Navy Aims to Recover & Restore P-8A in Bay

Three environmental containment booms are deployed as a preventative measure to contain any potential fuel or oil leaks during defueling operations on a downed US Navy P-8A Poseidon in waters just off the runway at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Marine Corps Base HI, Nov. 26, 2023. The successful defueling of the downed P-8A was critical to the execution of the aircraft salvage plan. (US Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Brandon Aultman)

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The Navy is optimistic it can recover and restore to flight status the Boeing P-8A that slid off the runway last week in Hawaii, according to Flight Global. The P-8A settled in the shallow waters of Kaneohe Bay after overshooting the runway. Navy Times further reports that on Monday the Navy said nearly all of the fuel was removed from the P-8A Poseidon, but it doesn’t have a timetable for when it will get the aircraft out of the water. RADM Kevin Lenox said there was an estimated 2,000 gallons of fuel on board the Poseidon. Floating barricades are in place to prevent any potential contaminants from polluting the ocean.

Tying the F-35 to a performance-based parts and maintenance agreement has kept an FY24 contract out of reach for the fighter jet, reports Breaking Defense. Lockheed is currently paid on an ad hoc basis for parts and maintenance. Congress mandated the new agreement either increase readiness or decrease maintenance costs. As Pentagon and Lockheed negotiations continue, the FY23 contract has been extended to March 2024 and will likely be extended again to June 2024.

“What we found is that systems that are heavily reliant on contractor support, that have a minimum of government-owned intellectual property or access to the intellectual property, that the flexibility to make changes in accordance with a new national security environment is limited,” said Christopher Lowman, assistant Defense secretary for sustainment. Breaking Defense interviewed Lowman about the need for the F-35 to boost its 55% mission capable rate and ensure the global fleet can handle the pressures of peer conflict.

The Pentagon expects to start issuing early next year the first in a series of sole-source contracts to Pratt & Whitney to upgrade the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s engines, reports Defense News. In a notice posted online Monday, the government said the follow-on contract actions to RTX-owned Pratt & Whitney will begin in the second quarter of fiscal 2024 and continue through the end of December 2031.

One year into efforts to boost manufacturing of artillery rounds for Ukraine, the US and Europe produced radically different results: the US increasing output of 155mm shells far faster and Europe more slowly than expected. In a twist, despite state-owned businesses, Europe’s delays are set by market conditions, while US progress is largely because the Army owns the facilities that make the shells, reports Defense One.

Congress returned to Washington this week with billions of dollars in funding for Israel, Ukraine, and border security up in the air. Daily News reports President Joe Biden wants nearly $106B in emergency funding — $61.4B for Ukraine, $14.3B for Israel, and $13.6B for the US-Mexico border. But Republicans are skeptical on Ukraine and progressive Democrats want funding restrictions on Israel. “I think it’d be very difficult to get it done by the end of the year,” Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Congress began formal negotiations on a compromise defense policy bill this week, with final votes, Defense News says, likely to occur before the holidays. But the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act may be trickier than usual this year. The House passed 219-210 its $874 billion defense policy bill largely along party lines in July after Democrats defected when Republicans added the Freedom Caucus amendments. Later in July, the Senate passed 86-11 its $886 billion defense policy bill without the socially conservative provisions. Both bills nonetheless have significant areas of overlap, some of which have generated opposition from the White House.

The US Air Force on Monday delivered more than 54,000 pounds of humanitarian aid destined for Gaza, reports Military Times. The shipment marks the first of a series of flights that will help transfer United Nations-provided supplies to the besieged territory. The shipment was transported to Egypt by C-17 Globemaster IIIs to be loaded onto UN vehicles and driven into Gaza, spokesman BRIG GEN Pat Ryder said during a Pentagon briefing Tuesday.

The aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower and its carrier strike group entered the Persian Gulf on Sunday, reports Navy Times. It is the first carrier to steam in those waters since the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group operated there in September 2020.

One of eight crew members aboard the Osprey aircraft that crashed Wednesday off southern Japan, has been pronounced dead, reports APNews. The cause of the crash and the status of the seven others on board were not immediately known, Coast Guard spokesperson Kazuo Ogawa said. The Osprey is an Air Force aircraft.

Five people suspected of attempting to hijack a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden are in US Navy custody, reports USNI News. The five had boarded and attempted on Sunday to take control of the M/V Central Park, a tanker owned by an Israeli businessman.

The US Air Force will roll out tens of thousands of sets of various types of eyewear to protect airmen’s eyes from lasers and shrapnel. The gear aims to limit the potential risk to pilots and other aircrew amid a recent spike in lasing incidents. This is the first Air Force-issued eyewear designed to block lasers as well as ballistic threats, reports Air Force Times.

Military.com has the ultimate military gift-giving guide, if you’re looking to support veteran-owned businesses. Or gift one of the best military books published in 2023, as selected by Military.com.

South Korea says Russian support likely enabled North Korea to put a spy satellite into orbit this week. This is the first such launch for North Korea. South Korean officials expect to know whether it is functioning properly by early next week, reports C4ISRNET.

Niger’s junta leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, held separate meetings last week with his Mali and Burkina Faso counterparts to strengthen the Alliance of Sahel States, a partnership to fight extremist violence across a vast desert and, say some analysts, to legitimize their military governments amid coup-related sanctions and strained relations with neighbors, reports AP.

Veterans Affairs medical staff say patients continue to report high rates of concern about potential military toxic exposure injuries, underscoring the non-combat dangers faced by troops across different generations of military service, reports Military Times.

Veterans Affairs, required by the PACT Act to try to screen every patient enrolled in VA health care for toxic exposure, has already screened 4.8 million vets, about 40% expressed concerns, reports Military.com. Efforts are underway to encourage nearly 3 million veterans who receive their health care elsewhere to come into a VA medical center or clinic and receive a brief five-minute screening for possible exposure to environmental hazards from burn pits, Agent Orange, radiation, contaminated water, or other pollutants.

Russia on Saturday launched its most intense drone attack on Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion in 2022, targeting the capital city for over six hours, military officials said, according to C4ISRNET. “Kyiv was the main target,” Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his Telegram channel. According to CNN, on Sunday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Russia has foiled more than 20 Ukrainian drone attacks over Russian territory in the past day, including on the capital, Moscow.

Contracts:

CRL Technologies Inc., Alexandria, Virginia, is awarded a $247,671,680 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides lead systems integrator support, including engineering, technical, prototyping, and project management, for a wide variety of Navy programs and platforms, including new systems and upgrading existing systems within the manned and unmanned aircraft inventory, in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWCAD) AIRWorks Office. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in December 2028. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured as a small business set-aside; two offers were received. NAWCAD, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0042124D0005).

The MIL Corp., Bowie, Maryland, is awarded a $64,050,482 cost-plus-fixed fee, cost reimbursable, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides command, control, communications, computers, cyber, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems engineering, integration, in-service engineering agent and logistics support for new and/or existing shipboard, surface, ground-based, and airborne mission systems for the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and Defense Intelligence Agency requirements in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Webster Outlying Field, Ship and Air Integrated Warfare Division programs. Work will be performed at St. Inigoes, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in February 2029. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; two offers were received. NAWCAD Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0042124D0002).

General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia, is awarded a $27,038,759 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee contract N00024-16-C-4306 for the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) fiscal 2024 Planned Incremental Availability. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be completed July 2024. Fiscal 2024 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $27,038,759 will be obligated at the time of award. Mid Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

AECOM Technical Services Inc., Los Angeles, California (W912DQ-24-D-3000); Aptim Federal Services LLC, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (W912DQ-24-D-3001); Cape-Cabrera JV2 LLC, Norcross, Georgia (W912DQ-24-D-3002); EA Engineering, Science, and Technology Inc. PBC, Valley, Maryland (W912DQ-24-D-3003); Environmental Chemical Corp., Burlingame, California (W912DQ-24-D-3004); HydroGeoLogic Inc., Reston, Virginia (W912DQ-24-D-3005); Parsons Government Services Inc., Centreville, Virginia (W912DQ-24-D-3006); Sevenson Environmental Services Inc., Niagara Falls, New York (W912DQ-24-D-3007); and Tetra Tech EC Inc., Langhorne, Pennsylvania (W912DQ-24-D-3008), will compete for each order of the $245,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for environmental remediation services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 10 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 28, 2028. US Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, Missouri, is the contracting activity.

KPMG LLP, McLean, Virginia, is being awarded a labor-hour contract option with a maximum value of $53,012,899 for audit services of the Army General Fund and Working Capital Fund financial statements. Work will be performed in McLean, Virginia, with an expected completion date of Nov. 30, 2024. This contract is the result of a competitive acquisition for which three quotes were received. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $165,791,406.85 from $112,778,508. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $53,012,899 are being obligated at the time of the award. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Contract Services Directorate, Columbus, Ohio, is the contracting activity (HQ0423-21-F-0005).

Science Applications International Corporation, Reston, Virginia, was awarded an $18,894,694 firm-fixed-price contract to develop airfield operations policies and maintain instrument flight procedures. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 26, 2028. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $883,495 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Field Directorate Office, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W91QV1-24-C-0003).

Elbit Systems of America – Night Vision LLC, Roanoke, Virginia, is awarded a $500,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the procurement of Squad Binocular Night Vision Goggle systems; spare and repair parts; contractor logistics support; and test article refurbishment. Work will be performed in Roanoke, Virginia, and is expected to be completed in November 2028. Fiscal 2022 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $944,730 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year; fiscal 2023 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $46,660,149 that will not expire until fiscal 2025; and fiscal 2024 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $79,287,731 that will not expire until fiscal year 2026, for a total amount of $126,892,610, will be obligated on the first delivery order immediately following contract award. This contract was competitively procured via SAM.gov, with three offers received. Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M67854-24-D-1013).

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum Heights, Maryland, is awarded a modification to increase the maximum ceiling by $265,000,000 of a previously awarded firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee basic ordering agreement (M67854-20-G-0032). The total cumulative ceiling of the agreement is $514,300,000. The additional ceiling provides for sustaining engineering and logistics support services for the Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) program, including engineering changes, contractor logistics support, depot lifecycle support, software support activity support, diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages support, technical refresh, studies and analyses, services for the retrofit of six fielded Gallium Arsenide G/ATOR Low Rate Initial Production systems with Gallium Nitride technology, operational spares buys, software development for current and future radar systems, and the 5G America’s Mid-band Initiative Spectrum accommodation. Work locations will be determined by individual task orders and is expected to be complete by Sept. 28, 2025. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Amentum Services Inc., Chantilly, Virginia, was awarded a $13,624,516 modification (P00319) to contract W58RGZ-19-C-0025 for aviation maintenance services. Work will be performed in Germany, Kosovo, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, and at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2024. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance, Army funds; fiscal 2023 and 2024 aircraft procurement, Army funds; and fiscal 2024 research, development, test and evaluation, Army funds in the amount of $13,624,516, were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

Amentum Services Inc., Chantilly, Virginia, was awarded a $7,927,335 modification (0002D2) to contract W52P1J-12-G-0028 for Army prepositioned stock logistics support services. Work will be performed in Manheim, Germany, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 20, 2024. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $7,927,335 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.

Amentum Services Inc., Chantilly, Virginia, was awarded a $7,877,119 modification (P00318) to contract W58RGZ-19-C-0025 for aviation maintenance services. Work will be performed at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia; Fort Liberty, North Carolina; and Fort Campbell, North Carolina, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2024. Fiscal 2022, 2023 and 2024 aircraft procurement, Army funds; fiscal 2023 and 2024 Foreign Military Sales (Saudi Arabia) funds; fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance, Army funds; and fiscal 2024 Army working capital funds in the amount of $7,877,119, were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

The contract announced on November 20, 2023, for Valiant Integrated Services LLC, Herndon, Virginia (SPE300-24-D-4002), for $530,000,000 was announced with an incorrect award date. The correct award date is Nov. 22, 2023.