100 Top Defense Firms, More Globalized Supply Chain
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Defense News reports how global defense companies performed in FY 19. The 2020 top 100 global defense companies ranked by performance last year looks much as it has for some time. But a few big changes didn’t make the cutoff, perhaps shaking up this year’s rankings.
Another report just out shows the number of foreign companies within the US defense supply chain grew over the past decade. Reshoring the defense supply chain, reports Defense One, may reduce national security risks, but a new report detailing a heavy dependency on goods and services from foreign countries like China shows reshoring may be easier said than done.
The US is expanding restrictions on Huawei affiliates in the semiconductor industry, restricting the ability of these firms to do business in the US, reports FCW. Department of Commerce is adding dozens of internationally based Huawei affiliates to its entity list and expanding the reach of other controls to include companies who buy or manufacture US-designed software or computer chips on Huawei’s behalf.
India bans importation of 101 different defense materials and weapons platforms, reports American Military News. The move is aimed to promote Indian defense industry manufacturers and to promote self-reliance within India’s defense sector.
US intelligence agencies have determined that Iran offered bounties to Taliban fighters for targeting American and coalition troops in Afghanistan, reports CNN. Payments were linked to at least six attacks carried out by the militant group last year. Last month Russian denied it had paid bounties for attacks on American troops, an issue downplayed by the Trump administration. The lack of public condemnation of Iran highlights the administration’s apparent desire to protect peace talks with the Taliban.
The VA is using AI to shorten its mail processing time on claims intake, reports Military.com. New artificial intelligence software scans incoming mail and automatically routes it to the right employees in the next step of the claims process, leading to faster claims processing and has shortened its mail processing time for claims intake from 10 days to one.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy will suspend “longstanding operational initiatives” at the US Postal Service, amid fears that the changes could delay election mail this fall in the middle of the pandemic, reports Politico.
The aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and its strike group has returned to the restive South China Sea for a series of maritime air defense operations, reports Navy Times. Reagan’s entry into the South China Sea comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing and follows an announcement last month that the Trump administration would reject nearly all of China’s maritime claims in the sea.
The Pentagon has made about $2 million in condolence payments to civilians in Afghanistan over the past five years, reports The Washington Post. The amount of condolence offerings has fluctuated in recent years, peaking in 2016 with nearly 300 payments totaling $1.4 million. Individual sums have varied dramatically, ranging from $131 to $40,000.
President Donald Trump says he has rejected a Pentagon proposal to slash military health care, reports The Hill. “A proposal by Pentagon officials to slash Military Healthcare by $2.2 billion dollars has been firmly and totally rejected by me,” Trump tweeted. “We will do nothing to hurt our great Military professionals & heroes as long as I am your President.”
Air Force’s secret X-37B space plane just scored a big win, reports Military.com. It was awarded the prestigious Robert J. Collier Trophy for advancing “the boundaries of flight and space exploration,” according to the Air Force. “As the world’s only autonomous, reusable space plane, it continues to contribute to our understanding of both space and air flight,” said Jim Albaugh, chairman of the National Aeronautic Association, which sponsors the competition.
USAF MG Dawn Dunlop created a toxic environment in top secret program office, reports Air Force Times. The two-star general was the first woman to become a fighter test pilot, fly an F-22, and command a test wing before running a Pentagon office that oversees some of the military’s most secret classified programs. She was fired last year for repeatedly and publicly berating and belittling her subordinates.
Special Ops Command can’t say if more than $800 million worth of equipment meets its specs, or even if it was needed, according to a DoD audit. Task & Purpose reports that some programs were not verified as to whether the gear had passed the required testing and evaluation prior to fielding to special operations forces, meaning the equipment was fielded “without verifying that the equipment meets user needs,” according to the audit.
UNC-Chapel Hill pivots to all-remote instruction for undergraduates after a rapid spread of the coronavirus is confirmed. The Washington Post reports that 177 cases were confirmed of the hundreds tested. The remote-teaching order for undergraduate classes will take effect today, Wednesday, and the university will take steps to allow students to leave campus housing without financial penalty.
Contracts:
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Alexandria, Virginia, was awarded a $9,274,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide Defense Language Proficiency Test quality control and validations support for the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2025. US Army Field Directorate Office, Fort Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W9124N-20-D-0002).
Norfolk Banana Distributors Inc., doing business as Norfolk Banana and Produce, Norfolk, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $48,800,000 firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for fresh fruits and vegetables. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. This is four-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Virginia, with a Sept. 7, 2024, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army, Navy, and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2024, defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-20-D-P358).
Oceaneering International Inc., Chesapeake, Virginia, is awarded a $9,746,030 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-6413 to exercise options for configuration changes and fit ups to Navy submarines. This option exercise is for engineering, technical and installation services and includes all material travel, subsistence and incidental material in support of those services. Work will be performed in Honolulu, Hawaii (46%); Norfolk, Virginia (34%); and Chesapeake, Virginia (20%), and is expected to be completed by November 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (defense-wide) funds; and fiscal 2020 procurement (defense-wide) funds in the amount of $4,631,924 will be obligated at the time of award and funding in the amount of $1,760,131 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
Nalej Corp., Arlington, Virginia, and New York, New York, has been awarded a $14,865,391 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for a System of Systems Technology Integration Tool Chain for Heterogeneous Electronic Systems (STITCHES) Warfighter Applications Team (SWAT) development operations (DevOps) prototype. This contract provides for delivery of DevOps capabilities to the System of Systems Integration Technology and Experimentation (SoSITE) STITCHES platform managing DevOps toolchains in addition to providing a team dedicated to the effort. The end result aims to enable the Department of Defense with push-button deployment and management capabilities for the SoSITE STITCHES system that supports the further development and subsequent continued and expanded usage of the system as a whole. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, and New York, New York, and is expected to be completed Aug. 11, 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-20-C-1521).
