Boeing Says 737 Ban to Lift By End of Year
Undelivered Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that were grounded by aviation agencies, seen at parking lot at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington. This picture was taken from the South Park Bridge. Photo by SounderBruce, April 2019.
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Boeing expects regulators will end the ban on its 737 Max planes before the end of the year, CNBC reports. The 737 Max has been grounded since mid-March after two fatal crashes. In an earnings release, Boeing said 737 Max production costs rose in the quarter by almost $1 billion as the ban continued, and reiterated its plan to increase production of the planes to 57 a month from 42 currently by the end of 2020.
Before Oct. 3, 2017, VA Sec’y David Shulkin added bladder cancer, Parkinson’s-like symptoms, and hypothyroidism to the list of diseases eligible for Agent Orange benefits, reports Military Times. But White House officials continue to challenge the decision. Roughly 83,000 veterans are currently afflicted with one of these three proposed presumptive conditions.
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) may not be ready to deploy until 2024, further complicating the Navy’s persistent problems of generating deployable carriers from the East Coast, reports USNI News. Ford’s original deployment date was 2018. Delays are attributed to new technologies aboard the first-in-class nuclear aircraft carrier plus DoD’s decision for Ford to undergo full-ship shock trials before its first deployment.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and other top Republicans introduce a resolution warning President Trump against withdrawing US troops from northern Syria. The measure calls on Mr. Trump to halt the pullback of US forces and warns that a “precipitous withdrawal” would “create vacuums.” It also urges the president to rescind his invitation for the Turkish president to visit the White House next month and opposes Turkey’s military action.
DefSec Mark Esper says troops in Syria will “temporarily” go to Iraq before returning to US, reports CNN. The Iraqi Joint Operations Command said US troops withdrawing from Syria may enter the Kurdish region of Iraq and then leave the country, but that they do not have permission to remain in Iraq. President Trump has not yet approved a plan to keep some troops in Syria to protect oil fields.
Mr. Esper to urge NATO to pay more to protect Saudi Arabia from Iran, reports Military Times, a piece of a broader US campaign to get NATO allies to take on more responsibility for security in the Gulf. region.
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard settles a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit, reports Navy Times. Mark Swalley alleged he was retaliated against for reporting sexual harassment on behalf of a woman he supervised. The harassment case never reached the shipyard’s commanding officer. Mr. Swalley settled his retaliation case for $130,000.
The body of 20-year-old West Point cadet Kade Kurita discovered at the post in New York, reports ABC News. Foul play is not suspected; the cause of death is under investigation.
A US Naval Academy midshipman and ex-Navy soccer team midfielder has been charged with sexually assaulting sleeping female classmates, reports Navy Times. It is unclear in the released records how many victims Midshipman Nixon Keago allegedly assaulted.
After spending months reviewing the procurement, DefSec Esper recuses himself from DoD’s troubled cloud contract, reports Federal Times, because his son works for one of the original bidders.
Brexit lingers on: Boris Johnson has hit the pause button on his Brexit legislation after MPs rejected his plan to get it through the Commons in three days, reports BBC.
Has Airbus fixed midair refueling problems with the F-15 jet? Defense News reports that Airbus has developed changes to the software that controls the A330 tanker boom specifically for midair refueling of the Boeing F-15 Eagle. The modification, known as boom flight control law, was coded in response to difficulties encountered during flight trials, and the update adds another receiver type to the list of aircraft certified for refueling from the tanker.
British-made hypersonic engine passes key milestone at Colorado test site, reports Defense News, a key component of a rocket engine with the potential to fly aircraft and space vehicles at Mach 5.
There’s never been World Series pitching like this, says fivethirtyeight. Game 2 of the World Series wrapped up in Houston on Wednesday night. Games 3 and 4 move to Nationals Park in Washington, DC, on Friday and Saturday.
Contracts:
National Industries for the Blind, Alexandria, Virginia, has been awarded a $13,404,000 modification (P00012) exercising the third one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-17-D-B003) with four one-year option periods for the advanced combat helmet pad suspension system. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Locations of performance are Virginia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, with an Oct. 26, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
