,” said Morehen, who is currently serving as commander of the Canadian Armed Forces task force in Mali. “I don't think there are many nations that have been as agile and flexible with that type of platform as we have, whether it is the combat service support role for search and rescue, or precision insertion for special operations . . . or what we are doing in terms of utility lift, or providing, with the GAU-21 (.50 Cal machine gun), stand off fires.” Whatever the changes that are ultimately accepted as part of the initial design phase now being conducted by Bell, the helicopters will require upgraded flight training and maintenance simulators to match. The GLLE project, including modernized simulators, is expected to reach initial operational capability by 2024 and be fully operational by 2026. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/griffon-life-extension-program-to-include-upgraded-sims/

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — L3 Technologies, Triumph Group Inc. and Collins Aerospace are among the companies that will work alongside Boeing to create the U.S. Air Force's T-X trainer. Boeing was previously tight-lipped about its industrial collaborators on T-X, disclosing only its partnership with Saab — which co-designed the plane and builds the aft fuselage — and General Electric, whose F404 engine powers the plane. L-3 Technologies will provide missions systems equipment — specifically navigation and surveillance systems — for the jet, confirmed a Boeing spokeswoman to Defense News. Collins Aerospace, a division of United Technologies Corporation, will provide its ACES 5 ejection seat, prevailing against rival Martin-Baker's Mk18 system. Collins will also make the jet's landing gear, including its wheels, brakes, structure and actuation, the company stated in a news release. “Our innovative technologies will play a critical role in helping to keep aircrews safe, reducing maintenance costs, and improving operational performance,” said John Fyfe, the company's director for Air Force programs. Meanwhile, Triumph will provide hydraulic systems and the “airframe mounted accessory drives” used in the Saab-produced aft fuselage. An airframe-mounted accessory drive provides power for the aircraft's hydraulic pumps, auxiliary fuel pumps and electrical generators, according to the company, and Triumph also produced such systems for Saab's Gripen E aircraft. “We look forward to delivering these systems for the T-X program that will provide U.S. Air Force pilots in training with the latest equipment to support missions that protect freedom and democracy,” said Frank Dubey, the executive vice president of Triumph Integrated Systems. Boeing won the T-X contract in September, beating out Lockheed Martin and Leonardo DRS for an award worth up to $9.2 billion. For Boeing and the other companies involved with developing the T-X, there is potential to increase the number of aircraft produced through international sales and follow-on buys by the Air Force. However, keeping down costs will be key to profitability. The T-X program of record calls for the purchase of 351 trainers, but the service could buy up to 475 aircraft if all options are executed on the current contract. Air Force acquisition officials said that structure gives the service more flexibility to procure jets at a rapid pace if needed. The first four lots of T-X jets will be produced under a fixed-price, incentive-fee model, which would allow Boeing to rake in greater profit if it meets certain Air Force goals. From the fifth lot onward, planes will be delivered under a firm fixed-price structure whereby industry accepts the risk of cost overruns. While the recent announcements shed some light on the industrial participation in the program, big questions remain. Boeing is set to manufacture its portion of the T-X at its St. Louis, Missouri, production facility, a move that the company says will support 1,800 direct and indirect jobs in Missouri. Saab executives have also vowed to bring some of the production to the United States, boosting the amount of the plane made in the U.S. to 90 percent. During a September 2017 news conference, Saab AB president and CEO Haken Buskhe said that the company was considering building a new facility, working with an existing company and using its space, or buying an existing plant. “I'm not standing here without having done some homework,” he said then. However, despite having multiple options on the table, Saab has not announced a decision on the location of its U.S.-based T-X plant. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/02/04/check-out-who-is-helping-boeing-build-the-next-air-force-training-jet

The CDA Institute, in collaboration with the 13thDefence and Security Economists Workshop, hosted two panel discussions on the themes of Building Security and Defence in the Canadian Economy and a discussion of the book Small Wars, Big Data, published by Princeton University Press in 2018. This morning of roundtables brought both scholars and practitioners together for a stimulating session of dialogue on the challenges of generating the economic capacity needed to protect Canadians wherever they might be and the role that empirical data can play in shaping military strategy and defence policies in asymmetric conflicts. The CDA Institute provided student rapporteurs for the event whose summaries of the proceedings follow. https://cdainstitute.ca/building-security-and-defence-in-the-canadian-economy-and-small-wars-big-data/

The Indian Air Force has a requirement for 110 multirole fighters—the world's largest open competition for combat aircraft. Its indigenously manufactured Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft will be the successor to the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft and replace a fleet of legacy aircraft to be phased out by the mid-2030s. The air force's request for information indicates it wants a fleet that is three-fourths single-seat aircraft and one-fourth tandem. And the lion's share of it, 85%, should be made in India under a strategic partnership. Though a final request for proposals and eventual contract award may be some time away, the multi-billion dollar prize is large enough to attract six contractors that are preparing to tie up with Indian companies and abide by India's stringent conditions in the hopes of landing the business as well as a chance at the Indian Navy's competition for 57 fighters. Here is a guide to the seven combat aircraft in contention. http://aviationweek.com/defense/who-will-make-india-s-next-fighter

DJALLAL MALTI Agence France-Presse Airbus veut profiter de son implantation industrielle croissante en Amérique du Nord pour accélérer dans la défense aux États-Unis et au Canada, avec comme argument clé d'être un acteur local qui investit et crée des emplois sur place. « Pour n'importe quel acteur du secteur aéronautique et défense, jouer aux États-Unis, c'est aujourd'hui pratiquement incontournable », relève Philippe Plouvier, directeur associé au cabinet de conseil Boston Consulting Group. « Parce que dans la défense, les États-Unis, c'est 50 % des budgets mondiaux. » Mais « jouer en Amérique du Nord, c'est avoir une base industrielle sur place. Il n'y a pas de grand acteur là-bas qui n'ait pas une base importante », souligne ce spécialiste de l'aéronautique et de la défense. Airbus a renforcé son empreinte industrielle outre-Atlantique ces dernières années. Déjà présent aux États-Unis depuis 2004 avec une usine d'hélicoptères à Columbus, il a inauguré en 2015 une ligne d'assemblage finale (FAL) destinée à l'A320 à Mobile. Mais avec la prise de contrôle du programme CSeries de Bombardier, il a encore accru cette présence. Au Canada, il a « hérité » de la ligne d'assemblage de l'A220 à Mirabel et aux États-Unis, il a décidé d'en implanter une seconde, à Mobile, ce qui fait du géant européen un acteur local. Airbus se targue d'avoir dépensé 48 milliards de dollars aux États-Unis ces trois dernières années, ce qui se traduit par 275 000 emplois américains soutenus par l'avionneur. « Lorsqu'un industriel de la défense veut vendre ses produits dans un autre pays que le sien, il y a généralement trois étapes à franchir », relève Stéphane Albernhe, du cabinet Archery Consulting. Les deux premières sont les compensations au transfert de technologies. « La troisième, qui est particulièrement importante aux États-Unis, c'est la capacité à être perçu comme un actual good US citizen, qui consiste à mettre les conditions pour que l'industriel soit considéré par les Américains comme pleinement américain. » « Pour réussir cela, beaucoup de leviers peuvent être activés », mais « ce qui compte pour remporter un contrat au-delà du respect des spécifications techniques et du prix, c'est véritablement de s'intégrer pleinement dans le paysage américain. » « Le meilleur avion pour l'armée la plus puissante » Huit ans après avoir perdu celui des avions ravitailleurs face à Boeing, Airbus s'est allié à Lockheed Martin pour répondre aux besoins de l'armée de l'air américaine en termes de ravitaillement en vol. Le géant européen propose son A330 MRTT, qu'il a déjà vendu à une douzaine de pays. « Je ne comprends toujours pas pourquoi l'armée de l'air la plus puissante du monde ne volerait pas avec le meilleur avion ravitailleur sur le marché ? Parce que c'est clairement ce qu'est le MRTT », a lancé le président exécutif d'Airbus, Tom Enders, récemment à Mobile. « Nous avons remporté toutes les compétitions à part les États-Unis », a-t-il poursuivi. « Alors tout ce que nous voulons faire est d'amener l'avion ravitailleur le plus performant à la plus grande armée de l'air du monde. Cela fait sens, non ? » Airbus vise également un appel d'offres de la marine américaine pour 130 hélicoptères, alors qu'il fournit déjà l'armée américaine avec des UH-72A Lakota. Au Canada, il est en lice avec l'Eurofighter Typhoon pour l'appel d'offres qu'Ottawa doit lancer en mai pour remplacer sa flotte d'avions de combats : 88 appareils à livrer en 2025, un contrat estimé à 19 milliards de dollars. Tom Enders a laissé entendre qu'une partie de l'assemblage pourrait se faire sur place. « Quatre-vingt huit appareils, c'est important pour le Canada, ce serait important pour nous aussi », a-t-il l'ché. À plus long terme, Airbus vise le remplacement des ravitailleurs de l'armée de l'air canadienne, à l'horizon 2021-2022. Restent les enquêtes qui le visent : Airbus, qui coopère avec les autorités judiciaires en France, au Royaume-Uni et aux États-Unis, espère vite tourner cette page qui ternit son image. « C'est généralement très long et dure plusieurs années », souligne Stéphane Albernhe. « Une fois que l'instruction a démarré, il y a deux objectifs pour l'industriel : faire en sorte de converger le plus rapidement possible pour réduire les impacts "réputationnels", et négocier afin que la sanction financière soit raisonnable. » https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/economie/transports/201902/01/01-5213165-airbus-veut-croitre-en-amerique-du-nord-en-visant-la-defense.php

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — General Electric Aviation beat the Advanced Turbine Engine Company — a Honeywell and Pratt & Whitney team — to win the $517 million award for the engineering, manufacturing and development phase of the Improved Turbine Engine Program, or ITEP. “We are honored to be chosen by the Army to continue powering their Black Hawks and Apaches for decades to come,” said Tony Mathis, president and CEO of GE Aviation's military business. “We've invested the resources and infrastructure to execute immediately, and our team is ready to get to work on delivering the improved capabilities of the T901 to the warfighter.” The fierce competition started more than a decade ago, and its outcome will influence Army rotorcraft for decades to come. GE's T901 engine is now set to replace the T700 used by the Army's legacy utility and attack helicopters, but could also potentially outfit the Army's next generation reconnaissance helicopter in the Future Vertical Lift family of systems. “The requirements documents for the [Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft] specifiesTHE ITEP engine. It has got the FVL stamp of approval,” Jim Thomson, Jr., acting deputy director for the Army's future vertical lift cross functional team, told Defense News in a recent interview. ITEP answers a number of problems that emerged as the Army operated Apaches and Black Hawks during combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. The AH-64 and UH-60 became heavier as the service added armor and other upgrades during wartime, and they flew in hotter conditions and higher altitudes than would normally be optimal. “The helicopters were originally designed to work at 4,000 feet on a 95-degree day, and they were flying them much higher than that,” Mike Sousa, GE's business development leader for advanced turboshaft engines, told Defense News in December 2018. “When you do that, you just don't have as much power from the engine.” The Army's requirements for ITEP were clear throughout the process: Design a 3,000 shaft horsepower engine that reduces fuel consumption by 25 percent and increases its service life by 20 percent compared to the T700, a 2,000 shaft horsepower engine. Both companies were awarded risk reduction contracts in August 2016, with ATEC getting $154 million and GE Aviation getting $102 million to further refine their designs. Both companies had already spent years conceptualizing new engines and developing novel tech. GE, the incumbent manufacturer of the T700, offered a single spool engine. Sousa said that configuration would help the company meet weight requirements while removing cost and complexity from the design. “Our fundamental approach there was how do we keep this engine as affordable as possible and as low weight as possible,” he told Defense News in 2018. “Helicopters are unique in that they fly into very dirty environments, very austere environments, unprepared landing strips, unprepared surfaces,” added Ron Hutter, GE's executive director of the T901 program. “They generate a lot of dust. You really want to look at the simplicity of the architecture in terms of maintainability. That's another aspect that drove us to stick with the single-spool configuration.” GE estimates that it's spent $9 billion in testing technologies relevant to the T901. ATEC had proposed a double spool engine it dubbed the T900. “We were disappointed to learn that the U.S. Army did not select our offering,” said Craig Madden, president of ATEC. “We believe that we offered the most advanced, capable and lowest risk engine for ITEP for the Army to improve the overall performance of its Apache and Black Hawk fleets.” https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/02/02/general-electric-wins-517-million-contract-to-build-engines-for-armys-next-generation-helicopters

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — If the U.S. Air Force takes two years to conduct a light-attack experiment — made possible in part by industry investments — and then abandons it, why should defense contractors buy into the next one? That was the question posed to the Air Force's top uniformed acquisition official by one attendee of a Feb. 1 event held by the Air Force Association. "I think there's a skepticism out here,” said Mike Loh, a retired Air Force four-star general who now runs a consulting firm. “There's got to be a requirement or funding or both at the end of that, otherwise you've got guys in industry that are investing a lot of money, and they're looking back at light-attack aircraft,” he said. “What did you do? Nothing. You put it on the back burner.” Loh's question highlights the confusion surrounding the Air Force's path forward on the light-attack experiment, as well as unease about the way the service approaches industry investment in short-term experimentation or development campaigns with no clear contract award at the end of the process. Industry investments have already allowed the service to fly the aircraft, set up logistics infrastructure and try new capabilities Last month, Air Force officials confirmed the service would not put out a final solicitation for the light-attack program. Matt Donovan, its undersecretary, said on Jan. 18 that the service preferred to conduct additional experiments and wanted to broaden the campaign. This latest shift follows a failed attempt to acquire a light-attack plane about a decade ago. In 2009, the Air Force began the Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance program, and its competitors — the Textron AT-6 and Sierra Nevada Corp.-Embraer A-29 Super Tucano — are the same two aircraft involved in the current experimentation campaign. That program fizzled out due to political reasons around 2013, but the Air Force is still hopeful it can press ahead with its latest light-attack effort. “I have ideas of how we go forward, and I think we know how we go forward,” Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, the military deputy for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, said of the light-attack experiment on Friday. ”We are planning to broaden the experimentation out and carry the experimentation forward, and I think when our budget hits, you'll understand more of what we're doing." Bunch said the experiment has helped validate the Air Force's requirement for a light-attack capability that can counter violent extremist threats in a low-cost manner. “What I don't want to do is end up in a position that I've got F-35s chasing small buses or mopeds or whatever else we may be trying to chase,” he said. But when it came down to it, Air Force officials looked at the new National Defense Strategy — which prioritizes a high-end fight — and decided against making a large-scale buy of light-attack planes in the upcoming budget, he said. The Pentagon's annual report by the director of operational test and evaluation, released Thursday, shed some light on what may have been the Air Force's initial plans for the light-attack program. The service would have purchased 359 aircraft for eight operational squadrons and three training units, with a contract for either the AT-6 or A-29 to be awarded before September, the report said. The Air Force also considered getting a waiver so that it conduct component-level, live-fire tests for both aircraft before making a final downselect. An Air Force spokeswoman confirmed to Defense News that the timeline and procurement quantities noted in the DOT&E report are no longer accurate. Expanding the experiment What becomes of the light-attack experiment remains unknown — Air Force officials haven't made it clear what the service wants to see in future stages of the effort. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein stressed the importance of getting buy-in from international militaries during a Jan. 26 interview with Defense News. He also said aircraft like helicopters and drones could be considered in addition to the turboprop planes that dominated the first phases of the experiment. On Friday, Bunch said the service could look at “technologies we may be able to put on platforms or solutions that we may not have thought of” during the first phase of the experiment. “I know many people have talked about specific platforms. What I want to talk about [is] not necessarily that,” he said. That may point to a systems-of-systems approach similar to what the Air Force is seeking with its Advanced Battle Management System — a replacement for its JSTARS ground surveillance planes that will be comprised of a network of existing and new sensors. But the Air Force will need to be clear with industry about what it wants, said Andrew Hunter, head of the defense-industrial initiatives group at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. For example, “if the answer is that they need to do some kind of dramatic cost-cutting initiative, give them a number,” he said. It might also benefit the Air Force to incorporate prototypes in the large-scale international exercises it regularly holds with partners, which has the added benefit of giving foreign militaries more exposure to technology that the U.S. might buy, he said. “I think people will stick with it for a while because there's still a belief that the Air Force will invest and, more important, that there is still a broad international market for this capability,” Hunter said of the light-attack experiment. But, he added, the uncertainty regarding the future of the effort illustrates the constraints of rapid prototyping and experimentation: There's no promise of a program of record at the end of the road. “[While] there is some value of exercising the muscle ... not every one of these is going to lead to a production program,” he said. After two years of experimentation, the Air Force still doesn't have an answer for how it should fill its light-attack requirement, but Bunch, the acquisition official, was adamant the experiment has had value. "I may be the only one that believes it, but I actually believe it has been a success. We tried something we hadn't done. We built a partnership with industry. We experimented. We learned a lot, and we got to the point where we weren't ready to make a large buy decision at this stage. I still believe that is learning,” Bunch said. “And I believe it is something we will take the lessons learned and roll it into how we go forward,” he added. “We've got to look at ourselves in the mirror and say: ‘Was that good or was it bad, and how do we do it better?' We've got to do our own image check." https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/02/01/the-us-air-force-wants-to-continue-its-light-attack-experiment-will-industry-buy-in