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FLAIM Systems Awarded Contract for Immersive Countermine Training Solution

Monday, May 6th, 2024

Tampa, Florida – May 2024

FLAIM Systems has been awarded a contract from the Australian Army to further develop the FLAIM Sweeper, an immersive countermine and explosive hazard awareness training system. The contract incorporates the purchase of multiple systems to conduct an extended trial and user evaluation across the Army’s School of Military Engineering and its Combat Engineer and Special Operations Engineer Regiments. The FLAIM Sweeper enables defence combat engineers to undertake land mine detection and clearancetraining and offers explosive hazard awareness training for all deploying personnel in a fully immersive ‘feels-real’ training environment.

Complementing traditional counter mine/IED field training, the FLAIM Sweeper combines high-resolution, high-fidelity virtual minefields and explosive hazard training lanes with the performance of industry standard mine detection equipment. Embedded haptics delivers a feels-real kinesthetic mine clearance learning experience in a safer environment. With a ‘reps and sets’ approach, the system helps build procedural muscle memory and tactical proficiency, while facilitating the delivery of an After-Action-Review following each training session.

The contract is the result of a successful demonstration that concluded the 2023 Phase 1 Proof of Concept initiated through the Defence Innovation Hub. The demonstration highlighted how immersive learning complements existing training protocols, while mitigating skills fade in high-risk roles. The benefits of replicating the conduct of mine clearance operations were evident and thus the FLAIM Sweeper was integrated as a core test within the Royal Australian Engineer Corp’s annual Skills Competition, The Steele Cup.

“We are humbled to have been awarded a contract to continue to develop and deliver the FLAIM Sweeper for use by the Australian Army” said Dr James Mullins, Head of Innovationat FLAIM Systems. “Immersive learning is an effective solution for skills acquisition and maintenance for environments that are too dangerous or difficult to replicate in real life”.

Immersive learning provides the closest experience to a real-life event, offering an environment where trainees can practice without the danger, cost, and logistical burden of physical training to complement existing training protocols.

“At FLAIM, we strive to deliver solutions that enhance the readiness of those on the front line” added Simon Miller, CEO at FLAIM Systems. “The contract with Australian Armydemonstrates FLAIM’s partnership approach in delivering purposeful solutions that complement our customers’ training protocols. This is a fantastic opportunity to enable a prepared defence force, while demonstrating the crucial role immersive learning can play in offering safer training solutions.

FLAIM Systems will be hosting private demonstrations of the FLAIM Sweeper on the Team Defence Australia pavilion (Booth #721) at SOF Week from 6-10 May. FLAIM invites attendees to contact info@flaimsystems.com to book a demonstration.

Posted in CIED, Contracts, International, Press Release, SOF Week | Comments Off on FLAIM Systems Awarded Contract for Immersive Countermine Training Solution

Electronic Warfare Planning and Management Tool (EWPMT) Contract Cancellation

Thursday, May 2nd, 2024

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MD – The U.S. Army recently announced the cancellation of the Electronic Warfare Planning and Management Tool (EWPMT) task order competition under the RS3 Enterprise contract. The decision was prompted by evolving requirements and a strategic realignment within the program.

As part of this realignment moving forward, the U.S. Army continues to prioritize its service specific EWPMT fielding of current capability and will also focus on EWPMT software architecture modernization. Program Executive Office – Intelligence, Electronic Warfare, and Sensors (PEO IEW&S) is working on a pilot as part of the architecture modernization in collaboration with the United States Marine Corps (USMC), shifting EWPMT’s electromagnetic warfare and spectrum management capabilities to the Tactical Assault Kit (TAK) framework. This effort is being led by the Electronic Warfare Integration (EWI) product management office.

TAK-X is a framework on which applications for presenting situational awareness data and geospatial visualizations can be built. Transition to the TAK framework is consistent with ongoing efforts to deliver capability at speed by leveraging common technologies across the Services with a similar user experience. The TAK user community collaborates across the EW user space and presents opportunities for technology advancement and integration across the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, Special Operations Command, and the Joint Communities of Interest.

This strategic move aims to ensure that EWPMT is a relevant capability at the forefront of emerging operational requirements. The results of the U.S. Army-USMC collaboration on the TAK-X foundation will provide for microservice-based, modular software architecture satisfying Joint and individual Service requirements. It will enable agile development, integration, and ability to rapidly adjust to evolving operational requirements.

The initial releases of the modernized architecture, EWPMT-X, will be piloted and demonstrated over the next year to gain EW operator feedback. If the pilot effort proves successful, EWPMT-X will replace the current version of EWPMT in Fiscal Year 2026, ushering in a new era of Joint electronic warfare and spectrum management capabilities.

The U.S. Army program office is assessing future contract efforts based on operational and support requirements. Updates on future contract opportunities will be released via SAM.gov and PEO IEW&S – hosted Acquisition Lead Time (ALT) Industry events.

Posted in Army, Contracts, EW, Press Release | Comments Off on Electronic Warfare Planning and Management Tool (EWPMT) Contract Cancellation

DCMA Launches Radars and Sensors as Newest Systems Command

Tuesday, April 30th, 2024

FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. –

Defense Contract Management Agency established its newest contract management office, Radars and Sensors, during a standup ceremony at agency headquarters April 17.

The new CMO consolidates contractor oversight activities of six disestablished offices and is intended to more closely align the agency’s work to the requirements of the military services.

Navy Capt. Nicola Gathright, commander of DCMA Eastern Regional Command, expressed her excitement for the new effort and said the official ceremony was a long time coming.

“We started the planning in the first week of October 2023, and I have personally witnessed the collaboration and communication that went into it,” she said. “There was a good amount of communicating with the workforce and getting them comfortable with change.”

Gathright labelled the change as an opportunity and said a workforce that embraces change becomes stronger as fresh ideas and fresh perspectives are shared with employees from multiple offices now under a single organization.

“I’m excited about the future. I’m excited for the future of DCMA Radars and Sensors,” Gathright said.

Radars and Sensors is the first CMO established that is described as a systems command: an organization that provides a focal point for all contract management and surveillance activities of a class of systems for which DCMA maintains responsibility.

Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Gregory Masiello, DCMA director, expressed his excitement for the warfighter support the new office will provide.

“This is a broad portfolio in technology and all the things that go into,” he said. “I think this is an ideal (opportunity).”

Masiello said DCMA Radars and Sensors, which will be headquartered in Boston, is an example of the future of the agency and how it is adapting to fulfill warfighter needs while meeting the challenges of budget constraints.

“This is a good thing. We’re evolving here at DCMA,” Masiello said. “As we talk more in our portfolios, we’ll see the interconnectedness of the supply chains.”

Army Col. Jonathan Patrick, DCMA Radars and Sensors commander, thanked the teams and individuals who helped make the establishment of the new CMO possible.

“Together, we traversed through numerous milestones to get here to the establishment of DCMA Radars and Sensors today,” Patrick said. “It’s a privilege to lead this remarkable team.”

DCMA’s ongoing reorganization is part of an aggressive plan to build an organizational structure that matches the agency’s specialized skills with the unique needs of customers across product aligned and geographic offices.

The contract management agency’s current continental United States structure is primarily organized with three regional commands overseeing 45 subordinate contract management offices. When the reorganization is fully realized, these offices could be consolidated to as few as eight geographic offices and 10 product offices.

By Jason Kaneshiro, DCMA Eastern Region Public Affairs

Posted in Contracts, Guest Post | 1 Comment »

GA-ASI Selected to Build Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) for the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s (AFLCMC) Advanced Aircraft Division

Friday, April 26th, 2024

SAN DIEGO – 24 April 2024 – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has been selected to build production representative flight test articles of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) for the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s (AFLCMC) Advanced Aircraft Division. This option contract award by the Advanced Aircraft Division exercises the critical design, build, and flight test on the existing CCA contract with GA-ASI following an initial 6-month phase that culminated in a successful CCA preliminary design review (PDR) earlier this year.

The CCA program aims to be a force multiplier, developing a low-cost, modular, unmanned aircraft equipped with advanced sensors or weapons and operating in collaborative teams with the next generation of manned combat aircraft.

In February 2024, GA-ASI successfully conducted the maiden flight of the XQ-67A CCA protype aircraft validating the “genus/species” concept pioneered by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) as part of the Low-Cost Attritable Aircraft Platform Sharing (LCAAPS)program. This program focused on building several aircraft variants from a common core chassis. Since then, this prototype for CCA has successfully completed two additional test flights, laying the groundwork for a successful production and flight test program. GA-ASI’s CCA production representative design is based upon the XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station developed by GA-ASI for the AFRL.

“The CCA program redefines the future of aviation and will shape the USAF acquisition model to deliver affordable combat mass to the warfighter at the speed of relevancy,” said Mike Atwood, Vice President of Advanced Programs for GA-ASI.

“Throughout our 30-year history, GA-ASI has been at the forefront of rapidly advancing unmanned aircraft systems that support our warfighters,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “The USAF is moving forward with GA-ASI due to our focused commitment to unmanned air-to-air combat operations and unmatched UAS experience, ensuring the production of the CCA aircraft at scale to deliver affordable combat mass for the warfighter.”

To complement the CCA contract, GA-ASI will continue to conduct a series of autonomy and mission system tests on the MQ-20 Avenger® UAS and XQ-67A to accelerate the readiness of operational autonomy. These live flight tests will continue to demonstrate the readiness of the full mission capability to support the emerging U.S. Air Force Autonomous Collaborative Platforms (ACP).

Posted in Air Force, Aviation, Contracts, Press Release, UAS | Comments Off on GA-ASI Selected to Build Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) for the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s (AFLCMC) Advanced Aircraft Division

NP Aerospace Extends Ukraine Support with Norway Contract

Thursday, April 25th, 2024

Ukraine soldiers wearing NP Aerospace body armour (image copyright NATO)

NP Aerospace is continuing its support for Ukraine with the delivery of a further 2,000 sets of body armour and carrier vests via Norway and the UK Ministry of Defence.

This takes the total number of ballistic plates sent to Ukraine from NP Aerospace to over 180,000 since the start of the war. In addition to NP Aerospace ballistic helmets and bomb disposal suits which are being used on the frontline.

The latest delivery is in support of Operation Ellisiv a Norwegian Ministry of Defence operation. Previous deliveries have been in support of Operation Interflex, aBritish-led multinational military operation to train the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and part of the UK’s commitment of £3 billion in military aid for this year. The 2,000 sets of body armour (4,000 plates and 2,000 vests) were contracted and delivered from Coventry in the UK in less than three months.

Peter Hardisty, Managing Director and Senior Vice President of NP Aerospace’s Composites and Armour Systems business, said: “Our team in Coventry are honoured to continue to support Ukraine with life-saving body armour and associated military equipment. We have expanded our facilities and team to deliver NATO programmes and will continue to do so for as long as the war continues.”

Posted in Armor, Contracts, International, Press Release | Comments Off on NP Aerospace Extends Ukraine Support with Norway Contract

Tactical Communications for the Bundeswehr: Rheinmetall Wins Framework Contract with a Potential Order Value of €400 Million

Thursday, April 25th, 2024

Intercom with hearing protection function for cross-sectional force equipment

Rheinmetall has been commissioned by the Bundeswehr in a key project for tactical communications which is of cross-sectional importance for the entire force. The technology company has been contracted to supply up to 191,000 sets of the “intercom with hearing protection function”. The framework contract has a seven-year term and a potential order volume of up to €400 million net.

The Budget Committee of the German Bundestag had imposed conditions on the project. 30,000 sets including connection cables with delivery in 2024 have been firmly ordered. A call-off for the delivery of a further 30,000 sets for 2025 is expected. These two delivery batches financed from the special fund will have a net value of up to around €140 million.

The intercom with hearing protection function (abbr. SmG in German, for “Sprechsatz mit Gehörschutz¬function”) includes modern active capsule ear protection that attenuates harmful impulse noise and amplifies quiet sounds. It also has a microphone and can be connected to various radio devices so that radio communication is possible. In addition to the combined headset, the scope of supply includes various push-to-talk (PTT) buttons and different cable sets for connecting to a range of radios and on-board communication systems. Rheinmetall has involved two leading manufacturers as subcontractors for the project: 3M Peltor with the ComTac VIII headset and CeoTronics AG with CT-Multi PTT 1C and 3C. The SmG is compatible with the Rheinmetall-supplied new combat helmet as well as with other Bundeswehr helmet types.

This order underlines Rheinmetall’s leading role in the field of military equipment. The technology company is the prime contractor for the System Infantry Soldier of the Future – Expanded System to the Bundeswehr. Rheinmetall markets various configurations of its Gladius soldier system internationally.

Posted in Comms, Contracts, International | 1 Comment »

Air Force Stands Up Digital Acquisition Light Reconnaissance Foreign Military Sales Team

Wednesday, April 24th, 2024

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – The Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Special Operations Forces (ISR & SOF) Directorate, recently put together a digital acquisition team comprised of junior workforce members, to develop a digital light reconnaissance aircraft.

Known as the Digital PAQuisitions team, the team’s goal is to create a digital version of an aircraft and make it available for when a U.S. foreign military partner expresses interest in a light reconnaissance capability. Once the foreign military partner is approved for the capability, the digital model can be taken “off the shelf” and turned into a physical aircraft, ultimately saving years in development, production, and fielding time.

“Digital acquisitions is a large shift from how we’ve traditionally performed acquisitions, where we built physical prototypes and tested those,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Rasor, Materiel Leader for the Directorate’s Light Reconnaissance Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Branch, and lead for the digital acquisition team. “We are looking to build digital prototypes and put those through the paces before we build a production ready asset. As an example, it will take less than 18 months to create a digital prototype of a light reconnaissance aircraft, build the asset and field it to the customer. Currently, using traditional acquisition methods it is taking an average of five years to field assets.”

The Light Reconnaissance FMS Branch is responsible for modifying commercial aviation aircraft for military ISR missions. For example, a Beechcraft King Air 350 could be upgraded with a tactical radio, video and infrared camera, and a sensor operator workstation, then fielded to foreign allies for use. With digital technology, the branch will not only be able to create a new aircraft, but will also be able to better sustain current aircraft.

Currently, the digital acquisition team is working on digital acquisition documentation and planning, as well as conducting market research to understand industry’s ability to integrate with the U.S. Air Force in a digital environment. Next, the team plans to release a request for proposal on its first digital acquisition, employing model-based systems engineering and digital product lifecycle management to create a light reconnaissance aircraft for a foreign military partner in Central America.

“It has been great being part of this team,” said 2nd Lt. Delaney Pollak, CENTCOM and AFRICOM Section Commander with the Branch. “As junior workforce, our goal is to bring a fresh perspective to this digital acquisition project, and create a template that other offices can use.”

“We are focused on delivering a light reconnaissance platform to a partner or ally in a timeframe where that capability is relevant to their mission,” said Rasor. “Digital acquisitions is one way that is going to help us deliver that capability, and not just for foreign military sales, but for the U.S. Air Force as well.”

By Brian Brackens, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Aviation, Contracts, Guest Post | Comments Off on Air Force Stands Up Digital Acquisition Light Reconnaissance Foreign Military Sales Team

Galvion Surpasses Milestone of 125,000 Caiman Ballistic Helmets Ordered by NATO Countries

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024

Galvion, a world leader in integrated head systems and intelligent power and data management solutions, has received three (3) new orders for its Batlskin Caiman® head system through its NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) framework contract. These latest orders, combined with previously announced orders from Norway, Finland and Sweden, take the total number of helmet systems ordered by NATO countries to over 125,000, with tens of thousands more in the pipeline.

In December 2022, Galvion was awarded a framework contract by NSPA that facilitates the procurement of its high performance Batlskin Caiman® head system and accessories, for NATO countries and partners. To service the rapidly growing demand, Galvion is investing in the establishment of a European production hub in Gdansk, Poland, originally announced in September 2023 and scheduled to be opened later this year. Concurrently, Galvion established a production partnership with NP Aerospace in the UK to produce helmets for the growing demand in the UK and wider NATO markets. This partnership is now producing a steady supply of Galvion’s Cobra® Plus helmets for the UK VIRTUS programme, and Batlskin Caiman® systems for NATO.

The NSPA framework contract through which NATO countries are ordering, was awarded following extensive user trials conducted by Norway, acting as the lead user nation, under the supervision of the NSPA. Selected to meet the higher performance bracket of four specified helmet categories, Galvion’s Caiman® helmet system comes in five sizes and is equipped with Galvion’s very latest APEX lining system, an intuitively adjustable design that enables a customized fit for users and is designed to offer unparalleled stability for the latest visual augmentation devices. The Caiman helmet is scalable for highly dynamic operations with mission-specific accessories, and is expressly designed to incorporate electronics, communications headsets, and other critical equipment, now and into the future.

“This contract is a good example of NSPA’s added value to both Nations and Industry” said Ms. Céline Danielli, NSPA General and Cooperative Service Programme Manager. “Through the use of the NATO Logistics Stock Exchange, the Agency brings together technical requirements and the latest technology and equipment, enabling Nations to procure what they need on a web-platform”.

Todd Stirtzinger, CEO at Galvion said: “We’re very proud to see more countries joining Norway, Finland and Sweden in ordering our flagship Caiman head system through the NSPA, which offers NATO countries a vastly simplified procurement route for our helmet, along with a growing list of integrated accessories. We continue to work both internally and in conjunction with best-in-breed partners to develop and integrate capability enhancements, from our E.D.G™ scalable power to communications to strobes and visual displays that will ensure the Caiman platform continues to evolve to meet ever-growing mission needs, all available through the NSPA procurement route.” He added: “Our investment strategy remains focused on keeping pace with the growing demand for our head systems around the world, through the establishment of a European production facility and strategic partnerships, as well as continued investment in Galvion’s domestic facilities, allowing us to effectively service demand now and into the future.”

Posted in Advertiser, Contracts, Helmets, International, NATO, Press Release | Comments Off on Galvion Surpasses Milestone of 125,000 Caiman Ballistic Helmets Ordered by NATO Countries