After telling the nation that across-the-board budget cuts “will not happen,” President Barack Obama gave a preview of how he would avoid the penalty for failing to reduce the deficit — a grand bargain in the first six months of his term.
To guarantee future success, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) will be focused on three elements — breakthrough national security capabilities, a differentiated U.S. technology base and a robust internal organization. That is the road map being followed by Darpa Director Arati Prabhakar, who spoke Oct. 22 at the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Naval Science and Technology Partnership Conference.
The U.S. Navy needs to predict Arctic weather changes the same way the service does elsewhere in the world as the region becomes a growing international battleground for resources, Navy officials say. There is no doubt the Navy will need to increase its Arctic operations, says Navy Oceanographer Rear Adm. Jonathan White, who is also director of oceanography, space and maritime domain awareness.
Unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) are making a big splash with the U.S. Navy, and the brass expects to incorporate even more of the vehicles into its fleet for years to come. “We are seeing an explosion of undersea vehicles,” says Vice Adm. William Burke, deputy chief of naval operations for warfare systems. “We are looking at UUVs from RHIBs [rigid-hull inflatable boats], LCS [Littoral Combat Ships], aircraft, helicopters — all sorts of different platforms.”
When President Obama declared in the Oct. 22 foreign policy debate that sequestration “will not happen,” he caught the attention of those fighting against the across-the-board federal budget cut. “When he said that, I jumped to my feet,” said Marion Blakey, president of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). “It is very critical to learn that the White House says sequestration will not happen.”
In the latest attempt to replace its aging Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk combat search-and-rescue helicopters, the U.S. Air Force has released the request for proposals (RFP) for its Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH), providing insight into the changes made in a bid to make the program affordable and avoid a repeat of the CSAR-X debacle.
With its program to develop prototype electromagnetic rail guns entering its second phase, the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) is launching an initiative to develop technology for a projectile for both the hypervelocity weapon and conventional naval guns. “We have tried for years to have an INP [Innovative Naval Prototype program] for a projectile,” Mike Deitchman, director of ONR’s naval air warfare and weapons department, told the ONR Naval Science and Technology Partnership Conference in Washington Oct. 22.
FASTER DECISION: The Pentagon’s Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation is pushing for a faster selection of one Ground Combat Vehicle contractor, according to a defense industry official. A competition is currently under way between a team led by BAE Systems that includes Northrop Grumman, and one led by General Dynamics that includes Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. Technology development led by the two teams was anticipated to last until the end of 2013.
With more than half of its sales going outside of U.S. borders, Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems considers itself better positioned than some of its “competimates” to navigate tighter U.S. defense budgets, says Tom Kennedy, the division’s president. For IDS, international sales accounted for 54% of the business this year and 23% of the entire company’s sales. Other defense firms are trying to increase their international portfolios, but their starting point is 5% or 8%. “If you have a 10% cut, then you’ve got a problem,” Kennedy says.
The U.S. Navy needs to beef up its cyber protection and react more rapidly against cyber-related attacks, says Kevin McNally, a program manager for the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command’s (Spawar). “My goal is to move us more toward rapid detection and response,” says McNally, who oversees the acquisition of information assurance and cybersecurity solutions for Navy tactical networks.
GULF DEFENSE: Lockheed Martin hopes to close a deal by the end of the year to sell an advanced, automated air and missile defense command and control system to the United Arab Emirates and another member country of the Gulf Cooperation Council group. The concept behind DiamondShield is to integrate and fuse data from other air- and missile-defense assets, together with own-force information and a terrain database including priority targets for protection.
The U.S. Army will spend the next few annual budget cycles trying to achieve the “right balance” among force structure, modernization, global presence — including cyber — and austere funding, a panel of three- and two-star generals predicted on the opening day of the Association of the U.S. Army conference in Washington.
AFGHAN ORDER: Sierra Nevada is to supply 18 modified Pilatus PC-12 single-turboprop utility aircraft to the Afghan National Army Special Operations Forces under a $218 million U.S. Air Force contract. As the U-28A, the Swiss-built PC-12 is used by U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command for tactical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support.
Northrop Grumman unveiled its contender for the U.S. Army Special Forces’ Ground Mobility Vehicle 1.1 requirement at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference in Washington Oct. 22. The company’s Medium Attack Vehicle - Light (MAV-L) is based on an all-new chassis and running gear by off-road racing specialists Pratt & Miller. Northrop Grumman’s team is completed by BAE Systems, which will supply optional armor packages and other equipment, and will produce the vehicle in its Sealy, Texas, plant if the team wins the competition.
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Now that the U.S. Navy has developed what it considers to be a gold standard for submarine design and acquisition in its Virginia-class boats, the service is focusing on developing payloads and delivery systems the brass says will keep the vessel current for decades. With the evolving threats facing the nation and the submarine force, the Navy needs its boats to keep pace, says Rear Adm. Barry Bruner, director of submarine warfare. “We need to be asymmetric,” Bruner said Oct. 18 the 2012 Naval Submarine League Symposium.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Bell Helicopter Textron, Fort Worth, was awarded contract W58RGZ-12-G-0001-THBD. The award is a firm fixed price, sole source contract with a maximum $8,613,657 for blade assemblies. There are no other locations of performance. Using military service is Navy. There was one solicitation with one response. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2013 Navy Working Capital Funds. The date of performance completion is April 31, 2014. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia.
