The Insider

Sikorsky President Paul Lemmo said Tuesday afternoon that the company is examining the feedback from the Army and the Government Accountability Office on the reasons for losing the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft contract.

Sikorsky, part of Lockheed Martin, lost out to Bell, owned by Textron, on the FLRAA contract. After the Army announced the decision in early December, Sikorsky filed a bid protest with GAO, alleging inconsistencies in the way the Army evaluated its DEFIANT X proposal and Bell’s V-280 Valor.

This month, GAO denied Sikorsky’s protest, agreeing with the Army’s original feedback that the DEFIANT X lacked enough detail when it came to engineering design and development. The company ultimately chose not to take further legal action.

Lemmo, speaking by phone to reporters Tuesday ahead of the Aviation Association of America’s annual conference in Nashville, TN, said despite the outcome of the protest, he is still encouraged by positive feedback from the Army on the company’s X2 technology -- a coaxial rotor system that eliminates the need for a tail rotor. Sikorsky’s proposal for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft also uses X2 technology.

“As we review all the feedback that we got on the proposal on the FLRAA offering, in particular the X2 technology, I think the good news there is that we have many strengths associated with X2,” Lemmo said.

“Specifically, the feedback that we received from the Army let us know that the agility, stability and scalability of our X2 technology can be extremely useful in contested areas,” he added.

Lemmo did not elaborate on the reasons Sikorsky chose not to take the FLRAA case to court. He emphasized that the Army only rated the DEFIANT X as “unacceptable” in the architecture subfactor, but that caused the overall engineering and design factor to also be viewed as unacceptable.

As Sikorsky competes with Bell for the FARA contract, Lemmo said they are continuing to review feedback from the FLRAA case.

“I would say that we are obviously learning from that and moving on, and we’ll take all the lessons learned to all of the future opportunities that we bid on,” he said.

Sikorsky’s RAIDER X prototype is 96% complete in the company’s West Palm Beach, FL facility. Lemmo said the prototype is currently undergoing risk-reduction testing, and they hope to fly it by the summer of 2024.

That timing is based on the Improved Turbine Engines being delivered this fall, which have experienced quality-control-related delays, according to Army acquisition chief Doug Bush. Then, additional tests must be conducted once the engines are installed, Lemmo said.

“It’s got to go through a number of ground tests and checkouts, and then we can begin flight checks,” he said.

The Army last week issued a sources-sought notice for a follow-on production contract for the first increment of the Precision Strike Missile.

PrSM, part of the Army’s Long Range Precision Fires modernization objective, was approved by the Defense Acquisition Executive in November 2013, according to a notice posted April 20. Over the course of the next several years, the Army conducted an analysis of alternatives, awarded studies to industry and invited companies to provide demonstrations of the technology.

In September 2021, PrSM passed milestone B, meaning it could transition to the engineering and manufacturing development stage. Lockheed Martin was awarded a $62 million contract modification for the EMD phase, Inside Defense reported.

Increment 1 of the PrSM will “attack, neutralize, suppress and destroy targets using missile delivered indirect precision fires,” according to the Army. Pentagon budget justification materials state the service has an Army Acquisition Objective of 3,986 PrSM missiles, and the current AAO is for Increment 1. The Army has included $384 million for the procurement of 110 PrSM missiles for FY-24.

The follow-on contract will be for the production of “634 assets of the PrSM Increment 1 system” over 48 months, according to the notice. It states that the contract will fulfill a requirement to “provide the most capable and modernized artillery battalions for employment across land domains.” The follow-on will likely be a sole-source contract, it states.

The Army is asking industry to reply to the notice by April 30.

Doug Bush, the Army’s top acquisition official, told Congress last week that Increment 1 could be “a very good candidate” for a multiyear procurement effort in the future.

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on a recently introduced electro-optical sensor developed by Raytheon Technologies, the latest on vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft systems and more.

Raytheon Technologies today announced the launch of RAIVEN, a capability that uses artificial intelligence, hyperspectral imaging and light detection and ranging [LiDAR] to help pilots see farther and clearer:

Raytheon wants to add new EO intelligence capability on Army future vertical lift platforms

Raytheon Technologies executives say they are hoping to incorporate a new electro-optical intelligent sensing capability on two Army future vertical lift platforms.

Frederick Stefany, acting assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development, and acquisition, recently testified at a House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee hearing on rotary wing aviation systems:

VTOL aircraft to bridge 'warfighting gaps'

Investing in vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft systems remains critical for naval forces to bridge "key warfighting gaps" and provide "transformational capabilities" as legacy rotary-wing platforms end service in the next decade, said Frederick Stefany, acting assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development, and acquisition.

Adm. John Aquilino, who leads Indo-Pacific Command, was on Capitol Hill last week talking about his area of responsibility:

Lawmakers dig into INDOPACOM's unmet needs

Lawmakers scrutinized U.S. Indo-Pacific Command's list of unfunded priorities during a Thursday budget hearing, focusing on funding requests to support the development of three future missile systems as well as electromagnetic spectrum capabilities and additional operations in the region.

Aquilino signals support for Taiwan-focused weapons transfers

The head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command today signaled support for the use of presidential drawdown authority to "surge" capabilities to defend Taiwan and enhance deterrence in the region.

The No. 2 top military service officials testified before the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee last week about their respective fiscal year 2024 readiness budgets:

Space Force to take over Army's Theater Missile Warning

The Army will transfer its key missile warning functions to the Space Force in fiscal year 2024, Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David Thompson told lawmakers in congressional testimony on Wednesday.

Document: House hearing on military readiness

The Pentagon released the unclassified version of its annual Freedom of Navigation report today, tallying 22 instances of U.S. forces pushing back on "excessive maritime claims" made by 15 different actors during fiscal year 2022.

These claims include a variety of restrictions imposed on the exercise of navigation, violating international law established in the U.N. Law of the Sea Convention, according to a Friday DOD release.

China tops the list with five violations involving the attempted restriction of sea and airspace in the South and East China Seas.

The report lists two infractions by Iran for attempting to limit transit through the Strait of Hormuz and prohibit foreign military activities in its exclusive economic zone. The United Arab Emirates and Montenegro are also listed with two violations each.

Antigua and Barbuda, Croatia, Malaysia, Malta, Nicaragua, Oman, Russia, Somalia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Yemen round out the list with one violation each.

“If left unchallenged, excessive maritime claims could limit the rights and freedoms enjoyed by every nation,” the announcement states.

“Upholding freedom of navigation as a principle supports unimpeded lawful commerce and the global mobility of U.S. forces. DOD's freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows,” the release adds.

The annual RSA conference in San Francisco kicks off Monday with a focus this year on the national cyber strategy, operational collaboration, hardware and software security and more in keynote sessions and panels running through Thursday.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency cyber leader Eric Goldstein and acting Principal Deputy National Cyber Director Rob Knake participate in a Wednesday session on the national cyber strategy. It also features State Department cyber official Liesyl Franz and the FBI’s Bryan Vorndran.

Hardware security and software supply chain security are among the hot topics Monday at the RSA Security Conference.

The Information Technology Industry Council’s Courtney Lang moderates a session on what’s next for hardware security following the CHIPS Act featuring NIST’s Jon Boyens, Amit Elazari of Intel and National Security Council official Steven Kelly, while Office of the National Cyber Director official Camille Stewart Gloster participates in a panel on how to secure the software supply chain.

CISA’s Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative is in the spotlight with a Monday panel moderated by CISA’s Maria Probst. It features Jason Barrett of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Stephanie Kiel of Google and Robert Sheldon of CrowdStrike.

Monday’s sessions also include a keynote from former CISA Director Chris Krebs and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco on the Justice Department’s approach to evolving cyber threats, and CISA’s Goldstein with Cyber National Mission Force Commander Major Gen. William Hartman discussing the partnership between CISA and U.S. Cyber Command.

The FBI’s Vorndran moderates a panel on hardening AI/ML and Dragos CEO Robert Lee provides an update in a separate session on the industrial cyber threat landscape.

On Tuesday, keynotes focus on responsible AI, cryptocurrencies, cybersecurity and the music industry, and an overview on next-generation tactics, techniques and procedures from CrowdStrike.

There’s also a panel on the U.S. national cyber label program for consumer connected devices featuring the Consumer Technology Association’s David Grossman and Michael Bergman, Intel’s Elazari, NIST’s Katerina Megas and Eric Tamarkin of Samsung.

Other Tuesday sessions include NSA cyber director Rob Joyce moderating a panel on building international coalitions to scale defense, a panel on aviation industry issues, Software Bill of Materials with Charis Blask of Cybeats and Kate Stewart of the Linux Foundation, a discussion on cyber insurance claims trends and an FBI-led panel on the U.S.-Ukraine cyber partnership.

Wednesday’s schedule features a panel on the Cyber Safety Review Board featuring DHS Under Secretary for Policy Rob Silvers and Google’s Heather Adkins. Keynotes include a panel on cyber diplomacy and Mandiant CEO Kevin Mandia providing a year-in-review on the state of cybersecurity.

The diplomacy panel features State Department cyber leader Nate Fick, Nathalie Jaarsma from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Mandia and Wendi Whitmore of Palo Alto Networks.

Another Wednesday panel focuses on systemically important critical infrastructure with former CISA officials Bob Kolasky and Daniel Kroese, Norma Krayem of Van Scoyoc Associates and Henry Willis of the RAND Corp. ONCD official Cheri Caddy and McCrary Institute’s Frank Cilluffo participate in a separate session on the Energy Department’s National Cyber-Informed Engineering Strategy.

Representatives from the healthcare industry respond on Wednesday to the latest cyber proposals from the Securities and Exchange Commission, while ONCD’s Stewart Gloster participates in a session on diversity and inclusion with Walmart’s Rob Duhart.

NSA’s Joyce speaks at a Wednesday track session called “State of the Hack 2023 -- NSA's Perspective.”

Thursday highlights include Cheri Pascoe and Amy Mahn discussing what’s next for the NIST cybersecurity framework; officials from the FBI and the Defense, Treasury and Energy departments on operational collaboration; and an exploration of the Federal Aviation Administration’s cyber efforts.

There’s also a keynote panel on ransomware featuring CSIS’ Suzanne Spaulding and Glen Gerstell, Tenable’s Robert Huber, Phyllis Schneck of Northrop Grumman and Preston Golson of the Brunswick Group. NIST Director Laurie Locascio participates in an afternoon keynote panel focused on setting standards, while ONCD’s Stewart Gloster moderates a session on developing the cyber workforce strategy.

Oshkosh Defense filed two supplemental protests this month in addition to its original protest of the Army's award of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle follow-on contract to AM General.

The Army announced Feb. 9 that it had awarded the contract to AM General to produce more than 20,000 JLTVs and more than 9,000 trailers. The contract could be worth as much as $8 billion over a decade.

Oshkosh filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office on March 6, alleging the Army did not conduct a thorough cost evaluation in examining AM General’s ability to produce the vehicles, and overlooked other flaws in the company’s production process, according to a redacted copy.

According to GAO’s website, Oshkosh filed additional protests on April 13 and 17 in the matter. Those refer to supplemental protest allegations that were filed, according to Edward Goldstein, GAO managing associate general counsel for procurement law.

Goldstein wrote in an email to Inside Defense Thursday that the supplemental allegations are expected to be resolved by the June 14 deadline in the case, which is 100 days after the original protest was filed in March.

Oshkosh, in a statement to Inside Defense Friday, said: “Supplemental protests noted on the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) site are part of the normal protest process filed under a GAO protective order and are not available at this time. We are unable to comment further.”

Oshkosh, which won the original JLTV contract in 2015, can continue to produce the vehicles through 2024.