Pentagon Creates New Joint AI Office

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 Pentagon has created a new Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, or JAIC, that will have oversight over almost all service and defense agency AI efforts, reports Breaking Defense.

RADM William Wheeler III, commander of the US Navy’s patrol and reconnaissance group, is the new J5 director of plans and policy at the US Cyber Command in Fort Meade, reports ExecutiveGov.com.

The Air Force has issued a proposal for the DoD’s long-awaited cyber weapon system, reports Fifth Domain. Known as the Unified Platform, it is one of US Cyber Command’s most critical acquisition programs.

USCYBERCOM held a hiring event last month, but according to a news release, it is far from finished with its hiring. Looking forward, USCYBERCOM will be recruiting at the San Antonio CyberTexas Job Fair on Aug. 14, again on Fort Meade on Sept. 12, and in Baltimore at the Cyber Maryland Job Fair on Oct. 9.

Israel is asking the US not to sell F-35s to Turkey, reports Breaking Defense. “Turkey is a member of NATO on paper only, and now cooperates with countries that are against the US, not only in words. This delivery is something that Israel cannot understand,” an Israeli official said.

China’s increasingly aggressive rise puts the Pacific theater into play in a way it hasn’t been since 1945. A Breaking Defense essay takes a look at what a critical but overlooked World War II battle has to tell us about the Marine Corps’ new concept for waging the next Pacific war.

The absence of the Chinese navy won’t have much impact on this year’s Rim of the Pacific drills, reports Military.com. The US rescinded China’s invitation to RIMPAC over actions that nation has taken in the South China Sea.

The US Army wants prototypes for its Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, a rotorcraft to replace a retired scout helicopter, reports Flight Global. The FARA will be comparable in size to Future Vertical Lift Capability Set 1, a light-attack and scouting aircraft with a minimum internal payload of six passengers. But Breaking Defense reports there is a great deal of uncertainty about what the Army wants.

National Security Adviser John Bolton says the US has a plan that would lead to the dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs in a year, reports Military Times.

As Russia continues to push its newest attack submarines in the North Atlantic, the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is now operating in the Atlantic Ocean, reports USNI News. “As a matter of longstanding policy, we do not discuss future operations, but I can tell you that the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group will continue to conduct operations in support of our NATO allies, European and African partner nations, coalition partners, and US national security interests,” said Cmdr. John Perkins, spokesman with US Naval Forces Europe and Africa.

The US Navy says a new fast attack nuclear-powered submarine will be commissioned in the fall, reports Navy Times. The Navy has accepted delivery of the new USS Indiana, scheduled to enter service Sept. 29.

A new push to hire 100,000 military spouses is among several new government and private sector initiatives being rolled out to help ease barriers to employment for military spouses, reports Military Times.

Contracts:

Veterans Construction Coalition, Norfolk, Virginia, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $76,500,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for design-build and design-bid-build construction projects. The contractor will provide broad range of maintenance, repair, alteration and new construction work on various real property facilities. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 12, 2021. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $50,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8601-18-D-0012).

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., McLean, Virginia, been awarded a $23,608,513 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for research and development of the precise reference sensing for collaborative electronic warfare program. The purpose of the will be to perform on-site positioning, navigation and timing technology development; prototyping; integration; and modeling, simulation, wargaming and analysis. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by June 29, 2023. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition. Fiscal 2017 research and development funds in the amount of $777,628, and fiscal 2018 research and development funds in the amount of $100,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-18-C-1020).

Zel Technologies LLC, Hampton, Virginia, has been awarded a $20,000,000 firm-fixed-price, with a cost-reimbursable line item, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for radiochemistry laboratory support, program management, simulation and modeling support, and nuclear physics/engineering subject matter expertise. This contract provides for radiation safety services, radiochemistry laboratory services, simulation, modeling and system integration, expert panel and subject matter expertise, and research and development services. Work will be performed at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida; and Melbourne, Florida, and is expected to be completed by May 31, 2023. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance funding in the amount of $636,639 is being obligated at the time of award. Headquarters Air Combat Command, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA7022-18-D-0002). (Awarded Feb. 16, 2018)

Peraton Inc., Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded an $8,246,928 firm-fixed-price incentive modification (P00016) to contract FA8823-14-C-0003 for Eastern Range Command Destruct Modernization. The contract modification is for developmental test and evaluation scheduling. Work will be performed at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, and is expected to be completed April 25, 2022. Fiscal 2017 procurement funds are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $50,412,237. Range and Network Contracting Division, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity.