Newest Carriers Can’t Handle F-35C

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 Navy is upgrading its 36-year old Vinson aircraft carriers to accommodate the F-35C because its newest Ford-class aircraft carriers cannot handle the Navy’s newest jet, reports Breaking Defense. The Vinson is undergoing a $34 million refit for a 2021 deployment. The brand-new $13 billion USS Gerald R. Ford, already delayed and trouble-prone, will be refit in years to come for the F-35.

From May 2014 to September 2019, the VA has given out 200,000 doses of the anti-overdose drug naloxone, reports Military.com. Naloxone is used to treat narcotic overdoses in emergency situations.

There is unease at Norway’s icy border with a Russian military buildup, reports Reuters.  NATO has also increased its military presence in the Arctic as Russia  modernizes its forces on the Kola Peninsula, home to its Northern Fleet. A contingent of 650 US Marines staged a recent joint military exercise with 3,000 soldiers from NATO-member Norway. Russia has also carried out maneuvers in recent weeks, staging a major submarine exercise in the North Atlantic.

The Air Force continues to update its stockpile of MOPs, “bunker busters,” reports The Drive. Iran’s significant breach of the 2015 international agreement over its controversial nuclear program spurred development of the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs in the first place.

To help repay his student debt, Krispy Kreme is donating 500 boxes of doughnuts to an independent operator, Jayson Gonzalez. Business Insider reports Minnesota does not have any Krispy Kreme stores, so Gonzalez, of Champlin, MN, would drive 270 miles every weekend to a Krispy Kreme store in Iowa and buy up to 100 boxes to resell in his hometown to repay his student loans.

In partnership with the US Department of the Interior and Fish and Wildlife Service, and others, the National Park Service gives free lifetime passes to over 400 National Parks for vets with at least a 10% disability rating, reports Military Times.

The Navy recently prosecuted or administratively punished six submarine officers at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in Seattle for narcotics offenses, reports Navy Times. Three other officers overseen by Submarine Group 9 have been administratively disciplined for drug offenses this year. The probe began after a junior officer popped positive for an unnamed illegal drug during a routine urinalysis.

NASA confirms Voyager 2 has left the solar system, reports Extreme Tech.

Will a new strike force stop collusion on government contracts? Federal Times reports the Department of Justice has created a strike force in partnership with US attorneys general across the country to thwart the waste of trillions of dollars where contractors rig their bidding prices or participate in other fraudulent schemes. The team will investigate potential government contracting fraud and teach agency contracting officers to detect such behavior on their own.

US officials say the lead up to 2019 election was hack-free, reports Fifth Domain. Shortly before polls closed for state and local elections across the country, federal government agencies tasked with election security reported no evidence of “a compromise or disruption to election infrastructure” that would prevent voting, change vote counts, or disrupt the ability to tally votes.

More protection is needed for service members, veterans, and their families from predatory loans, according to a Military Times commentary. The Military Lending Act has made a difference for military families, but storm clouds are on the horizon as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reverses course, refusing to conduct preventive audits.

Finland warns fighter contenders to keep their budget-busting offers real, reports Defense News. Finland’s recently elected, conservative-left coalition government stressed the need the five international contenders to respect the program’s $11.1 billion limit. All five bidders — Saab (Gripen), Dassault Rafale, the pan-European Eurofighter Typhoon, Boeing (F/A-18 Super Hornet), and Lockheed Martin (F-35) — have struggled with the project’s rigid budgetary ceiling.

Contracts:

Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $184,581,519 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price-incentive-firm, firm-fixed-price modification (P00024) to a previously awarded fixed-price incentive firm contract (N00019-18-C-1048) to establish organic depot level repair capabilities for F-35 systems under the low-rate initial production Lot 11 non-annualized sustainment contract in support of the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and non-Department of Defense (DoD) participants. Systems included are: common components, conventional controls, surfaces and edges, electrical/mechanical activation, firewall shutoff valve, radar, wing flap actuator system, hydraulic power generation system, arresting gear, standby flight display, fuel system, exterior lighting, gun system control unit, filter modules, thermal management system fan, alternating current contactor module and rudder pedals. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (31%); Melbourne, Florida (19%); Linthicum Heights, Maryland (11%); Torrance, California (7%); Palmdale, California (7%); Grand Rapids, Michigan (6%); Milwaukee, Wisconsin (3%); Los Angeles, California (3%); Helmond, Netherlands (2%); Cheltenham, United Kingdom (2%); Lancashire, United Kingdom (2%); Montville, New Jersey (1%); East Aurora, New York (1%); New Port Richey, Florida (1%), Williston, Vermont (1%); Tucson, Arizona (1%); Irvine, California (1%); and Mansfield, Ohio (1%), and is expected to be completed in March 2023. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy); and non-DoD participant funds in the amount of $184,581,519 are being obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the Air Force ($88,192,135; 47.78%); the Marine Corps ($44,096,063; 23.89%); Navy ($44,096,063; 23.89%); and non-DoD participants ($8,197,258; 4.44%). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Sodexo Management Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland, is awarded an $117,775,993 firm-fixed-price modification P00021 under previously awarded contract M95494-18-C-0018 for the management and operation of mess halls in support of the Marine Corps Regional Garrison Food Services Program. Work will be performed in Washington, District of Columbia; Indian Head, Maryland; Quantico, Virginia; Norfolk, Virginia; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Cherry Point, North Carolina; Bogue, North Carolina; New River, North Carolina; Beaufort, South Carolina; and Parris Island, South Carolina. Fiscal 2020 military personnel (Marine Corps) funding for $19,743,759 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Marine Corps Installation Command, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Sodexo Management Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland, is awarded an $116,470,442 firm-fixed-price modification P00018 under previously awarded contract M95494-18-C-0016 for the management and operation of mess halls in support of the Marine Corps Regional Garrison Food Services Program. Work will be performed in Camp Pendleton, California; San Diego, California; Twentynine Palms, California; Miramar, California; Yuma, Arizona; and Bridgeport, California. Fiscal 2020 military personnel (Marine Corps) funding for $20,256,240 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Marine Corps Installation Command, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Aerospace Systems, Melbourne, Florida, is awarded a $32,453,129 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price delivery order (N00019-18-F-2334) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-15-G-0026). This modification exercises the option for five aerial refueling retrofit kits, installations and technical data in support of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. Work will be performed St. Augustine, Florida (34.7%); Ronkonkoma, New York (28.86%); Melbourne, Florida (5.5%); Dorset, England (3.11%); Irvine, California (2.99%); Columbia, Maryland (1.93%); North Hollywood, California (1.48%); East Aurora, New York (1.19%); and various locations with the continental U.S. (20.24%), and is expected to be completed in March 2021. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds for $32,453,129 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.