From Ukraine to Arizona. The Arizona Defense and Industry Coalition (AZDIC) says that it “looks forward to welcoming Ukrainian pilots to train on F-16s at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson” next month. In the presence of Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy, AZDIC President Lynndy Smith and Ukraine Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 21. “The MoU will facilitate the development of joint ventures and production opportunities, with AZDIC forging vital connections between Ukraine and defense and mining entities in Arizona and other targeted U.S. states,” the coalition said. Zelenskyy was in D.C. for meetings with President Biden and congressional lawmakers to urge their continued support for Ukrainian efforts to expel Russia from Ukraine.
…”Essential Defense Technologies.”
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and personnel from the office of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and international law firm, Squire Patton and Boggs, were also present for the MoU signing between Ukraine and AZDIC on Sept. 21. “We have worked diligently to identify companies and universities in Arizona that want to assist our partners in Ukraine,” Rick Stilgenbauer, an AZDIC advisory board member and senior policy adviser at Squire Patton Boggs, said in the coalition’s statement. “AZDIC is already working on its second series of proposals for Ukraine.” Kamyshin said in the AZDIC statement that the coalition’s “dedication and role in facilitating conversations with essential defense technologies will not only ensure our success in the war but also contribute significantly to our long-term resilience and progress.”
Wexton. Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.), a member of the House Appropriations and Budget Committees, announced on September 18 she will not seek reelection in 2024, noting her recent diagnosis of a rare neurological disorder called progressive supranuclear palsy. “When I made the decision to run for Congress, this was clearly not the way I anticipated it coming to a close — but then again, pretty much nothing about my time serving here has quite been typical or as expected. I will forever cherish the people from our communities and all around the country I’ve come to know, the challenges we’ve faced together, and the ways both big and small that my team and I have made a difference in the lives of our neighbors,” Wexton said in a statement. Wexton plans to serve out the rest of her term. The race for Wexton’s Northern Virginia district seat is likely to be competitive. Wexton beat out Republican incumbent Barbara Comstock for the Virginia 10th District seat in 2018.
Saudi Arabia FMS. The State Department said on September 21 it has approved a potential $500 million foreign military sale with Saudi Arabia for common spare and repair parts for a range of capabilities under the Cooperative Logistics Supply Support Arrangement (CLSSA) Program. The deal specifically covers parts for the Royal Saudi Land Forces’ fleet of fleet of Abrams tanks, M-60 tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, mortar carriers, Combat Engineer Vehicles, Humvees, MRAP vehicles, Light Armored Vehicles, howitzers, support vehicles, pistols, rifles, crew-served weapons, mortars, vehicle periscopes, night vision devices, TOW missile launchers and missile parts, computer units, radar sets, generators and communication equipment. “The proposed sale will maintain Saudi Arabia’s capability to meet current and future threats by allowing the RSLF to continue to purchase needed spare/repair parts, through their current CLSSA program, to replenish in-country stocks required for general maintenance and sustain the operability of RSLF equipment,” the Defense Cooperation Security Agency said in a statement, noting Saudi Arabia has participated in the CLSSA program since 1965.
Kuwait FMS. The State Department has also approved a potential $150 million FMS case with Kuwait for repair and recertification of PAC-3 missile interceptors. “Kuwait has requested the replacement of expiring limited life components and certifications testing in order to support an operational life of 30 years for PAC-3 missiles,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement. The deal to repair and recertify Kuwait’s Lockheed Martin-built PAC-3 interceptors specifically includes test and repair of PAC-3 missiles, stockpile reliability testing, repair and return of classified and unclassified PAC-3 missile items and component parts for ground support equipment, replenishment of classified and unclassified missile spares, and “tools to improve the turnaround time of the repair and recertification efforts,” according to the DSCA.
New Leader for Northrop Grumman Space Systems. Northrop Grumman said on Sept. 21 that its board of directors has named Robert Fleming as the new president of the company’s Space Systems Sector, effective Oct. 9, as the current president, Tom Wilson “has chosen to take a new role in the company for personal reasons.” Fleming is the vice president and general manager of the Strategic Space Systems division in the company’s Space Systems Sector and has also headed Space Systems’ strategy and business development. Fleming, an aerospace systems engineer and a U.S. Navy Reservist, has been with Northrop Grumman nearly 18 years and is a graduate of Harvard Business School and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Northrop Grumman said.
T-AO 213. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro on Sept. 17 announced the future ninth John Lewis-class oiler, T-AO 213, will be the future USNS Harriet Tubman. This will be the second vessel named in her honor, after a Liberty ship built during World War II. In the years after escaping slavery in 1849, she spent years helping liberate dozens of people escape slavery in the south as part of the Underground Railroad. During the Civil War she was the first African American woman to formally serve in the U.S. military as a spy, scout, nurse and cook. In June 1863 she helped plan and lead a raid on South Carolina that liberated over 750 people. These oilers are designed to help supply the Navy’s carrier strike groups, capable of carrying up to 162,000 barrels of oil and significant dry cargo.
Sub Parts. Naval Sea Systems Command awarded General Dynamics’ Electric Boat an undefinitized delivery order worth up to a maximum of $517 million on Sept. 15 to provide “unique parts and specialized material, including initial spares,” for Virginia-class attack submarines. Electric Boat in Groton, Conn., co-builds these submarines with HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. Work for this contract order is expected to largely occur in Groton (90 percent) and be finished by September 2028.Of this award total, $496 million will expire at the end of this fiscal year. This order was not competitively procured.
…Maintenance Help. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee’s Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee, said this contract funding will help the company “build a surplus of parts and materials required for submarine maintenance, so that our public shipyards have more spare parts readily available even before maintenance is required.” Courtney said this funding was authorized in the FY ‘23 defense authorization act he pushed for. His district includes GD’s shipyard in Groton, Conn. Courtney argued this award “demonstrates that the Navy and Congress are serious about achieving an 80 percent availability rate for the attack submarine fleet.”
LHA-9 Keel. HII held a keel laying and authentication ceremony for the future USS Fallujah (LHA-9) America-class amphibious assault ship on Sept. 20 at its Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard. The ship’s name commemorates the First and Second Battles of Fallujah during the Iraq War. LHA-9 will be the second Flight 1 LHA and fourth in its class overall. HII’s shipyard there is also in production on the future USS Bougainville (LHA-8) as well as the amphibious transport dock ships future USS Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29) and USS Harrisburg (LPD 30), and USS Pittsburgh (LPD-31).
Canadian Ship Test Site. The U.S. Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a $64 million contract on Sept. 18 to establish the AEGIS Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) land-based test site in New Jersey. The work is funded via the Foreign Military Sales account with work expected to be finished by November 2026. Most of the work will be focused at the company’s facility in Moorestown, N.J. In 2018, Canada selected Lockheed Martin’s team to deliver 15 CSCs to replace its Iroquois-class destroyers and Halifax-class multirole frigates. This program is valued at about $42 to 46 billion. The ships will ultimately be built by Irving Shipbuilding, which is part of Lockheed Martin’s team.
Risk Management. Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) have introduced a new bill aimed at strengthening defense of critical infrastructure sectors by requiring the the Department of Homeland Security to establish a National Risk Management Cycle. “Our adversaries continue to launch cyber attacks against us that cripple our infrastructure, steal our intellectual property and harm our economy,” Gallagher said in a statement. “Establishing a National Risk Management Cycle is basic cyber security hygiene and a common-sense step we can take to ensure our businesses and critical infrastructure are hard targets.” The two lawmakers said the National Risk Management Act of 2023 will look to establish a recurring process for identifying “risks to critical infrastructure and the associated likelihoods, vulnerabilities, and consequences of each identified risk.”
Leidos/CJADC2. Leidos has received a potential $74 million deal to provide combined joint all-domain command and control (CJADC2) analysis and support to DoD’s Joint Staff J6 Joint Assessment Division (JAD), the company said on September 21. “We are pleased to deepen our 31 years of experience collaborating with the Joint Staff and other DoD organizations through this new contract,” Will Johnson, senior vice president of Leidos Defense Group said in a statement. “Our team was purpose-built with unique domain expertise and analytical capabilities to help JAD accomplish its mission. We look forward to accelerating decision-making advantage for our warfighters in the era of CJADC2.” Leidos said its work on the new contract includes “demonstration, experimentation and assessment of both emerging and fielded command and control information systems and procedures.”
Homeland Security Appropriations. As the House’s Homeland Security appropriations legislation for fiscal year 2024 moves toward floor consideration, the White House has said it “strongly opposes” the bill and that President Biden would veto it. “House Republicans had an opportunity to engage in a productive, bipartisan appropriations process, but instead, with less than two weeks before the end of the fiscal year, are wasting time with partisan bills that cut domestic spending to levels well below the [debt limit] agreement and endanger critical services for the American people. These levels would result in deep cuts to climate change and clean energy programs, essential nutrition services, law enforcement, consumer safety, education, and healthcare,” the administration wrote in its statement of administration policy. “The draft bills also include numerous new, partisan policy provisions with devastating consequences including harming access to reproductive healthcare, threatening the health and safety of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Americans, endangering marriage equality, hindering critical climate change initiatives, and preventing the Administration from promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.”