How Good Is the F-35 Helmet?

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.

How good is the F-35 helmet? The Economist reports on the marvels of the helmet, the politics, and pilots’ opinions.

Naval Surface Forces “ordered an engineering stand down for every [Littoral Combat Ship] crew to review procedures and standards,” USNI reports, after four combined engineering casualties last year.

Seven fast attack craft from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps approached and harassed the Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship USS Firebolt operating in the central Arabian Gulf  in the vicinity of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, reports Military.com

DoD secret “hardball” plan against House Speaker Paul Ryan’s defense spending proposal, reports Politico, calls for pitting the House and Senate against each other, capitalizing on the “discomfort” of one key Republican lawmaker, and finding ways to undermine the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

AOL reports House Speaker Paul Ryan is not pleased about the leak of an internal memo from the Pentagon that outlined a plan to oppose House Republicans’ defense spending bill.

Philae is found! CNN reports. The European Space Agency’s comet lander is back from the cosmic dead, located in a deep crevice on Comet67P via images caught by camera Sunday from the Rosetta probe. Although there is no hope of reviving the lander, knowing its location increases the value of the data it returned during its last known three days of operation back in 2014.

A 34-foot drone speedboat can skim across the waves at more than 50 knots to track high-speed targets, reports The Telegraph, navigating and dodging other ships without the control of a human. The unarmed test craft is one of 40 prototypes to be tested by the Royal Navy in a major robot war game off the coast of northern Scotland in October.

Brexit minister David Davis is heckled by MPs with calls of “Is that it?” as he tells the House of Commons, “simply, Brexit means leaving the European Union,” reports The Independent.

President Obama tells Russia the US has “more capacity than anybody, both offensively and defensively” when it comes to cyber weapons. His remarks were made following the G-20 conference in Hangzhou, China, amid signs of growing Russian interference in the Nov. 8 presidential election, reports Politico.

Defense News reports DoD plans to reprogram $100 million toward uncovering cyber vulnerabilities and affiliated flaws in major weapon systems.

Navy Live reminds us that September is Suicide Prevention Month and provides these links: If you or someone you know is in need of help, or if you want to talk about the stress in your life, please call Military Crisis Hotline (1-800-273-8255, press 1), Military OneSource (1-800-342-9647) or DSTRESS for a Marine-to-Marine approach (1-877-476-7734). Civilian employees and their families can reach out to the Civilian Employee Assistance Program (CEAP) at 1-844-366-2327, 1-866-829-0270 (international). For more information on resources, visit the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center.

Contracts:

Millennium Corp., Arlington, Virginia (W56KGY-16-D-0008); QED Systems LLC, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland (W56KGY-16-D-0016); DHPC Technologies Inc., Woodbridge, New Jersey (W56KGY-16-D-0018); Exter Information Technology Services LLC, Gaithersburg, Maryland (W56KGY-16-D-0019); Future Skys Inc., Neptune, New Jersey (W56KGY-16-D-0020); GS5 LLC, Dumfries, Virginia (W56KGY-16-D-0021); Envision Innovative Solutions Inc., Manasquan, New Jersey (W56KGY-16-D-0022); Synergy ECP LLC, Columbia, Maryland (W56KGY-16-D-0023); Vortechx Applied Technologies LLC, Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey (W56KGY-16-D-0024); Nexagen Networks Inc., Marlboro, New Jersey (W56KGY-16-D0025); Sumaria Systems Inc., Danvers, Massachusetts (W56KGY-16-D-0027); OST Inc., Washington, District of Columbia (W56KGY-16-D-0028); Patricio Enterprises Inc., Stafford, Virginia (W56KGY-16-D-0029); Middle Bay Solutions LLC, Huntsville, Alabama (W56KGY-16-D-0030); Mayvin Consulting Group Inc., Alexandria, Virginia (W56KGY-16-D-0031); Hi-Tec Systems Inc., Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey (W56KGY-16-D-0032); and Cortek Inc., Fredericksburg, Virginia (W56KGY-16-D-00333), will share in a $248,800,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to acquire broad technical, program, operations, acquisition, and business services that support Program Executive Office for Intelligence Electronic Warfare and Sensors. Bids were solicited via the Internet with 20 received. Work locations and funding with be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 5, 2021. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Colonial Assembly and Design LLC, Fredericksburg, Virginia, is being awarded a $37,191,138 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for providing design and fabrication, rapid prototyping, and technology integration related to circuit board design and radio frequency distribution assemblies, synthetic rope assemblies, mechanical fabrication, and fabric assemblies. This effort will support the Weapons Control and Integration Department. The work will be performed in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and is expected to be completed in September 2021. Fiscal 2016 aircraft procurement (Navy); fiscal 2016 operation and maintenance (Navy); and fiscal 2016 research, development, testing and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $20,000 will be obligated at time of award, and contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00178-16-D-2025).
Lockheed Martin Logistic Services Inc., Greenville, South Carolina, is being awarded $8,249,722 for delivery order 0008 against a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00421-12-D-0008) for avionics design, hardware and software development, testing fabrication, installation and maintenance of avionics systems in support of the Presidential Helicopter Program. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in August 2018. Fiscal 2016 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,570,600 will be obligated at time of the award, none 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.

AAI Corp., doing business as Textron Systems, Hunt Valley, Maryland, is being awarded a $7,424,270 modification to previously awarded contract N00174-14-D-0002 to exercise Option II for the production of Universal Test Sets (UTS) and engineering services and program and configuration management. The UTS systems are in support of the Joint Counter Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare program. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by September 2017. No funds are being obligated at time of award. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division, Indian Head, Maryland, is the contracting activity.