Plan for DoD Cuts Meets Opposition
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Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) says he has “serious concerns” about the impact of House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry’s proposal to shutter seven Pentagon support agencies and slash 25 percent from the budgets of most of the others, reports Army Times. Rep. Thornberry (R-TX) introduced a bill aimed at reducing bureaucratic waste at DoD, reports Defense News.
Lockheed Martin plans to offer Japan a stealth fighter design based on its F-22 Raptor and advanced F-35 Lightning II, reports US News & World Report. The proposed aircraft “would combine the F-22 and F-35 and could be superior to both of them.” But if Japan is willing to buy an updated Raptor instead of developing something similar, yet unique, clearly doing so would present a mutually beneficial opportunity, reports The Drive. The National Interest says the F-22/F-35 hybrid will remain in “the realm of fantasy.”
The US Army has stopped taking deliveries of AH-64E Apache attack helicopters from Boeing because the service is not confident in the durability of what it deems a “critical safety” item, reports Defense News.
NASA has selected Lockheed Martin to build an X-plane to show sonic booms can be reduced to a level low enough to justify lifting the ban on civil supersonic flight over land, reports Aviation Week.
Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Airman Brian Graham lowers the American flag to half-mast to honor former first lady Barbara Bush during morning colors April 18 aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush. Bush, wife of former President George H.W. Bush, the ship’s namesake, died April 17, 2018. The ship is in port in Norfolk, Virginia, conducting sustainment exercises to maintain carrier readiness. (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Brooke Macchietto/Released)
Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson laid out plans last week for the restructuring of the Space and Missile Systems Center, the service’s space acquisition arm, reports Defense News.
Plans to overhaul the VA medical records system might be on the verge of collapse because of the leadership upheaval at the department in recent weeks, reports Army Times.
A Senate Democrat is asking whether vets.gov, a website run by the VA, and the website veterans.gov, also run by federal officials, are confusing veterans looking for benefits information, reports Army Times.
The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group entered the 6th Fleet area of operations last week as part of a her current deployment that is eventually planned to take the group to the Persian Gulf, reports Navy Times.
Lincoln Military Housing presented its Navy 2017 Partner of the Year award to George “Ross” Keene, housing director for NAS Patuxent River, at a ceremony last month in Virginia, reports The Tester.
RPI Group, with an office in Lexington Park, Md., has been selected as a finalist in the 10th annual Small and Emerging Contractors Advisory Forum Awards, reports The Free Lance-Star. The contest honors small and emerging government contractors and the players in the industry that rely on small business.
Contracts:
The Boeing Co., Training Systems and Government Services, St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded $18,793,138 for cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order 5000 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-16-G-0001). This delivery order includes the integration of software updates to the Tactical Operational Flight Trainer (TOFT) sensor models on the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft. In addition, this delivery order allows for requirements definition and related tasks for sensor updates, installation of the updated software at all F/A-18E/F and EA-18G TOFT and advanced development station (ADS) sites, as well as the procurement, test and delivery of spares in support of the TOFT and ADS. Work will be performed in Arlington, Texas (35 percent); St. Louis, Missouri (15 percent); China Lake, California (15 percent); Orlando, Florida (10 percent); Patuxent River, Maryland (5 percent); Whidbey Island, Washington (5 percent); Oceana, Virginia (5 percent); Lemoore, California (5 percent) and Iwakuni, Japan (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in July 2021. Fiscal 2017 and 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $18,793,138 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity.
SilverBlock Systems Inc., Leonardtown, Maryland, is awarded a $7,584,576 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for applied research and integration efforts for electro-radiometric improved navigation to add new capabilities to radio frequency operations using geospatial hypotheses product line, to include laboratory, field testing, and integration. Work will be performed Leonardtown, Maryland (50 percent); and Rochester, New York (50 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2022. Fiscal 2018 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $475,244 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under a broad agency announcement, with 999 offers received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N68335-18-C-0266).
Dell Federal Systems LP, Round Rock, Texas (W91QUZ-06-D-0002 P00046); CDW Government LLC (W91QUZ-06-D-0002 P00045); HPI Federal, Washington, District of Columbia (W91QUZ-06-D-0002 P00043); Integrated Technologies Group, Falls Church, Virginia (W91QUZ-06-D-0002 P00044); NCS Technologies Inc., Gainesville, Virginia (W91QUZ-06-D-0002 P00042); Telos Corp., Ashburn, Virginia (W91QUZ-06-D-0002 P00043); and Transcource Services Corp., Phoenix, Arizona (W91QUZ-06-D-0002 P00041), will compete for each order of an $870,000,000 modification for Army Desktop and Mobile Computing-2 suite of contracts. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 23, 2020. US Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Newport News, Virginia, is awarded a $12,481,362 cost-plus-award-fee/incentive-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-13-C-4315 for USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) fiscal 2018 continuous maintenance availability (CMAV) in San Diego, California. A CMAV includes the planning and execution of depot-level maintenance, alterations, and modifications that will update and improve the ship’s military and technical capabilities. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by July 2018. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $12,481,362 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.
The Entwistle Co., Danville, Virginia, has been awarded an $11,865,528 delivery order (FA8534-18-F-0036) against previously awarded contract FA8533-12-D-0005 for Fuels Operational Readiness Capability equipment. This delivery order brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $51,231,786. Work will be performed in Danville, Virginia, and is expected to be complete by Oct. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2017 procurement funds in the full amount are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity.
