DoD Faces Possible Year-long Emergency Spending Measure

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Leader’s owners or staff.

The Department of Defense is bracing for the possibility of operating under an emergency spending measure for the next fiscal year, something it has never before been asked to do, The Hill reports. Todd Harrison, director of defense budget analysis and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that under a 12-month CR, the Pentagon would have $25 billion less in 2016 than requested, although $10 billion more than under sequestration — budget caps that require the Pentagon to slash its budget by $500 billion over a decade.

The Office of Personnel Management said Wednesday that the hackers who stole security dossiers from the agency also got the fingerprints of 5.6 million federal employees. The agency had said previously that it lost only 1.1 million sets of fingerprints among the 22.5 million individuals whose records were compromised, reported the New York Times. One of the biggest concerns about the breach of personnel records has been that China, or any other nations given access to the data, could use it to identify intelligence agents, defense personnel or government contractors.

At the White House Wednesday, Pope Francis offered an endorsement of President Obama’s diplomatic agenda, furthering his message of peace over conflict, Navy Times reports. “The efforts which were recently made to mend broken relationships and to open new doors to cooperation within our human family represent positive steps along the path of reconciliation, justice and freedom,” the pontiff said. The Pope’s comments came about a week after the Vatican reiterated support for the recently concluded deal with Iran that would lift economic sanctions.

Interoperability among allies was on display today at NAS Patuxent River’s exhibition of more than 30 unmanned vehicle technologies, Breaking Defense reports. Among the vehicle architects, developers and operators were representatives of six nations who are working together to add software to different vehicle systems to get them to communicate with one another. The event, organized by the Office of Naval Research, displayed a range of promising technologies designed to increase precision in targeting threats – such as mines — while reducing risk to people searching out those threats.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., or GA-ASI, the San Diego-based company that makes the Predator and Reaper drones, is undertaking a privately funded study to integrate a 150-kilowatt solid-state laser onto its Avenger (née Predator-C) drone. If the company succeeds, a drone with a high-energy laser will be a reality at some point in 2017, company executives told Defense One.

“Culture of reprisals” against whistleblowers continues unchecked at the Veterans Administration, the Washington Post reports.

The Economist presents an audio discussion of how to manage the appetite for drones and regulate their use as interest spreads from military and corporate users to the guy next door.

The Federal Aviation Administration has approved the National Football League’s (NFL) film division to use drone flights for “aerial videography and closed-set motion picture and television filming.” The Hill reports that the flights were approved under a section of federal law that allows the Transportation Department to waive requirements for FAA approval for drone flights that are operated outside of restricted airspace and below 200 feet.

“It ain’t over till it’s over.” – Yogi Berra, 1925-2015

Contract:

PAE Applied Technologies LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $69,222,886 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee level of effort contract (N00421-14-C-0038) to exercise an option for range engineering and operations and maintenance services.  Services to be provided include various types of system operations; laboratory and field testing; marine operations and target support services; engineering; range sustainability; maintenance; and data reduction and analysis in support of the Atlantic Test Range and the Atlantic Targets and Marine Operations Division of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division.  Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in September 2016.  Fiscal 2015 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); and fiscal 2015 operations and maintenance (Navy and defense wide) funds in the amount of $4,901,467 will be obligated at time of award, of which $808,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.