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De : Affaires mondiales Canada Déclaration Le 05 octobre 2020 – Ottawa (Ontario) – Affaires mondiales Canada Le ministre des Affaires étrangères, l'honorable François-Philippe Champagne, a fait aujourd'hui la déclaration suivante : « Au cours des derniers jours, des allégations ont été formulées selon lesquelles des technologies canadiennes seraient utilisées dans le conflit militaire au Haut-Karabakh. « Après avoir pris connaissance de ces allégations, j'ai immédiatement ordonné à Affaires mondiales Canada d'enquêter à ce sujet. « Dans le respect du régime rigoureux de contrôle à l'exportation du Canada, et compte tenu des hostilités continues, j'ai suspendu les licences d'exportation pertinentes vers la Turquie, le temps de mieux évaluer la situation. « Le Canada demeure préoccupé par le conflit actuel au Haut-Karabakh, qui se traduit par des bombardements de collectivités et des pertes civiles. « Nous demandons que des mesures soient prises immédiatement pour stabiliser la situation sur le terrain, et nous réitérons que rien ne peut remplacer une solution pacifique et négociée à ce conflit. » Personnes-ressources Syrine Khoury Attachée de presse Cabinet du ministre des Affaires étrangères Syrine.Khoury@international.gc.ca Service des relations avec les médias Affaires mondiales Canada 343-203-7700 media@international.gc.ca Suivez-nous sur Twitter : @CanadaPE Aimez-nous sur Facebook : La politique étrangère du Canada – Affaires mondiales Canada

ARMY Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia (W9128Z-21-D-0001); General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., Fairfax, Virginia (W9128Z-21-D-0020); and NCI Information Systems Inc., Reston, Virginia (W9128Z-21-D-0003), will compete for each order of the $800,000,000 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract for engineering related activities in support U.S. Army Information Systems Engineering Command. Bids were solicited via the internet with 11 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 4, 2023. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, Michigan, was awarded an $11,949,962 modification (P00118) to contract W56HZV-17-C-0067 for Abrams systems technical support. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2022. Fiscal 2019 weapons and tracked combat vehicle procurement (Army) funds; and 2010 Foreign Military Sales (Morocco) funds in the amount of $11,949,962 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity. SPACE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY L3Harris Technologies Inc., Melbourne, Florida, is awarded a $193,599,342 firm-fixed-price contract for the Space Development Agency Tracking Layer Tranche 0, Wide Field of View program. The proposal was received and evaluated under request for proposal HQ0850-20-R-0003. The work to be performed under this contract will include on-time delivery of space vehicles and optical wide field of view payloads. Work will be performed in various locations in the continental U.S. (99.2%); and Canada (0.8%). Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds (defense-wide) will be obligated at the time of award. The Space Development Agency, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (HQ0850-21-C-0002). Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Hawthorne, California, is awarded a $149,175,246 firm-fixed-price contract for the Space Development Agency Tracking Layer Tranche 0, Wide Field of View program. The proposal was received and evaluated under request for proposal HQ0850-20-R-0003. The work to be performed under this contract will include on-time delivery of space vehicles and optical wide field of view payloads. Work will be performed in various locations in the continental U.S. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds (defense-wide) will be obligated at the time of award. The Space Development Agency, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (HQ0850-21-C-0001). NAVY Upcavage, Bauer and Crane Inc.,* Tampa, Florida, was awarded a $48,292,758 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides for the production, test and delivery of up to a maximum of 500 Steerable Antenna Systems (SAS) for electronic warfare/electronic attack pods AN/ALQ-167, AN/AST-9, AN/DLQ-9, and sub-scale targets BQM-34, BQM-74, BQM-167 and BQM-177 in support of U.S. weapon system testing supported by the Airborne Threat Simulation Organization. Additionally, this contract provides sustainment engineering to include teardown, evaluation and repair and modification services. Work will be performed in Tampa, Florida, and is expected to be completed in September 2025. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; one offer was received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, California, is the contracting activity (N68936-21-D-0001). Systems Application and Technologies Inc.,* Oxnard, California, was awarded a $26,540,541 modification (P00035) to previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable contract N68936-18-C-0046. This modification exercises options to provide operational and intermediate level maintenance for both aerial and seaborne assets. This includes air and sea vehicles and vessels used for manned and unmanned training and test events. Aerial assets include subsonic and supersonic aerial targets. Seaborne assets include a combination of target and training support vessels. Work will be performed in Port Hueneme, California (57%); Point Mugu, California (35%); Ridgecrest, California (2%); Las Cruces, New Mexico (2%); Kauai, Hawaii (1%); Salt Lake City, Utah (1%); Lompoc, California (1%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (1%), and is expected to be completed in September 2021. Working capital funds (Navy) funds in the amount of $14,155,000 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, Weapons Division, China Lake, California, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded a $12,078,333 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-11-C-2300 to exercise an option for post-delivery support for the Littoral Combat Ship USS Cooperstown (LCS 23). Work will be performed in Marinette, Wisconsin (57%); Hampton, Virginia (14%); Moorestown, New Jersey (11%); San Diego, California (11%); and Washington, D.C. (7%), and is expected to be completed by February 2022. Fiscal 2016 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $8,200,000 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, D.C., is the contracting activity. Offshore Service Vessels LLC, Cut Off, Louisiana (N32205-19-C-3514), is awarded a $10,756,185 option under a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract to fund the first one-year option period. The option will continue to provide for the U.S. flag Jones Act, West Coast based service support vessel Motor Vessel Alyssa Chouest which will be utilized to launch and recover Navy submersibles, divers and small craft. The previously awarded contract includes a 12-month firm period of performance, three 12-month option periods, and one 11-month option period, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $54,238,356. Work will be performed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and at sea, and is expected to be completed, if all options are exercised, by Sept. 6, 2024. Working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $10,756,185 will be obligated for fiscal 2021 and will expire at the end of fiscal 2021. The contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website and six offers were received. The Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N32205-19-C-3514). TestVonics Inc.,* Peterborough, New Hampshire, is awarded a $10,139,475 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for air data calibrator systems to support the Naval Air Systems Command, Metrology and Calibration Program. The air data calibrator systems are used at intermediate level calibration laboratories afloat and ashore, as well as the depot level calibration laboratories to control and measure altitude and airspeed pressure in automated test applications. Work will be performed in Peterborough, New Hampshire, and is expected to be completed by October 2025. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $307,455 will be obligated at time of award and will not 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 source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division, Corona, California, is the contracting activity (N64267-21-D-0048). Huntington Ingalls Industries, Pascagoula, Mississippi, is awarded a $9,485,744 not-to-exceed, fixed-price incentive modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-13-C-2307 for Engineering Change Proposal 51-2006, replacement of the distributed integrated power node centers with Mark C. Pope ADV 180 on Arleigh Burke Class guided missile destroyer DDG 121. This effort encompasses all of the manpower, support services, material, peripheral impacts and associated technical data and documentation required to prepare for and accomplish Engineer Change Proposal 51-2006. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and is expected to be completed April 2022. Fiscal 2016 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding is being in the amount of $3,962,729 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10.U.S. Code 2304 (c) (3). The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, Gulf Coast, Pascagoula, Mississippi, is the contracting activity. CH2M Hill Constructors Inc., Englewood, Colorado, was awarded an $8,247,534 firm-fixed-price task order modification (N69450-20-F-0078) under previously-awarded multiple-award construction contract N62470-19-D-8024 for Hurricane Sally recovery at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Work will be performed in Pensacola, Florida, and is expected to be completed by December 2020. This modification brings the total cumulative task order value to $14,247,534. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $7,998,716 (97%); and fiscal 2020 Defense Health Program funding in the amount of $248,818 (3%), was obligated at time of award and expired at the end of the fiscal 2020. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Sept. 30, 2020) Huntington Ingalls Industries, Pascagoula, Mississippi, is awarded an $8,202,768 not-to-exceed, fixed-price incentive modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-13-C-2307 for Engineering Change Proposal 51-2006, replacement of the distributed integrated power node centers with Mark C. Pope ADV 180 on Arleigh Burke Class guided missile destroyer DDG 123. This effort encompasses all of the manpower, support services, material, peripheral impacts and associated technical data and documentation required to prepare for and accomplish Engineer Change Proposal 51-2006. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and is expected to be completed April 2022. Fiscal 2016 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $3,172,302 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10.U.S. Code 2304 (c) (3). The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair Gulf Coast, Pascagoula, Mississippi, is the contracting activity. U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND Amerijet International Inc., Miami, Florida, has been awarded task order HTC711-21-F-W003 under contract HTC711-19-D-W005 in the estimated amount of $13,419,759. The contract provides international, commercial, door-to-door, cargo transportation services. Multiple or single modes (e.g. airlift, sealift, linehaul) of transportation may be used in any combination to move cargo globally. The task order period of performance is from Oct. 7, 2020, to Nov. 1, 2020. Fiscal 2021 transportation working capital funds were obligated at award. The U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Air Transport International Inc., Wilmington, Ohio, has been awarded task order HTC711-21-F-W002 under contract HTC711-19-D-W002 in the estimated amount of $10,805,358. The contract provides international, commercial, door to door, cargo transportation services. Multiple or single modes (e.g. airlift, sealift, linehaul) of transportation may be used in any combination to move cargo globally. The task order period of performance is from Oct. 9, 2020, to Dec. 2, 2020. Fiscal 2021 transportation working capital funds were obligated at award. The U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Cherokee Insights LLC, Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been awarded a $10,012,035 firm-fixed-price contract for analytics evaluation supporting insight to readiness for the base and two options. The purpose of this contract is to provide analytic studies to assist senior leaders at the Air Force Medical Readiness Agency with strategic and operational decision making to ensure a medically-ready force. Work will be performed in Falls Church, Virginia, and is expected to be completed Oct. 4, 2023. Fiscal 2021 operations and maintenance funds in the amount $3,257,017 are being obligated at the time of award. The 773rd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Air Force Installation Contracting Center, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA8052-21-C-0001). * Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2372482/source/GovDelivery/

Nathan Strout WASHINGTON —SpaceX and and L3 Harris will contribute satellites to track hypersonic weapons to the Space Development Agency's planned mega-constellation, with the nascent agency announcing it had selected the two companies to build its first wide field of view satellites Oct. 5. Under the contracts, each company will design and develop four satellites equipped with wide field of view (WFOV) overhead persistent infrared (OPIR) sensors. Operating in low Earth orbit, the sensors will make up the inaugural tranche of the SDA's tracking layer—the Pentagon's new effort to track hypersonic weapons from space. “This SDA tracking layer is going to consist of a proliferated, heterogeneous constellation of WFOV space vehicles that provide persistent global coverage and custody capability. That's going to combine with activities in the Missile Defense Agency as they build toward their Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) medium field of view (MFOV) space vehicles,” Acting Deputy Undersecretary for Research and Engineering Mark Lewis told C4ISRNET. According to the announcement, SpaceX will receive $149 million while L3 Harris will receive $193 million. According to SDA Director Derek Tournear, the awards were the result of a full and open competition, with the selection based purely on technical merit. SpaceX has made waves with its Starlink constellation—a series of satellites built to provide commercial broadband from low Earth orbit—and the Department of Defense has tested using Starlink to connect various weapon systems. However, the company does not have a history building OPIR sensors. According to Tournear, the company will work with partners to develop the sensor, which it will then place on a bus it is providing. SpaceX already has a production line in place to build a bus based on its Starlink technologies, added Tournear. “SpaceX had a very credible story along that line—a very compelling proposal. It was outstanding,” he said. “They are one of the ones that have been at the forefront of this commercialization and commodification route.” L3 Harris will develop an OPIR solution based on decades of experience with small satellites, small telescopes and OPIR technologies. “They had an extremely capable solution. They have a lot of experience flying affordable, rapid, small satellite buses for the department,” noted Tournear. “They had the plant and the line in place in order to produce these to hit our schedule.” Tracking hypersonic weapons The contracts are the latest development as the SDA fleshes out its National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA), a new constellation to be comprised of hundreds of satellites primarily operating in low Earth orbit. These satellites are expected to make up tranche 0 of the SDA's tracking layer, which will provide global coverage for tracking hypersonic threats. The glue that holds the NDSA together will be the transport layer, a space-based mesh network made up of satellites connected by optical intersatellite links. Like most planned SDA satellites, WFOV satellites will plug directly into that network. “The idea is it connects to the National Defense Space Architecture—the NDSA transport layer—via optical intersatellite links,” said Lewis. “And that will enable low latency dissemination for missile warning indications. It will provide track directly to the joint war fighters.” SDA issued two contracts in August for its first 20 transport layer satellites. York Space Systems was awarded $94 million to build its 10 satellites, while Lockheed Martin was awarded $188 million. That transport layer capability is essential to the tracking layer's mission. Because they are so much closer to the Earth's surface than the U.S. Space Force's missile tracking satellites in geosynchronous orbit, the WFOV sensors will naturally have a much more limited field of vision. In order to track globe traversing hypersonic missiles, the WFOV satellites will have to work together. Once the first satellite picks up a threat, it will begin tracking it until it disappears over the horizon. During that time, it is expected to transmit its tracking data to other WFOV satellites over the transport layer. So as the first satellite loses sight of the threat over the horizon, the next WFOV is ready to pick it up, and so on and so forth. From there, the WFOV satellites will pass the tracking data — either directly or via the transport layer — on to the medium field of view satellites being developed by the Missile Defense Agency as their HBTSS. “SDA is developing the low cost proliferated WFOV space vehicles that provide the missile warning and the tracking information for national defense authorities, as well as tracking and cueing data for missile defense elements,” explained Lewis. “Meanwhile, the Missile Defense Agency is developing the high resolution HBTSS MFOV space vehicles — those can receive cues from other sources including the WFOV system—and they'll provide low latency fire control quality tracking data.” “The MFOV HBTSS satellites will then be able to hone in and actually be able to calculate the fire control solution for that missile, send those data to the transport satellites with a laser comms system ... and then the transport system will disseminate that to the weapons platform as well as back to [the continental United States, where MDA can broadcast that information],” added Tournear. MDA issued $20 million contracts to Northrop Grumman, Leidos, Harris Corporation and Raytheon to develop HBTSS prototypes in Oct. 2019. Tournear noted that proposals for HBTSS “are being written as we speak.” Together, HBTSS and the SDA's tracking layer are meant to provide the data needed to take out hypersonic threats—which Congress is increasingly concerned by. “It's part of an integrated DoD OPIR strategy. So the wide field of view sensors and the medium field of view sensors are really integral to this whole NDSA system and legacy strategic missile warning capability,” said Lewis, praising MDA and SDA for working together to build a heterogeneous solution. Spiral development Of course, this initial tranche won't provide global coverage up front. As part of its spiral development approach, SDA plans to continuously add satellites to its mega-constellation in two-year tranches, with each tranche including more advanced technology. The tracking layer is not expected to reach global coverage until 2026, said Tournear. But as the constellation is built out, the more limited initial capabilities will be used to help integrate the space-based assets with war fighters. “We call tranche 0 our war fighter immersion tranche,” said Tournear. “What that means is, its goal is to provide the data in a format that the war fighters are used to seeing on tactical timelines that they can be expected to see once we actually become operational. The whole purpose of tranche 0 is to allow the war fighters to start to train and develop tactics, techniques and procedures so that they can create operational plans for a battle where they would actually incorporate these data.” With tranche 1 in 2024, the tracking and transport layers will essentially reach initial operating capability, said Tournear. That will include persistent regional coverage. According to Tournear, the tranche 0 satellites are set to launch in September 2022. Tournear told C4ISRNET his agency is planning to issue a separate solicitation for launch services later this week. That solicitation will cover all of the tranche 0 satellites, including the 20 transport layer satellites the agency ordered in August, the eight WFOV satellites and the HBTSS satellites https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/10/05/space-development-agency-orders-8-hypersonic-weapon-tracking-satellites/

THERESA HITCHENS "There's definitely a big future for the export version of the AN/APG-82," says Michelle Styczynski, F-15 Senior Product Line Director for Raytheon Intelligence & Space WASHINGTON: Raytheon hopes its new contract with Boeing for an initial eight radar systems for the F-15EX is only a first step and its AN/APG-82 radar gets tapped for the entire future fleet, says Michelle Styczynski, F-15 senior product line director for Raytheon Intelligence & Space. The award, announced last Thursday, is a one-time deal for an unspecified amount, Styczynski told Breaking D today, but “obviously we would love to continue to partner with Boeing and the US Air Force to continue bringing them AN/APG-82.” Boeing was awarded a 10-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract July 13 for at least 144 F-15EXs with a ceiling of $22.9 billion that includes 15 years of support. The contract includes options for up to 200 aircraft. Raytheon's APG-82(V)1 radar is an active electronically scanned array (AESA) that equips the Air Force's current F-15E Strike Eagle fleet, with the company in June winning a contract worth up to $202.6 million to sustain the system through 2024. Raytheon delivered its first APG-82(V)1 radar to Boeing for integration with the F-15E way back in 20210. Styczynski said that the only upgrades required for the new F-15EX are software changes to integrate the radar with the Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System (EPAWSS). EPAWSS, by BAE Systems, is an integrated digital avionics system designed to protect the F-15E against enemy air defense systems. The Air Force in April started testing EPAWSS at Edwards AFB. Part of that testing is to “establish and provide verification of the interoperability and RF (radio frequency) compatibility among the EPAWSS, the AN/APG-82 radar and various existing avionics at the installed system level on the aircraft, as it would fly versus in a system lab,” Ed Sabat, Project Development Lead and Civilian Director of Operations, 772nd Test Squadron. said in April. But, Styczynski explained, Raytheon is also pitching the Air Force options for to ensure that the venerable AN/APG-82 can be made interoperable with not only other on-board sensors, but also those of other aircraft as part of a future hyper-connected battle management network. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/10/f-15ex-radar-win-buoys-raytheon-market-hopes/

Jon Grevatt Boeing Australia has announced that Queensland, Australia, will be the manufacturing hub for the Loyal Wingman unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) it is developing in partnership with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The company said in a joint statement with the Queensland government that the two parties have entered a partnership that will leverage Boeing's 1,700 staff in the state and its partnerships with 400 Queensland-based suppliers. Since 2018 Boeing has also undertaken a joint project with the Queensland state government to develop autonomous technologies that are supporting the Loyal Wingman programme. Boeing's regional president Brendan Nelson said the partnership will help support the development of capabilities in technologies, such as robotics, as well as facilitate investment in local companies and create export opportunities. “This investment could unlock global defence and aerospace opportunities for Queensland to gain future work share in other Boeing programmes,” he said. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said investment in the new aerospace facility could see the Loyal Wingman produced in the state by the middle of the decade, with prototype testing and certification taking place before that. She added, “Our investment in this advanced manufacturing project will provide critical skills for suppliers, academia, and Boeing, and culminate in Queensland becoming the primary final assembly facility for the Boeing Airpower Teaming System (ATS), conditional on orders.” Boeing rolled out the first Loyal Wingman prototype in early May and its first flight is scheduled before the end of 2020. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/boeing-australia-confirms-loyal-wingman-production-centre

Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has discontinued its Rapid Equipping Force stood up during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to get urgently needed capabilities into the field in 180 days or less. As the Army shifts from a focus on counterinsurgency operations to going up against near-peer adversaries like Russia and China across air, land, sea, cyberspace and space domains in large-scale operations, the REF's utility and mission has been in question. The service is also disbanding its Asymmetric Warfare Group. “As our focus changes to great power competition and large-scale combat operations, Army analysis indicated that the personnel and resources could best be utilized in building the operational fighting force,” an Oct. 2 Army statement read. “To ensure the value of organization's work over the past 14 years is not lost, all lessons learned will be maintained by the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, via the Center for Army Lessons Learned, Centers of Excellence and other [Training and Doctrine Command] enterprise stakeholders.” The discontinuation won't happen overnight. Both organizations will be fully deactivated by the end of fiscal 2021 “and will transition the mission of providing immediate support to other organizations,” the statement noted. Over the past several years, the REF hung on to certain missions and continued to advocate for its relevancy. A year ago, Defense News sat down with the REF's director in a new, smaller office space at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, in a conference room surrounded by small counter-unmanned aircraft systems that it was rapidly fielded to units and considered one of its success stories. In 2017, the REF was focused on counter-drone technologies; dismounted electronic warfare equipment; tethered intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities; and urban operations equipment including up-armored commercial vehicles. But many of those technologies have found other homes within the Army. As the service stood up its new security force assistance brigades, the REF expected a surge in work to support the needs of those units in the field as they deployed. The REF played a small role at the time, providing the first SFAB with a few items it needed ahead of deployment such as communications gear and an item that assisted the unit with indirect fires. Last year, the REF was highlighting its nearly 10-year-old Expeditionary Lab, a 3D-printing trailer that can be deployed downrange to solve problems for units operating in austere environments. Col. Joe Bookard, who is still the REF's director, told Defense News at the time that the REF would continue to fill the niche of urgently supplying soldiers with capabilities to meet immediate needs while they are deployed. He said that, in a way, the REF has been doing what Army Futures Command is doing now, but on a smaller scale: providing capabilities that are rapidly procured to a small number of soldiers for evaluation, and then refining those capabilities as needed. In 2019, the REF addressed 400 requirements sent from combatant commanders to address operational capability gaps, Bookard said. Among some of the recent success stories is the tiny Black Hornet, an unmanned aircraft system that is now a program of record and was fielded as the Soldier Borne Sensor. The REF was also working to transition two hand-held counter-UAS capabilities — the DroneBuster and the Drone Defender — to the larger force as official programs. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/10/02/army-discontinues-rapid-equipping-force/

Seth J. Frantzman JERUSALEM — Israel Aerospace Industries has chosen five startups to work with its engineers and experts to create products with the company, including sensors and artificial intelligence. The five startups are QuantLR, Aigent-Tech, DST, Scopoli, and FVMat. Their work will focus on sensors for tracking people and objects, AI, monitoring systems, and landing gear, among other technologies. IAI produces and supports a variety of defense systems for land, air and naval applications, such as a recent test of the Arrow 2 air defense weapon and a new sea-to-sea missile. “IAI's unique accelerator track allows the startups to work with IAI's technology leaders, realize long-term business potential, leverage breakthrough technologies, and gain access to IAI's customers,” the company said in a statement Oct. 1. Among the companies selected, FVMat focuses on meta-materials, such as the production and design of materials with unique densities and stiffness. The firm will work with IAI on landing gear applications. Aigent-Tech previously developed on-demand ridesharing solutions, and works on navigation and routing technology to improve transit efficiency. QuantLR's website says it works on quantum encryption technologies. DST will work with IAI's Aviation Group on real-time monitoring, while Scopoli will work with the System Missiles and Space Group on solutions for tracking people and objects. IAI said it conducted more than $900 million in research and development activity last year, of which $191 million was used for its own innovation groups. A company spokesperson called research and development the company's “DNA.” Toward that end, it has invested millions of dollars in various collaborations with startups. In February IAI promoted collaboration in intelligence and remote sensing with MassChallenge. Its Elta subsidiary said it would offer participating startups “to hold their proof of concept on ELTA's operational intelligence and radar systems, and will facilitate their access to global customers and markets.” That program targeted startups developing high-frequency sensors, quantum computing, photonics, acoustics, ultrasonic, and other disruptive sensory or data-fusion technology. IAI's new Innovation Center and the selection of five startups are part of the firm's concentration on working with a large number of local startups. The center opened with the help of Starburst Aerospace, which specializes in pre-seed technological challenges, IAI said. The effort is expected to support work on machine learning, quantum computing, radars, sensors, robotics, big data, computer vision, smart cockpits, propulsion, drones, cyber technology and 3D printing. “IAI invests hundreds of millions of dollars every year in in-house R&D of innovative technologies. The Innovation Center is unique in its startup model, which exists inside a stable, well-established company, providing IAI's engineers with a path for testing their ideas and developing proof of concept within weeks,” said Amira Sharon, executive vice president of strategy and R&D. After a public call in August for participants in the center, 90 startups applied. Of those, five have been chosen. “It is a win-win: They get access to what we do operationally, and we become familiar with their technology, and the objective of the accelerator is to bring, in 13 weeks, viable and concrete products,” an IAI spokesperson said. After the 13 weeks, the intention is to continue development and enhance the capabilities. One concept under development is to detect people and objects in complex terrain. But the business development model will vary with each startup, according to IAI. IAI company did not specify how much money would be invested in the projects with which the startups are involved, but IAI's Innovation Center has received several million dollars. IAI at present is not investing in the startups themselves, but rather is teaming with them. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/10/02/israeli-defense-giant-picks-five-startups-to-develop-future-tech/

Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — The U.S Space Force plans to stand up a new command to oversee all of the service's acquisitions in 2021, although that timeline is dependent on identifying the space-related parts of the other military branches that will be transferred into the nation's newest service. The Space Force announced in June that it will be made up of three field commands — Space Operations Command; Space Training and Readiness Command; and Space Systems Command — with the latter charged with developing, acquiring and sustaining systems for the Space Force. Space Systems Command will oversee both the Space and Missile Systems Center, which currently procures most of the service's space-related platforms, and the Space Rapid Capabilities Office. “We anticipate standing that up in 2021, probably sooner rather than later. We're working on those final details,” Space Force Vice Commander Lt. Gen. David Thompson said during a Defense One event Oct. 1. Notably, Space Systems Command is set to become the new home of the Space Development Agency in October 2022, bringing the ambitious organization under the Space Force's purview. The agency was launched in 2019 and has quickly moved forward with plans to establish a mega-constellation of satellites operating in low Earth orbit. The agency's planned transport layer — a space-based mesh network comprised of satellites connected by optical intersatellite crosslinks — is set to play a major part in the Pentagon's Joint All-Domain Command and Control concept. The new command will act as a unifying force, said Thompson, removing unnecessary duplication between organizations while encouraging healthy competition in some areas. “We're not going to duplicate, but we're certainly interested in the energy that comes from competing ideas and competing designs and competing approaches to a problem,” he explained. Unifying space acquisitions and activities under a single service was a major justification for the establishment of the Space Force. However, details on which organizations, functions and platforms will be absorbed has been scant, as talks continue between the services and Department of Defense leadership. “The absolute final decision hasn't been made,” Thompson said. “We have been engaged in this process for several months now. We're getting close to the decisions that need to be made in terms of transfer of some of those functions and capabilities.” “There is a tremendous amount that the Space Force and the Air Force and the Army and the Navy working together with [the Office of the Secretary of Defense] have already agreed on,” Thompson added. “One is the capabilities and forces that will stay in place where they are to continue to do the activities that are space-related, the set of activities that are prepared to move over; and then there's a couple, there's a few, units and functions left that we haven't reached full agreement on, and we're in the process of finalizing the data and the information that will allow the decision-makers to decide the final disposition — whether they'll stay or whether they'll move to the Space Force.” The Space Force largely completed this process with the Air Force in the spring, said Thompson, with 23 units or functions selected for transition into the new service. Much of the planning and execution of that transfer has already been completed, and the Space Force has gone on to identify other organizations and capabilities that should be brought into their fold, including two Air Force units and two more from the intelligence community. Plans are expected to be finalized for the other services in the near future, with Thompson teasing that an announcement was likely before the end of the year. “The target that the leadership in the DoD has given us is we want to be able to make decisions so that we can execute planning in FY2021 and begin facilitating moves in 2022,” he explained. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/10/01/the-space-force-to-establish-new-acquisitions-command-in-2021/

NAVY Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Mission Systems Sector, Linthicum Heights, Maryland, was awarded a $100,798,804 fixed-price-incentive-fee and firm-fixed-price contract for follow-on production of Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program Block 3 electronic attack systems and hardware design modifications required for aircraft carrier and amphibious assault ship installation. This contract includes options, which if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $1,164,529,315. Work will be performed in Baltimore, Maryland (55%); Tampa, Florida (6%); Andover, Massachusetts (5%); Chelmsford, Massachusetts (4%); Rochester, New York (3%); San Diego, California (3%); Los Angeles, California (2%); Winona, Minnesota (2%); Stafford Springs, Connecticut (2%); Glendale, Arizona (1%); Nashua, New Hampshire (1%); Elk Grove Village, Illinois (1%); White Marsh, Maryland (1%); Tucson, Arizona (1%); Chandler, Arizona (1%); Washington, North Carolina (1%); Woodridge, Illinois (1%); Richardson, Texas (1%); Minneapolis, Minnesota (1%); El Cajon, California (1%); Hiawatha, Iowa (1%); Littleton, Colorado (1%); Glendale, California (1%); and miscellaneous locations - each less than 1% (4%), and is expected to be completed by May 2023. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2026. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) (67%); and fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) (33%) funding in the amount of $100,798,804 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website with one offer received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-20-C-5519). (Awarded Sept. 30, 2020) EFW Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $35,801,006 five-year requirements type, firm-fixed-priced contract for repair of line-replaceable units in support of the V-22 aircraft. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (50%); and Talladega, Alabama (50%). Work is expected to be completed by October 2025. Annual working capital funds (Navy) will be used and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. One company was solicited for this sole-sourced requirement under authority 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), with one offer received. The Naval Supply Systems Command, Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00383-20-D-Y001). BAE Systems Land & Armaments L.P., Minneapolis, Minnesota, was awarded a $17,290,912 firm-fixed-price contract for the production of two 57mm MK 110 Mod 0 gun mounts and associated hardware. Work will be performed in Karlskoga, Sweden (93%); and Louisville, Kentucky (7%), and is expected to be completed by May 2023. Fiscal 2018 weapons procurement (Navy); and fiscal 2020 weapons procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $17,290,912 will be obligated at time of award and $249,448 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. In accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), this contract was not competitively procured; only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-20-C-5300). (Awarded Sept. 30, 2020) Peraton Inc., Herndon, Virginia, is awarded a $13,891,979 cost-plus-fixed-fee, level of effort contract (N00030-21-C-0016) for program support services for the Navy's strategic weapons systems reentry subsystem. Work will be performed in Colorado Springs, Colorado (75%); Washington, D.C. (15%); Albuquerque, New Mexico (8%); Cape Canaveral, Florida (1%); and Omaha, Nebraska (1%). Work is expected to be completed by March 30, 2026. Contract will be awarded subject to the availability of funds. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Once funding becomes available, contract will be funded as follows: fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $7,214,639; and fiscal 2021 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $6,677,340, which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is being awarded to the contractor on a sole-source basis under 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) and was previously synopsized on the Beta.sam.gov (formally Federal Business Opportunities) website. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. BAE Systems Land & Armaments L.P., Minneapolis, Minnesota, was awarded an $8,934,292 cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price order under previously awarded blanket ordering agreement N00024-19-G-5306 for engineering services, open, inspect and repair services and spare and component parts in support of the MK 110 MOD 0 gun mount. This order includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $23,400,781. Work will be performed in Louisville, Kentucky (50%); and Karlskoga, Sweden (50%), and is expected to be completed by December 2022. Fiscal 2020 weapons procurement (Navy) (92%); and fiscal 2018 weapons procurement (Navy) (8%) funding in the amount of $6,128,002 will be obligated at time of award, of which $495,948 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This order 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, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-20-F-5301). (Awarded Sept. 30, 2020) ARMY AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, Maryland, was awarded a $60,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to manufacture AZD7442, a combination antibody product intended to prevent or treat clinical effects of SARS-CoV-2, for a minimum of 100,000 treatment courses. Work will be performed in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2021. Fiscal 2020 Army general funds in the amount of $30,000,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911QY-20-C-0119). (Awarded Sept. 30, 2020) CORRECTION: The contract announced on Sept. 28, 2020, for Tatum Excavating Co. Inc., Texarkana, Texas (W9126G-20-F-0768), for $10,000,000, was announced with an incorrect award date. The correct award date is Sept. 29, 2020. CORRECTION: The contract announced on Sept. 29, 2020, for University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota (W9128F-20-D-0059), for $12,800,000, was announced with an incorrect awardee. The correct awardee is South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota. MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, has been awarded a $35,582,832 sole-source, hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price) contract (HQ0851-21-C-0001) under Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Case JA-P-NCO to the government of Japan. Under this contract, Lockheed Martin will perform Aegis FMS Baseline J7.B development and SPY-7(V) 1 radar production, integration and test planning support. The work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey. The period of performance is from Oct. 2, 2020, through July 31, 2021. Funds from the government of Japan in the amount of $35,582,832 are being obligated at the time of award. The Missile Defense Agency, Dahlgren, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HQ0851-21-C-0001). AIR FORCE Wolverine Supply Inc., Wasilla, Alaska, has been awarded an $8,649,500 firm-fixed-price contract for repair of the Blackstart Generator. This contract provides for repair of the Blackstart Generator at the Eielson Air Force Base central heat and power plant. Work will be performed at Eielson AFB, Alaska, and is expected to be complete by Sept. 22, 2022. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and four offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. The 354th Contracting Squadron, Eielson AFB, Alaska, is the contracting activity (FA500420C0015). (Awarded Sept. 30, 2020) * Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2370617/source/GovDelivery/