Netherlands Says Yes to F-35; Insitu Wins $330M UAV Contract

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.

The Netherlands announced on Tuesday that it has selected the F-35 joint strike fighter as the official replacement for its fleet of F-16s, a major international sale for the fifth-generation fighter, with the Dutch government calling it “the most future-proof option,” Defense News reports.  However, the order likely will be smaller than previously anticipated, says Flight Global.

 

Boeing’s Insitu subsidiary wins a $330 million contract to supply hardware and provide operational and maintenance services in support of the ScanEagle UAV, The Motley Fool reports.

 

Washington Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis’s run-ins with law enforcement didn’t appear in background checks, says subcontractor who hired him, or stop DoD from issuing him a security clearance, Politico reports. CNN says it has learned SecDef Chuck Hagel is ordering a worldwide review of physical security measures at all U.S. military installations in the wake of the attack at the Washington Navy Yard. Congressional voices from both sides of the aisle want more scrutiny of contractor hires in wake of Edward Snowden security breach and Alexis’s murder rampage, says Defense News.  Pentagon IG reports says 52 felons gained access to military facilities with the Navy particularly vulnerable, reports The Hill. Budget cuts are being blamed for some of the vetting lapses.

 

Federal employees face the strong possibility that Congress will refuse to grant them back pay if the government shuts down in less than two weeks, says Government Executive.

 

A privately owned robotic spaceship, the Cygnus, will blast off from Wallops Island, Va., Wednesday to deliver cargo to the International Space Station.  Private payloads have been delivered previously by Space-X , but Cygnus is a new rival, marking the first day of competition in re-supplying orbiting astronauts, USA TODAY reports.

 

The size of the addressable business market for the new SAIC will expand by about $25 billion once the company completes its spinoff from the current SAIC later this month, incoming CEO Tony Moraco said last week. The Navy is the new SAIC’s largest single customer, Defense Daily reports.

 

Interest was high at the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) conference, held as part of last week’s Defence Security and Equipment International exhibition in London. The UAS conference focused on future capabilities, including civilian applications of drones as well as technological innovations, Defence Talk reports.

 

A new Stimson Center collection of essays released on Tuesday, Anti-Satellite Weapons, Deterrence and Sino-American Space Relations, explores how developments in space will reflect and shape the mix of competition and cooperation between Washington and Beijing, Defense One reports.

 

Universities are not graduating enough students to fill government agencies’ needs, particularly analysts trained to mine the data agencies collect, Federal Computer Week reports.

 

Former CIA and NSA chief Michael Hayden says the U.S. intelligence community has become deeply demoralized by the media response and public reaction to Edward Snowden’s revelations, Breaking Defense reports.