March 19, 2024

F-35: Filling Gaps after Turkey’s Exit

A new Germany-based F-35 fuselage factory near Düsseldorf is expected to begin operations in 2025. It will replace a factory previously operated by Turkey. The new factory will fill a void in the supply chain resulting from the US removing Turkey and its companies from the F-35 program.

House Passes NDAA w/ Restrictions

The House narrowly passed its $886 billion defense policy bill mostly along party lines on Friday, breaking a longstanding tradition of passing the legislation on a broad bipartisan basis, reports Politico. Democrats largely opposed the National Defense Authorization Act after Republicans loaded it up with controversial amendments, including ones to restrict the Pentagon’s abortion travel policy, cut funding for medical care for transgender troops and diversity programs.

Lawmakers: DoD Look to Private Sector in ’24

From cyber to communications, the US House committees preparing for next week’s start of hearings on the National Defense Authorization Act are directing the Pentagon to build a greater involvement with the commercial tech center, including selecting commercial satellite communication providers.

Pax Shoreline Gets $2.7M

Environment

NAS Patuxent River has been awarded $2.7 million from the 2022 REPI Challenge Package to mitigate rising sea levels and accelerating shoreline erosion that threatens aircraft testing and training. Nine projects won awards from the 2022 Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program, totaling $31.6 million.

Protocols Reduce Hypoxia – But No Clear Cause

hypoxia

The Navy has substantially reduced hypoxic-like events in its fighters and trainers through implementation of new protocols and techniques. After spending $50 million and producing 8,000 pages of technical documentation, no single reason can be identified as the cause of hypoxia-like events.

‘Serious Concerns’ with DC July 4th Celebration

DC July 4th

Lawmakers from the National Capital Region called on the Trump administration to drop plans for a second “Salute to America” Fourth of July celebration in Washington, DC, July 4th. They cite pandemic safety concerns and also the cost of such a celebration during a time of economic distress.

DoD Gets $738B of $1.3T Budget Bill

$1.3T Budget

$1.3T budget deal avoids a government shutdown giving $738B to defense and $632B for non-defense spending into the coming year.

Van Hollen Touts Provisions in NDAA for MD Military

The National Defense Authorization Act provides many provisions for Maryland’s military and veterans, according to Sen. Chris Van Hollen. Among them is authorization of $426 million for the National Security Agency at Fort Meade.

Will Leave Benefits Apply to All Fed Employees?

leave benefits

The Capital Region delegation from the House of Representatives wants family and medical leave benefits to apply to all federal employees, not only to DoD.

Judge Halts Transfer of Milcon Funds to Border Wall

border wall

A federal judge halts $3.6 billion diverted from military construction projects for 175 miles of a border wall, but leaves in place $2.5 billion transferred to the wall from DoD counter-drug operations.