March 29, 2024

DoD Clears 5G for Commercial Use

5G

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River Morning Coffee logoeconomic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff.

The Pentagon has cleared 100 megahertz of contiguous mid-band spectrum to be used for commercial 5G, reports C4ISRNET, determining the military can share that bandwidth while minimizing impact on military radars. The 3450-3550 MHz mid-band spectrum is highly desired by commercial 5G developers, but it’s been used by the military for critical radar operations for air defense, missile and gunfire control, counter-mortar, bomb scoring, battlefield weapon locations, air traffic control, and range safety.

The US Space Force has completed upgrades to the Global Position System’s ground segment that will allow it to partially use a new military GPS signal known as M-code, reports C4ISRNET. While the new anti-spoofing, anti-jamming, encrypted M-code signal has been available on many GPS satellites for years, the military has not had the corresponding ground and user equipment to access and leverage it. The $6.2 billion Next-Generation Operational Control System, or OCX, being built by Raytheon Technologies for that purpose is five years behind schedule and isn’t expected to be delivered until June 2021.

SecState Mike Pompeo has been cleared in a probe of emergency arms sales to Saudi Arabia, reports The Washington Post. A final report signed by the acting inspector general found that Pompeo did not violate the law when he declared a state of emergency to bypass congressional refusal to approve an $8 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, the State Department has announced.

Critical decisions on who will be first to get a possible COVID-19 vaccine have yet to be made, reports Military.com. US troops may not get priority for COVID-19 after all. Despite early indications from government officials that the military, the elderly, and other groups would get priority, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, director of Operation Warp Speed, said he is in the opening stages of organizing an “independent scientific summit” to make recommendations on vaccine distribution, with the goal of keeping politics out of decisions.

A bipartisan group of senators has once again introduced legislation to keep as many federal employees as possible from returning to the office, reports Federal Times.

The Pentagon is now on its fifth civilian leader in charge of special operations forces in less than three years, reports Task & Purpose. Ezra Cohen is currently performing the duties of the assistant secretary of defense of special operations and low-intensity conflict. Mr. Cohen replaces Chris Miller, who was sworn in as director of the National Counterterrorism Center on Monday. Mr. Miller had been in the post for just under two months. His predecessor, Thomas Alexander, left the Pentagon in June to join the Office of Management and Budget.

Count Navy SEAL training as another military activity hobbled by the COVID-19 pandemic, reports Navy Times. SEAL teams have for decades trained in the verdant wilds of western Washington state, practicing beach landings, stealth reconnaissance, and other critical cold-water operations. Earlier the Navy brought a proposal to the state that would greatly expand the number of state parks where SEALs could train, from five parks to 29. As part of an effort to curb large gatherings that can spread the virus, the commission has paused such public hearings, and the Navy’s latest proposal has been shelved for the foreseeable future.

Scammers and hackers have targeted the coronavirus pandemic and the federal agencies charged with disbursing hundreds of billions of dollars, reports FCW. New research from Malwarebytes Labs, which sells anti-malware software, reveals an email spoofing and phishing campaign impersonating the Small Business Administration seeking to entice victims to download malware and hand over personal banking information.

 

 

Army Times reports Operation Inherent Resolve officials want to double the size of some proxy forces in Syria and finish training a 2,200-man “oilfield guard” unit in the northeastern part of the country, according to an OIR inspector general report. Politico reports that the IG report came as an agreement was made public between the Delaware-based firm Delta Crescent Energy LLC and Kurdish-led authorities in Syria to develop and export crude oil in areas under their control. Syria’s foreign ministry called the arrangement an illegal deal aimed at “stealing” Syrian oil, according to Aljazeera News.

About three-quarters of all American voters will be eligible to receive a ballot in the mail for the 2020 election, reports The New York Times. The rapid and seismic shift in how Americans will vote can be traced to the coronavirus pandemic. Concerns about the potential for virus transmission at polling places has forced many states to make adjustments on the fly that — despite President Donald Trump’s protests — will make mail voting in America more accessible this fall than ever before.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Jr. (R) signed off Monday on officials’ plan to open Maryland’s 282 public high schools – or an equivalent number of locations – as voting centers for the Nov. 3 election, reports Maryland Matters. Hogan previously ordered all of Maryland’s more than 1,800 polling places to open, but fear of contagion during the COVID-19 outbreak had  local election boards struggled to find the thousands of election judges needed to conduct a normal election. The governor warned that fewer voting locations will require an even larger emphasis on vote-by-mail.

With a Northwest Baltimore neighborhood picking up the pieces after a gas explosion Monday destroyed three homes, killing one person and seriously injuring seven others, Maryland’s two US senators are still seeking answers about another gas explosion that shattered a Maryland neighborhood — four years to the day before the Baltimore blast, reports Maryland Matters.

A man was shot by a Secret Service officer near the White House on Monday, leading authorities to interrupt a briefing by President Trump and escort him from the press room. The Washington Post reports that a 51-year-old man had approached an officer posted near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW around 5:50 p.m. and said he had a weapon and withdrew an object from his clothing, according to the Secret Service.

 The US Navy commissioned its latest littoral combat ship last week amid a top-level push to fix the ship’s nagging reliability issues and forge a path to make the small surface combatants useful in the years ahead. Defense News reports that the mono-hull Freedom-variant LCS St. Louis was commissioned at a private event in its namesake city, the 22nd LCS and 10th Freedom variant to join the fleet. There will be 35 LCS in the fleet once all are commissioned.

President Trump signed legislation Saturday that will broaden options for troubled veterans in the legal system and expand a home renovations grant program for disabled and blind veterans, reports Military.com.

Contracts:

Continental Tide Defense Systems Inc. (Tide), Reading, Pennsylvania (N64498-20-D-4030); Gibbs & Cox Inc. (G&C), New York, New York (N64498-20-D-4031); McKean Defense Group LLC (McKean), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (N64498-20-D-4032); NDI Engineering Co. (NDI), Thorofare, New Jersey (N64498-20-D-4033); and Q.E.D. Systems Inc. (Q.E.D.), Virginia Beach, Virginia (N64498-20-R-4029), are each awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts with firm-fixed-price task order provisions for a combined, not-to-exceed $165,092,379 to provide engineering, technical, logistics and program management services to perform the functions for Navy and Army surface ships, submarines, and assault craft. Functions include engineering, technical and logistics support for in-service ship systems and equipment, refurbishment and testing of electrical and electrical control equipment, program management, programmatic, engineering and implementation coordination support for equipment upgrades and ship modernization initiatives and direct fleet support for afloat units at the waterfront. Contractor support is required to provide the necessary technical expertise, technical personnel mix and support for all of these efforts. The contract awarded to Tide is not to exceed $31,764,960; the contract awarded to G&C is not to exceed $33,491,813; the contract awarded to McKean is not to exceed $31,531,799; the contract awarded to NDI is not to exceed $33,667,355; and the contract awarded to Q.E.D. is not to exceed $30,420,902. The contract awards listed above are not to exceed a program value and combined total of $34,636,452. Work will be completed at the contractors’ facilities (86%); and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (14%). Work is expected to be completed by July 2026. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) (91%); and operations and maintenance (Navy) (9%) funding in the total amount of $500,000 ($100,000 minimum guarantee per contract) will be obligated at time of award via individual task orders, of which operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $44,800 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. These contracts were competitively procured using full and open competition via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with 10 offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity.

US Foods, Manassas, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $51,600,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a four-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Virginia, with an Aug. 11, 2024, ordering period end date. Using customers are Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-20-D-3274).

Dominion Privatization Texas LLC, Richmond, Virginia, has been awarded a $42,075,122 modification (P00040) to a 50-year contract (SP0600-16-C-8312) with no option periods for additional utility services for the electric and natural gas utility systems at Fort Hood, Texas. This modification increases the obligated value from $68,019,912 to $69,377,704. This is a firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract. Locations of performance are Virginia and Texas, with a June 30, 2066, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2017 through 2067 Army operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Liqid Inc., Broomfield, Colorado, was awarded a $31,850,000 firm-fixed-price contract for high-performance computing modernization programs. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 6, 2026. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $25,480,000 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W912DY-20-F-0508).

DigiFlight Inc., Columbia, Maryland, was awarded a $15,304,730 modification (P00033) to contract W31P4Q-19-F-E002 for logistic support services for the Apache Attack Helicopter Project Manager’s Office. Work will be performed in Columbia, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 10, 2021. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement appropriations funds in the amount of $15,304,730 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

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