RIMPAC 2022: Navy teaming warships with unmanned surface vessels. (USNI News) “Cmdr. Jeremiah Daley, the commander of the recently established Unmanned Surface Vessel Division One, said RIMPAC is providing his team the chance to see how the USVs operate in conjunction with manned platforms like cruisers and destroyers… Sea Hawk, the last of the USVs to leave the pier for RIMPAC’s at-sea phase, is “directly tied” to Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62)… “The idea is to use the USVs to augment the sensors aboard the manned destroyers. The USVs are “working directly with the manned platform and their capabilities to bring additional sensing capabilities and distributed sensing capability, which increases lethality from a targeting standpoint.””
DoD announces first set of projects to receive funding from the pilot program to accelerate the procurement and fielding of innovative technologies (APFIT). (DoD) 10 contractors will receive $10M in FY22 funding to procure innovative tech from contractors who have not yet been awarded a cumulative of $500 million in defense funding. Below, I use Pete Modigliani’s summary and links from his excellent newsletter [subscribe!].
- Advanced Senior Package Procurement, Navy, Arete Associates
- Anti-Jam Radio-Links for Maritime Operations Resilience, USMC, Pacific Antenna Systems, Titan Systems, and Naval Systems
- Atmospheric Plasma Coating Removal System, USMC, Atmospheric Plasma Solutions.
- Augmented Reality (AR) Tactical Assault Kit, USSOCOM, Eolian
- Vertical-BAT (V-Bat) Autonomous UAS, USAF, Shield AI
- Drop-Glide Munitions, Army, Orbital Research
- Lightfield Directing Array Secure Production, MDA, Bright Silicon Technologies
- Lightweight Wide Field of View Aviation Goggle, USSOCOM, Aviation Specialties Unlimited
- Rapid Analysis of Threat Exposure, DIU, Philips Healthcare
- Real-Time Sensor Data Transformation, USSF, Meroxa
Small business research programs: Air Force had success in some areas with new awards process. (GAO) “Air Force’s new process was more effective than its conventional SBIR/STTR awards process in attracting new companies and issuing awards quickly. According to GAO’s analysis of Air Force SBIR/STTR award data and federal contracting data, around 43 percent of the 1,001 open topics awardees had no prior federal contracts, compared to 14 percent of the 771 conventional awardees. Also, Air Force took between 108 and 126 fewer days, on average, to issue open topics awards in fiscal years 2019 and 2020 for the first SBIR/STTR program phase. An April 2021 study found that open topics awardees were more likely to obtain subsequent venture capital or non-SBIR/STTR contracts… Compared to conventional awards, Air Force took, on average, 108 fewer days in FY 2019 and 126 fewer days in FY 2020 to evaluate Phase I open topics proposals and to issue SBIR or STTR contracts. Air Force also took fewer days, on average, to evaluate Phase II open topics proposals and issue contracts—40 fewer days in FY 2019 and 163 fewer in FY 2020.”
US successfully flight tests Raytheon hypersonic weapon. (Reuters) “The development program for the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) is being run by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA. Both Raytheon and Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) are competing for the ultimate contract award… There have been four air-breathing hypersonic weapons tests since September. Raytheon’s product has been successful both times, and Lockheed had one successful test and one failure.”
On heels of successful hypersonic test, Air Force acquisition exec is still skeptical. (Breaking Defense) On AGM-183A ARRW: ““We haven’t made the decision on what do we do when the current demonstration program finishes,” Andrew Hunter, the Air Force’s assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, told reporters July 16… “You obviously don’t wouldn’t buy something that doesn’t work. But even if it does work, it’s got to be it’s got to be the right contribution to the overall weapons mix.” … Hunter’s comments hammer home that, even with successful flight tests on the books, the weapon could face an uphill battle for procurement funding in the fiscal 2024 budget set to be released next year.”
Valkyrie success may push Skyborg drone concept to other programs, Kratos says. (Defense News) “Recent successful flights of two autonomous XQ-58A Valkyrie drones show the Air Force’s Skyborg program has proven itself and could be ready to start evolving its capabilities into new systems,… The basic version of each autonomous Valkyrie would likely cost between $3 million and $5 million apiece, he said, but as capabilities are added to to allow it to carry out a specific mission — such as strike capability, electronic warfare or intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance — the price could as much as double. Herro predicted the per-unit cost would not top $10 million…. Kratos studies show the company would likely be able to produce 25 Valkyries at first, but within about three years could ramp up its production to anywhere from 250 to 500 annually.”
New Boeing Defense CEO signals different approach in future fixed price contracts. (Breaking Defense) “Over the past several years, Boeing’s defense business has racked up billions of dollars in cost overruns on fixed-price contracts like the KC-46 tanker and new Air Force One planes. But while the unit’s new chief executive declined to say for certain that company will be less aggressive in offering low-ball bids for future programs, he said it does plan to “take a different approach” in some cases based on lessons learned from past mistakes.”… the service is working with Boeing to address a number of issues, including challenges with Boeing’s internal business systems and obtaining data needed to definitize agreements such as the first F-15EX contract. “One of the examples we’ve worked through on many of our programs is price reasonableness. Price reasonableness requires a lot analysis. And so it’s just like anything else — you do the analysis, you provide the answer, and you sort of lobby and go back and forth.””
Awaiting IVAS verdict, SASC directs Army to toy with mixed-equipping night vision goggles. (Breaking Defense) “Senate lawmakers plan to direct the service not to ditch its current night vision program and, instead, try “mixed-equipping” soldiers with both systems, just in case. The Senate Armed Services Committee voiced its worry in its version of its fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, coming after the Army zeroed out funding for the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular in its FY23 budget request before the IVAS program passed its initial operational test…. SASC members stated that a “recurring comment” from soldiers and junior leaders at IVAS soldier feedback events is that “not all personnel in a close-combat formation should be equipped with IVAS and that equipping select soldiers with alternative night vision and situation awareness equipment could make the formations more combat effective.””
US Army’s floating equipment stockpile in Pacific gets first test. (Defense News) “Army Prepositioned Stock is strategically placed around the globe for units to access in theater in response to emergency or urgent operational needs… The Army in the Pacific had its first crack at testing out its APS-Afloat capability in March in the Philippines during exercises Salaknib 22 and Balikatan 22. part of Operation Pathways, a larger exercise in the theater… “It took a lot of coordination with the Philippine government, but it served as a great opportunity to place not only forces but combat equipment for the theater in key terrain with the Philippine Army.” The APS-afloat is maintained by Army Field Support Battalion-Charleston and is the only floating stockpile in the theater. There are four other land-based APS locations in the Indo-Pacific area of operation”
US Navy offers comments on UCAVs. (Naval News) “A single MQ-25 can pass 15,000 pounds of gas up to 500 nautical miles (575 miles/925 kilometers) from the carrier. The U.S. Navy’s F-35C carries nearly 20,000 pounds of internal fuel to give it a range of greater than 1,200 nautical miles (1,380 miles/2,220 kilometers) without aerial refueling…. the General Atomics MQ-9 “Reaper” can loiter, persist, and deliver ordnance in a high threat (“First Set of UCAVs”) environment… The stealthy Kratos XQ-58A, Boeing X-45 and the Northrop Grumman X-47 UCAVs are meant to “dash strike” in high and medium threat environments and perform the “Second Set of UCAVs”… Finally, the “Last Set of UCAVs” according to RADM Loiselle could be a “smaller vehicle” such as the Martin UAV V-BAT that can help establish a distributed Command and Control network, or contribute to electronic warfare, or conduct Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions.”
Pentagon’s departing DIU director reflects on his legacy – and what’s next. (Fed Scoop) ““And then we need to be reinforcing that with more and larger production volume contracts. Some of what DIU is doing is providing that today. The 100 vendors we’ve introduced through DIU have $3.7 billion of follow-on revenue, but that’s not very much relative to what DOD buys,” Brown said… “So, I’ve agreed with the Hoover Institute at Stanford University to be a visiting scholar next year,” he said. “I’m looking forward to spending some time doing some thinking and working with some of the great people there, including HR McMaster, Condoleezza Rice and Gen. Jim Mattis.””
Bigger, faster, longer: As market grows, loitering munition makers eye next evolution. (Breaking Defense) “Since Russia’s invasion, the US has shipped more than 800 loitering munitions to the Ukrainians. According the most recent fact sheet from the Pentagon, the shipments have included “more than” 700 Switchblades from US company AeroVironment and an additional 121 Phoenix Ghosts, a secretive loitering munition developed by the US Air Force and AEVEX Aerospace.”
Navy issues Ingalls, Bath Iron Works contracts for DDG(X) design and engineering. (USNI News) “The Senate and the Navy are pushing for a teaming arrangement between Ingalls and BIW, which both build the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, to build DDG(X), USNI News reported this week. The Navy earlier this year disclosed plans to use the combat system from the Flight III Arleigh Burkes and the propulsion system from the Zumwalt-class destroyers for the future DDG(X). The service wants to field directed energy and hypersonic weapons on the next-generation destroyer. The Friday contract announcement notes the awards were not issued through a “full and open competition.””
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