New Effort to Coordinate DoD Research, Development

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 Pentagon is drafting a list of desired technologies as part of a new effort to coordinate DoD’s research and development, including at US laboratories and government-funded research centers, reports Defense One. The goal of the modernization strategy is to “make sure that we are aligned across the services,” said Ellen Lord, undersecretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics. Ms. Lord also said the Pentagon is in discussions with Congress about pivoting away from technology development programs that may no longer be relevant, reports Defense News.

Naval Air Systems Command is looking to leverage virtual reality technology to build flight simulation trainers that are deployable, improve fidelity, make better use of actual training flights, and save money, Seapower magazine reports. The Naval Aviation Training Systems program office is developing new trainers for the F/A-18 Super Hornet, TH-57 Sea Ranger training helicopter, and T-45 Goshawk jet trainer.

Defense hawks are bristling as Congress appears poised to pass another stopgap spending measure to keep the government open beyond Friday, reports The Hill. “We must start doing our job again, pass budgets and go through the normal appropriations process, and provide our military with adequate, predictable funding,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) believes it’s time to start moving the families of American military personnel out of South Korea as North Korea pushes the US closer to a military conflict, reports Military Times. He also is asking the Pentagon not to send any more dependents to that area.

Boeing will miss its goal to deliver the first KC-46 tanker to the Air Force by the end of the year, reports Defense News. “We’re not going to be delivering a tanker this year,” Leanne Caret, president and CEO of Boeing Defense and Security, said. DefSec James Mattis said Boeing “has been excellent” working with the Air Force to fix as many as three potential deficiencies with the new $44.5 billion aerial-refueling tanker, reports Bloomberg.

India’s recent test of a supersonic cruise missile is a game-changer in the Indian Ocean, giving New Delhi the ability to hit targets quite a distance from Indian territory, reports Nikkei Asian Review. The move continues a military buildup aimed at defending against incursions by China into the Indian Ocean.

An aircraft exercise during the weekend over the South China Sea was an attempt to show China’s ability to fend off attacks from the sea and to mobilize different theater commands in a crisis, reports South China Morning Post. A fleet of the aircraft from China’s Western Theatre Command flew thousands of miles to simulate an airdrop over an island in the contested waters.

A US Navy commander was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in a fraud and bribery scheme that cost the government about $35 million, reports Navy Times. Cmdr. Bobby Pitts Virginia was the latest person to be sentenced in connection with a decade-long scam linked to a Singapore defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard” Francis.

The US Navy says it has disciplined the two Navy aviators who used their EA-18G Growler to draw a giant sky penis over Washington state, reports Navy Times.

An EA-6B Prowler was delivered to the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum in October. On Dec. 1, the museum hosted a Prowler party to celebrate the new addition to the static aircraft display, reports Bay Net.

Contracts:

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Mississippi, is being awarded a $37,606,934 not-to-exceed modification (P00022) to a previously awarded firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery, requirements contract (N00019-14-D-0011). This modification provides for additional organizational, intermediate, and depot level maintenance, logistics, and engineering services to support and maintain approximately 200 Navy T-45 Goshawk aircraft, aircraft systems, and related support equipment to support flight and test and evaluation operations. In addition, this modification provides for equipment, tools, direct material, and indirect material in support of Navy T-45 aircraft, aircraft systems, and related support equipment. Work will be performed at Naval Air Station (NAS) Kingsville, Texas (45.7 percent); NAS Meridian, Mississippi (41.7 percent); NAS Pensacola, Florida (10.1 percent); and NAS Patuxent River, Maryland (2.5 percent), and is expected to be completed September 2018. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued.  The Naval Air Warfare Center Training System Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $22,999,282 modification (P000012) to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-17-C-0045) to procure 53,164 level-of-effort hours to support air system software integration and 53,122 level-of-effort hours to support flight test operations in support of the F-35 aircraft platform for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and non-US Department of Defense (DoD) participants. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (40 percent); Palmdale, California (30 percent); and Patuxent River, Maryland (30 percent), and is expected to be completed in in February 2018. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance (Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps); and non-US DoD participant funds in the amount of $22,999,282 will be obligated at time of award, $18,392,066 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the Air Force ($9,196,034; 40 percent); US Navy; ($4,598,016; 20 percent); the Marine Corps ($4,598,016; 20 percent); and non-US DoD participants ($4,607,216; 20 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.