DoD Lifts Travel Restrictions in 39 States, 5 Countries

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.

Thirty-nine states and five host nations meet the conditions to lift travel restrictions, reports Military Times, subject to the assessment of conditions at individual military installations within these areas. Maryland was one of the states on the list.

The US Marine Corps is looking to buy six virtual reality flight simulators it can use at events to attract pilots with the cutting-edge systems, but also future maintainers and crew chiefs, reports Military.com. Virtual reality technology is evolving and the simulators can provide a “strikingly realistic experience” to potential applications that currently isn’t available in traditional recruiting settings, according to Maj. Brian Spooner, an aviation assistant for officer procurement, reports Marine Corps Times.

US Air Force researchers are designing an autonomous aircraft that can take down a manned plane in air-to-air combat, reports Air Force Magazine, with the goal of pitting the two against each other in July 2021. Other US military services and foreign air forces are also exploring how semi-autonomous “loyal wingman” drones might provide many of the same benefits when networked together with manned combat aircraft, reports The Drive.

NASA and Lockheed will begin testing NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology in 2021, reports Flight Global. A new supersonic commercial airplane needs to beat the boom problem over land and be efficient as well, NASA first reported in its QueSST for Quiet, explaining that the agency thought it could bring something new to the table that produces acceptable in-flight noise to communities along flight paths.

The SR-71’s successor could be America’s first hypersonic bomber, reports The National Interest. No manned aircraft in operational service has matched the long-distance cruise of the Blackbird.

The US Navy destroyer Russell transited through the Taiwan Strait last week, reports Navy Times. US Pacific Fleet spokeswoman Lt. j.g. Rachel Maul said the ship’s trip through the strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. It was the second trip through the strait for a Navy warship in the past three weeks, as the McCampbell made the same trek in mid-May, USNI News reports.

Some German lawmakers have criticized the US’ decision to withdraw more than a quarter of American troops stationed in Germany, reports The Associated Press.

French forces have killed Abdelmalek Droukdel, the leader of al-Qaida’s North Africa affiliate, Military Times reports.

US Forces-Afghanistan conducted two airstrikes in 24 hours against the Taliban to disrupt coordinated attacks on Afghan National Defense and Security Forces checkpoints, reports Military Times. They were the first airstrikes since the start of the Eid ceasefire.

DoD added seven new installation sites in its second round of 5G technology testing and experimentation, reports Federal News Network. These new sites bring the total number of installations hosting 5G testing to 12. DoD announced the selection of four bases last year and then added Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada in May.

The US Marine Corps will bar symbols depicting the Confederate flag from public spaces on Marine Corps installations, reports Marine Corps Times. “The Confederate battle flag has all too often been co-opted by violent extremist and racist groups whose divisive beliefs have no place in our corps,” reads a statement from the service.

Sixty years ago on June 7, 1960, America nearly found out just how lethal the CIM-10A BOMARC missile could potentially be, reports The Aviationist. The nuclear-armed operational missile exploded outside its launch coffin at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.

The National Interest takes a look back at the P-38 Lightning. These planes were good to pilots and looked cool. A lot of American draftees wanted to fly them.

Transitioning out of the military and looking for a job? Military Times has a listing of companies that are looking to hire veterans.

Aircraft fly in formation over the USS Nimitz in the Pacific Ocean, June 2, 2020, while the aircraft carrier is underway for a composite training unit exercise. (US Navy photo by Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Keenan Daniels)

An Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study says that while autonomous vehicle technology has great promise to reduce crashes, it may not be able to prevent all mishaps caused by human error, reports The Associated Press. Auto safety experts say humans cause about 94% of US crashes, but IIHS says computer-controlled robocars will only stop about one-third of them.

Ted Hontz, a founding member of the Fredericksburg Military Affairs Council, has been named to the University of Mary Washington Board of Trustees, reports fredericksburg.today. Mr. Hontz, a former Navy captain, is vice president of Basic Commerce and Industries, in charge of the company’s Navy programs in Dahlgren, VA.

Contracts:

Space Ground System Solutions LLC, Melbourne, Florida, is awarded a $29,596,469 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for research and prototype development of spacecraft electronics and space/airborne electronic systems and maintenance, development, enhancement and testing supporting mission operations of Department of Defense space assets. Work will be performed in Washington, DC. The Naval Center for Space Technology (NCST), located at the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC, is the designated lead laboratory for Navy space programs. NCST has the primary responsibility to develop space systems, spacecraft payloads, tactical communications and aerospace systems to actively pursue emerging technologies in an effort to advance space, tactical and aerospace system development. This contract will support the continual development and advancement of the software and hardware that provides state of the art solutions to space applications. Work is expected to be complete by June 2024. This contract includes options which will bring the cumulative value of this contract to $155,950,111, if exercised. Working capital funds in the amount of $2,060,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was a negotiated acquisition under the authority of Title 10 US Code 2304(b)(2), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.203. This contract was competitively procured with one offer received via FedBizOpps. The US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

NetImpact Strategies, Chantilly, Virginia, was awarded an $11,766,010 modification under previously awarded firm fixed-price contract HT00-19-F-0017 to fund the first year option period for a Medical Community of Interest with fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds. The congressional notification for the award was issued May 31, 2019. This task provides program and project management – program communication and coordination, coordinate security architecture installation, circuit coordination, internet protocol data collection analysis, processing and validation. Optional tasks include operations cell management, business-to-business Virtual Private Network coordination and data collection effort. This contract was awarded through the Small Business Administration (SBA) program with woman-owned business participating in the US SBA 8(a) Business Development Program using the General Services Administration Streamlined Technology Application Resource for Services II contract. The place of performance is Falls Church, Virginia. The Defense Health Agency, Falls Church, Virginia, is the contracting activity. (Awarded June 3, 2020)