Undersea Warfare Priority for Navy

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 US Navy has renewed its focus on undersea threats and has labeled anti-submarine warfare a priority for all sailors, reports Military Times. “Anti-submarine warfare is a primary mission for everybody in the United States Navy, regardless of what you wear on your chest,” said retired VADM Andrew Lewis. Russia plans to acquire two nuclear submarines equipped with intercontinental ballistic missiles and two diesel-powered submarines to add to its estimated 58-vessel fleet, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative. China has four ballistic missile submarines and 50 diesel-electric attack submarines.

The US Navy 5th Fleet will launch a new task force that incorporates airborne, sailing, and underwater drones after years of maritime attacks linked to ongoing tensions with Iran, reports Navy Times.

As the US winds down its presence in Afghanistan, US Air Force leaders are promising a return to a Cold War posture opposite China and Russia, reports Defense News.

President Joe Biden told Chinese leader Xi Jinping in a late Thursday phone call that the US wants to “responsibly manage the competition” between the two countries, reports Politico, in the hopes of avoiding conflict between the two countries.

US Air Force B-2 Spirit bombers completed a training mission with Norway over the North Sea, reports UPI. The mission was designed to integrate Norwegian F-35 Lightning IIs to test escort procedures, stand-off weapon employment, and suppression of air defenses.

North Korea staged a military parade late last week to mark the 73rd anniversary of its founding, reports UPI, although it did not appear that any new military hardware was on display.

The US Army’s 2nd Infantry Division artillery headquarters, with about 100 soldiers, is moving from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, to Camp Humphreys in South Korea, reports Defense News.

The United States and India have agreed to develop unmanned aerial vehicles, reports Breaking Defense. The over $22 million price tag for the project will be evenly split. The Pentagon said is the “largest-ever” RDT&E effort between the two countries.

Sikorsky Aircraft will perform systems engineering necessary to install data storage and electronic warfare systems to upgrade the US Marine Corps CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter at NAS Pax River, MD, and four other locations, reports Military & Aerospace Electronics. The terms of a $11.9 million order were announced last week.

The intersection of Cedar Point Road and Taxiway Alpha onbaord NAS Pax River will be closed throughout October as officials conduct a traffic impact survey related to upcoming airfield construction projects, reports Construction Equipment Guide.

 

 

The University of Maryland is partnering with quantum computing developer IonQ to build a laboratory — the Q-Lab — on the College Park campus in hopes of becoming a center for research and innovations in the field, reports The Baltimore Sun.

Linda Gooden, a former Lockheed Martin executive, is a 2021 honoree to The Baltimore Sun’s Business and Civic Hall of Fame. Gooden serves on the University System of Maryland Board of Regents and is hailed as one of the nation’s top women in technology.

Maxton Soviak, the US Navy sailor killed during an August attack on the Kabul airport in Afghanistan, has been posthumously promoted, the service announced. Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Soviak also received the Purple Heart and Fleet Marine Force Corpsman warfare badge. The Associated Press reported that the other 12 Marines who died during the attack have been awarded Purple Hearts as well.

The Pentagon said it will ramp up mental health outreach to veterans and service members involved in the recently ended Afghanistan War, reports The Hill.

Veteran suicides fell to their lowest level in 12 years in 2019, down more than one death a day from the previous year’s levels, reports Navy Times.

Corvias Foundation recently awarded 16 scholarships to military spouses, according to a foundation news release. Among the recipients is Mykell Wicks of Fort Meade, MD, a licensed practical nurse working toward a registered nurse credential.

The House Armed Services Committee approved language which would mandate a report on whether “tattoos and body modification for potential enlistees have become a deterrent to meeting recruitment goals,” reports Military Times.

Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling opened a charter school last month, reports Army Times. Many of the military families at the base have been sending their children to schools that require an hour or more bus ride. At the school’s ribbon-cutting, they expressed the importance that the school was within walking distance of their homes on base.

Earlier this month, VADM Dean Peters took to the skies over NAS Pax River for his final flight as commander of the Naval Air Systems Command, reports Tester. A change of command ceremony was held September 9.

Contracts:

Nakupuna Solutions LLC, Arlington, Virginia, is awarded a $47,002,572 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides program and project management, administrative, analytical, and corporate operations support services for the Naval Air Systems Command, Command Property Office in support of audit related activities. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (50%); and Arlington, Virginia (50%), and is expected to be completed in September 2026. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 19.8. The Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N6852021D0004).

Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Virginia, was awarded a $91,301,276 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to assess energy vulnerabilities, defining requirements for energy resilience projects and identifying third-party funding sources for energy resilience and security projects. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of July 24, 2026. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $2,808,360 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W912DY-21-F-0370).

Oceaneering International Inc., Hanover, Maryland, is awarded an $18,914,424 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-4315 to exercise a contract option for the continuation of the Navy’s domestic and international submarine rescue program, Submarine Rescue Operations Maintenance Contractor. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed in September 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $5,641,300 (78%); and fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,317,945 (18%); and fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $269,564 (4%) will be obligated at the time of award, of which funds in the amount of $5,641,300 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

BAE Systems Land & Armaments L.P., Sterling Heights, Michigan, is awarded a $29,783,777 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract (M67854-16-0006) for Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACV). This contract modification provides for the exercise of options for the Phase Three design and development of the ACV medium caliber cannon mission role variant. Work will be performed in San Jose, California (45%); York, Pennsylvania (20%); Kongsberg, Norway (20%); Stafford, Virginia (10%); Bolzano, Italy (3.5%); and Aiken, South Carolina (1.5%) with an expected completion date of July 2022. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $910,193 will be obligated at the time of award, and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $7,690,548 will be obligated at the time of award, and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum Heights, Maryland, is awarded a not-to-exceed $28,700,000 modification to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract M67854-19-C-0043 for Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) systems. This modification provides for the procurement of one additional G/ATOR system for the Air Force. The G/ATOR program is managed within the portfolio of Program Executive Officer Land Systems, Quantico, Virginia. Work will be performed in Linthicum, Maryland (37%); East Syracuse, New York (28%); Stafford Springs, Connecticut (7%); Tulsa, Oklahoma (6%); Syracuse, New York (4%); Valencia, California (3%); San Diego, California (3%); Richardson, Texas (3%); Farmingdale, New York (2%); St. Paul, Minnesota (2%); Gilbert, Arizona (1%); Phoenix, Arizona (1%); Lowell, Massachusetts (1%); Littleton, Colorado (1%); and Durham, North Carolina (1%). Work is expected to be complete in January 2025. Fiscal 2021 procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $14,350,000 are being obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification was not competitively procured in accordance with Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1 and 10 U.S. Code § 2304(c)(1). Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia, is awarded a $7,933,077 cost-plus-fixed-fee level-of-effort, cost-plus incentive fee (completion), and firm-fixed-price modification to delivery order N62793-21-F-7800. The delivery order is placed against contract N00024-19-D-4306 for planned incremental availability (PIA) execution on the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by March 2022. Fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,946,557 will be obligated at time of the modification award. This contract was not competitively procured. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, Newport News, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Enlighten IT Consulting LLC, Linthicum Heights, Maryland, has been awarded a $12,353,851 firm-fixed price modification (P00003) to previously awarded contract FA8307-21-C-0006. This contract modification adds the Coast Guard (USCG) SURVEYOR services to the existing ELICSAR Big Data Platform contract, determined to be within scope and within the current period of performance of April 1, 2021, through March 30, 2024. The location of performance is USCG Headquarters, Washington, DC. The base period of performance is Sept. 15, 2021, to March 31, 2022, plus two option periods consisting of one 12-month option and one six-month option for a total of 24.5 months. The work is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2023. Fiscal 2021 3400 operation and maintenance (O&M) funds in the amount of $3,327,301; fiscal 2022 3400 O&M funds in the amount of $6,481,097; and fiscal 2023 3400 O&M funds in the amount of $2,545,453 were obligated at the time of award. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $78,648,224. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Joint-Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, is the contracting activity.