March 28, 2024

13% Decrease in FY’22 Defense Contracting

fy17 budget cuts

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

Federal contract spending declined by 7% in fiscal 2022, driven largely by a 13% decrease in defense spending, which offset the 5% increase in contract spending among civilian agencies according to estimates, reports NextGov. This is the second consecutive year of decreased contract spending, following 2020’s high watermark of nearly $700 billion.

Sikorsky and DARPA flew an autonomous Black Hawk without pilots on board. The flights show how existing and future piloted utility helicopters could one day fly complex missions in reduced crew or autonomous mode, according to Lockheed.

Elon Musk has given assurances to Ukraine that he will keep funding its access to a the crucial Starklink satellite network providing Kyiv with battlefield and humanitarian communications in its war with Russia, said Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, reports The Associated Press.

Musk got the only by-name call out from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Space Force’s first change-of-command ceremony last week, reports Defense One.  “What he symbolizes, in reality, is the combination of the civil and military cooperation and teamwork that makes the United States the most powerful country in space. So, Elon, thank you for making yourself present here today,” GEN Mark Milley said during the Wednesday ceremony at Joint Base Andrews.

A Federal Communications Commission reorganization will open a new “Space Bureau” and a  new International Affairs Office. The two new offices will be the result of splitting the work of the FCC’s current International Bureau, reports Breaking Defense.

Norway is putting its military on a raised level of alert, moving more personnel on to operational duties and enhancing the role of a rapid mobilization force in response to the war in Ukraine – although the prime minister said there was no reason to believe Russia intended to invade, reports The Guardian.

Defense News reports that the US has information that indicates North Korea is covertly supplying Russia with a “significant” number of artillery shells for its war against Ukraine, the White House’s National Security Council spokesman said Wednesday.

 

South Korea scrambled about 80 military aircraft, including advanced F-35 fighter jets, on Friday after tracking about 180 flights by North Korean warplanes inside North Korean territory in what appeared to be a defiant show of strength, reports Military.com. North Korea’s mobilization of warplanes came after it test-fired around 30 ballistic missiles over the previous two days, including an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday that triggered evacuation warnings in Japan, in an angry response to ongoing joint exercises by hundreds of US and South Korea military planes.

The United States flew a supersonic bomber over ally South Korea as part of an enormous combined aerial exercise involving hundreds of warplanes in a show of force through Saturday meant to intimidate North Korea over its barrage of ballistic missile tests last week, reports Al Jazeera.

North Korea added to its recent barrage of weapons demonstrations by launching four ballistic missiles into the sea on Saturday, as the United States sent two supersonic bombers streaking over South Korea in a dueling display of military might that underscored rising tensions in the region, reports AP.

The US and South Korea had jointly warned North Korea on Thursday that use of any kind of nuclear weapon against Seoul or other regional allies would result in the end of Kim Jong Un’s regime, reports Military.com.

About 1,900 Army National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers were inappropriately added to an FBI criminal database, reports Army Times. The Army expects to correct all cases by the end of this year. Army officials have no clear plan yet on how to compensate those impacted by potentially failing criminal background checks or having their promotions stalled, despite never being arrested or charged, all because of an internal snafu investigators described as a “mistake” they said they hope to figure out by early next year, reports Military.com

Mark Vernetti

Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) International Transportation Team Lead Mark Vernetti was named the 2022 Department of the Navy Acquisition Excellence Awards Supply Chain Acquisition Professional of the Year Nov. 3 for his efforts that quickly and effectively met U.S. international partners’ mission requirements.

Tier 1 Engineering, in collaboration with Lung Biotechnology PBC, successfully completed the first all-electric cross-country helicopter flight along the scenic Coachella Valley of California on Oct. 29, 2022, reports Verticalmag.com

 

Contracts:

Bionetics Corp., Yorktown, Virginia, has been awarded a $185,762,242 fixed-price contract for the operation of the Air Force Primary Standards Laboratory. Work will be performed in Heath, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2032. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition, and five offers were received. Fiscal 2023 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $50,302 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Heath, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA2263-23-C-0002).

Huntington Ingalls Inc. – Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia, is awarded an $8,467,608 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-22-C-2105 to exercise options for planning and design yard activities for Standard Navy Valves installed in commissioned nuclear-powered submarines, submersibles, and aircraft carriers. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia. Fiscal 2023 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,500,000 will be obligated at time of award, which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-22-C-2105).

Peraton/Arcfield, Chantilly, Virginia, is awarded a $15,694,715 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00015) under a previously announced contract (N0003021C0016) for program support services for the Navy’s Strategic Weapons Systems Reentry Subsystem. Work will be performed in Colorado Springs, Colorado (75%); Washington, D.C. (15%); Albuquerque, New Mexico (8%); Cape Canaveral, Florida (1%); and Omaha, Nebraska (1%). Work is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2023. Fiscal 2023 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,255,559; fiscal 2023 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,575,000; and fiscal 2023 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,547,500 will be obligated at time of award. Funding in the amount of $2,547,500 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The total dollar value of the modification is $15,694,715, and the total cumulative face value of the contract is $58,611,621. This contract was initially awarded as a sole source acquisition pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

 

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