Appointments. Phebe Novakovic, the chairman and CEO of General Dynamics, has been appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a bipartisan research think tank. Novakovic’s “strategic insights will be immensely valuable at this crucial moment for policymakers in the United States and the world,” said John Hamre, president and CEO of CSIS. President Trump announced his intent to nominate Coleen Kalina to be Executive Director of the Intelligence Oversight Board, an independent board within the Executive Office of the President that provides advice on the conduct of U.S. intelligence. Kalina has served in the intelligence community for 28 years and previously was Deputy Director for Operations at the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Port Cyber Security.
The Port of Los Angeles has issued a Request for Proposals seeking companies that can design, install, operate and maintain a planned Cyber Resilience Center, which would be the central node for sharing cyber threat information across companies and stakeholders at the port. “This Cyber Resilience Center will allow us to more quickly identify and mitigate cyber incidents that pose a threat to the maritime supply chain,” said Thomas Gazsi, deputy executive director of Public Safety and Emergency Management at the port.
Cyber Compliant. Defense electronics company Mercury Systems said it is in full compliance with supply chain cyber security requirements of the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The announcement follows a five-week audit by the Cytellix division of Information Management Resources, Inc., which found that Mercury has satisfactory controls in place and complied with all 110 information protection requirements. The company said it is one of only a few companies with objective verification of a complete cyber security controls program in place, an increasingly important component to winning new defense contracts. “Receiving this independent third-party validation of our cyber security controls program is a major milestone in our comprehensive defense industrial security plan,” said Jeff Eason, Mercury’s chief information officer.
Return of C-130s. The Air Force is quickly moving through its inspections of over 100 C-130 aircraft after discovering “atypical cracks” along the rainbow fitting joint during maintenance. As of Aug. 13, 92 aircraft were inspected and 91 returned to service, said Alexandra Soika, Air Mobility Command public affairs in an email to Defense Daily. The service operates 450 C-130 aircraft, and said Aug. 7 it was temporarily removing 123 from service to check for cracks.
A-10 Rewinging Complete. The Air Force has installed the last of 173 new wings on A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthog” aircraft, the service’s Materiel Command said Aug. 12. The Air Logistics Complex’s 571st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron installed new wings for 162 aircraft at Hill AFB, Utah; the remaining 11 platforms were re-winged at Osan Air Base, South Korea. Boeing was awarded a $1.1 billion contract in 2007 to build replacement wings for the A-10, which are expected to last for up to 10,000 equivalent flight hours without a depot inspection, and keeping the aging aircraft flying into the 2030s.
One Dem Out. Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper ended his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday, and said he would consider running for Senate in 2020 instead, to oust Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), a member of the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Twenty-three candidates still remain hopeful to win the Democratic nod, including Gardner’s fellow senator from Colorado, Michael Bennet.
JASSM FMS. The Air Force on Tuesday awarded Lockheed Martin a $99 million IDIQ contract for Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) foreign military sales production support. The contract involves FMS sales to Finland, Poland and Australia, and will provide for lifecycle support for all efforts related to JASSM and any JASSM variants in the areas of system upgrades, integration, production, sustainment, management and logistical support, per the award announcement. Work will be performed at Orlando, Florida, and is expected to be completed by August 2024. No funds are being obligated at the time of award.
Pease Gets the KC-46. Boeing on Aug. 8 delivered the first two new KC-46A Pegasus aircraft to Pease Air National Guard Base, New Hampshire. Pease is expected to receive 12 of the next-generation aerial refuelers for the 157th Air Refueling Wing. A KC-46 jet was also delivered Aug. 9 to McConnell AFB, Kansas.
Army IMCOM. The Army has removed Lt. Gen Brad Becker as commander of Army Installation Management Command effective Aug. 15 based on officials “lost of trust and confidence in his ability to command.” Gen. Gus Perna, the leader of Army Materiel Command, directed Becker to be relieved of his duty, with officials noting that the decision is not related to previously reported issues with Army housing. An official Army statement did not specify details of Becker’s dismissal, adding that there is an ongoing investigation. Maj. Gen. Timothy McGuire, the current deputy command general, will serve as the interim commander of Army IMCOM.
MARS Industry Day. The Army will host an industry day on Sept. 10 to inform vendors of the new Machine-assisted Analytic Rapid-repository System (MARS) program. MARS is intended to serve as a modernization effort for the defense intelligence enterprise to find upgrades for the legacy Modernized Integrated Database. “MIDB can no longer meet the information demands of a 21st century military and decision makers. To meet these information needs and more, DIA will transform the existing MIDB into a comprehensive, adaptable, scalable, and rigorous data-centric environment,” officials wrote. The industry day will be held in McLean, Virginia, and provide industry with details of the MARS program and upcoming opportunities in fiscal year 2020.
SSGN-726. Navy finished refresh work on the oldest guided-missile submarine, the USS Ohio (SSGN-726), in Bremerton, Wash., the service said Aug. 15. The Ohio underwent a 27-month maintenance period at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility starting April 2017, after finishing a 20-month Pacific deployment. This availability updated and upgraded most of the boat’s major systems. This required nearly 400,000 man-days of work by the project team, ship force, and contractors. Repairs covered preservation and structural work on the submarine’s sail, tanks, and superstructure.
PSA LCS-16. The Navy awarded Austal USA a $23 million task order against a previously awarded basic ordering agreement for advance planning, material procurement, and accomplishing work to support the post-shakedown avail ability (PSA) of the USS Tulsa (LCS-16) Littoral Combat Ship. This work will cover the correction of government responsible trial card deficiencies, new work identified between custody transfer and PSA, and incorporation of approved engineering changes not incorporated during the construction period that are not otherwise the building yard’s responsibility under the construction contract. This was not a competitively procured award in accordance with the U.S. Code. Work will occur in Seattle, Wash., and is expected to be finished by April 2020.
CH-53K. Naval Air Systems Command awarded Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky a $107 million advance acquisition contract modification to procure long lead items for six CH-53K low-rate initial production Lot 4 aircraft. The CH-53K King Stallion is a heavy-lift cargo aircraft that is a redesign and expected replacement for the Marine Corps’ CH-53E helicopters. Work will occur in Stratford, Conn., and is expected to be finished by August 2020.
CH-53K Increase. The Navy told House appropriators this week that the Marine Corps’ new heavy-lift CH-53K helicopter will cost $43.4 million more than previously expected. In the Navy’s FY 2020 budget appeal, the service said “the Total Recurring Flyaway cost” for the six FY ’20 aircraft increased from $699.3 million to $742.7 million. This came after the Navy issued a May contract modification for Lot 2 and 3 aircraft in the CH-53K’s low-rate initial production phase. The report said the Navy did not list these costs in the budget request “due to timing of the budget submit.” The service noted this change when arguing against a House appropriations bill rescission of $53.7 million for lower planned aircraft procurement in FY ’20 compared to the FY ’19 budget. The Navy warned this rescission would cause a deficit of $97 million, reducing FY ’20 aircraft procurement from six to five helicopters.
…Columbia Cost. The Navy’s FY ’20 budget appeal also warned the House appropriation bill’s proposed $19.5 million reduction in Columbia-class submarine missile tube continuous production could incur costs up to $43 million. The bill said the reduction was inserted because the work was “early to need.” However, the Navy argued this continuous production has been in budget requests since FY ’18 and the contract was awarded in April. “The reduction creates a funding shortfall that requires the program to break a continuous production multiyear contract for missile tubes and incur cancellation costs of up to $43 million,” the Navy said.