Nouvelles

L'Égypte souhaite moderniser ses hélicoptères d'attaque Apache. Modernisation. La DSCA, agence américaine chargée de la coopération en matière de défense et de sécurité, a annoncé le 7 mai dernier que le département d'État avait approuvé une FMS avec l'Égypte, visant à lui fournir les équipements nécessaires à la modernisation de 43 hélicoptères d'attaque Apache. Devant désormais être approuvé par le congrès américain, ce contrat est estimé à 2,3 Md$. Équipements. L'ambition pour Le Caire est ainsi de porter ses hélicoptères d'attaque au standard AH-64E. Pour cela, plusieurs composants des appareils devraient être modernisés, parmi lesquels se trouvent notamment les moteurs, les senseurs, les contre-mesures, les systèmes de communication ou encore l'armement. Mise en œuvre. La modernisation de ses hélicoptères permettra à l'Égypte de doter ses forces armées d'équipements modernes et ainsi de renforcer leur capacité, notamment dans le cadre de missions d'anti-terrorisme se déroulant dans le Sinaï, zone préoccupante pour l'Égypte. https://air-cosmos.com/article/egypte-vers-une-modernisation-dhlicoptres-apache-23132

By AIDAN CHAMANDY MAY 27, 2020 As the COVID-19 pandemic rages and the American election gets closer, Canadian foreign policy experts weigh in on how the pandemic has affected bilateral relations, and where we go from here. As the November U.S. presidential election approaches, with the prospect of a second-Trump term a real possibility, and the COVID-19 pandemic upending life on both sides of the border, some Canadian foreign policy experts say they expect the fallout from the pandemic will have a lasting effect on the bilateral relationship and the post-pandemic period presents a good opportunity for Canadian foreign policy practitioners to take novel approaches to the age-old problem of over reliance on trade with the United States, regardless of who sits behind the Resolute desk on Jan. 20, 2021. One of the most high-profile issues currently facing the relationship is managing the nearly 6,500-kilometre border, especially as both countries begin to gradually reopen and COVID-19 cases continue to spike in certain locales. Both countries have agreed to keep the border closed to non-essential travellers until at least June 21. Certain cross-border health-care workers are permitted entry to either country, and trade and commerce continue to flow. Refugee claimants who cross into Canada at official points of entry and meet certain eligibility criteria under the Safe Third Country Agreement are also allowed to enter. The decision on when and how to open the border will likely become a much more difficult issue to manage as time passes, given the divergent political incentives of U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.), said Christopher Sands, director of the D.C.-based Wilson Center's Canada Institute. The two leaders' differing political incentives are based “on the election cycle and the economy,” Mr. Sands said. “Trudeau was hit in the last election, but his election is behind him and he has a huge advantage because of the official opposition leader's weakness.” On the economic front, however, Mr. Sands said, is where Mr. Trudeau's job gets trickier. “Canada's economy was almost in recession in the fourth quarter of 2019. Canada is going into a recession and has been performing bad, economically, for some time. Mr. Trudeau is not in a strong position,” Mr. Sands said. Canadian gross domestic product (GDP) growth was largely flat from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2019, and that trend continued into early 2020 with factors such as rail disruptions contributing to the slow growth, according to data from Statistics Canada. In March, GDP dropped nine per cent and the most recent Labour Force Survey data showed more than three million Canadians have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Because Canada's economy was already a poor performer prior to the pandemic, Mr. Sands said it behooves Mr. Trudeau to take an extremely cautious approach to reopening the border and to continue to emphasize the centrality of public health in the decision. “It's in his interest to say ‘safety first,'” Mr. Sands said. “As long as COVID is on everyone's mind, he has a perfect thing to blame for hard economic times.” The incentives for President Trump are almost exactly the opposite. “The U.S. has an election in November and Trump was going into it with a much stronger economy. He was planning to run on good times, but then COVID throws everything into question. He's got a political and economic interest in moving forward, but Trudeau doesn't,” Mr. Sands said. With the border closed until at least June 21, many would-be travellers on both sides have found their vacation plans interrupted. As the world adjusts to the new and yet-unforeseen norms of international travel post-pandemic, the U.S. will become an even more attractive target for Canadians looking to get away, said Sarah Goldfeder, principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group and a fellow with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. “The reason a lot of people go from Canada to the U.S. isn't because they want to see things, it's because they want to see people,” Ms. Goldfeder said. As the pandemic has and continues to prevent families with members on either side of the border from travelling to see each other, Ms. Goldfeder said she expects vacations to be “centred around seeing family, and the reality for many Canadians is their family is on the other side of the border.” However, Ms. Goldfeder also said security will be tightened. “It's going to be a long time before we take for granted crossing the border like we used to,” she said. “There will be more pressure to account for where and why you're going. There will be longer conversations about who you're going to see and how long you're staying.” Time to diversify trade options, say experts While the border and all the downstream implications are a more pressing problem, for some experts the pandemic and four years of the Trump administration—with four more potentially on the horizon—have highlighted the need for a renewed push for rethinking trade diversification and the broader relationship with the Americans. Fear of over-reliance on the United States for economic prosperity and external security has long pervaded Canadian foreign policy thinking. In 1972, foreign minister Mitchell Sharp articulated the “Third Option” doctrine in an article published in International Perspectives. Mr. Sharp tried to answer the question of how to live “distinct from, but in harmony with” the United States, as rising nationalist tides hit the shores of both countries. He argued against increased integration with the U.S. in favour of a trade diversification and a national industrial strategy emphasizing Canadian ownership. The proceeding years saw the creation of institutions such as the Foreign Investment Review Agency and Petro-Canada that addressed Canadian ownership issues. Trade diversification, however, did not bear the same fruit. The 1982 Macdonald Commission recommended taking a “leap of faith” and signing a free trade agreement with the U.S. In the late-1980s, the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement, which later became NAFTA, made Canada and the U.S. two most of the most integrated economies, and countries, in the world. Then came Mr. Trump's claim that NAFTA was “perhaps the worst trade deal ever made” and his administration's subsequent efforts to renegotiate the deal, ending with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which comes into effect on July 1. “One of the fundamental damaging things Trump has done to the relationship is shaken Canadians' trust in the U.S. in ways that have been profound and radical. Threatening the destruction of the Canadian economy resonated deeply in Canada,” said Eric Miller, president of Rideau-Potomac Strategy Group and fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. Canadians have mistrusted U.S. presidents before, Mr. Miller said, but where unpopular leaders like George W. Bush were perceived as “cowboys that would do bad things that harm the world,” Mr. Trump is entirely different. “There was no sense under [Ronald] Reagan or George W. Bush that the U.S. was deliberately going to use its power to injure Canada. Canada might be excluded from certain things, but there was no sense that we [the U.S] are going to destroy your economy,” Mr. Miller said. “Canada now has to make choices about co-operation on bigger picture issues, on economic issues that it hasn't had to contemplate much in the past.” The Liberals' 2018 fall economic statement announced the federal government's intention to increase non-U.S. exports by 50 per cent by 2025. Attached to the announcement was a $1.1-billion investment over six years to beef up trade resources and infrastructure for exporters. Mr. Miller said that is a welcome investment, but new ideas in addition to new money will be required for diversification to be successful. “When Canada looks for models it tends to look at the Anglosphere. Neither the U.S. or U.K. are good models because Canada needs a mid-sized country that trades a lot,” he said. Mr. Miller said countries like Japan have successfully grown their respective trade volumes by reducing the risk of exporting, something Canada has not done well. Japan deploys a model dubbed “Consortium for a New Export Nation,” wherein the Japanese government essentially approaches a partner country and fronts it money for an infrastructure project to be built by Japanese companies, ensuring future servicing of the infrastructure will also be done by Japanese companies. The model incorporates small, medium, and large companies, which Mr. Miller said would be essential to replicate in Canada's SME-driven economy. Just as Mr. Miller said Canadian trade policy needs to take advantage of the geopolitical environment, James L. Anderson, an external fellow at the Centre for International and Defence Policy at Queen's University, said he believes Canadian foreign policy is in a similar position. Mr. Anderson said the Trump administration's focus on the domestic challenges of the pandemic creates space for global leadership on infectious disease co-operation, especially as the World Health Organization comes under heavy criticism from multiple countries, which he said Canada is well-positioned to fill. Whereas the WHO is made up of all 193 United Nations countries save for Liechtenstein, Mr. Anderson sees value in a smaller body tasked with handling infectious diseases, what he calls “an infectious disease analogue to the G7.” Pursuing such a policy could be a boon to Canada's campaign for a UN Security Council seat, too, Mr. Anderson said. https://www.hilltimes.com/2020/05/27/post-pandemic-world-presents-real-opportunity-to-change-u-s-canada-relationship-experts-say/249721

Michael Bruno May 15, 2020 Companies across the board are slashing costs, preserving cash, and trying to adjust to a new normal after the novel coronavirus throttled down business prospects. But there is one area they are sure to spend even more money on in the coming years as industry regroups after COVID-19. Listen in as Aviation Week and Accenture discuss what to watch for in technology investments. https://aviationweek.com/podcasts/check-6-accenture/podcast-what-ad-companies-should-invest-after-covid-19

Tony Osborne Jen DiMascio May 28, 2020 The decision by the U.S. government to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty signed two decades ago is creating ripples of discontent within the U.S. and in Europe. Washington announced on May 22 that it would end its obligations to the arms control treaty in six months, saying that it was “no longer in the United States' best interest to remain a party to this Treaty when Russia does not uphold its commitments,” in a statement put out by the Defense Department. The Open Skies Treaty permits its 34 signatories to conduct observation flights over each other's territory. Aircraft with four types of sensors—-optical panoramic and framing cameras, real-time video cameras, infrared line-scanners and sideways-looking synthetic aperture radar—may make observations anywhere over a country's national territory. Treaty rules say that the flight may only be restricted for reasons of flight safety, not for reasons of national security. NATO and European nations may share U.S. concerns about inconsistent flight restrictions imposed by Moscow but see a U.S. departure from the agreement, in place since 1992, as regrettable. According to the U.S. and NATO, Russia has imposed restrictions on the treaty, in particular those flying near Kaliningrad, Russia's enclave on the Baltic Sea, and near the country's border with Georgia. The Pentagon also says Moscow blocked the overflight of a major military exercise in September 2019, “preventing the exact transparency the treaty is meant to provide.” In an op-ed in The New York Times, Tim Morrison, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former member of this administration's National Security Council, added that Russia has been using its overflights to collect “military relevant intelligence on the other parties, like the means to target critical infrastructure.” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, during the May 22 meeting of alliance members, called on the Russian government to return to compliance as soon as possible, noting that the U.S. could reconsider its position if Russia complied. European Open Skies Treaty member states—including Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden—said they would continue to implement the treaty, saying it has a “clear added value” for conventional arms control architecture and cooperative security. Russia rejects the claims of flight restrictions and contends that the U.S. had limited Russia's own Open Skies flights over Hawaii and the Aleutian Islands. Senior Russian officials, including Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, denounced Washington's decision. Medvedev said the U.S. had taken another step down the “path of dismantling the international security architecture that took decades to lay down.” Moscow believes Washington's decision could also affect other arms control treaties, with negotiations on the next New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty potentially at risk. In Washington, the leaders of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees (both Democrats) have written a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo contending that withdrawal from the treaty is illegal. They say it violates the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which requires Esper and Pompeo to notify Congress 120 days before the intent to withdrawal is presented. “This notification must be based on your joint conclusion that withdrawal is in the best interests of the United States and that other states parties to the treaty have been consulted. To date, this requirement has not been fulfilled,” wrote Reps. Adam Smith (Wash.), the Armed Services chairman, and Eliot Engel (N.Y.), the Foreign Affairs chairman. President Donald Trump and his administration have support from Repub-licans who lead the Senate for their decision to exit the treaty. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, asserts that the U.S. should withdraw if Russia is not complying with the agreement. “It will be critical for the Trump administration to continue working with our allies and partners, especially those in Eastern Europe, to ensure they have access to the intelligence they need to protect their security. That includes facilitating access to high-quality imagery.” The U.S. had planned to upgrade the two Boeing OC-135 aircraft delivered to the Air Force in 1996. Late last year, the U.S. issued a request for information saying it was considering awarding two contracts—one for the purchase of two commercial aircraft and another to modify the airframe and provide logistics support. But the Pentagon did not include funding for OC-135 upgrades in its fiscal 2020 budget request. And in March, Esper told Congress he was not prepared to authorize funding for those upgrades until a path forward is clear. Several signatories to the treaty have dedicated aircraft for the mission; others share or lease platforms from other nations for the task. Germany is the latest country to dedicate an aircraft for the mission, using an Airbus A319 converted by Lufthansa Technik. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/budget-policy-operations/how-us-open-skies-exit-could-undermine-arms-control

La Hongrie a passé commande pour un lot de missiles AMRAAM-ER. Première étape. La DSCA, agence américaine chargée de la coopération en matière de défense et sécurité, a annoncé le feu vert du département d'Etat dans le cadre de la vente de 60 missiles sol-air AMRAAM-ER de Raytheon à la Hongrie. Le montant de ce contrat, qui doit désormais être approuvé par le Congrès, est estimé à 230 M$. Défense aérienne. L'acquisition de ces missiles fait partie d'un plan plus global de renforcement de la défense aérienne de la Hongrie. Les missiles AMRAAM-ER viendront ainsi équiper le système de défense sol-air NASAMS, également conçu par Raytheon, permettant de détecter les missiles, drones, hélicoptères et aéronefs évoluant dans l'espace aérien protégé. https://air-cosmos.com/article/missiles-amraam-er-pour-la-hongrie-23130

Posted on May 28, 2020; by Leonardo Helicopters During the spread of COVID-19, Leonardo has seen operators of its aircraft adapt, react and overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic across geographies. Air ambulance operators Ornge and STARS have managed to continue conducting life-saving missions across Canada throughout the emergency. Both of these healthcare organizations have shared with Leonardo how they were adapting to the ‘new normal' and how the Leonardo AW139 helicopter has been supporting their patient transportation missions during these difficult times. STARS serves Western Canada, catering to remote areas and communities as well as highways and passenger transportation. The provinces STARS operates in includes Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The air ambulance operator is seeing around 12 per cent of its missions involve patients with influenza-like illnesses, which may include COVID-19. “Our team has adapted very well to the challenges posed by COVID-19. We have undertaken significant efforts to develop and train crews on enhanced procedures and secure supplies of critical equipment to protect our crews,” said Mike Haska, director of marketing and communications at STARS. Ornge also shared similar sentiments and emphasized how the great people behind these organizations are ensuring it is business as usual despite these trying times. “Like every healthcare organization, the health and safety of Ornge staff and patients is our top priority. Ornge staff have adapted to the pandemic and helped implement a number of innovative solutions including enhanced telemedicine support, an expanded critical care land ambulance program and more,” said Joshua McNamara, public relations officer at Ornge. Ornge is a vital lifeline to the people of Ontario and its AW139 fleet, comprising of a dozen helicopters alongside aircraft and land ambulances, performs duties from one of 12 bases across the province. Both operators are adhering to guidelines and directives from the provinces' health authorities as well as Transport Canada regulations. The twin-engine AW139 is operated around the world and, in September 2019, the 1,000th helicopter of the type was delivered. The helicopter is an ideal EMS platform with its spacious and configurable cabin which can accommodate up to 15 people. “The AW139 is a state of the art aircraft allowing Ornge to access patients in remote locations. Additionally, the AW139 travels faster and allows our crews to transport patients safely due to state of the art navigation and on board technology,” added McNamara. “The range, speed, and versatility of the aircraft allow us to respond to a variety of types of patient transports, which is critical as we respond to COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients across the province.” Within the STARS fleet portfolio are three AW139s, alongside other aircraft, which enable the air ambulance operator to operate 24-7. “The AW139 is a modern and capable helicopter for EMS operations. We continue to see steady mission volumes across our bases so ensuring we are ready to respond to patients in need, whether their medical circumstances involve COVID-19 or not, is crucial,” Haska commented. The AW139 has been adapted to the challenges posed by the pandemic — not only are the crew more adept and learned with wearing PPE but they have adapted the helicopter's configuration and equipment placement within each aircraft to suit the mission, Haska explained. He continued that “select equipment or supplies [can] be off-loaded prior to responding to a COVID-19 positive or suspected patient to reduce the amount of decontamination required post-mission.” STARS' air medical crews are extremely experienced and highly trained to deal with many types of infectious diseases, so the team's existing processes were able to deal with the COVID-19 threat well. However, the frequency has increased by which the crews use PPE such as masks, gowns and gloves on all types of missions during this time. “This is to ensure our staff are not required to self-isolate in the event a patient is later found to have been COVID-positive. This helps us ensure we can maintain 24-7 operations across our bases,” explained Haska. This approach is similar to Ornge which has enhanced its cleaning to high touch areas. “Leonardo has provided Ornge with instruction for approved methods of disinfection in the cockpit and cabin for the AW139. The company remains supportive and responsive and continues to provide seamless support for maintenance activities since the onset of COVID-19,” said McNamara. “We're also grateful that, as the world faces a strain on the supply chain due to numerous requests and organizational shutdowns, Leonardo's supply chain remains uninterrupted and Ornge continues to receive the necessary parts to maintain our aircraft.” As operators like STARS and Ornge continue to meet the threat of COVID-19 head-on, Leonardo plays a key role in the work of the air ambulance services and the crucial role they play in transporting people by providing and supporting helicopters which undertake life-saving missions around the world, day after day. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/leonardos-aw139-supporting-covid-19-operations-in-canada/

The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center needs three things: new acquisition authorities, more staff, and the cloud. With JEDI delayed ‘potentially many more months,' director Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan said, he's turning to an Air Force alternative. By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR.on May 27, 2020 at 2:25 PM WASHINGTON: The legal battle over the JEDI cloud-computing contract has slowed down the Pentagon's AI program, the director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center acknowledges. In the meantime, Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan told an AFCEA webcast last week, JAIC will turn to a new Air Force program our longtime readers are already familiar with: cloudONE. Cloud computing matters for AI because machine-learning algorithms need lots of data and lots of processing power. A shared cloud can offer both with far greater efficiencies of scale than any single organization's in-house network. JEDI was meant to provide a single “general purpose” cloud to all users across the Defense Department, including Shanahan's Joint AI Center. But it has been mired for months in legal battles over which company should have won the contract, Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services. “It slowed us down, no question about it,” Shanahan told the AFCEA audience. “Azure, AWS, I will never get into a company discussion. I'm agnostic,” he said. “[But] if we want to make worldwide updates to all these algorithms in the space of minutes, not in the space of months running around gold disks, we've got to have an enterprise cloud solution.” JEDI can't be that solution today, Shanahan acknowledged, but “we now have a good plan to account for the fact that it will be delayed potentially many more months.” For instance, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread, the Joint AI Center urgently stood up what they call Project Salus – named for the Roman goddess of health and safety – to pull data from 70 different sources, find patterns, and predict trends for US Northern Command and the National Guard. Salus went from a sketch on a “bar napkin” to a functional bare-bones system (what's called a Minimum Viable Product) in 29 days, Shanahan said. With JEDI unavailable, he turned to an existing Air Force cloud run out of Hanscom Air Force Base, which he'd previously used as head of Project Maven. But the Hanscom-based cloud is “an interim solution that will end ... here later in the fall,” Shanahan said. “Because of that, we are pivoting to the cloudONE environment.” CloudONE & Beyond So what's cloudONE? Like JEDI, it's a new cloud-computing capability that the Air Force hopes will be available to a wide range of users from across the Department of Defense. Unlike JEDI, it's not a joint program run by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, but a service program, run by the Air Force. In fact, cloudOne is part of a whole package of computing initiatives – deviceONE, dataONE, et al – that the Air Force acquisition chief, Will Roper, began pushing (and branding) aggressively last year. Further, while JEDI is meant as the Defense Department's “general purpose” cloud, Roper's many ONEs are all intended to serve a single purpose, albeit a broad one: military command and control. Together, Roper's projects will make up what the Air Force is calling its Advanced Battle Management System. ABMS, in turn, will be an Air Force component of the future Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) meta-network to share battle data between all the armed services across all five “domains” of warfare: land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. Artificial intelligence is essential for JADC2, since human analysts can't pull together that much data from that many sources fast enough to make a difference in combat. The JAIC is far too small to build the whole JADC2 network – that's up to the far better-resourced services – but it can help. “We're not here to build JADC2,” he said. “We're here to find AI-enabled solutions that stitch seams together from all the services, who're [each] developing some version of JADC2.” The objective is to automate and accelerate the often-laborious process of bringing American firepower to bear. That “kill chain” includes everything from spotting a potential target with some kind of sensor, confirming what it is with other sensors, deciding to strike it, picking an aircraft, warship, or artillery battery to execute the strike, and then giving that shooter precise targeting data. Currently most of that requires human beings relaying coordinates and orders over the radio, typing them into terminals by hand, or even scrawling them on sticky notes because one network can't transfer data to another. “Accelerated sensor-to-shooter timelines are so important – to me, this is what the next couple of years will be about, and each of the services has a really strong programs in sensor-to-shooter,” Shanahan said. “What we're trying to bring is the AI/ML solutions.” To do that job, however, the JAIC needs more people and more legal authorities to conduct acquisitions on its own – although it will never be the size of the services' acquisition bureaucracies. For example, while Shanahan initially focused on lower-risk, non-combat applications of AI like maintenance, on May 18 the JAIC awarded Booz Allen Hamilton a landmark contract worth up to $800 million for AI “to support warfighting operations [and] decision-making and analysis at all tiers of DoD operations.” But JAIC did so in partnership with the civilian General Services Administration (using GSA's Alliant 2 contract vehicle), just as it's done past contracts through the Defense Information Systems Agency and other established organizations, because it doesn't have the necessary authorities and personnel in-house – yet. “I couldn't ask for better support,” Shanahan said, “but it's not going to be fast enough as we start putting more and more money into this capability development. We need our own acquisition authority.” In particular, he sees JAIC as a potential early adopter of the new streamlined process for software development and acquisition recently rolled out by the Pentagon's acquisition chief, Ellen Lord. The JAIC also needs to get bigger. Founded in summer 2018 with just four staff, JAIC has now grown to 175 personnel (counting contractors) and must keep growing, Shanahan said. But that larger staff won't include Shanahan: JAIC's founding director retires from the Air Force next month. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/05/joint-ai-center-turns-to-air-force-cloudone-as-jedi-stalls/

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — Boeing began making its first round of involuntary layoffs on Wednesday morning, announcing that it will slash the jobs of approximately 6,770 employees across the United States. Boeing's massive commercial business will take the brunt of the cuts, with the company's defense, space and security division only expected to shed less than 100 employees through involuntary layoffs this week. “While the deeper reductions are in areas that are most exposed to the condition of our commercial customers, the ongoing stability of our defense, space and related services businesses will help us limit overall impact, and we will continue hiring talent to support critical programs and meet our customers' evolving needs,” a Boeing spokesman said in a statement. Boeing plans to reduce its total headcount by 10 percent through natural turnover, voluntary layoffs and involuntary cuts — a measure made necessary by the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shook the travel industry and called into question commercial airlines' ability to pay for Boeing aircraft already on order. So far, about 5,520 U.S.-based employees have been approved for voluntary layoffs, with about 380 of that sum coming from Boeing's defense business. The approximately 6,770 U.S.-based employees that will be involuntarily laid off this week represents the largest portion of layoffs expected by the company. Those workers will receive severance pay, COBRA health care coverage and career transition services, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said in a message notifying employees about the cuts. “The several thousand remaining layoffs will come in much smaller additional tranches over the next few months,” a Boeing spokesman said. In his message to Boeing employees, Calhoun hinted that the situation is to improve as countries begin reopening businesses and more customers feel comfortable booking air travel. However, it will take years for Boeing to fully recover from the pandemic, he added. “The COVID-19 pandemic's devastating impact on the airline industry means a deep cut in the number of commercial jets and services our customers will need over the next few years, which in turn means fewer jobs on our lines and in our offices. We have done our very best to project the needs of our commercial airline customers over the next several years as they begin their path to recovery,” Calhoun wrote. “I wish there were some other way.” https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/05/27/boeing-begins-involuntary-layoffs-but-defense-biz-to-remain-mostly-untouched/

NAVY Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $393,846,014 modification (P00008) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00019-19-D-0015. This modification increases the ceiling to produce and deliver Ancillary Mission Equipment (AME)/Pilot Flight Equipment (PFE) and associated AME/PFE initial spares in support of F-35 Lot 14 aircraft deliveries for the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, non-Department of Defense participants and Foreign Military Sales customer's operational aircraft. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be complete by September 2023. No funds are obligated at time of award and funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. BAE Systems Technology Solutions and Services, Rockville, Maryland, is awarded a $10,536,004 modification (P00006) to previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract N00421-20-C-0003. This modification exercises options to provide engineering and technical services for integrated communications and information systems radio communications on Navy ships in support of the Ship and Air Integration Warfare Division, Naval Air Warfare Center, Webster Outlying Field, Maryland. Work will be performed in Saint Inigoes, Maryland (60%); California, Maryland (30%); Bath, Maine (5%); and Pascagoula, Mississippi (5%), and is expected to be complete by June 2025. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds for $2,000,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, is awarded a $7,432,050 modification (P00006) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N00019-18-C-1063. This modification provides for Group 5 unmanned air system intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services. These services are in support of outside the continental U.S. (OCONUS) Task Force Southwest and Marine Corps operations utilizing contractor-owned/contractor-operated MQ-9 unmanned air systems. Work will be performed in Yuma, Arizona (35%); Poway, California (15%); and various OCONUS locations (50%), and is expected to be complete by July 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,432,050 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. ARMY Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control, Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $106,282,221 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price) contract for industrial engineering services for programs supporting international contractor logistics services related to the Multiple Launch Rocket System. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Grand Prairie, Texas, with an estimated completion date of May 26, 2023. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $ 9,553,209 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-20-C-0032). EXP Federal, Chicago, Illinois, was awarded a $25,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect and engineering services for construction and renovation projects in the Republic of Korea. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 24, 2023. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District, is the contracting activity (W912UM-20-D-0001). Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, Florida, was awarded a $13,210,610 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price) contract for modernized target acquisition sight/pilot night vision sensor refurbishment. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2022. Fiscal 2010, 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement (Army); and 2010 Foreign Military Sales (United Kingdom) funds in the amount of $13,210,610 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-20-F-0413). General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, was awarded a $13,181,067 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Gray Eagle post-production software support. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Poway, California, with an estimated completion date of May 27, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $13,181,067 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-20-F-0250). The Boeing Co., Mesa, Arizona, was awarded a $7,578,872 modification (P00057) to contract W58RGZ-16-C-0023 to provide generator feeder fault protection for the Apache helicopter. Work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2024. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $3,713,646 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Tasso Inc.,* Seattle, Washington, was awarded a $7,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract for serology kits. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 15, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $7,500,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911QY-20-P-0158). (Awarded May 1, 2020) DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Raytheon Co., Andover, Massachusetts, has been awarded a maximum $14,494,050 firm-fixed-price delivery order (SPRRA2-20-F-0087) against a seven-year basic ordering agreement (SPRBL1-15-D-0017) for antenna elements. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a two-year, five-month contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Massachusetts, with a Sept. 30, 2022, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. Puerto Rico Apparel Manufacturing Corp.,** Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, has been awarded a maximum $11,173,437 modification (P00010) exercising the first one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-19-D-1151) with four one-year option periods for various types of coats and trousers. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Puerto Rico, with a Nov. 29, 2021, estimated performance completion date. Using military services are Army and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Awarded May 21, 2020) AIR FORCE Ophir Corp., Littleton, Colorado, has been awarded an $11,281,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for repair of the B-2 pilot alert assembly and laser energy monitor. Work will be performed in Littleton, Colorado, and is expected to be completed May 25, 2025. This award is the result of a non-competitive acquisition. Fiscal 2019 repair funds in the amount of $1,500,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Sustainment Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (FA8119-20-D0004). LinQuest Corp., Los Angeles, has been awarded an $11,008,552 firm-fixed-price modification (P00047) to contract FA8819-15-F-0001 for the Space and Missile Systems Center technical support follow-on task order bridge extension. This modification provides continued technical support services for the Special Programs Directorate, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. Work will be performed at Los Angeles AFB, California, and is expected to be completed May 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $856,651; and fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,000,000 are obligated at the time of award. The U.S. Space Force, Space and Missile Systems Center, Special Programs Directorate, Los Angeles AFB, California, is the contracting activity. *Small business **Economically disadvantaged women-owned small business in historically underutilized business zones https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2199430/source/GovDelivery/