Israel to Purchase 12 CH-53K Helicopters
The CH-53K performs degraded visual environment flight testing in Yuma, AZ, in August 2020. (NAVAIR News photo)
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The Israeli Air Force will purchase 12 Lockheed Martin CH-53K King Stallions at the price of $2 billion, reports USNI News. Delivery of the first heavy lift helicopter is set for 2025. NAVAIR said the negotiations took place over the last several years. The CH-53K is the most powerful helicopter ever built by the US and will replace Israel’s current fleet of modified CH-53D Yasur helicopters, which have been flying for over 50 years, reports The Southern Maryland Chronicle.
The USS Constitution will have its first female commander, reports CBS Boston. CMDR Billie J. Farrell will take over after a change-of-command ceremony January 21. She will be Old Ironsides’ 77th commanding officer.
The US Navy says it has booted 20 sailors from the service for refusing the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine, reports Navy Times. The sailors were completing training within their first 180 days of active duty at the time of separation, meaning they were considered entry level separations.
As of December 31, 2,500 unvaccinated airmen and Space Force guardians are ineligible for pay or benefits from the Air National Guard because they haven’t received the coronavirus vaccination, reports Air Force Times. They are also banned from finishing out jobs, taking on new orders, showing up to drill weekends, or participating in training.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has activated the Maryland National Guard to meet the increased testing demand for COVID, reports Patch.com. Hogan declared a state of emergency which allows the mobilization of 1,000 guardsmen.
Gov. Hogan said Thursday that 10 hospital-based COVID-19 testing sites would be fully operational by the end of next week, reports WTOP News, with 10 more to open after that as part of a larger effort to increase coronavirus testing throughout the state.
The latest data from the US military show that roughly 30,000 active-duty service members remain unvaccinated against COVID, despite a DoD mandate issued in August and deadlines that have passed, reports Stars and Stripes.
A US Marine Corps AH-1Z helicopter crashed on Thursday near Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ, reports Marine Corps Times. Two people on board were transported to nearby medical facilities and their condition was listed as stable.
CMDR Jeffrey Servello was fired as the commanding officer of the guided-missile destroyer Paul Ignatius, reports Navy Times, “due to a failure to follow proper shipboard procedures.” Servello assumed command of the ship less than seven months ago and was its executive officer before that.
US Army LT GEN Erik Kurilla has been nominated to lead US Central Command in the Middle East, reports Army Times. He currently leads the XVIII Airborne Corps. Kurilla would replace retiring Marine GEN Frank McKenzie, who oversaw the final days of the war in Afghanistan.
Security forces airmen in Kuwait are stepping up their counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems efforts following a series of drone strikes against US-led coalition forces in Iraq and Syria carried out in the past few days, reports Air Force Times.
Northrop Grumman is asking a federal court to ban L3Harris Technologies from working on the Navy’s EA-18 Growler next-generation jammer, reports Washington Technology. Northrop Grumman argues that L3Harris had a conflict of interest because it hired a Navy official who worked on the specifications for the contract during that company’s process of recruiting him.
Veterans Affairs plans to modify the VA’s copayment rules, with the goal of reforming the policy in coming months, reports Army Times. Officials want to drop copay expenses for veterans facing mental health challenges as a way to encourage more individuals to seek help when facing suicidal thoughts.
The jobless rate among veterans in the US in December fell to its lowest level in more than two years before the start of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that sidelined hundreds of thousands of jobs all over the country, reports Army Times.
The US Space Force’s public website — SpaceForce.com — is now the site where future Guardians can find what they need to know about careers such as space operations, cyber, intelligence, acquisitions, and engineering, the service reports. Visitors will also find basic information about the service and how to enlist or become an officer.
A Maryland Public Service Commission decision last month allows US Wind Inc. and Skipjack Offshore Energy LLC to proceed with turbine expansion plans in federal waters off of Ocean City, reports Maryland Matters.
FCW has extended the deadline for nominations for the 2022 Federal 100 awards. The awards honor those who are part of the federal IT community. Generally, that means agency employees and select members of the federal contracting sector, but past winners have included academics, independent watchdogs, and even a member of Congress or two. The deadline is 11:59 pm (EST) January 11.
Nominations are open until January 31 for the 2022 Service Members of the Year awards, reports Defense News. The awards honor a person from each branch of the service, as well as one veteran. The nomination form can be found here.
Contracts:
Bell Boeing Joint Program Office, California, Maryland, is awarded a not-to-exceed $1,643,701,284 firm-fixed-price, performance-based logistics requirements contract for the repair, replacement, required availability, configuration management, and inventory management for supply support for 228 MV-22B (Marine); CMV-22 (Navy); and CV-22 (Air Force) Osprey aircraft components. The contract will include a five-year base period with no options. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (97%); and Ridley Park, Pennsylvania (3%). Work is expected to be completed by December 2026. Annual working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $246,555,193 will be issued for delivery order N00383-22-F-0ZV0 that will be awarded concurrently with the contract and will initially be obligated at the time of award as an undefinitized contract action with a commitment of an additional $82,185,064 for period of performance from January 2022 through December 2022. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One company was solicited for this non-competitive requirement pursuant to the authority set forth in 10 US Code 2304 (c)(1), with one offer received. Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00383-22-D-ZV01).
BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair, Norfolk, Virginia (N00024-22-D-4400); Colonna’s Shipyard Inc., Norfolk, Virginia (N00024-22-D-4401); East Coast Repair & Fabrication LLC, Norfolk, Virginia (N00024-22-D-4402); Mission Readiness Group, doing business as, EPSILON Systems Solutions Inc., Norfolk, Virginia (N00024-22-D-4403); Marine Hydraulics International LLC, Norfolk, Virginia (N00024-22-D-4404); and General Dynamics NASSCO – Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia (N00024-22-D-4405), are awarded a firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contract with a combined ceiling of $639,802,301 for complex repair, maintenance and modernization requirements of non-nuclear Navy surface combatant-class ships (CG and DDG) homeported in or visiting Norfolk, Virginia. These efforts consist of Chief of Naval Operations scheduled docking and non-docking, continuous maintenance and emergent maintenance availabilities of surface combatant class ships to be performed in the Norfolk, Virginia, port. Accordingly, the place of performance is the Norfolk, Virginia, port where the Mid-Atlantic Maintenance Center will administer the contract. The contract has an estimated ordering period of five years, which is expected to end in January 2027. Delivery orders will be competitively awarded under these contracts, which are to be performed in Norfolk, Virginia. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $60,000 is obligated at initial delivery, which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The multiple award contract was competitively procured using full and open competition with six offers received via the beta.sam.gov website. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair, Norfolk, Virginia (N00024-22-D-4406); Colonna’s Shipyard Inc., Norfolk, Virginia (N00024-22-D-4407); East Coast Repair & Fabrication LLC, Norfolk, Virginia (N00024-22-D-4408); Mission Readiness Group, doing business as, EPSILON Systems Solutions Inc., Norfolk, Virginia (N00024-22-D-4409); Marine Hydraulics International LLC, Norfolk, Virginia (N00024-22-D-4410); and General Dynamics NASSCO – Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia (N00024-22-D-4411), are awarded a firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contract for a combined ceiling of $337,609,760 for complex repair, maintenance and modernization requirements of non-nuclear Navy amphibious-class ships (LHA, LHD, LPD and LSD) homeported in or visiting Norfolk, Virginia. These efforts consist of Chief of Naval Operations scheduled docking and non-docking, continuous maintenance and emergent maintenance availabilities of amphibious-class ships to be performed in the Norfolk, Virginia, port. Accordingly, the place of performance is the Norfolk, Virginia, port where the Mid-Atlantic Maintenance Center will administer the contract. Delivery orders will be competitively awarded under this multiple award contract, which are to be performed in Norfolk, Virginia. The contract has an estimated ordering period of five years, which is expected to end in January 2027. No funding will be obligated at contract award. The multiple award contract was competitively procured using full and open competition with six offers received via the beta.sam.gov website. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
Science Applications International Corp., Fairfield, New Jersey, has been awarded a maximum $95,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for facilities maintenance, repair and operations supplies. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 US Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in the Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a 371-day bridge contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Virginia; West Virginia; Maryland; Washington, DC; and New Jersey, with a Jan. 14, 2023, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2022 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE8E3-22-D-0008).
Peraton Inc., Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded an $18,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for sustaining engineering services support for the B-1B Reprogrammable Electronic Warfare Systems test and B-52 Bomber Electronic Attack Systems test facilities and special test equipment. Work will be performed in Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 10, 2027. Fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $2,158,666 are being obligated at the time of award. This is a sole-source acquisition. Air Force Test Center, Eglin AFB, Florida, is the contracting activity (A2486-22-D-0001).
Avix-BGI JV, LLC, Yorktown, Virginia, has been awarded a $13,660,349 firm-fixed-price modification (P00012) to previously awarded contract FA4890-19-C-0004 for the EC-130H/A-10C aircrew training and courseware development contract. The contract modification exercises Option Year Three. Work will be performed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona; and Moody AFB, Georgia, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2023. Fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $13,660,349 are being obligated at the time of award. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $58,252,334. Air Combat Command, Acquisition Management & Integration Center, Langley AFB, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
