Morning Coffee: UCLASS RFP Details and Analysis
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 necessarily reflect those of the Leader’s owners or staff.
DoD Buzz details and analyzes the Navy’s next gen UCLASS draft RFP released to four vendors for a preliminary design review. The draft RFP seeks input on design through deployment for an unmanned aircraft to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and precision strike missions. Lockheed Martin proposes its Sea Ghost UAS, said to incorporate technologies from the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter and RQ-170 Sentinel UAS. General Atomics is expected to offer its Sea Avenger, a maritime variant of its Predator C Avenger UAS. Details are sparse regarding Boeing’s submission but many believe that it will be based on its Phantom Ray UAS. Northrop Grumman declined to offer details regarding their offering although it will probably be a variant of the company’s ongoing X-47B program.
Lockheed Martin exceeded analyst estimates by reporting a first-quarter 23 percent profit jump despite federal budget cuts which eroded sales, according to Bloomberg. The government’s largest contractor’s earnings were aided by pension income and profit growth in four of the company’s five business units. The biggest increase in operating profit was in the Mission Systems and Training unit, which provides software and technology for government and commercial clients. However, sequestration cuts continued to depress revenue this year, with sales to the Pentagon likely to drop by 6 percent in 2014 after a 4 percent drop in 2013, reports Reuters. Lockheed CFO Bruce Tanner said Tuesday that the lost revenue amounted to “a pretty significant” 10 percent drop over two years, which has reversed the company’s expectation that 2014 would be a growth year.
Time presents dueling versions of videos of activities on Chinese and US aircraft carrier flight decks. China’s film shows off the Liaoning flattop and its J-15 fighters and celebrates the 65th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army Navy. The US Navy’s video depicts the “Royal Maces,” an F/A-18E Super Hornet squadron aboard the USS George Washington.
US Tech Vets is an online community that links veterans with employment opportunities in the technology industry, reports The Christian Science Monitor. The website links national and regional technology associations with a community of veterans who have relevant skills in the tech industry. Chairman David Lucien said, “We want to make it a priority of every technology company to hire, train, and retain military veterans and to make sure every veteran and veteran family member has the opportunity to be employed.”
The Pentagon is working on a new version of its Better Buying Power initiative, or BBP 3.0, in an effort to improve acquisition procedures, according to Breaking Defense. Program goals include rapid prototyping, more openness to contractors, and better budget drills.
Antonio Miguelez, one of NAVAIR’s newest Senior Executive Service members, is interviewed by NAVAIR News. Mr. Miguelez is in charge of almost 600 naval scientists and engineers and is responsible for NAVAIR’s air-breathing propulsion and power systems for Navy and Marine Corps aircraft.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) wants to implement sophisticated automation to existing manned aircraft to reduce pilot workload while increasing mission capability and safety, reports Aviation Week. The agency has scheduled a proposers’ day May 14 in Washington, D.C., to brief potential bidders on the new Aircrew Labor In-cockpit Automation System program. ALIAS will be a drop-in, removable kit to enable operations with fewer crew on board and be capable of executing missions from takeoff to landing.
Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) “flew” an F-35 fighter on Tuesday thanks to a cockpit simulator, reports The Hill. Mr. Forbes, chairman of the House Armed Services Seapower subcommittee, took the aircraft through clear skies before landing on an aircraft carrier during a demonstration at Lockheed Martin’s Center for Innovation in Suffolk, Va., located in his district.
Australia will place a $12 billion order for 58 Joint Strike Fighters in a move that will place the nation’s air combat power among the world’s most advanced, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia will join the US and a few other countries in making the fifth-generation stealth fighter the foundation of its air combat power.
