Navy Exercise Seeks Best Tech Ideas for Aviation Communication
Advanced Naval Technology Exercise 2021 provided government, industry, and academia participants an opportunity to explore advanced tactics and assess the operational relevance of emerging technologies. (US Marine Corps photo by Joseph Bullinger/Released)
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 Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division wants the aviation industry to show off its best ideas for beyond-line-of-sight communication systems capable of being used on both manned and unmanned platforms, reports Breaking Defense. An advanced naval technology exercise will be held at NAS Patuxent River or Wester Outlying Field in St. Inigoes. Applications for participation in the NAWCAD ANTX, to be conducted in August 2022, will be accepted until April 19, according to the public notice.
What’s the future look like for naval aviation? For Norfolk, VA, that means state-of-the-art planes and a farther reach for aircraft carriers, reports Daily Press. VADM Kenneth Whitesell visited Norfolk last week and talked about the changes that are coming to Hampton Roads: one is the new CMV-22B version of the tilt-rotor Osprey. Also, the F-35 will begin joining Norfolk-based carrier strike groups in the months ahead.
Whitesell, commander of Naval Air Forces and Naval Air Force Pacific, laid out his vision for blending fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft into the future carrier air wing and the transition to future sixth-generation systems, reports USNI News. “We’ve got a [master aviation plan]. We’ve got a strategy and the funding piece. We just worked last week with NAVAIR for program management – N98 for money coordination,” Whitesell said. “As we build the MAP, we know where our deployments are roughly going to be and the modifications that have to be on the carrier and the modifications that have to be so that the air wing itself syncs – the capabilities, the [command and control], all the systems sync. So I’m pretty happy – I’m okay with where the strategy is right now. The lynchpin is going to be the funding piece.”
GEN Charles Flynn said that the events in Europe highlight the need for regular training exercises with partners, reports The Associated Press. The top US Army commander in the Pacific said the Russian invasion of Ukraine underscores the importance to American allies of the need to be prepared for any eventuality.
The Army’s next Warfighter Exercise will feature a scenario in the Pacific for the first time, reports Defense News. These exercises have previously focused on scenarios related to the Middle East, Korea, and the Baltic countries in Europe.
North Korea test fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday that landed in the waters off Japan, reports UPI, making it the most provocative weapons test in almost five years. Earlier this month, US forces in the Korean Peninsula ramped up troop readiness in response to North Korea’s recent increase of missile launches since the beginning of the year, Air Force Times reported.
Air Force GEN Glenn VanHerck, head of the US Northern Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that securing the US-Mexico border should be the job of the Department of Homeland Security, reports Military Times. “I think, long term, this is not an enduring mission of the Department of Defense,” he said. “We need to fully fund and resource DHS to do their mission, and the DoD should be used in extremis times for the support on the border mission.”
The engine for the US Army’s Improved Turbine Engine Program has begun testing, reports Defense News. The GE T901 “first engine to test” underwent a “light off,” marking the first time fuel was ignited in the engine, according to the Army.
President Joe Biden and leaders of NATO allies agreed to double the organization’s troop presence in Eastern Europe during a flurry of wartime summitry Thursday in Brussels. The US also plans to accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees into the country and to donate $1 billion to help European nations flooded with Ukrainians fleeing the war, reports Los Angeles Times.
The US Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Navy can make its own decisions about whether to deploy sailors, including SEALs who refuse the coronavirus vaccine, reports Military.com.
The Information Warfare Training and Research Initiative Detachment has been established at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, reports C4ISRNET. The service expects to improve research and training around information warfare.
Boeing has begun building the first of four P-8A aircraft for New Zealand at a Spirit AeroSystems facility in Kansas, reports The Defense Post. The P-8As will replace New Zealand’s aging fleet of P-3KA Orions.
Greece has a $3.5 billion deal with France’s Naval Group to purchase three new frigates, reports Defense News. Lockheed Martin had been in the running for that sale.
The Defense Department is undertaking a landmark look into mental health, suicide prevention, and response, reports Federal News Network. It plans to establish a Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee that will use third-party experts to critique the military’s response to mental health.
An Oklahoma Air National Guard F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet crashed in western Louisiana last week, reports Air Force Times. The jet was about 150 miles east of Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base to train in military airspace that is set back from populated areas. The pilot ejected safely.
Two MH-60R Seahawk helicopters, assigned to NAS Jacksonville, helped rescue a civilian aircraft in Florida last week, reports Navy Times.
The US Air Force Thunderbirds have completed their certification for the 2022 show season, the service reports. Find the season’s schedule here. They are scheduled to be in Ocean City on June 11-12 and at Joint Base Andrews on September 17-18.
The US Postal Service has doubled its initial order for electric vehicles as part of its next-generation delivery vehicle fleet, reports Federal News Network. USPS owns about a third of all federal vehicles and ranks second only to DoD in terms of agencies with the largest vehicle inventory.
Maryland Rep. Anthony Brown has praised the suggested new names for military installations named after Confederate leaders. The most recognizable names on the list include Colin Powell, Dwight Eisenhower, and Harriet Tubman. The Naming Commission narrowed the list to nearly 100 names, down from thousands of submissions.
Virginia Rep. Don McEachin wants Fort Lee renamed for trailblazing African-American logistics officer and 35-year Army veteran LT GEN Arthur Gregg, reports Daily Progress. Virginia’s Fort Lee, Fort A.P. Hill, and Fort Pickett are three of the nine US military installations named for Confederates that are to receive new names.
Contracts:
Thales Defense and Security Inc., Clarksburg, Maryland (W15P7T-22-F-0080); and L3Harris Technologies Inc., Rochester, New York (W15P7T-22-F-0079), will compete for each order of the $6,108,734,590 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to modernize Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) radios to align with the National Security Agency crypto modernization requirements. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 24, 2032. US Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
BAE Systems Land & Armaments L.P., Sterling Heights, Michigan, is awarded a $173,592,903 firm-fixed-price modification (P00144) to previously awarded contract M67854-16-0006 for Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACV). The total cumulative face value of the contract is $1,733,760,197. This contract modification provides for the exercise of options for the procurement of 36 full rate production ACVs and associated production, and fielding and support costs. Work will be performed in York, Pennsylvania (60%); Aiken, South Carolina (15%); San Jose, California (15%); Sterling Heights, Michigan (5%); and Stafford, Virginia (5%), with an expected completion date of March 2024. Fiscal 2022 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $173,592,903 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M67854-16-C-0006).
The Boeing Co., Huntington Beach, California, is awarded a $72,550,000 fixed-price incentive (firm target) contract modification to previously awarded contract N00024-17-C-6307 for all efforts, tooling and equipment, and materials for the design, manufacture, and testing of an Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Test Asset System. Work will be performed in Huntington Beach, California (44%); Virginia Beach, Virginia (24%); Waukesha, Wisconsin (6%); Smithfield, Pennsylvania (5%); Torrance, California (4%); Katy, Texas (3%); Groton, Connecticut (3%); Camden, New Jersey (2%); Joplin, Missouri (2%); Thousand Oaks, California (2%); East Aurora, New York (1%); Rancho Dominguez, California (1%); South El Monte, California (1%); Irwindale, California (1%); and Farmingdale, California (1%), and is expected to be completed by August 2023. Fiscal 2021 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $17,900,000 (62%); and fiscal 2022 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $11,100,000 (38%) will be obligated at time of award, of which funding in the amount of $17,900,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
InDyne Inc., Sterling, Virginia, has been awarded a $66,286,547 contract modification to previously awarded contract FA2517-18-C-8000/FA2518-22-C-0001 to exercise Option Year Four to extend the term of the contract for Solid State Phased Array Radar Systems. The modification provides for continued management, operation, maintenance and logistical support. Work will be performed at Beale Air Force Base, California; Cape Cod Space Force Station, Massachusetts; Clear Space Force Station, Alaska; Thule Air Base, Greenland; Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, Colorado; and Royal Air Force Fylingdales, United Kingdom, and is expected to be completed by April 30, 2023. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance funds will be obligated at the time of award. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $285,226,547. The Space Acquisition Management Directorate, Peterson AFB, Colorado, is the contracting activity.
American Systems, Chantilly, Virginia (HT0038-20-C-0006), was awarded a second option period with a value of $11,154,552 to provide bridge enterprise operational management services. The contract has a period of performance from March 27, 2022, to Sept. 26, 2022. The estimated completion date is Sept. 26, 2022. Work will primarily occur in Chantilly, Virginia. This award will be funded by fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance funds. The Defense Health Agency, Falls Church, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Contrack Watts Inc., McLean, Virginia, was awarded a $34,030,929 firm-fixed-price contract for the design bid-build construction of an electrical system upgrade at the Naval Support Activity in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Manama, Bahrain, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 19, 2024. Fiscal 2020 military construction, defense-wide funds in the amount of $34,030,929 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Corps of Engineers, Middle East District, is the contracting activity (W912ER-22-C-0010).
American International Contractors Inc., McLean, Virginia, was awarded a $24,750,303 firm-fixed-price contract to construct an F-16 maintenance hangar at Marsa Matrouh Air Base in Egypt. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Egypt, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2024. Fiscal 2019 Foreign Military Financing (Egypt) funds in the amount of $24,750,303 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Corps of Engineers, Middle East District, is the contracting activity (W912ER-22-F-0059).
