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EUROPE
12 Dec 19. Croatia to begin UH-60M procurement. The Croatian Ministry of Defence has requested the necessary parliamentary approval for two new UH-60M helicopters, a year after their donation was announced by the US and weeks after the local media reported the planned purchase of two more Black Hawks. Defence Minister Damir Krstičević informed the parliamentary defence committee on 2 December that the USD138.2m deal was approved by the US Congress on 30 November. On 11 December the Croatian government approved the planned acquisition and financing worth HRK807.2m (USD120.6m), including value-added tax, for the logistics package and the second two UH-60Ms. Payments are to begin this fiscal year and last until 2026. (Source: Jane’s)
11 Dec 19. Turkey, Britain agreed to speed up fighter jet project – Turkish minister. Turkey and Britain have agreed to speed up work on a project to build fighter jets, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told broadcaster A Haber on Wednesday. The two countries agreed a 100m pound ($133mil) deal in 2017 to develop Turkish fighter jets, and Turkey’s Kale Group said it was setting up a joint venture with Rolls-Royce (RR.L) to work on the project. In March Rolls-Royce said it had scaled back efforts to join the programme. (Source: Reuters)
10 Dec 19. Croatia to receive M2A2 ODS Bradley IFVs from US. Croatia is to receive M2A2 Operation ‘Desert Storm’ (ODS) Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) from the US, Defence Minister Damir Krstičević announced in Zagreb on 27 November. Krstičević said 60 vehicles would equip a heavy infantry battalion, with another 24 vehicles for spares, and that the are due to be delivered before the end of 2021. The vehicles will be overhauled and upgraded by Djuro Djakovic Special Vehicles, which Krstičević believes “has great potential for co-operation with the US-based BAE Systems in the establishment of a Bradley vehicle production/maintenance centre for this part of Europe right in Croatia through [the] transfer of knowhow and direct investment by the American partner”.
Krstičević valued the 60 Bradley IFVs at USD2-3m after the upgrade and the US donation of the vehicles at around USD84m, plus a direct grant of USD25m to begin the upgrade. (Source: Jane’s)
09 Dec 19. Dutch Cabinet Postpones Choice of Submarine Builder. Three teams remain in the race to build new submarines for the Royal Netherlands Navy, and although the goal is to get boats that are “as Dutch as possible,” the Saab / Damen team will for the time being continue to face competition from France’s Naval Group and Germany’s ThyssenKrupp (TKMS), the Dutch daily Die Telegraaf reported Friday.
Dutch State Secretary of Defense Barbara Visser is expected to inform the House of Representatives this week about the next step of a program whose cost is estimated at approximately €3.5bn. Despite the postponement of the selection of the winning bidder, previously scheduled this month, the defense ministry will confirm that it wants to buy four submarines, replacing the current Walrus-class boats one-for-one.
Extending the competition is somewhat of a surprise, Die Telegraaf reported. The Ministry of Defense and the Lower House feel it is better to go further with only Saab / Damen, a team that is seen as the most Dutch, and this government had promised to award large defense orders to Dutch industry as far as possible. With Damen, furthermore, valuable know-how about submarine construction would be retained in-country.
Afraid of a new Walrus affair
Others cabinet members, however, are concerned about the risks if the design and construction contracts are awarded to a single consortium. The government is apprehensive about a new “Walrus affair,” the financial fiasco in the 1980s that led to the construction of four Walrus-class submarines with a 65% cost overrun. Moreover, there are opposite insights from the other departments involved: Economic Affairs, Finance, Foreign Affairs and General Affairs.
For Damen it is a disappointment. The Dutch shipbuilder is the best in the candidate comparison, Die Telegraaf reported, but it now fears that Naval Group has more “endurance” because of state aid. Moreover, Damen would benefit from a quick contract award, as it already has problems with a low order portfolio.
To meet the government’s wish to involve Dutch industry in the project, France’s Naval Group has teamed with Royal IHC, a Dutch builder of offshore and dredging vessels. In TKMS’ bid, the submarines would be built by the naval company in Den Helder. A fourth player, Spain’s Navantia, is dropped. The final choice for the builder of the new submarines will now be taken in 2021, and they will have to enter service six years later. (Source: Defense-Aerospace.com)
USA
09 Dec 19. DOD Issues Second Special Notice Seeking Input From Industry on 5G Technology Development. The Department of Defense issued a second special notice Monday, Dec. 9, calling for additional industry input on 5G technology development.
The notice titled “Intent to Announce – Request for Prototype Proposals for 5G-enabled Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality and Naval Smart Warehouses” is posted at https://beta.sam.gov/opp/206293aa6f1b46e8abcea219dccac5b3/view.
Information received from Monday’s notice will inform the creation and issuance of a formal Request for Prototype Proposals related to testing and experimentation projects at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, and Naval Base San Diego, California. Projects anticipated for solicitation in the formal RPP are 5G-enabled AR/VR for training and mission planning and Naval Smart Warehouses.
This announcement follows the release of two draft RPPs on Nov. 29 focused on testing to take place at Hill AFB, Utah, and Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Georgia.
DOD will issue the forthcoming final RPPs via an Other Transaction Agreement with the National Spectrum Consortium. Under the OTA, DOD, in coordination with industry, will develop and mature spectrum access technologies that enable improved cognizance of spectrum activity, protection of U.S. activity in the electromagnetic spectrum domain and provide the ability to relocate and/or share spectrum anytime and anywhere access is denied.
Only members of the NSC in good standing will be allowed to submit proposals in response the RPP. Interested parties can visit the NSC website at http://www.nationalspectrumconsortium.org/.
Responses to this notice will be accepted through Dec. 23, 2019.(Source: US DoD)
04 Dec 19. US Air Force calls industry meeting day for C-sUAS research contract. The USAF Research Laboratory, Information Directorate, Rome NY (AFRL/RI) will be conducting an Industry Day for the C-sUAS acquisition. The purpose of this meeting is to provide interested companies/entities with an overview of the C-sUAS contract, promote an early exchange of information, and provide an opportunity for both the Government and Industry to gather more information prior to the Draft RFP and RFP being issued. A general session will be held the morning of 16 December 2019 for interested parties to obtain information from the Government Program Management and Contracting team. The team will also be hosting 20-minute private appointments the afternoon of the same day. When registering, please indicate if a 20-minute private appointment is desired. Due to space constraints, attendance will be limited to two individuals per company. Representatives must be cleared through the company they are registered with. Attendees must be US citizens.
AFRL/RI has a requirement to provide a focused yet flexible, rapid, agile contracting vehicle between Air Force Research Laboratory, its products centers, and the operational community to support rapid research, development, prototyping, demonstration, evaluation, and transition of Counter small Unmanned Aircraft System (C-sUAS) capabilities. These capabilities are to be used in combating Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS)—and others leveraging COTS technology—presently being used by our adversaries in asymmetric warfare against US military personnel and materiel. Emphasis will be placed on: a) development of technology capability solutions that address specific user requirements; b) delivery of prototype technologies for evaluation and feedback in the context of the user’s operational environment; and c) provision of a mechanism for user acquisition of limited product quantities required for operational introduction of technologies. Anticipated deliverables include software, hardware, technical documentation and technical reports.
For the aforementioned requirements, the Government anticipates a single award Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (ID/IQ) research and development (R&D) contract with Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee Completion (CPFF/C) Task Orders, an ordering period of 72 months, and a maximum ordering amount of approximately USD490,000,000.
A Draft Request for Proposal (RFP) for this effort is anticipated to be released during the 1st quarter of CY 2020. Potential Offerors will be encouraged to review and comment on the Draft RFP, including the Statement of Work (SOW) and Sections L and M. Please monitor this notice for updates.
Note: The 16 December industry day is not a “bidder’s conference” and this announcement is not a contract, request for proposal, a promise to contract, or a commitment of any kind. The Government will not assume liability for costs incurred by any offeror for presentations, marketing efforts or data offered for examination; therefore the cost of preparing information in response to this notice is not considered an allowable direct charge to the Government.
Department of Defense Notice ID: FA875020R1000 Air Force Research laboratory
(updated 3 December 2019)
Industry Day: Monday, December 16, 2019
Location: Griffiss Institute, 725 Daedalian Dr., Rome NY 13441
Contact Information: Donna Toole, C-sUAS Acquisition Program Manager
Alternative contact: Matthew Zawisza:
Registration deadline Monday December 09, 2019
For more information visit:
https://beta.sam.gov/
(Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
05 Dec 19. These companies are teaming up to pursue a $1bn cyber contract. ManTech and General Dynamics are joining forces to compete for the Pentagon’s top cyber training contract, a deal that is thought to be worth nearly $1bn. In a Dec. 5 Facebook post, ManTech announced the partnership with General Dynamics Information Systems and General Dynamics Mission Systems for the Cyber Training, Readiness, Integration, Delivery and Enterprise Technology (TRIDENT) contract.
Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have previously said they will also compete for the award.
The primary component of the contract is the Persistent Cyber Training Environment (PCTE), an online client in which members of U.S. Cyber Command’s cyber mission force can log on from anywhere in the world for training and to rehearse missions. Pentagon leaders view PCTE as one of the more critical needs for Cyber Command. Currently, no integrated or robust cyber training environment exists.
ManTech and General Dymanics will “will develop a Persistent Cyber Training Environment (PCTE) platform that empowers holistic, enterprise-wide U.S. cyber training capabilities for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), delivering cyber threat-informed services, regional compute and data storage capabilities, and real-time #DevSecOps on a global scale,” the Facebook post stated. An award for the contract is expected in late 2020. (Source: glstrade.com/C4ISR & Networks)
05 Dec 19. Coast Guard to Re-Compete Multi-Bn Dollar Offshore Patrol Cutter Contract. The Coast Guard is recompeting its potentially $10.5bn Offshore Patrol Cutter contract because the program risks falling fatally behind schedule due to hurricane damage to the shipyard initially awarded the contract.
The program has already slipped nearly a year behind schedule and could cost an additional $659m to finish the first four on nine contracted OPCs, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report. To reign-in costs and try getting the program back on schedule, the Coast Guard is now taking the extraordinary measure of recompeting a contract to build six of the nine cutters first awarded Eastern Shipbuilding Group in 2016.
The OPC fleet is intended to replace the Coast Guard’s current fleet of 29 medium-endurance cutters, some of which were built during the Vietnam War. The Coast Guard previously set a target cost of $310m per cutter. The service is asking potential bidders to provide analysis comparing their anticipated costs with this target for building the six OPCs
Friday is the deadline for contractors to provide comments on an OPC industry studies statement of work. The study, along with an industry day scheduled for next Wednesday, is intended to give the Coast Guard an assessment of the technical effort, cost risks and schedule risks associated with recompeting the OPC contract.
“These activities will provide fresh insight into the current state of the shipbuilding industrial base and inform the Coast Guard’s way forward on a re-compete strategy to complete the OPC program of record,” Brian Olexy, the communication manager for the Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate, told USNI News in an email.
The Coast Guard intends to purchase up to 25 OPCs making this the service’s largest acquisition program. However, the current prime contractor, Panama City, Fla.-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group, is having a hard time fulfilling the contract due to damage caused in 2018 by Hurricane Michael. Eastern Shipbuilding officials could not be reached for comment at the time of this post.
In September 2016, the Coast Guard awarded Eastern Shipbuilding Group a contract to build the future USCGC Argus (WMSM-915) with options to build up to nine OPCs. Eastern beat General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and Bollinger Shipyards to land the design and construction contract.
The average purchase cost for OPCs is about $421m per ship, according to the CRS report. The first OPC, Argus, was funded in Fiscal Year 2018. The second OPC, the future USCGC Chase (WMSM-916) and long-lead-time materials for the third OPC were funded in the FY 2019.
Eastern Shipbuilding was just about to start building Argus and was gathering materials to start building Chase when Hurricane Michael hit the Florida panhandle, USNI News reported in October 2018.
Workers evacuated from the area and were slow to return. When they did, many took jobs rebuilding nearby Tyndall Air Force Base, which also suffered substantial damage from the hurricane, according to a statement released by Sen. Marco Rubio (R.-Fla.). Rubio supported a plan to modify Eastern Shipbuilding’s contract with the Coast Guard.
In October, the Coast Guard asked Congress for extraordinary relief from the contract, on behalf of Eastern Shipbuilding. The Coast Guard plan would allow Eastern Shipbuilding to continue building the first four OPCs but would move forward with seeking new bidders to build out the fleet, Adm. Karl Schultz, the commandant of the Coast Guard, said during an event co-hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the U.S. Naval Institute.
Lawmakers, though, did not sound too receptive to the plan. Congressional leaders detailed their concerns in a bipartisan letter to the Coast Guard sent Nov. 25, from Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.); the chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure; ranking member Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation; and ranking member Rep. Bob Gibbs, (R-Ohio).
“We are skeptical that such truly extraordinary relief is justified given that this ‘crisis’ was foreseeable and mostly avoidable. Further, we are concerned that this relief sets a damaging precedent that any current or future contract with the United States Coast Guard (Coast Guard or Service) could be renegotiated outside the Federal Acquisition Regulations,” their letter states.
The lawmakers are concerned the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security focused on “exploring options to resuscitate [Eastern Shipbuilding Group] and prevent it from defaulting on the OPC contract without first completing a transparent and objective alternative analysis.”
The chief lobbyist for Eastern Shipbuilding is former commandant of the Coast Guard, retired Adm. Robert Papp, who joined the company shortly after being awarded the initial OPC contract. Papp is the first Washington lobbyist hired by Eastern Shipbuilding, according to a company statement.
“The veil of secrecy regarding its analysis and the absence of any meaningful consultation by the Coast Guard and DHS with the Committee, provides us scant confidence that any revised OPC contract will not encounter a similar fate as the original contract,” the congressional letter states. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/USNI)
REST OF THE WORLD
12 Dec 19. Philippine Navy launches online procurement portal. The Philippine Navy (PN) launched on 11 December an online portal to monitor procurement projects in a bid to increase transparency and accelerate modernisation efforts. The new portal – dubbed the Procurement Information System Management (PrISM) – shows the status and a brief description of PN procurement requirements, as well as their value, mode of procurement, schedules, and the identity of the supplier if known.
The portal is accessible at: https://prism.navy.mil.ph/
The PN has said that if successful similar portals could also be implemented by the Philippine Air Force and Philippine Army. There are also plans to link PrISM to the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) on which all public tenders are advertised. (Source: Jane’s)
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