Future Unclear on Littoral Combat Ships

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.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) said he plans to offer an amendment on the House floor to save five US Navy littoral combat ships from an early retirement, reports Navy Times. Three separate congressional committees have approved defense budget plans that would block the US Navy from scrapping five vessels from the problem-plagued ship class.

Boeing is pushing the US Air Force for more money for its next generation Air Force One, reports Breaking Defense. The plane is more than $1 billion over budget and at least two years late.

NATO said it will increase the size of its rapid reaction forces — now at about 40,000 soldiers — to 300,000 troops as part of its response to an “era of strategic competition,” reports The Associated Press.

The US is preparing to send an advanced air defense system to Ukraine as part of a new military assistance package to help Kyiv fight back against the Russian invasion, reports The Hill. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had urged G7 leaders to supply his country with the missile defense systems and additional aid that would tilt the war in Ukraine’s favor, reports Politico.

The United States is also sending 18 patrol boats to Ukraine to help it control its rivers, reports Defense One.

The US has completed its biennial Valiant Shield exercise in the Joint Region Marianas area of operations in the Pacific, reports The National Interest. The culminating event for the field training exercise was sinking a decommissioned ship during live-fire bombing runs and targeting. The Navy struck the target ship with an SM-6 missile, which the Navy said speaks to the SM-6 missile’s increasing flexibility.

The US Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance program is moving forward, and the next stage of development aims to field America’s next air superiority fighter by 2030. This next stealth fighter could break all the rules, reports 19fortyfive.com. AFSec Frank Kendall said the service needs to speed up its processes to get the fighter into the sky.

 

 

The US Space Force stood up its new intel center on Friday, reports Breaking Defense. Growing threats to US space assets from Russia and China were the impetus for the creation of the National Space Intelligence Center, said Avril Haines, director of national intelligence.

US Air Force MAJ GEN Kevin Kennedy was confirmed as the new leader of the 16th Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) and received his third star last week, reports Air Force Times. The 16th Air Force is an amalgam of cyber, electronic warfare, intelligence, and weather disciplines.

South Korea officials said this week that Seoul’s response to a nuclear provocation by North Korea will be “much sterner” than under the previous administration, reports UPI. South Korea’s new unification minister Kwon Young-se said that North Korea is poised to conduct its seventh nuclear test. He said the North has used the US’ rivalry with China and the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a cover for further developing its nuclear capabilities.

A US Navy P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance plane flew over the Taiwan Strait on Friday in a demonstration of the US’ “commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” reports CNN. The plane transited the strait in international airspace. “The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate anywhere international law allows including within the Taiwan Strait,” reads a statement from the US Indo-Pacific Command.

The US military is struggling to meet its fiscal year 2022 recruiting goals, reports NBC News. There is a record low percentage of young Americans eligible to serve and an even tinier fraction willing to consider it. The military has fallen short of reserve recruitment goals in all branches since the COVID-19 pandemic started, reports Fox News.

The US Army said that potential recruits no longer need to have a high school diploma or GED certificate to enlist in the service, reports Military.com. The individuals may enlist without those education certifications if they ship to basic training by October 1, 2022.

New York air guardsmen received awards for their efforts during the humanitarian evacuation from Afghanistan in 2021, reports Air Force Times. One airman from the New York National Guard’s 105th Airlift Wing was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, while five others received Air Medals with a “V” device for valor during Operation Allies Refuge.

The Navy christened an Expeditionary Sea Base vessel at the General Dynamics-NASSCO shipyard in California over the weekend, reports The San Diego Union-Tribune. The ship bears the name of Medal of Honor recipient John Canley. Canley was honored for his heroics during the Battle of Hue City in Vietnam in 1968. The ESB is a new type of ship that will help deploy troops and equipment in regions where the US doesn’t have easy access to land bases and seaports.

The US Air Force’s first female special tactics officer has earned the elite scarlet beret, reports Air Force Times. This comes after her participation in the three-month course drew some controversy. Some believe the captain, whose name was not given, received “unfair flexibility” during her training.

Ex-US Army helicopter pilot Shapour Moinian, 67, pleaded guilty last week to one count of acting as an agent on behalf of a foreign government and two counts of false statements for lying on security clearance documents, reports Army Times. He worked as an agent for the Chinese government after he was caught selling information concerning defense and military aviation projects between 2017 and 2020.

Army Pvt. Ethan Phelan Melzer, 24, pleaded guilty last week to charges that he plotted to murder members of his unit in an attack that he planned to carry out on behalf of a group that promotes extreme violence to bring about the demise of Western civilization, reports Army Times.

Contracts:

Shano Inc., Great Falls, Virginia (FA2396-22-D 0004); Empire Hospitality LLC, Vancouver, Washington (FA2396-22-D-0005); and SNVA LLC, Waldorf, Maryland (FA2396-22-D-0006), have been awarded an $8,500,000 multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for hotel accommodations. This contract provides hotel accommodations to the Air Force School of Medicine medical students while training in various locations. The location of performance is Baltimore, Maryland; Cincinnati, Ohio; St. Louis, Missouri; Beavercreek, Ohio; and Las Vegas, Nevada, and is expected to be complete by June 30, 2027. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and one solicitation mailed and eight offers received. Current year operations and maintenance funds will be obligated at the task order level. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.

Siemens Government Technologies, Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $295,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for procurement, installation, maintenance and service of building automation systems. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 22, 2029. US Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W912DY-22-D-0071).

PAE Government Services Inc., Arlington, Virginia, is awarded a $21,918,387 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity modification to previously awarded contract N40084-21-D-0060. This modification provides for the exercise of Option 1 for base operating support services at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. Work will be performed in Iwakuni City, Japan. This option period is from July 2022 to June 2023. After award of this option, the total cumulative contract value will be $40,212,881. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds; fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds; fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Defense agencies) funds; and fiscal 2022 working capital (Department of Defense) funds in the amount of $12,191,745 for recurring work will be obligated on individual task orders issued during the option period and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Far East, Iwakuni, Japan, is the contracting activity.

General Dynamics Mission Systems, Fairfax, Virginia, is awarded a $10,131,817 fixed-price incentive (firm target) delivery order (N00024-22-F-6307) under indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00024-20-D-6331 for design and fabrication of a prototype Containerized Tethered Elevated Mast (C-TEM). This delivery order includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this delivery order to $39,402,998. Work will be performed in Essington, Pennsylvania (48%); Pittsfield, Massachusetts (35%); Taunton, Massachusetts (14%); and Fair Lakes, Virginia (3%), and is expected to be completed by December 2023. If all options are exercised, work will continue through June 2027. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,131,817 will be obligated at time of award. This delivery order was competitively procured via the Unmanned Surface Vehicle Family of Systems multiple award contract with three offers received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.