US, So. Korea Engage in Round of War Games
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The US and South Korea kicked off a new round of war games Monday despite protests from North Korea, which threatened a pre-emptive nuclear strike, Stars and Stripes reports.
Navy Times reports that as threats mount in the Pacific region, the head of the US Pacific Fleet is directing his fleet to be ready to fight and to “reinforce the international order” by working with allies and partners in the region.
Lockheed Martin made improvements last month to the Quantum Computation Center housed at the USC Information Sciences Institute, increasing its qubit capacity to 1,098, Yahoo Tech reports. It’s latest step in a process that’s been going on for six and a half years, as Lockheed Martin attempts to carve out a space in the fast-moving field of quantum computing.
Only one F-35 Air Force squadron — at Hill Air Force Base in Utah — has been activated and declared combat ready. The next AF F-35 combat squadron will go to Burlington Air National Guard Base in Vermont, The State reports. Some bases, such as Shaw AFB and McEntire Joint National Guard Base in South Carolina are anxiously awaiting their turn.
“We are small but we want to be capable of being a little Tasmanian Devil that you don’t want to play with because if you come at us, were going to give you a seriously hard time that will probably not be worth the effort; deterrence in its purest form,” Craig Heap, commander of the Surveillance and Response Group in the Royal Australian Air Force, told Breaking Defense. The Australian military is shaping a transformed military force, one built around new platforms but ones that operate in a joint manner in an extended battlespace.
Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 launched its new RQ-21A Blackjack UAS during training aboard Cannon Air Defense Complex in Arizona last week. VMU-1 received the new aircraft in June, and the Marines are excited about the advanced capabilities it brings over the RQ-7 Shadow the unit previously used, DVIDS reports.
VADM Mike Shoemaker said striking the balance between a tanker and a surveillance aircraft is an area of concern for Navy aviation planners and industry as they craft what will be the service’s first operational, carrier UAV, USNI reports. “Once tasked with being primarily an information, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft native to the carrier strike group, the Navy’s first push into unmanned fixed wing aviation – MQ-25A Stingray — will now fulfill a badly needed tanker role for the air wing in addition to the ISR mission,” he said.
Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will present their plans for veterans program reforms during appearances at the American Legion national convention in Cincinnati, OH, Military Times reports. Both candidates addressed the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in North Carolina in July. Clinton will address the convention Aug. 31; Trump will speak Sept. 1.
The Defense Department will consider opening military exchange services online discount shopping to 19 million honorably discharged veterans starting in late 2017, Stars and Stripes reports. The plan to extend shopping discounts to most American veterans has two purposes: to reward them for their service with product savings and to increase exchange revenues which have been declining.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Kenya. He is expected to hold talks with leaders of the East African nation that are expected to focus on regional security and extremism. Specific issues likely to be discussed include stabilizing northern neighbor South Sudan and developments in Somalia and Burundi.
Contracts:
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Redondo Beach, CA, has been awarded a $10,742,219 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00015) exercising the second option to previously awarded contract HR0011-14-C-0017 for Phase 3 of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) research program. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $57,583,641 from $46,841,422. Work will be performed in Redondo Beach, CA (63 percent); Rolling Meadows, IL (25 percent); Linthicum, MD (3 percent); Oxford, MA (4 percent); and Pittsburgh, PA (5 percent), with an expected completion date of July 2017. Fiscal 2016 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $10,742,219 are being obligated at time of award. DARPA, Arlington, VA, is the contracting activity.
BTA/ONYX Group JV LLC has been awarded a contract to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract with a combined program ceiling of $950,000,000 for design and construction services. Contractor will provide Architect-Engineering 2013 (A-E13) design and construction service, including A-E services to support sustainment, restoration and modernization programs. The work includes efforts to perform Title I, Title II, and other A-E services to administer, coordinate, and technically support the Air Force Civil Engineer’s SRM program areas. Work will be performed at government locations within the following states: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, and is expected to be complete by Aug. 18, 2023. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition with 83 offers received. Fiscal 2016 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $3,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Installation Contracting Agency, 772nd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, TX, is the contracting activity (FA8903-16-D-0002).
Lockheed Martin Corp., Manassas, VA, is being awarded a $38,608,779 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the design and production of the Technical Insertion 2016 Ship Self Defense System upgrades to be installed in various carrier and amphibious ship classes. Technical Insertion 2016 (TI-16) is a planned technical insertion and refresh to the Ship Self Defense System hardware which improves the performance and sustainability of the equipment. TI-16 also introduces a high degree of electronics component commonality with the Aegis Combat System, and capitalizes on improved computer processing, networking, and data storage. TI-16 also introduces the potential of reducing and/or consolidating the number of computers required to meet certain Integrated Combat System requirements. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, VA, and is expected to be completed by August 2020. Fiscal 2016 other procurement (Navy) in the amount of $969,095 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured and received three offers via the Federal Business Opportunities. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, VA, is the contracting activity (N00178-16-D-3001).
Ultra 3 Phoenix Inc., Chantilly, VA, is being awarded a $7,938,524 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-13-C-6264 to exercise options for continuing engineering services in support of Virginia-Class submarines and other submarine/surface ship systems. Specifically, these options will support software development, procurement of commercial off-the-shelf products and hardware/software integration required to improve technology for the Navy open architecture and network centric operations and warfare systems. Work will be performed in Chantilly, VA (60 percent); Wake Forest, NC (20 percent); and Hanover, MD (20 percent), and is expected to be completed by August 2017. Fiscal 2015 and 2016 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); and fiscal 2014 and 2015 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $3,934,747 will be obligated at time of award, and funds in the amount of $250,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, DC, is the contracting activity.
Textron Systems, Hunt Valley, MD, was awarded a $9,600,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide hardware and sustainment services for product director electronic attack universal test sets. Bids were solicited via the Internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 18, 2021. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, is the contracting activity (W56KGY-16-D-0017).
The Onyx Urban Collaborative JV LLC, Alexandria, VA, is being awarded a maximum amount $30,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity architect-engineering contract for facility planning services in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest area of responsibility (AOR). The work to be performed provides for project planning documents, sustainability master planning, geospatial information and service, and other support services. No task orders are being issued at this time. Work will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities within the NAVFAC Southwest AOR including, but not limited to, California (87 percent); Arizona (5 percent); Nevada (5 percent); Colorado (1 percent); New Mexico (1 percent); and Utah (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by August 2021. Fiscal 2016 operation and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $5,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by operation and maintenance (Navy). This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with six proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, CA, is the contracting activity (N62473-16-D-1846).
Integrity Applications Inc., Chantilly, VA, has been awarded an $8,623,598 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for white lightening software, hardware, and technical documentation. Contractor will provide research and develop concepts that identify the attributes and characteristics which will allow for analysis of operational status, as well as capabilities and modes of operation, in support of the cyber operations mission. Work will be performed at Chantilly, VA; and Kihei, Hawaii, and is expected to be complete by Aug. 22, 2019. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition with two offers received. Fiscal 2015 and 2016 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $680,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, NY, is the contracting activity (FA8750-16-C-0186).
