Carriers, Contractors & Civilians on Report’s Hit List
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.
Despite good news on the troubled arresting gear on the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, reported by Military.com, the gear recovered an F/A-18E Super Hornet, a feat praised by the launch and recovery program manager as “a big step forward in getting the system ready for duty on board the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier,” not everyone sees a rosy future for the carrier. A report from the Center for New American Security, proposes to cancel US aircraft carriers and invest in lasers to combat Russia and China, reports The Washington Post. The report addresses the DoD’s $582.7 billion 2017 budget and the need to rebalance the funds by halting production of the Gerald Ford-class aircraft carrier and American-class amphibious assault ship as well as cutting 5 percent of the Pentagon’s civilian workforce and 8,000 contractors.
Fear of an imminent terrorist attack runs deep around the world, reports The Washington Post, with the expectation that extremist groups will acquire weapons of mass destruction and believe their governments are not doing enough to combat it, according to a survey, commissioned by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The Hill reports more than 100 US troops accompany Iraqi forces retaking Mosul. How close the US troops will get to the fight is unclear. The Iraqi military operations to retake Mosul after more than two years of Islamic State occupation could require months, even with American help, reports The New York Times, but recapture may turn out to be the easy part.
Ecuador “temporarily” restricts the internet access of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, citing the group’s decision to release documents “impacting on the U.S. election campaign,” reports Politico.
Despite scandals, presidential candidate Donald Trump’s support grows stronger in latest poll of troops, reports Military Times.
Missile attack from Yemen in the Red Sea may have been a false alarm, reports Military Times. The guided-missile destroyer Mason, underway in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, detected a “possible inbound missile,” prompting the ship’s commander to activate the missile defense system and launch interceptor missiles.
Military Times reports on an unremarkable appearing take-off of a single-engine Cessna Caravan from a small Virginia airport, except it was a robot with a claw hand grasping the throttle. In the left seat, a human pilot tapped commands to his mute colleague using an electronic tablet.
The National Interest Report says the F-35A is now training in Idaho with multiple platforms, including F-15s, A-10 Warthogs, and Navy Seals, dropped laser-guided bombs, and practiced key mission sets and tactics.
Contracts:
Martin, Mission Systems and Training, Baltimore, Maryland, is being awarded a $10,533,970 cost-plus-award-fee order against the previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N00024-15-G-2303) to provide emergent availability advanced planning and execution for the littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee (LCS-5). Work will be performed in Mayport, Florida, and is expected to be completed by June 2017. Fiscal 2016 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $10,533,970 will be obligated at order award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair, USN, Bath, Maine, is the contracting activity.
