March 28, 2024

2nd Navy MQ-8C Drone Suffers Mishap

MQ-8C
MQ-8C arrives at Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu, CA. (navair.navy.mil photo)

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An unmanned MQ-8C drone was damaged during testing of a lithium ion battery at Webster Field in St. Inigoes last month, reports Navy Times. At one point, the drone was commanded to shut down via maintenance laptop, and the rotor “tipped to the forward right side of the [Fire Scout] far enough to contact the ground. This appears to have severed the hard wire connection between the [Fire Scout] and the [laptop],” said NAVAIR spokesperson Jamie Cosgrove. That was the second major mishap involving the new variant in November.

Acting DefSec Christopher Miller visited troops in Somalia on Thanksgiving, reports Military Times. President Donald Trump is expected to order a withdrawal of most or all of the 700 US troops based in Somalia before he leaves office Jan. 20. The loss of US forces is widely seen as a gain for al Quida affiliate al-Shabab, and for the far smaller presence of hundreds of IS-affiliated fighters in Somalia’s north, reports The Associated Press.

LT GEN Michael Groen, Joint Artificial Intelligence Center director, said that one of the biggest hurdles to bringing the power of artificial intelligence to the military is convincing commanders to embrace the technology, reports Military.com.

The US Navy announced Monday that the Bonhomme Richard amphibious assault ship, damaged in a fire during the summer, will not be repaired, reports Navy Times. Estimates put the repairs at $2.5 billion to $3.2 billion.

CAPT Kelliann Leli, 30, of New Jersey died Nov. 27 in a non-combat related vehicle incident at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, reports Air Force Times. The cause of the incident is under investigation.

Nuclear drop trials of the F-35A Lightning II have begun, reports janes.com, with the first tests announced last week.

President-elect Joe Biden’s economic team includes Neera Tanden of the Center for American Progress as director of the Office of Management and Budget and economist Janet Yellen as secretary of the treasury, reports Th Washington Post.

After Arlington National Cemetery nearly scuttled its annual Wreaths Across America event, NBC4 reports, organizers have come up with a plan to allow the event to proceed. Select groups of volunteers will be allowed to place the wreaths on the gravesites during a week in December. In the past, volunteers had spent one day in the cemetery placing donated greenery on the graves.

 

 

Lawmakers have returned to Washington, DC, to take care of some challenging year-end business. COVID-19 relief, a $1.4 trillion spending package, and defense policy — and a final burst of judicial nominees — dominate this two- or three-week session, reports The Associated Press. A must-do: prevent a government shutdown on Dec. 11.

The 117th session of Congress is scheduled to be seated on Jan. 3, 2020, about three weeks before the inauguration of Joe Biden as the next president, reports Military Times.

Nearly every US Navy installation in the US is tightening COVID-19 restrictions in an effort to curb the virus’s spread on bases, reports The Hill.

The first two COVID-19 vaccines could be available to Americans before Christmas, Health Secretary Alex Azar said on Monday, reports Reuters.

Massachusetts biotech firm Moderna was expected to submit its coronavirus vaccine for Food and Drug Administration regulatory approval on Monday, reports NBC News. The filing means the US could have enough vaccine to treat 20 million people by year’s end, reports The Washington Post.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, FDA, and others are coordinating to draw up plans to determine who will get the vaccine first. The Pentagon has not said when service members will receive the vaccine or whether it will be mandatory, reports Military Times.

Coronavirus deaths have been surging throughout Europe but cases have been subsiding after reaching record levels recently with nations implementing restrictions, including lockdowns, reports UPI.

The long-awaited Ravens-Steelers NFL game is now scheduled for Tuesday, after being postponed twice, due to positive COVID tests for some players. If any tests come back positive, the game is likely to be postponed again, reports si.com.

SpaceX is targeting 11:39 am (EST) Dec. 5 for the launch of its 21st commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Live coverage will air on NASA Television here.

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season ended Monday. Iota, which hit earlier in November, was the 30th named storm this year. UPI reports a number of climate scientists believe global warming set the stage for this year’s surge of storms.

Contracts:

A2 JV, Lexington Park, Maryland, is awarded an $84,776,227 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-reimbursable, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides support services for the Airborne Systems Integration Division in the design, development and demonstration of sensor capabilities for a variety of platforms, manned and unmanned, airborne, shipborne, and fixed mobile ground stations for the Department of Defense and other government agencies. Work will be performed in Lexington Park, Maryland (44%); Saint Inigoes, Maryland (35%); Patuxent River, Maryland (15%); Bridgewater, Virginia (1%); California, Maryland (1%); Herndon, Virginia (1%); Huntsville, Alabama (1%); Warminster, Pennsylvania (1%); Hollywood, Maryland (0.5%); and Virginia Beach, Virginia (0.5%), and is expected to be completed in December 2025. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; four offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00421-21-D-0009).

IAP Worldwide Services Inc., Cape Canaveral, Florida, is awarded a $10,984,976 modification (P00070) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursable contract N00019-15-C-0120. This modification increases the contract value and provides additional funding for inventory replenishment, operational and depot spare parts in support of the E-6B Mercury airborne command post take charge and move out aircraft. Work will be performed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (70%); Patuxent River, Maryland (10%); Bellevue, Nebraska (10%); and Fairfield, California (10%), and is expected to be completed in January 2021. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,984,976 will be obligated at the time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Balfour Beatty Construction LLC, Dallas, Texas (N62473-21-D-1202); B.L. Harbert International LLC, Birmingham, Alabama (N62473-21-D-1203); Clark Construction Group – California LP, Irvine, California (N62473-21-D-1204); ECC Infrastructure LLC, Burlingame, California (N62473-21-D-1205); Harper Construction Co. Inc., San Diego, California (N62473-21-D-1206); Heffler Contracting Group, El Cajon, California (N62473-21-D-1207); Korte Construction Co., doing business as The Korte Co., St. Louis, Missouri (N62473-21-D-1208); M.A. Mortenson Co., doing business as M.A. Mortenson Construction, Minneapolis, Minnesota (N62473-21-D-1209); R. A. Burch Construction Co. Inc., Ramona, California (N62473-21-D-1210); RQ Construction LLC, Carlsbad, California (N62473-21-D-1211); Sundt Construction Inc., Tempe, Arizona (N62473-21-D-1212); Walsh Federal LLC, Chicago, Illinois (N62473-21-D-1213); Webcor Construction LP, doing business as Webcor Builders, Alameda, California (N62473-21-D-1214); and The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., Baltimore, Maryland (N62473-21-D-1215), are each being awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award construction contract for new construction, repair and renovation of commercial and institutional facilities at various government installations located in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. The maximum dollar value including the base period and one option period for all fourteen contracts combined is $2,500,000,000. The work to be performed provides for new construction, repair and renovation within the North American Industry Classification System code 236220, by design-build or design-bid-build, of commercial and institutional facilities. Types of projects may include, but are not limited to, airport buildings, office/administrative buildings, communications facilities, vehicle maintenance facilities, armories, parking garages, barracks facilities, prison facilities, fire stations, religious buildings, hotels, dining facilities, hospital/medical facilities, warehouse facilities, school facilities and/or retail facilities. No task orders are being issued at this time. All work on these contracts will be performed at various government installations within the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southwest area of operations including, but not limited to, California (90%); Arizona (6%); Nevada (1%); Utah (1%); Colorado (1%); and New Mexico (1%). The terms of the contracts are not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of November 2025. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (O&M) (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $70,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy); O&M (Navy); O&M (Marine Corps); and Navy working capital funds. This contract was competitively procured as a full and open unrestricted procurement with two reserves for highly qualified small businesses via the beta.sam.gov contract opportunities website with 28 proposals received. The reserves were met by award to Heffler Contracting Group and R.A. Burch Construction Co., Inc. These fourteen contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts. NAVFAC Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.

Collins Engineers Inc., Chicago, Illinois, is awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, architect-engineering contract with a maximum amount of $30,000,000 for multi-discipline architect-engineering services in support of small waterfront projects primarily in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia in the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Mid-Atlantic (MIDLANT) area of operations (AO). The work to be performed provides for comprehensive architect-engineering services for waterfront planning, design, construction, evaluation of new construction, and renovation projects located primarily within the NAVFAC MIDLANT AO, and the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, but may also include work worldwide. An initial task order for the minimum guarantee is being awarded at $5,000. Work on this contract will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities within NAVFAC MIDLANT AO primarily in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date November 2025. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) (O&M,N) contract funds in the amount of $5,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy); and O&M,N. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with five proposals received. NAVFAC MIDLANT, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-20-D-0007).

SOLUTE Inc., San Diego, California, is awarded a $15,498,167 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-with-no fee contract to provide support for an automated digital network system to include engineering and programmatic services for communications systems and associated certification and information assurance for current operations, planned upgrades and developments. This two-year contract includes four two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the overall potential value of this contract to an estimated $83,665,786. Work will be performed in the continental US: California (90%); Hawaii (2%); Charleston, South Carolina (2%); Norfolk, Virginia (2%); and outside the continental US: Bahrain (2%); and Italy (2%). The period of performance of the base award is from Nov. 30, 2020, through Nov. 29, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through Nov. 29, 2030. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using other procurement (Navy); and operation and maintenance (Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps). This contract was competitively procured via Request for Proposal N66001-19-R-0035, published on the beta.sam.gov website. Six offers were received and one was selected for award. The Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-21-D-0010).

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $9,606,247 modification (P00003) to firm-fixed-price order N00019-20-F-0283 against previously issued basic ordering agreement N00019-16-G-0001. This modification exercises an option to provide follow-on integrated logistics and engineering services in support of the Harpoon/Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response missile system and Harpoon Launch system for the Navy and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in St. Charles, Missouri (92%); St. Louis, Missouri (5%); and Yorktown, Virginia (3%), and is expected to be completed in February 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,589,823; and FMS funds in the amount of $7,016,424 will be obligated at time of award; $2,589,823 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Leidos Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland, was awarded a $38,365,662 modification (P00037) to contract W58RGZ-17-C-0058 for contractor logistics support services supporting the Afghan Air Force. Work will be performed in Kabul, Afghanistan, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2021. Fiscal 2021 Afghanistan Security Forces (Army) funds in the amount of $38,365,662 were obligated at the time of the award. The US Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

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