After 45 Years, F/A-18 Continues to Evolve

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The US Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet celebrated its 45th anniversary earlier this month. The aircraft was born at Naval Air Systems Command and developed to be a strike fighter. The Hornet introduced a level of aircraft superiority that had not been seen before and set the standard for future development of next-generation fighters, reports The BayNet.

Improvements to the fighter jet ensure that it will remain the Navy’s “workhorse,” reports The National Interest, capable of every mission in the tactical future. To stay relevant and competitive for more than four decades, multiple iterations of the F-18 have been released, each an upgrade from the previous.

L3Harris Technologies has won a Navy contract worth $80 million for the next phase of its electronic warfare modernization project for the F/A-18 fleet, reports Military Embedded Systems. The company described the next phase as taking a modular open systems approach, or MOSA, and having an open mission systems-compliant design. It will feature an integrated electronic support measure and electronic attack system, enabling prompt threat detection across all relevant radio frequency bands.

Several US service members were injured in a missile attack by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, reports CBS News. The attack last Monday night on US and coalition forces at Al-Asad Airbase involved a close-range ballistic missile and resulted in eight injuries and minor infrastructural damage. The US fired back after the attack, reports Military Times. An AC-130 gunship fired on an Iran-backed militia vehicle in Iraq on Monday night after the occupants had fired the missile.

US Central Command said the Navy destroyer Thomas Hudner shot down “multiple one-way attack drones” last week while operating in the Red Sea, reports Navy Times. This is the second time the warship has intercepted such drones in the past eight days. The drones were launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The US Naval Academy athletic department and Under Armour unveiled Navy’s football uniforms to be worn at this year’s Army-Navy game on Dec. 9, reports Air Force Times. Last year, the team’s uniforms for the US Military Academy West Point rivalry honored astronauts. This year, they’ve returned to the sea — via submarine. The game will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA. New England is hosting the game for first time in the 124-year series’ history, according to a stadium news release.

Through collaboration with Nike, West Point’s uniforms will honor the 3rd Infantry Division that fought during the opening phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom, reports The Boston Globe on MSN.

As the annual Army-Navy football game approaches, Navy Times explains why the Naval Academy, an institution dedicated to the sea, has a landlubbing goat as its mascot.

For the sixth year in a row, the Pentagon has failed its annual audit, reports The Hill. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) called it “unacceptable” in a post online. “Government agencies need to be held to the same standard as any business in America,” he posted on X. “This is unacceptable.”

A Pentagon policy change will now allow cadets and midshipmen who have children to stay at the service academies and continue their education, reports Military.com.

The Defense Logistics Agency said it had ensured that more than 360,000 pounds of food have been delivered for Thanksgiving for troops around the world, DoD reports. That includes an estimated 28,945 whole turkeys, 82,592 pounds of roasted turkey; 145,760 pounds of beef, 70,957 pounds of ham, and 46,464 pies and cakes.

President Joe Biden visited naval installations in Virginia to kick off the Thanksgiving holiday week, reports The Associated Press. Service members were treated to an early screening of the upcoming movie “Wonka” and a “friendsgiving” meal.

The US Army sent a letter to former service members dismissed for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, informing them they can request corrections of their discharge records, reports Fox News on MSN. This comes as the military branch struggles with recruitment three years after the onset of the pandemic.

Hollywood actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was in Washington, DC, last week to meet with military and government officials. He spoke on several topics, including how to combat poor military recruitment numbers, reports Task & Purpose. Montana Sen. Jon Tester (D), who arranged a meeting, said that Johnson is “going to advocate for people to join the military over a period of time,” reports NBC4 Washington.

A US Navy P-8A aircraft overshot a runway and went into Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii last week, reports The Associated Press, and all nine people aboard made it safely to shore with no injuries.

GEN Charles Flynn said that the US Army Forces Pacific will deploy new intermediate-range missiles, including a limited number of land-based Tomahawks and SM-6s, to the region, reports Defense One. This is part of efforts to deter China from invading Taiwan.

Rocket Lab will open a spacecraft parts manufacturing facility in Middle River, MD, reports C4ISRNET. It will be located in a former Lockheed Martin launch facility.

SpaceX’s second test flight of its Starship rocket ended early Nov. 18 when the uncrewed vehicle’s spacecraft blew up, though the launch made it farther than the previous attempt, reports The Wall Street Journal on MSN. SpaceX said it lost contact with the Starship spacecraft about 15 minutes after launching. A self-destruct mechanism appeared to trigger after contact was lost, exploding the craft.

Veterans Affairs leaders are calling for a halt on all foreclosures on homes financed through department loans and extending a pandemic support program in an effort to help veterans struggling with housing payments, reports Military Times. Earlier in November, an NPR investigation found that thousands of veterans who took a forbearance are now at risk of losing their homes through no fault of their own. After the NPR report was published, four US senators sent a letter to the VA asking it to immediately stop foreclosing on the homes of veterans and servicemembers.

The St. Mary’s County Planning Commission has approved the concept site plan for the proposed Pax River Village Center, currently known as Millison Plaza, reports Southern Maryland News. The retail center will include fast-food restaurants, a Starbucks, and an Aldi grocery store.

LT COL H. Bernard West, the top officer for a Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington-based rocket artillery battalion, was fired in October after facing a sexual harassment investigation barely four months into the job, reports Army Times. The service declined to provide further details about West’s relief or whether an investigation took place.

Contracts:

Systems Application & Technologies Inc., Largo, Maryland, is awarded a $35,752,292 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for waterfront operations support at Building V-47 at Naval Station Norfolk. The services under this contract includes the operation, maintenance, repair, testing, and evaluation of small watercraft assigned to the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD). This is a follow-on requirement which includes work that falls into two broad categories: general program requirements and waterfront operations. General program requirements includes transition, program management, operations management of Building V-47, reporting, and safety compliance oversight. Waterfront operations includes the operation of small watercraft, industrial maintenance and repair, and research and development, test and evaluation project support. This contract includes a five-year ordering period. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by December 2028. Fiscal 2024 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $500 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the System for Award Management website (SAM.gov), with three offers received. NSWCCD, Bethesda, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0016724D0018).

Huntington Ingalls Industries Unmanned Systems, Pocasset, Massachusetts, is awarded a $23,004,606 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-23-C-6308 to exercise options for Lionfish Small Unmanned Undersea Vehicle production, support equipment, and ancillary equipment. Work will be performed in Pocasset, Massachusetts (99%); and Hampton, Virginia (1%), and is expected to be completed by September 2025. Fiscal 2022 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $2,783,529 (12%); fiscal 2023 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $11,835,905 (52%); fiscal 2024 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,673,082 (20%); and fiscal 2024 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $3,712,090 (16%), will be obligated at time of award. Funds in the amount of $2,783,529 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Deloitte Consulting LLP, Arlington, Virginia, was awarded a $450,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for rapid research, development, testing, evaluation, prototyping, experimentation, analytics, and technology insertion and integration. Bids were solicited via the internet with 27 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 20, 2033. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911NF-24-D-0001).

Valiant Integrated Services LLC, Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $530,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. This was a competitive acquisition with eight responses received. This is a three-year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are the southern Arab peninsula and nations of eastern Africa, with a Nov. 20, 2026, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2024 through 2027 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-24-D-4002).

Intrepid Eagle Logistics Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $8,062,000 firm-fixed-price contract for commercial shipping and storage containers. This was a competitive acquisition with seven responses received. This is a 240-day contract with no option periods. Location of performance is South Korea, with a July 17, 2024, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2024 Army operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE8ED-24-C-0001).

Summer Consultants Inc., McLean, Virginia, is awarded a maximum-value $15,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for architect-engineer services in support of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing and fire protection engineering and design services primarily in the Great Lakes, Illinois, area of responsibility. An initial task order is being issued in the amount of $5,000 to satisfy the minimum guarantee. Work will be performed in Great Lakes, Illinois, and is expected to be completed by November 2028. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the SAM.gov website, with four offers received. Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-24-D-0012).