Osprey Crash Wreckage Turned Over to US Military

CV-22 Ospreys assigned to the 21st Special Operations Squadron taxi on the runway at Yokota Air Base in Japan on May 21, 2020, during a training exercise. (US Air Force photo by Yasuo Osakabe)

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.

Japan has suspended flights by its Osprey aircraft after a US Air Force CV-22 Osprey based in Japan crashed last week during a training mission, reports Military Times. The US military was asked to ground all Ospreys operating in Japan except for those joining the search operations at the crash site. On Sunday, Japanese authorities turned over pieces of the wreckage to the US military, reports Air Force Times.

The remains of US Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob “Jake” M. Galliher, who died in the crash, have been identified, while the seven others aboard are still missing, reports The Hill on MSN. The crew was assigned to the Air Force’s 353rd Special Operations Wing at Yokota Air Base outside Tokyo. Galliher was a native of Pittsfield, MA, reports Air Force Times.

More questions than answers remain about the Osprey crash, reports Air Force Times. The mishap is the latest fatal incident involving a US-owned Osprey, in which dozens of service members have been injured or killed in accidents around the world over the past three decades.

Army and Navy visited Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA, in advance of their rivalry football game on Saturday, reports AP News.

Brian Newberry, in his first year as head coach at the US Naval Academy, has led the team to a 5-6 record, reports Navy Times. Once a National Park tour guide, Newberry followed quite a path to reach his current role with the Navy team.

Rather than play another year, Utah State quarterback Levi Williams said he will enter US Navy SEAL training, reports USA Today. “My mom, she was Army. My grandparents, they were Navy and Army, so it kind of runs in the family. I just want to be in a spot where I can protect this great country where we get to play football,” the Texas native said.

A Ronald Reagan Institute report says that just over 50% of Americans would recommend military service to loved ones, reports Military Times. The annual Reagan National Defense Survey found that while 51% of respondents would encourage military service, 31% would actively discourage it.

The St. Mary’s County commissioners officially opened Phase 3A of FDR Boulevard in Lexington Park, reports Southern Maryland News. Video of the ribbon cutting ceremony may be viewed here.

The US Navy has estimated that it will cost $1.5 million to salvage the P-8A that crashed on a coral reef in Hawaii last month, reports AP News. The jet slammed into an environmentally sensitive Kaneohe Bay when it overshot the runway at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. Work to remove the aircraft from the water began Saturday morning, reports KHON2.

Canada has finalized an agreement to buy up to 16 Boeing-made P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, reports Breaking Defense. The deal is worth $5.9 billion.

Growing threats to Canada’s security are driving its decisions to buy a new fleet of military surveillance planes, says Defence Minister Bill Blair, reports CBC.

The White House is circulating a graphic that shows how states benefit from the US continuing aid to Ukraine, reports Politico. For example, Pennsylvania and Arizona reap billions of dollars from Washington’s efforts to arm Ukraine, according to the map, which is part of President Joe Biden’s push to sell his aid proposal to the American public.

The Israel-Hamas War could divert attention from Ukraine’s war with Russia, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, reports The Hill. Zelensky said competing political agendas and limited resources put the flow of Western military aid to Kyiv at risk, reports AP News.

Chief of Naval Operations ADM Lisa Franchetti just completed a weeklong tour of the Indo-Pacific, reports USNI News. In a Thanksgiving Day interview from South Korea, Franchetti said that the Indo-Pacific remains the United States’ foremost priority and “that is why no matter what is happening around the world, the United States Navy continues to deploy and operate forward here in the Indo-Pacific.”

The US Marine Corps is eyeing an ocean glider for rapid emergency resupply in isolated regions such as the Indo-Pacific, reports Marine Corps Times.

California-based Anduril Industries has unveiled its latest autonomous system, reports Defense News. The Roadrunner is a reusable aircraft that can carry a range of payloads, takeoff vertically, and intercept and destroy airborne threats. The technology firm said the Roadrunner can quickly launch and fly at high subsonic speeds and its payloads can be reconfigured for a variety of missions.

The US Army has awarded Lockheed Martin and Northrop contracts to develop spy gear for drones that can be catapulted from a moving vehicle or larger aircraft, reports Defense News. The initial awards are aimed at maturing existing technologies.

A new US Navy program office will plan and manage aircraft carrier inactivations, defuelings, and dismantlements, as the service readies for that work to become more common, reports Defense News. RADM Jim Downey, who previously served as the program executive officer for aircraft carriers, now awaits Senate confirmation to lead Naval Sea Systems Command.

Veterans Affairs officials said the department found permanent housing for 38,000 veterans facing financial problems and uncertain shelter options this year, reports Military Times. The news means that VA staffers have helped house more than 78,000 homeless veterans since the start of 2022.

CAPT Tate Robinson has taken command of the San Diego-based Amphibious Squadron 5 after CAPT James Harney was relieved as commodore on Friday, roughly six months after Harney assumed command of the unit, reports Navy Times. The service offered no explanation for Harney’s firing, other than that his superiors had lost confidence in his ability to command.

Samuel Hotz, principal deputy program manager of the AV-8B Program Office (PMA-257) at the Naval Air Systems Command at NAS Pax River, was awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award last month, reports The Southern Maryland Chronicle. The award is the highest recognition bestowed upon civilian employees within the DoD.

Contracts:

FCN Inc., Rockville, Maryland, has been awarded a $15,675,275 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract FA8307-23-F-0008 to exercise the first option period. The contract provides Elastic program enterprise license agreement endgame endpoint security software licenses and product training in support of three legacy weapon systems for the future Integrated Defensive Cyber System. Work will be performed at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Chapman Annex, Texas; Scott Air Force Base, Illinois; and Hurlburt Field, Florida, and is expected to be completed by November 2025. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $15,675,275 are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Cryptologic and Cyber Systems Division, Joint-Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Nov. 28, 2023)

Amentum Services Inc., Chantilly, Virginia, was awarded a $13,624,789 modification (P00308) to contract W58RGZ-19-C-0018 for aviation maintenance services. Work will be performed in South Korea; Fort Cavazos, Texas; and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2024. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $13,624,789 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

Assurance Technology Corp., Carlisle, Massachusetts, is being awarded a $70,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for optical and radio frequency payload systems development support and integration. The contract does not include options and has a cumulative value of $70,000,000. A $22,053,060 cost-plus-fixed-fee task order was issued concurrently. Work for the initial task order will be performed at the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Washington, DC, and is expected to be completed by November 2028. Fiscal 2024 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $132,400 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with one offer received via Contract Opportunities on Sam.Gov. The NRL, Washington DC, is the contracting activity (N0017324D2002, N0017324F2008).

Ipsos Public Affairs LLC, Norwalk, Connecticut, was awarded $12,806,156 for a twelve-month, firm-fixed-price contract option (GS-00F-123DA-HT001123F0033) to support the TRICARE Patient Experience Survey effort. This effort is to provide for Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys for the Defense Health Agency (DHA) of: (a) the recently discharged adult and child inpatient population; (b) the CAHPS Clinician and Group Survey; and (c) the CAHPS Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Survey. The contract was awarded on a competitive basis, effective June 1, 2023. Fiscal 2024 operations and maintenance funding will be provided later in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.232-18, Subject to the Availability of Funds. The place of performance is Falls Church, Virginia. The period of performance for the first option year is Dec. 1, 2023, to Nov. 30, 2024. DHA, Professional Services Contracting Division, Falls Church, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Raytheon Missiles & Defense, Marlborough, Massachusetts, is awarded a $225,308,559 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-19-C-5501) to exercise options for continued Air and Missile Defense Radar and Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar integration and production support. Work will be performed in Marlborough, Massachusetts (56%); Pascagoula, Mississippi (14%); Moorestown, New Jersey (9%); Newport News, Virginia (6%); Kauai, Hawaii (5%); Wallops Island, Virginia (4%); Bath, Maine (2%); Chesapeake, Virginia (2%); Portsmouth, Rhode Island (1%); and San Diego, California (1%), and is expected to be completed by November 2024. Fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $23,159,899 (35%); fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $19,743,202 (30%); fiscal 2024 research development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $8,659,881 (13%); fiscal 2022 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,449,322 (7%); fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,147,169 (3%); fiscal 2023 research development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,788,804 (3%); fiscal 2021 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,445,116 (2%); fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,427,937 (2%); fiscal 2023 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,405,700 (2%); fiscal 2024 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) in the amount of $983,593 (1%); fiscal 2024 operations and management (Navy) in the amount of $653,000 (1%); and fiscal 2024 other procurement (Navy) in the amount of $593,378 (1%), will be obligated at time of award, of which $2,441,804 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was procured under the statutory authority of 10 US Code 2304(c)(1), Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Amentum Services Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $33,385,950 modification (P00320) to contract W58RGZ-19-C-0025 for aviation maintenance services. Work will be performed in Germany; Honduras; Kuwait; Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia; Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; Fort Drum, New York; and Fort Campbell, Kentucky, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2024. Fiscal 2023 research, development, test, and evaluation, Army; 2023 aircraft procurement, Army; 2024 operation and maintenance, Army; and 2024 Foreign Military Sales (Kuwait) funds in the amount of $33,385,950, were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

FAUN Trackway USA Inc., Arlington, Virginia, is awarded a $24,169,736 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the production and delivery of up to 54 Vertical Takeoff and Landing Surfacing Systems kits and associated engineering support in support of the Marine Corps Expeditionary Airfield emergent requirements to support Expeditionary Advance Base Operations. Work will be performed in Llangefni, United Kingdom, and is expected to be completed in November 2028. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 US Code 2304(c) (1). Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N6833524D0003).

Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, is awarded an $8,484,104 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-20-C-6117) to exercise options for Navy spares. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (65%); Clearwater, Florida (32%); Syracuse, New York (2%); and Marion, Florida (1%), and is expected to be completed by Jan. 23, 2031. Fiscal 2024 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,484,104 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.