Lockheed Announces Layoffs at Pax

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.

Lockheed Martin has announced the layoff of 176 workers at its Sikorsky division supporting the heavy lift helicopter program at NAS Patuxent River, reports Washington Business Journal (Paywall). The Bethesda-based company said a key part of the program is coming to an end. The layoffs are effective April 27, according to a Maryland Department of Labor Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing.

The Defense Department will seek big increases for weapons buying and research and development, reports Bloomberg. The budget total will exceed $835 billion, up from the current $816 billion.

Military members would see their largest pay raise in 22 years under the latest defense budget proposal, reports Navy Times. DoD’s spending plan for fiscal 2024 represents a 3.2% increase for military operations over current levels.

It might come as a surprise to many that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter isn’t the most expensive airplane in the world, or even in the US arsenal, reports We Are the Mighty. The most expensive plane crash in history cost the US Air Force $1.4 billion.

VADM Karl Thomas, commander of the US Navy 7th Fleet in Japan, is President Joe Biden’s choice to become deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare, N2/N6, and director of naval intelligence, reports C4ISRNET. The nomination must be approved by the US Senate.

Five US Air Force F-35s are operating out of Denmark for the first time, reports The Defense Post. The aircraft arrived at the Skrydstrup airbase last week in preparation for the arrival of Denmark’s first F-35s from the US in the fall.

The US Army is moving to get M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine “as quickly as possible,” the service’s acquisition chief, Doug Bush, told Defense News. Sending tanks to Ukraine is not a simple process, Bush said. He declined to offer any details of the timeline on delivery of the tanks.

After Poland, Romania also wants to buy a battalion’s worth of American Abrams tanks, reports Defense News.

A US-led unit is training NATO pilots in Wichita Falls, TX, reports Defense News. After decades of peace at home, American and European airmen face a new reality: They are the frontline flyers who will keep Russia’s war in Ukraine from spilling across NATO’s borders, and the instructors who will teach the new pilots how to do it.

Two Ukrainian pilots are in Arizona undergoing an assessment to determine how long it could take to train them to fly attack aircraft, including F-16 fighter jets, reports NBC News.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has invited US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to visit Ukraine to see the situation on the ground first-hand, reports CNN. The invitation comes as Republicans are divided over whether the US should continue to provide military aid to Ukraine.

The US Space Force will offer excess launch pads at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to four companies — ABL Space Systems, Stoke Space, Phantom Space, and Vaya Space — as part of an effort to use excess range capacity to support the growing market, reports C4ISRNET.

The Fort George G. Meade, MD, region is among the 2023 class of Great American Defense Communities, named by the Association of Defense Communities. See the video announcement here of the five communities being honored.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is partnering with Korea Aerospace Industries and Red 6 Aerospace to deliver “advanced 21st-century security capabilities across a spectrum of training and combat aircraft,” reports Dallas Innovates. Red 6 has developed an augmented reality platform — the Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System, or ATARS, designed for combat flight training.

Topics discussed at the March 7 meeting of the St. Mary’s County commissioners and NAS Pax River officials included lowering speed limits on county roads in two military family housing developments, the addition of Air Installation Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ) disclosure statements to rental agreements within certain areas, and a possible plastic bag ban, reports The Southern Maryland Chronicle. Alec Young, the base’s community planning liaison officer, proposed lowering speed limits in Columbia Colony and Challenger Estates from 25 mph to 15 mph, reports Southern Maryland News.

Leaders in Maryland made their final pitch last week to have the FBI headquarters moved from The District to Prince George’s County instead of Virginia, reports WTOP News. It’s a process that has been off and on again for years.

A bill in the Maryland legislature to expand state’s offshore wind energy economy has broad support — but it’s not a done deal, reports Maryland Matters. Among the opposition to the POWER — Promoting Offshore Wind Energy Resources — Act, are the Ocean City mayor and city council members.

Contracts:

Lockheed Martin Logistic Services Inc., Greenville, South Carolina, is awarded a $57,104,660 cost-plus-price-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide engineering and logistics support in support of Presidential Helicopter avionics systems and associated support equipment for the Navy. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in September 2027. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 US Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0042123D0004).

Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, is awarded a $54,733,855 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order N00024-23-F-6313 under indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00024-20-D-6337 for Overlord Unmanned Surface Vessels and Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicles operations and sustainment (O&S). This delivery order includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this delivery order to $94,787,489. Work will be performed in Reston, Virginia (51%); Virginia Beach, Virginia (26%); La Jolla, California (7%); Morgan City, Louisiana (6%); Lexington Park, Maryland (5%); Newport News, Virginia (4%); and Bethpage, New York (1%), and is expected to be completed by February 2024. If all options are exercised, work will continue through February 2026. Fiscal 2023 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $468,350 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This delivery order was competitively procured, with five offers received in response to this solicitation. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Konecranes Nuclear Equipment and Services LLC, New Berlin, Wisconsin, is awarded $48,476,094 for firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N62470-20-C-0002. This modification provides for the exercise of Option 4, and the contractor to design, fabricate, assemble, shop test, deliver, install, inspect, field test and make ready for use one 175-ton heavy-lift portal crane to be installed at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia. The total contract amount after exercise of this option will be $182,334,816. Work will be performed in New Berlin, Wisconsin, and is expected to be completed by November 2026. Fiscal 2023 other procurement, (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $48,476,094 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

SFS/GOVCIO, Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded a $15,520,000 modification (P00030) to contract W52P1J-18-C-0020 to extend operation and maintenance services. Work will be performed in Fayetteville, North Carolina, with an estimated completion date of March 14, 2024. Fiscal 2023 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $15,520,000 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.

BlackHorse Solutions Inc., Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded a $13,965,702 cost-plus-fixed-fee and completion modification (P00021) to previously awarded FA8750-19-C-1528 for further development and demonstration of Capabilities Development and Integration in the Information Environment (CDI2E) software and hardware prototype. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $62,809,533 from $48,843,831. Work will be performed in Herndon, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 9, 2024. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) funds in the amount of $750,000; and fiscal 2023 RDT&E funds in the amount of $176,000 are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity.

Tidewater Inc., Elkridge, Maryland, is awarded a $16,532,008 firm-fixed-price task order (N4008023F4108) for construction at Marine Corps Base Quantico. The work to be performed provides for construction project to correct deficiencies of narrow pavement, poor drainage, erosion, pavement and subgrade damage and deterioration, and full depth pavement repair at critical locations. This award total includes the base bid and two options. All work will be performed in Virginia and is expected to be completed by March 2026. Fiscal 2023 operation and maintenance, (Navy) funds in the amount of $16,532,008 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Three proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Washington, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (N40080-19-D-0019).

Amentum Services Inc., formerly known as DynCorp International LLC, Germantown, Maryland, is awarded $28,529,683 for firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded, indefinite delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N62470-19-D-2013 for base operating support services at Naval and Defense Intelligence Agency facilities in Washington, DC, and Maryland. This modification provides for the exercise of Option Year 3 for an additional quantity of one year of services to be provided under the basic contract. After award of this option, the cumulative value of the contract will be $189,159,148. Work will be performed in Washington, DC (89%); and Maryland (11%) and is expected to be completed by 31 March 2024. Fiscal 2023 operation and maintenance (Navy); and fiscal 2023 Navy working capital funds in the amount not-to-exceed $24,232,864 for recurring services will be obligated on individual task orders and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Additional funds will be obligated on individual task orders issued during the period of performance for non-recurring work in the amount not-to-exceed $4,296,818. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Washington, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Valiant Global Defense Services Inc., San Diego, California (FA564123D0001); Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia (FA564123D0002); Decypher Technologies Ltd., San Antonio, Texas (FA564123D0003); HII Defense and Federal Solutions Inc., Huntsville, Alabama (FA564123D0004); The Mission Essential Group LLC, New Albany, Ohio (FA564123D0005); ITility LLC, Chantilly, Virginia (FA564123D0006); Systems Planning and Analysis Inc., Alexandria, Virginia (FA564123D0007); SOS International LLC, Reston, Virginia (FA564123D0008); and Aeyon LLC, Vienna, Virginia (FA564123D0009), have been awarded a multiple award, indefinite‐delivery/indefinite‐quantity contract with a ceiling of $995,000,000 for US Air Forces Europe-Air Forces Africa advisory and assistance services. This contract provides for technical and analytical services to support and improve policy development, decision making, management, administration, and system operations within the primary users’ areas of responsibility. Work will be performed at various locations in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and other locations throughout Europe and Africa, and is expected to be completed in March 2030. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and 12 offers were received. Fiscal 2023 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $18,000 will be obligated at time of award. Air Force Installation Contracting Command, 764 Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Ramstein, Germany, is the contracting activity.