Small Drones = Big Problems in Middle East
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.
Small drones are creating a big problem in the Middle East, reports C4ISRNET. The threat of small unmanned aerial systems overseas – especially in Iraq and Syria – has been a key focus of top leaders from across the Department of Defense. The problem has become so acute that top officials in the region have made counter-drones the top force protection priority.
Lockheed Martin allowed a rare tour of the F-35 full mission simulators, the Orlando Sentinel reports, which are in an Air Force-restricted building normally open only to pilots, instructors, and other key personnel. The simulators are part of the more than $1 trillion F-35 program being developed by the company in Orlando.
Brazil’s defense minister said Space X, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and other US aerospace companies have expressed interest in launching rockets from its Alcantara military base near the equator, reports Reuters.
DefSec Jim Mattis missed a deadline to provide President Donald Trump recommendations on whether allowing transgender service members to serve negatively impacted readiness, and whether those already in the military should be allowed to continue to serve, Military Times reports.
Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, speaking at the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium, said critics should look at recent problems with the Air Force’s newest AC-130J gunship as routine and not let them dictate how Air Force Special Operations Command intends to innovate and be combat ready in the future, reports Military.com. “This is normal stuff that happens in test,” he said.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson raised the prospect that the Venezuelan military could decide to oust President Nicolas Maduro, reports Reuters. Mr. Tillerson said he did not know whether that would happen, but he predicted there would be “change” in Venezuela and said the US wanted it to be a peaceful one.
Democracy and human rights in many Southeast Asian nations will remain fragile in 2018 because of autocratic tendencies, rampant corruption, and cronyism, a report from the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence states. According to The Japan Times, “In the Philippines, President Duterte will continue to wage his signature campaign against drugs, corruption, and crime,” the Feb. 13 report reads, adding that Duterte has suggested he could suspend the constitution and declare a revolutionary government.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is backing a proposal to allow military families to use $1.3 billion in public funds to send their children to private school or pay for other education services, reports The Associated Press. DeVos said many active duty military families living in bases were dissatisfied with their neighborhood schools and that they deserved to have options.
US State Department has approved a possible foreign military sale of four Patriot air-and-missile defense systems to Sweden for an estimated total of $3.2 billion, reports Defense News.
After a nearly two-and-a-half-year wait, the Veterans Benefits Administration is poised to get a new permanent leader.
President Trump has nominated Army veteran Paul Lawrence as the next under secretary of Veterans Affairs for benefits, reports Military Times, a post that has been manned by a series of acting officials since October 2015.
The Idaho Statesman reports the National Guard is preparing an environmental impact statement that will analyze the consequences of basing 18 F-35 stealth fighters at Gowen Field, the Idaho Air National Guard base that shares the Boise Airport’s runways.
Hawaii’s nuclear missile scare showed that the state began testing alerts before fully developing a plan to address the ballistic missile threat and that a public outreach campaign months earlier wasn’t effective, reports Army Times.
Contracts:
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Aerospace Systems, Melbourne, Florida, is being awarded $50,645,223 for modification P00054 to a previously awarded fixed-price incentive contract (N00019-13-C-9999) to exercise an option for non-recurring engineering, product support, engineering investigations, engine and software support activity efforts for the full rate production Lot 6 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program. Work will be performed in Melbourne, Florida (68 percent); Syracuse, New York (18 percent); St. Augustine, Florida (4 percent); Norfolk, Virginia (4 percent); Indianapolis, Indiana (2 percent); Greenlawn, New York (1 percent); Woodland Hills, California (1 percent); Falls Church, Virginia (1 percent); and various locations within the continental US (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2019. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $50,645,223 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Digital Receiver Technology Inc., Germantown, Maryland, is being awarded a $23,827,359 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for portable, ruggedized, and man-packable surveillance equipment and their associated peripherals in support of Combat Direction Systems Activity Dam Neck’s role as in-service engineering agent, technical design agent, and acquisition engineering agent. Work will be performed in Germantown, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in February 2023. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $30,610 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 US Code 2304(c)(1) – only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren Virginia, is the contracting activity (N0017818D5000).
Raytheon Co., Baltimore, Maryland, has been awarded a $30,000,000 ceiling increase modification (P00003) to previously awarded contract FA8220-17-D-0001 for T-38A/B, C-17, C-5, & A-10 Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast. This modification provides the means for compliance with the Federal Aviation Administration Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast mandate. Work will be performed in Baltimore, Maryland, Largo, Florida, and Indianapolis, Indiana. Work is expected to be complete by May 16, 2023. No funds are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity.
Millennium Engineering and Integration Co., Arlington, Virginia, has been awarded a $9,951,573 cost-plus-fixed-fee task order for Vulcan launch systems and Next Generation Launcher launch systems new entrant certification support. This task order provides for systems engineering and integration services for the government during certification of the Vulcan and Next Generation Launcher systems. Work will be performed in Decatur, Alabama; Chandler, Arizona; Los Angeles Air Force Base, California; Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; Centennial, Colorado; Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida; Bacchus, Utah; Promontory, Utah; and Kent, Washington. Work is expected to be complete by Feb. 21, 2019. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and six offers were received. Fiscal 2018 procurement funds in the amount of $9,951,573 are being obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center Launch Systems Enterprise Directorate Contracting, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA8811-17-F-4001).
Produce Source Partners Inc., Ashland, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $189,000,000 firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for fresh fruits and vegetables. This is a 54-month contract with no option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. Location of performance is Virginia, with an Aug. 21, 2022, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Department of Agriculture schools. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2018 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-18-D-P320).
National Industries for the Blind, Alexandria, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $17,700,984 modification (P00007) exercising the one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-17-D-B012) with a one-year option period for various types of coats and trousers. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Locations of performance are Virginia, Alabama, Maryland, New Jersey, and North Carolina, with an Aug. 31, 2019, estimated performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2018 through 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
