UK F-35 Buys. The United Kingdom plans to order 17 new F-35B joint strike fighters, essentially doubling its fleet within the next six years. The new aircraft will be delivered between 2020 and 2022, according to a release by the U.K. Ministry of Defence Nov. 16. The new jets are part of a $6 billion contract awarded Nov. 15 to Lockheed Martin, to help accelerate the acquisition of 255 new F-35s as negotiations continue for Lots 12 through 14. The U.K. currently possesses 16 aircraft. The country, which is an F-35 development partner nation, has committed to procuring 138 aircraft over the life of the program.
Tinker AFB to Get B-21s. The Air Force has selected Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., as a maintenance and sustainment hub for the B-21 next-generation bomber, in development by Northrop Grumman. The Air Force Sustainment Center and its Air Logistics Complex are located at Tinker, which resides in the home state of Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.). Robins Air Force Base in Georgia and Hill Air Force Base in Utah will support Tinker with parts maintenance and other logistics efforts. Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., will serve as the B-21’s combined test force location. The B-21 is currently in the engineering, manufacturing and development phase, with deliveries expected in the mid-2020s.
DDG-1001. The second of three Zumwalt-class destroyers left the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) shipyard in Bath, Maine, on Nov. 9 and is headed to Coronado, Calif., where it will be commissioned in January. After the commissioning, the future USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) will start its post-delivery availability and combat systems activation period which will include combat systems testing and trials. The Navy accepted the hull, mechanical and electrical (HM&E) delivery of DDG-1001 from BIW last April. The Zumwalt-class destroyers undergo a two-phase delivery approach: first HM&E delivery; then combat systems are installed and activated.
…DDG-127. General Dynamics BIW also officially began construction of the future Arleigh Burke-class (DDG-51) destroyer USS Patrick Gallagher (DDG-127) on Nov. 9. The DDG-127 is set to be the final Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyer before the Navy transitions to the Flight III model. The destroyer will feature the Aegis Baseline 9 Combat System. BIW is currently also producing the future destroyers Daniel Inouye (DDG-118), Carl M. Levin (DDG-120), John Basilone (DDG-122), and Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG-124). It is also building the last Zumwalt-class destroyer Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002). BIW won a contract in 2018 to build four DDG-51 Flight III ships.
OA-X. The Air Force is still shooting to get a final request for proposals for the light attack aircraft experiment by the end of 2018. But the service will require additional funding in the FY ’20 budget for the effort, known as OA-X, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen Wilson told reporters Nov. 14. “We’re working through that. It will depend on what the topline budget is,” he said. “We’re focused on building capability across our fifth- and fourth-gen fleets, and then light attack is additional…We’ll see what the funding level is to be able to support that.” Currently Textron Aviation and a Sierra Nevada-Embraer team are continuing participation in the Air Force’s search for an off-the-shelf commercial aircraft to perform light attack and close-air support missions in permissive environments, pitching the AT-6 Wolverine and the A-29 Super Tucano turboprops, respectively. A draft RFP was released in August, over a year after the light attack experiment began.
Australia Picks the MQ-9. Australia has selected General Atomics-Aeronautical Systems’ MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) for its future unmanned aerial system fleet, the company announced Nov. 15. The country was considering the MQ-9 along with Israel Aircraft Industries Heron TP MALE UAS for its Project Air 7003 for the Australian Defence Force. Australian Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said Friday that between 12 and 15 RPAs are expected to be procured. “These new aircraft will provide enhanced firepower and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to a range of missions,” Pyne said in a press release. It’s not yet clear whether the country plans to buy GA-ASI’s MQ-Reaper Block 5 variant currently in development for the U.S. Air Force, or the MQ-9B Sky Guardian being built for the United Kingdom. Pyne said the government will now request pricing and availability data from the U.S. on Reaper variants.
Nuke Debate. Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan told reporters last Thursday that he plans to work with Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), House Armed Services Committee ranking member and presumptive next chairman, on nuclear modernization priorities. Smith has said he wants to “totally redo the nuclear posture review” and cut back on DoD’s ICBM modernization efforts. “I need to hear what he’s thinking there. When I think about the National Defense Strategy, we had tremendous alignment,” Shanahan said. “So I don’t feel like they’re fundamental changes, but there are things probably on the margins…[Smith’s] point was affordability, affordability, affordability, and I look forward to hearing where his priorities are on that.”
F-35 Weapons Training. The Air Force’s 388th Fighter Wing’s 34th Fighter Squadron recently employed Raytheon’s GBU-49 laser- and GPS-guided bomb for the first time in F-35A combat training, Air Combat Command (ACC) said in a Nov. 15 release. The training took place during a weapons evaluation exercise dubbed Combat Hammer at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The 388th is stationed at Hill AFB, Utah. Local training on the Utah Test and Training Range with live and inert GBU-49s will begin soon, according to ACC. Hill AFB will be home to three F-35 fighter squadrons, including 78 aircraft, by the end of 2019. The jets will be flown and operated by the active duty 388th Fighter Wing and the Air Force Reserve 419th Fighter Wing.
F-18 Crash. An F/A-18 Super Hornet based on the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) aircraft carrier crashed after crew ejected in the Philippine Sea on Nov. 12. The Navy said the Carrier Air Wing 5 aircraft “experienced a mechanical issue” leading to the ejection while conducting routine operations. The Navy said the crash is under investigation.
…Then Exercises. The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group and the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group then conducted high-end dual carrier operations in the Philippine Sea on Nov. 14. The two carrier groups will undergo air, surface, and anti-submarine warfare operations while in international waters and airspace. The operations involve 10 ships, 150 aircraft, and about 12,600 personnel. The Stennis earlier conducted dual strike group operations like strike and anti-submarine warfare operations with the USS Carl Vinson off the coast of Hawaii before heading to the Philippine Sea. “Bringing two carrier strike groups together provides unparalleled naval combat power, tremendous operational flexibility and reach across the region,” Vice Adm. Phil Sawyer, commander of the 7th Fleet, said in a statement.
MH-60R. Lockheed Martin won a $382 million Navy contract to produce and deliver eight MH-60R Seahawk helicopters along with its associated systems engineering and program management support. Work will be split between Oswego, NY (52 percent), Stratford, Conn. (40 percent), and Troy, Ala. (8 percent) and is expected to be finished by Sept. 2020. The Navy obligated $147 million In FY ’18 aircraft procurement funds at award time and none of it will expire at the end of this fiscal year. The Seahawks are used for anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, communications relay, surveillance, combat search and rescue, logistics support, and naval gunfire support missions.
LCAC Engines. The U.S. Navy awarded Rolls-Royce Corp. a $41 million modification to procure 20 MT7 marine turbine engines for Textron-built Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) craft. The contract covers LCAC-109 through 113. The LCAC-100 class craft will be the next-generation Ship-to-Shore Connector. Each LCAC-100 class craft uses four MT7 engines. The contract includes production and delivery of the engines to Textron’s Marine Systems to be used in assembly of the LCAC-100 class. Work will occur in Indianapolis, Ind. and is expected to be finished by Jan. 2020. The LCAC-100 class improves on the older legacy craft by adding a fly-by-wire control system, a new drive and propulsion system, more powerful engines, and reducing parts to simplify logistics and maintenance.
CISA in Effect. President Donald Trump on Friday signed legislation implementing the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act, which elevates the Department of Homeland Security’s National Protection and Programs Directorate into an operational component of the department, named the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Agency. Current and former DHS officials believe the name change will help it recruit and retain talent because the operational nature of the agency’s mission is inherent in its name, and create greater awareness of the mission with stakeholders. CISA is responsible for overseeing cyber and physical security for the federal civilian government, and working with the private sector to help protect critical infrastructure networks and facilities.
…Work Ahead. The transition to CISA and it’s elevation to an an operating agency is a “groundbreaking, not a ribbon-cutting,” Christopher Krebs, who leads the agency, said last week. “We have a lot of work ahead of us in terms of this operationalization,” such as “management directives, and delegation of authorities, [and] bureaucracy pieces within the department.” He also said CISA is lacking in “mature processes,” but it does have a “clear sense of purpose.” Krebs spoke Nov. 14 at the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.
…And Changes. Krebs was undersecretary of NPPD, and as of last Friday, his new title hadn’t been announced. He said that sense of purpose includes working with the critical infrastructure owners and operators with some “different principles in mind,” including a “risk-informed approach” the puts scarce resources against the biggest challenges. Second is transparency in terms of the threat and how DHS is addressing it, he said. For example, Krebs pointed out that in the lead up to the mid-term elections, DHS was “very visible” in working, and in how it worked, with state and local election stakeholders across the U.S. CISA will also be “stakeholder driven,” which means stakeholders need to speak up about what they need the agency to do with everyone working collectively, he said.Finally, he said, CISA needs to be solving problems.
Amazon’s Impact. Amazon’s decision to locate one-half of its second corporate headquarters in the Crystal City and Pentagon City areas of Northern Virginia will make a competitive job market for information technology-related workers in the Washington, D.C.-region even tighter. One observer tells Defense Daily that while the move, which Amazon says will bring 25,000 new employees to the area, may make it more difficult to hire workers in the short-term, in the long run Amazon’s decision could help establish the Washington region as a technology hub and attract more talent to the area.
Arms Sales to Bahrain. The Senate last Thursday voted down Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) push to reject a $300 million sale of rocket launchers to Bahrain in a proxy vote against the U.S. military’s involvement in the war in Yemen. The 77-21 vote was largely bipartisan, and is one of several efforts lawmakers have put forward to attempt to curb U.S. military aid to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Bahrain and the U.S. are both members of the coalition, which is fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Gulf country. The sale includes 120 guided multiple launch rocket system M31 unitary rocket pods and 110 Army tactical missiles system M57 T2K unitary missiles built by Lockheed Martin, as well as related training and contractor support.
Pentagon Police IT. The Pentagon’s law enforcement agency on November 14 issued an Request for Information (RFI) regarding its search for an improved IT infrastructure. The Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) is seeking industry information on a new IT backbone needed for transition to new mission systems and support of upgrades to existing security applications. “Based on PFPA’s evolving and expanding mission requirements and the complexity of the underlying assets that support this mission, the PFPA has determined that through the integration of existing and new IT and communications assets that greater mission effectiveness and economies of operation are to be gained,” officials wrote in the notice. PFPA currently uses the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Joint Service Provider for IT support. The eventual contract is likely to be awarded on a one-year base period with four one-year option periods, according to the notice. Industry responses to the RFI are due by December 11.
DISA DoDNet RFI. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) issued a Request for Information (RFI) on November 15 for its new DoDNet service to provide commodity IT functions at both unclassified and classified levels. “This service shall provide all required infrastructure, network operations and management, engineering and innovation, cyber security, support services, and technical refresh of DISA’s new requirement to deliver DoDNet,” officials wrote in the notice. The RFI is looking for information on potential vendors ability to manage large, highly available multi-tenant networks. DISA expects to start migration of fourth estate agencies over to DoDNet this fiscal year, according to the notice. The deadline for industry to reply to the RFI is December 7.
Coast Guard Bill. The Senate last Wednesday approved on a 94 to six vote a two-year authorization of the Coast Guard. The bill gives the service multi-year contract authority for major acquisition programs, directs it to review the assets and personnel needed to safety and security in the Arctic, and authorizes $10.6 billion for the service in fiscal year 2019.
SAIC, Engility Update. Science Applications International Corp. and Engility will each hold special shareholder meetings on Jan. 11, 2019, for votes on SAIC’s pending $2.5 billion stock acquisition of Engility that will add scale and complementary capabilities and customers. The acquisition is expected to close shortly after stockholders from both companies approve the deal. SAIC and Engility announced the proposed deal in September, saying it would create the second largest federal technology services integrator.
Novetta Deal. Data analytics technology provider Novetta has acquired Berico Technologies, which provides cloud engineering, data analytics and information technology solutions to customer in the intelligence community, including the Defense Intelligence Agency, National Media Exploitation Center, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Tiffany Gates, Novetta’s president and CEO, says the acquisition creates “a powerhouse of talent and innovative technologies to support our customers.” Novetta serves the defense, intelligence, and federal law enforcement communities. Berico’s financial advisor on the deal was Baird.