A-10 Wings. The Air Force, whose fiscal year 2018 budget request contains funding to restart wing production for the aging A-10 Thunderbolt II close-air-support aircraft, plans to buy more wings in its FY 2019 budget request, which is scheduled for release Feb. 12, according to Air Force Gen. James “Mike” Holmes, head of Air Combat Command. The Air Force has 283 A-10s, of which 110 need new wings. The Air Force intends to keep flying the A-10 until the 2030s “at least,” though exactly how many aircraft will remain in the fleet has not been determined, Holmes said Jan. 25 at the Brookings Institution. 
LPD-27 Arrival. The future amphibious dock ship USS Portland (LPD-27) arrived at its homeport of San Diego after finishing six weeks of traveling from its Huntington Ingalls Industries Pascagoula, Miss., construction site. The 11th San Antonio-class ship left Pascagoula on Dec. 14 and visited naval bases at Key West and Mayport, Fla. as well as Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on the way to the West Coast. Commissioning is scheduled for April in Portland, Ore. LPD-27 is slated to join the 3rd Fleet.
Harpoon Test. The U.S. Navy completed a Harpoon Block II+ flight test that tested the new missile’s consonance with the latest F/A-18 software upgrades. The test of the latest missile upgrade, Systems Configuration Set H12E, occurred at Point Mugu Sea Test Range on Jan. 22. The Harpoon Block II+ contains a new GPS guidance kit, weapon reliability and survivability, new data link interface to allow in-flight updates, improved target selectivity, an abort option, and improved resistance to electronic countermeasures. The Navy plans to deploy the Harpoon Block II+ by late fiscal year 2018.
Fed CIO Nominee. President Donald Trump on Friday announced his intent to nominate Suzette Kuhlow Kent to be the next Federal Chief Information Officer, a position first filled during the Obama administration. Kent is a principal at the international consulting firm EY, formerly known as Ernst & Young, and has also been a partner at Accenture, consulting president at the financial software and consulting firm Carreker Corporation, and a managing director at JPMorgan. “Although technology change has been at the core of her professional career, retooling the workforce and creating new opportunities for people has been an essential element of efforts that she has led,” says a White House statement. Kent’s pending nomination follows Trump’s signing in December of a law that creates a fund for federal information technology modernization projects.
Space Station Pullout? Advocates of the International Space Station (ISS) are bracing for the possibility that the Trump administration’s fiscal year 2019 budget request will propose ending funding for the orbiting laboratory by 2025. “If the administration plans to abruptly pull us out of the International Space Station in 2025, they’re going to have a fight on their hands,” warns Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. “Such a move would likely decimate Florida’s blossoming commercial space industry, which is one of the reasons why Congress has directed NASA to look at extending the ISS to 2028 and to provide a plan to help scientists and researchers continue experimenting in low Earth orbit beyond that.” The United States is currently committed to supporting the ISS through 2024, but many station elements are expected to have considerable structural life after 2028.
Automotive Cyber Threat Sharing. The Department of Homeland Security and a cyber security threat sharing organization that represents the automotive industry have agreed to work together on the sharing of cyber threat information. “This relationship with DHS provides our cyber security experts the opportunity to work with their counterparts in the federal government to increase information sharing and analysis,” says Jeff Massimila of General Motors and chair of the Automotive Information Sharing and Analysis Center. Under the agreement, private sector companies participate in the DHS Cyber Information Sharing and Collaboration Program, which is a public-private bi-directional information sharing program.
Alion Naval. Alion says senior vice president Vince Stammatti will serve as the new lead for the company’s Systems Solutions business unit, which provides full lifecycle naval architecture and marine engineering solutions for the U.S. Navy and other clients. Stammatti previously served as the capture and technical lead for combat and C4ISR systems in an Alion transformational bid. Before he joined Alion, Stammatti served as VP and general manager of the power and control technologies division of DRS Technologies and general manager of BAE Systems Southeast shipyards in Jacksonville and Mayport, Fla.
Cable Returns. The USS Frank Cable (AS-40) submarine tender returned to its homeport of Naval Base Guam on Jan. 23. It first left Guam in March 2017 to undergo maintenance, renewal, and repairs to return the ship to its designed mission capabilities in Portland, Ore. (Defense Daily, Jan. 3). The Frank Cable is one of only two active Emory S. Land-class tenders that re-arms, re-supplies, and repairs submarines and surface vessels forward deployed in the Indo-Asia-pacific region. Its crew is split between Military Sealift Command (MSC) civilian mariners and Navy sailors.
Vietnam Vinson. The Pentagon says the U.S. is in discussions with Vietnam for the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) to visit Da Nang in March 2018. Secretary of Defense James Mattis reached an agreement with Vietnam Minister of National Defense Ngo Xuan Lich to work toward the visit while Mattis was in the country for an official visit. The Vinson would be the largest U.S. warship to visit Vietnam.
State of the Union. President Donald Trump will head to the House of Representatives the evening of Jan. 30 to deliver his first State of the Union speech. Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) will give the Democratic response.
Super Bowl Prep. A demonstration of air-defense operations for the Feb. 4 Super Bowl will take place Jan. 30, according to the Civil Air Patrol, an Air Force auxiliary. During the demonstration, a Cessna flown by the Civil Air Patrol’s Minnesota Wing will simulate an aircraft entering the no-fly zone around the Super Bowl in Minneapolis. Minnesota Air National Guard F-16s will intercept the Cessna, flying alongside it, making radio contact and guiding it out of the restricted airspace.
Super Bowl Flyover. An Air Force “heritage flight” will perform a flyover at the Super Bowl, which will take place Feb. 4 in Minneapolis, service spokeswoman Jennifer Bentley says. The planes will be an F-16 Fighting Falcon, two A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and a World War II-era P-51 Mustang.
Immigration Framework. The White House last Thursday released its “Framework on Immigration & Border Security,” which says at minimum a $25 billion trust fund is needed for a border wall system, and for improvements to ports of entry and exit, and the northern border. The framework says that the nation’s southern and northern borders need a combination of physical infrastructure, technology, personnel, and authorities to be secure. Other features of the framework include a 10-12-year path to citizenship for minors that came to the U.S. illegally but were protected from deportation under an executive order issued by former President Barack Obama in 2012. President Donald Trump’s framework would permit these “dreamers,” as the illegal minors are referred to, to remain in the country as long as they meet certain requirements for “work, education, and good moral character.”
Coast Guard Seeks Small Boats. The Coast Guard is soliciting for the design and construction of a new fleet of cutter boats-large (CB-L) that will operate aboard its 210-foot medium endurance cutters and 225-foot Juniper-class seagoing buoy tenders. The potential $20 million acquisition is for up to 46 CB-Ls over five years. The boats will be designed to carry a crew of five, including a gunner, and have room for up to five additional passengers. The CB-Ls will also operate aboard the Coast Guard Cutters Alex Haley and Mackinaw. Proposals are due March 2.
C-2A Survey. The U.S. Navy is contracting with Research Vessel (RV) Petrel to survey the location of the C-2A Greyhound aircraft that crashed in the Philippine Sea in November. The vessel plans to embark with Navy Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV) personnel and travel from the Philippines to the C-2A’s location, found in late December (Defense Daily, Jan. 12). The ship will deploy side-scan-sonar and a remote operated vehicle (ROV) to survey and map the ocean floor. Once complete, SUPSALV will analyze the data and assign appropriate personnel and equipment to recover the aircraft. The RV Petrel can explore up to 6,000 meters deep.
Polaris Contract. Latvian National Armed Forces award Polaris a $500,000 contract for an unknown number of Polaris MRZR 2 side-by-side vehicles, SPORTSMAN 6×6 and MV850 all-terrain vehicles. The contract includes spare parts for the vehicles, as well as operator and maintenance training, which will be conducted in country by Polaris. “Latvia’s contract for MRZR 2 and ATVs will greatly enhance the mobility of their fleet in the Baltics, positively impacting their tactical advantage and support efforts to reinforce Latvia borders,” says Doug Malikowski, director of international business development for Polaris Government and Defense. The Polaris ultralight and all-terrain vehicles will be used primarily for border security. Polaris military vehicles provide off-road mobility for expeditionary forces in the U.S. and more than 25 allied countries to meet current and future mission demands and threats.
… And Turkmenistan. The Turkmenistan Special Operation Forces awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to Polaris for military and commercial vehicles. “Polaris is looking forward to supporting the Government of Turkmenistan and their defense forces as they update their ground vehicle fleet with Polaris lightweight tactical vehicles,” says Doug Malikowski, director of international business development. “The vehicles we provide are highly transportable, off-road capable and are relied on for helping Special Forces navigate restrictive and complex environments.” Polaris vehicles also are featured in the Turkmenistan Independence Day parade. Polaris Government and Defense has other military customers in Central Asia including Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Philippines, and Malaysia.