Wallops Hopes to Land East Coast Drone Hub

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.

Virginia wants to establish a facility for drone testing at the Wallops Flight Facility, The Virginian Pilot reports. The state hopes to spend $4 million to build a 3,000-foot runway for unmanned aircraft. An environmental assessment is under way. Wallops is in competition with Key West Naval Air Station and Mayport Naval Air Station in Florida.

South Korean officials say North Korea fired what appeared to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile off its east coast on Saturday, The New York Post reports. This comes amid concerns that the North might conduct a nuclear test or a missile launch ahead of a key ruling party meeting in May.

The US and China remain united in their opposition to North Korea’s “provocative and irresponsible behavior,” The Washington Post reports. At the same time, The Diplomat reports that China is flight testing multiple warhead missiles that have the capability to reach US shores.

Personnel at RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland, got a preview of a fleet of US Navy P-8 Poseidons. The spy planes are part of a joint training exercise and offer a glimpse of what the future brings for the crew at the Scottish base, The Press and Journal reports. Meanwhile, Patrol Squadron (VP) 8 in Jacksonville, FL, hosted a crew from the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Patrol Squadron 1 at Kadena Air Base Okinawa, JaxAir News reports. The Fighting Tigers provided a static display of a P-8A and discussed the operations and capabilities concerning the P-8A.

The US Air Force has modified an MC-130J Commando II with winglets and performed eight test flights to investigate their effect on fuel efficiency, IHS Jane’s reports. This comes three years after Lockheed Martin stopped trials because the firm said the integration didn’t bring about the hoped-for fuel savings.

An Air Force official tells Flightglobal that his team is moving away from terms like “fighter” and “next-generation” and will instead look at different ways to do air warfare in the future.

Africa has become a battleground in the West’s war against militant Islam. News last week that the Islamic State and Boko Haram might be joining forces is especially alarming, US military officials told The New York Times.

Islamic militants may have been driven out of the Iraqi city of Ramadi, but they left behind bombs and booby traps, Defense One reports. Now a US company has arrived to figure out just how much unexploded ordnance is strewn across the city, and to teach Iraqis how to spot it.

President Obama is expected to participate in a counterterrorism strategy session this week with European leaders in Germany, the Hill reports.

A ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee is apprehensive about recommendations about pay raise provisions in the defense authorization bills, Federal News Radio reports. Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA) is concerned increases would affect readiness, taking funds from critical repairs and replacement needs, for example, and hurt the military further if sequestration returns.

The Hill reports that legislation has been introduced in Congress that would protect immigrant US military veterans from deportation. “If we’re [deporting] one veteran, that’s one too many,” Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said.

Progeny Systems Corp., Manassas, VA, is being awarded a $10,758,039 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-14-C-5209) to exercise an option for engineering and technical services in support of the Navy’s AN/UYQ-100 undersea warfare decision support system. The AN/UYQ-100 undersea warfare decision support system provides an integrated near real-time net-centric undersea warfare command and control capability across multiple platforms for the fleet. Work will be performed in Manassas, VA (67 percent); Patuxent River, MD (12 percent); Gig Harbor, WA (7 percent); Middleton, RI (6 percent); Norfolk, VA (4 percent); and Pearl Harbor, HI (4 percent), and is expected to be completed by March 2017. Fiscal 2016 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); fiscal 2016 operation and maintenance (Navy); and fiscal 2016 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $5,346,369 will be obligated at the time of award, and $1,289,681 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Coherent Technical Services Inc., Lexington Park, MD, is being awarded $20,471,350 for modification P00005 to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N66001-13-D-0107) to exercise an option for emerging navigation technology engineering services for air and shipboard command, control, communication, computers and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities. Work will be performed in San Diego, CA (80 percent); Los Angeles, CA (10 percent); and Lexington Park, MD (10 percent), and is expected to be completed April 17, 2018. Fiscal 2016 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $20,471,350 will be obligated on this modification, and contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The original contract was competitively procured via publication on the Federal Business Opportunities web site.The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, CA, is the contracting activity.