Ramping Up US Presence in the Arctic
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The US Coast Guard expects to have a bigger role in the coming years as the US ramps up its presence in the Arctic region, reports Navy Times. The Coast Guard wants to expand its base in Seattle. Some of the work is already in progress — including building a fleet of at least three heavy icebreakers, Defense News reported last year.
Coast Guard Commandant ADM Karl Schultz says US security demands in the region are both pressing and enduring. “What was previously a region of energy interest and challenge is now an increasingly competitive domain,” reads the USCG “Arctic Strategic Outlook.”
A Russian admiral said last week that NATO navy ships’ presence in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea have reached levels unseen since World War II, reports Military Times. He described the US military presence and NATO military activities near his country’s borders as a threat to regional security. NATO’s Steadfast Defender 2021 exercise began May 12 and runs until June 2, reports Janes.
The Pentagon says that each day the media is briefed on US military exercises that are taking place around the world. “We’re going to continue to share with you as often as we can, how this exercise is going, because we believe that transparency is important and it’s also critical to helping avoid any misunderstandings and miscalculations,” John Kirby, DoD spokesman said, while addressing another NATO exercise Defender Europe 21. He said NATO handles exercise transparency much the same way as the US. He wants the Russians to be as transparent in their actions.
Northern Edge 21, a training exercise involving 15,000 US service members, six Navy ships and 240 aircraft, was just completed in Alaska, reports Times of San Diego. The Navy says NE21 provided high-end, realistic warfighter training; developed and improved joint interoperability; and enhanced the combat readiness of participating forces.
New Zealand is seeking industry information for an Antarctic patrol vessel, reports Defense News. Royal New Zealand Navy would operate in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic’s Ross Sea for at least four months a year.
The United Kingdom is quietly building an advanced combat drone, reports The National Interest. The Mosquito will support the F-35 fighter jet a range of combat, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and surveillance roles.
The Air Force wants to downsize from seven types of fighter jets to a mix of four, including the A-10 Warthog support aircraft, reports Military.com.
The recent ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline highlights the fallout cyberattacks can have on the country’s infrastructure and raises new questions about why the US is so vulnerable to such strikes and about what’s being done to keep them from happening, reports ABC News.
Retired US Navy RADM Christian “Boris” Becker has been named as the CEO of Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, a Terran Orbital company and provider of next-generation, turnkey satellite solutions, reports Via Satellite. His Navy career included leadership positions supporting the Naval Air Systems Command and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.
US Space Force Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier was removed from his command Friday after appearing on a conservative podcast criticizing the U.S. military, reports CNN. He has been replaced by Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting.
Democrats in the US Senate are ramping up their work on reining in President Joe Biden’s war powers, after years of watching the fights stall out on Capitol Hill, reports The Hill.
The UK’s Royal Air Force chief Mike Wigston said the guiding plan for its military includes cuts to existing systems and investments in new technologies, with a special emphasis on increasing the United Kingdom’s capabilities in space, reports C4ISRNET.
Two men were arrested last week amid allegations that they illegally obtained and sold sensitive US Air Force technical data, reports Air Force Times. The Department of Justice says one of the men is accused of selling at least 1,875 sets of data known as technical orders.
An active-duty Marine Corps major stationed in Quantico, VA, was arrested Thursday and charged with crimes related to the US Capitol breach in January, reports Marine Corps Times.
Reports of sexual assaults across the US military increased slightly in 2020, a year when troops were largely locked down for months as bases around the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, reports Military Times.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has identified the remains of two brothers who were killed during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, reports Navy Times. Navy Fire Controlman 2nd Class Harold F. Trapp, 24, and Navy Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class William H. Trapp, 23, were from Indiana.
The third Maryland Breeding Bird Atlas began in January 2020 and is continuing into its second year. The BBA3 project monitors breeding bird populations in the region and looks for any changes. Anyone who works or visits NAS Pax River, NRC Solomons, or Webster Field is asked to help collect data, reports The Tester. Birders of all skill levels can volunteer to contribute data on the breeding status of birds seen in the region, says the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration announced new guidance last week for those whose driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations expired during the pandemic, reports WTOP News.
The US Army museum at Fort Belvoir, VA, will reopen its doors in June, reports WTOP News. The museum opened on Veterans Day in 2020 and closed about a month later due to the pandemic.
Contracts:
Delphinus Engineering Inc., Eddystone, Pennsylvania (N64498-21-D-4033); East Coast Repair & Fabrication LLC, Chesapeake, Virginia (N64498-21-D-4034); Integrated Marine Services Inc., Chula Vista, California (N64498-21-D-4035); LPI Technical Services Inc., Chesapeake, Virginia (N64498-21-D-4036); Orbis Sibro Inc., Charleston, South Carolina (N64498-21-D-4037); Q.E.D. Systems Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (N64498-21-D-4038); Tecnico Corp., Chesapeake, Virginia (N64498-21-D-4039); and Valkyrie Enterprises Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (N64498-21-D-4040), are awarded a combined $986,320,480 cost-plus-fixed fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for design, installation and repair services for habitability systems, spaces, facilities, fixtures, and equipment. Work will be performed in the Norfolk, Virginia area (45%); other East Coast areas (5%); the West Coast (45%); and various outside of the continental US locations (5%). Work will be assigned according to individual task orders and is expected to be completed by May 2027. Each awardee will be awarded $100,000 (minimum contract guarantee per awardee). Fiscal 2021 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $800,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. All other funding will be made available at the task order level as contracting actions occur. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with eight offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity.
General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., Falls Church, Virginia, is awarded a $52,158,941 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable task order issued under the General Services Administration’s (GSA) One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Research performed under this contract is broad in scope and encompasses a range of disciplines. Support services will include administrative, graphic, logistical, statistical, training, and technical support for research and development activities. Examples of technical support include, but are not limited to, assistance with interrogatories, medical and scientific authoring and editing of research proposals, human use protocols, animal use protocols, and technical and scientific reports; workshop and conference administrative, scientific, and technical support and management; coordination of technical review meetings and the preparation and presentation of point papers, technical reports, and other briefings resulting from these meetings; preparation and support of technical summaries and publications resulting from research activities; support in development of Institutional Review Board protocols for human use research; preparation and support of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee protocols for animal research; presentation of research findings at scientific meetings and professional conferences; writing, reviewing, editing, and submitting peer-reviewed articles and technical reports. This contract provides research and development support services for the Naval Medical Research Unit – Dayton, Ohio (NAMRU-D). All work will be performed at NAMRU-D and is expected to be completed by May 22, 2026. The base period of performance is awarded with fiscal 2020 research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E) funding in the amount of $2,404,770 obligated at time of award, and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The balance of the task order will be incrementally funded under four option periods with Navy fiscal 2021 RDT&E; fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance; and fiscal 2020 Defense Health Program RDT&E funding. This contract was competitively procured via GSA OASIS with four offers received. The Naval Medical Logistics Command, Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N6264521F0049).
Textron Systems Corp., Hunt Valley, Maryland, is awarded a $15,788,876 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for a one-time mid-life upgrade engineering change proposal for the advanced boresight equipment (ABE) system to modernize and bring 100 fielded domestic and Foreign Military Sales units up to the current commercial off the shelf configuration. Additionally, this contract procures depot repair and upgrade support for the ABE currently installed on AH-1Z, AH-1W and MH-60R combat aircraft, ashore and afloat. Depot repair and upgrade support includes tear down and evaluation of ABE, as well as restoration, modification, and procurement of spare parts in support of ABE component and assembly repairs and upgrades. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in May 2026. 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). The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N6833521D0060).
DCS Corp., Alexandria, Virginia, was awarded a $98,300,000 modification (P00136) to contract W56HZV-17-C-0062 for technical and engineering support services. Work will be performed in Warren, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2022. Fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation, defense-wide funds in the amount of $98,300,000 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity.
Tecolote Research Inc., Goleta, California, has been awarded a $14,143,057 firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursement modification (P00002) to task order FA8811-20-F-4001 for acquisition and financial support advisory and assistance services. The modification extends the period of performance of this contract for one year. Work will be performed at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California; Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico; Cape Canaveral Space Force Space Station, Florida; and the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia, and is expected to be completed May 13, 2022. Fiscal 2021 Space Force procurement funds in the amount of $12,515,584; and fiscal 2021 Space Force research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $813,737 will be obligated at the time of award. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $27,914,282, not including unexercised options. Space and Missile Systems Center Launch Enterprise, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity.
Perspecta Enterprise Solutions LLC, Chantilly, Virginia, has been awarded an Enterprise Information Technology (EIT) application development services production other transaction agreement (HS002-1219-0001) with a base period of 12 months and four optional 12-month periods. The total estimated agreement value at the time of award is $473,803,770, with a not-to-exceed value of $500,000,000 for all periods of performance and contract line item numbers. This agreement is based upon the successful completion of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency’s (DCSA) security enterprise architecture and data analytics prototype other transaction agreement HS0021-19-9-0002, which was competitively awarded to Perspecta on May 14, 2019. The transaction continues the development and operations of the prototype solutions pertaining to major components of a comprehensive IT system for managing all background investigations and security clearance adjudications for federal employees and contractors. Through use of the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) processes, this transaction will support the development, enhancement and expansion of defense business system capabilities throughout operations of the EIT application. Work will be performed within the National Capital Region surrounding Fort Meade, Maryland. It has an estimated completion date of May 14, 2026. Fiscal 2021 Budget Activity 08, DCSA funds for $29,343,005 were obligated at the time of the award. DCSA Acquisition and Contracting, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Boeing, Huntington Beach, California, is awarded a $16,576,269 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost only modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-18-C-4103 for Option Year Three labor and other direct costs for design agent services in support of the AN/USQ-82(V) Gigabit Ethernet Data Multiplex System (GEDMS). Work will be performed in Huntington Beach, California (70%); Bangor, Maine (12%); Pascagoula, Mississippi (9%); Arlington, Virginia (3%); Tukwila, Washington (3%); and Dover, Pennsylvania (3%), and is expected to be completed by May 2022. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $250,000 (2%); fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $250,000 (2%); fiscal 2013 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $646,772 (4%); Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $719,508 (5%); fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $900,000 (6%); fiscal 2015 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $925,911 (6%); fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,031,963 (7%); fiscal 2016 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,231,812 (8%); fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,338,695 (9%); fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,383,118 (9%); and fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $6,204,250 (42%), will be obligated at time of award and $1,338,695 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
