GAO: F-35 Plagued With Problems
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A Government Accountability Office report says DoD’s new fleet of F-35 Lightning IIs is experiencing spare parts shortages and other sustainment problems, Aviation Today reports, that are hurting the readiness of the fighter jets. The report paints an unflattering picture of the US Air Force and Marine Corps abilities to keep their F-35s flyable, reports The Drive. Here’s what the GAO found.
An accident investigation board found an improperly assembled engine caused an Air National Guard F-16C Fighting Falcon to crash near Clinton, MD, in April. The aircraft, from Joint Base Andrews in Camp Springs, was missing the necessary 600-degree training ring and the anti-rotation pin in its differential pressure pilot valve, reports Air Force Times.
During DefSec James Mattis’ visit to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea he conveyed the message: Diplomacy is the answer to ending the nuclear crisis with the North, not war, reports NBC News. Mattis and other military officials met with their South Korean defense counterparts to discuss the military capabilities South Korea is pursuing to better defend itself against North Korea’s ballistic missile program, reports Army Times.
The carrier USS Nimitz has joined the USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Ronald Reagan in the Pacific, Military.com reports. This marks an exceedingly rare occurrence: three carriers and their attached strike groups operating in the same region of the world.
Defense News says after years of struggling to come up with a solid strategy for bringing robotics and autonomous systems into the fold, the US Army is on the verge of bringing them into combat formation, especially with the ground force.
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello and the DoD have decided the transport dock Oak Hill and the amphibious assault ship Wasp are no longer needed to help with the hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, reports Military News.
The General Dynamics Knifefish team successfully completed contractor trials for the US Navy’s Knifefish program, reports Defense Systems. Knifefish is a mine countermeasure unmanned undersea vehicle.
The Pentagon reports US forces carried out nearly 26 missions during the last six months in the region of Niger where an Oct. 4 ambush killed four American soldiers, reports Military Times.
The US Air Force has ordered six more Embraer A-29s for the Afghanistan air force, bringing the total fleet size to 26 Super Tucanos, reports Flight Global.
The US Navy rescued two women last week who had been stranded at sea for five months, The Guardian reports. A Taiwanese fishing vessel spotted them about 900 miles southeast of Japan, well off their planned course from Hawaii to Tahiti.
Contracts:
BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services, Rockville, Maryland, is being awarded $7,870,777 for modification P00021 to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00421-15-C-0008) to exercise an option for engineering and technical services in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s Special Communications Mission Solutions (AD-4.11.3). Services to be provided include integrating communications and information systems radio communications into Navy ships. Work will be performed at St. Inigoes, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in October 2018. Fiscal 2018 working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $3,333,779 are being obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
AAI Corp., doing business as Textron Systems, Hunt Valley, Maryland, has been awarded a $26,932,086 modification (P00168) to contract W58RGZ-08-C-0023 for procurement of 17 Block III kits and spares for Shadow Tactical unmanned aircraft systems. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 27, 2020. Fiscal 2017 aviation procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $26,932,086 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.
City of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Maryland, was awarded a $7,161,596 modification (P00091) to contract DAAD05-99-C-0008 for water and wastewater utility cost of service for Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Work will be performed in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2018. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $902,887 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Brad Hall & Associates, Idaho Falls, Idaho (SPE605-18-D-4004, $168,766,790); Carrol Independent Fuel LLC, Baltimore, Maryland (SPE605-18-D-4005, $25,150,003); Dime Oil Co., Waterbury, Connecticut (SPE605-18-D-4007, $21,108,178); Mansfield Oil Co., Gainesville, Georgia (SPE605-18-D-4015, $10,856,619); Mid-Atlantic Cooperative Solutions Inc., doing business as Aero Energy, New Oxford, Pennsylvania (SPE605-18-D-4017, $9,527,776); Troy Co., Seattle, Washington (SPE605-18-D-4028, $8,700,091); and APEX Petroleum Corp., Largo, Maryland (SPE605-18-D-4001, $7,702,775), have each been awarded a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, requirements type contract under solicitation SPE600-17-R-0210 for various types of fuel. These were competitive acquisitions with 38 offers received. These are five-year contracts with a 31-day carryover. Locations of performance are Idaho, Connecticut, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Washington, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, District of Columbia, with an Aug. 31, 2022, performance completion date. Using customer is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2018 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. (Awarded Oct. 13, 2017)
Cubic Global Defense, San Diego, California, is being awarded an $11,563,871 firm-fixed price contract for Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Training Systems Support (MTSS), managed by Program Manager Training Systems, Orlando, Florida. MTSS provides pre-deployment training to Marine Corps operating forces within a joint and combined environment to improve Marine Corps warfighting skills. Realistic computer-based simulation training; command, control, computers, communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance training; combined arms staff trainer training; MAGTF tactical warfare simulation; and deployable virtual training environment for individual Marines through senior Marine Corps commanders and their battle staffs is provided at multiple continental US and outside continental US sites. The work will be performed at Quantico, Virginia (55 percent); Camp Pendleton, California (10 percent); Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (15 percent); Twentynine Palms, California (10 percent); and Okinawa, Japan (10 percent), and work is expected to be completed April 2018. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $11,563,871 will be obligated at the time of award and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was procured on a sole-source basis in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a) (2)(iii)(B). The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contract activity (M67854-18-C-7801).
Fannon Petroleum Services, Gainesville, Virginia, (SPE605-18-D-4009), $75,613,980 and PAPCO, Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia, (SPE605-18-D-4018), $60,260,048 have each been awarded a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, requirements type contract under solicitation SPE600-17-R-0210 for various types of fuel. These were competitive acquisitions with 38 offers received. These are five-year contracts with a 31-day carryover. Locations of performance are Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC, with an Aug. 31, 2022, performance completion date. Using customer is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2018 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. (Awarded Oct. 14, 2017)
DES Wholesale, doing business as Diversified Energy, Milton, Georgia (SPE605-18-D-4006, $54,367,383); and Petroleum Traders Corp., Fort Wayne, Indiana (SPE605-18-D-4019, $38,243,936), have each been awarded a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, requirements type contract under solicitation SPE600-17-R-0210 for various types of fuel. These were competitive acquisitions with 38 offers received. These are five-year contracts with a 31-day carryover. Locations of performance are Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, District of Columbia, with an Aug. 31, 2022, performance completion date. Using customer is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2018 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. (Awarded Oct. 18, 2017)
Lykins Oil Co., Milford, Ohio (SPE605-18-D-4014, $24,577,533); and Tri-gas & Oil Co., Federalsburg, Maryland (SPE605-18-D-4027, $18,361,080), have each been awarded a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, requirements type contract under solicitation SPE600-17-R-0210 for various types of fuel. These were competitive acquisitions with 38 offers received. These are five-year contracts with a 31-day carryover. Locations of performance are Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, District of Columbia, with an Aug. 31, 2022, performance completion date. Using customer is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2018 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. (Awarded Oct. 16, 2017)
