2 Mishaps in January Rough Start for F-35

Two F-35C Lightning IIs, assigned to the “Black Knights” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314, fly over the Philippine Sea on January 22, 2022. (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Haydn N. Smith)

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 reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff.

2022 is off to a rough start for the F-35. It’s only January and two mishaps have occurred, reports Task & Purpose. There was a landing mishap with an F-35C on the deck of the carrier USS Carl Vinson on January 24. And a bird strike was the probable cause of an incident with a South Korean Air Force F-35A that made a belly landing at Seosan Air Force Base earlier in the month, reports Defence Blog.

China said Thursday that it had no interest in recovering the crashed F-35C from the depths of the South China Sea, reports Radio Free Asia. This came after reports last week the US Navy was scrambling to retrieve the jet, CNN reported at the time.

Twenty-eight lawmakers signed a letter last week urging President Joe Biden not to exempt the Defense Department from an executive order signed last month that’s intended to cut greenhouse emissions and ease the climate crisis, reports Defense One. “The US military has a role to play in reducing the risk of climate-driven security threats by minimizing its own contributions to the climate crisis,” reads the letter. “Unfortunately, thus far, the DoD has failed to detail the specific steps it will take to help reach your commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.”

It’s been nearly six months since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and thousands of refugees who fled the country still reside on American military bases, reports CNBC, as they await visas to find permanent residences and work.

The last group of Afghan refugees have departed from military bases in Indiana and New Mexico, reports The Hill. Camp Atterbury in Indiana also has completed its refugee operations.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he has received “credible allegations” that more than 100 former members of the Afghan government, its security forces, and those who worked with international troops have been killed since the Taliban took over the country in mid-August, reports The Associated Press.

Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia is being considered as an East Coast intelligence hub for the Air Force. As a result, Langley AFB may see 2,000 or more additional Air Force intelligence personnel, reports The Daily Press.

A January report from the Director, Office of Operational Test and Evaluation finds that the US Space Force program to enable jam-resistant GPS access is far behind schedule, reports Breaking Defense. The Defense Department’s inability to field radios and modern receivers to access the signal, being developed under the Military User GPS Equipment program, has been one of the banes of the GPS program for more than two decades, according to the report.

COL Eric Felt will soon take on a newly developed role aimed at improving space acquisition for the Space Force, reports Air Force Magazine. The colonel says he plans to draw on his experience as director of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate, both in terms of research and on the acquisition side. Felt will be joining Frank Cavelli who was nominated in December to be assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition, reports GovConWire. Cavelli, a former Booz Allen Hamilton executive, has yet to be confirmed.

Huntington Ingalls Industries announces changes in its leadership, reports Breaking Defense. Chris Kastner and Mike Petters will both begin new roles with the company in March. Kastner will be president and CEO; Petters will become executive vice chairman of the board.

 

 

The Pentagon has issued a $6.8 million contract to develop its zero-trust IT architecture, reports C4ISRNET. The contract, awarded to Booz Allen Hamilton, is for Thunderdome, the Defense Information Systems Agency’s implementation of zero trust. Thunderdome will incorporate the three basic zero-trust principles: verifying the user and device, conditional access and privileges, and data- and application-centric protections, reports Breaking Defense.

The White House released last week the federal zero-trust architecture strategy, a government-wide plan for all agencies to better manage cyber risks and improve protections while meeting specific security goals and standards by the end of fiscal 2024, reports Defense Systems.

Cold weather vehicle prototypes, made by BAE Systems and Oshkosh Defense, along with its partner ST Engineering, are headed to the next round of selection, reports Breaking Defense. These amphibious platforms are designed to carry soldiers in temperatures down to -50 degrees Fahrenheit and were recently tested at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK.

Oshkosh Defense says it will offer the first hybrid electric version of its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (eJLTV) that can operate silently and without the need for battlefield recharging, reports Breaking Defense. The Wisconsin firm says neither the Army nor the Marines have asked for an electric hybrid, but the current ones can be retrofitted easily.

Two US Army veterans have won a series of lawsuits alleging 3M sold the military faulty earplugs that caused hearing loss, reports Military.com. A federal jury in Florida awarded William Wayman and Ronald Sloan each $15 million in compensatory damages and $40 million in punitive damages.

McDonald’s is adding a new sandwich to its menu, reports The Sun. It’s called the Land, Air, and Sea — with two beef patties, a chicken patty, and a fish patty. Marine Corps Times thinks the inspiration for the mega-sandwich pays homage to the Corps, saying that GUNNERY SGT John Basilone, LT GEN Lewis “Chesty Puller,” and MAJ GEN Marion Eugene Carl, the Corps’ first World War II fighter ace, “clearly served as the inspiration for this grandiose grinder.”

A crew from Naval Air Station Pax River’s Search and Rescue squadron provided a medical evacuation of an injured mariner in the Chesapeake Bay, reports Southern Maryland News Net. Working with the US Coast Guard, the Pax River “SAR Dogs” quickly made their way north of the base after getting the call of an injured person aboard a ship docked at the Cove Point Terminal near the gas liquefaction facility in Lusby, MD.

Volunteers in Ashland, NE, are helping to restore a F-117 Nighthawk at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum, reports the Lincoln Journal Star. The Air Force bought 64 of the distinctively flat, radar-resistant jets, which saw service in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and, later, above Iraq and Afghanistan. Last May, one of the jets was donated and delivered to the museum.

One-hundred-year-old blueprints for the British Mark 1 tank, the world’s first tracked armored fighting vehicle that saw combat, have been discovered, reports Task & Purpose. They will be auctioned off in Great Britain.

A 370-year-old Spanish cross was found at an archaeological dig site in Historic St. Mary’s City, reports The Washington Post. “It’s a … fascinating object,” said archaeologist Travis Parno, HSMC director of research.

Chessie the Manatee, whose whereabouts were unknown for the past six months, has been located, reports Bay Journal. Chessie was basking in the warm discharge from a power plant in Fort Lauderdale, FL. His satellite tag had stopped transmitting in June. Sightings of Chessie began in the Chesapeake Bay in 1994 and since then the manatee has traveled up and down the East Coast.

Contracts:

L3 Adaptive Methods, Centreville, Virginia, is awarded an $8,156,530 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-5211 to exercise options and incrementally fund existing contract line items for program management, systems engineering, and software development for the AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 Tactical Sonar data processing engineering efforts. This contract combines purchases for the Navy (99%); and the government of Japan (1%) under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Work will be performed in Keyport, Washington (30%); Centreville, Virginia (25%); Rockville, Maryland (15%); Manassas, Virginia (10%); Herndon, Virginia (5%); Newport, Rhode Island (5%), Dahlgren, Virginia (5%), Austin, Texas (1%), Honolulu, Hawaii (1%); Moorestown, New Jersey (1%); Fairfax, Virginia (1%); and Laurel, Maryland (1%), and is expected to be completed by May 2023. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,356,826 (39%); fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $739,276 (21%); fiscal 2021 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $704,821 (20%); fiscal 2022 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $280,763 (8%); fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $200,000 (5%); fiscal 2016 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $175,000 (5%); fiscal 2022 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $44,475 (1%); and FMS (Japan) funds in the amount of $10,000 (1%) will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., McLean, Virginia, has been awarded an $8,829,509 time and materials, firm-fixed-price task order for commercial agile software development services in support of the National Desired Ground Zero List Integrated Development System. Work will be performed in Bellevue, Nebraska, and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2023. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $300,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (FA8730-21-F-8506).

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Radford, Virginia (W52P1J-22-D-0006); and Global Military Products Inc., Tampa, Florida (W52P1J-22-D-0007), will compete for each order of the $750,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for special ammunition and weapons systems. Bids were solicited via the internet with 10 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 30, 2027. US Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.

Intellect Solutions LLC, Alexandria, Virginia, was awarded an $8,788,374 modification (P00006) to contract W81XWH-19-F-0450 to provide effective oversight and guidance for the three Uniform Business Office cost recovery programs, the development of medical billing rates for use by military treatment facilities, and the monitoring of billing and collection performance. Work will be performed in Falls Church, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2024. Fiscal 2022 Defense Health Program funds in the amount of $1,522,896 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Azure Summit Technology Inc., Fairfax, Virginia, is awarded a $82,946,212, firm-fixed-price and cost-plus fixed-fee, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for production, test and evaluation, repairs, engineering services, and integration of Common Chassis AN/ZLQ-1 V2 Shop Replaceable Assemblies to include derivative systems digital signal processor, digital tuner modules, and switches, as well as maintenance, product improvement, training, and testing. Work will be performed in Melbourne, Florida (70%); and Fairfax, Virginia (30%), and is expected to be completed by January 2026. This contract action was not competitively procured via the beta.sam.gov website. Fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $70,000 will be obligated at time of award, which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana, is the contracting activity (N0016422DJW52).

Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, is awarded a $22,621,050 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Mission Planning Aids Rev. A. This contract provides Navy carrier strike group staffs and assigned/attached units with a collaborative planning capability that provides decision support services, analytic tools and common planning widgets to assist in the collaborative creation and execution of navigation and tactical plans. These capabilities will also support plan monitoring, reporting and assessment to facilitate more real-time situational awareness and rapid re-planning. Major tasking includes development of new software interface capability that enables users to define, create and customize their own command and control planning system; development of a new shared electronic workspace that enables the planning team to enter tasks, constraints, conditions, resources and capabilities; and ability to consume sensor performance predictions, and other relevant data streams containing geographic or temporal components. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, with an expected completion date of Jan. 31, 2027. The maximum dollar value, including a 30-month base period, one 48-month option and one 36-month option periods, is $22,621,050. If exercised, the options will run concurrently with the base. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $500,000 are obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under the (N00014-21-S-B001) fiscal 2021 long range broad agency announcement (BAA). Since proposals are received throughout the year under the long-range BAA, the number of proposals received in response to the solicitation is unknown. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00014-22-C-1008).

Progeny Systems Corp., Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $16,084,661 cost-plus-fixed fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-19-C-6204) to exercise options for engineering and technical services for Navy submarines and aircraft carriers via the software infrastructure and build process. The contractor will also install Nosis production builds on designated afloat, ashore, and mobile platforms. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (30%); Groton, Connecticut (25%); Bremerton, Washington (15%); Las Vegas, Nevada (10%); Cleveland, Ohio (10%); Chesapeake, Virginia (4%); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (2%); San Diego, California (2%); and Kings Bay, Georgia (2%), and is expected to be completed by January 2023. Fiscal 2022 National Sea-Based Deterrence Funds in the amount of $4,300,346 (68%); fiscal 2022 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,200,000 (19%); fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $458,350 (7%); and fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $354,891 (6%) will be obligated at the time of award, of which $813,241 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.