March 19, 2024

F-35 or Hornet? Which Makes Cut for ‘Top Gun’ Sequel?

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.

Which plane will get top billing in the sequel to “Top Gun”? The Pentagon confirmed it has been in touch with producers of a sequel to the 1986 blockbuster hit, and analysts speculate that the F/A-18 Super Hornets will likely be the star of the new movie, Investor’s Business Daily reports. A generation ago, Tom Cruise wowed audiences as Navy F-14 Tomcat pilot. Since those jets are no longer in service, options for the sequel include the Hornet or the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

This video from Business Insider captures the 2,600 acres of decommissioned, but not forgotten, aircraft at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. It’s called “The Boneyard” — 4,440 military aircraft from all of the services reside there.

Once on the brink of forced retirement, the A-10 Warthog attack plane has been given new life, spared by Air Force leaders, Associated Press reports. In the 2018 Pentagon budget plan sent to Congress last week, the service proposed to keep all 283 A-10s flying for the foreseeable future.

Boeing has abandoned NAVAIR’s search for a new over-the-horizon missile, The Motley Fool reports. For at least two years now, the company has been developing a new missile — the Block II Plus Harpoon. Raytheon is competing with its Naval Strike Missile and Lockheed Martin with it Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile.

Officials from the American Legion say President Donald Trump’s FY18 budget “breaks faith with veterans,” Military Times reports. “The administration’s budget for [the Veterans Affairs department] would effectively lower the earnings of our most vulnerable veterans by reducing or eliminating disability payments from veterans who are the most in need,” Legion National Commander Charles Schmidt said.

In reaction to North Korea’s growing missile capabilities, the Pentagon says it will try to shoot down an intercontinental-range missile for the first time in a test this week, Defense News reports. The goal is to more closely simulate a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile aimed at the US homeland.

China protested a US Navy patrol that sent a guided-missile destroyer near a group of man-made islands in the South China Sea last week, Navy Times reports, in the first American challenge to Beijing’s claims to the waters since President Trump took office.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Ken Wilsbach of the 11th Air Force in Alaska said last week that he is more worried about North Korea’s missile advancements than he is about the country’s current military capabilities, reports Air Force Times.

Leadership of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program passed from the Air Force to the Navy last week, as the program office looks toward wrapping up the F-35 development program and the Navy’s initial operational capability declaration in 2018, Defense Times reports.

Thedrive.com reports that Israel is getting an F-35 like no other. That country continues to win concessions surrounding its participation in the JSF program, the article states. The country’s increasingly independent development could ultimately produce a version of the aircraft specifically suited to its needs that differs from what Lockheed Martin’s currently offers.

Florida’s legislative delegation sent a letter to Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson making the case for Jacksonville to house the F-35 JSF program, floridapolitics.com reports. The letter contends that Jacksonville’s 125th Fighter Wing “best meets the F-35 basing requirements at the lowest cost to the taxpayer and has unparalleled training infrastructure and airspace.”

The Air Force has ordered 36 more MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles, reports C4ISRNET, with new capabilities for the UAVs and kits to extend the Reaper’s range. 

Contracts:

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Sunnyvale, California is being awarded $43,876,458 for cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee modification P00025 under a previously awarded contract (N00030-15-C-0100) in support of the Trident II (D5) missile production and D5 deployed systems support. Work will be performed in Sunnyvale, California (36.26 percent); Cape Canaveral, Florida (33.43 percent); Kings Bay, Georgia (10.54 percent); Silverdale, Washington (9.28 percent); Magna, Utah (4.98 percent); Palo Alto, California (1.18 percent); Poulsbo, Washington (1.06 percent); Gainesville, Virginia (0.60 percent); Elkton, Maryland (0.35 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (0.21 percent); Atlanta, Georgia (0.18 percent); and other various locations (less than 0.10 percent each, 1.93 percent total). Work is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2017. Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $43,876,458 are being obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.

Northrop Grumman Technical Services, Herndon, Virginia, was awarded a $39,098,906 modification (P00083) to contract W911S0-11-C-0014 to support the collective training of Army units in accordance with the Army Force Generation process. Work will be performed in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2017. Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $39,098,906 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Fort Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Science Applications International Corp., McLean, Virginia, is being awarded a $30,000,000 ceiling increase to a previously awarded indefinitely-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (M67485-14-D-4802) for a one-year ordering extension. The requirements under this contract are to provide post deployment software support, engineering change proposals, and software upgrades for the portfolio of information technology systems for the Marine Corps System Command Program Manager, Total Force Information Technology Systems. With the increase the contract now has a ceiling amount of $79,000,000. Work will be performed in Quantico, Virginia. The extension of the ordering period will be from Aug. 15, 2017, through Aug. 14, 2018. No funds will be obligated at the time of award and subsequent funding will be obligated on future task orders as they are issued. This contract was awarded as a sole-source in accordance with 10 US Code 2304(c)(1). Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Dowty Propellers, Sterling, Virginia, is being awarded a $52,574,370 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide propeller, engineering, reliability, and logistics sustainment for the R391 propeller system on the KC-130J aircraft for the Marine Corps and the government of Kuwait. Work will be performed in Sterling, Virginia (73 percent); Iwakuni, Japan (6 percent); Cherry Point, North Carolina (6 percent); Miramar, California (6 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (3 percent); Al Mubarak Airbase, Kuwait (2 percent); Newburg, New York (2 percent); and Cheltenham, United Kingdom (2 percent), and is expected to be completed in May 2022. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated against individual delivery orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This contract combines purchases for the Marine Corps ($48,120,982; 91.5 percent); and the government of Kuwait ($4,453,388; 8.5 percent), under the Foreign Military Sales program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-17-D-0089).

PricewaterhouseCoopers Public Sector LLP, McLean, Virginia, has been awarded a not-to-exceed  $16,086,144 modification, P00007, to a previously awarded contract (HQ0423-15-F-5002) for audit readiness, audit liaison, and systems support (ARALSS) for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). This modification exercises option year two with a period of performance of May 26, 2017, through May 25, 2018. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $39,479,981 from $23,393,837. Work will be performed at the Pentagon; and in remote locations within the National Capital Region, with an expected completion date of May 25, 2018. Defense-wide operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $16,086,144 are being obligated at time of award. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service in Columbus, Ohio, is the contracting activity.

American Systems Corp., Chantilly, Virginia (W91247-17-D-0005); Mag DS Corp., Woodbridge, Virginia (W91247-17-D-0004); Resicum International LLC, Amissville, Virginia (W91247-17-D-0002); Special Applications Group LLC, Tampa, Florida (W91247-17-D-0001); and Integration Innovation Inc., Huntsville, Alabama (W91247-17-D-0006), will share in a $249,000,000 firm-fixed-price foreign military sales (Afghanistan, Greece, Iraq, Indonesia, Turkey, Tunisia, and Croatia) contract for security assistance training in support of the Army Security Assistance Training Management Organization. Bids were solicited via the Internet with 12 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 13, 2022. US Army Contracting Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is the contracting activity.

Control Engineering Maintenance Corp., San Diego, California (55236-17-D-0013); East Coast Repair and Fabrication, Norfolk, Virginia (55236-17-D-0018); Epsilon Systems Solutions Inc., National City, California (55236-17-D-0017); Marine Group Boat Works, Chula Vista, California (55236-17-D-0015); Pacific Ship Repair and Fabrication Inc., San Diego California (55236-17-D-0014); Propulsion Controls Engineering, San Diego, California (55236-17-D-0016); and South Coast Welding and Manufacturing Inc., Chula Vista, California (55236-17-D-0012), are being awarded a combined $93,000,697 in firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contracts to provide non-complex emergent and continuous maintenance on surface combatant ships (DDG and CG) and amphibious (LSD, LPD, LHA, and LHD) ships homeported in or visiting  San Diego, California. These contracts include options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative ceiling value to $541,672,364. These seven small businesses will have the opportunity to provide offers for individual delivery orders. Work will be performed at Naval Base San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed in May 2018; if all options are exercised work will continue through April 2022;. Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $21,000 ($3,000 minimum guarantee per contract) was obligated under each contract’s initial delivery order and expires at the end of the current fiscal year. These contracts were competitively procured with nine timely offers received via the Federal Business Opportunities website. The Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.

The Oak Group Inc., Camden, New Jersey (N40085-17-D-5038); Pontiac Drywall Systems Inc., Pontiac, Michigan (N40085-17-D-5039); Q.B.S. Inc., Alliance, Ohio (N40085-17-D-5040); and Smart ATI-KMK JV, Rochester, New Hampshire (N40085-17-D-5041), are each being awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award, design-build, design-bid-build construction contract for construction projects located within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Mid-Atlantic North Integrated Product Team (IPT) area of responsibility (AOR).  The maximum dollar value including the base period and four option years for all five contracts combined is $95,000,000.  The work to be performed provides for, but is not limited to, new construction, demolition, repair, alteration, and renovation of buildings, systems and infrastructure and may include civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, fire protection, and communication systems.  Types of facilities include administrative, industrial, maintenance, warehouses, hangars, communications, personnel support, recreation, lodging, dormitory, medical, training, ranges and roads. Q.B.S. Inc. is being awarded task order 0001 at $1,727,277 for the repair of a wastewater treatment plant at Naval Weapons Station Earle, Colts Neck, New Jersey. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by February 2018. All work on this contract will be performed primarily within the NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic North IPT AOR which includes Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhodes Island and Vermont with an expected completion date of May 2022.  Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $1,742,277 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by operations and maintenance (Navy). This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with five proposals received.  These four contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract.  The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

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