Norway Looks Solid for F-35 Purchase Commitment

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.

A leaked government document indicates that Norway remains firm in its commitment to procure the F-35. The document alluded to a transition that protects the F-16 component of Norway’s defense while gradually phasing in the F-35, Aviation Week reports. The size of the F-35 procurement is expected to be debated by the Norwegian legislature in early 2016.  The first Norwegian F-35 rolled off the Lockheed Martin production line Tuesday in Fort Worth, praised by Norwegian and U.S. officials, including Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, F-35 program XO, who said, ““I’d put this airplane up against any airplane in the world today, tomorrow and for the next 20 or 30 years and we’ll come out ahead,” FlightGlobal reported.

Canadian Liberal leader Justin Trudeau said his party would scrap a program to buy advanced F-35 jets from Lockheed Martin Corp if it wins power in the Oct. 19 federal election, Reuters reports. The party said in a statement it would launch an open and transparent competition to replace Canada’s aging CF-18 fighter jets with something more affordable than the F-35. This comes on top of news that international exchange rates would dramatically increase the cost of the F-35s for Canada.

The White House has adjusted its concentration on the struggle with ISIS in Iraq to plan expanded support for rebels in Syria. The Obama Administration is considering providing arms and ammunition to a wider assortment of rebel groups, the Washington Post reports.

Retired Army General David Petraeus offered a mea culpa at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing for behavior that led to his resignation as CIA director, then blasted the Obama Administration’s Middle East policy. He urged a more aggressive commitment in Iraq and Syria, blaming some of the chaos in the region on U.S. inaction, Politico reported. Syria is a “geopolitical Chernobyl,” he said.

Aerial footage posted by The Aviationist shows the Russian air power buildup in Syria (video). Turkey calls the rapid Russian buildup “very dangerous.”

As expected, on Tuesday a measure to move ahead on defense appropriations fell six votes shy of the 60 needed in the Senate. With stalled budget negotiations making a government shutdown ever more likely, Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says he’ll support one continuing resolution to keep the government open, but only one, reported DefenseOne. McCain is anxious to pass a budget that will get DoD out from under the straitjacket of sequestration.

Can contractors continue to work if the government shuts down at midnight Sept. 30? The rules have changed, says Washington Technology. While there were government shutdowns in the 1980s and in 1990s, the shutdown in 2013 was very different because contractors play a much larger role in government operations today.

An E-2D Advanced Hawkeye and two EA-18G Growlers participated in ground testing to prepare for the Netted Sensors At-Sea Experiment that was conducted at NAS Patuxent River last week. This experiment is the latest in a series of events designed to establish airborne networks to support machine-to-machine sensor data fusion. The primary goal was to passively locate and identify targets at stand-off ranges without assistance from non-theater assets, NAVAIR said in a statement.

CIA intelligence-gathering guru Charles Allen sees the inevitable phasing out of manned reconnaissance. In an interview with Breaking Defense, Allen said, “I think we’ll move almost solely to unmanned reconnaissance, whether it’s long range in the class of Global Hawk or whether it deals with Predator A’s (or) Predator B’s” (the MQ-9 Reaper).

Contracts:

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Mississippi, is being awarded a $160,238,440 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery requirements contract (N00019-14-D-0011) to exercise an option for the organizational, intermediate, and depot level maintenance and logistics services in support of approximately 200 T-45 aircraft based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Meridian, Mississippi; NAS Kingsville, Texas; NAS Pensacola, Florida; and NAS Patuxent River, Maryland.  Logistics services to be provided include sustaining engineering, supply and government property management, and procurement of associated parts and materials.  Work will be performed in Kingsville, Texas (48 percent); Meridian, Mississippi (44 percent); Pensacola, Florida (7 percent); and Patuxent River, Maryland (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2016.  Contract funds will not be obligated at time of award.  Funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued.  The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. 

Diversified Service Contracting Inc.,* Dunn, North Carolina, is being awarded a $10,397,791 modification under previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N40080-11-D-3020 to exercise option four for base operations support at the Naval Air Station, Patuxent River.  The work to be performed provides for all management supervision, labor hours, training, equipment and supplies necessary to perform base operating services to include, but not limited to, providing janitorial services, grounds maintenance services, base support vehicles and equipment, street sweeping/snow removal services, and pest control services.  After award of this option, the total cumulative contract value will be $46,551,682.  Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by September 2016.  No funds will be obligated at time of award.  Subject to availability of funds, fiscal 2016 operation and maintenance (Navy) and fiscal 2016 Navy working capital contract funds in the amount of $9,355,276 for recurring work will be obligated on individual task orders issued during the option period.  The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Public Works Department, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.