Navy Will Shut Red Hill Fuel Facility
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The DoD will permanently shut the Navy’s massive fuel tank facility in Hawaii that leaked petroleum into Pearl Harbor’s tap water, and will remove all the fuel, reports The Associated Press. Military Times reports the decision DefSec Lloyd Austin made on Monday is based on a new Pentagon assessment, but also is in line with an order from Hawaii’s Department of Health to drain fuel from the tanks at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.
Austin on Monday extended the deployment of 700 National Guard troops through Wednesday in the Washington, DC, area as a caravan of anti-mask and anti-vaccination truckers and others vowed to stall traffic along the Capital Beltway that encircles the city, reports Stars and Stripes. The National Guard mission was initially approved February 23 and set to expire Monday. The troops — some 400 from the District of Columbia National Guard and another about 300 from neighboring states — have been assisting local law enforcement largely with traffic control, according to the Pentagon. The so-called “People’s Convoy” arrived in the DC region during the weekend and have created no major traffic problems.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues unabated, AP reports and updates. The UN has confirmed 2 million people — half of them children — have been forced to flee the country. Millions more are trapped inside besieged cities that are running low on food, water, and medicine, reports Military Times, amid the biggest ground war in Europe since World War II.
Another 500 troops are Europe-bound, reports Military Times, in support of NATO countries as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues through its second week. The new deployment isn’t in response to any changes on the ground, according to DoD, but part of the roughly 12,000 troops that since early February have been on heightened alert to deploy.
Poland has struck a deal with the US to transfer all of its Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets “immediately and free of charge” to a US air base in Germany, a likely precursor to the jets being delivered to Ukraine, reports Politico late Tuesday afternoon. This is a sudden change of fortune for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenkskyy.
The deal as initially constructed has Poland giving the MiGs and the US backfilling the Polish fleet with F-16 fighters, Defense News reported earlier in the week when the deal looked unlikely. Zelenkskyy pleaded with US lawmakers in a Zoom call Saturday for more military planes and support as his country fights a Russian invasion.
The DoD has begun a three-week exercise in the Arctic Ocean and has built a temporary camp on a large chunk of floating ice to make it possible, reports Stars and Stripes. The Navy-led Ice Exercise began last week and aims to boost knowledge and skills in the region, which is growing in importance as countries compete for resources and eye new potential Arctic shipping routes. The Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard also are participating in the biennial exercise north of the Arctic Circle, as are members of the Canadian and British militaries.
Israel has revealed its F-35I stealth jets first aerial engagements, shooting down at least two Iranian drones last year, reports The Drive. This is the first time that F-35s operated by any nation have been confirmed as having destroyed airborne threats. The Israeli version of the F-35 is known locally as “Adir” or “mighty one.”
The Pentagon’s new office for what has been rebranded as unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAP, has deep roots in the paranormal. Military.com tells the story of how believers in the paranormal birthed the Pentagon’s new hunt for UFOs.
Oceanographers are in demand as the Navy expands throughout the Pacific, reports Defense News. The workload for Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command is growing as the Navy branches out to small ports and new operating environments. The demand is also driven by regular deployments of Independence-class littoral combat ships to the Indo-Pacific region, which began in 2019. These ships, with their shallow draft, can enter ports that larger vessels cannot.
The Navy will hold a logistics re-supply technology demo this summer to help develop requirements for future unmanned aircraft system programs, reports Inside Defense. Blue Water Logistics UAS, an autonomous resupply platform, will be demonstrated during the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s Advanced Naval Technology Exercise. The Navy want UAS platforms with resupply capabilities from shore-to-ship, ship-to-ship, and ship-to-shore. The notice for the demonstration was released Thursday.
The FCC published a Notice of Inquiry on February 28, 2022, inviting public comment on vulnerabilities that threaten a central component of the internet’s global routing system. JD Supra reports the NOI seeks comment on steps the FCC can take to help protect and strengthen the nation’s communications network and other critical infrastructure. It is the first major cybersecurity-related action taken by the FCC in the wake of Russia’s escalating military campaign in Ukraine.
The US Navy, Marine Corps, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force completed a joint military training exercise last week, reports The Defense Post. The Bilateral Advanced Warfare Training is an annual exercise to improve cooperation between the two countries’ military forces.
A Russian aircraft on Thursday destroyed the Ukranian patrol boat Sloviansk, a former US Coast Guard Island Class patrol boat that was transferred to the country’s navy in 2019, reports Military.com. Volodymyr Novatsky, mayor of the port city of Yuzhny, announced March 6 in a video posted to YouTube that the vessel had sunk and an unknown number of crew members were missing, including a resident of his town.
Contracts:
Northrop Grumman System Corp., San Diego, California, is awarded a $97,314,948 modification (P00007) to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N0001921C0060). This modification exercises options to provide continued test, maintenance, logistics and sustainment engineering support for MQ-4C Triton air vehicles, mission control and operator training systems. This modification also provides continued field service representative’s technical support to ensure that the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial system (UAS) aircraft are mission-capable for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions supporting aircraft early operational capability and initial operating capability. Additionally, this modification provides continued reach-back engineering support for both the Navy and the government of Australia MQ-4C Triton UAS assets. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (36.5%); San Diego, California (22.5%); Jacksonville, Florida (7.7%); Mayport, Florida (6.5%); Baltimore, Maryland (5.3%); various locations outside the continental US (12.7%); and various locations within the continental US (8.8%) and is expected to be completed in March 2023. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $40,000,000; fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,976,100; fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,000; fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,000,000; and foreign cooperative project funds in the amount of $238,232 will be obligated at the time of award, $2,976,100 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
AVIAN Inc., Lexington Park, Maryland, is awarded a $12,077,437 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable contract. This contract provides engineering, program management and administrative support for the design, execution, analysis, evaluation, and reporting of tests and experiments for various aircraft, unmanned air systems, weapons, and weapons systems in support of the Test and Evaluation Program Leadership Division within the Naval Test Wing Atlantic at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in April 2023. Fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $210,000 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via a small business set aside; three offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0042122C0020).
VSE Corp., Alexandria, Virginia, is awarded a $99,999,923 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) supportability follow-on technical support (FOTS) to provide eligible foreign navies access to a broad range of life cycle support, systems upgrades, systems integration, and other related efforts associated with the transfer and acquisition, operation, and maintenance of naval vessels and systems within their inventory. The purpose of this gap-period contract is to provide continuation of mission critical support until the follow-on FMS FOTS contract solicited under N00024-18-R-4200 is awarded. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales to various foreign navies. No initial funding will be provided at contract award. Funding will be made at the delivery order level. Work is anticipated to be performed outside the continental US (OCONUS) (80%); and within the continental US (20%). Of the work performed OCONUS, countries include Iraq (25%), Egypt (25%), the Philippines (10%), and various other countries to be determined at the delivery order level (20%). Work is expected to be completed by March 2023. This contract was not competitively procured via the beta.sam.gov website. This sole-source award is justified pursuant to 10 US Code 2304(c)(1), only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, and in accordance with Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(B), requirements may be deemed to be available only from the original source in the case of follow-on contracts for the continued provision of highly specialized requirements when it is likely that award to any other source would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (N00024-22-D-4205).
Concurrent Technologies Corp., Johnstown, Pennsylvania, is awarded an $8,095,879 modification to exercise Option Period Four under previously awarded contract GS00Q14-OA-D-U112, task order M95494-18-F-0016. This modification provides for support services in efforts to meet Marine Corps’ energy reliability and resilience requirements for utility distribution systems and various energy security positions supporting headquarters, regions and installations. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia (40%); Lejeune, North Carolina (12%); Okinawa Prefecture, Japan (12%); San Diego, California (11%); Quantico, Virginia (10%); Bridgeport, California (4%); New River, North Carolina (3%); Cherry Point, North Carolina (3%); Barstow, California (3%); Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan (1%); and Pohang, Republic of Korea (1%). Work under this option period is expected to be completed March 2023. Fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $8,095,879 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Installations Command, Headquarters Contracting Office, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia, has been awarded a $10,232,796 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00043) to previously awarded contract FA8810-19-F0001 for systems engineering and integration for remote sensing mission programs. This contract modification provides for continued systems engineering and integration support for remote sensing mission capabilities. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California, and is expected to be completed by May 31, 2022. Fiscal 2022 Space Force research, development, test, and evaluation; space procurement; and operations and maintenance funds are being obligated at the time of award. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $117,148,053. Space Systems Command, Los Angeles Space Force Base, California, is the contracting activity. (Awarded March 3, 2022)
