What Is the F-35 Actually Supposed to Do?

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.

Vice News traveled to Patuxent River Naval Air Station to find out if the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is “any damned good,” given its price tag. The question asked: What is the Pentagon’s Multi-Billion Dollar F-25 Actually Supposed to Do?

Across the pond, Second Line of Defense visited a base in the United Kingdom to talk to members of the RAF Lightning Force Team. Team members talked about the role that the F-35 is playing in that country’s defense.

Business Insider reports positive reviews on the F-35 Lightning II from pilots at Edwards Air Force Base in California. “It’s the Burger King jet,” a lieutenant colonel said of the plane’s versatile setups. “You can have it however you want, your way.”

Israel will be the first US ally to receive the F-35 Lightning II jet when its deliveries begin at the end of the year, and it will for the foreseeable future be the only country allowed to install customized software and weapons, Wired tech magazine reports.

Denmark plans to purchase 27 new F-35 Lightning IIs, Trend News Agency reports. The F-35s were mentioned as the most preferred jets to replace that country’s used military planes.

Work is slowing at some aircraft assembly plants, Defense One reports. Is the end near for the F-15, F-16, and F/A 18?

NAVAIR delivered a KC-130R Hercules last week from the US Navy fleet to the Chilean Air Force, Seapower magazine reports. The aircraft was put into service in 1977 as part of Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 252. Throughout its 30 years of service it was used to transport personnel, equipment, and supplies, and to provide aerial refueling service to fixed and rotary-wing aircraft.

Russian officials are calling a new US missile defense site in Romania a “threat” to their country, UPI reports.

The US is looking for opportunities to expand Special Operations forces, CNN reports. “Small wars” against terrorists are underway in places such as Somalia, Yemen, Libya, and West Africa.

Reuters reports that the US House and Senate OK’d legislation that will allow female pilots from World War II to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Contracts:

Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, VA, is being awarded a $62,719,885 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (including options) for advisory and assistance services for security programs support to the Missile Defense Agency’s technical, engineering, advisory and management support. This contract provides support to develop, implement, maintain, and assess security, emergency management, and program protection for the emerging and fielded Ballistic Missile Defense System around the world, and missile defense technologies, facilities, information, and people.To support the government review and disclosure of U.S. classified military information and controlled unclassified information to foreign governments and international organizations; international visits and assignments to the Missile Defense Agency; technology transfer; and munitions export/import licensing for all MDA personnel, offices, components, and support contractors or organizations that receive funding from MDA. To assist the government in declassification of documents related to all MDA research, development, and acquisition programs, including test and evaluation activities, and fielding of the BMDS worldwide. Work will be performed at Huntsville, AL; Colorado Springs, CO; Fort Greely, Alaska; Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA; Kirtland Air Force Base, NM; Dahlgren, VA; Falls Church, VA; and the National Capital Region, with an expected completion date of May 2021. Fiscal 2016 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $2,645,000 are being obligated at time of award. This contract was a competitively awarded acquisition with three offers being received. The government selected for award the most advantageous proposal representing the best value to the government. The Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, AL, is the contracting activity (HQ0147-16-C-0037).

Praxis Engineering Technologies Inc., Annapolis Junction, MD, has been awarded a $12,555,564 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for research and development in Leveraging the Analog Domain for Security program. Contractor will provide multi-model analog sensing to adaptively determine what features to compute from signals emitted by a device during training and testing, extracting sub-bands of interest, de-noising the individual signals, and removing interfering transmission by other devices in the vicinity. Work will be performed at Annapolis Junction, MD, and is expected to be complete by July 15, 2020. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition with 45 offers received. Fiscal 2015 and 2016 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,619,969 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-16-C-7628).

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, TX, is being awarded a $31,100,000 fixed-price, incentive (firm target) modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-16-C-0033). This modification provides for long lead time materials, parts, components and effort required to maintain the planned production schedule for eight F-35A low-rate initial production Lot 12 F-35A air vehicles for The Netherlands. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, TX (55 percent); El Segundo, CA (15 percent); Warton, United Kingdom (10 percent); Orlando, FL (5 percent); Nashua, NH (5 percent); Baltimore, MD (5 percent); and Cameri, Italy (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2021. Non-U.S. Department of Defense participant funds in the amount of $31,100,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD, is the contracting activity.