Nouvelles

Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA— Turkish government officials and industry executives are hoping to find new sales in what they see as emerging export markets in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. “These are promising markets for Turkish manufacturers,” said one senior procurement official. A Turkish diplomat familiar with the three countries said that “smooth, friendly, problem-free political relations” with all three Asian countries promise export deals for Turkish companies. “As more Turkish-made systems become combat-proven [by local use], interest from those countries will increase,” he said. Hakan Kurt, chairman of Capital Exhibition, calls Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan as “hot markets” for Turkish defense and aerospace industries. Capital Exhibition organizes Defence Port Turkey South Asia. “Turkish manufacturers do not have the problem of ‘lack of sellable platforms' like they had a decade ago,” Kurt said. Kurt expects that Turkish defense and aerospace exports to the three Asian countries could reach $5 billion in the next 10 years. Turkey's overall defense exports stood at $2.74 billion in 2019, down from the official target of $3 billion. A defense specialist in Ankara advised caution about Asian markets. “These countries need hardware. They have good political ties with Turkey. But their economies are often cash-strapped. Turkey may also have licensing problems in any potential export deal as it depends on foreign technology for local production,” he said. In 2018, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) signed a $1.5 billion agreement to sell a batch of 30 T129 attack helicopters to Pakistan. But the deal has not moved forward as TAI has failed to secure U.S. export licenses for the contract. The T129 is a twin-engine multirole attack helicopter produced under license from the Italian-British company AgustaWestland. It's powered by two LHTEC T800-4A turboshaft engines. Each engine can produce 1,014 kilowatts of output power. The T800-4A is an export version of the CTS800 engine. LHTEC, the maker of the engine, is a joint venture between the American firm Honeywell and the British company Rolls-Royce. The defense specialist said that most likely Turkish hardware to go into Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan would include naval vessels and patrol boats (except Afghanistan), smart ammunition, drones and armored vehicles. https://www.defensenews.com/global/2020/09/23/turkey-eyes-new-markets-for-exports/

Former Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden commented in a Sept. 10 Stars and Stripes interview that he does “not see major reductions in the U.S. defense budget” if he is... https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/budget-policy-operations/opinion-whats-defense-budget-cut

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Sysco Hampton Roads Inc., Suffolk, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $804,744,193 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a five-year contract. Location of performance is Virginia, with a Sept. 20, 2025, ordering period end date. Using military services are Air Force and Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-20-D-3286). O&M Halyard, Mechanicsville, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $35,188,397 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for medical and surgical products. This was a competitive acquisition with 18 responses received. This is a one-year base contract with nine one-year option periods. Location of performance is Virginia, with a Sept. 21, 2021, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 Warstopper funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency, Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D0-20-D-0018). Raytheon Co., McKinney, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $32,248,579 firm-fixed-price contract for television cameras and sensor assembly units for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. 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 base contract with one one-year option period. The option is being exercised at the time of award. Location of performance is Texas, with a May 25, 2023, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-20-C-0188). AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Space, Sunnyvale, California, has been awarded an $85,273,664 fixed-price, incentive-firm, firm-fixed-price, cost‐plus‐incentive‐fee and cost-reimbursement modification (P00180) to previously awarded contract FA8810‐13‐C‐0002 to continue Space Based Infrared System contractor logistics support. Work will be performed at Peterson Air Force Base, Buckley AFB, Greeley Air National Guard Station, and Boulder, all located in Colorado, and is expected to be completed March 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds will be used with no funds being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $1,914,295,948. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson AFB, Colorado, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., Layton, Utah, has been awarded a $13,287,959 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00132) to contract FA8214-15-C-0001 for additional qualification requirements for the Signal Conditioner Module for the MOD 7 Flight Test Kit (SC Module). The objective of this proposed effort is to perform full qualification and acceptance testing to support new builds. Work will be performed in Layton, Utah, and is to be completed June 30, 2022. Fiscal 2020 missile procurement funds in the amount of $4,140,649 are being obligated at the time of award. Modification is funded with current year 3020 funds. AFNWC/PZBB is the contracting agency at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Hill AFB, Utah, is the contracting activity. Systems and Technology Research,* Woburn, Massachusetts, has been awarded an $8,297,019 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for software deliverables. This contract provides for the research and development of challenge problems to validate and evaluate the design technologies developed by the Technology Area (TA) 1 team and the symbiosis technologies developed by TA2 teams. The focus of the research is Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) related models and seed designs. This effort brings two unique and differentiated design approaches to the Symbiotic Design for Cyber Physical Systems community from two pioneering UUV developers. Work will be performed in Woburn, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed October 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and 23 offers were received. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,011,150 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-20-C-0535). ARMY FN America LLC, Columbia, South Carolina, was awarded a $78,709,973 firm-fixed-price contract for M249 Squad Automatic Weapons. 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. 19, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Newark, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (W15QKN-20-D-0036). James Construction Group LLC, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was awarded a $13,349,914 firm-fixed-price contract to design and construct a new two-lane bridge. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed at Fort Hood, Texas, with an estimated completion date of May 23, 2022. Fiscal 2020 military construction (Army) funds in the amount of $13,349,914 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-20-C-0038). World Wide Technology LLC, St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded an $8,980,145 firm-fixed-price contract for network upgrades. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 9, 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $8,980,145 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army 408th Contracting Support Brigade, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, is the contracting activity (W912D2-20-F-0046). Julius Kaaz Construction Co. Inc.,* Leavenworth, Kansas, was awarded an $8,852,723 firm-fixed-price contract to complete the renovation of Building 50 at Fort Leavenworth. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, with an estimated completion date of March 25, 2022. Fiscal 2020 civil construction funds in the amount of $8,852,723 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, Missouri, is the contracting activity (W912DQ-20-C-4015). NAVY Life Cycle Engineering Inc., Charleston, South Carolina (N64498-20-D-4036, $44,312,721); and McKean Defense Group LLC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (N64498-20-D-4037, $33,941,662), are awarded a combined total $78,254,383 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for engineering and technical services to support the shipboard Electronic Chart Display and Information System and the Situational Awareness Bridge Display System for the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (20%); Norfolk, Virginia (10%); San Diego, California (10%); Washington, D.C. (5%); Mayport, Florida (5%); Charlottesville, Virginia (4%); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (4%); Yokosuka, Japan (4%); the Kingdom of Bahrain (4%); Bremerton, Washington (2%); Rota, Spain (2%); and the remainder of the work (30%) will be performed at the contractor sites according to each awarded task order, and is expected to be completed by September 2025. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $500,000 ($250,000 obligated on each contract) will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. These contracts were competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with four offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., Jacksonville, Florida, is awarded a $75,129,607 modification (P00006) to previously awarded, cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00019-19-D-0003. This modification exercises options to provide aircraft inspections, modifications and repairs as well as inner wing panel (IWP) modifications and repairs for the F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G series aircraft. These efforts restore the aircraft and IWP to meet service life projections in accordance with new design specifications. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Florida (80%); St. Louis, Missouri (15%); and Lemoore, California (5%), and is expected to be completed in September 2021. No funds are being obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Etolin Strait Partners LLC,* Norfolk, Virginia, is awarded a $30,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract modification for the exercise of Option Year One under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for construction projects located primarily within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Washington, D.C., area of responsibility (AOR). The work to be performed provides for various maintenance, repair, alteration and minor new construction projects for facilities located primarily within the NAVFAC Washington, D.C., AOR in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. The total contract amount after this modification will be $60,000,000. No task orders are being issued at this time. Work will be performed primarily in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., and is expected to be completed by September 2021. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. Task orders will be primarily funded by fiscal 2021 military construction (Navy); operations and maintenance (O&M) (Navy); O&M (Defense Logistics Agency); and Navy working capital funds. NAVFAC Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N40080-19-D-0007). Centerra Integrated Services LLC, Herndon, Virginia, is awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a maximum amount of $30,000,000 for minor construction, alteration and repair of real property and utilities at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. An initial task order is awarded at $64,194 to provide new high density polyethylene pile fenders at the Windward and Leeward Ferry Landing. The work to be performed provides for, but is not limited to, general construction projects including new construction, repair, alteration, renovation, demolition and other construction-related operations or projects. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by January 2021. All work for this contract will be performed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of September 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) (O&M, N) contract funds in the amount of $64,194 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by O&M, N and O&M (Army). This contract was competitively procured via the beta.SAM.gov Contract Opportunities website with three proposals received. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity (N69450-20-D-0072). Bette & Cring LLC, Latham, New York, is awarded a $23,064,843 firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of a co-generation plant at the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. This work to be performed is a construction project for the co-generation plant with a combined heat and power system to generate electricity and steam at the Naval Research Laboratory. Site preparation includes above-ground site demolition and relocations, underground site demolition and utility relocations, excavation, grading preparation for construction and paving. Mechanical systems will include water, steam, sewer, heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., and is expected to be completed by April 2023. Fiscal 2016 and 2017 military construction contract funds in the amount of $23,064,843 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with four proposals received. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N40080-20-C-0023). The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $21,909,659 modification (P00040) to previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract N00019-16-C-0032. This modification exercises an option for test and evaluation support for Next Generation Jammer integration on the EA-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri, and is expected to be completed in September 2021. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,360,505 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Pacific Maritime Industries (PMI) Corp.,* San Diego, California (N00189-20-D-0030); TST Fabrications LLC,* Norfolk, Virginia (N00189-20-D-0031); and Tri-Way Industries (TWI) Inc.,* Auburn, Washington, (N00189-20-D-0032), are awarded an estimated $15,984,115 multiple award for a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract that will include terms and conditions for the placement of firm-fixed-price task orders to provide a means to purchase shipboard lockers and related materials in support of the Shipboard Habitability Improvement Program at competitive prices in accordance with the delivery schedules listed on the Statement of Work. The contracts will run concurrently and will include a 60-month base ordering period with an additional six-month ordering period option pursuant of Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.217-8, which if exercised, will bring the total estimated value of this contract to $19,540,057. The base ordering period is expected to be completed by September 2025; if the option is exercised, the ordering period will be completed by March 2026. Specific requirements for habitability support cannot be predicted at this time; therefore, the various locations of where the supplies will be delivered cannot be determined at this time. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,500 ($2,500 on each of the three contracts) will be obligated to fund the contracts' minimum amounts and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Individual task orders will be subsequently funded with appropriate fiscal year appropriations at the time of their issuance. This contract was competitively procured with the solicitation posted on beta.SAM.gov as a small business set-aside for the award of multiple contracts pursuant to the authority set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation 16.504, with four offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department, Norfolk Office, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, California, is awarded a $9,018,804 firm-fixed-price modification (P00023) to previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-successive-target contract N00019-17-C-0018. This modification establishes final configuration and final price determination for the unique material required for the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft. This modification provides for the procurement of three Integrated Functional Capability (IFC) 4.0 material kits and one IFC 4.0 retrofit kit. Additionally, this modification adds scope to support non-recurring engineering efforts associated with wing and v-tail modifications and the procurement of components and associated efforts in support of Lot Three low rate initial production. Work will be performed in Rancho Bernardo, California (28.9%); Palmdale, California (12.6%); Waco, Texas (9.6%); Red Oak, Texas (5.6%); Sparks, Nevada (5%); Verona, Wisconsin (4.4%); Bridgeport, West Virginia (2.4%); Westchester, Ohio (2.4%); San Clemente, California (2.1%); Salt Lake City, Utah (1.2%); Menlo Park, California (1.1%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (24.7%), and is expected to be completed in March 2022. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,018,804 will be obligated at the 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. Oceaneering International Inc., Chesapeake, Virginia, is awarded a $7,733,142 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-6413 to exercise options for configuration changes, engineering services, material maintenance and repair. Work will be performed in Chesapeake, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by September 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Defense-wide; 80%), and fiscal 2020 procurement (Defense-wide; 20%) in the amount of $497,000 will be obligated at the time of award, of which, funds in the amount of $397,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2357052/source/GovDelivery/

Seapower Staff WASHINGTON, D.C. – Lockheed Martin, tapped as one of six companies to provide a study for a proven, integrated and capable payload ship, able to patrol for extended durations, as part of the U.S. Navy's Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV) competition, is partnering with Portland, Oregon-based Vigor Works LLC as the team's shipbuilder. As prime contractor, Lockheed Martin will manage the program, deliver platform integration, systems engineering, combat management, automation and cyber solutions, Lockheed Martin said in a Sept. 17 release. “The Lockheed Martin team brings together nearly 200 years of combined experience in shipbuilding, integration, automation and autonomy,” said Joe DePietro, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager of Small Combatants and Ship Systems. “Our team is energized by and focused on delivering the Navy what they've asked for – a design for an affordable, low-risk ship capable of bringing the Navy's Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO) vision to life.” The Lockheed Martin team's design uses a proven commercial ship that will be augmented with automation, autonomy and cybersecurity elements to house a payload. The design leverages Lockheed Martin's autonomy and automation experience, including its platform-agnostic Sikorsky MATRIX technology that's been used to fly a helicopter from a wireless tablet, and its AXIS control technology, used on more than half of U.S. Navy surface ships to manage engineering and machinery controls. Under the $7 million contract, Lockheed Martin will deliver the study within 12 months in advance of the next phase of the competition – the Navy's LUSV Detailed Design & Construction competition. “We are honored to be part of the Lockheed Martin team and to leverage our extensive fabrication expertise, including previously building 16 USVs of various designs and sizes,” said Richard McCreary, Vigor vice president, business development. “We are ready to deliver a concept design that will help the Navy deploy a safe, efficient and affordable LUSV fleet for the future.” The Navy's vision for USVs will enable the fleet to fight as a distributed, networked and more lethal force. USVs will provide extended presence across the globe with reduced risk to sailors and increased obstacles and complications for adversaries. https://seapowermagazine.org/lockheed-martin-teams-with-vigor-for-navys-lusv-study/

DAVE RESS BAE Systems' Norfolk shipyard is suing the Navy's Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center, claiming the yard is owed nearly $1.1 million for work it did on USS Bataan. The lawsuit contends that the Navy is refusing to pay for extra work that BAE and its subcontractors had to perform because the Navy didn't provide necessary supplies or complete needed work while Bataan was in the BAE shipyard. BAE won a $51.6 million, fixed-price contract to repair and modernize Bataan in September 2017. It was originally supposed to complete the work in July 2018, but that was extended to November 2018. When the ship was not delivered by then, the Navy declared BAE in default of the contract. BAE continued to work on the ship until March 2019. The lawsuit alleges that the Navy's challenges securing funds for additional work delayed completion. In addition, the lawsuit says the Navy's continued dumping of liquids into the bilge spaces prevented BAE from completing cleaning and pumping work. It also alleges that the Navy also expanded the work required, as when it directed the yard to add multiple pendant and wire installations on the Flight Deck Safety Nets. BAE said most of its claims for payment for the additional work were denied by the Navy's Contracting Officer in a formal final decision, prompting the shipyard to sue for the funds it claims it is owed. The Navy maintenance center has not yet filed a formal response to the BAE complaint. A spokesman was not immediately available for comment. https://www.pilotonline.com/business/shipyards/dp-nw-bae-bataan-20200922-3gangsit5zgtljyo2mgdvorcx4-story.html

David B. Larter WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps both say they need expanded surveillance capabilities for a potential fight with China, but the Marines have cut bait on a big, ship-based system that some analysts say would make a big difference for both services. The Chief of Naval Operations' air warfare lead said earlier this month that every carrier strike group commander needs more surveillance, and he wants to find a way to get more pure intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drones flying off the flight decks of Navy ships as soon as possible. That aligns with the Marine Corps' goals of having more ISR and network connectivity resident in the amphibious ready group/Marine expeditionary unit construct, as it is in the carrier strike group with the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. But with the Marine Corps moving away from a large unmanned platform known as the “Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Expeditionary,” it's unclear if the Navy and Marine Corps will be able to find common ground on the way forward. When asked if the Navy was moving toward more organic ISR on Navy flight decks, Air Warfare Director Rear Adm. Gregory Harris told the virtual audience at the annual Tailhook symposium that he was trying to find alignment with the Marine Corps' need for a medium-altitude, long endurance drone system. “Every strike group wants to know more and more and more about his battlespace,” Harris said. "As we look at future vertical lift and the Marine Corps looks at their MUX or Medium Altitude Long Endurance system, [we're talking] about how we can find synergy between the Marine Corps and the Navy's pieces of the MUX/MALE program and our future vertical life (unmanned portion) — we want to bring that as far left as we possibly can in terms of synergy between the Navy and Marine Corps. “But I promise you there is not a strike group commander or fleet commander that can get enough ISR out there. And that aspect, from a distributed maritime operations standpoint, what we can bring from the strike group whether it comes off a carrier, a DDG or the future frigate or comes off Triton, that is fantastic.” The Marines were examining a tilt-rotor drone that could take off from from a DDG or a big-deck amphibious ship, but Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps for Aviation Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder told USNI News in March that the Marines couldn't get the kind of range and endurance they wanted from a tilt-rotor done while packing all the power and cooling it needed for high-end communications and early warning systems. “What we discovered with the MUX program is that it's going to require a family of systems. The initial requirement had a long list of very critical requirements, but when we did the analysis and tried to fit it inside one air vehicle,” they realized they had competing needs, Rudder told USNI. Analysts are divided on whether that's the right idea. Bryan McGrath, a retired destroyer skipper and consultant with The FerryBridge Group, said the Marines gave up too early on the concept, and that it works against the Marine's stated goal of becoming an arm of naval power. “The Marine Corps wishes to go forward fast, and that is a land-based, medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV solution,” McGrath said. “I think it's suboptimal. I think it is a blow to this whole concept of integrated American naval power.” Packing all that capability into a land-based system tethers the capability to basing rights agreements. But another consideration is that capability will be at the mercy of the theater commander, which means the Marines may get less use out of them than they anticipate. “I believe the Marines will find that those assets will be a lot more difficult to keep control of than they think they will be with respect to tasking once they are in theater.” McGrath said. "There will be customers for those ISR assets that will greatly exceed the tactical level of the requirement. “I think the Marines are making a mistake not working closely with the Navy to come up with an organic, ship-based MALE solution. All this does is push the horizon for such a necessary component of the ISR-T grid for the Western Pacific even further into the future. And all for a suboptimal, short-term approach to trying to solve its problems, and I think they are going to find that it will not solve their problems.” But the Marines are nothing if not aggressive, and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger has clearly prioritized speed in his quest to reshape the service. Dakota Wood, a retired Marine officer and analyst with The Heritage Foundation thinks that's the right approach. “I think they have to go separate paths,” Wood said when asked about the Marines' embrace of land-based air. "I think the more you combine multi-service efforts into a single program, it gets bogged down by all the competing requirements. “The expense goes up, the ability to deliver capability ends up being less than was originally hoped for. And then these competing, or even conflicting requirements clash and it mucks up the whole thing.” Breaking the MUX program into multiple systems has the advantage of spreading out capabilities, and relying on platforms already in production will speed everything along, Wood said. “I'm a huge advocate of prototyping and trying multiple paths, and that costs a bit of money to do that, but you end up with a variety of platforms, all with unique contributions to the overall capability set,” he said. “The Navy has a habit of loading on additional requirements. They look for very robust, long-lifespan capabilities. And of course, the expense and complexity go up. Manufacturing time goes up. There is a delay in getting a capability in the fleet. I like the Marine Corps' aggressive posture: There is a sense of urgency.” https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/09/21/did-the-us-marine-corps-give-up-on-a-big-ship-based-surveillance-drone-too-soon/

Steve Trimble Northrop Grumman has revealed the first photograph of a pod for the Next Generation Jammer-Low Band (NGJ-LB) system possibly weeks ahead of a competitive contract award. The U.S. Navy image released by Northrop shows the full-scale candidate for the NGJ-LB contract during testing inside the Air Combat Environment Test and Evaluation Facility's anechoic chamber. The image reveals a pod with a dimpled outer mold line similar to the ALQ-99 low-band pods, which the winning NGJ-LB design is expected to augment and then replace. Northrop and rival L3Harris recently completed anechoic chamber testing of both competing NGJ-LB pods while wrapping up the 20-month Demonstration of Existing Technologies phase, which precedes a contract award for the engineering and manufacturing development phase scheduled in November. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has budgeted $3 billion to develop and build the NGJ-LB pods over the life of the program. Each pod will be integrated on the Boeing EA-18G aircraft. The low-band pods will complement the Raytheon NGJ-Mid-band pods now in early production. NAVAIR also has expressed long-term interest in a new high-band pod. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/sensors-electronic-warfare/northrop-grumman-reveals-low-band-jammer-candidate

David Pugliese National Defence has installed the first pieces of equipment as monuments at the new headquarters on Carling Avenue in Ottawa. A Leopard C2 tank and the bow of the former destroyer HMCS Iroquois (see below) were installed in late March as part of the monuments project costing more than $1 million. The Royal Canadian Air Force will provide a CF-18 fighter jet for display at the headquarters. “The installation date of the CF-18 is still being determined,” Canadian Forces spokesman Maj. Scott Spurr noted in an email. Each service was allowed to select its monument as representative of its branch. The original cost of the monuments project was $400,000 but that increased as more equipment displays were added. In addition, a second monument grouping consisting of a Light Armoured Vehicle-3, a Sea King helicopter and a historical naval piece, which has yet to be determined, will be installed. Construction is expected to start on the initiative by the spring of 2021. A third monument, a First World War Nieuport aircraft, will be displayed from the ceiling over the lobby of one of the main buildings at the defence headquarters. An artillery gun, selected by the Canadian Army, will also be on display along with a Standard Missile 2 from the Royal Canadian Navy. The gun will symbolize involvement in the first Boer war 120 years ago while the missile will demonstrate technology advancements since then, according to the DND and Canadian Forces. The installation of the monuments is part of the Department of National Defence's “branding strategy” for the Carling Avenue headquarters. “The National Defence Headquarters will be a physical expression of the Defence Team; a representation of Canada's military history and the future strength of Canada's Defence Team establishment,” noted a branding document obtained by this newspaper through the Access to Information law. In 2015, the plan was to have the monuments only consist of a Leopard tank, a CF-5 fighter jet and a then unknown navy monument. The criteria was that “the monuments characterize offensive and defensive weapons capability,” according to the documents. The original budget was $400,000 but that amount has been increased as additional equipment was selected for display. The CF-5 jet was dumped in exchange for a more modern CF-18, which will be installed on a concrete pedestal. Previously the location was referred to as the “Carling Campus” but now that has been officially changed to NDHQ Carling. The branding strategy noted that the selected name is “a brand that is generic in nature but inclusive of our heritage and traditions, representing and respecting the great diversity of our work forces and its branches of service.” The federal government spent $800 million on acquiring and outfitting the former Nortel complex for the DND's needs. It has argued that it will see substantial savings from consolidating many of the department's employees into one site. The defence campus consists of about 28 hectares once owned by Nortel and 120 hectares leased from the National Capital Commission. The DND will also continue to operate its downtown Ottawa headquarters at 101 Colonel By as well as some other office locations in Ottawa and Gatineau https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/canada/naval-and-army-monuments-installed-at-dnd-hq-but-date-for-cf-18-installation-unknown-500245/

Xavier Vavasseur PMB Defence (PMB) has been assigned the contract to supply submarine batteries to the Canadian Government for its Victoria-class submarines. PMB Defence press release The Royal Canadian Navy operates four Victoria Class conventional submarines which have been active in the service since 2003. PMB will manufacture the lead-acid based battery systems at our new state-of-the art production, research and development and engineering facilities situated adjacent to the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide, South Australia. “The contract with Canada builds on the capability grown from the Collins-class Submarine program in Australia and various new technology programs we have with other international customers. This work further endorses our strategic objective to be the world's most credible designer and supplier of submarine battery systems”. PMB Defence' Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Stephen Faulkner Mr Faulkner added that “The Canada contract further demonstrates the trust in PMB's world-class capabilities by an allied country.” This additional contract adds to the recent announcement regarding PMB's purchase of the EnerSys' submarine battery business. PMB looks forward to a collaborative relationship with the Canadian customer, ensuring the Royal Canadian Navy gets the best battery and in turn the best submarine performance. https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/09/australias-pmb-defence-to-supply-batteries-for-canadian-victoria-class-submarines/