Taiwan Trip. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), chair of new the House Select Committee on China, has urged Congress to address the backlog of Foreign Military Sale cases with Taiwan following a trip to Taipei this week where he met with senior government officials. “I return from my trip to Taiwan even more convinced that the time to arm Taiwan to the teeth was yesterday. Taiwan is on the frontlines of authoritarian expansion. We must surge hard power west of the international date line in order to deter a Chinese Communist Party invasion before it’s too late. Gallagher said in a statement. “In particular, we should move heaven and earth to clear the nearly $19 billion backlog of Foreign Military Sales Items that have been approved but not delivered to Taiwan.” Gallagher said his trip included meeting Taiwan’s president, vice president, foreign minister, minister of defense and director general of its National-Security Bureau.
Tester to Run.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), chair of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, announced on Feb. 22 he will run for reelection in 2024. “Montanans need a fighter that will hold our government accountable and demand Washington stand up for veterans and lower costs for families. I will always fight to defend our Montana values,” Tester said in a statement. Tester’s announcement is likely welcomed by Democrats who viewed his Montana seat as key to the party’s efforts for keeping the majority in the next election. Tester, who was first elected to the Senate in 2006, has been the Senate’s top defense appropriator since 2021 and also chairs the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Lockheed Martin Departure. Christian Marrone, who has been Lockheed Martin’s top lobbyist since May 2021, is resigning from the company effective Feb. 28 for personal reasons. Lockheed Martin Chairman, President and CEO Jim Taiclet made the announcement on Feb. 23, and said Greg Walters, vice president of legislative affairs for the company, is the acting senior vice president of government affairs, effective immediately. Marrone joined Lockheed Martin in 2018 from the former CSRA, which was acquired by General Dynamics. Walters joined the company since 2004 after 14 years as a staff member of the House Appropriations Committee and four years with the Defense Department.
…More Lockheed News. The company said this month that it has exceeded a five-year-old pledge create 8,000 apprenticeship opportunities ahead of plan and is extending the program by two years. The program offers scholarships to high school seniors and college students seeking vocational and trade degrees. During the five-year period, Lockheed Martin said it has invested more than $100 million in employee training and education, provided $20 million to science, technology, engineering and math, and vocational scholars, and brought on nearly 800 interns and about 9,700 early and mid-career development programs that include technical apprenticeships.
PMA-268 Leadership. The Navy held a ceremony on Feb. 23 marking the change in the program manager leadership for the Unmanned Carrier Aviation office (PMA-268) at a newly built MQ-25 Stingray hangar at Patuxent River, Md. Previous program manager Capt. Sam Messer is retiring following 27 years of service. He is being succeeded by Capt. Daniel Fucito, who previously served as the Naval Air Systems Command systems engineering military director. While serving as the program manager, Messer was responsible for the acquisition, programmatic and technical efforts for the MQ-25 unmanned carrier-based refueling tanker.
Moton And Other Moves. Rear Adm. (lower half) Casey Moton was chosen to be promoted to rear admiral (upper half) and will become Program Executive Officer (PEO) for aircraft carriers, according to a set of flag officer assignments announced by the Chief of Naval Operations on Feb. 21. Moton has served as PEO for Unmanned and Small Combatants since May 2019. Previously, he was major program manager of the DDG-51 destroyer program, delivering the first five ships after production restarted. Moton will succeed Rear Adm. James Downey, who has led PEO aircraft carriers since June 2019
…Budget Head. Rear Adm. (lower half) Benjamin Reynolds was also assigned as deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for budget and director, Fiscal Management Division, N82, Office of the CNO. Reynolds currently served as director of Operations and Plans, N3, at the Office of the CNO. He will succeed Rear Adm. John Gumbleton as the Navy’s budget chief, who has served in the role since May 2020.
…N97 Changes Too. The CNO also chose Rear Adm. (lower half) Mark Behning to be director of the Undersea Warfare Division, N97 in the office of the CNO. Behning currently served as commander of Submarine Group Nine. Behning will replace Rear Adm. Douglas Perry, who was first assigned the position in April 2021.
…N98. Navy leadership selected Rear Adm. Michael Donnelly (Lower half) to be promoted to upper half and assigned as director of the Air Warfare Division, N98, in the Office of the CNO. Donnelly currently served as commander of Task Force Seven Zero and Carrier Strike Group Five. Donnelly will succeed Rear Adm. Andrew Loiselle, who has been in the role since June 2021.
…And Sub Force. The CNO also selected Rear Adm. (lower half) Richard Seif to be promoted to rear admiral (upper half) and be assigned as commander of Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Seif currently served as commander of Submarine Group Seven, Task Force Seven Four and Task Force Five Four. Seif will succeed Rear Adm. Jeffrey Jablon, who has been in the role since April 2021.
…ONI Head. The CNO chose Rear Adm. Michael Brookes to be assigned as the next director of the National Maritime Intelligence Integration Office and commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence. Brookes current serves as director, J2 at U.S. Southern Command. Brookes will succeed Rear Adm. Mike Studeman, who assumed these positions only in August 2022.
Another Unmanned Exercise. U.S. Naval Forces Central Command completed a weeklong unmanned and artificial intelligence (AI) integration exercise with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Navy on Feb. 20. The exercise used five unmanned surface vessels from the UAE Navy and Task Force 59 operating off the coast of the UAE. Task Force 59 participating vessels included an L3Harris Technologies’ Arabian Fox MAST-13, Ocean Aero Triton, and two Saildrone Explorers. The Navy said this was Task Force 59’s first bilateral exercise with the UAE. In the exercise, cameras and sensors on the USVs captured video and imagery of vessels sailing nearby, which were then transmitted to operational centers ashore, where AI platforms helped classify and identify the data. Lt. Jay Faylo, Task Force 59’s lead exercise planner, said the exercise helped them train AI platforms to enhance detection capabilities. “It has been a tremendous opportunity doing this with our Emirati partners who are at the leading edge of technology in the region,” Faylo said in a statement.
EPF-14. The Navy and Austal USA planned to hold a christening ceremony for the future USNS Cody (EPF-14) Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport ship at its Mobile, Ala., shipyard on Feb. 25. This ship will be the first Flight II EPF and includes changes to provide Role 2E medical capability with enhanced medical capabilities as a step toward future Expeditionary Medical Ships (EMS). The Navy intends for multiple EMS to be procured to provide more comprehensive medical operations akin to ambulances compared to the two Mercy-class hospital ships. EPF-14 is also capable of supporting helicopter and V-22 Osprey flight operations as well as launching and recovering 11-meter Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats.
Resilient Shield. The U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) completed the week-long annual Resilient Shield 2023 missile defense-focused exercise throughout the 7th Fleet area of operations on Feb. 23. The exercise seeks to test U.S. tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) against potential regional missile defense threats while also ensuring U.S. and Japanese forces are both proficient in executing the TTPs. “Resilient Shield enables our naval forces, alongside our Japanese counterparts, to train to high-end defense capabilities in a virtual computer-based environment,” Vice Adm. Karl Thomas, commander of 7th Fleet, said in a statement. He also noted the exercise showed the interchangeability between the Navy and JMSDF.
DDG-94. The Navy awarded BAE Systems a $145 million contract action on Feb. 17 for maintenance, modernization and repair of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Nitze (DDG-94) for a Chief of Naval Operations fiscal year 2023 depot modernization period. This work will occur at BAE’S Norfolk Ship Repair facility in Virginia. The contract includes options that, if exercised, would raise the total value to $162.5 million. The work is expected to be finished by October 2024. This contract was competitively procured with two offers received, but the Navy did not disclose the other offeror.
AFRL S&T Partnerships. The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory said on Feb. 23 that it created a new Strategic Partnering Directorate (AFRL/SP) “to achieve greater alignment, effectiveness and efficiencies in supporting partnership priorities across the Department of the Air Force’s science and technology, or S&T, enterprise.” Air Force Maj. Gen. Heather Pringle, the commander of AFRL, said in a statement that “today’s dynamic environment requires a more unified approach to increase the impact of our S&T.” AFRL said that personnel from the lab’s small business directorate and plans and programs partnerships division are now part of AFRL/SP.
Vulcan Launch. United Launch Alliance (ULA)—a Boeing-Lockheed Martin partnership—said that it expects to launch its first Vulcan Centaur rocket in May from Cape Canaveral to carry Astrobotic’s Peregrine commercial lunar lander for NASA’s lunar payload services program, two Project Kuiper prototype broadband satellites for Amazon, and a Celestis memorial payload. ULA has said that the first launch, the so-called Certification Launch-1, would pave the way for U.S. Space Force certification for the rocket’s first national security mission in the fourth quarter of this year. The Vulcan Centaur is to carry the next GPS III satellite–SV 07–into orbit.
L3Harris News. L3Harris Technologies last week said its board has approved a nearly 2 percent increase in the company’s quarterly dividend to shareholders, from $1.12 per share to $1.14. The company also said the board has elected retired Air Force Gen. Edward Rice as a director. Rice is a former commander of the Air Force Air Education and Training Command, and also commanded U.S. Forces Japan and 5th Air Force, and as vice commander of Pacific Air Forces. “General Rice brings an extensive background in military operations and national security to the board, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region,” Christopher Kubasik, chairman and CEO of L3Harris, said in a statement. “As the DoD sees China as our nation’s pacing threat, Ed’s experience and insights will be of immense value as we work to help our customers meet these challenges.”
Intelligence Deal. Core One Solutions last week said it has acquired another Northern Virginia-based company, Global Research Analytics, in a deal that expands its mission support services for the intelligence community. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Core One has 200 employees and Global Research has 50. Core One provides mission support, advanced training and logistics, and engineering and information technology solutions to U.S. Special Operations Command and the intelligence community. Global Research provides human intelligence, linguistics and data analytics services to the intelligence community. FON Corporate Finance, LLC served as Global Research’s financial adviser on the transaction.