March 29, 2024

Truman Strike Group Joins 6th Fleet

Truman Strike Group

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River Morning Coffee logoeconomic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff.

The US Navy said that the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and its strike group entered the 6th Fleet’s area of operations, reports Navy Times. The Truman strike group last operated in the US 6th Fleet in 2018. The Truman had been sidelined due to electrical glitches. It is expected to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln, reports Stars and Stripes.

Kenneth “K.J.” Braithwaite, 59, is President Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of the Navy. His job qualifications include 31 years in the Navy and Naval Reserve. His supporters say he is more aligned philosophically with the president than former NavSec Richard Spencer. During his nearly two years serving as ambassador to Norway, Mr. Braithwaite pressed NATO allies to boost their defense spending while assuring the US would never desert the organization.

Ousted NavSec Spencer has been critical of President Trump saying he “has very little understanding” of how the military works, reports The Associated Press. Mr. Spencer was fired last month for his handling of a SEAL war crimes case. Mr. Spencer acknowledged mistakes in his handling of the situation in an opinion piece in The Washington Post.

NATO leaders will gather in London this week to mark the alliance’s 70th anniversary, reports Defense News. Beyond marking those 70 years, leaders will look to the challenges that lie ahead.

CBS News answers all your questions about GPS. Did you know the US Air Force runs the American Global Positioning System? “We’re very proud of it. We enjoy providing that utility to the planet, on behalf of the United States Air Force, for free,” says Brigadier Gen. DeAnna Burt.

The US Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command says cyborg-style capabilities could be “technically feasible by 2050 or earlier,” reports Army Times. The capabilities: Ocular enhancements to imaging, sight, and situational awareness; restoration and programmed muscular control through an optogenetic bodysuit sensor web; auditory enhancement for communication and protection; and direct neural enhancement of the human brain for two-way data transfer.

The Army’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center is working with the University of Maryland to develop advanced cooling technologies that will prevent excessive heat produced by military technologies from damaging sensitive electronic components, according to an Army news release.

 

 

A Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon has returned to Australia after completing its mission in the Middle East, reports Air Force Technology. The aircraft’s deployment was part of a contribution to the International Maritime Security Construct.

China said it will suspend US military ship and aircraft visits to Hong Kong and sanction several American pro-democracy and human rights groups in retaliation for the signing into law of legislation supporting anti-government protests in the semi-autonomous territory, reports The Associated Press.

The US Northern Command says the US needs to invest in an early warning system for the Arctic similar to the series of radar stations built in 1957 that became known as the Distant Early Warning Line, reports Military Times.

Want a piece of Navy anti-submarine warfare history? You could be the proud owner of the Navy’s first operational hydrofoil — the former USS High Point, reports USNI News. The 115-foot High Point comes with a 450 horsepower Detroit Diesel in need of new hydraulics and three hydrofoils.

Gwinnett County in Georgia has created a special jail unit just for military veterans, reports Military Times. The unit is aimed at giving veterans behind bars a better chance of success after they’re released. This program joins a broader trend of finding creative ways to help veterans caught up in the justice system.

Contracts:

General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp. (GDEB), Groton, Connecticut, is awarded a $22,209,893,409 fixed-price-incentive, multi-year modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-17-C-2100 for construction of nine Virginia-class submarines, eight with Virginia Payload Module (VPM), from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2023. The contract modification includes spare material and an option for one additional submarine with VPM. If the option is exercised, the cumulative value of this contract will increase to $24,097,439,556. The awarded amounts include previously-announced material awards (including long-lead-time material and economic ordering quantity material) totaling $3,197,633,908. This contract modification is for the construction of the fifth block of Virginia-class submarines by GDEB and major subcontractor Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division, inclusive of design support and all efforts necessary to test and deliver each submarine. GDEB will continue to subcontract with Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia (25%); Quonset Point, Rhode Island (21%); Groton, Connecticut (20%); Sunnyvale, California (8%); Norfolk, Virginia (1%); Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (1%); and Annapolis, Maryland (1%), with other efforts performed at various places throughout the U.S. below one percent (22%), and other places outside of US below one percent (1%). Work is expected to be completed by August 2029. If the option is exercised, work is expected to be completed by February 2030. Fiscal 2017 and 2019 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy (SCN) funding in the amount of $3,155,793,018 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year – funding: fiscal 2019 SCN (95%); fiscal 2017 SCN (5%). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.

Unisys Corp., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a single award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity firm-fixed-price contract for Unisys Operating System 2200 capacity services. The place of performance will be at current Defense Information Systems Agency data centers. The contract ceiling is $80,457,160. The solicitation was issued as an other-than-full-and-open-competition action pursuant to the authority of 10 US Code §2304(c)(1) and Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1, with only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Proposals were solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website (www.fbo.gov), now known as beta.SAM.gov website (www.beta.sam.gov). Only one proposal was received. The period of performance (PoP) consists of a one-year base period and two one-year options. The PoP for the base year is Dec. 1, 2019, through Nov. 30, 2020, and the option years follow consecutively through Nov. 30, 2022. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity (HC1084-20-D-0002). (Awarded Dec. 1, 2019)

UPDATE: ADS Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (SPE8EH-20-D-0001), has been added as an awardee to the multiple award contract for fire and emergency services equipment, issued against solicitation SPE8EH-16-R-0001, and announced March 21, 2019.

Leave A Comment