Nouvelles

AIR FORCE Northrop Grumman Amherst Systems, Buffalo, New York, has been awarded a $450,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for U.S. agencies (Air Force, Navy, etc.); and Foreign Military Sales countries for Joint Threat Emitter production end-items, spares, support equipment, testing, training, etc. Work will be performed in Buffalo, New York, and various contiguous U.S. and outside the continental U.S. locations, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 5, 2025. This contract involves foreign military sales to U.S. partner countries. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and one offer was received. Fiscal 2018 other procurement funds in the amount of $9,150,318 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8210-19-D-0001). The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, has been awarded a $158,950,309 firm-fixed-price modification (P00003) to contract FA8609-18-F-0006 for one KC-46A Japan aircraft. This modification provides for the exercise of an option for an additional quantity of one aircraft being produced under the basic contract. Work will be performed in Seattle and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2021. This modification involves foreign military sales to Japan. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $449,375,855. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has been awarded a sustainment order (FA8134-19-F-0001) with an estimated amount of $75,000,000 to previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract FA8106-16-D-0002 for E-4B sustainment support. The order will provide contractor logistic support services. Work will be performed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, and San Antonio, Texas, with an expected completion date of Nov. 30, 2019. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $57,188,079 are obligated at time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Nov. 30, 2018) Dayton Power and Light Co., Dayton, Ohio, has been awarded a $28,179,453 modification (P00001) to contract FA8601-18-C-0010 to exercise Option One for electricity services. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2019. No funds are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio is the contracting activity. Raytheon Co., Marlborough, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $10,722,437, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Force Element Terminal Risk Reduction effort. The contract will deliver risk reduction studies, analyses, and demonstrations related to Raytheon's Advanced Extremely High Frequency Airborne Military Satellite Communication product line. Work will be performed in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 30, 2019. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,959,991 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hansom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8705-19-C-0005). The Boeing Co., El Segundo, California, has been awarded a $10,361,265 modification (P00034) to contract FA8823-15-C-0002 for services required to ensure continued Wideband Global Satellite Communication operations and logistics sustainment support. The contract modification is for the exercise of Option Period Four. Work will be performed at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado; El Segundo, California; and Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is expected to be completed Dec. 31, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $10,361,265 will be obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity. Cloud Lake Technology, Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded an $8,875,620 modification (P00012) to contract FA8075-17-C-0002 for Information Analysis Center Program Management Office (IAC PMO) support. IAC PMO support services provides program management analysis, acquisition management, operations analysis, financial analysis, process improvement, strategic communications and performance measurement support. This modification provides for the exercise of an option for additional services under the basic contract, and brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $21,870,362. Work will be performed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2020. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $2,904,150 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Installation Contracting Agency, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, is the contracting activity. CORRECTION: The Nov. 14, 2018, announcement that Kaman Precision Products Inc., Orlando, Florida; and Middletown, Connecticut, was awarded a $52,026,000 firm-fixed-price modification (P00009) to contract FA8681-18-C-0009 for Joint Programmable Fuzes was incorrect. The contract was actually awarded Dec. 3, 2018. ARMY General Dynamics - Ordnance and Tactical Systems, Garland, Texas, was awarded a $264,767,596 firm-fixed-price contract for MK80 and BLU-109 Tritonal bomb components. Bids were solicited with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-19-D-0015). RIPTIDE Software Inc.,* Oviedo, Florida, was awarded a $103,221,000 hybrid (cost, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price) contract for the OneSAF system. Bids were solicited with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 5, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (W900KK-19-D-0003). L3 Communications Security and Detection Systems, Woburn, Massachusetts, was awarded an $83,942,786 firm-fixed-price contract for manufacturing, delivering and supporting the AN/PSS-14. 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 Nov. 20, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W909MY-19-D-0001). General Dynamics Land Systems Inc., Sterling Heights, Michigan, was awarded a $58,088,134 firm-fixed-price contract for procurement of expedited active protection systems mounting kits and ballast kits to support the Abrams M1A2 battle tank. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2020. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $12,739,706 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-19-C-0038). Weeks Marine Inc., Covington, Louisiana, was awarded a $12,787,500 firm-fixed-price contract for dredging. Bids were solicited with one received. Work will be performed in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of May 26, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $12,787,500 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, Louisiana, is the contracting activity (W912P8-19-C-0010). Tetra Tech-Maytag Aircraft Corp. J, Pasadena, California, was awarded a $9,043,009 modification (P00002) to contract W912DY-18-F-0056 for maintenance and repair of equipment. Work will be performed in Twenty Nine Palms, California; Bremerton, Washington; Barstow, California; Ridgecrest, California; El Centro, California; Fallon, Nevada; Lemoore, California; Port Orchard, Washington; Coronado, California; San Diego, California; Arlington, Washington; Everett, Washington; Bridgeport, California; Oceanside, California; Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California; Oak Harbor, Washington; San Clemente Island, California; San Nicholas Island, California; and Yuma, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 30, 2019. Fiscal 2019 Defense Working Capital funds in the amount of $9,043,009 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Broadway Electric Inc.,* Elk Grove Village, Illinois, was awarded a $7,173,000 firm-fixed-price contract for removing generators, paralleling switchgear, and replacing feeders. Bids were solicited with three received. Work will be performed in Battle Creek, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 18, 2019. Fiscal 2015, 2018 and 2019 Economy Act Reimbursable funds in the amount of $7,173,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W911XK-19-C-0002). Eastman Aggregate Enterprises LLC,* Lake Worth, Florida, was awarded a $7,864,771 firm-fixed-price contract for flood control and coastal emergency beach erosion control. Bids were solicited with two received. Work will be performed in Broward County, Florida, with an estimated completion date of April 29, 2019. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $7,864,771 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity (W912EP-19-C-0006). NAVY BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP, Sterling Heights, Michigan, is awarded a $140,354,780 modification to exercise options for the fixed-price-incentive (firm target) Contract Line Item Numbers (CLIN) 3001, 3002, and 3003 portions of a previously awarded contract (M67854-16-C-0006). This modification is for the purchase of 30 Amphibious Combat Vehicles and associated production, fielding and support costs. Work will be performed in York, Pennsylvania (85 percent); and Aiken, South Carolina (15 percent), and is expected to be completed in August 2020. Fiscal 2019 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $140,354,780 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website. The option CLINs were included within that contract and are being exercised in accordance with FAR 52.217-7 option for increased quantity-separately priced line item. The U.S. Marine Corps' Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M67854-16-C-0006). Emprise Corp. LLC, Ledyard, Connecticut, was awarded a $96,470,026 firm-fixed-price level of effort with a five-year ordering period for Shipboard Automated Maintenance Management Systems (SAMM). Engineering services in this contract will assist Military Sealift Command (MSC) afloat and ashore operations. The engineering maintenance management systems consist of both afloat and ashore systems with various modules and functions that work together to optimize MSC maintenance programs. SAMM is required for shipboard personnel to document maintenance performed on MSC vessels and record daily machinery operational data. The system also provides a consistent maintenance plan for the MSC fleet. This engineering system is a recurring requirement, which will allow MSC to continuously achieve interoperability and maintain and sustain fleet operations. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and work is expected to be completed Dec. 9, 2023. This contract will be funded with Fiscal 2018 working capital funds (Navy and U.S. Transportation Command) funds in the amount of $10,000,000 will be obligated at the time of award. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website, having one offer received. The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220519D1001). (Awarded Dec. 5, 2018) BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair (BAE), San Diego, California, was awarded a $78,847,897 firm-fixed-price contract for the execution of the USS Shoup (DDG 86) fiscal 2019 Depot Modernization Period Availability (DMP). This availability will include a combination of maintenance, modernization and repair of USS Shoup. This is a Chief of Naval Operations-scheduled DMP. The purpose is to maintain, modernize and repair USS Shoup. This is a “long-term” availability and was competed on a coastwide (west coast) basis without limiting the place of performance to the vessel's homeport. BAE will provide the facilities and human resources capable of completing, coordinating and integrating multiple areas of ship maintenance, repair and modernization for USS Shoup. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $87,672,675. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by February 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $59,836,401; and fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $19,011,496 will be obligated at time of award, and $59,836,400 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured using full and open competition via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received in response to solicitation N00024-18-R-4407. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-4407). (Awarded Dec. 3, 2018) L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC., Madison, Mississippi, was awarded a $21,845,138 modification (P00035) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursable, labor hour, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-13-D-0007). This modification increases the ceiling and extends the period of performance to provide contractor logistics services and materials for organizational and depot-level services required to support and maintain the TH-57 fleet. Work will be performed in Milton, Florida, and is expected to be completed in January 2019. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity. Teledyne Wireless LLC, a Teledyne Microwave Solutions Company, Rancho Cordova, California, is awarded an $8,243,062 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract in support of evaluation, minor repair and manufacture of 10kW traveling wave tubes; manufacture of 13kW traveling wave tubes; government-furnished equipment maintenance for traveling wave tubes; and incidental engineering services. Work will be performed in Rancho Cordova, California, and is expected to be completed by November 2023. This work is to support subcomponents of the Aegis Combat System. The traveling wave tube design was developed by Teledyne Wireless LLC, who has proprietary design rights for the 10kW and 13kW traveling wave tubes. Fiscal 2018 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $196,276 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 Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1 (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana, is the contracting activity (N00164-19-D-WP83). Black Construction/Mace International JV, Harmon, Guam, is awarded firm-fixed-price task order N4008419F4086 for $27,350,842 under a multiple award construction contract for the design build repair of Unaccompanied Personnel Housing (UPH) -13 and UPH-17 at U.S. Navy Support Facility, Diego Garcia. The work to be performed provides for repairs to the building components and utility systems which are old and increasingly deteriorated. The work will also address life safety and energy deficiencies which have begun to generate intensive maintenance and reliability concerns. Work will be performed in Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, and is expected to be completed by August 2023. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $27,350,842 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Two proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Far East, Yokosuka, Japan, is the contracting activity (N40084-18-D-0066). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Creation Gardens Inc.,* Louisville, Kentucky, has been awarded a maximum $49,500,000 firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for fresh fruits and vegetables. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a 36-month contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Kentucky and Indiana, with a Dec. 4, 2021, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Department of Agriculture schools. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-19-D-P344). Heart and Core LLC, Minnetonka, Minnesota, has been awarded a maximum $7,920,000 modification (P00011) exercising the second one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-17-D-1018) with four one-year option periods for moisture wicking T-shirts. This is an indefinite-delivery contract. Locations of performance are California and Minnesota, with a Dec. 15, 2019, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1707044/

NAVY Astro Mechanical Contractors Inc.,* El Cajon, California (N62473-19-D-2416); Heffler Contracting Group,* El Cajon, California (N62473-19-D-2417); Public Works Contractor Inc., doing business as PWC Inc.,* Spring Valley, California (N62473-19-D-2418); Souza Construction Inc.,* Farmersville, California (N62473-19-D-2419); Ja'nus Ventilation and Mechanical Inc.,* Lakeside, California (N62473-19-D-2420); and Able Heating and Air Conditioning Inc.,* Chula Vista, California (N62473-19-D-2421), are each awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award construction contract for new construction, renovation, and repair by design-bid, of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system projects at various government installations located in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. The maximum dollar value including a two-year base period and one three-year option period for all six contracts combined is $200,000,000. The work to be performed provides for new construction, renovation, and repair within the North American Industry Classification System code 238220, by design-build, of HVAC system projects. Types of projects may include, but are not limited to: boiler/chiller plants; digital direct controls or energy management control system; HVAC equipment energy optimization; commissioning and retro commissioning; distribution systems including, supply and return air systems, ventilation and exhaust systems, steam, glycol, medical gas, refrigerant, heating hot water and chilled water distribution, associated terminal devices, heat recovery equipment, heat exchangers, sound attenuation, insulation, and associated appurtenances; energy supply including oil, gas, steam, heating hot and chilled water distribution systems and equipment including special cooling and humidity control, dust and fume collectors, air purifiers, paint booth ventilation systems; and system testing and balancing. Astro Mechanical Contractors Inc., is being awarded the initial project task order at $1,618,230 to repair HVAC system in H60 Simulator Facility, Naval Base Coronado (NBC) Building 352 at NBC, San Diego. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by Dec. 19, 2019. All work on these contracts will be performed at various government installations within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest area of responsibility including, but not limited to, California (90 percent); Arizona (6 percent); Nevada (1 percent); Utah (1 percent); Colorado (1 percent), and New Mexico (1 percent). The terms of the contracts are not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of November 2023. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $1,618,230 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy and Marine Corps); and Navy working capital funds. This contract was competitively procured as a small business set-aside procurement via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with 19 proposals received. These six contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts. The NAVFAC Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut, is awarded a $46,167,531 cost-plus-fixed- fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-18-C-4321) for non-nuclear repair services required to support submarine maintenance. The services under this contract are for non-nuclear repair services required to support submarine overhauls, maintenance, repair and modernization upgrades; ship alterations, temporary modifications and field changes; supplies and/or ancillary services and corrective and preventative maintenance. Work will be performed in New London, Connecticut, and is expected to be completed by December 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $10,100,000 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Groton, Connecticut, is the contracting activity. Rockwell Collins Government Systems, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is awarded $10,815,536 for modification P00002 to a firm-fixed-price delivery order (N0042118F0891) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00421-17-G-0003). This delivery order provides fiscal 2019 funding for the Modern Transmission Security and Tactical Secure Voice Suite B, Cryptographic Equipment Application integration for the ARC-210 RT-1939A(C), RT-1990A(C) and RT-2036(C) radios in support of multiple aircraft platforms. Work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is expected to be completed in January 2022. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,815,536 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Mississippi, is awarded a $10,782,772 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification to previously awarded contract N00024-12-C-4323 for long lead time material procurement and management services for CG-65 and CG-69. Huntington Ingalls provides necessary engineering, technical, planning, ship configuration, data, and logistics efforts for lifetime support of both maintenance and modernization. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and is expected to be complete by August 2019. Fiscal 2018 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $10,782,772 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair, Gulf Coast, Pascagoula, Mississippi, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Liverpool, New York, is awarded a $7,078,327 firm-fixed-price modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-14-C-6227 to exercise options for the production of low-cost conformal arrays. Work will be performed in Liverpool, New York (90 percent); Marion, Massachusetts (8 percent); and Owego, New York (2 percent), and is expected to be completed by March 2020. Fiscal 2018 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $6,778,327; and fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $300,000 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, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. ARMY AAI Corp., doing business as Textron, Hunt Valley, Maryland, was awarded a $152,707,618 modification (P00080) to contract W911QY-17-C-0013 for logistics services. Work will be performed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with an estimated completion date of May 29, 2020. Fiscal 2019 other procurement, Army; and operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $27,935,533 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, has been awarded a $26,718,824 option (002620) to a previously awarded contract (FA8620-15-G-4040) for MQ-9 contractor logistics support phase three. The contractor will provide an additional period of contractor logistics support for the French Air Force. Work will be performed in Poway, California, and is expected to be completed Dec. 31, 2019. This contract involves 100 percent foreign military sales to France. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contract activity. General Electric (GE) Aviation, Cincinnati, Ohio, has been awarded an $11,116,525 firm-fixed-price contract for engineering and technical services in support of the following engines: F-16 F110-GE-100, A-10 TF-34, KC-135 F-108, B-1 F118, E-6B F108, T700-401C, J85-21B, F110, F16 C/D, F/A-18 and F110-GE-129. This contract provides for on-site proficiency training and advice to elevate the technical skill and abilities of personnel responsible for the operation and maintenance of the GE Aviation equipment/systems to the level of self-sufficiency. Work will be performed at Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado; Baltimore, Maryland; Springfield, Illinois; Tinker AFB, Oklahoma; Naval Air Station North Island, California; Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California; Isa Air Base, Bahrain; Cairo West AB, Egypt; Engine Depot, Israel; Ahmed al Jaber AB; Kuwait and Daegu AB, South Korea, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2020. This contract is the result of a sole-source acquisition. This contract involves 41.6 percent foreign military sales (FMS) to Israel; Egypt; Bahrain; South Korea, and Kuwait. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $5,000,000; and fiscal 2019 FMS funds in the amount of $1,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8604-19-D-8004). L-3 Technologies Inc., Williamsport, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a $7,795,473 firm-fixed price requirements contract for E-3 sustainment. This contract provides for repair and overhaul of E-3 electron tubes. Work will be performed in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and is expected to be completed by June 5, 2024. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. No funds are being obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated upon issuance of delivery orders. Air Force Sustainment Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (FA8117-19-D-0008). DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE EDUCATION ACTIVITY Yellowfin Transportation, Shawnee, Kansas (HE1254-19-D-2001), is awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award contract for daily commute and special needs student transportation services in the amount of $8,570,866. The location of performance is Fort Benning, Georgia. The award is for a four-year and seven-month base period ending July 31, 2023; and a five-year option period ending July 31, 2028. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds will be used to fund the initial task order. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal HE1254-18-R-2016, with two offers received. The contracting activity is the Department of Defense Education Activity, Alexandria, Virginia. (Awarded Dec. 3, 2018) CG Logistics, Ridgeland, Mississippi (HE1254-19-D-2002); is awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award contract for daily commute and special needs student transportation services in the amounts of $8,848,772. The location of performance is Fort Benning, Georgia. The award is for a four-year and seven month base period ending July 31, 2023; and a five-year option period ending July 31, 2028. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds will be used to fund the initial task order. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal HE1254-18-R-2016, with two offers received. The contracting activity is the Department of Defense Education Activity, Alexandria, Virginia. (Awarded Dec. 3, 2018) WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES NetCentrics Corp., Herndon, Virginia, was awarded an $8,156,810 time and material, labor-hours, and firm-fixed-price contract modification. The contract was to obtain Joint Service Provider information technology service delivery support services for Washington Headquarters Services (WHS); the Office of the Secretary of Defense; Pentagon Force Protection Agency; and the WHS-supported organizations. Work performance will take place in the National Capital Region, including the Pentagon, Mark Center and Crystal City, Virginia. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $8,156,810 are being obligated on this award. The expected completion date is May 30, 2019. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HQ0034-19-C-0008). (Awarded Nov. 29, 2018) *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1705364/

By: Adam Stone While the commercial world tiptoes toward the notion of a self-driving car, the military is charging forward with efforts to make autonomy a defining characteristic of the battlefield. Guided by artificial intelligence, the next-generation combat vehicle now in development will have a range of autonomous capabilities. Researchers at Army's Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) foresee these capabilities as a driving force in future combat. “Because it is autonomous, it can be out in front to find and engage the enemy while the soldiers remain safely in the rear,” said Osie David, chief engineer for CERDEC's mission command capabilities division. “It can draw fire and shoot back while allowing soldiers to increase their standoff distance.” Slated to come online in 2026, the next-gen combat vehicle won't be entirely self-driving. Rather, it will likely include a combination of autonomous and human-operated systems. To realize this vision, though, researchers will have to overcome a number of technical hurdles. Getting to autonomy An autonomous system would need to have reliable access to an information network in order to receive commands and relay intel to human operators. CERDEC's present work includes an effort to ensure such connections. “We need resilient comms in really radical environments — urban, desert, trees and forests. All those require new and different types of signal technologies and communications protocols,” David said. Developers also are thinking about the navigation. How would autonomous vehicles find their way in a combat environment in which adversaries could deny or degrade GPS signals? “Our role in this is to provide assured localization,” said Dr. Adam Schofield, integration systems branch chief for the positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) division. In order for autonomous systems to navigate successfully, they've got to know where they are. If they rely solely on GPS, and that signal gets compromised, “that can severely degrade the mission and the operational effectiveness,” he said. CERDEC, therefore, is developing ways to ensure that autonomous systems can find their way, using LIDAR, visual cues and a range of other detection mechanisms to supplement GPS. “We want to use all the sensors that are on there to support PNT,” Schofield said. In one scenario, for example, the combat vehicle might turn to an unmanned air asset for ISR data in order to keep itself oriented. “As that UAV goes ahead, maybe it can get a better position fix in support of that autonomous vehicle,” he said. Even as researchers work out the details around comms and navigation, they also are looking to advances in artificial intelligence, or AI, to further empower autonomy. The AI edge AI will likely be a critical component in any self-directed combat vehicle. While such vehicles will ultimately be under human control, they will also have some capacity to make decisions on their own, with AI as the software engine driving those decisions. “AI is a critical enabler of autonomy,” said CERDEC AI expert Dr. Peter Schwartz. “If autonomy is the delegation of decision-making authority, in that case to a robotic system, you need some confidence that it is going to make the right decision, that it will behave in a way that you expect.” AI can help systems to reach that level of certainty, but there's still work to be done on this front. While the basics of machine learning are well-understood, the technology still requires further adaptation in order to fulfill a military-specific mission, the CERDEC experts said. “AI isn't always good at detecting military things,” David said. “It may be great at recognizing cats, because people post millions of pictures of cats on the internet, but there isn't an equally large data set of images of adversaries hiding in bushes.” As AI strategies evolve, military planners will be looking for techniques that enable the computer to differentiate objects and actions in a military-specific context. “We need special techniques and new data sets in order to train the AI to recognize these things in all different environments,” he said. “How do you identify an enemy tank and not confuse that with an ordinary tractor trailer? There has to be some refinement in that.” Despite such technical hurdles, the CERDEC team expressed confidence that autonomy will in fact be a central feature of tomorrow's ISR capability. They say the aim is create autonomous systems that can generate tactical information in support of war-fighter needs. “As we are creating new paradigms of autonomy, we want to keep it soldier-centric,” David said. “There is filtering and analyzing involved so you don't overwhelm the user with information, so you are just providing them with the critical information they need to make a decision.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2018/11/30/the-army-wants-a-self-directed-combat-vehicle-to-engage-enemies

By: Mark Pomerleau Air Force leaders are reorganizing the service's primary IT office. As part of the change, leaders are dividing job responsibilities from the chief information officer to a new combined intelligence/IT shop and a deputy CIO. In addition, the Air Force's top IT position — the chief information officer — will become an undersecretary for the service. It's not immediately clear why Air Force leaders want to make the changes, which will take place at the beginning of 2019. Bill Marion, the Air Force's deputy CIO, said during a Dec. 4 event hosted by AFCEA that the service will move the offensive, defensive and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance elements of the staff into a new office. “Think offense, defense and ISR, think 24th [Air Force], 25th [Air Force], think bringing those two communities together in a total full-spectrum [information operations]/[information warfare] fight,” Marion said. The other side of the reorganization will be a pure IT play. Marion, in his role as the deputy CIO, will focus on the IT and associated workforce development components for the Air Force. As part of the changes, Brig. Gen. Kevin Kennedy will serve in a dual-hatted role spanning both aspects of the reorganization, Marion said, serving as a bridge during the transition. https://www.c4isrnet.com/it-networks/2018/12/04/the-air-force-is-reorganizing-its-primary-it-shop

Murray Brewster · CBC News The Liberal government has budgeted up to $20 million in this fiscal year to rejoin NATO's Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) program, reversing a Conservative-era budget cut in the name of alliance utility and solidarity. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and other senior officials recently appeared before a House of Commons committee to talk about the country's return to the long-standing alliance programme, which sees more than a dozen nations cost-share the operation of E3-A surveillance planes. New documents, released to CBC News under access to information law, show Canada has agreed to a partial return to the program through operations and support. It's a compromise decision that leaves the country's aerospace companies partly out in the cold — and one expert is questioning whether the reasons which led the former government to drop out of the program still exist. One of the major complaints voiced about the program behind closed doors in Stephen Harper's government had to do with NATO's reluctance to deploy the sophisticated surveillance aircraft on missions to Afghanistan and Iraq. The aircraft eventually were used for those missions, but not without considerable debate and what some Canadian officials saw as foot-dragging on NATO's part. 'A tough sell' Defence expert Dave Perry said that, going forward, the Liberals will have to justify this particular reinvestment more carefully. "If they don't actually use them in an operational context when it matters, then it's going to be a tough sell," he told CBC News. National Defence defends the decision to jump back into the program, saying in an email that "several things have changed, causing Canada to re-evaluate the relevancy" of its participation. A major factor is the introduction of the Liberal government's new defence policy, which emphasizes the need for better surveillance and reconnaissance. Canada had been part of the AWACS program for decades. When the Conservatives pulled the plug they cast the decision in economic terms, saying it had "little direct benefit." The planes were deployed in Europe and occasionally on other operations. The debate within the Harper government was over the logic of paying for a defence system that doesn't contribute directly to the defence of North America. "Accordingly, it is debatable whether it is appropriate for Canada to carry nearly 10 per cent of the programme, given that it is one of the two NATO members on the North American side of the Atlantic Ocean, and, as such, would benefit considerably less from AWACS than the 26 members on the European side," reads a March 22, 2016 internal government briefing note. NATO AWACS aircraft currently fly surveillance missions in support of reassurance measures in eastern Europe ordered after Russia's annexation of Crimea. The program is also providing "tailored assurance measures" for Turkey because of the crisis in Syria and is watching out for terrorist movement in the Mediterranean Sea. "I think time will tell, and it will depend on whether these aircraft are actually used," said Perry, an analyst at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. "If they're not used, then it will be a struggle to justify Canadian participation, however good it is for wider burden-sharing within the alliance and support to allies." Business opportunities The internal briefing note shows the decision to quit in 2011 cost Canadian defence contractors the right to bid on hundreds of millions of dollars in work related to the modernization of observation planes, known for their distinctive radar domes. Rejoining the plan will allow Canadian companies a finite set of bidding opportunities, a National Defence spokeswoman said. "Canada did not regain access to AWACS-related industrial benefits for modernization and upgrade when it re-engaged with the program," said Jessica Lamirande in an email. "However, Canadian industry has regained eligibility to compete for contracts related to the operations and maintenance of the AWACS." The briefing shows Canada is, in some respects, being treated like a new member of the plan, which means Ottawa pays for operations and support of the aircraft "while the fleet modernization will continue to be the responsibility of the programme's current 16 members, who will retain all of the industrial benefits associated with the programme." Prior to the Liberal government's decision to return to the program, officials held out the hope that rejoining might "restore Canada's ability to bid on such contracts." Conservative defence critic James Bezan described the government's approach as a "half-measure" and said rejoining AWACS became necessary after the Ukrainian crisis. "They're not spending as much as we were and we're not getting the full benefits of industrial contracts," he said, noting the Commons defence committee pointed out that Canada was not getting everything it could out of NATO contract opportunities. "The Liberals are always late to the table and that's what we're seeing here." https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/awac-nato-surveillance-ukraine-1.4931098

NAVY The Navy is awarding 1,870 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award contracts (MACs) to businesses in multiple locations across 46 of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Guam for future competition of support service requirements to be solicited by Department of the Navy activities under the SeaPort Next Generation (SeaPort-NxG) multiple-award contract vehicle. All work under the contracts will fall under two categories (engineering support services and program management support services), which are further divided into 23 functional areas. The government estimates approximately $5,000,000,000 of services will be procured per year via orders issued under the SeaPort-NxG multiple award contracts. These awards contain provisions to set aside requirements for small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, 8(a) business development program participants, woman-owned small businesses and historically-underutilized business-zoned small businesses. Under these multiple-award contracts, each contractor will be provided a fair opportunity to nationally compete for individual task orders. The MACs have a five-year base period of performance with an additional five-year ordering period option. No contract funds will be obligated on the basic MAC awards. Contract funds will be obligated at time of task order award. Multiple funding types may be used. The funding for task orders to be issued under these contracts will come from a variety of sources and will be consistent with the purpose for which the funds were appropriated. These contracts were competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with 1,894 offers received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, Virginia is the contracting activity (N00178-18-R-7000). NOTE: For a list of contractors receiving awards please visit: https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Portals/103/Documents/Small_Business_Forum/SeaPort%20NxG%20Awardees%20List.pdf?ver=2018-11-28-123322-177 Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama, is awarded a $40,369,095 cost-plus-fixed-fee undefinitized contract action for procurement of long lead time material and production engineering for the Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) 14. The EPF class provides high speed, shallow draft transportation capability to support the intra-theater maneuver of personnel, supplies and equipment for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Army. Work will be performed in Novi, Michigan (39 percent); Houston, Texas (12 percent); Chesapeake, Virginia (10 percent); Mobile, Alabama (9 percent); Rhinelander, Wisconsin (7 percent); and Iron Mountain, Michigan (3 percent), with other efforts performed at various locations (each less than 1 percent) throughout the U.S. (4 percent); and various locations (each less than 1 percent) outside the U.S. (16 percent), and is expected to complete by July 2022. Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $20,184,547 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively solicited via Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-2227). The Concourse Group, LLC,* Annapolis, Maryland, is awarded a maximum amount $29,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for professional services in support of the Department of Navy's (DoN) Public Private Venture (PPV) and Real Estate (RE) Programs. The work to be performed will require the contractor to bring professional knowledge, skills, and experience in residential and commercial real estate development and large scale real estate portfolio management to the DoN's PPV and RE programs. The contractor shall provide advice and assistance to the DoN and conduct the necessary research and analysis to present DoN decision-makers with accurate and relevant information. The contractor will bring best business practices from the private sector to assist the DoN with all aspects of the special venture acquisitions, including family and unaccompanied housing public private ventures, enhanced use leasing, and other public-private venture opportunities such as energy, utilities, and lodging, as well as real estate. The work includes technical advisory services to the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Headquarters Special Venture Acquisition Office and the NAVFAC component commands for the purpose of providing professional services, project development, execution, portfolio management advice and support consistent with the privatization approach adopted by the DoN, as well as technical advisory services to the NAVFAC RE. Work will be performed in Annapolis, Maryland. The term of the contract is not to exceed 36 months, with an expected completion date of November 2021. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $10,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. No task orders are being issued at this time. Future task orders will be primarily funded by operations and maintenance (Navy); and family housing, (Navy), operations and maintenance. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with four proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N62470-19-D-8008). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Military Aircraft Systems, Melbourne, Florida, is awarded $20,987,258 for firm-fixed-price modification P00002 to a previously issued order (N0001918F2334) placed against basic ordering agreement N00019-15-G-0026. This order provides for the installation of aerial refueling retrofit kits on four E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Augustine, Florida, and is expected to be completed in June 2020. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $20,987,258 are being obligated on this 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. The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded $10,526,671 for modification P00002 to delivery order N0001918F0520 previously placed against basic ordering agreement N00019-16-G-0001. This modification exercises an option to provide calendar year 2019 Harpoon/SLAM-ER integrated logistics and engineering support services for Navy and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in St. Charles, Missouri (91.84 percent); St. Louis, Missouri (5.47 percent); Yorktown, Virginia (2.64 percent); and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (0.05 percent), and is expected to be completed in November 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy); and FMS funds in the amount of $10,526,671 will be obligated at time of award, $2,530,961 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Navy ($2,530,961; 24 percent); and FMS ($7,995,710; 76 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Nov. 29, 2018) The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded $10,526,671 for modification P00002 to delivery order N0001918F0520 previously placed against basic ordering agreement N00019-16-G-0001. This modification exercises an option to provide calendar year 2019 Harpoon/SLAM-ER integrated logistics and engineering support services for Navy and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in St. Charles, Missouri (91.84 percent); St. Louis, Missouri (5.47 percent); Yorktown, Virginia (2.64 percent); and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (0.05 percent), and is expected to be completed in November 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy); and FMS funds in the amount of $10,526,671 will be obligated at time of award, $2,530,961 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Navy ($2,530,961; 24 percent); and FMS ($7,995,710; 76 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Nov. 29, 2018) MTU America Inc. (formerly known as Tognum America Inc.), Novi, Michigan, is awarded $7,946,893 for sole-source firm-fixed-price, delivery order N0002419FB028 under previously awarded basic purchase agreement N00024-14-A-4101 to provide the government of Israel with MTU engines and engine components to support the Israeli marine vessels under Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case IS-P-GPB involving FMS to Israel. MTU engines and engine components will be applicable but not limited to the following MTU engine series: M90, M94, TB54, TB82, TB93, TB94, TE83, TE94, and SE84. Work will be performed in Brownstown Township, Michigan, and is expected to be completed by September 2019. Fiscal 2018 FMS funding in the amount of $7,946,893 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)(4) (international agreement). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY Raytheon Co. Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona, was awarded a $51,895,419 cost-plus-fixed-fee completion contract for a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) research project. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (78 percent); McKinney, Texas (12 percent); Tewksbury, Massachusetts (5 percent); Richardson, Texas (2 percent); Huntington Beach, California (1 percent); and Ontario, New York (2 percent), with an expected completion date of December 2021. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,242,000 are being obligated at time of award. This contract was a sole-source acquisition. DARPA, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR0011-19-C-0008). U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND Farrell Lines Inc., Reston, Virginia, has been awarded a one-time only task order under indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract HTC711-15-D-R044 in the amount of $15,747,387. This task order provides cargo transportation services support to the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, U.S. Army. The task order is in support of an Army unit deployment from Fort Bliss, Texas, to multiple forward operating bases in Afghanistan. Work will be performed in the U.S. and Afghanistan. The period of performance is from Dec. 3, 2018, to Feb. 11, 2019. Fiscal 2019 Transportation Working Capital Funds were obligated at award. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $150,886,391 from $135,139,004. U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Centron Industries Inc.,* Gardena, California, has been awarded a maximum $13,908,602 firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for cables and lighting products. This was a competitive acquisition and three offers were received. This is a three-year base contract, with one two-year option period. Location of performance is California, with a Nov. 25, 2021, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. The type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Richmond, Virginia (SPE4AX-19-D-0005). AIR FORCE Utah State University Research Foundation/Space Dynamic Laboratory, North Logan, Utah, has been awarded an $11,477,222 cost-plus-fixed-fee task order (FA9453-19-F-0013) to previously awarded contract FA9453-16-D-0004 for a small satellite utility demonstration. The contractor will provide necessary research and development to maintain essential engineering, research and development capability in the areas of sensor development, image processing and data analysis. Work will be performed at North Logan, Utah, and is expected to be completed by March 14, 2023. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2018 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $557,437 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Nov. 30, 2018) ARMY General Dynamics Land Systems Inc., Sterling Heights, Michigan, was awarded a $9,430,158 modification (P00007) to contract W56HZV-17-C-0108 to install sensors on doors, build wire harness assemblies, and package all components as part of the Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System adapter kits, return sliding ramp assembly material for the vehicles and procure additional drop out factor material items on the Abrams SEPv3 45/60 vehicle production. Work will be performed in Lima, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 30, 2019. Fiscal 2018 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $9,430,158 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1704107/source/GovDelivery/

By: Mike Gruss Intelligence analysts and soldiers on the battlefield could have access to near real-time imagery from commercial satellites as soon as 2021 thanks to new industry partnerships. Amazon Web Services unveiled Nov. 28 a new product named AWS Ground Station, which includes parabolic antennas at 12 locations across the globe. Those ground stations can download imagery data as satellites pass overhead and then push that information to the cloud at faster speeds than traditional ground stations. Meanwhile, leaders from satellite imagery company DigitalGlobe said in tests they were able to move imagery data from the ground station to the cloud in less than a minute. Using today's technology, that task takes about an hour. Combined, the speed of the new ground stations and the expected launch of DigitalGlobe's constellation of next-generation imagery satellites in 2021 would offer a new level of immediacy to customers. “When firefighters are attacking a wildfire, they need the most up-to-date information to save lives and homes,” Jeff Carr, director of mission operations engineering support at DigitalGlobe, wrote in a Nov. 27 blog post. “When first responders are tracking down refugees fleeing danger in flimsy rubber boats, they need real-time information about where those rubber boats are located before they sink. The uses for current and accurate space-based data is growing — and the end-users need it quickly.” DigitalGlobe provides imagery to the National Reconnaissance Office under the Enhanced View contract and to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency with the Global EGD contract. Several companies that already provide imagery and data to the Department of Defense and intelligence community — including BlackSky, Spire and HawkEye 360 — are also using the ground stations. Traditionally, ground stations download information from satellites on a rigid schedule, meaning users must wait several hours until the next pass when new information is available and can be processed. The company's new Legion satellites will double the number of times the satellites contact ground stations. In addition, an imagery satellite could revisit the same target as many as 15 times a day. All of that means defense and intelligence agencies could have access to imagery that is a few minutes old, not several hours old. Turner Brinton, a DigitalGlobe spokesman, declined to comment on the technical aspects of how the company would support the U.S. government. “Satellite data is incredibly useful for building a wide range of important applications, but it is super complex and expensive to build and operate the infrastructure needed to do so,” Charlie Bell, senior vice president of AWS, said in a press release. “Today, we are giving satellite customers the ability to dynamically scale their ground station antenna use based on actual need. And, they will be able to ingest data straight into AWS, where they can securely store, analyze and transmit products to their customers without needing to worry about building all of the infrastructure themselves.” In addition, Lockheed Martin and Amazon Web Services announced a new partnership Nov. 27 that would allow customers to download satellite data faster, more often and from multiple satellites at the same time. That technology is a shoebox-sized antenna and satellite receiver known as Verge. Each antenna would cost about $20,000 and replace larger parabolic antennas, which are often priced at more than $1 million. While Pentagon officials have worried that larger ground stations for military satellite could make easy targets, the relatively small size of Verge could be an attractive feature to defense officials focused on resiliency. It's unlikely the Defense Department would rely on the new technology for its satellite downlinks, but Lockheed Martin leaders said they could envision the military would use the ground stations for experimental satellites, particularly those in low-Earth orbit. Or the technology could be used to create a backup ground station for some of the Pentagon's more sophisticated satellites. Already, Lockheed Martin has tested a network of 10 S-band antennas in the Denver area that downlinked from a small satellite from the Air Force Research Laboratory, said Rick Ambrose, Lockheed Martin's executive vice president for space. In addition, the company has also downlinked data from another, unspecified government satellite and sent that data to the agency's cloud. https://www.c4isrnet.com/intel-geoint/2018/12/03/is-near-instant-satellite-imagery-in-the-near-future

BY MATTHIAS SCHULZE Germany has traditionally prioritized defense over offense in cyberspace. That's now beginning to change. There is a reoccurring debate in German national security and foreign policy whether Germany suffers from “Strategieunfähigkeit”—an inability to develop and implement strategy. The historic trauma of two lost World Wars created a pacifist culture that always struggled with formulating national security interests and defining strategy. The so-called “culture of reluctance” regarding the use of hard power has bled into Berlin's thinking about cyber issues, especially as it rushes to develop capabilities without an overarching strategy on how to use them. Until recently, Germany has prioritized defense over offense in cyberspace. The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), Germany's cybersecurity agency, has a strictly non-military defensive mandate and is a vigilant advocate of strong encryption and full disclosure of zero-day vulnerabilities to vendors. Germany's foreign intelligence agency (BND) has historically had a relatively small cyber espionage budget. Germany's defensive posture began to shift in 2015, after the internal network of the German Bundestag was successfully compromised by Russian state-backed operators. That led the country to revise its cybersecurity strategy, issuing a more offensive-minded document in 2016. It called for the development of cyber teams in the intelligence agencies. It also might have been a contributing factor to the creation of a specialized agency, called the Central Office for Information Technology in the Security Sphere (ZITiS), to develop innovative techniques to break into encrypted devices, develop exploits and malware for real time interception and accessing data at rest, as well as identify or purchase zero-days to support offensive capabilities. As Germany rolled out its 2016 strategy, the German military (Bundeswehr) centralized its cyber capacity by consolidating around 14,000 soldiers and IT personnel into a unified cyber command (CIR), loosely modelled on U.S. Cyber Command. CIRwants to achieve full operational capacity by the early 2020s and plans to perform strategic and tactical cyber operations against enemy assets. Usage scenarios include disrupting enemy military assets, battlefield support and reconnaissance on adversary IT assets. Full article: https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2018/12/germany-develops-offensive-cyber-capabilities-without-coherent-strategy-what-do-them/153227

BY PATRICK TUCKER The Pentagon is also looking at living camouflage, self-healing paint, and a variety of other applications of engineered organisms, but the basic science remains a challenge. How do you detect submarines in an expanse as large as the ocean? The U.S. military hopes that common marine microorganisms might be genetically engineered into living tripwires to signal the passage of enemy subs, underwater vessels, or even divers. It's one of many potential military applications for so-called engineered organisms, a field that promises living camouflage that reacts to its surroundings to better avoid detection, new drugs and medicines to help deployed forces survive in harsh conditions, and more. But the research is in its very early stages, military officials said. The Naval Research Laboratory, or NRL, is supporting the research. Here's how it would work: You take an abundant sea organism, like Marinobacter, and change its genetic makeup to react to certain substances left by enemy vessels, divers, or equipment. These could be metals, fuel exhaust, human DNA, or some molecule that's not found naturally in the ocean but is associated with, say, diesel-powered submarines. The reaction could take the form of electron loss, which could be detectable to friendly sub drones. Full article: https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2018/12/us-military-genetically-engineering-new-life-forms-detect-enemy-subs/153200/