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01 Nov 18. Kongsberg opens MRO facility for AW101 and NH90 helicopters. Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace has opened a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and test facility for AW101 and NH90 helicopter transmissions in Norway. Located in Kongsberg, Norway, the new development will help offer an in-country capability for the AW101 and NH90 helicopter fleets in the country. It will also provide support to other AW101 and NH90 aircraft deployed throughout Scandinavia, as well as for other international fleets. Furthermore, Leonardo and Kongsberg have also entered into a 25-year agreement to strengthen and expand the collaboration between the two companies. Leonardo Helicopters managing director Gian Piero Cutillo said: “We are very pleased to have signed a 25-year agreement with Kongsberg, expanding and extending our collaboration to ensure we deliver efficient in-country support for Norway’s AW101 and NH90 helicopters and other operators in the region.
“The opening of this new facility and our agreement with Kongsberg confirms our long-term commitment to Norway and delivery of the industrial participation plan we committed to when we signed the original helicopter contracts.”
The facility will feature the latest multi-purpose test rig that will enable gearboxes to be fully tested before being returned to service, reducing the time and cost of MRO facility activities.
The new unit will also help support and strengthen Leonardo’s Industrial Participation commitments in Norway for the NH90 multi-role military helicopter. Furthermore, the site will serve as an integral part of Leonardo’s comprehensive support solution for the AW101 Norwegian all-weather search and rescue helicopter (NAWSARH). Currently, 16 NAWSARH units are in the process of being delivered to the country. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
31 Oct 18. Lockheed Martin Space, Sunnyvale, California, is being awarded a $129,483,864 noncompetitive, cost-plus-incentive-fee and firm-fixed-price contract under a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Under this new contract, the contractor will provide maintenance and sustainment for two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Batteries for UAE. The maintenance and sustainment scope of work includes software and hardware development, contractor logistics support, engineering services, and missile field surveillance. The work will be performed in Sunnyvale, California; Dallas, Texas; Huntsville, Alabama; Anniston, Alabama; Troy, Alabama; Lakeland, Florida; and the United Arab Emirates, with an expected period of performance of Nov. 1, 2018, through July 2, 2021. One offer was solicited and one offer was received. UAE FMS funds in the amount of $129,483,864 will be used to fund this effort. The Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity (HQ0147-19-C-5001)
31 Oct 18. Serco receives MoD St Athan contract extension. Serco has received a one year contract extension to provide a range of support services at Ministry of Defence (MoD) St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. The contract will run from 1 April 2019 to April 2020.
As part of the contract extension, Serco will lead the transfer of the Air Navigation Service Provision (ANSP) from its current military designation to a new civilian designation. The designation process is underway with the CAA, including ANSP, Air Traffic Engineering, radio licensing and meteorological services. Working with Copperchase, Serco will provide safety oversight and assurance on behalf of the Welsh government to upgrade all of the air traffic control communication systems to a civil compliant standard. This includes radios, recorders, transmitters and receivers. Serco will also oversee an upgrade to the visual control room to provide a modern, functional and ergonomic air traffic control officer control position and will upgrade all regulatory ANSP documentation and procedures to a civil standard.
St Athan Aerodrome is home to a range of air traffic, including the RAF University Air Squadron, Police Helicopter Operations and Bristow’s Coast Guard Helicopters. (Source: Shephard)
30 Oct 18. DHS moves to manage risks to the American supply chain. The Department of Homeland Security has created a task force to secure U.S. technology amid concerns that the American supply chain has been infected by foreign hackers. The public-private partnership is the first information and communications supply-chain task force and will provide recommendations and manage risk regarding hacks on American computer and communications systems.
“Threats to the nation’s IT and communications supply chain can severely impact our national security and nearly every facet of our economy,” Homeland Security Undersecretary Christopher Krebs said in a statement.
The task force will be located in the Department of Homeland Security’s National Protection and Programs Directorate. The private-sector co-chairs are Robert Mayer, of US telecom, and John Miller, of the Information Technology Industry Council. Following the first meeting to take place in the coming weeks, the task-force will announce a formal membership list.
U.S. officials and industry officials said that foreign governments have increased their attacks on the American supply chain. Many of the hacks target firms at the end of the supply chain, according to experts from Lockheed Martin, one of the prime defense contractors.
“Private industry is making supply-chain threat mitigation a big part of their corporate strategy,” William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told reporters Oct. 30.
“You are also starting to a combination of nation-state actors being less inhibited and being more aggressive in attacking our supply chain.” (Source: Fifth Domain)
30 Oct 18. ARQUUS commits to Belgium’s CAMO program. On October 25th, 2018, Belgium’s Prime Minister, Mr. Charles MICHEL, has officially confirmed the intergovernmental deal concluded with France on the Capacité Motorisée (CAMO – Motorized Capability) program, which aimed at modernizing Belgium’s land mobility capabilities. ARQUUS warmly welcomes the announcement, which further strengthens the partnership between the French and Belgian Armies, but also between both Ministries and Defense Industries. The agreement confirmed on October 25th covers the acquisition of 442 Scorpion vehicles, which combine the expertise of ARQUUS, Nexter and Thales. A total of 382 Griffon (Multi-Role Armored Vehicles) and Jaguar (Wheeled Canon Armored Vehicles), identical to the French Army’s, will replace the Piranha 3C and Dingo II currently in service in the Belgian Motorized Brigade. Mr. MICHEL’s announcement also shows a historical rapprochement between France and Belgium on Land Defense matters.
European leader of military protected mobility, ARQUUS invests all its expertise in the conception, development, and production of the drivelines which will equip the Griffon and Jaguar vehicles of the Scorpion program. Belgium’s CMI will be integrating all the components.
The French-Belgian agreement also aims at developing cooperation in all fields related to land mobility. Specifically, the deal creates a capacity development plan which will link both land forces.
This development plan will notably rest on the ARQUUS facility in Fourchambault, which will serve as a common logistics center for all spare parts of the Scorpion and CAMO programs, serving France and Belgium.
26 Oct 18. USAF Secretary details plans to increase fighter readiness. The US Air Force has submitted a plan to improve the mission-capable rates of F-22, F-35 and F-16 squadrons, which currently is below the 80 percent readiness level ordered by Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. The plan’s submission was confirmed by Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson, who laid out some details in an exclusive interview at the Airlift Tanker Association’s annual symposium outside Dallas.
Mattis set the level in a Sept. 17 memo, first obtained by Defense News, that ordered the Air Force and Navy to get mission-capable rates for F-22, F-35, F/A-18 and F-16 fighters to 80 percent by the end of 2019, a significant increase from where they were when those figures were last released to the public. According to the Air Force data for fiscal 2017, released in March, the F-16C fleet reported a mission-capable rate of 70.22 percent, the F-35A fleet reported 54.67 percent and the F-22A reported a low rate of 49.01 percent. As for what’s in the Air Force’s plan, Wilson says it includes maintenance staffing, spare parts availability and overall logistics across the Air Force, as well as changes to some Air National Guard units.
“That includes plussing up our supply accounts, that includes making sure that we prioritize our maintainers for those particular fighter units,” she said in the interview. “That will mean shifting some money around in our budget, but we’ve put a plan together to do that.”
As for improvements to Air National Guard units, Wilson said the Air Force is both assigning new active-duty pilots and planning to add a second maintenance shift which she says could drive a sharp increase in mission-capable rates.
“If a jet comes in, and there’s something wrong with it and it needs maintenance, instead of sitting overnight, and then being not mission capable first thing in the morning, and then not being on capability for the rest of that day, we’ll actually have a second shift in maintenance,” Wilson said. “The maintainers are there working on it overnight, so you can significantly increase your mission-capable rates.”
Adding the active duty pilots could also increase mission-capable rates as they are able to fly more than Guard pilots, meaning aircraft assigned to those squadrons could fly more. Wilson explained that those pilots, who are some of the newest in the Air Force, will gain valuable leadership experience — and a lot of flight hours.
“Its a way of seasoning them and getting them a lot of flying time and a lot of senior mentoring very quickly,” she said.
In an interview at Lockheed Martin’s production facility for F-35s in Fort Worth, Bruce Litchfield, the vice president of sustainment operations for the company’s aeronautics division, said the company, the prime contractor for F-16s, F-35s and F-22s, was looking forward to supporting the Air Force in increasing mission-capable rates.
“Sustainment is not rocket science, but its really hard and complex. You have to bring a whole bunch of things together. Engineering, tech data, support equipment, availability of new and improved tools to the field,” he said. “We’re really looking at this one as a systems engineering process, and we’re working across our full envelope of weapons systems.” (Source: Defense News)
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About Oshkosh Defense
Oshkosh Defense is a leading provider of tactical wheeled vehicles and life cycle sustainment services. For decades Oshkosh has been mobilizing military and security forces around the globe by offering a full portfolio of heavy, medium, light and highly protected military vehicles to support our customers’ missions. In addition, Oshkosh offers advanced technologies and vehicle components such as TAK-4® independent suspension systems, TerraMax™ unmanned ground vehicle solutions, Command Zone™ integrated control and diagnostics system, and ProPulse® diesel electric and on-board vehicle power solutions, to provide our customers with a technical edge as they fulfill their missions. Every Oshkosh vehicle is backed by a team of defense industry experts and complete range of sustainment and training services to optimize fleet readiness and performance. Oshkosh Defense, LLC is an Oshkosh Corporation company [NYSE: OSK].
To learn more about Oshkosh Defense, please visit us at www.oshkoshdefense.com.
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