Rocket Lab Breaks Ground at Wallops
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.
Rocket Lab USA breaks ground on a Wallops Island launch pad, reports Chesapeake Bay Magazine. Rocket Lab USA intends to build a production complex and launch pad for its new Neutron rocket. The 250,000-square-foot production complex will be built on a 28-acre site adjacent to the Wallops Flight Facility. The launch pad will be built at the southern end of the island. The project brings 250 jobs to the Eastern Shore. The Neutron rocket is designed primarily for launching satellites or payloads up to 8 tons in weight. It has the ability to land back at its launch site.
The 1,095-foot container ship Ever Forward is floating again after it ran aground near Craighill Channel in the Chesapeake Bay on March 13. But the costs associated with trying to dislodge the ship and its environmental impacts to the Bay remain unclear, reports Maryland Matters.
Three USS George Washington sailors have died in the past nine days, reports Military Times. Naval Air Force Atlantic officials did not disclose the names of the deceased shipmates Monday, nor did they explain the causes or circumstances surrounding each death. Most recently, on Friday, a George Washington sailor “was found unresponsive on board the ship,” according to Naval Air Force Atlantic spokesman Michael Maus.
It’s no easy task to fly an MV-22 Osprey helicopter halfway across the Pacific, reports The Drive. With three stops along the way, it takes at least seven aerial refuelings to deploy an MV-22B Osprey nearly 5,000 miles from Hawaii to the Philippines, underscoring the difficulty of projecting forces across the world’s largest ocean. Such trans-Pacific trips are becoming regular for US Marine Corps squadrons as the service responds to aggressive Chinese actions and territorial expansion by boosting its presence in the region.
Navy Times wants to know how the surface fleet is doing five years after the Fitzgerald and McCain collisions. Summer 2017 was among the grimmest in decades for the Navy’s surface fleet, as 17 sailors died in two at-sea collisions involving the guided-missile destroyers Fitzgerald and John S. McCain. Five years later, Navy Times wants to hear from surface warfare officers and sailors who were serving back then and remain in uniform today. Email [email protected] to share your thoughts. Anonymity can be granted upon request.
The Navy is deputizing doctors to enforce drug rules even for those seeking mental health help, reports Military.com. In the wake of reports that a Navy psychologist played an active role in convicting for drug use a sailor who had reached out for mental health assistance, the service is standing by its policy, which does not provide patients with confidentiality and could mean that seeking help has consequences for service members.
NASA moon rocket launch has been pushed back by nearly a month after early testing failures, reports UPI. The launch of NASA’s new moon rocket was expected to be eased with pre-launch testing, but glitches in an array of systems prevented teams from finishing their system tests. With the rocked slated to lift off sometime between June 6 and June 16, NASA officials said that launching during that window now would be challenging.
Russia could bring Marines to Mariupol in another amphibious assault, reports USNI. The Russian Navy could land more of its marines near the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which remains contested nearly two months into Moscow’s invasion, a senior defense official has told reporters. The Ukrainian military suggest Russia, which has failed to take the port city of Mariupol 54 days into its invasion of Ukraine, might use landing ships to bring in reinforcements, the defense official said. The Pentagon could not independently verify the claims but also could not deny them.
Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims that the West’s “economic blitzkrieg strategy didn’t work,” Moscow’s mayor says the city is about to lose 200,000 jobs, reports Business Insider. Hundreds of Western companies have distanced themselves from Russia, creating a dearth in jobs. Some global firms pledged to continue paying their local workers, though it’s unclear for how long. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin says that Moscow is still grappling with a long list of crises. City authorities will discuss in the next two weeks how the capital will maintain its stock of medicines without imports, and how it will keep its hospitality industry afloat.
US troops to train Ukrainian forces on howitzers in the coming days, reports Stars and Stripes. The Pentagon is sending 18 of the cannons as part of the latest $800 million in military aid. The training, which will occur outside Ukraine, will teach Ukrainian forces to operate the 155mm howitzers. They will then return to the fight and train other Ukrainians to use the American cannons. The aid package includes 40,000 artillery rounds.
Pentagon and industry wrestle with how to boost weapons production for Ukraine, reports Defense News. As Pentagon officials gauge the defense industry’s ability to ramp up arms production in response to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, firms are still grappling with pandemic-related supply chain and workforce woes. Top defense executives are likely to face questions starting this week during quarterly earnings calls about how they’ll be able to overcome those issues. Last week, Deputy DefSec Kathleen Hicks convened a meeting with representatives of eight major defense firms to discuss industry proposals to accelerate production of existing systems. The meeting was focused on satisfying the needs of the US, Ukraine, and other allies, according to an official readout.
A two-star Air Force general opted for a judge, not jury, in his sexual assault trial, reports Air Force Times. MAJ GEN Bill Cooley, the first Air Force general officer to stand trial in military court, has opted to persuade a judge of his innocence rather than face a jury of fellow high-ranking officers. On the first day of his court-martial at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH, Cooley pleaded not guilty to a three-part charge of kissing and groping a woman against her will in August 2018. Cooley commanded the Air Force Research Laboratory at the time; his accuser is a civilian.
US Army document details plan to update WWII-era ammo plants and depots, reports Military Times. The Army’s organic industrial base is made up of 23 depots, arsenals and ammunition plants. And more than 19,000 facilities manufacture, rebuild, maintain, or store equipment, supported by more than 32,000 skilled artisans and technicians. Since 2009, the Army invested more than $5 billion to upgrade facilities, infrastructure, and operations equipment, but the service acknowledges a more focused investment plan is needed. Congress has taken a particular interest in modernizing the organic industrial base over the last several years, having held hearings on the subject since at least 2020 and supplying the Pentagon with funding to bring aging facilities into the 21st century — making them safer and more efficient.
Contracts:
Lockheed Martin Space, Titusville, Florida, is awarded a $396,732,736 fixed-price-incentive modification (P00011) to exercise options under a previously awarded contract (N0003021C0100) for Trident II (D5) missile production and deployed systems support. Work will be performed in Magna, Utah (33.7%); Denver, Colorado (11%); Titusville, Florida (8.1%); Sunnyvale, California (8.1%); Cape Canaveral, Florida (7.4%); Camden, Arkansas (5.7%); Kingsport, Tennessee (5.2%); Pittsfield, Massachusetts (3.8%); Kings Bay, Georgia (3%); Rockford, Illinois (2.3%); Biddeford, Maine (1.9%); Elkton, Maryland (1.7%); East Aurora, New York (1.5%); Inglewood, California (1.1%); and other various locations (less than 1.0% each, 5.5% total). Work is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2026. Fiscal 2022 weapon procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $396,357,392; and fiscal 2021 weapon procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $375,344 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is being awarded to the contractor on a sole source basis under 10 US Code 2304(c)(1) and was previously synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities website. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
ARNE Aviation LLC, Suffolk, Virginia (H92240-21-D-0023); Construction Helicopter Inc., Howell, Michigan (H92240-21-D-0024); Erickson Inc., Portland, Oregon (H92240-21-D-0025); Paraclete Aviation, Raeford, North Carolina (H92240-21-D-0026); Rampart Aviation LLC, Colorado Springs, Colorado (H92240-21-D-0027); Marana Tactical Flight LLC, Marana, Arizona (H92240-21-D-0028); and Win-Win Aviation Inc., DeKalb, Illinois (H92240-21-D-0029), were awarded contract modifications totaling $450,000,000 to their indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts for contractor-provided, non-personal services for Military Freefall and Static Line support in various locations across the continental US. Fiscal 2021 operations and maintenance funds were used for all initial task orders (TO). Thereafter, the appropriate fiscal year operations and maintenance funds will be used for each TO executed. The period of performance is modified from five years to eight years, with the maximum ceiling value across all contracts increased from $200,000,000 to $650,000,000. The contracts were awarded competitively with eight timely proposals received. This contract includes on-ramp language should any capable (Part 135) company submit for evaluation and award during the contract period. The work will be performed in various locations across the continental US. US Special Operations Command headquarters, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity.
Seashore Fruit & Produce Co., Vineland, New Jersey, has been awarded a maximum $49,700,000 firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for fresh fruits and vegetables. This is a four-year contract with no option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. Locations of performance are New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, DC, with an April 18, 2026, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Department of Agriculture Schools. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2022 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-22-D-P382).
Jaria LLC, Manassas, Virginia, was awarded a firm fixed-price and time and materials contract (HQ0034-22-F-0131) in the amount of $10,738,576. The purpose of this contract is to provide business administrative management and consulting services to the Defense Innovation Unit. This contract will provide scientific and technical operating advice and assistance on administrative and management issues in the following task areas: executive administration, program management, network support, security operations, business development, and commercial executive support. Work will be performed in Mountain View, California; Washington, DC; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Austin, Texas. Fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $3,762,084 have been obligated for this action. The expected completion date is March 18, 2027. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. (Awarded April 18, 2022)
CORRECTION: The $10,000,000 contract announced April 15, 2022, to Patriot3 Inc., Fredericksburg, Virginia (H92240-22-D-0008), for the acquisition of Patriot3 Inc. Jet Boots Dive Propulsion System(s) (JBDPS), JBDPS parts, and JBDPS repair/maintenance and training, was actually awarded on April 18, 2022.
