Defense`s Feeds

Americas Austal won an $8 million deal to provide advance planning, material procurement, and accomplishment of work for emergent availabilities in support of the littoral combat ship USS Kingsville (LCS 36). This effort is to develop and provide planning, engineering support, planning and logistics technical documentation, funds and man-hour expenditure data, projected costs, cost estimates, […]

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $79 million contract. This contract procures diminishing manufacturing sources parts required for the production and sustainment in of the F-35 aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers, and non-US Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is […]

Americas Technology company Sigma Defense Systems has signed a $4.7 million task order to build a virtual reality intelligence training ecosystem for the US Army. Under the deal, the Georgia-based firm will build, demonstrate, and deploy a next-generation training platform for the army’s Operator Maintainer Immersive Virtual Reality Environment for Intelligence Training (OMNIVORE-IT) project. The resulting […]

MiG-21 ‘Lancer’ (click to view full) The MiG-21 is reaching the end of its service life, but it can still be effective for a little while. India’s refurbished MiG-21 ‘Bisons’ combined Russian, Indian and Israeli technology to excellent effect in the COPE India 2004 and 2005 exercises with the USAF, and there’s even a Russian-Israeli […]

Americas Applied Visual Technology won a $28 million firm-fixed-price contract for Targeted Fidelity Apache Tactical Trainer simulators, the Tactical Control Centre, and the Network Simulation Environment. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida; and Kooiweg, Netherlands, with an estimated completion date of September 15, 2026. Army Contracting Command, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity. The […]

Americas The US Army is testing the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle-mounted Modular Turreted Mortar System (MTMS) prototype. Trials have been ongoing since January to ensure the expected performance from the system before an upcoming demonstration at Fort Moore, Georgia, in September. “We are diligently verifying its advertised capabilities and making sure it is safe for the […]

Americas Marvin Land Systems won a $14.7 million deal for M1 Abrams tank auxiliary power units. The ordering period end date is September 19, 2024. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2023 through 2024 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan. […]

Americas Bell Boeing won a $14 million modification to provide continued post-production systems engineering and program management support for the V-22 Common Configuration Readiness and Modernization retrofit program for the Marine Corps. Work will be performed in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania; and Fort Worth, Texas and is expected to be completed in September 2024. Naval Air […]

Nathalie Guichard joins the European Defence Agency (EDA) as Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI) Director. Ms Guichard is a Brigadier General and was previously the managing director of L’Atelier Industriel de l’Aéronautique de Clermont-Ferrand (AIA CF), a French state-owned military aircraft maintenance facility . 

“I am delighted and honoured to be joining the European Defence Agency at this critical time. Innovation is indispensable for our armed forces, and it is at the European level that we can coordinate our efforts with the civilian sector to give us the technological superiority we need,” Ms Guichard said upon taking up her duties. 

Ms Guichard is a military engineer who graduated from France's L'École polytechnique and the Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (ISAE-Supaéro). She also holds a master’s degree in public management. 

With her engineering background, Ms Guichard brings a wealth of experience to EDA. She started her career in 1990 as a project manager for flying test bench modification. Two years later, she became head of the equipment maintenance department. After transferring to the aeronautical programs office of Délégation générale pour l’armement (DGA), France’s procurement agency, in 1998, Ms Guichard then became the Rafale manufacturing and support manager at the French Ministry of Defence.  

In 2001, Ms Guichard left the ministry and became the information technology adviser of Auvergne regional prefect, to develop mobile phone and wide bandwidth networks, among other projects. She also liaised with the European Regional Development Fund. She joined Clermont Ferrand community of cities to develop start-ups as well as technology transfer from university research centres to local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In 2016, she returned to the military sphere, first as deputy managing director and then chief operating officer of AIA CF, before becoming managing director in 2020. 

As Research, Technology and Innovation Director, Ms Guichard leads EDA’s directorate that fosters and supports defence research in the European Union. Most notably, her directorate runs the Hub for EU Defence Innovation, known as HEDI, which stimulates and facilitates cooperation on defence innovation among Member States while also working with the European Commission and ensuring coherence with NATO innovation initiatives. HEDI’s activities contribute to EU priorities for capability development and defence research, as well as on skills, technologies, and manufacturing capabilities.

The Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector (CF SEDSS), has marked the end of its third phase, running from 2019 to 2024, playing its part in the European Union’s Green Deal to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

With initiatives to improve energy efficiency in the military, as well as pilot projects to optimise energy use in buildings and efforts to electrify transport within defence facilities, Phase III generated over 30 project ideas and 15 research studies. Initiatives also included integrating hydrogen fuel technology in military vehicles and  promote military behavioural change among military personnel.

The European Defence Agency (EDA) and the Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy (DG ENER) organised the CF SEDSS III Dissemination Conference on 25 April 2024 under the auspices of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and hosted by the Ministry of Defence of Belgium.

The CF SEDSS is a Commission-funded initiative managed by the EDA. It is Europe’s largest defence energy community, reinforcing the defence sector's involvement in the energy transition. It will now move to Phase IV, running until 2028. The forum focuses on four interrelated areas: energy efficiency and buildings performance; renewable energy sources; protection of defence-related critical energy infrastructure; and policy, research and technology, and funding for defence energy-related projects.

“It is more crucial than ever to fully embrace a spirit of sustainability in our defence policies. Climate change also highlights the need to diversify our energy sources,” Belgium’s Minister of Defence Ludivine Dedonder told the conference. “The Member States of the European Union, through the Green Deal, have committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Defence can play a crucial role by integrating the fight against climate change into its operations and by developing skills to meet the new environmental challenges.”

EDA Deputy Chief Executive André Denk said that the next phase of the Consultation Forum would be crucial. “The EU’s goal to become climate neutral by 2050 cannot be achieved without the engagement of the defence sector – defence may be responsible for up to 5.5% of the world’s total CO2 emissions. More energy sustainability in defence means also less costs, less reliance on fossil fuels, and increased resilience.” 

Paloma Aba Garrote, Director, European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), said that: “Europe’s defence and security sector is crucial to achieving the EU Green Deal targets of energy efficiency, renewables deployment and decarbonisation of the economy.”

In total, seven plenary conferences were organised during Phase III, including two onsite exhibitions, as well as workshops and ad-hoc meetings. EDA organised the first CF SEDSS table-top exercise to assess and mitigate vulnerabilities in critical energy infrastructure related to defence in the face of hybrid threats.

These efforts have collectively supported EU goals in energy and climate, highlighted by the development of the Symbiosis project, which will identify and address barriers for offshore renewable energy developments in areas used or reserved for present and future military activities and purposes.

The Forum's contributions are acknowledged in high-level EU documents such as the Progress Report of the EU Climate Change and Defence Roadmap, the Action Plan on Military Mobility and the EU Joint Communication on Climate Change.

To read more about the CF SEDSS  

• Greening Defence with Innovation: 2nd Energy Technology Solutions Conference & Exhibition (europa.eu)  

• EDA green defence forum reaches highest level of participation (europa.eu)  

• Defence and energy communities step up efforts on sustainable energy and publish new ground-breaking climate change study (europa.eu)  

• Climate change and EU defence: released new report analysing the links between climate, energy and defence (europa.eu)  

• EDA-led energy forum meets to reduce defence carbon footprint (europa.eu)  

• Fifth Consultation Forum meets in Prague to promote sustainable energy in defence (europa.eu)  

 

Americas Northrop Grumman won a $9 million modification to a previously awarded fixed-price incentive (firm-target), cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable contract. This modification increases the contract ceiling to procure the necessary hardware and associated technical engineering, management and logistics support for fabrication, assembly, test, and delivery of eight AN/APR-39 D(V)2 Radar Warning Receiver/Electronic Warfare Management Systems, and […]

High intensity, state-to-state war in Ukraine is forcing the European Union to reenergise its defence industrial base on a large scale to defend Western democratic values. At the same time, the EU is preparing for future challenges, developing the most innovative, high-end capabilities. The EU and the European Defence Agency (EDA) are accelerating efforts in support of Ukraine and for the defence of Europe.   

 

In the Agency’s annual report for 2023, we provide an overview of EDA’s milestones reached and achievements over the year. Our highlights include: 

• Denmark joining as EDA’s 27th member 

• Deepening ties with the United  States Department of Defense through an Administrative Arrangement 

• Agreeing the 2023 Capability Development Priorities across the five military domains 

• Stepping up in 2023 with EDA’s two-year fast-track procedure for the joint procurement of 155mm artillery rounds, with a project arrangement signed by all EU Member States and Norway 

• Transferring EDA’s long-running helicopter programme to a new centre in Portugal 

• Achieving Initial Operational Capability for the multinational fleet of Airbus A330 tanker and transport aircraft, a project established by EDA  

Overall, in 2023, the Agency managed around 94 cooperative ad-hoc projects and programmes in capability development, training, and joint procurement, as well as Research and Technology (R&T) and innovation, with a total estimated value in the range of €664 million. 

2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the European Defence Agency. Over two decades, we have helped our armed forces to cooperate and invest better together. We continue to anticipate tomorrow's defence needs. The EDA’s added value for EU defence is sharply increasing. 

Download the full 2023 Annual Report here

Americas Raytheon Missiles & Defense won a $212.5 million for an option exercise of combat system engineering, miscellaneous material, and travel supporting combat system installation, integration, development, testing, correction, maintenance, and modernization of ZUMWALT class mission systems and mission system equipment. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, Rhode Island (40%); Tewksbury, Massachusetts (33%); San Diego, […]

67% of the fleet (click to view full) DID’s FOCUS Article for the DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class “destroyer” program covers the new ships’ capabilities and technologies, key controversies, associated contracts and costs, and related background resources. The ship’s prime missions are to provide naval gunfire support, and next-generation air defense, in near-shore areas where other large […]

Americas Lockheed Martin won an $88.3 million Captains of Industry contract for the overhaul of B-2 digital receiver and legacy defense message system. This contract provides for overhaul, management, and material lay-in. Work will be performed at Owego, New York, and is expected to be completed by April 16, 2034. This contract was a sole […]

All together now… (click to view full) Britain’s practice of “contracting for availability” for key equipment, rather than paying for spare parts and maintenance hours, may be its most significant defense procurement reform. In a world where older air, sea, and ground vehicle fleets are growing maintenance demands beyond countries’ available budgets, it’s an approach […]

Americas The US Navy marks a new chapter in multi-engine pilot training with the arrival of its first two T-54A trainer aircraft at Naval Air Station (NAS) Corpus Christi on Apr. 18th. The T-54A, a modified Beechcraft King Air 260 designated for the Navy, replaces the T-44C Pegasus, which has served faithfully since 1977. The […]

Americas D-J Engineering Inc. won a $30 million deal for machine shop requirements for supplies related to EA-18G and P-8A aircraft components and related platforms/requirements for Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane. Each awardee will be awarded $10,000 obligated at time of award. These contracts include options which, if exercised, would bring the total value to […]

Americas Thales Defense & Security Inc. won a $16 million deal for the repair of three items that are part of the H-1 Optimized Top Owl system. All work will be performed in Valbonne, France, and work is expected to be completed by October 2024. Annual working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $11,933,292 […]

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $46 million order by the US Navy, which provides non-recurring engineering for the development, integration, testing, and deployment of the MH-60 aircraft product line system configuration 26 fleet release for all MH-60 air platform variants, to include baseline management integrated management planning, integrated development environment support, support equipment baseline management, […]