Ship Repair. Huntington Ingalls recently was awarded a $75 million contract to perform repairs to two of the Navy’s 11 active aircraft carriers. The company will provide management, material support services, labor, supplies and other equipment to perform “nuclear and nuclear related work” on both the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). The work—which includes labor associated with the nuclear propulsion system and training—will take place at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash., and Naval Base Coronado in San Diego.
Poseidon Production. Boeing recently netted a $358 million contract modification to an existing advanced acquisition contract to purchase long-leadtime materials for the P-8A Poseidon. The award is for materials that will be used for nine full-rate production (FRP) Lot 2 aircraft and 16 P-8As from Lot III for the Navy along with four aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force. The contract combines $220 million in purchases for the U.S. Navy and another $140 million for the Australian government. Delivery of the aircraft should be complete by December 2018. 
OPM Suspends E-QIP System. OPM is temporarily suspending the E-QIP system, a web-based platform used to complete and submit background investigative forms, due to a vulnerability recently identified. The vulnerability was found during a comprehensive review of the security of OPM’s IT systems ordered by Director Katherine Archuleta, the agency says in a statement. The actions OPM has taken are not the direct result of malicious activity on this network, and there is no evidence that the vulnerability in question has been exploited. Rather, OPM is taking this step proactively, as a result of its comprehensive security assessment, to ensure the ongoing security of its network,” the agency says. The system may be offline for four to six weeks while security enhancements are made.
OPM Sued For Hack. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest federal employee union, filed a class action lawsuit against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) over the personnel records data breach. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. AFGE and two persons, Robert Crawford and Adam Dale, are represented by Girard Gibbs LLP. ““AFGE will not sit idly by while OPM fails to comply with the most basic requests for information or provide an adequate response,” AFGE President J. David Cox Sr., National Secretary-Treasurer Eugene Hudson Jr., and National Vice President for Women and Fair Practices August Y. Thomas, say in a statement.
OPM Phishing Warnings. The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) warns of phishing campaign emails concealed as Office of Personnel Management (OPM) or identity protection Firm CSID messages, taking advantage of the recent OPM hacks. The agency notes the legitimate domain for accessing identity protection services is https://opm.csid.com and that suspicious emails should be reported.
NIST Adviser to Chertoff Group. Jeremy Grant, former Senior Executive Adviser at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is joining the Cheftoff Group as a managing director. Grant established and led the National program Office for the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) at NIST. There, he led Obama Administration activities to drive a marketplace of more secure, privacy-enhancing identity solutions for online services. Grant coordinated the development of Connect.gov and helped establish the Identity Ecosystem Steering Group.
Cyber Contract. X Technologies, Inc. of San Antonio, Texas was awarded a $7.6 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for a deliverable Public Key infrastructure (PKI) Information Assurance support center. The company is to provide information assurance support services to implement and sustain DoD Class 3 PKI for the Air Force, which includes the development of responsive cyber solutions. The work is to be performed at Lackland AFB, Texas with an expected completion date of May 31, 2020. The contract was the result of a competitive acquisition with 43 offers solicited and one received. Air Force Life Cycle management Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, is the contracting activity.
Black Hawk Contract. The Army on July 1 awards Sikorsky a $80 million contract modification to provide Tunisia with four modified UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, according to a Defense Department statement. The estimated completion date is June 30, 2019. The existing foreign military sales (FMS) contract number is W58RGZ-12-C-0008. Fiscal year 2015 other procurement funds up to 50 percent of the announced amount are available under an undefinitized contract action. Sikorsky parent company United Technologies Corp. is debating whether to spin off the helicopter developer or entertain potential sales.
Legion Pod Test Flight. Lockheed Martin’s Legion Pod recently completes its first flight test, according to a company statement. The pod successfully tracks multiple airborne targets while flying on a F-16 aircraft in Fort Worth, Texas. The company integrates Legion Pod onto the F-16 without making any hardware or software changes to the aircraft. Additional flight tests on the F-16 and F-15C will continue throughout the year. Equipped with an IRST21 infrared sensor and advanced networking and data processing technology, Legion Pod provides high-fidelity detection and tracking of airborne targets. It also accommodates additional sensor without costly system or aircraft modifications, according to Lockheed Martin.
Raytheon Army R&D Award. The Army Contracting Command–Warren awards Raytheon a TACOM strategic service solutions (TS3) indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract with a potential value of $634 million, according to a company statement. The award is a five year, multiple-award contract that covers future work on sensors, fire control systems, active protection systems and robotics and autonomous systems for a variety of Army platforms. Raytheon says this is the first such contract awarded by the Contracting Command to the company as a prime contractor.
F119 Engine Contract. The Air Force on June 30 awards Pratt & Whitney a contract modification not to exceed $269 million for F119 engine sustainment, according to a DoD statement. The previously awarded contract is FA8611-08-C-2896. DoD expects work to complete by the end of 2015. Pratt & Whitney is a division of United Technologies Corp.
Launch Range Contract. The Air Force on June 30 awards Wolf Creek Federal Services a $108 million firm-fixed price, cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost reimbursable contract for range operations support, according to a DoD statement. The contractor is responsible and accountable for aspects of non-mission support communications for the Eastern Rage (ER) and Western Range (WR) and base operating support and logistics for the ER. Work is expected to complete by Sept. 30, 2020. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition with eight offers received.
Aerospace CEO Search. The Aerospace Corp. forms a CEO search subcommittee to find a successor for Wanda Austin, who retires in October, according to a company statement. Former Air Force secretary Michael Donley chairs the subcommittee, which also includes former Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) chief retired Gen. Kevin Chilton, Dan Hastings and Anne Street as members. Committee advisers include retired Air Force Lt. Gen. George Muellner and Jeff Smith. Aerospace enlists executive search firm SpencerStuart to assist the subcommittee in its search for a new CEO, which is open to external and internal candidates. Potential candidates can reach Jackie Arends at 202-741-8311 or email resumes to [email protected].
Congress Watch. The Senate and House are back in session this week after a relaxing Fourth of July break. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin Dempsey will be heading to the Hill on Tuesday to testify on the U.S. strategy to counter the Islamic State. But the main event will be Marine Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford’s confirmation hearing on Thursday morning for the post of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) is a fan of Dunford and has said he expects the confirmation process to be thorough but swift.
…Iran Deal. They may have been on break, but Republican hawks made time to slam the Obama administration last week for extending the deadline to broker a nuclear deal with Iran to July 7. “The Administration’s deadlines and redlines with Iran are all moving in the wrong direction, and the backpedaling is a major threat to our security. Achieving a nuclear deal at all costs is not only short-sighted, it is dangerous,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) says in an emailed statement. McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) released their own joint statement, asserting that any deal with Iran should include strict inspections of the country’s nuclear sites, equipment, materials and personnel.
Super Hornet and Growler Avionics. The Navy awards Harris Corp. a $29 million contract for 138 distributed targeting system kits for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler. Twelve of those systems will be sent to Australia. The contract also purchases 54 operational bulk data cartridges and parts obsolescence management. The work, which is expected to be completed in October 2018, will be performed in Melbourne, Fla.