Report Outlines State Defense Spending
(US DoD Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation graphic)
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 spent $431.4 billion on defense contractors across the country in fiscal 2023, equal to about 47% of all US military spending that year, reports 24/7 Wall Street, citing a US Defense Department report. The companies providing these services are spread across the 50 states and Washington, DC, and many bring in billions of dollars in federal contract revenue every year. Maryland ranked among the top 10 states on the list with total, statewide defense contractor spending in FY 2023 at $18.3 billion (4.23% of DoD contractor spending). Northrop Grumman was the state’s top defense contractor last year.
The Pentagon released a new plan Tuesday aimed at invigorating the US defense industry this year, including the weapons it sees as most crucial to deter China, reports Defense News. The new plan builds on a strategy published this January, which described how the US defense sector has withered and how the Pentagon wants to revitalize it.
The US Air Force is open to a greater B-21 stealth bomber role in its strategy revamp, reports Air Force Times. “We have not taken that off the table,” Air Force Chief of Staff GEN David Allvin said when asked if the service’s review of its superiority approach could lead to a more prominent place for the Northrop Grumman-made B-21.
Politico has obtained a plan of action put together by dozens of former federal officials from the last five presidential administrations for how the next administration should address cybersecurity issues — regardless of who takes office in January. The report lays out almost 40 recommendations for the incoming Trump or Harris administrations to take on from day one to protect the nation against cyber threats.
Early voting was off to a robust start in Maryland with more than 400,000 people casting ballots in the first four days alone, reports CBS News. On the first day, Oct. 24, the numbers surpassed the entire early vote in the primary according to Jared DeMarinis, the state administrator of elections. Today, Oct. 31, is the last day to early vote in Maryland. Polls are open from 7am to 8pm. As long as you’re in line by 8pm, you will be able to cast your vote. Find your local early voting location. The 2024 Presidential General Election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Election officials are warning that a presidential victor is unlikely to be announced election night or even the following day, reports Maryland Matters. The closing of the polls and the end of mail-in voting will kick off a nearly three-month process before the next president is sworn into office in January. New guardrails were enacted by Congress in 2022 to more fully protect the presidential transition, following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
The public needed to wait almost five days in 2020 before most major news outlets could issue a projection, reports The Hill. “Things will be different this year,” said Quinn Yeargain, an associate professor of law at Michigan State University. “It may not be as quick as 2022. Famous last words I suppose, but I would be surprised if the process took as long as it did in 2020.”
National security experts believe a repeat of the Jan. 6 insurrection is unlikely, reports The Hill. Homeland Security has designated the Jan. 6, 2025, counting and certification of electoral votes in Washington, DC, as a National Special Security Event (NSSE), which will ensure federal, state, and local resources are deployed around the Capitol. These experts say President Biden would be quick to call in the National Guard if needed.
The Global Project on Hate and Extremism said Tuesday that chatter of election denialism increased in October on Telegram, Gab, Communities.win, and Fediverse social media sites, reports Military Times. These sites lack moderation and allow users to share extreme and controversial viewpoints. Posts about election denialism, the false belief that elections are unfair and could be “stolen,” increased by 317% on Telegram and 105% on Gab throughout the month, according to the nonprofit that tracks extremist activity online.
Steven Wills, navalist at the Center for Maritime Strategy, lays out reasons why the US should rebuild its Merchant Marine fleet in an opinion piece in Defense Daily. “The US must improve its seapower capacity or risk returning to dependence on the sea without the means to shape its response to maritime threats,” he writes. US Coast Guard CMDR Commander Sonha Gomez agrees. Given China’s aggressive naval growth and modernization, the Merchant Marines must be reformed and integrated into the sea services, she writes in USNI News.
The Maryland Department of Commerce announced that it has received a $1.06 million federal grant to launch the Resilient Maryland Defense Communities program. “Our state’s military installations and facilities provide billions of dollars in economic activity each year. Preparing, revitalizing and maintaining Maryland’s defense communities in the face of unexpected hazards is a crucial part of managing our long-term economic vitality both regionally and statewide,” said Maryland Commerce Secretary Kevin Anderson.
The Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division obligated nearly $1 billion of contracts in fiscal year 2024, infusing millions of dollars into the Southern Maryland economy, reports The Southern Maryland Chronicle via MSN. There are hundreds of construction and infrastructure projects underway at NSWC IHD to increase capacity of the defense industrial base with hundreds of additional projects to come, according to the Naval Sea Systems Command.
Twelve Naval Air Systems Command employees were named Supervisors of the Year at an awards ceremony held at NAS Patuxent River on Oct. 24, reports The BayNet. This is the second year for the awards, which recognized 12 winners from 117 nominations.
Fleet Readiness Center East recently marked a significant chapter’s end by completing its last AV-8B Harrier maintenance overhaul, reports The Aviationist.
The Pentagon has upped the estimate of the number of North Korean troops that have been sent to Russia, reports Politico. On Monday, a Pentagon spokeswoman said that about 10,000 troops are in Russia for training, some of whom are already moving toward the front lines near the Ukrainian border.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon confirmed a “small number” of North Korean troops were present in Russia’s Kursk border region, with fears they could soon join the fight in Ukraine, reports The Hill.
The US Space Force has seen an increase in the demand for foreign military sales over the last year, reports C4ISRNET. The growth is attributed to the increased role space systems play in economic and national security worldwide. Space Systems Command’s FMS division saw a 500% increase in requests between 2023 and 2024.
A US Fleet Cyber Command supervisor at Fort Meade has been cited for abuse of power, the Defense Department Inspector General’s Office found, reports Navy Times. The IG report says a Navy service member is being cited for retaliating against a subordinate after the individual reported an error in a report provided to the Cyber Command, US 10th Fleet.
During a ceremony earlier this month in Alaska, the US Navy apologized for the October 1882 military bombing of the Tlingit village in Angoon, reports The Associated Press. Shells fell on the Alaska Native village as winter approached, and then sailors landed and burned what was left of homes, food caches, and canoes. Conditions grew so dire in the following months that elders sacrificed their own lives to spare food for surviving children.
Contracts:
Bhate TLI JV LLC, Birmingham, Alabama (W912DY-25-D-0050); EA Engineering, Science, and Technology Inc. PBC, Hunt Valley, Maryland (W912DY-25-D-0051); GSI Pacific Inc., Oneida, New York (W912DY-25-D-0052); Hydrogeologic Inc., Reston, Virginia (W912DY-25-D-0053); Environmental Chemical Corp., Burlingame, California (W912DY-25-D-0054); Pika International Inc., Stafford, Texas (W912DY-25-D-0055); Kemron Environmental Services Inc., Atlanta, Georgia (W912DY-25-D-0056); Bay West LLC, St. Paul, Minnesota, (W912DY-25-D-0057); Nakupuna Services-ERRG JV LLC, Arlington, Virginia (W912DY-25-D-0058); FPM-AECOM JV2, Oneida, New York (W912DY-25-D-0059); and USAE-Cape JV LLC, Oldsmar, Florida (W912DY-25-D-0060), will compete for each order of the $960,000,000 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to safely locate, identify, recover, evaluate, assess, package, transport, manage, and make final disposition, as required, of munitions and explosives of concern and hazardous, toxic and radioactive waste. Bids were solicited via the internet with 12 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2035. US Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Oct. 23, 2024)
AECOM-Baker USACE SPD LA District JV, Los Angeles, California (W912PL-25-D-0001); Benham-Stanley LLC, Jacksonville, Florida (W912PL-25-D-0002); Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co. Inc., Kansas City, Missouri (W912PL-25-D-0003); FSB-Stantec JV, Denver, Colorado (W912PL-25-D-0004); HDR WSP JV, Folsom, California (W912PL-25-D-0005); Leo A Daly, Black & Veatch, & Pond South Pacific JV, Omaha, Nebraska (W912PL-25-D-0006); Tetra Tech/Mead and Hunt JV, Ann Arbor, Michigan (W912PL-25-D-0007); Huitt-Zollars Mason & Hanger JV, Dallas, Texas (W912PL-25-D-0008); Jacobs Government Services Co., Arlington, Virginia (W912PL-25-D-0009); Kal Architects Inc., Irvine, California (W912PL-25-D-0010); SBCC-RS&H JV LLC, Jacksonville, Florida (W912PL-25-D-0011); Studio 2G+DLR Group A&E JV, San Luis Obispo, California (W912PL-25-D-0012); WJA PLLC, Seattle, Washington (W912PL-25-D-0013); and RM-VMA JV, Everett, Washington (W912PL-25-D-0014), will compete for each order of the $249,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect-engineer services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 25 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2029. US Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco, California, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Oct. 23, 2024)
Innovative Technologies International Inc., Lynchburg, Virginia, was awarded an $11,637,027 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for MK84 conical fin assembly. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 27, 2029. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W519TC-25-D-0002).
Malasha Technologies Inc., West Chester, Ohio, is being awarded a $54,639,003 firm-fixed-price contract (N00030-25-C-4301) for Navy Enterprise Resource Planning support, sustainment and support services. Tasks to be performed include support services for the following functional areas: deployment, sustainment, stabilization, operations and business process support, development, testing, issue resolution, system deficiencies, data quality, end-user support, training, reporting, user management, role resolution, and major upgrades. Work will be performed in Washington, DC (77%); and Falls Church, Virginia (23%). Work is expected to be completed on Oct. 31, 2029. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance, Navy funds in the amount of $14,056,308 will be obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The maximum dollar value of the contract action, including all optional line items, if exercised, is $54,639,003. This contract is being awarded to the contractor on a sole source basis under 10 US Code 3204 (a)(1) and was previously synopsized on the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) online portal, with one proposal received. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
