Climate vs. Aviation: Risks Growing

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.

Aviation Week publishes its second of three articles on how climate change is impacting the avionics industry. Part two discusses the Transportation Research Board’s findings on the physical risks to aviation’s infrastructure from water (flooding, severe storms, sea level rise); temperature changes (runway buckling, material deformation); and impacts to cooling needs. The first part discusses the impact of rising temperatures on aircraft range and payload.

A long-term, downward trend in aircraft availability and flying hours per aircraft continues for the Navy and Air Force, reports Air Force Magazine. The situation is worse than indicated due to the way the DoD counts aircraft as ready for duty, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office.

The Federal Aviation Administration formally listed 50 airports that will be exempt from the new C-band service set to roll out on January 19, reports Next Gov.  The 50 airports that will have buffer zones that exclude the new 5G service span both coasts and several landlocked states. This was part of the deal struck between telecommunications companies Verizon and AT&T and the Department of Transportation to ensure the new network speed won’t disrupt air traffic.

Two stunningly good pieces of news about the James Webb Space Telescope this past weekend, reports Arstechnica. Already reported was the intricate, two-week process that successfully completed the telescope’s deployment, followed by superior performance of the Ariane 5 rocket which retained sufficient fuel on board to double the Webb telescope’s lifetime. NASA’s Mission Systems Engineer for the Webb telescope, Mike Menzel, said the agency’s analysis found enough propellant on board for 20 years of life.

Marine LT COL Michael J. Regner blamed bad information for AAV sinking tragedy, reports Marine Corps Times. The battalion commander testified Friday that in retrospect he would have halted the exercise that killed nine of his Marines whose amphibious assault vehicle sank off the Southern California coast but at the time he did not have accurate information to make such a decision. Regner said his decisions were based in part on what other commanders told him, including that all the Marines had completed their swim certifications and that the aging vehicles they were in had been fixed and were ready for the mission.

 

 

Health care workers are panicked as desperate health care facilities ask infected staff to return,which CDC guidance permits, reports Politico. Hospitals and long-term care facilities argue that is the only way to keep their doors open during a spike in hospitalizations and staff shortages. More than 120,000 in the US are now hospitalized with the virus — almost three times the total from Thanksgiving when Omicron was first detected. The Washington Post reports that the US is poised to break a record 142,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations.

In response to rising hospitalizations, Gov. Andy Beshear is deploying more Kentucky National Guard members to 30 health care facilities, reports Military Times. Also beginning this week, the Ohio National Guard is stepping in to make testing more available in their state, reports WLWT5.

China’s COVID-19 flare-ups and lockdowns are disrupting port and chip-factory operations, hitting the supply chain — again, reports Business Insider. Major chipmakers Samsung and Micron recently warned that an intense lockdown in the city of Xi’an could affect their facilities, intensifying a global chip shortage impacting the timeline for electronics manufacturing.

DefSec Lloyd J. Austin has tested negative after experiencing mild symptoms during a bout with the COVID-19 virus. Austin returned to the Pentagon on January 10 after completing an at-home quarantine during which he continued to work remotely, reports Air Force Magazine.

In 2022, five additional states will bring the total to 26 states that do not tax military retirement income, reports Military.com. Nine other states offer partial exemptions, nine states do not levy an income tax, and six states, plus DC, fully tax military retirement.

Matthew McPherson, 45, of Olathe, KS, was sentenced to 28 months behind bars, with no chance for parole, and ordered to pay back the government more than $5 million in proceeds he made from the more than $340 million scheme, reports Military Times. McPherson, neither a veteran nor a minority, fraudulently obtained more than $340 million in government contracts intended for companies owned by service-disabled and minority veterans.

In Russia talks, the US floats deal to limit missiles and war games, reports Defense News, if Russia reciprocates. US Deputy StateSec Wendy Sherman is meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov in meetings this week.

The UN extended Syria cross-border aid without a Security Council vote, reports Aljazeera. Bab al-Hawa crossing serves three million people in Idlib region. The 15-member body had previously authorized aid into rebel-held areas through the Bab al-Hawa crossing at the Turkey-Syria border until January 10, 2022. The de facto extension continues the authorization another six months without a new vote.

It’s the first time the US has not had a carrier strike group or ARG in its 5th Fleet since late November 2020, according to the Fleet Tracker. The three-ship Essex Amphibious Ready Group and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit left the Middle East last week after operating in the region since late September, reports USNI News. USS Essex (LHD-2), USS Portland (LPD-27), and amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor (LSD-52) are now operating in the Indian Ocean after four months in US Central Command.

The USS Paul Ignatius CO has been fired over failure to follow “proper shipboard procedures,” reports Navy Times. The Navy fired CMDR Jeffrey Servello, the CO of the guided-missile destroyer, “due to a failure to follow proper shipboard procedures,” according to Naval Surface Force Atlantic.  Servello assumed command of the ship less than seven months ago and was its executive officer before that.

Contract:

MTFA Architecture, Arlington, Virginia, is awarded a $9,999,070 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for multi-discipline architect and engineer services for planning, design, construction, evaluation of new construction, and renovation projects in support of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, Dam Neck Activity, Wallops Island, the Naval Observatory, and Pumpkin Neck Annex Experimental area. Work will be performed in Dahlgren, Virginia (70%); Virginia Beach, Virginia (15%); Accomack, Virginia (10%); and Washington, DC (5%), and is expected to be completed by January 2027. Fiscal 2022 working capital (Navy) funds in the amount of $500 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.sam.gov website, with nine proposals received. The award is negotiated under the authority of Public Law (P.L.) 92-582 (40 US Code 541). The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N0017822D4400).