House Defense Spending Bill Includes More F-35s, One Attack Sub
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The US House on Friday narrowly passed its version of the $833 billion defense spending bill for fiscal 2025, reports Defense News. The vote was 217-198. The legislation would buy eight more F-35s beyond the Pentagon’s budget request of 68, while only procuring one Virginia-class attack submarine for FY25 instead of the usual two vessels the bill usually provides.
Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee criticized the move to buy more F-35s than the Pentagon asked for, reports Military Times. Reps. Adam Smith (D-WA) and Donald Norcross (D-NJ) wrote, “At a projected total lifecycle cost of over $2 trillion dollars, the F-35 is the largest program in DoD history despite routinely not meeting cost, schedule, and performance metrics,” saying Congress should not reward that behavior by buying more aircraft above the president’s budget request.
The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit will launch dozens of new projects with its nearly $1 billion in fiscal 2024 funding, reports C4ISRNET. The DoD tech hub plans to spend most of its budget to accelerate existing projects and add new ones in technology areas like counter uncrewed aerial systems and space transport.
The US military had once again removed the pier off Gaza because of sea conditions, the Pentagon said on Friday, reports Reuters. It is unclear if the pier will return. US soldiers had tired, once again, to deliver aid to hungry Palestinians by sea early last week, reports Navy Times. After several fits and starts, the $230 million pier was up and running only to be shut down a few days later. Earlier attempts to keep the pier operating had been hampered by poor weather.
The Defense Department’s inspector general has launched a review of the military’s efforts to get the humanitarian aid into Gaza through a maritime corridor, reports The Hill. Joining the review is the US Agency for International Development, saying they would review “key aspects” of the aid mission and the effectiveness of the US military’s humanitarian aid efforts.
Boeing says that testing on the P-8 Poseidon Long Range Anti-Ship Missile is expected to wrap this summer, reports Breaking Defense. The endeavor would have Boeing integrate the LRASM, which is separately made by Lockheed Martin, onto the aircraft.
Nine years after development of South Korea’s KF-21 Boramae began, the government has signed a deal with Korea Aerospace Industries for the production of 20 fighter jets, reports Defense News. KAI says the fighter jet’s development is 80% complete.
Lockheed Martin clinched a contract involving its F-35 aircraft program, reports yahoo!finance. The deal is valued at $31.2 million and is expected to be completed by January 2025. Lockheed will provide production and non-recurring engineering support for landing gear design, redesign, and analysis to boost the ability to produce and deliver the F-35 landing and arresting gear system.
Denmark is set to bring home its six F-35 fighter jets currently being used to train pilots in the US as the delivery schedule for an upgraded version of the aircraft continues to slip, reports Defense News. The six Danish F-35s are stationed at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona will be repatriated to the Royal Danish Air Force’s Skrydstrup air base.
DARPA announces that its new XRQ-73 SHEPARD hybrid electric propulsion demonstrator has received its official X-plane designation: XRQ-73, reports The Aviationist. SHEPARD is an “X-prime” program. “The idea behind a DARPA X-prime program is to take emerging technologies and burn down system-level integration risks to quickly mature a new missionized long endurance aircraft design that can be fielded quickly,” said Steve Komadina, SHEPARD program manager. The prime contractor for SHEPARD is Northrop Grumman’s Aeronautics Systems.
Lockheed Martin has the OK to produce an extended-range version of its Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, the US Army announced last week, reports Army Times. Lockheed was awarded a $200 million fiscal 2024 contract modification in May to build as many as 240 extended range GMLRS.
Boeing has been sanctioned by the National Transportation Safety Board after it violated a signed agreement by sharing information about the probe into a 737 Max 9 door plug that blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, reports The Hill. A Boeing executive discussed certain “investigative information” and offered an analysis of information that had previously been released during a media briefing Tuesday, both of which “blatantly violated” the party agreement Boeing signed, according to the NTSB.
Lockheed Martin subsidiaries Sikorsky and Derco Aerospace have agreed to pay $70 million to resolve claims the companies overcharged the US Navy for spare parts and material needed to repair aircraft, reports Connecticut Post via MSN.
President Joe Biden will pardon US military veterans who were discharged or convicted under military law for consensual same-sex relations, reports Maryland Matters. The Biden administration estimates that thousands were convicted over several decades and may be eligible. An exact number of veterans who will be pardoned was not available.
A new Navy policy will affect sailors who fail a second physical fitness assessment, or PFA, reports Navy Times. Under the old rules, failing the second assessment barred a person from advancing or reenlisting. That might no longer happen. Commanding officers now have more autonomy in determining the fate of these sailors who can’t pass the fitness assessment. The new policy took effect June 18.
Advocates are pushing the military services to build more child development centers that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, reports Marine Corps Times. These facilities support single parents, dual-military families, and troops whose jobs create unusual child care needs. The US Navy operates seven of these centers; the Army has one.
DoD has worked to improve nutritious options at military dining facilities in an effort to retain a fit and healthy force, but gaps continue to limit officials’ ability to manage the effectiveness of nutrition programs, according to government auditors, reports Air Force Times. Among the recommendations in the Government Accountability Office food program report: DOD should improve service members’ access to heathy food at venues such commercial restaurants and snack bars, which are a significant source of food options on bases.
US Army veteran William Rich, 43, was found guilty last week of wire fraud and theft for faking paralysis and making false statements to get more than $767,000 in benefits that he had not been entitled to receive, reports The Baltimore Banner. Rich, of Windsor Mill, MD, was convicted of five counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government property.
The Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted last week to end 16-year ban on dredging for crabs during winter, reports Bay Journal. The new season could open as early as this December. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources calls the decision ill-advised and poorly timed, reports WBALTV. “It’s a bad day if you care about blue crabs. A winter dredge fishery would target a population of majority female blue crabs at a critical stage in their life cycle before they spawn the next generation of crabs,” said Maryland DNR Secretary Josh Kurtz.
Atlantic Realty held a groundbreaking June 20 for the new Pax River Village Center in Lexington Park, reports Southern Maryland News. The development is near Gate 2 of NAS Pax River, fronting on Three Notch Road, North Shangri-La Drive, and FDR Boulevard. The property was formerly Millison Plaza.
A weak earthquake, with a magnitude of 1.8, rattled eastern Montgomery County early last week, shaking enough to prompt dozens of reports to the US Geological Survey, reports The Washington Post via MSN. No damage or injuries were reported. While the quake’s center was in the town of Spencerville, responses came in from Columbia, Germantown, and Lexington Park, with one response coming from Wilmington, DE, reports Montgomery County Media.
The FBI is warning consumers against using public phone charging stations in order to avoid exposing their devices to malicious software, reports CNN. “Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead,” the agency advised in the tweet.
Contracts:
BAE Systems Technology Solutions and Services Inc., Rockville, Maryland, is awarded a $9,501,920 cost-plus-fixed fee, level-of-effort, term contract. This contract provides support to the US Special Operations Command and other commands with in-theater deployed military forces with critical, day-to-day support of the command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance equipment, systems, and subsystems that are fielded with those deployed military forces for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Webster Outlying Field Special Communications Mission Solutions Division. This effort includes pre-deployment support; inspection, troubleshooting, and verification; integrated logistics support; configuration management, technical documentation, and training; and procurement support throughout the deployed mission systems life cycle. Work will be performed in US Central Command (70%); US Africa Command (12%); Lexington Park, Maryland (7%); US European Command (5%); US Indo-Pacific Command (3%); and US Southern Command (3%) and is expected to be completed in July 2025. Fiscal 2024 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,135,000 will be obligated at the time of award. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; two offers were received. NAWCAD Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0042124C0060).
Applied Management Corp., Oxon Hill, Maryland, is awarded an $11,040,925 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-with-no-fee pricing for engineering services and documentation support of specialized technology in the Undersea Warfare tactical systems domain. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (93%); outside the continental US (5%); and Oxon Hill, Maryland (2%). The period of performance of the base award is June 27, 2024, through June 26, 2029. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. This contract was awarded as a sole-source acquisition pursuant to 10 US Code 3204(a)(1). Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific in San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.
Ernst & Young LLP, Washington, DC, was awarded a $220,000,000 modification (P00095) to contract W91CRB-18-F-0238 to develop and implement solutions to control gaps in Army’s business processes, monitor and validate corrective actions, and to provide education and training to the Army financial management workforce. Work will be performed in Tysons, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2025. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $56,426,095 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Industrieanlagen-Betriebsgesellschaft Mit Beschraenkter Haftung, Ottobrunn, Germany (W912GB-24-D-0016); Jacobs Government Services Co., Arlington, Virginia (W912GB-24-D-0017); Natural Resource Innovations GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany (W912GB-24-D-0018); NV5 Geospatial Inc., Saint Petersburg, Florida (W912GB-24-D-0019); Woolpert Inc., Beavercreek, Ohio (W912GB-24-D-0020); and WSP USA Solutions Inc., Washington, DC (W912GB-24-D-0021), will compete for each order of the $50,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for general architect and engineering mapping services. Bids were solicited via the internet with seven received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 26, 2029. US Army Corps of Engineers, European District, is the contracting activity.
Spider Strategies Inc., Arlington, Virginia, was awarded a $40,000,000 modification (P00005) to contract W91CRB-22-D-0010 for software modules, enterprise and standalone licensing, software assurance, software maintenance, software enhancements, administration of performance management software and supporting subject matter. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 3, 2027. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Direct Viz Solutions, Chantilly, Virginia, was awarded a $10,197,762 modification (P00041) to contract W91RUS-19-C-0014 for IT support services. Work will be performed at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2024. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $6,823,508 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Cruz Associates Inc., Yorktown, Virginia, is being awarded a $102,939,291 firm-fixed-price task order (47QRAD20D3050-H9224124F0044) through General Services Administration One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (GSA OASIS) for contractor support services in support of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Technology Applications Program Office. Fiscal 2024 operations and maintenance; research, development, testing, and evaluation; procurement; and Foreign Military Sales in the amount of $7,274,128, are being obligated at time of award. The work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by December 2029. This contract was awarded through a competitive small business set-aside. USSOCOM solicited an electronic fair opportunity notice to GSA OASIS multiple award contracts as a small business set-aside in GSA OASIS Pool Three for 211 contract holders, and one offer was received. USSOCOM, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity.
Agile Decision Sciences LLC, Huntsville, Alabama, a certified 8(a) program participant contractor, has been awarded a $33,526,363 modification (P00016) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract HS0021-22-C-0004 for the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). This modification exercises Option Period Two to continue to provide DCSA cybersecurity support services. Work will be performed at Quantico, Virginia, with an estimated completion of June 28, 2027 (with options). Fiscal 2024 DCSA defense wide working capital funds in the amount of $14,378,816; and fiscal 2024 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $5,081,870, were obligated at the time of award. The cumulative face value of the contract to date is $91,369,395. DCSA Contracting and Procurement Office, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
K.R. Campbell Inc., doing business as Hot & Cold Supply, Chesapeake, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $23,400,000 firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for FedMall ordering platform. This was a competitive acquisition with thirty-eight responses received. This is a three-year contract with no option periods. The performance completion date is June 23, 2027. Using military services are Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Space Command. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2024 through 2027 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Contracting Services Office, Columbus (SP47W1-24-D-0002).
Clark Construction Group LLC, Bethesda, Maryland, was awarded a $157,980,000 firm-fixed-price contract to construct a four-story office building. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of June 27, 2027. Fiscal 2024 military construction, Army funds in the amount of $157,980,000 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W912DR-24-C-0018).
Analytic Services Inc., Falls Church, Virginia (HQ0034-24-D-0011); Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Virginia (HQ0034-24-D-0012); CACI Inc. Federal, Chantilly, Virginia (HQ0034-24-D-0013); Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia (HQ0034-24-D-0014); and Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia (HQ0034-24-D-0015), are awarded a firm-fixed-price, labor hour, time-and-materials contract valued at $1,500,000,000 to perform cybersecurity; IT; information enterprise; and administrative and program subject matter expertise and support services. No funds are being obligated at time of award. The total, if all options are exercised, is $1,500,000,000. Services include activities such as strategic planning, capital planning, technology performance, assessments, research and analysis, architectures, modeling, hardware and/or software development and/or acquisition, standards development and evaluation, customization of software analytical tools, models, decision aids, screening methods and techniques, simulation and war-gaming, and day-to-day security and administration. The work will be performed in Alexandria, Virginia; and Baltimore, Maryland. The estimated contract completion date is June 27, 2029. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Institute for Defense Analyses, Alexandria, Virginia (HQ003424D0020), is awarded a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract valued at $1,424,039,026. No funds are being obligated at time of award. The total, if all options are exercised, is $1,424,039,026. The Institute for Defense Analyses will provide research, analyses, technical evaluation, and test and evaluation support to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the combatant commands, and defense agencies. This requirement will maintain the comprehensive evaluation of national security issues, including systems and technologies at all stages of development, deployment, and use. The tasking and future obligations will be issued via task orders and task order modifications. This notification covers all work to be awarded up to the ceiling amount of the indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity contract. The work will be performed in Alexandria, Virginia. The estimated contract completion date is June 30, 2029. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Copper River Technologies LLC, Anchorage, Alaska, is awarded a $10,691,688 modification (P00008) to firm-fixed-price contract HQ0034-23-C-0069 for services including financial management system and budget formulation tool monitoring support services. This includes technical, administrative, data control, and professional services that cover Defense Agencies Initiative and Hyperion, and budget tool sustainment, budget formulation, improvement, and optimization of the Washington Headquarters Services Revolving Fund and General Fund execution, and Direct Treasury Disbursement. Fiscal 2024 operations and maintenance funds in the amount $5,253,994 are being obligated at time of award. The total, if all options are exercised, is $26,955,910. The work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, and Alexandria, Virginia. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, is awarded a $50,462,612 firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-23-C-5325) for MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) modules and ancillary hardware in support of fiscal 2022-2027 MK 41 VLS production requirements. This procurement combines purchases for the Navy (62%); and the government of the Netherlands (38%) under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey (31%); Indianapolis, Indiana (27%); Saginaw, Michigan (7%); Farmingdale, New York (6%); St. Peters, Missouri (3%); San Jose, California (2%); Radford, Virginia (1%); and various other locations (23%) and is expected to be completed by July 2030. Fiscal 2024 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $19,304,910 (38%); FMS (Netherlands) funds in the amount of $12,181,928 (24%); fiscal 2024 defense-wide procurement funds in the amount of $8,691,687 (17%); fiscal 2023 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,834,403 (16%); fiscal 2022 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,172,610 (4%); and fiscal 2024 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $277,074 (1%), will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
Northrop Grumman Corp., Charlottesville, Virginia, is awarded a $19,153,912 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-23-C-5234 for the manufacture of surface and submarine inertial sensor module configurations, and associated support equipment, in support of the integrated warfare systems navigation program. Work will be performed in Charlottesville, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by January 2027. Fiscal 2023 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,539,475 (50%); fiscal 2024 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of 5,798,647 (30%); and fiscal 2024 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,815,790 (20%), will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
