Air Force Wish List Includes More F-35s

A formation of 42 F-35A Lightning II’s with the 354th Fighter Wing are shown during a routine readiness exercise at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska on March 25, 2022. (US Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jose Miguel T. Tamondong)

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.

Add more F-35 fighter jets to the US Air Force’s wish list, reports Defense News. The service’s list for fiscal 2023 include billions of dollars for seven more, brand-new F-35As as well as EC-37 Compass Calls aircraft, hypersonic technology tests, and 26 construction projects for bases recovering from natural disasters.

The US Army said it will send a Patriot missile battery to Slovakia to backfill that country’s air defense capabilities, reports Army Times. Slovakia has agreed to give its sole, Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air system to Ukraine.

This is a pivotal moment of the war in Ukraine, reports The Washington Post, and as the battlefield shifts, the sorts of weapons Ukrainian forces need are changing, too. Ukrainian officials are clear on what they want from the US and Europe: Weapons. Big, heavy weapons. Not helmets. Tanks.

Finland is preparing for Russian “consequences” if it joins NATO, reports Breaking Defense. Finland is heading toward a decision to join the international alliance. “Of course, Russia will react, but we don’t know how. And we need to be prepared,” said Esa Pulkkinen, the permanent secretary at Finland’s Ministry of Defense. Sweden could also soon join NATO, reports CNN.

Four American troops are being treated for minor injuries and evaluated for traumatic brain injury after a Thursday indirect fire attack on the Green Village base in eastern Syria, reports Military Times.

Austal USA has a vision of what the new class of Navy medical ships will look like, reports Breaking Defense. They would be called Expeditionary Medical Ships and would be roughly 120-meter aluminum catamarans, based on the service’s expeditionary fast transport vessels. They would be smaller and more agile in design.

Huntington Ingalls Industries is updating its brand, reports Defense News. The shipbuilder will now go by HII and is broadening its portfolio. The company has moved away from its Navy-centric color palette, as it tries to highlight its work in fields like autonomy and big data management. HII has even launched a new website.

The military is considering three states for a permanent US Space Force training headquarters, reports Air Force Times. In the running are Buckley, Peterson, and Schriever Space Force bases in Colorado; Los Angeles Air Force Base and Vandenberg SFB in California; and Patrick SFB in Florida.

A SpaceX rocket carrying a National Reconnaissance Office mission is scheduled to launch April 15 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, reports Stars and Stripes. The mission is the first NRO mission to reuse a SpaceX rocket booster.

 

 

As the Space Force considers the future of its satellite communications architecture, the service wants to buy two more narrowband Mobile User Objective System satellites as part of a service life-extension effort, reports C4ISRNET.

The Air Force is reevaluating plans for the future of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona after Congress disapproved the retirement of 42 older A-10C Thunderbolts KKs, reports Air Force Times. Davis-Monthan is home to A-10Cs, HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, HC-130 Hercules transport jets, and the EC-130H Compass Call electronic warfare planes.

Talks between Japan and the Philippines are underway as the two countries work toward better cooperation between their militaries, reports ABC News, amid regional tensions with China and the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.

Sung Kim, US special representative to North Korea, said that North Korea might conduct a nuclear weapons test this week around the April 15 anniversary of founder Kim Il Sung’s birth, reports UPI. “I don’t want to speculate too much, but I think it could be another missile launch, it could be a nuclear test,” Sung Kim said.

Defense officials have stopped efforts to consolidate the commissary and exchange systems, reports Military Times.

VASec Denis McDonough is promising improvements in medical wait time data, reports Navy Times. McDonough said he is “frustrated” with inconsistency in how medical appointment wait time data is calculated and recorded within the department’s health care systems.

US Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) is working on a bill that would remove some of the barriers faced by young Americans hoping to join the military but are barred from doing so if they’ve previously been treated for mental health issues, reports Marine Corps Times.

Texas Military Department leaders told the state Senate Border Security Committee they need more than half a billion dollars in state funds to continue Gov. Greg Abbott’s mission at the US-Mexico border through the end of the fiscal year, reports The Texas Tribune. Operation Lone Star, which has deployed 10,000 service members, is costing more than $2 billion a year.

Contracts:

ARCTOS Technology Solutions LLC, Dayton, Ohio (W911SR-22-D-0011); Batelle Memorial Institute, Aberdeen, Maryland (W911SR-22-D-0012); Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0013); DCS Corp., Alexandria, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0014); Edmond Scientific Co., Alexandria, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0015); Enterprise Resource Planning International LLC, Laurel, Maryland (W911SR-22-D-0016); Excet Inc., Springfield, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0017); Global Systems Engineering LLC, Alexandria, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0018); Hythe Research LLC, Havre De Grace, Maryland (W911SR-22-D-0019); Joint Research and Development Inc., Stafford, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0020); Laulima Government Solutions LLC, Orlando, Florida (W911SR-22-D-0021); Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0022); LMI Consulting LLC, Tysons, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0023); Mantech Advanced Systems International Inc., Herndon, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0024); Parsons Government Services Inc., Centreville, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0025); Patricio Enterprises Inc., Stafford, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0026); QinetiQ Inc., Lorton, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0027); Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0028); SciTech Services Inc., Havre De Grace, Maryland (W911SR-22-D-0029); SNA International LLC, Alexandria, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0030); Science and Technology Corp., Hampton, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0031); T2S LLC, Belcamp, Maryland (W911SR-22-D-0032); TENAX Technologies LLC, Belcamp, Maryland (W911SR-22-D-0033); Universal Consulting Services Inc., Fairfax, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0034); Venesco LLC, Chantilly, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0035); and Zero Point Inc., Virginia Brach, Virginia (W911SR-22-D-0036), will compete for each order of the $869,061,571 hybrid (cost-no-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to provide technical support for research, development, test and evaluation, engineering, acquisition (product development, fielding and support) and chemical and biological demilitarization operations. Bids were solicited via the internet with 26 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 7, 2032. US Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Caelum Research Corp., Rockville, Maryland, was awarded a $201,131,019 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for data collection support services. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 14, 2027. US Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W91CRB-22-D-0011).

Raytheon Missiles and Defense, Tewksbury, Massachusetts, is awarded a $19,126,378, cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-19-C-5509 for design agent engineering efforts in support of the Dual Band Radar program. Work will be performed in Tewksbury, Massachusetts (30%); Norfolk, Virginia (20%); San Diego, California (20%); Marlborough, Massachusetts (15%); Portsmouth, Rhode Island (10%); and Chesapeake, Virginia (5%), and is expected to be completed by June 2022. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $134,484 (77%); and fiscal 2021 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $40,600 (23%) will be obligated at time of award, of which, funds in the amount of $40,600 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Bollinger Shipyards Lockport LLC, Lockport, Louisiana, is awarded a $13,725,953 fixed-price incentive (firm target), firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost-type contract for the production of the Mine Countermeasures Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MCM USV), engineering services and other direct costs. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $122,908,682. Work will be performed in Lockport, Louisiana (65%); Portsmouth, Virginia (22%); Atlanta, Georgia (10%); and Orrville, Ohio (3%), and is expected to be completed by April 2023. If all options are exercised, work will continue through April 2027. Fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $13,725,953 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.sam.gov website, with three offers received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (N00024-22-C-6305).

ITA International LLC, Newport News, Virginia, has been awarded a $78,594,411 firm-fixed-price level of effort task order, for Ninth Air Force Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron Staff Support Services. This contract provides for contractor provided support services at multiple locations throughout the Central Command area of responsibility. The task order consists of a two-month transition period, 10-month base period, and four one-year options periods. The period of performance of the task order is May 3, 2022, to May 2, 2027. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition, and three offers were received. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $12,909,850 is being obligated at the time of award (FA4890-22-F-0024). The contracting activity is Headquarters Air Combat Command, Acquisition Management Integration Center, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. (Awarded April 5, 2022)

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a not-to-exceed $261,425,000 fixed-price incentive (firm target) modification (P00010) to a previously awarded contract (N0001920C0009). This modification increases scope for the procurement of long lead-time materials, parts, components, and efforts for the production of nine Lot 17 F-35C aircraft for the Navy, 13 Lot 17 F-35A aircraft and two Lot 17 F-35B aircraft for non-US Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (57%); El Segundo, California (14%); Warton, United Kingdom (9%); Cameri, Italy (4%); Orlando, Florida (4%); Nashua, New Hampshire (3%); Baltimore, Maryland (3%); San Diego, California (2%); Nagoya, Japan (2%); and various locations outside the continental US (2%) and is expected to be completed in May 2026. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $75,425,000; and non-US DOD participant funds in the amount of $186,000,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

AKIMA Logistics Services LLC, Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded a $109,723.382 firm-fixed-price contract to procure contractor logistics support for 58 total US Air Force Academy aircraft located at Peterson Air Force Base, the US Air Force Academy, and an Academy auxiliary airfield, all located in Colorado. This contract includes contractor provided tow aircraft and tow pilots. The location of performance is US Air Force Academy and Peterson AFB. The work is expected to begin April 7, 2022, and is expected to be completed by April 6, 2032. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition. Fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance funds are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (FA8106-22-D-0001). (Awarded April 1, 2022)