US Seizes 2 Venezuelan-Linked Oil Tankers
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The Trump administration seized on Wednesday a pair of Venezuelan-linked tankers transporting petroleum and announced plans for the US to oversee the sale of Venezuela’s petroleum worldwide, reports AP News. After weeks of pursuit, US forces boarded the Marinera in the North Atlantic. The tanker had tried in December to evade a US blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela. The Marinera is flagged to Russia and sports a painted Russian flag on its hull.
Homeland Sec Kristi Noem revealed in a social media post that US forces took control of the second tanker Sophia in the Caribbean, reports PBS. Noem said both ships were “either last docked in Venezuela or en route to it.”
US President Donald Trump said Venezuela will be “turning over” $2 billion worth of its crude oil to the US, reports The Guardian. An agreement reached Tuesday suggests Venezuelan officials are responding to Trump’s demand that they open up to US oil companies or risk more military intervention.
Venezuela was loading crude only for Chevron this week, the only major US oil firm operating in the country with a US license, while the Venezuelan-run oil firm PDVSA with cargoes for its main customers in China remained on hold, reports Reuters.
The Defense Department is taking steps to downgrade Sen. Mark Kelly’s (D-AZ) retirement rank and pay in response to his November video warning servicemembers not to follow illegal orders, reports Politico.
The Pentagon has launched a formal review of the “effectiveness” of women in ground-combat positions, nearly a decade after the Department of Defense ended a ban that had excluded them from front-line infantry, armor, and artillery units, reports Military Times.
A proposed $1.8 billion sale of three Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to Denmark has State Department approval and now needs the OK from congress, reports Stars and Stripes. Denmark would join the US, the UK, Norway, and Germany as NATO allies flying the surveillance and reconnaissance jet.
Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has urged Trump to stop threatening to take over Greenland after the president said the US “absolutely” needs the territory, reports The Guardian.
“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” Trump told reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One, reports Stars and Stripes.
The US raid in Venezuela killed 32 Cuban officers, the Cuban government said Sunday, the first official death count provided of the American strikes, reports Defense News. The Cuban military and police officers were on a military mission at the request of Venezuela’s government. Among the deceased Cubans are colonels, lieutenants, majors and captains, as well as some reserve soldiers, ranging in age from 26 to 60, reports Military.com. The uniformed personnel belonged to the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, Cuba’s two main security agencies.
Trump has threatened to intervene in Iran if its government kills demonstrators, prompting warnings from senior Iranian officials that any American interference would cross a “red line,” reports The Guardian.
A US Coast Guard helicopter aircrew rescued nine crew members on Monday from a crab boat that grounded off the coast of St. George Island, AK, a tiny outpost in the Bering Sea just southeast of St. Paul, reports Maritime Executive.
The Coast Guard suspended its a search last Friday for possible survivors of US strikes the previous Tuesday on three suspected drug boats in the eastern Pacific about 400 nautical miles from the Mexico/Guatemala border. Stars and Stripes reports the alleged drug boats were traveling as a convoy in international waters and an unspecified number of people jumped into the water when the first of three boats was hit. The US Southern Command said it “immediately” notified the Coast Guard to commence a search and rescue after the strikes.
A US Navy cargo ship rang in the new year by rescuing three stranded fishermen from a disabled vessel in the South China Sea, reports Stars and Stripes. The dry cargo ship USNS Cesar Chavez saved the three, later identified as citizens of the Philippines, after spotting them adrift aboard their fishing boat.
A pair of nuclear reactors that have propelled a US Navy supercarrier to hot spots around the world for half a century could end up repurposed to power a data center in Tennessee, reports Stars and Stripes. HGP Intelligent Energy, based in Dallas, has proposed to the Department of Energy that the two Westinghouse A4W naval fission pressurized water reactors on the USS Nimitz be sent to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory after they are removed from the carrier during its upcoming decommissioning, deactivation, and defueling. Oak Ridge is a key US government center for nuclear energy research.
L3Harris Technologies has agreed to sell a majority stake in its space propulsion and power systems business to AE Industrial Partners, the private equity firm behind other space companies such as Firefly Aerospace and York Space Systems, reports Washington Technology. L3Harris plans to keep a 40% stake, valuing AE Industrial’s 60% will own at around $845 million.
German drone maker Quantum Systems and Ukraine-based Frontline Robotics have announced the creation of a new mass-production line for small drones in Germany to supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces, reports Defense News. The new joint venture, dubbed Quantum Frontline Industries, will manufacture the Zoom and Linza drone variants developed by the Ukrainian company.
Large scale data centers will be making their way to Maryland in greater numbers in the years ahead. Route Fifty reports there isn’t a cohesive statewide policy regulating these facilities, which demand immense amounts of energy. Instead, local jurisdictions wield much of the power to approve or deny projects through zoning rules.
Military.com reports on a contract awarded Boeing with a $8.58 billion ceiling for the “F-15 Israel Program” and explains how foreign weapon sales are largely paid for with US funds. This contract covers the design, integration, instrumentation, test, production, and delivery of 25 new F-15IA aircraft for the Israeli Air Force, with an option for an additional 25 aircraft.
Contracts awarded in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., from Jan. 5 through Jan. 7, 2026.
InDyne Inc., Lexington Park, Maryland, will be awarded a ceiling $1,104,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for missile warning, missile defense, and space domain awareness. This contract provides all mission essential non-personal services, administrative, financial, and managerial resources necessary on a continuous twenty-four hours-a-day/seven days-a-week basis to support the missile warning, missile defense, and space domain awareness missions. Work will be performed at Cape Cod Space Force Station, Massachusetts; Beale Air Force Base, California; Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, Colorado; Pituffik Space Base, Greenland; Clear Space Force Station, Alaska; and Royal Air Force Fylingdales, England. This contract was a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Fiscal year 2026 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $364,848,176 are being obligated at time of award. The Combat Forces Command, Space Acquisition and Integration Office, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity (FA251826D0001).
ShadowObjects LLC, Leonardtown, Maryland, was awarded $49,989,400 firm-fixed-price, level-of-effort, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide comprehensive lifecycle functional and technical coordination for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Contracts eBusiness Systems, ensuring seamless operation, modernization, and alignment with NAVAIR’s strategic objectives. These services encompass the sustainment and eventual sunsetting of existing systems and the implementation, data migration, and strategic documentation required for future systems. A key focus of this effort is the integration of contract writing systems, enterprise resource planning systems, and associated eBusiness systems to enhance operational efficiency and compliance. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (86%); St. Inigoes, Maryland (2%); Orlando, Florida (2%); Jacksonville, Florida (2%); Washington D.C. (2%); Lakehurst, New Jersey (2%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (4%), and is expected to be complete by December 2030. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated as orders are issued. This contract was not competed. NAVAIR, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0042126D0008).
Raytheon Co., Tucson, Arizona, is awarded a $29,188,193 cost-plus-fixed-fee completion contract modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-20-C-5405) for the procurement and development of supplier special tooling and special test equipment to increase production capacity of the STANDARD Missile 6 (SM-6) All Up Round. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (47%); Middletown, Connecticut (32%); and Westminster, Maryland (21%), and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2028. Fiscal 2025 weapons procurement (Navy) in the amount of $14,594,097 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Virginia Pilot Association, Virginia Beach, Virginia, was awarded $13,101,154 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide pilot services in support of Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Port Operations to assist with the navigation of ships in and out of areas from Cape Henry to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay areas. The contract will include a 60-month base ordering period with an additional six-month option pursuant to Federal Acquisitions Regulation (FAR) 52.217-8, which if exercised, will bring the total value to $14,485,330. The base ordering period is expected to be completed by December 2030 and if the option is exercised by June 2031. All work will be performed in navigable waterways in the Hampton Roads, Virginia, area with the program management team based in 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), was awarded a combined $149,000,000 modification to a previously awarded multiple award construction contract. This award brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $2,944,000,000. This contract modification provides for new construction, renovation, and repair of commercial and institutional facilities at various locations in the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southwest area of operations and is expected to be completed by November 2026. No funds were obligated at time of award. Future task orders will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy), operation and maintenance (O&M) (Navy), or O&M (Marine Corps). This contract was competitively procured via the sam.gov website, with 28 offers received. NAVFAC Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Dec. 23, 2025.) Fiscal 2026 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $199,567 will be obligated to fund the contract’s minimum amount and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Subsequent task order under the contracts will be funded with appropriate fiscal year operations and maintenance (Navy) funds. This contract was competitively procured under a small business set-aside requirement via the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) website pursuant to FAR Part 15 (Contracting by Negotiation) with one offer received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk Regional Directorate, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00189-26-D-0003).
General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., Falls Church, Virginia, was awarded a $12,584,393 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the management, technical services, labor, material, support services, equipment, and facilities to accomplish repair and refurbishment of MK-41 Vertical Launch Systems on board Navy and/or other military type vessels. This contract includes options and if all options are exercised the total value will be $25,542,731. Work will be primarily performed within a 50-mile radius of Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 23, 2026. If all options are exercised, work will continue until Dec. 23, 2027. Fiscal 2026 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,000 will be obligated for the minimum guarantee and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was procured as full and open competition via the System for Award Management website with two offers received. Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N50054-26-D-0007).
US Foods Raleigh, Zebulon, North Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $198,260,924 firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food and beverage items. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 3204 (a)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a 465-day bridge contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Virginia, with an April 17, 2027, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2026 through 2027 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-26-D-3004).
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), was awarded a combined $149,000,000 modification to a previously awarded multiple award construction contract. This award brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $2,944,000,000. This contract modification provides for new construction, renovation, and repair of commercial and institutional facilities at various locations in the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southwest area of operations and is expected to be completed by November 2026. No funds were obligated at time of award. Future task orders will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy), operation and maintenance (O&M) (Navy), or O&M (Marine Corps). This contract was competitively procured via the sam.gov website, with 28 offers received. NAVFAC Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Dec. 23, 2025.)
Correction: The $235,400,000 contract awarded to Piepenbrock Government Services GmbH + Co. KG, Eschborn, Germany (FA5613-26-D-0002); Geiger FM Grunservice GmbH, Dietmannsried, Germany (FA5613-26-D-0003); Centerra Integrated Services GmbH, Kaiserslautern, Germany (FA5613-26-D-0006); Amentum Services, Inc., Chantilly, Virginia, United States (FA5613-26-D-0009); Centerra Integrated Services GmbH, Kaiserslautern, Germany (FA5613-26-D-0005) on December 31, 2025, incorrectly listed the expected completion date. The work is expected to be completed by Jan. 11, 2036.
