Chaos Is New Normal on Internet

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.

The world has entered into a new era of cyber conflict, The Washington Post reports, but cautions the extremes of cyber warfare have yet to be seen. Recent “ransomware” events created headaches and headlines — but also masked a greater issue in cybersecurity: chaos and disruption on the Internet as the new normal.

The most difficult thing Army Cyber Command does is operate and defend its networks and weapons, Defense One reports. “Whether or not you’re on the far reaches of Eastern Europe or any place deployed today, even in the United States, we see a number of different intrusions every day,” said Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone, who leads 41 Army Cyber Mission Force teams. How many? “Tens, hundreds of thousands a day.”

The 2018 defense bill directs the Pentagon to create a comprehensive cyber strategy, FCW  reports. A Senate Armed Services Committee report “encourages the new administration to immediately prioritize the development of a cyber deterrence strategy that emphasizes both deterrence by denial and deterrence by consequence imposition.”

The Internet Promise Group, a private sector company, is offering a new kind of reinforced encryption technology for use by the military, Defense Systems reports. It is designed to safeguard mobile phone, radio, and computer transactions from cyberattacks.

Breaking Defense reports that as artificially intelligent drones, hacking, jamming, and missiles accelerate the pace of combat, scientists are studying how humans can keep up with the speed of cyber warfare, missiles, and other threats.

Small unmanned aerial vehicles will soon navigate without using GPS or help from humans, Defense Systems reports, as demonstrated by test runs last month as part of the Fast Lightweight Autonomy program. The drones would help troops remotely assess operational areas that are underground or in buildings where GPS can’t reach.

The Air Force is taking steps toward a multibillion-dollar competition that would give Boeing another chance against Lockheed Martin for as many as 22 new Global Positioning System III satellites, reports Bloomberg.

The US Marine Corps Forces Reserve has identified the 15 Marines and one sailor who were killed last week when their KC-130T crashed in Mississippi, reports Marine Times. One of the Marines was from Frederick, Maryland, according to The Frederick News-Post.

DefSec James Mattis said Friday there are multiple candidates for Army secretary still being evaluated, Defense News reports.

Since the 1990s, how US presidents have handled relations with North Korea has varied. Time magazine looks at the differences in approaches. “There are just such limitations that most of the presidents have eventually turned to something akin to strategic patience: ‘we’re going to kick this can down the road,’” said RAND Senior International/Defense Researcher Bruce Bennett. Military Times examines how North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs have evolved under each of the three Kims — Kim Jong Un, his father Kim Jong Il, and grandfather Kim Il Sung.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports Lockheed Martin will be interviewing a few thousand people for jobs this week. Some of them could be offered employment “on the spot,” as part of the buildup of F-35 JSF production at its Fort Worth, Texas, plant.

Contracts:

Machine Tool Marketing Inc., Bixby, Oklahoma (N68936-17-D-0021); Phillips Corp., Hanover, Maryland (N68936-17-D-0022); West Coast CNC Inc., Chatsworth, California (N68936-17-D-0023); and Machine Tools USA Inc., Hudgins, Virginia (N68936-17-D-0024), are each being awarded multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts for manufacturing tools and components for the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division’s Applied Manufacturing Technology Division. The estimated aggregate ceiling for all contracts is $9,750,000 with the companies having an opportunity to compete for individual orders. Work will be performed in China Lake, California; and various awardee’s facility sites in Bixby, Oklahoma; Hanover, Maryland; Chatsworth, California; and Hudgins, Virginia, and is expected to be completed in July 2022. Fiscal 2017 working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $29,508 are being obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals and five offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, California, is the contracting activity.

ACC Construction Co. Inc., Augusta, Georgia, was awarded a $19,331,614 firm-fixed-price contract for design and construction of an equipment concentration site modified tactical equipment maintenance facility and general purpose warehouse at Fort AP Hill, Virginia. Bids were solicited via the Internet with 10 received. Work will be performed in Fort AP Hill, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 12, 2019. Fiscal 2016 military construction funds in the amount of $19,331,614 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-17-C-0021).

Creek Technologies Co., Beavercreek, Ohio (N00244-17-D-0045); Epsilon Inc., Weaverville, North Carolina (N00244-17-D-0046); Invictus International Consulting LLC, Alexandria, Virginia (N00244-17-D-0047); DirectViz Solutions LLC, Chantilly, Virginia (N00244-17-D-0048); Logistics Center Inc., Washington, DC (N00244-17-D-0049); Metters Industries Inc., McLean, Virginia (N00244-17-D-0050); Evanhoe & Associates Inc., Dayton, Ohio (N00244-17-D-0051); Innovative Management Concepts Inc., Sterling, Virginia (N00244-17-D-0052); Advanced Onion Inc., Monterey, California (N00244-17-D-0053); Metova Federal LLC, Cabot, Arizona (N00244-17-D-0054); and Network and Simulation Technologies Inc., Middleton, Rhode Island (N00244-17-D-0055), are being awarded an estimated $17,239,176 multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee task order contracts to provide a variety of information technology support services for the Naval Higher Education Information Technology Consortium, which includes the Naval Postgraduate School, the Naval War College, and the US Naval Academy. Each contract includes a one-year base period and four one-year option periods. If all options are exercised, the contract value will reached a ceiling value of $92,261,110. Work will be performed at various locations throughout the US and percentage of work cannot be determined at this time. Work is expected to be completed by July 2018; if all options are exercised, work will be completed by July 2022. Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,000 will be obligated on each of the eleven contracts to fund the contracts’ minimum amount and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Proposals were requested of service – disabled, veteran-owned small businesses via the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 18 offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems Moorestown, New Jersey, is being awarded a $14,083,369 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-15-C-5151) to exercise an option for ship integration and test of the Aegis Weapon System (AWS) for AWS baselines through advanced capability build 16. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey (90 percent); and Washington, District of Columbia (10 percent), and is expected to be completed by August 2018. Fiscal 2017 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $147,856 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a not-to-exceed $9,222,000 modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-17-C-0001) for additional long-lead material and parts in support of the low-rate initial production Lots 12, 13, and 14 F-35 Lightning II aircraft for the government of the Netherlands. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (30 percent); El Segundo, California (25 percent); Warton, UK (20 percent); Orlando, Florida (10 percent); Nashua, New Hampshire (5 percent); Nagoya, Japan (5 percent); and Baltimore, Maryland (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2019. International partner funds in the amount of $9,222,000 are being obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Corp., Baltimore, Maryland, is being awarded an $8,617,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-11-C-2300) to exercise options for core Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) class services and LCS class services for the LCS program. Work will be performed in Hampton, Virginia (31 percent); Moorestown, New Jersey (28 percent); Washington, District of Columbia (21 percent); and Marinette, Wisconsin (20 percent), and is expected to be completed by April 2018. Fiscal 2015 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); and 2017 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $8,617,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.