White House: ‘Higher Priority’ Is F-47, Not Navy’s F/A-XX

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.

An increase in funding for the US Navy’s F/A-XX aircraft program would likely cause a delay in the US Air Force F-47 program, reports Breaking Defense. The White House said last week that the administration supported reevaluating the F/A-XX program due to industrial base concerns of two sixth generation programs occurring simultaneously. Awarding the contract is likely to delay the “higher-priority F-47, with low likelihood of improving the timeline to field a Navy sixth generation fighter,” the administration wrote.

Four commercial tech firms have been chosen by the Pentagon to help the US military expand its use of advanced artificial intelligence capabilities, reports C4ISRNET. Google, xAI, Anthropic, and OpenAI each received a contract worth up to $200 million. The firms will help the Defense Department develop agentic AI workflows for key national security missions.

DefSec Pete Hegseth has blocked Navy RADM Michael Donnelly from a promotion and a new job overseeing the Navy’s Pacific fleet, reports Military.com. This comes after a recent news report highlighted Donnelly allowing drag performances under his command aboard the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan. Donnelly was the commander of the Reagan from April 2016 to September 2018.

Navy VADM Yvette Davids, the first female to serve as superintendent of the US Naval Academy, has been removed from her post, reports The Hill. She has been reassigned to serve as deputy chief of naval operations, plans, strategy and warfighting development. Marine Corps LT GEN Michael J. Borgschulte has been named Davids’ replacement.

The Air Force and Space Force are set to have new No. 2 officers. GEN Thomas Bussiere has been nominated for Air Force vice chief of staff and LT GEN Shawn Bratton has been nominated to receive a fourth star as the vice chief of space operations, reports Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Justin Fulcher, a senior staffer at the Pentagon and adviser to DefSec Pete Hegseth, has left the Defense Department, reports The Hill. Fulcher had been elevated to the Pentagon after previously working for the Department of Government Efficiency. This is at least the sixth departure of a top adviser in Hegseth’s first six months in office, reports The Washington Post.

President Donald Trump has asked Majority Leader Sen. John Thune (R-SD) to cancel the Senate’s traditional late-summer recess in order to confirm his executive and judicial appointments, reports The Hill.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey will be used to detain immigrants, the Pentagon announced last week, reports New Jersey Spotlight News. The joint base was established in 2009, following a Base Realignment and Closure process that combined the former McGuire Air Force Base, Fort Dix Army Base, and Lakehurst Naval Air Station. “It’s not even correct to say it’s an inappropriate use of the military and our military installations. It is an abhorrent use of that vital resource, our vital resource,” said Rep. Herb Conaway (D), whose congressional district includes the New Jersey base. Camp Atterbury in Indiana will also be used to house immigrants.

Alabama-based shipbuilder Austal USA has delivered the final Independence-class littoral combat ship to the US Navy, reports Navy Times. This marks the end of a construction phase that has lasted 15 years. The first, the Independence, was commissioned in 2010. The final ship will be named Pierre after the capital of South Dakota.

Republican Carroll County commissioner and former Fort Meade commander Ed Rothstein has been selected to be the next head of the Maryland Department of Veterans and Military Families, reports Maryland Matters. Rothstein takes over as secretary on Aug. 1 from Acting Secretary Ross Cohen, who has been serving since the May departure of former Secretary Anthony C. “Tony” Woods.

Trump’s new executive order issued Thursday forms a new classification of noncareer federal employees who will be hired to “help faithfully implement the President’s policy agenda,” reports The Hill. The employees will be listed as “Schedule G” and will engage in “policy-making or policy-advocating work,” according to the White House.

The US Small Business Administration released its annual small business scorecard last week, showing agencies spent $183.5 billion with small firms last year—topping the government’s record in 2023 by $5 billion, reports Federal News Network. The government reached its goal for awarding at least 5% of all contracts to veteran-owned service disabled small businesses but missed its goals for women-owned small businesses and for Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) firms, according to the scorecard.

The US Naval Academy has settled on a shorter list of books banned by the Pentagon, reports Military.com. Of those 381 books that were identified in the spring, an academy official said that 21 books have been formally removed — including nine from the original list. According to the Pentagon’s policy, all the military’s war colleges and service academies were to identify books on about 20 topics and set them aside by May 21.

The Harvard Kennedy School is launching the American Service Fellowship—a new initiative that will provide full scholarships for at least 50 public servants and military veterans to enroll next fall for a one-year, fully funded Master’s degree, the school announced.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will terminate a consent order issued last year involving Navy Federal Credit Union’s alleged overcharging of overdraft fees, reports Navy Times. Under the CFPB’s original order issued in November 2024, Navy Federal agreed to pay at least $80.2 million in restitution to its members who were allegedly charged overdraft fees on their accounts unfairly. The CFPB issued a termination notice for the order, without stating a reason.

Images show the damaged KC-46A Pegasus boom that led to emergency landing July 8, reports Defense News. A KC-46A refueling tanker was forced to land after its boom was shredded in a mishap with an F-22 Raptor off the East Coast. The War Zone reported the F-22 launched from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, and the KC-46 involved was based out of McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas.

Maryland residents can track flooding events through a new map created by the state’s Department of Natural Resources, reports CBS News. The Maryland Coastal Flood Explorer map allows residents to see potential flooding and sea level changes all around the state.

The US Environmental Protection Agency is taking issue with the process that the Maryland Department of the Environment laid out to appeal the final offshore wind permit awarded to US Wind, reports Maryland Matters. Federal officials are calling on the state to reissue the permit for a wind farm planned off the coast of Ocean City to correct what they say is an error in the original document.

Meade High School’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps recently partnered with Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County to improve stormwater management across the installation and provide practical professional development for its cadets, reports dvidshub.net. The work completed by the JROTC students directly supported the Fort Meade MS4 stormwater permit and even contributed to a friendly Chesapeake Bay Action Team competition among installations to see who could remove the most trash.

How safe are Maryland’s roadways, asks The BayNet. Here’s what crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows.

The Perseid meteor shower began last week and is expected to reach peak activity around Aug. 12-13, reports CBS News. The event is considered the best meteor shower of the year, according to NASA.

Contracts:

EWA Government Systems Inc. (EWA GSI), Herndon, Virginia, is awarded a $63,678,054 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N0042125C0030). This contract provides technical support, upgrade, sustainment, and modeling and simulation support for EWA GSI proprietary stimulator and simulation systems installed in the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) ground test sites. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (90%); and Herndon, Virginia (10%), and is expected to be completed in July 2030. Fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $5,369,450 will be obligated at the time of the award. This contract was not competed pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. NAVAIR, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded an $8,274,168 cost-plus-fixed fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N0016421GWS42); (N0016425FW016) for engineering, logistics, and repair services for the EA-18G Airborne Electronic Attack Suite and P-8A AN/ALQ-240 systems and all variants/derivatives of these systems. Work will be performed in Linthicum, Maryland (90%); Bethpage, New York (8%); and San Diego, California (2%), and is expected to be completed by December 2026. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $605,000 (32%); Foreign Military Sales (Australia) funds in the amount of $406,207 (21%); fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $200,000 (10%); and reimbursable funds in the amount of $700,152 (37%), will be obligated at time of award, of which $605,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, Indiana, is the contracting activity (N0016421GWS42; N0016425FW016).

QED Systems LLC, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, was awarded a $76,366,018 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for positioning, navigation and timing product support services. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2030. Fiscal 2025 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $1,709,470 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W56KGY-25-F-0102).

AGM Marine Contractors Inc., New Bedford, Massachusetts (W912EP-25-D-0011); Ahtna Marine & Construction Co. LLC, Boynton Beach, Florida (W912EP-25-D-0012); Atlantic & Gulf Dredging & Marine LLC, Indiantown, Florida (W912EP-25-D-0013); Coastal Dredging Co. Inc., Hammond, Louisiana (W912EP-25-D-0014); Cottrell Contracting Corp., Chesapeake, Virginia (W912EP-25-D-0015); Next Generation Logistics LLC, New Orleans, Louisiana (W912EP-25-D-0016); Southern Dredging Co., Inc., Charleston, South Carolina (W912EP-25-D-0017); Southwind Construction Corp., Evansville, Indiana (W912EP-25-D-0018); and Waterfront Property Services LLC, doing business as Gator Dredging, Clearwater, Florida (W912EP-25-D-0019), will compete for each order of the $400,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance dredging. Bids were solicited via the internet with nine received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 17, 2030. US Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity.

Cottrell Contracting Corp., Chesapeake, Virginia, was awarded a $9,639,180 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance dredging. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Lewes, Delaware, with an estimated completion date of May 24, 2027. Fiscal 2022, 2023, and 2025 civil operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $9,639,180 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (W912BU-25-C-A009).

Bath Iron Works (BIW), Bath, Maine (N00024-22-C-2318); and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Ingalls Shipbuilding (HII Ingalls), Pascagoula, Mississippi (N00024-22-C-2319), are each being awarded a cost-plus-award-fee modification to previously-awarded contracts to exercise options for the accomplishment of shipbuilder engineering and design analysis to produce design products in support of the Guided Missile Destroyer preliminary design and contract design. BIW work will be performed in Bath/Brunswick, Maine (99%); and Washington, DC (1%) and is expected to be completed by July 2026. HII Ingalls work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi (84%); Avondale, Louisiana (12%); and Newport News, Virginia (4%), and is expected to be completed by July 2026. If all options are exercised, work will continue through July 2028 for each respective contract. Fiscal 2024 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds will be obligated at the time of award for each contract and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year; and fiscal 2025 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds, will be obligated at time of award for each contract and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia, is awarded a $63,825,763 cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for warhead expansion boxes and the associated cable kits. This is a 78-month contract with no option periods. The ordering period end date is January 2032. Work will be performed in Bedford, Indiana (42%); Middletown, Rhode Island (32%); Indianapolis, Indiana (20%); Charleston, South Carolina (6%), and is expected to be completed by January 2032. Fiscal 2025 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,001,642 will be obligated on the first task order immediately following award of the basic contract and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via SAM.gov, with 2 offers received. Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, is the contracting activity (N66604-25-D-T500).

General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., Falls Church, Virginia, was awarded a $52,038,567 firm-fixed-price, level-of-effort, and cost reimbursable contract (H9227725FE011) under the Defense Intelligence Agency Solutions for Intelligence Analysis 3 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity vehicle. This contract provided services and expertise to support Special Operations Command Central J2 Intelligence Directorate to enhance overall mission effectiveness. The period of performance includes a base year from Aug. 1, 2025, to Feb. 28, 2026, with four option years. US Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity.

LMI Consulting LLC, Tysons, Virginia, was awarded a firm-fixed-price, level-of-effort for labor, and time and materials for other directed cost and travel contract (HQ003425FE232). The amount of this action is $15,625,516. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance funds; and research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $11,675,636, are being obligated at the time of the award. The cumulative total of the contract is $116,693,128. The total, if all options are exercised, is $116,693,128. The purpose of this contract is to provide professional support services and the capability to meet existing and emerging requirements through administrative, analytical, and strategic communication in support of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. LMI Consulting LLC will provide day-to-day administrative, analytical, program management and strategic communications support services. The work will be performed at the Pentagon; Mark Center, Alexandria, Virginia; and Crystal City, Virginia. The estimated contract completion date is July 22, 2030. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting agency.

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Annapolis, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $14,027,974 firm-fixed-price, definite-quantity contract for acoustic sonar baffles. This was a sole-source acquisition using US Code 3204 (a)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(ii)(A). This is a three-year contract with no option periods. The performance completion date is Dec. 17, 2028. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation at Richmond, Virginia (SPE4A5-25-C-0040).