UNITED KINGDOM
SEA
01 Sep 21. Contracts have been awarded to four consortia, all of which include significant UK involvement, to develop their bids to build three new Fleet Solid Support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Royal Navy. The award of the Competitive Procurement Phase (CPP) design contracts, each initially worth around £5m, means the Fleet Solid Support competition has successfully moved to the next stage. The four consortia awarded CPP contracts are (in alphabetical order):
- Larsen & Toubro, which includes UK company Leidos Innovations.
- Serco/Damen, which includes UK company Serco.
- Team Resolute, which includes UK companies Harland & Wolff and BMT.
- Team UK, which includes UK companies Babcock and BAE Systems.
(Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
27 Aug 21 EM Solutions — subsidiary of Electro Optic Systems Holdings — has announced its receipt of several orders worth a combined $15m from three unnamed NATO navies. The company has been tasked with delivering its new two-metre Fleet Satellite Communications Terminals for integration into European frigates and warships over the course of 2022 and 2023. These latest orders take the overall value of EM Solutions’ order book to over $38m. EM Solutions’ Cobra Tri-Band Inmarsat GX and WGS X/Ka-band satellite Communications Terminal was recently installed aboard the RAN’s amphibious assault ship, HMAS Canberra. This followed installations on the Cape, Anzac, LHD and AOR Class ships earlier this year. The work forms part of EM Solutions’ ongoing contracts with the Royal Australian Navy to improve bandwidth capacity, crew conditions and Quality of Life options under the SEA 1445 and SEA 1180 programs. (Source: Defence Connect)
EUROPE
LAND
02 Sep 21. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded a $50,239,927 modification (PZ0018) to contract W31P4Q-19-C-0003 for Integrated Battle Command Systems hardware and software. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2025. Fiscal 2010 Foreign Military Sales (Poland) funds in the amount of $50,239,927 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.
30 Aug 21. Joint 6×6 programme proceeds – Patria provides 6×6 armoured vehicles for Finland and Latvia. Finland and Latvia together with Patria have signed a Frame Agreement for a production phase management of the joint 6×6 armoured vehicle system. Within this agreement the parties involved can exercise joint procurement management, achieving technical and economic benefits from the overall procurement scope of the programme. At the same time, Latvia and Patria signed a supply contract comprising over 200 pieces 6×6 armoured personnel carriers developed under the joint development programme, also including their support and training systems. The vehicle deliveries will take place between 2021 and 2029. Finland and Patria in turn signed a Letter of Intent on the forthcoming serial order of Finland. The joint programme is open to other countries with the mutual consent of the participating countries. In general, this common vehicle system will improve the mobility, cost-effectiveness, interoperability, and security of supply of armies in the participating countries.
01 Sep 21. Latvia orders 6×6 APCs from Patria. Latvia signed a contract with Patria on 30 August for more than 200 6×6 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) under a joint development programme with Finland, the Finnish company announced in a press release the next day. Announcing the contract on 27 August on its website before it was signed, the Latvian Ministry of Defence (MoD) valued the order at about EUR200m (USD236m). Patria gave a delivery schedule of between 2021 and 2029, with the Latvian MoD adding that the country’s armed forces would receive its first vehicles in October. The contract includes support and training systems. (Source: Jane’s)
SEA
31 Aug 21. The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) has awarded a contract to Motorola Solutions. The contract is valued at $82.3m (approximately €69.9m). Under the contract, Motorola Solutions will provide digital terrestrial trunked radio (TETRA) networks for each of the German Navy’s 16 vessels and training platforms. The systems will be integrated into the current IT infrastructure of the German Navy. The secure digital radio communications allow the onboard security work force to see the real-time operational status of each of the naval platforms. In addition, portable TETRA radios provide instant workgroup communications between teams, allowing employees to stay connected. 8fg(Source: naval-technology.com)
27 Aug 21. Saab Receives Further Order for the A26 Submarine for Sweden. Saab has today received a further order from the Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV) to continue the development and production, as well as expand the capabilities, of the two A26 Blekinge class submarines previously ordered by Sweden. The order value is SEK 5.2bn and the delivery of the two submarines will take place in 2027 and 2028. In June 2015, Sweden ordered the new A26 Blekinge class submarine, which is tailor-made for Swedish conditions. The capability to construct and build submarines places Sweden among the few countries in the world with the ability to develop advanced submarines. The Swedish submarine capability is among the most cost-efficient and modern in the market. (Source: ASD Network)
USA
SEA
27 Aug 21. Lockheed Martin, Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, is awarded a $51,468,710 cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost (no fee) modification to previously awarded contract N00024-15-C-5151 to exercise options for ship integration and test of the AEGIS Weapon System (AWS) for AWS baselines through Advanced Capability Build 16 (ACB 16). The contract provides for AEGIS shipboard integration engineering, AEGIS Test Team support, AEGIS Modernization Team engineering support, Ballistic Missile Defense Test Team support, and AEGIS Weapons System (AWS) element assessments. This contract will cover the AWS ship integration and test efforts for AEGIS Ashore, nine new construction DDG-51 class ships, and the major modernization of seven DDG-51 class ships. It will additionally cover the integrated combat system modifications and upgrades for all current ships with all AWS baselines up to and including ACB 16. Work under this modification will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey (46%); Norfolk, Virginia (9%); Deveselu, Romania (9%); Pascagoula, Mississippi (8%); Washington, D.C. (7%); San Diego, California (6%); Everett, Washington (4%); Bath, Maine (4%); Mayport, Florida (3%); and various places each below one percent (4%); and is expected to be completed by September 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $13,309,663 (46%); fiscal 2013 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,575,151 (26%); fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,348,901 (18%); fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,327,839 (8%); fiscal 2021 defense-wide procurement funds in the amount of $100,000 (1%); and fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $64,114 (1%) will be obligated at time of award, of which $18,722,678 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
30 Aug 21. Serco – IPS Corp., Herndon, Virginia, is awarded a $12,526,821, cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00174-18-C-0015 to procure professional support services for the Naval Sea System Command’s director for surface ship maintenance and modernization (SEA 21). This procurement is for professional support services in the areas of program management, administrative support, surface ship modernization, inactive ships, surface ships readiness, surface training systems, business and financial management, records management, and information technology (IT) support. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C. (55%); Norfolk, Virginia (19%); San Diego, California (18%); Mayport, Florida (2%); Yokosuka, Japan (2%); Sasebo, Japan (1%); Manama, Bahrain (1%); Pascagoula, Mississippi (1%); and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (1%), and is expected to be complete by October 2021. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,290,333; fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,334; fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,456,683; fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $260,868; and fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,570,412 will be obligated at time of award, of which $9,865,079 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C. is the contracting activity.
AIR
01 Sep 21. Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded a $39,660,399 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00002) to previously awarded contract FA8682-21-C-0008 for Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) Project Phase I Preliminary Design Review. The contract modification is an option exercise to mature a solid-rocket boosted, air-breathing, hypersonic conventional cruise missile, air-launched from existing fighter/bomber aircraft, through the completion of a preliminary design review. The location of performance is St. Louis, Missouri. The work is expected to be completed by Aug. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2020 and 2021 research and development funds in the amount of $1,521,862 and $8,750,000, respectively, are being obligated at the time of award. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $47,153,068. Future Hypersonics, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity.
02 Sep 21. DCS Corporation has been awarded a $164m, 4-year prime contract to support the United States Air Force (USAF) Fighters and Advanced Aircraft Directorate (AFLCMC/WA) and USAF Bombers Directorate (AFLCMC/WB). DCS will support the acquisition, fielding, and sustainment for a large segment of the USAF fighter and bomber fleet, along with foreign military sales support to numerous partner nations. Full contract performance will kick off in October 2021 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. DCS and its industry partners will provide program management, multidisciplinary engineering, cybersecurity, life-cycle logistics, and program security services to augment organic military and civilian staff. Aircraft supported will include the A-10, A-29, B-1, B-2, and B-52. (Source: PR Newswire)
31 Aug 21. L3 Harris, Clifton, New Jersey, has been awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract in the amount of $947,292,440 for the AN/ALQ-172 Countermeasures Program and modernization. This contract provides for engineering services for block cycle, non-block cycle and sustaining engineering services and for Air Force Global Strike Command enhancement modernizations. Work will be performed in Clifton, New Jersey, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 30, 2031. This award is the result of a sole source acquisition, and fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $9,789,811 are being obligated at the time of award. Electronic Warfare Contracting Branch, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8523-21-D-0004).
01 Sep 21. Lockheed Martin, Palmdale, California, was awarded a $27,192,571 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00002) to previously awarded contract FA8682-21-C-0009 for Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) Project Phase I Preliminary Design Review. The contract modification is an option exercise to mature a solid-rocket boosted, air-breathing, hypersonic conventional cruise missile, air-launched from existing fighter/bomber aircraft, through the completion of a preliminary design review. The location of performance is Palmdale California. The work is expected to be completed by Aug. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2020 and 2021 research and development funds in the amount of $1,521,862 and $8,750,000, respectively, are being obligated at the time of award. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $33,499,083. Future Hypersonics, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity.
31 Aug 21. Raytheon Missiles and Defense, Tucson, Arizona, is awarded a $54,535,212 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-18-C-5431 to exercise options for fiscal 2021 design agent and engineering support services for the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) upgraded MK-31 Guided Missile Weapon System Improvement Program. The MK-31 RAM Guided Missile Weapon System is a cooperative development and production program conducted jointly by the U.S. and the Federal Republic of Germany under memoranda of understanding. The support procured under the contract is required to maintain current weapon system capability as well as resolve issues through design, systems, software maintenance, reliability, maintainability, quality assurance and logistics engineering services. This contract combines purchases for the Navy (71%); and the government of Japan (29%) under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. FMS Japan funds in the amount of $1,984,684 (29%); fiscal 2021 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,840,724 (27%); fiscal 2021 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,510,968 (22%); fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $350,916 (5%); fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $343,697 (5%); fiscal 2021 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $259,663 (4%); fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $173,374 (3%); German (Non-FMS) funds in the amount of $143,623 (2%); German (Non-FMS) funds in the amount of $143,507 (2%); and fiscal 2020 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $89,616 (1%) will be obligated at the time of award, of which funds in the amount of $2,191,640 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by July 2022. This contract was not competitively procured under the exception 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(4), international agreement. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
TECHNOLOGY
02 Sep 21. ARC, Inc. Embarks on Data Fusion Project for the U.S. Army Under AI-Based Weapon Sensing for JADC2 Contract. Last month, Armaments Research Company, Inc. (ARC) announced a new 5-year, $60m Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase III contract, awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and General Services Administration (GSA) as part of the military’s ‘Joint All-Domain Command and Control’ (JADC2) project portfolio. Today, ARC announced Task Orders 1 and 3, the first projects to be delivered under the ‘Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity’ (IDIQ) contract. These projects will focus on fusing data from its miniaturized AI-enabled edge computing sensors with other battlefield data sources to transmit decision-quality information to tactical forces through mobile and mixed reality platforms. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
31 Aug 21. BAE Systems, Inc. has received a $6.5m Phase 2 contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to further develop software that will enable semi-autonomous, multi-domain mission planning. The Phase 2 award under the Adapting Cross-Domain Kill-Webs, or ACK, program follows a successful Phase 1 demonstration. As part of Phase 1, BAE Systems’ FAST Labs™ research and development organization, along with teammates Carnegie Mellon University and Uncharted Software, created software called the Multi-domain Adaptive Request Service. The Phase 1 demonstration highlighted the software’s ability to update a plan in real time during a live exercise by ingesting information feeds to track the state of planned tasks, and then generating options to adapt the plan to insert new tasks. The Multi-domain Adaptive Request Service software adapts a plan with 100s of missions to insert tasks against new targets, requiring only fractions of a second per target added. Under Phase 2, BAE Systems will continue to mature and advance the software to scale up the capabilities designed to help operators make informed decisions by automatically identifying available assets across domains, and then rapidly assessing the costs and benefits of using those assets when adapting mission tasks. Phase 2 is a step toward the ultimate goal of the program: demonstrating the techniques in a full scale, operationally realistic setting. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
27 Aug 21. The Air Force Research Laboratory awarded contracts to Booz Allen Hamilton and Ball Aerospace to research advanced cybersecurity and digital engineering to protect aircraft electronic systems against digital threats. The Aug. 24 indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts to try to shield those avionics systems from cyberattacks are worth up to $200m each over five years. The companies’ research will include cyber assessment and testing tools, cyber-hardening technologies, resilient cyber protections, and open-system architectures, AFRL spokesperson Bryan Ripple said. The awards are part of AFRL’s Agile and Resilient Platform Architectures program to develop and integrate next-generation avionics cybersecurity tools and new system architectures. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
01 Sep 21. NSA awards $2bn high-performance computing contract. The U.S. National Security Agency awarded Hewlett Packard Enterprise a $2bn contract for high-performance computing capabilities the agency needs to meet its artificial intelligence and data analytics requirements, the company announced Wednesday. The contract award will provide NSA with the a secure and flexible platform to “meet their growing data management needs,” the press release stated. The company said NSA could access the service starting in 2022. (Source: glstrade.com/Defense News)
22 Aug 21. U.S. Army Contract To Mission Microwave For Their Ku- + Ka-Band BUCs. Mission Microwave Technologies, LLC, a manufacturer of SSPAs and BUCs, has received follow-on orders from a government contractor to provide Ku and Ka-band BUCs as components of complex SATCOM transportable terminals in support of the US Army. This third order for the ongoing program is valued at $6m. At the completion of this third tranche of BUCs, the program will be roughly one-third complete. Mission’s signature Stinger, Javelin, Titan, and MOAB products have been designed into families of terminals across X-, Ku- and Ka-band frequencies and are the high power product of choice for tactical end-users. The common form factor and interfaces of these products allows SATCOM terminal designers to create flexible platforms, eliminating the need to re-engineer the implementation when missions change. (Source: Satnews)
31 Aug 21. Lockheed Martin has selected RGB Spectrum’s new Zio 2 networked video solution for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Full Mission Simulator used to train individual pilots and whole squadrons. Zio 2 is RGB Spectrum’s next generation of products within the revolutionary Zio AV-over-IP platform, developed for military, government and civilian applications.
REST OF THE WORLD
LAND
01 Sep 21. The Indian Navy (IN) has awarded public-sector company Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) a contract for the supply of a locally developed system designed to detect, track, and neutralise micro unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The contract, which was signed on 31 August, is for an undisclosed number of ‘Naval Anti Drone Systems (NADSs)’ featuring both soft- and hard-kill effector options. The former consists of a jammer used to suppress the control and navigation signals to the UAV, with an effective range of 3 km. The latter consists of a high-energy laser that works by directly damaging or destroying the UAV’s flight-critical systems, thereby downing it. (Source: Jane’s)
26 Aug 21. Army 2021: Russia orders Shturm unmanned battle tank system. Russia’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed the first contract for a prototype of the Shturm (Project Storm) unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) system based on the T-72 main battle tank (MBT) at the Army 2021 defence exhibition being held in Kubinka from 22 to 28 August, the TASS news agency reported on 24 August. Shturm is a concept based on four T-72B3 MBTs developed by Russia’s third Central Scientific Research Institute and T-72 manufacturer Uralvagonzavod. As originally envisaged, a system would consist of four T-72B3s modified for unmanned operations: one with a shortened D-414 125 mm smoothbore tank gun and a dozer blade, a second armed with RPO-2 Shmel-M thermobaric rocket launchers, a third with two 2A42 30 mm cannons, and a fourth carrying an armament similar to the TOS-1A heavy thermobaric multiple rocket launcher. The UGVs were expected to be controlled by an eight-strong team housed in a fifth vehicle also based on the T-72B3 MBT. (Source: Jane’s)
SEA
01 Sep 21. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. announced today (Wednesday) that it has been awarded a contract worth approximately $80m to supply a comprehensive naval warfare systems suite for Shaldag Mk V Fast Attack Crafts by Israel Shipyards, to an undisclosed country in Southeast Asia. The contract will be fulfilled over the course of three years. Rafael will supply its client with an advanced naval warfare systems suite, which includes a Combat Management System (CMS), Typhoon and Mini-Typhoon Remote Operating Weapon Systems, Naval Spike Missiles, Sea-Com Internal Communication System and BNET Tactical Data Link, as well as other components with full maintenance and support services.
AIR
01 Sep 21. The Republic of Kazakhstan orders two Airbus A400Ms. The Republic of Kazakhstan has placed an order for two Airbus A400M aircraft and becomes the ninth operator together with Germany, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Malaysia and Luxembourg. With delivery of the first aircraft scheduled in 2024, the contract includes a complete suite of maintenance and training support. Together with the agreement a Memorandum of Understanding has also been signed to collaborate on Maintenance and Overhaul services and with a first step of creating a local C295 maintenance centre.
02 Sep 21. Sensor solutions specialist HENSOLDT will supply its new airborne multi-mission surveillance radar PrecISR to one of the biggest airborne surveillance providers, CAE-Aviation, Luxembourg. HENSOLDT was awarded a contract to deliver one PrecISR™1000 until year-end to CAE Aviation for installation underneath a King Air Beechcraft B350 aircraft for an undisclosed customer. The contract was signed after PrecISR had proven impressive SAR/MTI capabilities during successful flight demonstrations in real land and maritime scenarios.
26 Aug 21. Maxar Contracted By SiriusXM To Build The SXM-10 Comms Satellite. Maxar Technologies (NYSE:MAXR) (TSX:MAXR) has received an order to build another geostationary communications satellite for longtime customer SiriusXM, following the SXM-9 satellite order that was announced earlier this month. The SXM-10, a high-powered digital audio radio satellite, will be built on Maxar’s proven 1300-class platform at the company’s manufacturing facility in Palo Alto, California. Maxar has been building satellites for SiriusXM for more than two decades, including the first-generation Sirius satellites launched in 2000, the second-generation Sirius satellites launched in 2009 and 2013, and the company’s third-generation satellites, the last one of which was launched earlier this year. (Source: Satnews)
01 Sep 21. Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, San Diego, California, was awarded a not-to-exceed $39,852,000 cost-plus-incentive-fee and fixed-price (incentive) firm contract modification (P00032) for contract FA8620-18-C-1000 both the Japan and Republic of Korea Global Hawk Program. This is a cofounded joint Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The contract provides for the co-development, test and integration of the Mode 5 software for the Republic of Korea and Japan Global Hawk fleets. The location of performance is San Diego, California, with integration efforts completing in both Misawa Air Base, Japan; and Sacheon, Air Base, Republic of Korea. The base award work is expected to be complete by July 31, 2023. This contract is for FMS to Japan and is the result of a sole source acquisition. FMS funds in the amount of $14,053,400 was obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Global Hawk Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.
TECHNOLOGY
31 Aug 21. Australia awards export grants to local SMEs. The Commonwealth government has awarded $1.2m in funding to local SMEs across five states via the Defence Global Competitiveness grants program. South Australia-based Electro Cad Australia and NSW-based Repetition Engineering secured the largest grants, each receiving $240,000. Electro Cad Australia is expected to leverage the funding to install a clean room, and purchase equipment to manufacture complex defence components in a bid to bolster export orders with international Defence companies. Repetition Engineering, which trades as Challenge Engineering, has committed to using the funds to purchase specialist machinery and manufacture new machined components for export.
Other recipients include:
- South Australia-based JTM Gaskets — secured $211,260 to buy new equipment, enabling it to produce a higher volume of products;
- Western Australia-based Orbital Corporation — secured $195,624 to fund the expansion of its production capability for propulsion systems and flight componentry used to develop tactical unmanned aerial vehicles;
- Victoria-based Trakka Corp — secured $193,192 to acquire equipment to perform in-house environmental stress screening for components they produce in a bid to enhance Trakka’s quality assurance process; and
- Queensland-based Gaardtech — secured $166,000 to buy new equipment and increase its dedicated fabrication capabilities.
31 Aug 21. Titomic awarded $2.325m MMI grant for space-based applications. A simplified diagram of Titomic’s Kinetic Fusion process. Titomic has been awarded a $2.325m DISER Modern Manufacturing Initiative grant to manufacture and commercialise low carbon emission “green” titanium space vehicle demonstrator parts for the Australian space sector and export markets. This grant will be part of a planned total eligible project expenditure of $4.65m that will allow Titomic to use its unique Kinetic Fusion cold spray additive manufacturing technology to build and commercialise space vehicle parts using green titanium, heterogeneous material blends, and high-performance coatings for radiation shielding and hypersonic protection. Titomic, Swinburne University of Technology and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), will conduct extensive testing and validation of demonstrator parts produced within an Industry 4.0 additive manufacturing platform embedded within its Titomic Kinetic Fusion technology. Titomic is teaming with commercial partners, such as Australian sovereign commercial satellite manufacturer Inovor Technologies, to provide specific application use cases and establish performance, testing and acceptance requirements for the technologies. This additive manufacturing capability will drive high-value technological and material developments, accelerate Space and Manufacturing sector growth, create high-value jobs, and attract investment. (Source: Rumour Control)