Feral Jundi

Friday, March 17, 2017

Aviation: USAF Plans To Massively Increase Red Air Contracts

Wow, this is cool. A big thanks to one of my readers for sending me this. The reason I wanted to post this here on the blog is because we are now going to see private companies, competing in the skies with the US Air Force via Top Gun style aggressor support training. So private pilots will be flying in company owned ‘fighter jets’, simulating air to air combat against the most advanced military air force on the planet. That is significant.

For one, it is just crazy to see the kinds of aircraft that these companies will be flying. Most are a mix of eastern bloc stuff, that is cost effective. But there is some other stuff that is pretty advanced. Did you know that DA Defense is actually gearing up to buy F 16’s? lol

I believe out of all the companies listed below, Draken International has the most privately owned jet aircraft. They were also the ones that were a part of the initial test at Nellis AFB for this concept. With this coming contract, I expect to see the numbers of aircraft increase for all of these companies.

I did not see how much this contract would be worth, but I expect it to be pretty sizable. We will see how it goes and I will make the edit when I hear of more info on this. Claire Lee Chennault‘s ghost is looking on with profound interest and envy. –Matt

Draken International website here.

Discovery Air Defence Service website here.

Airborne Tactical Advantage Company website here.

 

Draken International L-159.

 

USAF gears up for huge Red Air contracts
March 16th, 2017
The US Air Force plans to release a solicitation to industry for a massive 40,000 hours of contracted aggressor support training at 12 different bases. It comes following a year-long experiment at Nellis AFB, Nevada, for Draken International.
The multi-award contract, which is expected in January 2019, is huge and will have the existing contractor air service providers scrambling to win contracts.
The USAF says it will release a draft solicitation to industry in July as it seeks to provide the additional adversary air and support at 12 different bases. Nellis AFB alone will take 11,250 hours of the requested flight hours from the planned total 36,231 hours annually.
As well as Nellis, other installations that will benefit from additional red air comprise Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina; JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; Holloman AFB, New Mexico; Eglin AFB, Florida; JB Langley-Eustis, Virginia; Tyndall AFB, Florida; Kingsley Field, Oregon; Luke AFB, Arizona; Hill AFB, Utah and Tucson Airport, Arizona.
The increased use of contractor owned, contractor operated (COCO) adversary aircraft has been building for several years. Air Combat Command (ACC) has conducted an analysis of Adversary Air (ADAIR) capabilities to fill a ‘significant gap’ in its training requirements. The service reportedly suffered from a shortage of adversary 3,000 sorties at Nellis AFB, Nevada, during 2016 and that number is expected to rise as F-35 training ramps up.
The USAF currently only operates two aggressor squadrons; the 18th AGRS at Eielson AFB, Alaska, and the 64th AGRS at Nellis. The 65th AGRS, that flew F-15C/Ds, disbanded in 2014. Draken International and Discovery Air Defence Services are both offering contractor air services, along with Textron, which in 2016 purchased the former ATAC (Airborne Tactical Advantage Co).
The service first evaluated the use of commercial ‘Red Air’ when it awarded a one-year contract to Draken International last September. During the ‘proof-of-concept’ evaluation Draken’s radar-equipped Skyhawks have been flying sorties from Nellis in support of the USAF Weapons School and the F-35 Joint Operational Test Team.
The latest RFI is seeking information regarding supersonic aircraft that are equipped with radar and limited sensor and datalink capabilities — it points to more F-16s.

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Monday, March 13, 2017

Industry Talk: Constellis To Acquire Centerra Group

Filed under: Industry Talk — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 11:59 PM

Wow, this is big. Centerra Group (formerly Wackenhut/G4S Government Solutions) has 9,000 employees and Constellis is wanting to acquire them. So yeah, I would say that this will dramatically increase the size of the Constellis family, and this action is in addition to their other merger and acquisitions over the last couple of years.

From a quick glance at the kind of contracts they have, it looks like they are heavy into CONUS security stuff, like nuclear security. Their jobs page showed firefighter gigs, medical gigs, and support stuff as well, but lots of security jobs. So this move will definitely get Constellis into the game of DOE contracts in the US.

As to a little background of Centerra Group, they started out in 1960 as Wackenhut Services Inc. Then G4S bought them and called it G4S Government Solutions. Then in 2014, a private equity group called Alvarez & Marsal bought the business and renamed it Centerra Group. On a side note, Centerra Group also acquired a land mine clearance company called The Development Initiative. –Matt

Centerra Group webpage here.

Centerra-Nevada here.

 

 

CONSTELLIS ENTERS INTO DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE CENTERRA GROUP
Transaction Unites Leaders in the Safety and Risk Management Sector
Enhances Constellis’ Domestic Presence and Enables Further Penetration of Key Customers, Notably the U.S. Department of Energy
Transaction to Be Supported by Committed Debt Financing Provided by Four Leading Financial Institutions
RESTON, Va. & PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fl. (March 13, 2017) — Constellis, a leading provider of operational support and risk management services, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Centerra Group, LLC (“Centerra”) and its subsidiaries from an affiliate of Alvarez & Marsal Capital. The acquisition of Centerra, a leading global government and critical infrastructure services company, will significantly enhance Constellis’ U.S. domestic presence and strengthen its relationships with key customers, including the U.S. Department of Energy and the United Nations.
The transaction is conditioned on customary regulatory reviews and approvals, and is expected to close within the second quarter of 2017. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The transaction brings together the industry’s two premier safety and risk management providers serving a broad range of customers, including U.S. government agencies (notably the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Energy), foreign governments, NGOs and a diverse mix of blue-chip commercial entities. The transaction furthers Constellis’ ongoing strategy of expanding its domestic presence serving well-funded customers with enduring requirements. Constellis will be able to leverage the combined entity’s scale, vertical integration, training facilities, shared best practices and financial resources to strengthen its best-in- class risk mitigation service offering, utilizing the industry’s most revered compliance programs.
Headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Centerra has approximately 9,000 employees operating across the U.S., Africa, the Middle East and other international locations. Centerra has an established track record of more than five decades operating domestically for the U.S. Department of Energy and currently provides operational support and risk management services at 15 U.S. Department of Energy sites across the U.S. In addition, Centerra provides security, fire suppression and base operations support to other U.S. Government customers, as well as humanitarian- focused services and training, such as munitions clearance and related consulting services, to the United Nations and foreign governments abroad.
“The acquisition of Centerra represents a critical step in our continued evolution as an essential service provider, enabling enduring missions for our customers,” said Jason DeYonker, Chief Executive Officer of Constellis. “Centerra greatly enhances our domestic footprint and accelerates our ongoing efforts to further penetrate the U.S. risk management market with such highly regarded customers as the U.S. Department of Energy. Centerra’s well respected brand, exceptional performance and strong leadership bring tremendous value to our combined offering.”
Paul Donahue, President and Chief Executive Officer of Centerra, commented: “We are excited by the combination of Centerra and Constellis, yielding the leading global provider of the most creative, compliant and comprehensive risk management services in the world. Constellis’ award winning compliance programs, exceptional training capabilities and commitment to invest in operational best practices will add value at less overall cost to our customers and partners.”
Financing
Constellis has secured financing commitments from Credit Suisse, Barclays, Citi and Goldman Sachs to fund the acquisition of Centerra and to refinance the combined company’s existing debt.
Advisors
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP are serving as legal advisors to affiliates of Apollo Global Management (together with its subsidiaries “Apollo”) and Constellis.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside the control of the Company. Therefore, actual results may differ materially and adversely, in terms of quantum and timing, from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements for any reason except as may be required by law.

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