March 28, 2024

Trump’s FY18 Budget Cuts Hit DoD, Also

2020 Budget

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.

President Donald Trump’s FY18 budget will make the Army happy, not so much weapons contractors, reports Breaking Defense. Personnel gets a $2.5 billion hike while operations and maintenance grows by $3.2 billion, but weapons modernization remains squeezed with an increase of $600 million, while procurement would slip by $400 million. Research and development is up by $1 billion from 2017.

Navy officials say the budget is in line with their plans for holding major acquisition changes for 2019, reports Defense News. Otherwise there are no significant differences between the Trump administration’s proposed 2018 budget and the plan as laid out in the last Obama administration submission.

The proposed budget would give military personnel a 2.1 percent pay raise in January, less than the projected rise in private sector wages, reports Military Times.com. This amounts to about $50 more for many junior enlisted troops and another $115 for younger officers. A pay chart for every rank is included in article.

The budget proposal further eliminates Chesapeake Bay cleanup dollars, increasing the pressure on key Virginia and Maryland lawmakers to rescue the funding, The Washington Post reports.

Rumors of the A-10’s and U-2’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, reports Defense News. Air Force officials say there are no plans to retire either the A-10 Warthog or the venerable U-2 spy plane in Trump’s proposed budget.

The FY18 budget proposal, according to the Office of Management and Budget, outlines more than $4 billion in cuts to federal employee retirement benefits this year: eliminating cost-of-living adjustments for all employees in the Federal Employee Retirement System and cutting the COLA rate by 0.5 percent for those in the Civil Service Retirement System, reports Federal Times. The savings are estimated at $524 million in fiscal 2018. To offset costs allowing veterans to seek care outside the VA, the proposed budget cuts monthly stipends to some disabled, unemployed veterans and reduces veterans’ COLA to offset a program, reports Stars and Stripes.

North Korea, if left unchecked, is on an “inevitable” path to obtaining a nuclear-armed missile capable of striking the United States, Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart told a Senate hearing, reports Reuters.

US officials draw fire from the Brits for disclosing the identity of the Manchester suicide bomber before he was officially named by the UK police. Time reports these latest leaks follow intense scrutiny of US intelligence sharing following Trump’s disclosure of classified information from Israel to visiting Russian officials.

Contracts:

Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Mitchel Field, New York, is being awarded a $79,884,066 cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide technical and program management support services associated with the Trident II (D5) Shipboard Systems Integration (SSI) Increments four and eight for the navigation subsystem. This contract will provide the required navigation hardware and software design, testing, installation, and deliverables for the SSI Increments Fleet support services for the current fleet ballistic missile strategic weapon system; US and UK inertial navigation system and gyro modification and repair associated efforts; and development efforts for the modernization program of SSI program including US and UK trainer maintenance and development. Work will be performed in Mitchel Field, New York (76 percent); Oldsmar, Florida (14 percent); and Manassas, Virginia (10 percent), with an expected completion date of Dec. 31, 2018. The maximum value of this contract, including the base year and one-year option, if exercised, is $87,282,307. Fiscal 2017 other procurement  (Navy) funds in the amount of $71,704,126; U.K. funds in the amount of $6,504,511; and fiscal 2017 research, development, technology, and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,675,429 are being obligated on this award. No funds will expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was a sole-source acquisition pursuant to 10 US Code 2304(c)(1)&(4). Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00030-17-C-0045).

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, California, is being awarded $64,526,366 for modification P00005 to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-15-C-0007) to exercise an option for operator, maintenance, logistic support, and sustainment engineering services in support of the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance-Demonstrator (BAMS-D) program. The logistics support includes training, supply chain and spares management for Global Hawk peculiar items, peculiar support equipment, and technical publications. In addition, this option provides for organization, intermediate, and depot level maintenance, and field services representatives to ensure the BAMS-D aircraft are mission-capable for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (70 percent); Rancho Bernardo, California (5 percent); and various forward operating locations (25 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2018. Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $64,526,366 will be obligated at time of award; all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Rolling Meadows, Illinois, is being awarded $13,935,792 for modification P00003 to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-16-C-0026) for procurement of additional hardware to integrate Navy large aircraft infrared countermeasures on combat aircraft for the Navy and the governments of the UK and Australia. Hardware for this procurement includes weapon replaceable assemblies and support equipment: two 2103 Signal Processors, 23 Guardian Laser Transmitter Assemblies (GLTAs), 23 GLTA shipping containers for the Navy, and 18 Multi-role Electro-optical End-to-End Test Sets for the Navy (14) and the governments of the United Kingdom (two) and Australia (two). Work will be performed in Rolling Meadows, Illinois (34 percent); Goleta, California (30 percent); Longmont, Colorado (11 percent); Colombia, Maryland (3 percent); various locations within the US (19 percent); and various locations outside the continental US (3 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2019. Fiscal 2017 aircraft procurement (Navy, Air Force); working capital fund (Navy); and international partner funds in the amount of $13,935,792 are being obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Navy ($13,055,492; 94 percent);  Air Force ($528,180; 4 percent); and the governments of UK ($176,060; 1 percent) and Australia ($176,060; 1 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Engineering Solutions and Products LLC, was awarded an $11,001,491 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for systems engineering and technical assistance support services for product manager radars. Bids were solicited via the Internet with six received. Work will be performed in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of May 14, 2020. Fiscal 2015, 2016, and 2017 other procurement (Army); and operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the combined amount of $11,001,491 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W56KGY-17-C-0011).

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