DoD Outlines New Tech Strategies

A common hypersonic glide body launches from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii during a DoD flight experiment in March 2020. The Missile Defense Agency monitored and gathered tracking data from the flight that will help inform the DoD’s hypersonic technology development. (US Navy courtesy photo via DoD)

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 Defense Department outlined its vision for the US military to strengthen its tech superiority amid a global race for technological advantage, reports Defense One. The “Technology Vision for an Era of Competition” plan includes a list of “critical technology areas” including biotechnology, quantum science, future generation wireless tech (FutureG), trusted artificial intelligence and autonomy, directed energy weapons and systems, hypersonics, and integrated sensing and cyber.

The National Defense Industrial Association issued its annual report on the health of America’s Defense Industrial Base and its “vital signs aren’t looking good,” reports Forbes. The study found deteriorating conditions for the DIB in eight categories, including industrial security, supply chains, productive capacity, and surge readiness. This is the first Vital Signs report to include data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health of DIB.

A few dozen elite US troops and equipment have landed in Poland near the border with Ukraine, reports The Associated Press. Additional US troops are being sent to Romania and Germany, amid rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Russia denies it has plans to invade Ukraine but has deployed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders, reports Reuters, and says it could take unspecified military measures if its demands are not met, including a promise by NATO never to admit Ukraine.

Russian said two of its Tu-22M3 bombers practiced interacting with the Belarusian air force during a mission on Saturday, reports Military Times. The flight followed several similar patrols over Belarus, which borders Ukraine to the north.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Russia can expect a “united and decisive” response if its forces invade Ukraine, reports The Washington Post. Scholz was responding to criticism that Germany was not doing enough to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin. Scholz said that his country is cooperating with NATO, the European Union, and the US on how to react to the Russian threat.

Turkey and Ukraine have agreed to coproduce an increasingly popular Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone at a production site in Ukraine, Defense News.

Northrop Grumman delivered the first MQ-4C with the Integrated Functional Capability (IFC)-4 to NAS Patuxent River last week, reports Naval News. It is the first production Triton to be upgraded to the multi-intelligence configuration to meet the service’s maritime ISR and targeting needs.

The future of Aerojet Rocketdyne appears on shaky ground, reports Breaking Defense, with its $4.4 billion merger with Lockheed Martin seemingly dead in the water and a public war brewing among the company’s leadership.

The Air-to-Air Missiles Program Office PMA-259 at NAS Pax River acquired Italy as its 28th Air Intercept Missile (AIM)-9X international partner, reports The Southern Maryland Chronicle.

 

 

The US House passed legislation last week that aims to revitalize the country’s research, innovation, and manufacturing sectors, including microchip production, in an effort to boost America’s competitiveness with China, reports NBC News.

Sikorsky has received two new contract modifications from Naval Air Systems Command for the CH-53K King Stallion helicopter, reports Shephard Media. The Initial Operational Test and Evaluation phase of the King Stallion program began in July and is scheduled for completion this month.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress last week of possible foreign military sales, reports Defense News. The Biden administration cleared a possible sale of as many as 16 F-16 fighters to Jordan worth up to $4.21 billion, another possible sale to the United Arab Emirates of spares and repair parts for air defense systems that would bring its value up to $65 million, as well as a possible $23.7 million sale to Saudi Arabia for data and voice communication systems.

Federal News Network reports the President Joe Biden will propose a 4.6% pay increase for federal employees as part of his fiscal 2023 budget request.

The White House said that construction workers and unions will enjoy new protections on major federally contracted construction projects after President Biden signed an executive order late last week, reports Capital News Service. The order would affect an estimated 200,000 workers by requiring federal construction contracts worth over $35 million to use project labor agreements.

Arlington National Cemetery is reintroducing fees at its main parking garage that had been waived since the start of the pandemic, reports WTOP News. Rates will be $3 per hour, with a daily maximum rate of $12 per day for passenger vehicles. Commercial vehicles, including tour buses and RVs, will see a rate of $10 per hour up to a daily maximum of $40.

NAS Pax River’s V-22 Joint Program Office PMA-275 earned two Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Commander’s Awards, reports The Tester. One award recognized PMA-275 efforts in fiscal 2021 and was presented to the PMA-275 Nacelle Improvements team. The second award recognized the CMV-22 Garmin Team for successfully upgrading its CMV-22B aircraft fleet with improved navigational capabilities to support first deployment.

Former DefSec Mark Esper dropped his lawsuit against the Defense Department in which he claimed that material was being improperly withheld from his use as he wrote a memoir about his time in the Trump administration, reports Military Times.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest jobs report found that the unemployment rate for all veterans rose from 3.2% in December to 3.8% in January, but the number of veterans who had full-time employment rose by more than 430,000, reports Military Times.

The Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program, included in congressional coronavirus-related emergency measures last year, has only resulted in a few dozen veterans landing jobs through Veterans Affairs, reports Military Times. The department began accepting applicants in May 2021 and was capped by law at no more than 17,250 participants. About 3,400 veterans have taken part in the program.

Contracts:

System High Corp., Chantilly, Virginia, is awarded a $104,877,823 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides program security services for the F-35 Joint Program Office to include program management, general security, information security, industrial security, physical security, personnel security, counter-intelligence and foreign disclosure support. Additionally, this contract provides special security studies, program protection cybersecurity and security control assessments as well as and engineering services support. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia (90%); Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio (4%); Stuttgart, Germany (2%); Fort Worth, Texas (2%); Patuxent River, Maryland (1%); and Eglin AFB, Florida (1%), and is expected to be completed in February 2027. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; one offer was received. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0001922D0008).