Nouvelles

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — General Dynamics and AeroVironment are teaming up to integrate ground combat vehicles with drone technology in preparation for two high-stakes Army and Marine Corps vehicle programs, the companies announced Oct. 8. General Dynamics Land Systems and AeroVironment plan to network GD's entrant for the Marine Corps' armored reconnaissance vehicle, or ARV, program with the drone makers' Switchblade missile and the Shrike 2 unmanned aerial system still in development by the company, said Dave Sharpin, AeroVironment's head of tactical UAS. The first tests will begin this fall. The recently unveiled Shrike 2 is a hybrid vertical-takeoff-and-landing drone, with rotors that allow it to take off and land like a helicopter. It also has fixed wings to provide more endurance and the ability to fly like an airplane. It “will be the eyes in the sky, going out and doing the reconnaissance mission, finding things, reporting them back, and then once we have that situational awareness, then a Switchblade will be launched if we want to go do something kinetic with the target,” he said. The hope, Sharpin said, is to fill a need expressed by the Marine Corps but also relevant to the Army — a vehicle that can interface with a UAS that is organic to it, as well as a new way to strike targets that would be found by the drone. Ultimately, the companies believe they can parlay that concept into offerings for both the Marine Corps' ARV program as well as the Army's Next Generation Combat Vehicle. “The purpose of this partnership is to deliver a decisive advantage to ground combatants, to see first and strike first, across the tactical landscape,” Don Kotchman, U.S. vice president and general manager of General Dynamics Land Systems, said in a statement. “We're confident this integrated capability, expanding the warfighter's situational awareness, survivability and over-the-next-obstacle lethality, will define the market for years to come." Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/ausa/2018/10/09/general-dynamics-aerovironment-join-forces-to-give-combat-vehicles-their-own-drones

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — Boeing has made progress on installing a “safety critical” part across the AH-64 Apache fleet, but it will probably take until at least 2020 for the company to finish the retrofit process, Boeing program officials said Tuesday. In April, Defense News revealed that the U.S. Army had suspended AH-64E Apache attack helicopter deliveries due to corrosion the service noticed on the aircraft's strap pack nut, which hold the heavy bolts that attach the rotor blades to the helicopter. The service resumed accepting deliveries on August 31 after Boeing designed a new strap pack nut that will be outfitted on AH-64Es coming off the line. The company has now retrofitted new strap pack nuts on about 25 percent of the Army's AH-64D/Es, Kathleen “KJ” Jolivette, director of U.S. Army Services for Boeing Global Services, said during an Oct. 9 roundtable with journalists at the Association for the U.S. Army annual conference. However, Steve Wade, vice president Boeing attack helicopters, said the fastest the company could move to finish retrofitting the Apache fleet is 2020, saying that “the limiting factor is how fast we can build” retrofit kits. Boeing's best case completion date appears to be at least a full year behind the Army's own projections. In September, Brig. Gen. Thomas Todd, the service's program executive officer for aviation, said that he expected retrofits of the U.S. Army's Apache fleet to occur by 2019, with the strap pack nut replacements paid for by the company. Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/ausa/2018/10/09/boeing-apache-helicopter-fix-could-take-until-past-2020-to-complete

By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The Army is calling for ready-to-fly future tactical unmanned aircraft systems that it can demonstrate with a select group of brigade combat teams in an effort to ultimately replace its Shadow UAS with something that better meets the needs of units in the field, according to Brig. Gen. Thomas Todd, the program executive officer for Army Aviation. The service dropped a solicitation to industry on Sept. 28 stating its desire to procure up to two non-developmental UAS that would fit either into the category of 21- to 55-pound drones or weigh under 1,320 pounds (UAS group 2 or 3), according to the document posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website. The Army has been looking for UAS that could operate independently from a runway and perform better in austere conditions than its current system at the tactical level. Earlier this year, the outgoing director of Army aviation in the Army's Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for operations, planning and training, told Defense News that the Army sees a potential “quick win” when it comes to replacing Shadow. And the Army's Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team — part of Army Futures Command — has already begun examining the possibility of new capabilities for both manned and unmanned future flight. The Army has acknowledged there are likely quite a few ready-to-go options when it comes to a new tactical UAS. So, it will take the approach of “buy, try, decide” to get after the possible replacement of Shadow, Todd told Defense News in an interview shortly after the solicitation was released. The plan is to assess what is offered and choose three vendors to supply 12 UAS to six BCTs that will evaluate them for a period of time in realistic environments. Each BCT will be given two UAS from each of the three chosen vendors, Todd said. Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/ausa/2018/10/10/army-seeks-new-tactical-unmanned-aircraft-for-demo-testing-in-brigade-combat-teams

CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS La Presse Canadienne Montréal L'industrie aérospatiale canadienne a mandaté l'ex-premier ministre du Québec Jean Charest de tracer une nouvelle voie pour assurer sa croissance. Craignant de voir p'lir l'étoile du Canada dans son secteur, l'Association des industries aérospatiales du Canada a placé M. Charest aux commandes afin qu'il pilote un plan visant à obtenir du gouvernement fédéral des engagements financiers et une stratégie à long terme. « L'industrie en est venue à la conclusion que nous devons en quelque sorte redéfinir l'avenir de l'industrie au Canada », a déclaré M. Charest en entrevue téléphonique depuis Paris. « On a l'impression de vivre dans un monde où la concurrence est beaucoup plus forte. Ce n'est pas qu'on s'en tire mal, mais le monde évolue vraiment rapidement. » Celui qui a dirigé le Québec de 2003 à 2012 a souligné le « rôle crucial » du gouvernement en matière de financement, de recherche et de formation pour l'aviation civile et militaire. « L'administration Trump a décidé de créer une nouvelle division pour l'espace », a-t-il rappelé, évoquant la nouvelle branche militaire que le président surnomme la « Force spatiale ». « Nous ne pouvons pas rester les bras croisés », estime Jean Charest. Le président de l'association, Jim Quick, a souligné que le Canada ne suivait pas la croissance du secteur et de l'innovation par rapport à d'autres pays comme la France, l'Allemagne et les États-Unis, où des stratégies à long terme ont été mises en place. La Grande-Bretagne cible 10 % du marché spatial mondial d'ici 12 ans, a indiqué M. Quick. Le Luxembourg a pour objectif l'exploration minière dans l'espace en allant extraire des métaux rares et précieux sur des astéroïdes. L'aérospatiale est le secteur de fabrication qui compte le plus d'investissements liés à l'innovation au Canada avec plus de 1,8 milliard de dollars consacrés à la recherche et au développement en 2017, soit près du quart des dépenses totales, selon l'association. Selon M. Quick, le nouveau projet, appelé Vision 2025, tentera de convaincre Ottawa d'inclure dans son budget de l'an prochain un plan à long terme pour l'aérospatiale, parallèlement à son engagement à fournir une robotique de pointe à la passerelle Lunar, décrite comme un bras canadien de troisième génération. M. Charest dirigera des échanges entre des représentants du gouvernement et de l'industrie dans plusieurs villes, notamment Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver et Halifax, et supervisera la rédaction d'un rapport sur les priorités de l'aérospatiale. L'ex-politicien, qui a aussi été ministre au fédéral, a indiqué qu'il souhaitait que le secteur continue à réussir « malgré les risques et l'incertitude à l'échelle mondiale ». Les investissements du Canada dans le secteur aérospatial, exprimés en pourcentage du produit intérieur brut, ont reculé à la 18e place parmi les différents pays, alors qu'ils se classaient en huitième place en 1992, selon l'association. L'emploi dans le secteur de la fabrication a diminué de 5 % depuis 2012. Le Canada mise sur la cinquième plus importante industrie aérospatiale du monde, fournissant près de 25 milliards à l'économie canadienne et près de 190 000 emplois en 2017, d'après les données de l'association. https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/economie/transports/201810/09/01-5199611-jean-charest-pilotera-un-plan-pour-lindustrie-aerospatiale.php

Communiqué de presse Le 9 octobre 2018 — Ottawa — Défense nationale/Forces armées canadiennes Le Canada et le Mexique ont des questions d'intérêt commun et sont résolus à accroître la sécurité et la prospérité de leur pays respectif. Ils sont tous deux déterminés à tisser des liens plus étroits en matière de défense et à intensifier les relations panaméricaines. Le Canada apporte aux Amériques un soutien multiforme qui contribue à la sécurité et à la stabilité de la région, tout en adhérant aux valeurs des Canadiennes et des Canadiens et en les incarnant. Pour souligner ces priorités communes, le ministre de la Défense nationale Harjit Sajjan a signé aujourd'hui l'accord de coopération en matière de défense Canada‑Mexique avec le général Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, secrétaire de la Défense nationale, et l'amiral Vidal Francisco Sob‎erón Sanz, secrétaire de la Marine. La signature de cet accord bilatéral de coopération en matière de défense marque un important pas en avant dans l'évolution des relations entre le Canada et le Mexique. Cet accord de coopération en matière de défense fournira un mécanisme permettant de collaborer davantage dans un certain nombre de domaines clés, dont l'éducation, la formation et le renforcement des capacités en matière de défense, le matériel de défense, les opérations de soutien de la paix, l'aide humanitaire et les secours en cas de catastrophe. Citations « Le Canada et le Mexique tirent profit d'un partenariat étroit qui mise notamment sur de solides liens en matière de défense. Le Canada est heureux de signer cet accord de coopération en matière de défense avec le Mexique, notre ami et partenaire de l'hémisphère, en marge de la Conférence des ministres de la Défense des Amériques, qui a été couronnée de succès. Nous ‎nous réjouissons à l'idée de continuer de collaborer avec le Mexique en vue de l'avancement de nos priorités communes en matière de défense. » Harjit S. Sajjan, ministre de la Défense Faits en bref L'accord de coopération en matière de défense Canada‑Mexique a été signé en marge de la Conférence des ministres de la Défense des Amériques qui s'est déroulée au Mexique, du 7 au 10 octobre 2018. L'engagement pris par le Canada et le Mexique de resserrer leurs liens en matière de défense s'est traduit au cours des dernières années par des progrès mesurés, y compris des visites de personnalités de haut niveau, un dialogue stratégique et opérationnel et des possibilités de formation. Le Mexique est membre depuis 2004 du Programme d'instruction et de coopération militaires (PICM). Pour 2018‑2019, on prévoit l'attribution de 73 cours dans le cadre du MTCP au Mexique, sous réserve de changements au cours de l'année, dont des postes de direction dans les prestigieux programmes suivants : Programme de sécurité nationale, Programme de commandement et d'état-major interarmées et Cours sur les opérations de l'Armée de terre. Liens connexes Les relations entre le Canada et le Mexique Personnes-ressources Byrne Furlong Attachée de presse Cabinet du ministre de la Défense nationale Téléphone : 613-996-3100 Courriel : byrne.furlong@forces.gc.ca Relations avec les médias Ministère de la Défense nationale Téléphone : 613-996-2353 Courriel : mlo-blm@forces.gc.ca https://www.canada.ca/fr/ministere-defense-nationale/nouvelles/2018/10/le-gouvernement-du-canada-signe-un-accord-de-cooperation-en-matiere-de-defense-avec-le-mexique.html

AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, Florida, has been awarded a $390,792,959 firm-fixed-price, fixed-price-incentive-fee contract for Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) lot 16 production for 360 JASSM-extended range, three foreign military sales (FMS) separation text vehicles, one FMS flight test vehicle-live fire and tooling and test equipment. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2021. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. This award uses fiscal 2018 missile procurement funds and FMS funds. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA8682-19-C-0009). Applied Defense Solutions Inc., Columbia, Maryland, has been awarded a $7,526,650 fixed-price and cost-reimbursement modification (P00015) to contract FA255017C8002 for non-governmental space situational awareness services. This modification provides for the exercise of an option for an additional quantity of 12 months of services under the basic contract. Work will be performed at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, and is expected to be completed by Oct. 18, 2019. No funds are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $26,458,756. The 50th Contracting Squadron, Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Oct. 4, 2018). CORRECTION: The contract announced on Oct. 4, 2018, to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, (FA8620-18-F-2365) for $19,446,593 has not awarded. ARMY General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, Michigan, was awarded a $366,852,050 modification (0002 04) to contract W56HZV-17-D-B020 for upgrade of Stryker flat-bottom vehicles to the Double V-Hull Engineering Change Proposal 1 configuration. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2021. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 procurement of weapons and tracked vehicle funds in the amount of $366,852,050 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., Mesa, Arizona, was awarded a $242,109,170 modification (P00021) to foreign military sales (United Arab Emirates) contract W58RGZ-16-C-0023 for the remanufacture of eight, and procurement of nine new-build Apache AH-64E aircraft. Work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2023. Fiscal 2010 foreign military sales funds in the amount of $242,109,170 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Federal Contracting Inc., doing business as Bryan Construction, Colorado Springs, Colorado, was awarded a $52,812,678 firm-fixed-price contract for design and construction of a squadron operations facility and associated operational training facilities at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. Bids were solicited via the internet with 15 received. Work will be performed in Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, with an estimated completion date of April 1, 2021. Fiscal 2015 and 2016 military construction funds in the amount of $52,812,678 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque, New Mexico, is the contracting activity (W912PP-19-C-0001). General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, Michigan, was awarded a $24,957,920 modification (0001 19) to contract W56HZV-17-D-B020 for upgrade of Stryker flat-bottom vehicles to the Double V-Hull Engineering Change Proposal 1 configuration. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2021. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 procurement of weapons and tracked vehicle funds in the amount of $24,957,920 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. M.R. Pittman Group LLC,* Saint Rose, Louisiana, was awarded a $17,255,645 firm-fixed-price contract for interim closure structure demolition. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in New Orleans, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of May 8, 2020. Fiscal 2014 other procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $17,255,645 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, Louisiana, is the contracting activity (W912P8-19-C-0001). Short-Elliott-Hendrickson Inc., Lacrosse, Wisconsin, was awarded a $19,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect and engineering services for the Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, Department of Public Works. Bids were solicited via the internet with nine received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 5, 2023. U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, is the contracting activity (W911SA-19-D-2001). Keysight Technologies, Englewood, Colorado, was awarded an $8,977,287 firm-fixed-price contract for Oscilloscopes 307/U. Two bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 28, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-18-D-0081). NAVY Donjon Marine Co. Inc., Hillside, New Jersey, was awarded a maximum value $215,000,000 cost-plus-award-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for salvage related towing, harbor clearance, ocean engineering project and point-to-point towing services. The primary purpose of this contract is to provide services to assist in the performance of salvage of ships, craft, cargo, and other items as tasked (e.g., aircraft, weaponry, equipment); salvage related towing, harbor clearance; and point-to-point towing; and ocean engineering projects in support of the Supervisor of Salvage. Work will be performed along the North and South American East Coast, and is expected to be completed by September 2023. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $50,000 was obligated at the time of award and expired at the end of the fiscal 2018. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with four offers received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-18-D-4307). (Awarded Sept. 28, 2018) SMIT Salvage Americas LLC, Houston, Texas, was awarded a maximum value $215,000,000 cost-plus-award-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for salvage related towing, harbor clearance, ocean engineering project and point-to-point towing services. The primary purpose of this contract is to provide services to assist in the performance of salvage of ships, craft, cargo, and other items as tasked (e.g., aircraft, weaponry, equipment); salvage related towing, harbor clearance; and point-to-point towing; and ocean engineering projects in support of the Supervisor of Salvage, SEA. Work will be performed along the North and South American West Coast, and is expected to be completed by September 2023. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $5,000 was obligated at the time of award and expired at the end of the fiscal 2018. This contract was competitively procured via Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-18-D-4308). (Awarded Sept. 28, 2018) SMIT Singapore PTE LTD, Singapore, was awarded a maximum value $215,000,000 cost-plus-award-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for salvage related towing, harbor clearance, ocean engineering project and point-to-point towing services. The primary purpose of this contract is to provide services to assist in the performance of salvage of ships, craft, cargo, and other items as tasked (e.g., aircraft, weaponry, equipment); salvage related towing, harbor clearance; and point-to-point towing; and ocean engineering projects in support of the Supervisor of Salvage. Work will be performed across the Western Pacific region, and is expected to be completed by September 2023. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $5,000 was obligated at the time of award and expired at the end of the fiscal 2018. This contract was competitively procured via Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-18-D-4309). (Awarded Sept. 28, 2018) PAE Applied Technologies LLC, Arlington, Virginia, is awarded a $24,292,143 cost-plus-award-fee modification to previously-awarded contract (N66604-05-C-1277), increasing the cumulative total value of the contract for operation and maintenance services for the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC). AUTEC is the U.S. Navy's large-area, deep-water, undersea test and evaluation range. Underwater research, testing and evaluation of anti-submarine weapons, sonar tracking and communications are the predominant activities conducted at AUTEC. The contractor performs services required to perform AUTEC range operations and maintenance of facilities and range systems. In addition, the contractor is responsible for operating a self-sufficient one-square-mile Navy outpost. This modification increases the total value of the contract to $788,075,722. Work will be performed on Andros Island, Commonwealth of the Bahamas (82 percent); West Palm Beach, Florida (18 percent); and is expected to be completed by September 2019. No contract funds are being obligated at this time. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Newport Division, Newport, Rhode Island, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, is awarded $8,020,809 for cost-plus-fixed-fee order N6339419F0003 under a previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N6339417G0001) for engineering services in support of land-based test site maintenance, inventory control, diminishing material source efforts, and program management for the Mk 92 fire control system. This order includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this order to $9,276,806. The order combines purchases for the Navy (16 percent); and the governments of Philippines (40 percent); Egypt (20 percent); Saudi Arabia (16 percent); Poland (4 percent); and Taiwan (2 percent). Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama (26 percent); Philippines (20 percent); Egypt (17 percent); Moorestown, New Jersey (13 percent); Saudi Arabia (13 percent); Port Hueneme, California (4 percent); Poland (3 percent); Taiwan (2 percent); and Nigeria (2 percent); and is expected to be completed by September 2022. Foreign military sales (other defense agencies) funding in the amount of $2,579,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity. U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND Jacobs Technology Inc., Tampa, Florida, has been awarded a contract modification P00017 on contract HTC711-17-C-D001 in the amount of $18,940,678. This modification provides continued Information Technology Service Management Enterprise support to the U.S. Transportation Command (US TRANSCOM). Work will be performed primarily on-site at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, and other locations: DISA DECC, St Louis, Missouri; USTRANSCOM Office, Washington District of Columbia; JECC, Norfolk, Virginia; and the Pentagon. The option period of performance is from Oct. 1, 2018, to Sept. 30, 2019. Fiscal 2019 transportation working capital funds operations, operations and maintenance and Defense Health Program funds were obligated at award. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $48,981,052 from $30,040,374. U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Airtronics Inc.,* Tucson, Arizona, has been awarded a maximum $13,644,800 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract for aviation cable assemblies. This was a competitive acquisition with three offers received. This is a two-year base contract with a one-year option period. Location of performance is Arizona, with an Oct. 16, 2021, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Richmond, Virginia (SPE4A619D0001). DCX-CHOL Enterprises, Inc.,* Chatsworth, California, has been awarded a maximum $12,960,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract for aviation cable assemblies. This was a competitive acquisition with three offers received. This is a two-year base contract with a one-year option period. Location of performance is California, with an Oct. 16, 2021, performance completion date. Using military service Army. The type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Richmond, Virginia (SPE4A619D0002). *Small Business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1656310/source/GovDelivery/

By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department has cleared a pair of proposed military sales — armed helicopters for Iraq and surveillance planes for Canada — with a joint price tag of more than $380 million. The two notifications were posted on the website of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency on Thursday evening. Notifications are not guaranteed sales; members of the Senate could still choose to block the potential sale, and once it passes Congress, sale negotiations can change quantities and dollar figures. The larger of the two packages is the Canadian one, which covers three King Air 350ER aircraft with “customer unique post-modifications for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance” requirements. Along with the platforms comes a package of equipment, including three WESCAM MX-15D electro-optical and infrared imaging sensors; three AN/AAR-47B(V)2 missile and laser warning systems; three AN/ALE-47 countermeasure dispenser systems; three VORTEX Dual RF Ku LOS transceivers; three COMSEC modules (KGV-135A); two APM-424(V)5 transponder test sets; five KIV-77 Mode 4/5 crypto applique computers for identification friend or foe (IFF); three AN/APX-119 IFF digital civil and military transponders; six ARC-210 multimode voice and data transceivers; and three KG-250X National Security Agency-certified type 1 inline network encryptors, per DSCA. Work will primarily be done at the Wichita, Kansas, facility of Beechcraft, a subsidiary of Textron. There is expected to be an industrial offset included in the deal. Iraq was cleared to purchase five Bell 407GX helicopters, configured with M240 7.62mm machine guns, with an estimated cost of $82.5 million. The DSCA notification notes these would help “compensate for the combat loss of seven IA407 helicopters in recent years and increase the Iraqi Security Forces' combat effectiveness against ISIS and other terrorist elements in Iraq.” “The 407GX variant — an upgrade from the current IA407 configuration — includes Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) launchers,” DSCA writes. “Providing Iraq with this capability supports U.S. security goals by furthering the Iraqi Army Aviation Command's ability to counter terrorism and protect critical infrastructure.” Also included in the package are five RF-7850A secure communications radios; five AN/AAR-60 MILDS automatic plume detectors; five AN/ALE-47 airborne countermeasure dispenser systems; five M3P .50-caliber machine guns; five M260 rocket launchers (APKWS configuration); five MX-15Di EO/IR sensors; five GAU-19 .50-caliber machine guns; and various other components. Work will be done at Bell's Fort Worth, Texas, location; L3 WESCAM's location in Ontario, Canada; Tekfusion Global's Williamsburg, Virginia, location; Harris' Melbourne, Florida, facility; and Fulcrum Concepts' office in Mattaponi, Virginia. There are no known offsets. https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2018/10/05/us-clears-helicopters-for-iraq-aircraft-for-canada

By: Kyle Rempfer The Air Force has officially named the hypersonic flight research vehicle it is testing. The vehicle, dubbed X-60A, is being developed by Generation Orbit Launch Services Inc., under contract to the Air Force Research Laboratory's Aerospace Systems Directorate and High Speed Systems Division. X-60A is an air-dropped liquid rocket, purpose-built for hypersonic flight research. This is the first Air Force Small Business Innovative Research program to receive an experimental “X” designation, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base's public affairs office announced in a press release Thursday. The Air Force Research Laboratory hopes the X-60A program will increase the frequency of flight testing while also lowering the cost of developing hypersonic technologies. “The X-60A is like a flying wind tunnel to capture data that complements our current ground test capability,” said Col. Colin Tucker, military deputy, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for science, technology, and engineering. “We've long needed this type of test vehicle to better understand how materials and other technologies behave while flying at more than 5 times the speed of sound," Tucker added. "It enables faster development of both our current hypersonic weapon rapid prototypes and evolving future systems.” X-60A is envisioned as a way to provide the Air Force, other U.S. Government agencies and private industry with a platform to more rapidly develop technologies. Rather than relying simply on ground test facilities to simulate hypersonic flight, an actual flight research vehicle will provide real conditions for researchers to gauge. The testing will likely help in the Air Force's quest for hypersonic missiles. The service has already issued two contracts to Lockheed Martin to develop hypersonic weapons: the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon and the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon program. Full article: https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2018/10/08/air-force-introduces-hypersonic-flight-research-vehicle

By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — Lt. Gen. Eric Wesley is the new Army Capabilities Integration Center director and the first director to guide the center's efforts under the purview of the brand-new Army Futures Command, as opposed to Training and Doctrine Command, where the center lived since its inception. ARCIC will be responsible for the development of future operational and war-fighting concepts that align and inform the service's major modernization priorities that Futures Command is tasked to develop in a new and rapid way. In an unprecedented method, concept and capability development will be formed in parallel. In a wide-ranging interview with Defense News, Wesley discussed how the Army is evolving its major operational concept — Multidomain Operations 1.5 — and how ARCIC will continue to align modernization strategy with the concept as the Army heads toward a fully modernized force by 2028 — one that can provide overmatch against peer adversaries. When are you coming out with the new version of the Army's Multidomain Operations concept (MDO 1.5)? Will it be at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual conference? We're teasing it out. What we're going to do is deliver all of the principles and tenets of this new concept, and then you'll see the signed version within 30 days of that. Why is getting the MDO concept right so critical? I'll say upfront this is the most fundamental rewrite of an operational concept since AirLand Battle that was published in 1982. Concepts are critical, particularly at a point in time when you see the world's dynamics fundamentally shift in a way that you've got to, in many ways, reconfigure or redesign and modernize your army. What has changed in the world that requires multidomain operations? I'd say there are a number of things. But if there's a word that you want to remember in terms of identifying the challenges we face within the pacing threats, it is the word “standoff.” And what [our adversaries] have invested in are things that mitigate against the United States and our partners and allies' strengths. We're very good at close combat, and they've watched us over the last 30 years or so. And when you give the United States and our coalition partners and allies time to build up against it, usually the outcome is preordained based on ability to get into position and conduct operations the way we like to conduct them. So recognizing that, they've invested in what we oftentimes refer to as anti-access, area denial capabilities, which serendipitously came parallel with our withdrawal from the continent of Europe and the Korean Peninsula over the last 30 years. Fll article: https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/ausa/2018/10/08/us-army-capabilities-integration-chief-talks-multidomain-ops