North Korea Resumes Weapons Testing

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 South Korean military says that North Korea fired three unidentified projectiles off its east coast as part of firing drills, Reuters reports, a week after it resumed missile tests following a three-month break. Japan believes this latest launch “threatens the peace and security of Japan and the region.”

China is denying that its forces fired a laser at a US Navy plane flying over the Philippine Sea last month, Navy Times reports. The US blasted the Chinese actions as “unsafe and unprofessional.”

Two US military members have tested positive for the coronavirus, reports Navy Times, a sailor in Italy and a Marine in Virginia. The Marine is the first known service member with COVID-19 in the continental US. The Marine recently returned from overseas, where he was on official business, the Daily Progress reports.

Early CDC reports have said that the elderly and adults with compromised immune systems are at greatest risk of developing the virus. That largely doesn’t include service members, Joint Chiefs Surgeon Brig. Gen. Paul Friedrichs said.

By 2021, US Navy destroyers will be armed with new ship-fired lasers able to sense and incinerate enemy drones, low-flying aircraft and small boat attacks — all while firing at the speed of light, reports The National Interest.

The Air Force will restart the national competition for Space Command’s location, reports Defense News.

President Donald Trump suggested last week that it is possible the Taliban could seize power and overrun the Afghan military, reports Military Times. His remarks come amid turmoil over a peace deal signed between the Taliban and US. DefSec Mark Esper said that the Taliban were not honoring their part of the deal signed Feb. 29 with the US following a recent spate of violence across Afghanistan, reports Military Times.

Defense News reports that the Pentagon plans to issue prototype contracts this week for mobile, small nuclear reactors, as part of a plan toward achieving nuclear power for the military at home and abroad.

 

 

The number of civilian vacancies at the Pentagon has hit a new high for the Trump administration as concerns are raised that the department doesn’t have enough qualified people in place to tackle the nation’s biggest national security problems, reports Politico. Sen. Jack Reed (RI), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Service Committee, said that too many beleaguered civil servants are doing the work of political appointees, reports Defense News.

Families of people who died during military service would receive free access to national parks if Congress approves a proposal from Maine lawmakers Rep. Jared Golden and Sen. Angus King, reports Military Times.

Kathy La Sauce was the first woman to fly presidential support missions on the VC-135 aircraft for the 89th Airlift Wing, reports Military.com. She recently spoke with airmen at Joint Base Andrews about her past work as the commander of the 89th Aerial Port Squadron (then the 93rd), a job she held in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

NAWCAD’s WOLF Air Traffic Control and Landing Systems team delivered the JSF landing system ahead of schedule to Italy’s navy, reports The Tester.

An original Salvador Dali wood engraving was discovered among donated items at an Outer Banks thrift shop, reports the Virginian-Pilot.

The warmer weather is not all good news, as the region now faces pollen, reports WTOP News. Susan Kosisky, a microbiologist who specializes in pollen research, said that levels of tree pollen have already begun to creep up in the region due to the early arrival of spring.

Contracts:

Manhattan Construction Co., Arlington, Virginia, was awarded an $85,407,155 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a new four-story, 201,000 square-foot general instruction building to support the US Army War College. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work will be performed in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, with an estimated completion date of March 29, 2023. Fiscal 2020 military construction, Army funds in the amount of $85,407,155 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W912DR-20-C-0007).

Lockheed Martin Corp. and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, are awarded a not-to-exceed $173,164,400 modification to a previously awarded, fixed-price-incentive-firm-target advance acquisition contract (N00019-20-C-0009). Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (30%); El Segundo, California (25%); Warton, United Kingdom (20%); Orlando, Florida (10%); Nashua, New Hampshire (5%); Cameri, Italy (5%); and Baltimore, Maryland (5%). This modification procures long lead materials, parts, components and support necessary to maintain on-time production and delivery of Lot 15 F-35 aircraft for the Navy, Marine Corps and government of Italy. Work is expected to be complete by December 2023. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $53,064,400; and non-Department of Defense participant funds in the amount of $120,100,000 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.

Lockheed Martin Corp. Rotary and Mission Systems, Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded a $25,449,876 firm-fixed-price contract for Launch Sequencer (LSEQ) Mark (MK) 5 Mod production in support of the Vertical Launch System (VLS). The LSEQs are used in support of the VLS, which provides area and self-defense, anti-air warfare capabilities, counter-air and land attack cruise missile defense and surface and subsurface warfare capabilities. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to South Korea and Finland. Work will be performed in Oldsmar, Florida, and is expected to be completed by March 2021. This contract will provide for the manufacture, assembly, test and delivery of VLS LSEQ MK 5 Mod 2, Part Number 7104340-29. This contract includes options, which if exercised, will bring the cumulative value of this contract to $74,415,030. If all options are exercised, work will continue through March 2022. Fiscal 2017 and 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); fiscal 2020 procurement defense wide (Navy); and fiscal 2020 FMS funding in the amount of $25,449,876 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with three offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity (N63394-20-C-0004).

Lockheed Martin Corp., Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded a $22,436,852 letter contract for the integration, demonstration, testing and operation of the Layered Laser Defense (LLD) weapon system prototype onboard a Navy littoral combat ship while that vessel is underway. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey (30%); Baltimore, Maryland (25%); Sunnyvale, California (12%); Woodinville, Washington (10%); Manassas, Virginia (5%); Dallas, Texas (15%); San Diego, California (2%); and Santa Cruz, California (1%). Key areas of work to be performed include development of a prototype structure and enclosure to protect the LLD from ships motion and maritime environment in a mission module format; system integration and test with government-furnished equipment; platform integration and system operational verification and test; systems engineering; test planning; data collection and analysis support; and operational demonstration. Work is expected to be complete by July 2021. The total cumulative value of this contract is $22,436,852. The base period is $22,436,852 and no options are proposed. The action will be incrementally funded with an initial obligation of $11,218,426 utilizing fiscal 2019 research, development, and test and evaluation (Defense-wide) funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under N00014-20-S-B001, “Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Navy and Marine Corps Science & Technology.” Since proposals are received throughout the year under the long range BAA, the number of proposals received in response to the solicitation is unknown. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00014-20-C-1003).

General Dynamics Information Technology, Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded a firm-fixed-price task order, HC1013-20-F-0073, to support the Air Force Air Defense Communication Services (ADCS). The face value of this action is $7,171,537, funded by fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds. The total cumulative value of the order is $14,486,526. This task order was awarded under the competitively awarded, single-award blanket purchase agreement (HC1013-15-A-0004) against General Services Administration’s Information Technology Schedule 70 contract for ADCS. The place of performance is throughout the continental US, as well as Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam. The period of performance for this action is April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021. There are two, six-month option periods from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity.