March 29, 2024

DoD Uses COVID Funds for Small-Drone Contracts

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.

DoD’s innovation arm has issued $13.4 million in small-drone support contracts using COVID-19 funds, reports FCW. The Defense Innovation Unit awarded contracts to five companies: AirMap ($3.3 million), ModalAI ($3 million), Skydio ($4 million), Graffiti Enterprises ($1.5 million), and Obsidian Sensors ($1.6 million).

Federal contractors face a late-summer deadline to ensure they’re not using banned Chinese equipment and services to fulfill their federal contracts, reports FCW. Federal contractors have until Aug. 13 to comply with Part B of Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Michael Wooten said during a July 13 Professional Services Counsel webcast.

Britain will bar new deployments of Huawei equipment in its fledgling high-speed 5G network, reports The Washington Post, a blow to the Chinese technology giant and win for the Trump administration.

More firefighting efforts were underway Tuesday morning on the USS Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego as crews labor to contain a super-hot, explosive blaze that has injured scores of military personnel and civilians and caused extensive damage to the warship. CBS8 has video of the efforts.

The fire suppression system aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard wasn’t on Sunday when flames engulfed the ship in San Diego. The Halon gas system used aboard flights and Navy ships for fire suppression “was not in operation just because it was being worked on,” reports The Hill.

The fire aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard cuts the Navy’s deployment options for the next-generation fighter in the Pacific, reports Defense News. The Navy’s deployment model is based on having permanent forward presence in vital regions, which requires enough ships to support one deployment, one able to reach readiness to surge in an emergency, one in maintenance, and one in pre-deployment workups. An ideal Navy would have at least four ships to keep one deployed, although longer overhauls, such as the F-35B upgrades, might require five.

Last week, appropriators held a closed hearing on the defense budget but this week are openly debating their funding plans. Military Times reports lawmakers remain skeptical that any final bill can be passed before the November elections and lists the schedule for the rest of the week’s online hearings.

As the FY21 defense appropriations bill moves through Congress this week, on Tuesday a House panel approved a trio of amendments aimed at reining in a president’s war making authority, reports The Hill.

The Air Force officially orders its first F-15EXs, with a $23 billion ceiling in its contract with Boeing. Defense News reports the first lot of eight are not to exceed $1.2 billion, including support and one-time, upfront engineering costs. The contract gives a second life for the F-15 production line in St. Louis.

Hundreds of stories of sexual trauma come forward as #IAmVanessaGuillen movement surges online, reports Military Times. Hundreds of survivors are coming forward to share their stories of sexual trauma in the military as details in the alleged murder of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén reveal that she told her family she had been sexually harassed but was reluctant about alerting her command.

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: July 13, 2020

 

 

US rejects nearly all Chinese claims in South China Sea, reports Defense News, likely infuriating the Chinese, who are already retaliating against a range of US sanctions and penalties.

F-16 crashes at Holloman; pilot successfully ejects, reports Air Force Times. An F-16C Viper from the 49th Wing at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico crashed while landing Monday evening. This is the second F-16C crash in less than two weeks. 1st Lt. David Schmitz of the 77th Fighter Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina died July 1 when his Fighting Falcon crashed while on a routine training mission.

Four National Reconnaissance Office payloads will be launched into orbit July 15, reports C4ISRNET. The US Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center announced July 11 that it successfully completed its flight readiness review, putting the launch on track for its 9 am ET window at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Confederate flag displays are prohibited on US Forces Japan installations, reports Military Times. USFJ Commander Air Force Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider said, “The Confederate Battle Flag does not represent the values of US Forces assigned to serve in Japan.”

Military Times advises on how troops can avoid problems with absentee ballots. With the general election less than four months away, it’s time for troops to request an absentee ballot for the November election. Officials with the Federal Voting Assistance Program recommend that you request your ballot by Aug. 1.

RADM William Chase III has been selected as DoD’s new top uniformed cyber adviser, reports C4ISRNET. He replaces Maj. Gen. Dennis Crall, who was recently selected to service as the director of command, control, communications, and computers/cyber with J-6 and chief information officer for Joint Staff as well as his third star. RADM Chase is currently serving as the deputy director there.

Hundreds of Army and Air Force recruits have tested positive for COVID-19 since March, reports Military.com, with the majority of them showing no symptoms, according to top officials.

USAF T-6 fleet sees drop in hypoxia-like events, reports Air Force Magazine, with only five hypoxia-like events in the Air Force’s T-6A trainer fleet in the first three months of 2020 — a 50% drop from the same period the year before.

Los Angeles and San Diego, California’s two largest public school districts, say instruction will be online-only in the fall, reports The New York Times. Together they enroll some 825,000 students, and are the largest in the country to abandon plans for even a partial physical return to classrooms when they reopen in August.

Contracts:

Bay City Marine Inc., National City, California (N32253-17-D-0003); Caliedo & Sons Services Inc., Ewa Beach, Hawaii (N32253-17-D0004); Delphinus Engineering Inc., Eddystone, Pennsylvania (N32253-17-D-0005); Epsilon Systems Solutions Inc., Portsmouth, Virginia (N32253-17-D-0006); Propulsion Controls Engineering, Aiea, Hawaii (N32253-17-D-0007); Pacific Shipyards International LLC, Honolulu, Hawaii (N32253-17-D-0008); QED Systems Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (N32253-17-D-0009); Confluence Corp., doing business as Regal Service Co., Honolulu, Hawaii (N32553-18-D-0003); Marisco LTD, Kapolei, Hawaii (N32253-18-D-0004); and Integrated Marine Services Inc., Chula Vista, California (N32553-18-D-0005), are awarded a $49,000,000 modification, increasing the ceiling for a total of $98,000,000 on the surface multi-award (SURFMAC), indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. The SURFMAC is a firm-fixed-price IDIQ for the procurement-involving repair, maintenance and alteration of US government waterborne vessels and surface ships visiting or homeported in the Hawaiian Islands. Work will be performed on Oahu, Hawaii. Types of trades required are ship fitting, sheet metal, welding, pipefitting, painting, machining/mechanical, electrical, electronics, woodworking, lagging and rigging. Sample work includes, but is not limited to, ventilation, air conditioning, tank work, structural repairs, fumigation, electrical system repair, pump repair, fan repair, decking, fire system repairs and updates. Work is expected to be completed by September 2022. The 10 contractors may compete for delivery orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts. Funds will be obligated at the order level. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity.

Ultra Electronics Ocean Systems, Braintree, Massachusetts, is awarded a $42,192,128 not-to-exceed, undefinitized modification to previously awarded contract N63394-19-C-0007 to exercise options for production of Next Generation Surface Search Radar (NGSSR) systems. The NGSSR will replace all variants of the current AN/SPS-67, AN/SPS-73, BridgeMaster E series and commercial-off-the-shelf radar systems. Work will be performed in Wake Forest, North Carolina (85%); Chantilly, Virginia (14%); and Braintree, Massachusetts (1%). This contract modification will acquire the first NGSSR production lot following a contract award for design and production of three qualification systems. The primary objective of NGSSR is to replace legacy systems due to current military threats and obsolescence issues. Work is expected to be completed by April 2023. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy); and 2017 and 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $21,096,064 will be obligated at time of award. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The NGSSR was not competitively procured in accordance with 15 US Code 638(r)(4) under the Small Business Innovation Research Phase III program/2018 National Defense Authorization Act. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity.

Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $34,951,039 hybrid (cost-no-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee) contract for system operations and sustainment services and test and training services in support of the Saturn Arch Aerial Intelligence Systems Quick Reaction Capability Program. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Reston, Virginia; Bridgewater, Virginia; and Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of March 16, 2024. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army Reserve) funds in the amount of $34,951,039 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-20-C-0024).

US Foods Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $22,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a 127-day bridge contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Virginia and North Carolina, with a Nov. 17, 2020, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-20-D-3281). (Awarded July 10, 2020)

New Maryland Clothing, Baltimore, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $12,268,935 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for men’s and women’s uniform dress coats. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 US Code 2304 (c)(3), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-3. This is a two-year base contract with one one-year option period. Location of performance is Maryland, with a July 13, 2022, ordering period end date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-20-D-1298).

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