Border Wall Savings Add 20 Miles of Barrier

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.

Pentagon chief Mark Esper approves another 20 miles of border wall, reports The Hill, after the US Army Corps of Engineers determined that lower-than-expected contract costs for a previous seven projects could allow for another 20 miles of barrier.

Esper is also calling to add new bases in the Pacific while continuing navigation operations in the region to help stymie China’s influence in the area, reports Defense News.

Task & Purpose reviews former DefSec James Mattis’ letter in The Wall Street Journal regarding, among other things, leadership.

Small enough to evade air-defense systems at no risk to pilots, drones are raising the stakes in Iran as well as US tensions as more frequent strikes raise the risk of unwanted escalation, reports Military Times.

Russia and Turkey discuss deliveries of additional Russian warplanes, reports Reuters, including the Russian-made Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighter jet and Su-35 aircraft. Russia began delivering S-400 missile systems to Turkey this year, straining ties with Ankara’s NATO allies.

After four years as chief of naval operations, ADM John Richardson, heading out the door, told Defense News, “The Navy is out there doing exactly what the nation needs to do and leaning into this challenge with great power competition, working with more agility. And our people can feel a difference in the Navy.” Interviewed by The Washington Post ADM Richardson also said he was satisfied with the behavior of Navy Special Operations troops “in aggregate,” …  but that the service must continue to emphasize “the ethical dimension of what we do.”

In the wake of scandals starring SEALs behaving badly, it’s back to regulation haircuts and uniform inspections, reports Navy Times, all part of a directive designed to shore up shoddy conduct, restore moral accountability, and create better leaders.

Denied hot meals and indoor toilets, US airmen prepare for the fog of war, reports Defense News. Members of the 4th Fighter Wing deployed to Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany, lived and worked out of tents used for mission planning, communications, readying life-support gear and other functions.

Maj. Timothy Cox just recorded the highest score on the Army Combat Fitness Test so far. Army Times reports, hand-release push-ups are the most difficult part of the new test and core strength is key. Maj. Cox’s advice is to “embrace the change, because like it or not, it’s coming.”

B-2 stealth bombers, airmen, and support aircraft deploy to RAF Fairford in England, reports Air Force Times. The bomber task force is from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, US Air Forces in Europe, and Air Forces Africa.

Taliban say they are near agreement on US withdrawal from Afghanistan in exchange for a Taliban promise the country would not become a haven for international militants, reports Reuters. Negotiations over how to end the 18-year war in Afghanistan have been held in Qatar’s capital, Doha, since late last year. The ninth round of talks began last week.

Each nuclear-powered aircraft carrier goes through a four-year refueling and complex overhaul  at the midway point of its 50-year service life. The USS George Washington, more than halfway through its overhaul, will leave dry dock next month, reports USNI. Newport News Shipbuilding handles the most complex work, including refueling the nuclear reactor plant, tearing out the flight deck and catapults to repair corrosion and damage, and upgrading networks and systems.

India cancels Jaguar upgrade over Honeywell’s $2.4B price tag, reports Defense News. Indian Air Force had planned to equip its Jaguar fighters with 280 new Honeywell-built F125IN turbofan engines, but the cost was too high.

The US State Department clears $4.2 billion in potential arms sales to Japan, South Korea, Hungary, Lithuania, and Denmark, reports Defense News, bringing to $51.9 billion in foreign military sales this year with little more than a month remaining in the fiscal year.

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Aug. 26, 2019

Contracts:

Advanced Technology International, Summerville, South Carolina (N00174-18-D-0009); and PAE National Security Solutions LLC, Fredericksburg, Virginia (N00174-18-D-0008), are each awarded a modification to their respective previously-awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts to exercise Option Two for support services for the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division Demonstration and Assessment Team. This requirement will provide support services to the Demonstration and Assessment Team for coordination of operational forces, to include warfighter workshops and other engagement activities, preparation and facilitation of technology demonstration and assessment planning and readiness meetings, and analysis and reporting of warfighting/warfighter inputs and concepts. Each task order will be competitively procured. Advanced Technology International will be awarded an $8,777,905 modification, which brings the cumulative value of this contract to $25,848,029. PAE National Security Solutions LLC will be awarded an $8,328,452 modification, which brings the cumulative value of this contract to $24,513,838. The location of the work will be determined by individual task orders and is expected to be completed by September 2022. No additional funds are being obligated at the time of this action. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division, Indian Head, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Wyle Laboratories Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, is awarded $8,433,703 for modification P00004 to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-reimbursable contract (N00421-17-C-0056). This modification provides program management services for the F/A-18 Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program in support of the government of Australia. Work will be performed at Patuxent River, Maryland (83%); Whidbey Island, Washington (7%); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (4%); North Island, California (3%); Amberley, Australia (2%); and Oceana, Virginia (1%), and is expected to be completed in August 2020. FMS funds in the amount of $6,807,165 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.