Only Half of F-35s Available for Flight

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.

VADM Mat Winter, director of the F-25 Joint Program Office, said last week that of the 280 operational F-35s purchased by the US and international partners, only 51 percent are currently available for flight, reports Military.com.

Hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed his military has successfully tested a hypersonic cruise missile, Steven Walker, director of the Pentagon’s DARPA, says the US is on track for a series of hypersonic prototype tests in the coming years, reports Defense News. The general in charge of US Strategic Command is calling for improved missile defense capabilities after Putin’s claim, reports Aviation Week.

The White House criticized Russia and Iran over the deteriorating conditions in Syria, reports Politco. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke about the situation Sunday, and the two leaders agreed the situation is a “humanitarian catastrophe” for which they blame Syria and Russia.

The Senate Armed Services Committee’s top Democrat, Jack Reed, said the Pentagon must find ways to economize even though it did not ask for a new round of BRAC in its $686 billion budget request for fiscal 2019, reports Army Times.

History is being made this week. For the first time since the end of the Vietnam War, a US aircraft carrier is making a port call in Vietnam, reports The New York Times. This signals how China’s rise is bringing together former foes in a significant shift in the region’s geopolitical landscape. “It’s a pretty big and historic step, since a carrier has not been here for 40 years,” said RADM John V. Fuller, commander of the Carl Vinson strike group.

DoD agencies can’t wait until a cyber attack occurs, reports Defense Systems. At a recent cybersecurity technology event, Ray Letteer, chief of the USMC Cybersecurity Division said, “Before I start putting something out [on] a network, we need to see what an adversary could attack.” Although quantum computing will provide vastly more processing power, “we recognize that [it can also] be used against us, and we need to start doing something ourselves to be proactive,”  he said.

Breaking Defense reports, by 2020, the US Navy will put its first lethal laser on a warship. Contractor Lockheed Martin hasn’t disclose details, but the Helios is at least twice as powerful — possibly five times — as the 30-kW LAWS laser demonstrator deployed in 2014 to the Persian Gulf.

The State Department has approved a possible $47 million foreign military sale to Ukraine of Javelin missiles and Javelin command launch units, reports UPI, the latest in a series of moves to help the country defend itself against Russian aggression.

An Air Force airman has come up with an idea to prevent neck and back injuries for boom instructors that could save the service more than $132 million each year, reports Stars and Stripes. The Air Force will spend $1.5 million to test Master Sgt. Bartek Bachleda’s invention that will hopefully be used in all of its KC-135 air refueling tankers.

ExecutiveBiz reports Lockheed Martin has shipped NASA’s robotic Mars lander to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to undergo final processing ahead of the spacecraft’s May 5 launch aboard a United Launch Alliance-built Atlas V 401 rocket.

The State Department has yet to spend any of the $120 million allotted to counter foreign efforts to meddle in US elections, reports The New York Times.

Contracts:

Lockheed Martin Corp., Baltimore, Maryland, is being awarded a $481,169,145 not-to-exceed undefinitized contract action for long-lead-time material in support of the construction of four Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) ships. The MMSC is a lethal and highly-maneuverable surface combatant capable of littoral and open-ocean operation. This contract involves foreign military sales to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Work will be performed in Walpole, Massachusetts (32 percent); Washington, District of Columbia (20 percent); Moorestown, New Jersey (15 percent); Germany (10 percent); Beloit, Wisconsin (9 percent); Sweden (8 percent); St. Charles, Missouri (4 percent), and Canada (2 percent), and is expected to be completed by October 2024. Foreign military sales funds for the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the amount of $240,584,569 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured, in accordance with 10 US Code 2304(c)(4) (the terms of an international agreement or a treaty between the United States and a foreign government or international organization, or the written directions of a foreign government reimbursing the agency for the cost of the procurement of the property or services for such government, have the effect of requiring the use of procedures other than competitive procedures). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-18-C-2301).

The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, is being awarded a $282,275,771 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-14-C-0067) for procurement of long lead parts associated with the manufacture of 19 Lot 10 P-8A aircraft for the US Navy (10) and the governments of Norway (5) and the United Kingdom (4). Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington (82.5 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (2.7 percent); Greenlawn, New York (2.4 percent); Cambridge, United Kingdom (1.6 percent); North Amityville, New York (.9 percent); Rockville, Illinois (.7 percent); Rancho Santa Margarita, California (.6 percent); Dickinson, North Dakota (.6 percent), and various locations throughout the United States (8 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2022. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) and foreign military sales funds in the amount of $282,275,771 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the US Navy ($140,333,000; 49.7 percent); the governments of Norway ($81,110,155; 28.7 percent) and the United Kingdom ($60,832,616; 21.6 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia (N6523618D4806); CENTRA Technology Inc., Burlington, Massachusetts (N6523618D4807); ECS Federal LLC, Fairfax, Virginia (N6523618D4808); ManTech SRS Technologies Inc., Herndon, Virginia (N6523618D4809); and Schafer Government Services LLC, Arlington, Virginia (N6523618D4810), are each being awarded a combined $204,308,895 multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee, with provisions for firm-fixed-price delivery/task orders, performance-based contract. The contracts are for technical, programmatic, financial, and administrative support services for existing and future Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Tactical Technology Office programs. These contracts include options, which if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of these contracts to an estimated $225,761,154. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by February, 2023. If all options are exercised, work could continue until August 2024. Fiscal 2018 research, development, test and evaluation contract funds in the amount of $25,000 will be obligated at the time of award. Each contractor will be awarded $5,000 at the time of award. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The multiple award contracts were competitively procured by full and open competition via the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center e-Commerce Central website and the Federal Business Opportunities website, with five offers received. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, Charleston, South Carolina, is the contracting activity.

Telephonics Corp., Farmingdale, New York, is being awarded a $13,305,279 firm-fixed-price contract that provides for the establishment of core depot-level maintenance and repair capability at Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW), San Diego, California, for AN/APS-153 Advance Radar Periscope Detection and Discrimination system installed on the MH-60R helicopter. Work will be performed in Farmingdale, New York (34.4 percent); Boston, Massachusetts (29 percent), Owego, New York (24.1 percent). Corona, California (9 percent), Baltimore, Maryland (3.3 percent); and at FRCSW San Diego, California (0.2 percent); and is expected to be completed in September 2020. Fiscal 2016 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $13,305,279 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N68335-18-C-0244).

InDyne Inc., Sterling, Virginia, has been awarded a $417,799,124 firm-fixed-price contract for operations and maintenance of the Solid State Phased Array Radar System (SSPARS). This contract provides for all non-personal services, administrative, financial, and managerial resources necessary on a continuous 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week basis to support the five SSPARS installations/sites. Work will be performed at Beale Air Force Base, California; Cape Cod Air Force Station, Massachusetts; Clear AFS, Alaska; Royal Air Force Fylingdales, United Kingdom; and Thule Air Base, Greenland. Work is expected to be complete by April 30, 2026. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and six offers were received. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $34,598,258 are being obligated at the time of award. The 21st Contracting Squadron, Peterson AFB, Colorado, is the contracting activity (FA2517-18-C-8000).

Datum Software Inc., Johns Creek, Georgia (FA8771-12-D-1001 P00017); Diligent Consulting Inc., San Antonio, Texas (FA8771-12-D-1003 P00017); Diversified Technical Services Inc., San Antonio, Texas (FA8771-12-D-1004 P00018); Excellus Solutions LLC, McLean, Virginia (FA8771-12-D-1006 P00017); Segue Technologies Inc., Arlington, Virginia (FA8771-12-D-1009 P00017); and SI Systems Technologies, Folsom, California (FA8771-12-D-1010 P00017), have been awarded a combined, not-to-exceed $400,000,000 modification to increase the ceiling amount on their previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. These modifications provides contracting offices with a primary source for NetCentric application services such as sustainment, migration, integration, training, help-desk support, testing and operation support. Work will be performed at various locations in the U.S. and around the world, and is expected to be complete by June 20, 2022. No funds are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, is the contracting office.

George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, has been awarded a $25,520,067 cost-reimbursement contract for Mobile Unmanned/Manned Distributed Lethality Airborne Network (MUDLAN). This contract demonstrates airborne high bandwidth, multi-beam common data link, autonomous connectivity between tactical data links Transition and Distribution/Access/Range Extension (DARE) Joint Area Layer Network (JALN) layers within pod-mounted systems high bandwidth, directional, multi-beam communications long haul, high date rate connectivity to swarming unmanned aircraft systems and small unmanned aircraft systems. Work will be performed in Fairfax, Virginia, and is expected to be complete by March 2, 2021. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-18-C-0033).