RIMPAC Tests 3D Technology at Sea

Dan Porter, a Xerox technician, left, and Andrew Wong, Emergency Ship Salvage Material, conduct diagnostics on a 3D printer aboard the USS Essex on July 9, 2022. Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29-August 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Isaak Martinez)

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 US Navy has installed a liquid-metal 3D printer on the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship Essex to help test the new printing technology at sea, reports Popular Science. Xerox said that an ElemX liquid-metal printer on the Essex is the first metal additive manufacturing machine to be deployed on a Navy vessel, reports marinelog.com. The testing is part of the Rim of the Pacific military exercise ongoing through August 4.

GEN Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said China has become significantly more aggressive and dangerous over the past five years, reports Military Times. Milley was speaking during a stop in Indonesia on Sunday. He said the number of intercepts by Chinese aircraft and ships in the Pacific region with US and other nation’s forces has increased significantly over that time.

Military aviation crashes are again on the rise. The San Diego Union-Tribune asks: Are ongoing safety and training issues to blame? Data from the Naval Safety Command shows that “class A mishaps” — ones that occur in-flight and cause loss of life, permanent total disability or more than $2.5 million in damage — are up so far this fiscal year.

The future of defense aviation is autonomous, aerospace industry leaders said at two air shows in England this month, reports Defense News.

New York state National Guardsmen will take over training Ukrainian soldiers, reports Army Times. The 140 New York Guard soldiers will complete additional training at Fort Bliss, TX, before replacing 160 Florida Guard soldiers in Germany.

A senior US congressional delegation — including Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday and promised to try to ensure continued support in the war against Russia, reports Reuters.

The Biden administration should allow the Pentagon to deploy US military advisers to Ukraine to help coordinate the billions of dollars of arms flowing into the country and to keep better tabs on the weapons, said members of the congressional delegation. “I think we should do more,” Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) told Fox News after the meeting in Kyiv. “That said, it should come with appropriate safeguards, with appropriate oversight and the only way we can get that oversight is to actually have some advisers in Ukraine helping their military with the planning and logistics.”

The White House said Friday that the US is sending an additional $270 million in security assistance to Ukraine, reports The Associated Press, a package that will include additional medium range rocket systems and tactical drones.

Ukraine claimed that Russian drones it has captured are full of parts from its Western allies, including the US, reports Military.com.

Recent Russian tests with precision-guided missiles and the stealth S-70 Okhotnik-B drone show the country is serious about the potential manned/unmanned teaming arrangement in combat, reports 19fortyfive.com. The S-70 is getting close to showing off its full combat abilities.

 

 

LT GEN Alexus Grynkewich, commander of the Ninth Air Force, warned that Iran-backed militias could resume attacks in the region against the US and its allies as tensions rise — assaults that could lead to a new Mideast escalation, reports Military.com.

The US Navy decommissioned the USS Whidbey Island on Friday, reports USNI News. The dock landing ship was commissioned in 1985. Over the course of Whidbey Island’s time in the Navy, the ship deployed multiple times, heading to the Mediterranean Sea three times between 1985-1991.

The US Space Force is taking a different approach than the other military branches to annual physical fitness assessments for its members, reports NPR. The military’s newest branch is switching to high-tech fitness trackers.

The US Army is offering food truck training through its Joint Culinary Center of Excellence at Fort Lee, VA, the service announced. Thirteen military members recently completed the course to learn how to run a Culinary Outpost Food Truck – the meal delivery platform that has become a familiar sight at many military installations.

The Defense Department said that members within 180 days of leaving the military should consider SkillBridge, reports Military.com. The program connects military members who are separating with civilian businesses and companies which have available training or internship opportunities that offer a high probability of employment.

Joint Base Andrews will celebrate the Air Force’s 75th birthday with a free air show for the public, reports ABC7 News. The show will be held September 17-18.

The Washington, DC, region ranks No. 4 on CBRE’s 2022 Scoring Tech Talent report, based on an educated talent pool, among other factors, reports WTOP News. The region’s strong showing is largely because of its well-educated workforce, according to the investment firm’s report.

More than four months after the US Senate unanimously passed a bill to make daylight saving time permanent in the US, the measure has stalled in the House, reports The Hill.

The now-defunct Harris Originals jewelry company has agreed to pay millions in refunds to settle allegations it cheated military families across the country with illegal financing and sales practices for overpriced jewelry, reports Military Times. The company agreed to pay $13 million in refunds to 46,204 service members who paid for lifetime protection plans and to stop collecting $21 million in outstanding debt owed by 13,426 service members.

The US Environmental Protection Agency and Maryland officials are touting a new commitment from Pennsylvania to cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, reports Maryland Matters. Pennsylvania will dedicate $220 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars to a new fund aimed at reducing pollution. Of that, $154 million is earmarked for a program that will provide cost-share assistance to farmers who agree to adopt certain conservation practices that will reduce pollution.

Contracts:

Amentum Services Inc., Germantown, Maryland, has been awarded a $58,930,504 firm-fixed-price contract for aerospace support services. This contract provides for the management, operations, maintenance and support services to support government and commercial launch programs with unconventional fuels (e.g., liquid or gaseous propellants, oxidizers, cryogenic and pneumatic commodities used in rockets, missiles and space crafts), cryogenics and fuels accountability, personnel protective equipment, hazardous operations support, fleet management, systems and safety engineering, training, transient alert, and aerospace ground equipment services. Work will be performed at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California; Patrick SFB, Florida; and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and is expected to be completed by February 28, 2030. Three offers were received as a result of a competitive acquisition. Fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance funds will be used. A total of $299,734 will be obligated at time of award. The 30th Contracting Squadron, Vandenberg SFB, California, is the contracting activity (FA4610-22-C-0003).

Progeny Systems Corp., Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $19,110,275 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-6265 to exercise options for engineering and technical services for software development, and hardware and software integration to Navy submarines. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (65%); Middletown, Rhode Island (25%); and San Diego, California (10%), and is expected to be completed by July 2023. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,872,079 (88%); and fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $259,797 (12%) will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.