Flying Taxi Maker Joins Paris Airshow

Photo from Volocopter’s webpage www.volocopter.com dedicated to its Paris launch of its flying taxi.

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.

A year ahead of the Paris Olympics, flying taxi maker Volocopter wants to prove to executives at the Paris Air Show it is on track to ferry customers around the sporting showcase and take off globally, reports Reuters. The world’s largest air show had typically focused on military and commercial planes. Other newcomers this year included makers of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

The airshow opened with Airbus announcing a record 500-plane deal with Indian airline IndiGo, as strong demand for jets and missiles vied for attention with the industry’s supply chain problems, according to Reuters. The multibillion-dollar deal for single-aisle planes is the largest ever by number of aircraft.

French President Emmanuel Macron called on European nations to seek more independence on airspace defense and advocated against relying too much on the US. He spoke at the Paris Air Show to defense ministers and other representatives of 20 European countries, reports Military Times.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have introduced a bill to shed light on the secretive process retired US service members use to work for foreign governments, reports The Hill. The Retired Officers Conflict of Interest Act addresses ethics and lobbying rules, imposing new restrictions on former military officials.

During the Trump administration, US intelligence suggested Chinese telecom giants Huawei Technologies and ZTE operations in Cuba might be helping China spy on the US, reports The Wall Street Journal. China has maintained a spy base in Cuba since at least 2019. Additionally, Beijing and Havana are negotiating to establish a new joint military training facility on Cuba’s northern coast.

Since 1994, 32 people dismissed shortly after enlistment in the US military were later charged with extremist-driven plots and crimes, from mail bombings to bank robberies to mass shootings, reports Military Times. A new study of three decades of extremist attacks found a military background is the most commonly shared characteristic among extremists who committed or plotted mass casualty attacks from 1990 through 2022, more so than criminal histories or mental health problems.

In late May, a North Korean rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite crashed soon after liftoff, reports Military Times. Top North Korean officials vowed to push for a second attempt to launch a spy satellite calling the failed launch last month “the most serious” shortcoming this year and harshly criticized those responsible, state media reported Monday.

The DoD is approaching the removal of toxic PFAS on the last of its impacted installations in Japan. Stars and Stripes reports action on ridding three Army tank farms in Okinawa of the fire-suppressant foam already removed from all Navy and Marine Corps bases in Japan and from all Army bases and Misawa Air Base on Honshu, the largest of the country’s four main islands.

Uncovering when people are lying about their military service could be harder under a proposal in Congress to restrict public access to some military records, reports Military.com.

Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport in Mississippi put up a wall of more than 20 shipping containers a year ago after stray bullets from a nearby gunfight struck homes on the base. And they haven’t removed them, reports Military.com.

Lawmakers are open this year to letting the Air Force retire more A-10 Warthogs under a draft defense policy bill. Obstructing the service’s desire to retire the aging aircraft may be losing steam, reports Military.com.

The Pentagon on Tuesday slammed Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) for setting a “dangerous precedent” by holding up more than 200 general and flag officer nominations over the Defense Department’s new abortion policy, reports The Hill.

Russia is sending old, dilapidated tanks packed with explosives lumbering toward the Ukrainian front lines as improvised explosive devices, reports Task & Purpose.

Daily Press reports that Tropical Storm Bret continues toward the Carribean. WESH 2 News Orlando reported the storm about 500 miles east of Barbados Wednesday morning moving west at 16 mph with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph. Bret is the second earliest of only four recorded tropical storms begun in the tropical Atlantic in June. Only one of those became a hurricane. Tropical Storm Bret is not expected to gain strength and is forecast to move across the eastern Caribbean Sea on Friday.

KFF Health News has published the amounts localities across the US are slated to receive from opioid settlements. Thousands of local governments receive funds from $50 billion in settlements from national lawsuits against companies that made, sold, or distributed opioid painkillers. As of March 2023, only 12 states promised to publicly report the use of 100% of their settlement dollars, according to Christine Minhee of OpioidSettlementTracker.com.

GNC reports a new battery-free GPS wildlife tracker that runs on kinetic energy, the energy generated when the animal moves. In addition to providing researchers with long-term location and health data, the wildlife tracker device costs less than a tenth of a traditional GPS collar, which cost about $3,700.

Contracts:

Adams Communications & Engineering Technology, Reston, Virginia (FA807518D0001, P00014); Alion Science & Technology Corp., McLean, Virginia (FA807518D0002, P00015); BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services Inc., Rockville, Maryland (FA807518D0003, P00012); Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio (FA807518D0004, P00012); Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia (FA807518D0005, P00012); CACI Inc., Chantilly, Virginia (FA807518D0006, P00012); Science Applications International Corp, Reston, Virginia (FA807518D0007, P00013); Georgia Tech Applied Research Corp., Atlanta, Georgia (FA807518D0008, P00011); Leidos, Reston, Virginia (FA807518D0009, P00014); ManTech TSG-2 JV, Herndon, Virginia (FA807518D0011, P00014); Raytheon Co., Tucson, Arizona (FA807518D0012, P00012); Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas (FA807518D0013, P00013); Amentum Services Inc., Chantilly, Virginia (FA807518D0014, P00016); KBR Wyle Services LLC, Lexington Park, Maryland (FA807518D0015, P00014), Agile Innovative Solutions JV, Warminster, Pennsylvania (FA807519D0019, P00009); Barbaricum LLC, Washington, DC (FA807519D0020, P00008); SERCO Inc., Herndon, Virginia (FA807519D0021, P00013); Delta Constellation Group LLC, Alexandria, Virginia (FA807519D0022, P00008); Data Systems Analysis Inc., Feasterville Trevose, Pennsylvania (FA807519D0023, P00009); Centauri LLC, Chantilly, Virginia (FA807519D0024, P00008); Naval Systems Inc., Lexington Park, Maryland (FA807519D0025, P00009); Sonalysts Inc., Waterford, Connecticut (FA807519D0026, P00008); Systems Planning and Analysis-Envisioneering LLC, Alexandria, Virginia (FA807519D0027, P00008); Varen Technologies Inc., Columbia, Maryland (FA807519D0028, P00009); Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio (FA807518D0016, P00012); MRIGlobal, Kansas City, Missouri (FA807518D0017, P00012); and Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas (FA807518D0018, P00012), have been awarded a combined $20,000,000,000 modification to the previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contract for research and development for the Department of Defense Information Analysis Center under the Defense Technical Information Center. The modification brings the total cumulative value of the contract to $48,000,000,000. The location of performance will be cited on individual task orders and is expected to be completed Sept. 29, 2027. No funds are being obligated at the time of modification. This was a sole-source acquisition. The 774th Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, is the contracting activity.

Analytic Services Inc., Falls Church, Virginia, was awarded a modification for an option year (HQ003422F0257) valued at $13,905,506 on a firm-fixed-price, level-of-effort contract (GS-00F-095CA) to provide technical and analytical program support for the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs’ Chemical and Biological Defense Program. These services leverage an integrated approach to perform oversight of research, development, and acquisition of enhanced countermeasures against emerging threats through innovative science and technology solutions for detection, protection, decontamination, and medical countermeasures. Fiscal 2023 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,200,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The total if all options are exercised, as well as the cumulative total of the contract, is $41,570,519. The work will be performed at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The estimated contract completion date is June 22, 2027. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. (Awarded June 16, 2023)

Austal USA LLC, Mobile, Alabama, was awarded a $79,238,772 fixed-price incentive (firm target) modification to previously awarded contract N00024-21-C-2209 to exercise an option for the construction of one additional Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ship (T-ATS 15). Work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama (54%); Chesapeake, Virginia (20%); Jacksonville, Florida (6%); Boca Raton, Florida (4%); and other suppliers representing less than 1% of contract value (16%). Work is expected to be completed by August 2026. Fiscal 2023 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $79,238,772 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 (Awarded June 16, 2023).