Carriers Need Lethal UAV and More to Stay Relevant
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 carriers need new lethal unmanned aircraft and a new fighter to stay relevant, reports USNI News. The Navy needs to restart development of a lethal unmanned aircraft to fly from carrier decks, according to a new study by Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.on the future of the carrier air wing.
Military Times reports senators are warning DoD to not let the military moving process end up in the same situation as privatized housing.
New Mexico sues the Air Force over groundwater contamination at two bases, reports Air Force Times, saying the federal government has a responsibility to clean up plumes of toxic chemicals left behind by past military firefighting activities.
Top US general in Europe says don’t give Turkey F-35 if they buy Russian system, reports Defense News.
North Korea has started rebuilding the facilities it uses to launch satellites into orbit, according to American military analysts and South Korean intelligence officials. The New York Times reports that it could be a first sign that North Korea is preparing to end its moratorium on missile tests.
National Security Adviser John Bolton warns of more sanctions for North Korea unless it scraps its nuclear weapons program, reports Reuters.
CNN reports North Korean food production in 2018 fell to its lowest level in a decade, leaving millions without enough to eat, according to the United Nation’s Needs and Priorities report.
Raytheon wins DARPA contract for hypersonic weapon research, reports C4ISRNET. The weapon will use a rocket to get to hypersonic speed — in excess of Mach 5, or nearly 4,000 miles per hour — where the payload will separate and glide unpowered the rest of the way to the target.
Sen. Rand Paul’s plan to end Afghanistan War: Declare victory and give $2,500 bonuses to vets, reports Military Times. He is proposing giving all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans a one-time $2,500 payout and declaring victory in Afghanistan in what he is billing a cost-saving move for America.
President Donald Trump is “100%” on board with keeping some troops in Syria, reports Washington Examiner, making the announcement to lawmakers less than three months after announcing a complete withdrawal. A bipartisan group of lawmakers applauded the reversal.
Army Times reports on the first unit to get the Army’s newest helmet and body armor kit.
Contracts:
Salient Federal Solutions, also known as Salient CRGT, Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded a $21,295,700 firm-fixed-price contract for mission critical information-technology communications infrastructure and services. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in Fayetteville, North Carolina; and Bagram, Afghanistan, with an estimated completion date of March 14, 2023. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $21,295,700 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-18-C-0020).
General Dynamics Information Technology, Falls Church, Virginia, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $217,000,000 task order under General Services Administration Alliant 2 Unrestricted Government-Wide (GWAC) for the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing technical operations support. This task order provides for support of the Distributed Common Ground System network weapon system and all supporting activities, such as the development, integration, maintenance, administration, management, documentation, assessment, disposal and troubleshooting of 480 ISRW information technology assets from the network and enterprise level. Work will be performed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia; and Beale Air Force Base, California, and is expected to be complete by Jan. 31, 2027. This task order is the result of a competitive acquisition and five offers were received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $11,589,147 are being obligated at the time of award. Headquarters Air Combat Command, Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity (FA4890-19-F-A022).
SimVentions Inc., Fredericksburg, Virginia, is awarded a $12,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the continued development, extension, and upgrade of the AN/SLQ-32(V)X Tactical Simulator tools and capabilities delivered in support of Navy training and integration and test efforts. Work will be performed in Fredericksburg, Virginia (88 percent); Fairmont, West Virginia (8 percent); and Pensacola, Florida (4 percent), and is expected to be completed by February 2024. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy); and fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,514,452 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii) – only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00178-19-D-4502).