It’s Show Time for the Navy’s Elite Pilots

The US Navy’s Blue Angels in a flyover across the Navy-Marine Stadium in Annapolis, MD, in 2020. (DoD photo)

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.

The US Navy’s elite pilots are headed for the big screen again. “The Blue Angels,” a new documentary, will make its way to Amazon Prime and IMAX theaters, reports NBC News. The film follows the service’s flight demonstration squadron as it enters its 78th year. Produced by “Top Gun: Maverick” star Glen Powell and filmmaker J.J. Abrams, the film will show in IMAX theaters for one week only, May 17-23, and then available on Prime Video starting May 23. Here’s the official trailer.

The Blue Angels 2024 schedule can be found here. The squadron will be at the US Naval Academy Air Show May 22 and perform a flyover at the academy graduation May 24.

The F-35A Lightning II demonstration team is also set to dazzle audiences across the US and Canada with the upcoming air show season, reports The National Interest. Piloted by the elite of the US Air Force, the team includes newly appointed commander CAPT Melanie “MACH” Kluesner.

The West Coast’s F-35B Demonstration Team debuted a new demo pilot at the Yuma Airshow this year, reports The Aviationist. Flying in this year’s demo is F-35B instructor pilot, MAJ Craig “Brembo” Norris of Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 502, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California.

Say goodbye to the Warthog A-10C Demo Team, reports Air & Space Forces Magazine. After more than four decades of performing, the Air Force A-10C team announced that 2024 will be its final season. “This will be the culmination of more than 40 years of demonstrations performed by dozens of pilots and teams at hundreds of air shows across multiple countries,” the 355th Wing said in a news release last week.

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter delivery delays are frustrating European buyers, reports Defense News. Delivery disruptions for the jets are creating a headache for buyers, as some countries face a potential capacity gap and delays in training pilots and maintenance engineers. Denmark is exploring possibly borrowing or buying aircraft from other F-35 users. Norway said there’s a risk full operational capacity of its F-35 fleet will be pushed back.

US President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion spending package into law on Saturday, reports The Hill. The move capped off a monthslong spending fight and averted a partial government shutdown. 

Congress early on Saturday passed the fiscal 2024 $825 billion defense spending bill, nearly halfway through the fiscal year that began in October and hours after funding for DoD and other agencies expired, reports Navy Times. For more than five months, Congress had funded the Defense Department at fiscal 2023 levels through a series of stopgap measures, avoiding a government shutdown but hampering initiatives and procurement plans.

House lawmakers decided the future of the F-35’s engine last week, reports Breaking Defense. There won’t be one anytime soon. Legislation released Thursday by congressional appropriators put the issue to rest; $280 million will be provided for advanced engine development work — money that will mostly go to Pratt and GE Aerospace, which have both developed prototype powerplants through the Air Force’s Adaptive Engine Transition Program and are competing to build an engine for the service’s Next Generation Air Dominance fighter.

Congressional lawmakers have established a new Defense Modernization Caucus, reports Defense Scoop, to champion policy and funding priorities necessary for the technological evolution of the Defense Department and its national security functions.” Reps. Pat Ryan (D-NY) and Rob Wittman (R-VA) will co-chair the group.

US Navy CAPT Richard A. Zaszewski, commodore of Naval Special Warfare Group 8, was fired “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command,” reports Navy Times. Zaszewski had been charged with a DWI in January and had not reported it to superiors until last week.

The US Navy’s newest Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, the future USS Idaho (SSN-799) was commissioned this month in a ceremony at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, CT, reports The National Interest. Construction began on the submarine in 2017.

The first recorded submarine attack in naval combat happened in 1776, when an American submersible craft attempted to attach a time bomb to a British flagship that was a part of the Boston Harbor blockade. That attempt failed, reports Task & Purpose, but the desire to improve submersible technology leads to today’s nuclear-powered submarines. Here’s everything you need to know about US Navy submarines.

The US Marine Corps is reviving a light attack helicopter unit it cut in 2022, reports Marine Corps Times. The Marine light attack helicopter squadrons, commonly known as HMLAs, would prove useful in crisis-response missions and maritime conflicts, said a Corps spokesman, who noted the “persistent demand” for the squadrons’ capabilities. The unit will be reactivated in July.

Liz Mildenstein is the new executive director of Visit St. Mary’s MD, reports The BayNet. Mildenstein assumed the role at the nonprofit tasked with promoting St. Mary’s County as a destination for visitors on March 20. She has more than 15 years of experience supporting the Department of Defense as a communications professional. Mildenstein worked at Naval Air Systems Command in various communications roles, including as operations lead with the V-22 Joint Program Office (PMA-275).

The US military will perform a live fire test of its prototype for a joint fires network in the Valiant Shield exercise later this year, reports USNI News. Valiant Shield is a biennial exercise that takes place near Guam with participation from the Navy, Army, and Air Force. US Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) voiced concern that each service’s respective efforts to build a command-and-control network could make for a siloed approach to a problem that the entire military will need to solve.

NAVAIR will highlight its naval innovations at 2024 Sea-Air-Space Expo next month at National Harbor, MD, reports The Southern Maryland Chronicle. Sea-Air-Space is the largest maritime exposition in the US. A highlight of the conference will be the NAVAIR leadership panel that is expected to include NAVAIR Commander VADM Carl Chebi, NAWCAD’s RADM John Dougherty, RADM Joseph Hornbuckle of Fleet Readiness Centers, and Dan Carreño, executive director of the NAWCWD.

Registration is now open for the 2024 Farnborough International Airshow to be held July 22-26 in the United Kingdom. Global leaders — including Airbus, Boeing, Rolls-Royce, RTX, GKN, and GE Aviation — will be exhibiting their latest aircraft, innovations, and technology at the event.

Veterans Affairs said last week that the department is delivering disability compensation benefits to a record number of women veterans, reports Military Times, with 702,557 women veterans receiving disability compensation benefits. That’s an all-time record high and a 26% increase over five years ago.

The Navy has created a new Navy Arctic Service Medal, reports Navy Times. The new medal serves as an extension of the existing Navy Arctic Service Ribbon. The medal comes as the service has ramped up operations and exercises in the Arctic, and as Navy leaders have called for a strong military presence in the region.

Federal Times reports that federal employees leading or participating in an NCAA March Madness bracket could be risking federal ethics violations. Be warned; federal policy strictly forbids use of government equipment, such as phones or computers, for gambling, even if it’s just contributing a few dollars to an office bracket pool.

The Chesapeake Oyster Alliance announced earlier this month that 6 billion oysters have been added to the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers since 2017, reports Bay Journal. The alliance attributes the restoration to help from state and federal agencies. Organizations like NOAA identify where reefs should be built using sonar. In areas where the bottom is hard enough, builders can create a reef structure of crushed stone or shell.

Maryland’s blue crab season begins April 1, spanning the Chesapeake Bay, its tidal tributaries, and the Atlantic Ocean. The state’s Natural Resources Police is ramping up its educational and enforcement efforts, reports The Southern Maryland Chronicle. The focus is primarily on recreational crabbers and private shoreline owners, emphasizing compliance with crabbing laws and regulations.

Contracts:

Dayton T. Brown Inc., Bohemia, New York, is awarded a $23,281,422 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N0042124F0184) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0042123G0005). This order provides research and development, modification and associated logistics, operational deployment, and maintenance support for the Special Missions Mobile Mission Systems (MMS) certification and accreditation of MMS trailer systems in support of the Navy. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in March 2025. Fiscal 2024 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,980,000; and fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,081,828, will be obligated at the time of award, $1,081,828 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

R&M Consultants Inc., Anchorage, Alaska (W911KB-24-D-0008); Shannon and Wilson Inc., Anchorage, Alaska (W911KB-24-D-0009); and WSP USA Solutions Inc., Washington, DC (W911KB-24-D-0010), will compete for each order of the $25,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for geotechnical design and related services. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 21, 2029. US Army Corps of Engineers, Anchorage, Alaska, is the contracting activity.

CORRECTION: The $55,250,529 time-and-materials contract (W50NH9-24-F-0017) announced on March 20, 2024, for General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., Falls Church, Virginia, to provide sustainment and technical support services for US Army Intelligence and Security Command was actually awarded on March 21, 2024.

Diversified Service Contracting Inc., Dunn, North Carolina, is awarded $14,239,647 for firm-fixed-priced modification to indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N40080-21-D-0006). This modification provides for the exercise of Option Year Three for facilities support services at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. After award of this option, the total cumulative face value of the contract will be $55,523,511. All work will be performed in Maryland and is expected to be completed by March 2024. Fiscal 2024 Defense health services funds in the amount of $531,683; fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $6,999,441; fiscal 2024 non-appropriated funds in the amount of $10,173; and fiscal 2024 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $4,949,750, will be obligated on a task order and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Washington, Public Works Department, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Mid-Atlantic Technical and Executive Consulting LLC, Deerwood, Maryland, is awarded a $10,340,967 firm-fixed modification (P00009) to a previously awarded contract (N0001921C0033). This modification adds scope through additional contract line-item numbers for technical evaluation, proposal evaluation, cost analysis, price analysis, and negotiation support services in support of the air vehicle production and sustainment efforts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia (80%); Fort Worth, Texas (15%); various locations within the continental US (5%) and is expected to be completed in March 2025. Fiscal 2024 operations maintenance (Aircraft) funds in the amount of $1,813,399; fiscal 2024 operations maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $906,699; fiscal 2024 operations maintenance (Marine Corp) funds in the amount of $906,700; fiscal 2023 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $3,357,084; and fiscal 2023 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,357,084 will be obligated at time of award, $3,626,798 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Blind Industries and Services of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $16,881,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for physical fitness uniform jackets. This is a one-year base contract with two one-year option periods. Locations of performance are North Carolina and Virginia, with a March 20, 2025, ordering period end date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2024 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-24-D-B014).

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Redondo Beach, California, has been awarded contract modification of $12,000,000 (P00058) to previously awarded contract FA8808-18-C-0002 bringing the total value of the contract to $494,429,785. The modification will extend the contracts period of performance by seven months, extending the completion date to Sept. 26, 2025. Locations of performance will be Redondo Beach, and Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, and Dulles, Virginia. Fiscal 2024 Space Force research & development funds in the amount of $250,000 are being obligated at the time of award.