Navy Names “Superior Suppliers”
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.
Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and Raytheon are among nine defense contractors recognized by the US Navy as “superior suppliers,” reports Bloomberg. The Navy will invite companies to make a pitch for reduced regulation, such as less frequent inspections. An earlier version of the pilot program offered more valuable “post-award advantages,” such as favorable payment terms. The winners were chosen based on criteria including cost, meeting schedules, performance, quality and business relations. They were evaluated using performance data going back three years for about 80 business divisions of the service’s top 30 contractors.
In an attempt to reduce the escalating costs of the $399 billion F-35 weapons program, the DoD has notified contractors they will be expected to invest millions of their own dollars in the Joint Strike Fighter, according to the Washington Business Journal. Cost-cutting efforts also will be aimed at F-35 purchasers, with incentives and financial penalties being contemplated to ensure foreign buyers take delivery of planes they have ordered. The contractors’ investment would include manufacturing process improvements, upgrades to manufacturing facilities and possibly design improvements. Contractors affected include Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and United Technologies.
If the Republicans win control of the US Senate, a window will open early in 2015 for lawmakers and the Obama White House to attempt another sequester-killing fiscal deal Senator Bob Corker, (R-Tenn.), said last week, according to DefenseNews. Senator Corker believes that the key will be a potentially divided government, with Republicans controlling the legislative branch and Democrats the executive. “If we were fortunate to … be in the majority, I think that’s when big things happen for our country because both sides own the solution,” he said. “We’ve seen big things happen in the past when we’ve had divided government, where you saw problems that lingered and one side didn’t want to take the blame.”
CNN takes a detailed look at the Navy’s new super stealthy destroyer, the USS Zumwalt, and its operations center which utilizes advanced technology that takes multitasking to a new level. Launched last year, the $3 billion ship is the largest type of destroyer in the modern Navy but, compared with about 300 sailors needed for similar warships, the Zumwalt’s minimum complement is only 130. Crew members raised with video games will be at home with the destroyer’s visual displays and equipment.
The 14th annual NAVAIR Commander’s National Awards ceremony was held last week at NAS Pax River, according to NAVAIR News. NAVAIR’s highest team awards celebrate technical, business and leadership excellence in support of NAVAIR’s focus areas: increase speed to the fleet, consistently deliver integrated and interoperable warfighting capabilities, and improve affordability. There were 65 nominations in a year that NAVAIR Commander Vice Adm. David Dunaway said tested NAVAIR’s ability to adapt and execute under pressure because of the ongoing budget battle, government shutdown, sequestration and furloughs.
Terry Halvorsen, acting DoD CIO, presented ideas last week for how he wants to advance defense technology, according to C4ISR & Networks. Mr. Halvorsen believes that data transparency can streamline defense IT, save money and improve network speed and security, and he also wants to increase trust with between the military services and Pentagon management. He said, “Developing trust with the [military departments] and DoD and across the DoD agencies – how do we trust? One of ways you have to do that is to be transparent.”
The Senate passed emergency legislation on Veterans Affairs Department health visits and administrator accountability last week, paving the way for the reforms to quickly become law, reports the Military Times. The Senate deal would create a two-year program giving veterans who face long wait times for medical appointments at VA facilities or living in rural areas the ability to seek health care from private providers, with the VA covering the costs. Senator Bernie Sanders, (I-Vt.) said, “These issues must be addressed now. What our veterans deserve is to be able to get into the VA system in a timely manner and get quality care.”
Bill Lynn, CEO of Finmeccanica North America and a former deputy defense secretary, believes that defense contractors need to adapt and utilize more commercial technology when developing military weapons and systems, according to Defense News. The DoD is currently using commercial technologies, such as 3-D printing and IT systems, allowing troops to use smartphones to view real-time reconnaissance information. “The model was to develop things internally and then put them out [commercially],” said Mr. Lynn. “We still need to do that in some cases, but in many more cases we’re going to have to pull commercial technologies in and militarize them and operationalize them.”
