Army Preps for Sci-Fi Battlefields
Under Secretary of the Army Gabe Camarillo experiences the Army’s Integrated Tactical Network during exercise Dragoon Ready 23 at 7th Army Training Command’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, on Feb. 1, 2023. (Photo by Spc. Christian Carrillo,7th Army Training Command)
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.
US Army Undersecretary Gabe Camarillo envisions a future battlefield swarming with sensors and electronics, swollen with digital chatter and interference, and starving for overhead defenses, reports Axios. The Russia-Ukraine war has the Army scoping out sci-fi-style energy weapons, and the Middle East is emerging as a directed-energy proving ground for laser and microwave weapons. “We’re going to learn quite a bit about the effectiveness and the maturity of these two directed-energy technologies against the range of unmanned aerial vehicle threats that exist,” Camarillo said.
The US has accused Russia of running a multi-pronged disinformation campaign targeting US voters and announced numerous criminal charges and seizures of internet domains to push back against the efforts, reports NextGov/FCW. The Justice Department alleges Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, two Russian state media employees, used some $10 million wired by the Russian state-run RT news agency to covertly finance and control an unnamed Tennessee-based online content creation firm that pushed out divisive political content to Americans at home. The department also seized 32 internet sites allegedly controlled by answering to the Russian Presidential Admin.
DefSec Lloyd Austin has approved the use of National Guard units to support the Secret Service guarding the major presidential and vice presidential candidates at various locations across the United States, reports Stars and Stripes. The request came from Homeland Security which oversees the Secret Service.
The Navy’s plan to develop a renewable energy project at the former Naval Academy Dairy Farm is among a number of energy projects seeking approvals in Maryland, according to Military.com. The Navy seeks renewable energy ideas for the 857-acre farm to address carbon-free electricity mandates. Other Maryland projects include a 500,000-volt transmission line through 70 miles of largely rural areas of Baltimore, Carroll, and Frederick counties plus six solar energy projects on ag land in Carroll.
Salvagers abandoned an initial effort to tow away a burning oil tanker in the Red Sea targeted by Yemen’s Houthi rebels as it “was not safe to proceed,” leaving the Sounion stranded and its 1 million barrels of oil at risk of spilling, a European Union naval mission said Tuesday. The incident threatens to become one of the worst yet in the Iranian-backed rebels’ campaign that has disrupted the $1 trillion in goods that pass through the Red Sea each year over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, reports AP News.
The Italian Navy announced Monday that its carrier-based F-35B Lightning II fighter fleet reached initial operational capability, reports USNI. Italy is now one of the few nations to operate aircraft carriers and the only one in the European Union with a national Carrier Strike Group that has 5th-generation assets, joining the US and UK as the NATO members with such capacity.
Europe needs a “systemic overhaul” of its defense spending to increase production and reduce its dependence on the United States, the European Commission president said Friday. Defense One reports Ursula von der Leyen said at the GLOBSEC Security Forum, “It will take time and massive investment to restructure our defense industries. Our aim must be to build continent-size defense output,” here, offering few details.
The US is close to an agreement to give Ukraine long-range cruise missiles that could reach deep into Russia, but Kyiv would need to wait several months as the US works through technical issues ahead of any shipment, reports Reuters. US officials said the inclusion of Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles in a weapons package is expected to be announced this fall.
The United States is set to send Michael Chase, the deputy assistant defense secretary for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, to China’s top annual security forum in mid-September, reports Reuters. He is more senior than the US official who attended the Xiangshan Forum last year, but his rank is in line with historical norms for the Pentagon.
APNews reports Russian President Vladimir Putin received a red-carpet welcome to Mongolia on Tuesday, as the country ignored calls to arrest him on an international warrant for alleged war crimes stemming from Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government said Monday that it’s suspending exports of some weapons to Israel because they could be used to break international law, the move has little impact, is rather intended to increase pressure by Israel’s frustrated allies for an end to the war in Gaza, reports APNews. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK government had concluded there is a “clear risk” some items could be used to “commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
A network of super PACs funded by the cryptocurrency industry is backing industry-friendly candidates in three battleground Senate races. Politico reports Defend American Jobs — one of three affiliated super PACs funded by the industry — plans to spend at least $12 million backing Republican Bernie Moreno, whose race with Senate Banking Chair Sherrod Brown (D-OH), could determine control of the Senate.
A federal judge has overruled a magistrate and ordered a DoD civilian and US-Turkish dual citizen to remain jailed while he awaits trial on accusations he mishandled classified documents. AP News reports Gokhan Gun, 50, of Falls Church, VA, was arrested Aug. 9 on his way to the airport for a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and was carrying papers, including a document that was marked “Top Secret.” A search of his home found other classified documents.
The Air Force lacks proper guidance and controls for getting contractors to pay it back for defective spare parts, leaving the service with millions of dollars’ worth of broken equipment and sometimes paying even more money to repair it. Air and Space Forces Magazine says a new report from the DoD inspector general found that the Air Force did not seek restitution for 45 defective spare parts worth $5.9 million for the C-130J Super Hercules.
Space Force COL Nick Hague will command a mission later this month to return astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams, unexpectedly stuck aboard the International Space Station, reports Military.com. Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will join Hague aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to launch no earlier than Sept. 24, returning with Wilmore and Williams in February 2025, according to NASA.
Navy Times reports the commanding officer of the destroyer John S. McCain, CMDR Cameron Yaste was fired last week in the middle of the warship’s Middle East deployment. CAPT Allison Christy, deputy commodore of Destroyer Squadron 21, has temporarily assumed command of the warship. Yaste had been in command of the ship since October. According to Military.com, Yaste was relieved of duty about four months after he was seen in a photo published by Stars and Stripes, firing a rifle with a scope mounted backward that brought the Navy considerable ridicule on social media. The Navy stated only that it occurred due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command the guided-missile destroyer.
Senior enlisted leaders onboard the littoral combat ship Manchester installed and secretly used their own Wi-Fi network during a deployment. “The danger such systems pose to the crew, the ship, and the Navy cannot be understated,” according to a scathing internal investigation obtained by Navy Times. Then-Command Senior Chief Grisel Marrero led and then lied about the network and was relieved in late 2023.
The US has captured an ISIS leader who helped members of the terror group after they escaped from a detention facility in Syria, reports The Hill. US Central Command forces, working with the Syrian Democratic Forces, captured Khaled Ahmed al-Dandal on Sunday, according to a release, just days after five ISIS member detainees fled the Raqqa Detention Facility.
Leonardo Helicopters is the sole remaining bidder for the UK’s ongoing New Medium Helicopter contest after rivals Airbus Helicopters and Sikorsky confirmed they were withdrawing from the competition, reports Flight Global.
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo spent hundreds of millions of dollars over decades building demand for their soft drinks in Muslim-majority countries, but sales have cratered since the Gaza war started in October, launching consumer boycotts of US brands, while local brands are thriving, reports Reuters.
Contracts:
Marinette Marine Corp., Marinette, Wisconsin, was awarded a $64,939,319 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-20-C-2300) to exercise an option for engineering and class support requirements in support of detail design and construction of the Constellation-class guided-missile frigate. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia (35%); Marinette, Wisconsin (30%); Camden, New Jersey (15%); Millersville, Maryland (13%); Columbus, Ohio (1%); Chicago, Illinois (1%); Mathews, Louisiana (1%); Evans, Georgia (1%); Hanrahan, Louisiana (1%); Chesapeake, Virginia (1%); and Arvonia, Virginia (1%); and is expected to be completed by August 2025. Fiscal 2023 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $380,157; and fiscal 2024 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) in the amount of $37,500,000, will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington DC, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Aug. 30, 2024.)
Raytheon Technologies Corp., doing business as Pratt and Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Connecticut, is awarded a $111,875,732 contract modification (P00032) to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N0001919C0007). This modification extends the period of performance for the Propulsion System Block Four Flight Test Program to December 2026 to provide continued technical engineering, flight test support, special tooling, test equipment repair, and flight test spare and repair parts for the F-35 Lightning II Propulsion System Block Four Flight Test Program for the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and F-35 Cooperative Program Partners (non-US Department of Defense). Work will be performed in East Hartford, Connecticut (32%); Edwards Air Force Base, California (33%); and Patuxent River, Maryland (35%), and is expected to be completed in December 2026. Fiscal 2024 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force) funds in the amount of $11,077,874; fiscal 2024 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,517,721; and non-US DOD participant funds in the amount of $4,685,005 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc., Nashua, New Hampshire, was awarded a $10,867,095 modification (P00017) to cost-plus-fixed-fee contract HR001121C0068 for an engineering change modification for a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) research project. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $37,365,196 from $26,498,101. Work will be performed in Nashua, New Hampshire (46%); Cambridge, Massachusetts (38%); Linthicum Heights, Maryland (4%); Atlanta, Georgia (3%); Bedford, New Hampshire (3%); Burlington, Massachusetts (3%); and Durham, North Carolina (3%), with an expected completion date of February 2025. Fiscal 2024 research and development funds in the amount of $7,000,000 are being obligated at time of award. DARPA, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
DCS Corp., Alexandria, Virginia, was awarded an $11,355,061 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Science of Human Augmentation, Resiliency and Cognition program. This contract provides for research and development in the objective areas of aerospace physiology and human performance including aircrew protection, biodynamics, injury susceptibility and oxygen systems related technologies. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 3, 2027. This contract was a competitive acquisition, and one offer was received. Fiscal 2024 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $54,758 will be obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory Wright Research Site, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA2384-24-C-B003)
Pragmatics Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded an $8,072,526 modification (P00003) to contract W519TC-23-F-0555 to complete the development and integration of the Enterprise Interment Services System at Arlington National Cemetery. Work will be performed in Reston, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of March 22, 2029. Fiscal 2023 and 2024 National Military Cemeteries Concession, Army funds in the amount of $8,072,526 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.
Aecom International Inc., Neu-Isenburg, Germany (W912GB-24-D-0038); Atkins-UC JV, Alexandria, Virginia (W912GB-24-D-0039); HDR-Stanley JV, Colorado Springs, Colorado (W912GB-24-D-0040); Jacobs Government Services Co., Arlington, Virginia (W912GB-24-D-0041); Michael Baker-Cardno JV, Coraopolis, Pennsylvania (W912GB-24-D-0042); Parsons Government Services Inc., San Antonio, Texas (W912GB-24-D-0043); Woolpert-Black & Veatch Europe Planning, Beavercreek, Ohio (W912GB-24-D-0044); and WSP USA Solutions Inc., Washington, DC (W912GB-24-D-0045), will compete for each order of the $94,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect-engineer planning services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 14 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 3, 2029. US Army Corps of Engineers, European District, is the contracting activity.
MicroHealth LLC, Vienna, Virginia, is awarded $12,963,219 for a firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded task order (HT001123F0047) for Uniformed Services Family Health Plan data integration support services. The Uniformed Services Family Health Plan Data integration support services task order provides information technology, data warehouse, and data processing support services to the Department of Defense for the designated provider health care delivery system in support of the Military Health System. Additionally, services are provided to collect designated provider submitted data monthly, interface with Defense Enrollment and Eligibility Reporting System for the purpose of collecting enrollment and eligibility data and to send enrollment fee and catastrophic capitation information on designated provider beneficiaries, report monthly results for enrollment and capitation, maintain a database of all enrollment demographics for the designated provider population, perform audits and reviews, and report results of the data collection and comparison. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance funds are obligated for task order modification HT001123F0047-P00005 to exercise and fully fund Option One contract line items 1001-1007 for 12 months from Sept. 27, 2024, through Sept. 26, 2025. The place of performance is Aurora, Colorado. The Defense Health Agency, Professional Services Contracting Division, Falls Church, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Northrop Grumman Defense Systems, Rocket Center, West Virginia, is awarded a $197,516,776 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the full rate production of 56,000 FMU-139D/B Bomb Tactical Electronic Fuze systems. Additionally, this contract procures 500 FMU-139D/B Fuze, accessory kits; 50 FMU-139D(D-1)/B Fuze system inserts; 2,000 FMU-139D(D-2)/B inert load crew training Fuze systems; 50 FMU-139D(D-5)/B inert cut away Fuzes; 100 FZU-48A/B bomb initiators; 100 power cables; and 100 closure rings; as well as associated non-recurring engineering, data and first article testing in support of the Joint Direct Attack Mission family of weapons for the Navy, Air Force, and Foreign Military Sales customers. Work will be performed in Rocket Center, West Virginia (91.09%); Plymouth, Minnesota (7.54%); and Camden, Arkansas (1.37%), and is expected to be completed in December 2029. No funds will be obligated at the time of award, funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 US Code. 3204(a)(1). Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0001924D0104).
Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, is awarded a $66,633,889 cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-award-fee, and cost-only contract option for the previously awarded (N00024-15-C-5151) contract for ship integration and test of the Aegis Weapon System. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey (44%); San Diego, California (19%); Norfolk, Virginia (18%); Bath, Maine (10%); and Pascagoula, Mississippi (9%), and is expected to be completed by September 2025. Fiscal 2021 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,849,285 (32%); fiscal 2016 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,663,236 (25%); fiscal 2024 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,491,704 (24%); fiscal 2024 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,691,469 (14%); fiscal 2022 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $392,606 (2%); fiscal 2024 defense-wide procurement funds in the amount of $238,535 (1%); fiscal 2015 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $94,905 (1%); fiscal 2023 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $83,486 (1%); and fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $66,328 (1%), will be obligated at time of award, of which $4,884,310 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
