Expect Mandatory Cyber-Breach Reporting
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The Biden administration plans to require contractors to notify government customers in the event of a cybersecurity breach, according to FCW. During congressional hearings regarding the SolarWinds breach, lawmakers emphasized that a private cybersecurity firm both detected and voluntarily alerted the government to the flaw that led to breaches at nine federal agencies. In addition to the anticipated executive order, Sen. Angus King (I-ME) and Reps. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Michael McCaul (R-TX) said they intend to introduce bills to make breach notification requirements standard in government and in the private sector.
World leaders unite to call for pandemic treaty, saying: “No one is safe until we are all safe,” reports CNN. More than 20 national leaders, including France’s Emmanuel Macron, Britain’s Boris Johnson, and Germany’s Angela Merkel, wrote an article published in several media outlets this week waning that it is a question of “not if, but when” the next health crisis strikes. The article calls for greater international co-operation and says countries should avoid isolationism and nationalism.
“Cancer-causing” chemicals have been found in children living near fracking well sites following a two-year investigation, reports The Independent. The reports, published by nonprofit Environmental Health News, looked at the health impacts on five, nonsmoking families living within miles of fracking sites in southwest Pennsylvania.
Congress is wading into a messy fight over President Joe Biden’s war powers, reports The Hill. After years of ceding authority to the White House, testing the balance of power between two branches of government has created strange bedfellows, with hawkish Republicans who disagree with Biden’s policies wary of attempts to limit presidential authority on the issue.
Even staying silent doesn’t always spare sexual assault victims from retaliation. Military.com reports that perceived retaliation against service members who are victims of sexual assault is rampant in the military, according to a new study from Rand Corp.
Air-Land chairman talks F-35 costs and “Buy America” in the next defense bill, reports Defense News. Last year’s defense policy bill passed without language championed by Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ) that would have gradually increased “Buy American” requirements for major defense programs to 100% by 2026. “I expect to have a Buy American provision in there, and I’m told that our allies on the other side of the aisle will work with us.”
Marine Corps LT GEN Michael Groen, the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center director, says the Pentagon’s biggest competitive threat is obsolescence, reports C4ISRNET. “I could walk out into the parking lot of the Pentagon, turn on my iPhone and join a data-driven, completely integrated environment. I can get whatever services I want. I can review, I can find, I can research. I can do it all at my fingertips. I can’t do any of that on a defense network.”
FCW reports the Pentagon’s Joint All Domain Command and Control, a web of interconnected networks linking military services and partners together, needs to be a focus for the Biden administration to keep a military edge in the coming decades, according to Michèle Flournoy, former undersecretary of defense for policy and co-founder and managing partner for WestExec Advisors.
USS Gabrielle Giffords launches a Naval Strike Missile in a shipboard operational test, reports UPI. The test shows value for long-range anti-ship cruise missiles aboard littoral combat ships, which are relatively small vessels built for shallow-water maneuvering.
Satellite images show new North Korean nuclear activity, reports New York Post. The photos show steam or smoke rising from a building at the Yongbyon Radiochemistry Laboratory and a thermal plant next door. They were posted online by The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank that researches Korean unification.
An Italian officer has been caught in the act of selling secrets to a Russian military officer, reports BBC. The men were stopped by military police on suspicion of serious crimes relating to espionage and state security. The Russian, who reportedly worked at the Russian embassy in Italy, is expected to be expelled. Russia’s ambassador Sergey Razov has been summoned to the foreign ministry in Rome.
Biden details his $2 trillion plan to rebuild infrastructure and reshape the economy, reports The New York Times. The infrastructure plan includes 20,000 miles of rebuilt roads, repairs to the 10 most economically important bridges in the country, and the elimination of lead pipes and service lines from the nation’s water supplies on a long list of projects intended to create millions of jobs in the short run and strengthen American competitiveness in the long run.
The Taliban think they have already won, peace deal or not, reports The New York Times. The Taliban’s swagger is unmistakable. From the recent bellicose speech of their deputy leader, boasting of “conquests,” to sneering references to the “foreign masters” of the “illegitimate” Kabul government, to the Taliban’s own website tally of “puppets” killed — Afghan soldiers — they are promoting a bold message: We have already won the war.
Christian David Mandeville, 30, was arrested Monday afternoon and charged with assaulting the Swiss ambassador inside his official residence in Woodley Park in Northwest Washington, reports The Washington Post. Documents filed in US District Court allege Mandeville forcefully pushed past the ambassador and fought with a uniformed Secret Service officer trying to arrest him.
The Navy likely has no need to add a proposed small-deck aircraft carrier to its existing amphibious assault ships, says RADM Gregory Harris, who leads his service’s air warfare division at the Pentagon. “I believe the L-class ships operating with the F-35B fit that bill,” Defense One quoted the admiral.
Contracts:
DynCorp International LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded an $87,032,306 modification (P00062) to a previously awarded, firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable contract (N0042117C0033). This modification exercises an option to provide organizational level aircraft maintenance and logistics support on all aircraft and support equipment for which the Naval Test Wing, Atlantic has maintenance responsibility, to include aircraft on-site for project testing, transient aircraft, loaner aircraft, leased aircraft, and civilian aircraft tested at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. Additionally, this modification provides support services to perform supportability/safety studies on various aircraft and weapons systems, off-site aircraft safety/spill containment patrols and aircraft recovery services. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in March 2022. Fiscal 2021 working capital (Navy) funds in the amount of $70,945,309; fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $13,318,886; and fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,768,111 will be obligated at the time of award, $2,768,111 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Arrow DJB II JV, Upper Marlboro, Maryland (N40080-18-D-0010); Ironshore Contracting LLC, Baltimore, Maryland (N40080-18-D-0012); EG Management Services Inc., Germantown, Maryland (N40080-18-D-0013); Roofing & Sustainable Systems Inc., Rosedale, Maryland (N40080-18-D-0014); and Island Contracting Inc., Beltsville, Maryland (N40080-18-D-0015), are awarded a combined $19,800,000 firm-fixed-price modification under a multiple award construction contract for the exercise of Option Three for roofing work at facilities within the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Washington, DC, area of responsibility (AOR). The total contract amount after exercise of this option will be $79,200,000. No task orders are being issued at this time. The work to be performed provides labor, supervision, tools, materials and equipment necessary to perform construction, repair, alteration and related demolition of roofing. Work will be performed within the NAVFAC Washington AOR, including but not limited to, Maryland (45%); Washington, DC (30%); and Virginia (25%), and the option period is from April 2021 to April 2022. No funds will be obligated at time of award, and funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. Task orders will be primarily funded by operation and maintenance (Navy); operation and maintenance (Marine Corps); and Navy working capital funds. NAVFAC Washington, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Charlottesville, Virginia, is awarded a $15,336,718 firm-fixed-price modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-19-C-4101 to exercise options for Integrated Bridge and Navigation System (IBNS) shipsets and to procure IBNS spares for continued hardware support of DDG 51-class ship construction and modernization. Work will be performed in Charlottesville, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by September 2022. Fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,964,228 (58%); fiscal 2021 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,573,529 (30%); and fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,798,962 (12%) funding will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum Heights, Maryland, has been awarded a $259,591,988 firm-fixed-price modification (P00037) to contract FA8615-17-C-6047 for Active Electronically Scanned Array radars of Air Force F-16 aircraft. This modification is for the exercise of options to include 115 production radars, as well as associated spares. Work will be performed in Linthicum Heights, Maryland, and is expected to be completed December 2023. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $840,077,231. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $6,377,989; and fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $253,213,999 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.
Enlighten IT Consulting LLC, Linthicum Heights, Maryland, has been awarded a $66,294,372 firm-fixed-price contract to provide Enterprise Logging Ingest and Cyber Situational Awareness Refinery (ELICSAR) Big Data Platform (BDP) to provide Air Force enterprise data analytics and further development and deployment of ELICSAR in the unclassified, secret, and top secret domains. ELICSAR BDP is a government-owned, cloud-based platform that collects data and enables complex analytics to identify advanced cyber threats. Work will be performed in Linthicum Heights, Maryland, and is expected to be completed March 31, 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition using AFWERX Commercial Solutions Opening authority. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $17,314,600 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Joint-Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA8307-21-C-0006). (Awarded March 30, 2021).
General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., Falls Church, Virginia, was awarded a $95,000,000 hybrid (firm-fixed-price and time-and-materials) contract for regulatory consultation, regulatory oversight and contract research organization support. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 30, 2031. US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W81XWH-21-D-0003).
BAE Systems Ordnance Systems Inc., Radford, Virginia, was awarded an $11,937,490 modification (P00002) to contract W52P1J-20-F-0314 for operational technology cybersecurity and National Institute of Standards and Technology compliance at Radford Army Ammunition Plant. Work will be performed in Radford, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of May 20, 2022. Fiscal 2020 procurement of ammunition, Army funds in the amount of $11,937,490 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.
MITRE Corp., McLean, Virginia, was awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (HQ0034-21-D-0010) with a maximum amount of $46,980,753. The purpose of this contract is to provide the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment with management and logistics support to the JASON Program and its members, as well as a vehicle to award individual task orders for studies. The work will be performed at the Pentagon; in McLean, Virginia;, and San Diego, California. No funds will be obligated at the award of the basic contract. The work is expected to be completed on Sept. 30, 2026. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Thales Defense & Security Inc., Clarksburg, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $31,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for MH60 airborne low frequency sonar systems. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 US Code 20304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a three-year base contract with one two-year option period. Locations of performance are Maryland and France, with a March 30, 2024 performance completion date. The using customer is Defense Logistics Agency. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Richmond, Virginia (SPE4AX-21-D-0016).
