St. Mary’s Airport Meeting Rescheduled

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 St. Mary’s County Airport Rules special meeting will now take place during the Airport Advisory Board’s normal January meeting Jan. 28 at 6 pm at the Airport Terminal Building. The Airport Advisory Board postponed its planned Jan. 14 special meeting on the rules documents due to the weather closure, reports TheBayNet.

Europe’s Arianespace takes on SpaceX by cutting the Ariane 5 rocket launch price, reports Reuters, as it competes against its US rival for customers before the release of the cheaper Ariane 6 rocket next year.

Amid heightened regional tensions, the destroyer USS Donald Cook visits the Black Sea nation of Georgia, reports Stars and Stripes. A Navy statement said the destroyer visit is part of an ongoing mission to “demonstrate the collective resolve to Black Sea security.”

Russian heavy bomber crash-lands in Arctic, killing three of four crew members, reports AP by way of Air Force Times. The Defense Ministry said the Tu-22M3 bomber crashed while landing in a blizzard in the Murmansk region north of the Arctic Circle. It said the plane hit the runway and broke up on impact.

Fifth Domain reports the National Guard has added cyber threats and incidents to their emergency response missions to the states and is now working with DoD  to plan for better coordination and information sharing to states in the event of a cyber emergency.

Singapore will replace its Lockheed Martin F-16s with the F-35, but will assess a “small number” before deciding on its long-term fleet, reports Flight Global. Singapore will be the first F-35 operator in Southeast Asia, and the first Southeast Asian air force equipped with a stealth aircraft.

The Army wants to use AI to prevent cyberattacks, reports the Fifth Domain, and is researching at Aberdeen Proving Grounds how artificial intelligence can protect tactical networks and communications from cyberattacks, and respond.

Coast Guard families plead with lawmakers as they prepare to miss another paycheck, reports Military Times.

US and British navy ships announce they are conducting joint maneuvers in the South China Sea this month in what they called a sign of their shared emphasis on regional peace and stability, reports Navy Times.

Supreme Court will hear its first gun case in nearly a decade, reports NPR, with the potential of wide ramifications for gun rights and gun restrictions across the country.

The Supreme Court allows temporary enforcement of Trump’s restrictions on transgenders in the military, with a 5-4 vote to stay two district court orders that blocked the new policy, the court’s liberal wing dissenting, reports The Hill. The justices said they are waiting for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to weigh in.

All 425 voters cast their votes for Yankees’ Mariano Rivera, making him the first player unanimously voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, according to Bleacher Report. Ken Griffey Jr. came close in 2016, 437 of 440 ballots (99.3 percent), which set a record, beating Tom Seaver’s 09.8 percent in 1992.

US House votes overwhelmingly to bar US exit from NATO, reports Defense News. The US House passed legislation Tuesday evening that seeks to bar President Donald Trump from withdrawing from NATO amid renewed concerns over his commitment to the 29-nation military pact. In a bipartisan 357-22 vote, the Democrat-led lower chamber sent the Senate the NATO Support Act, which would prohibit the use of federal funds to withdraw from the 70-year-old alliance. Twenty-two Republicans voted no, while 28 Republicans and 26 Democrats did not vote.

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Jan. 22, 2019

Contracts:

Donley Construction, Aberdeen, Maryland (W912DQ-19-D-4000); LGC Global Inc., Detroit, Michigan (W912DQ-19-D-4001); Southwind Construction, Edmond, Oklahoma (W912DQ-19-D-4002); Walga Ross Group JV, Topeka, Kansas (W912DQ-19-D-4003); RM Builders, Alamogordo, New Mexico (W912DQ-19-D-4004); and SES Construction and Fuel Services, Oak Ridge, Tennessee (W912DQ-19-D-4006), will share in a $95,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for design-build and design-bid-build construction work. Bids were solicited via the internet with 40 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 16, 2022. US Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, Missouri, is the contracting activity.

Inquip Associates Inc., McLean, Virginia, was awarded a $41,169,021 firm-fixed-price contract for levee improvement construction. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Sacramento, California, with an estimated completion date of April 13, 2021. Fiscal 2017 and 2019 general construction and non-federal sponsor funds in the amount of $41,169,021 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento, California, is the contracting activity (W91238-19-C-0006).

Cottrell Contracting Corp., Chesapeake, Virginia, was awarded a $12,740,080 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance dredging. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Jekyll Island, Georgia; and Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 2, 2019. Fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019 civil work Irma supplemental; civil work Matthew supplemental; and civil work operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $12,740,080 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity (W912HN-19-C-5001).

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum, Maryland, was awarded a $7,666,503 firm-fixed-price foreign military sales (Kuwait) contract for procurement of Army, Navy vehicle intercommunication systems. One bid was solicited via the internet with one bid received. Work will be performed in Elkridge, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 23, 2020. Fiscal 2019 foreign military sales funds in the amount of $7,666,503 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W91CRB-19-C-5007).

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Georgia, has been awarded an $80,607,877 firm-fixed-price modification (P00004) to contract FA8106-18-D-0002 for C-20/C-37 fleet sustainment. The contract modification is for exercise of Option Year II, to include issuance of task orders for one-year extension of contract term to support the C-20 and C-37 fleet for the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard; and funding uninterrupted continuation of contractor logistics. Work will be performed at Savannah, Georgia; Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy; Ramstein Air Base, Germany; Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland; Hickam AFB, Hawaii; Marine Corps Base Hawaii; MacDill AFB, Florida; and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington, District of Columbia. The work is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenances funds in the amount of $62,162,710 are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $594,429,554. Air Force Lifecycle Management Center, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity.