March 29, 2024

Valve Suspected in Hornets’ & Growlers’ Hypoxia

Hypoxia Hornet

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.

A valve may lead to cabin pressure problems in Super Hornets and Growlers, reports Navy Times. The valve has been identified and might be causing problematic pressure changes in F/A-18E and F Super Hornets and E/A-18G Growlers during flight. “We’re not declaring victory, but we are declaring that we found something to fix, and we’re fixing it,” said Capt. Sara Joyner, who was appointed to lead research into preventing hypoxia.

The Navy training jet that crashed last week in Tennessee, killing two on board, had a recently installed monitor to help the pilots check oxygen pressure, a concern of many in the military who fly the aircraft, WBIR.com reports.

Renewable energy entrepreneur Elon Musk says he can rebuild Puerto Rico’s shattered electrical infrastructure with his solar energy technology, reports BBC News. He’s done this with smaller islands and says the technology can be scaled up.

Facebook and Twitter have agreed to testify at an upcoming Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Russian interference during the 2016 elections, reports The Hill. Both companies have already briefed House and Senate Intelligence Committees on their findings regarding Russian actors using their platforms to influence the presidential election.

The future of the Iran nuclear deal may hinge on a face-saving fix for President Donald Trump so he doesn’t have to re-certify the Islamic republic’s compliance every 90 days, reports The Christian Science Monitor. Several officials familiar with internal discussions say the periodic reviews mandated by Congress have become such a source of embarrassment for Mr. Trump that his national security aides are seeking ways for him to stop signing off on the seven-nation accord without scuttling it entirely.

A Pentagon official says this year’s hurricane season and the relief efforts by the military to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean will cause a delay in deployments of US forces to Afghanistan, Army Times reports.

Puerto Rico debt bailout is not on the table, reports U.S. News and World Report. White House OMB Director Mick Mulvaney walked back Trump’s call to “wipe out” Puerto Rico’s substantial $74 billion of debt, which prompted questions about what steps the president can legally take to alleviate the island’s financial crisis.

Boeing acquires aerial drone and electric-powered aircraft maker Aurora Flight Sciences of Manassas, Virginia, reports Washington Technology Daily.

The Navy is accelerating use of artificial intelligence to track and thwart cyber attacks, reports Defense Systems. “Our brains do not have the intellectual capacity to process all of that information,” says RADM Danelle Barrett, Navy Cyber Security Division director.

Reducing the size of the federal workforce with drastic cuts to civilian agencies may not accomplish this adminstration’s goal, says FCW.  A new report compares a 1984 total federal workforce — federal employees, contractors, grant employees, active-duty military, and postal carriers — at 9.8 million, 21.2 percent full-time federal employees. That hit 11.3 million in 2010, mostly increased contractors and grant employees. Today’s much larger population is served by a 9.1 million federal workforce, about 22.4 percent full-time feds.

The Diplomat reports the US State Department has approved a potential sale of AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles to Japan.

Two sub-hunting and surveillance Navy jet planes have reached Hawaii, The Associated Press reports. The arrival of the P-8A Poseidon jets extends a Navy maritime presence that started on Oahu in the 1920s. The planes are part of a patrol squadron called the “Skinny Dragons.”

The VA will begin issuing new veterans ID cards in November, giving recipients an easy way to show their military service for business discounts and other promotions,, reports Military Times. The ID cards will be made available at no cost to any veteran who applies through the department’s website at va.gov.

Contracts:

PAE Applied Technologies LLC, Lexington Park, Maryland, is being awarded a $35,114,380 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N0024414C0007) to exercise options for the accomplishment of operations, maintenance, and logistics support services for the Southern California Offshore Range (SCORE). This option exercise is for continued operations, maintenance and logistic support of all SCORE systems, equipment, range support craft, and government furnished databases and management systems. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (50 percent); and San Clemente Island, California (50 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2018. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,870,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division, Norco, California, is the contracting activity.

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, California, is being awarded $66,312,606 for cost-plus-fixed-fee task order 0041 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-15-G-0026) to procure test and maintenance services to sustain MQ-4C Triton unmanned air system (UAS) air vehicles, mission control and operator training systems. In addition, this effort includes procurement of field service representatives technical support to ensure that the MQ-4C UAS aircraft are mission-capable for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions supporting Triton’s early operating capability. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (50 percent); Point Mugu, California (25 percent); Jacksonville, Florida (20 percent); and Yigo, Guam (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2018. Fiscal 2017 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); and fiscal 2017 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $13,018,952 are being obligated on this award, $2,550,000 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.  

Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia (N00189-18-D-Z001); Capstone Corp., Alexandria, Virginia (N00189-18-D-Z002); ECS Federal LLC, Fairfax, Virginia (N00189-18-D-Z0003); Deloitte Consulting LLP, Alexandria, Virginia (N00189-18-D-Z004); and Whitney, Bradley & Brown Inc., Reston, Virginia (N00189-18-D-Z005), are being awarded a combined estimated $111,808,367 multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts that will include terms and conditions for the placement of both cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price task orders to provide professional services in the areas of program management, engineering, logistics, financial management, and administrative support in support for commander, Navy Installations Command Headquarters, Washington, District of Columbia. Each contract will run concurrently and each will include a 36-month base ordering period and an optional 24-month ordering period. If all options are exercised, the total estimated value of the contracts combined will be $188,762,019. The ordering period of the contract is expected to be completed by October 2020; if all options are exercised, ordering will be completed by October 2022. Work will be performed at government facilities in Washington, District of Columbia (80 percent); and at various contractor locations throughout the US (20 percent). Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $50,000 will be obligated ($10,000 on each of the five contracts, subject to the availability of funds, to fund the contracts’ minimum amounts) and funds will expire at the end of fiscal 2018. This contract was competitively procured for the award of multiple contracts pursuant to the authority set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation 16.504. The requirement was posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website, with 15 offers received.  Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk Contracting Department, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity.

Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama, is being awarded a not-to-exceed the congressional cost cap of $584,200,000 fixed-price-incentive firm target modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-17-C-2301) to exercise the option for the construction of a littoral combat ship (LCS). Austal USA will perform and oversee all necessary design, planning, construction and test and trials activities in support of delivery of this ship to the Navy.  The Navy expects to release a competitive solicitation(s) for additional LCS class ships in future years, and therefore the specific contract award amount for these ships is considered source selection sensitive information (see 41 U.S. Code 2101, et seq., Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101 and FAR 3.104) and will not be made public at this time. Work will be performed in Mobile, Alabama (54 percent); Pittsfield, Massachusetts (9 percent); California, Maryland (4 percent); Cincinnati, Ohio (4 percent); Leesburg, Virginia (3 percent); Williston, Vermont (3 percent); Linthicum, Maryland (3 percent); East Syracuse, New York (2 percent); Franklin, Massachusetts (2 percent); and various other locations of less than 2 percent each (totaling 16 percent), and is expected to be completed by October 2023. Fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding not-to-exceed the congressional cost cap of $584,200,000 for construction of one fiscal 2017 LCS will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Corp., Baltimore, Maryland, is being awarded a not-to-exceed the congressional cost cap of $584,200,000 fixed-price-incentive firm target contract for the construction of a littoral combat ship (LCS). The awarded contract includes associated cost-plus-fixed-fee LCS class services and related material, and firm-fixed-price integrated data environment support. The contract also includes options for the construction of additional LCS, class services, and post-delivery availability support. The Navy expects to release a competitive solicitation(s) for additional LCS class ships in future years, and therefore the specific contract award amount for these ships is considered source selection sensitive information (see 41 U.S. Code 2101, et seq., Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101 and FAR 3.104) and will not be made public at this time. Work will be performed in Marinette, Wisconsin (37 percent); Washington, District of Columbia (12 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (10 percent); New York, New York (2 percent); Beloit, Wisconsin (2 percent); Iron Mountain, Michigan (2 percent); Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1 percent); Waunakee, Wisconsin (1 percent); Crozet, Virginia (1 percent); Coleman, Wisconsin (1 percent); Moorestown, New Jersey (1 percent); and various other locations of less than 1 percent each (totaling 30 percent), and is expected to be completed by October 2023. Fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding not-to-exceed the congressional cost cap of $584,200,000 for construction of one fiscal 2017 LCS; and fiscal 2016 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) in the amount of $15,000,000 for LCS class services and integrated data environment support will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was awarded via a limited competition between Austal USA and Lockheed Martin pursuant to 10 US Code 2304(c)(1), and FAR 6.302-1; full and open competition need not be provided for when it is necessary to award the supplies or services needed by the agency which are available from only one responsible source or only from a limited number of responsible sources and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy the needs of the agency. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-18-C-2300).

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