Zumwalt Goes Home. The USS Zumwalt, the Navy’s first DDG-1000 destroyer, arrives at its homeport in San Diego on Dec. 8 and begins installation of combat systems, testing and evaluation and operational integration with the fleet, the Navy says. Built by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, the ship is now on the West Coast after being commissioned in Baltimore in October. It is slated to be ready for deployment in 2018.
Destroyer Design. General Dynamics Bath Iron Works received a one-year contract from the Navy to continue designing the Flight III version of the Arleigh Burke-class DDG-51 destroyer through December 2017. Flight III ships, an upgrade from Flight IIA destroyers, include a more powerful missile defense radar, increased shipboard power production and hull enhancements.
SECDEF Travels. During his global farewell tour, Defense Secretary Ash Carter made a surprise visit to Afghanistan to thank U.S. troops for their service to the nation during the holidays. While there he received an update on NATO and U.S. efforts to support Afghan security forces and met with senior Afghan officials including President Ashraf Ghani. Carter also met with Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr., commander of NATO’s Resolute Support mission and U.S. Forces Afghanistan, and other senior officers to hear their assessment of the security situation and international efforts to help the government of Afghanistan improve security in the country. He also received an update on recent, successful U.S. counter-terrorism efforts against al-Qaeda and ISIL in Afghanistan. In his meetings with senior Afghan officials, Carter discussed the growing capabilities and resilience demonstrated by Afghan security forces in recent months. He also discussed ongoing efforts to continue building Afghan combat capacity including aviation. Carter’s stop in Afghanistan comes in the middle of a round-the-world trip that already has included visits to Japan and India. He is scheduled to also make stops in Bahrain, Israel, Italy and the United Kingdom.
… In India. During Carter’s official visit to India, he and Indian counterpart Raksha Mantri Shri Manohar Parrikar marked progress of the bilateral ties between the two nations. “India-U.S. defense relations in recent years have moved along a remarkable upward trajectory,” the Defense Department says in a statement. “Marked progress on agreements, including the signing of a defense framework agreement in 2015, have laid a blueprint for collaboration between our defense establishments and enabled deeper cooperation.” Joint exchange opportunities – in both personnel and training exercises – expand and strengthen the bilateral cooperation. The recent signing of the logistics exchange memorandum of agreement (LEMOA) facilitates additional opportunities for practical engagement and exchange. India this week officially became a “major defense partner” of the United States, a designation that is unique to India and institutionalizes the progress made to facilitate defense trade and technology sharing on par with that of the closest U.S. allies and partners. Parrikar and Secretary Carter applauded the deepened scope of India-U.S. military-to-military ties, which includes a dramatic increase in defense trade.
… Tech Trade. Regarding technology, both sides welcomed the progress achieved under the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) and committed to explore new proposals and other innovative opportunities for co-production and co-development. “The emergence of DTTI as an integral and enduring component of India-U.S. security cooperation is a sign that the relationship has matured to a level of strategic importance,” the Pentagon says. “DTTI will strengthen India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative and both sides are committed to convening all new DTTI working groups prior to the next DTTI Group meeting set for February 2017.
Trucks Targeted. In the largest airstrike of its kind to date, the U.S.-led coalition destroyed a fleet of 168 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) oil tanker trucks near Palmyra, Syria, according to a statement from the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve. “The coalition continues to forcefully prosecute the air war on ISIL revenue capability,” says Air Force Col. John Dorrian, OIR spokesman. “When ISIL has access to large sums of money, they use it to conduct violent terror attacks against anyone who doesn’t share their barbaric ideology.” The coalition systematically targets ISIL-affiliated oil infrastructure to eliminate millions of dollars in potential revenue. The most recent strike deprived ISIL of $2 million in revenue. Stopping or severely hampering ISIL cash flow degrades their ability to fund the war effort in Iraq and Syria and terrorist attacks around the world. The destruction of ISIL oil tanker trucks and petroleum equipment is one of multiple targets the coalition strikes to hasten the military defeat of ISIL in Iraq and Syria by, with and through partnered forces.
Katko on Aviation Security. Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Transportation Security Subcommittee, says his “biggest priority” in the upcoming 115th Congress is getting legislation approved related to airport employee access controls at airports. Katko, a first time congressman, tells the American Association of Airport Employees that “access controls and employee vetting are weak,” and that airports, airlines and federal stakeholders need to work together to secure the traveling public. In his first term Katko says he got eight bills passed into law and five more passed by the House but wasn’t able to get the “most robust access control bill” through the Senate. Katko says he doesn’t want “to make life difficult for airport managers” but “my dedication to this issue remains steadfast and I’m going to continue enhancing security at airports in the 115th Congress.” Other aviation security related legislative priorities are “improving internal controls” at the Transportation Security Administration and reauthorizing the agency, he says.
TSA Reorganization. The Transportation Security Administration on Dec. 5 officially restructured its Office of Security Capabilities into two new organizations, the Office of Requirements and Capabilities Analysis, and the Office of Acquisitions and Program Management. The new requirements office is responsible for working with users to define requirements and understand their needs, assess the impact of new technology on operations, and provide feedback to vendors, says Jose Bonilla, director of TSA’s Innovation Task Force, which is a division within ORCA.
Deal Banker. Strategic investment firm Houlihan Lokey says is providing financial advice to unmanned surface vehicle developer Liquid Robotics on the small company’s acquisition by Boeing. Houlihan Lokey says the pending deal is its 10th unmanned systems transaction in recent years, underscoring its leadership in this market. Liquid Robotics has 100 employees.
New Destroyer. The Navy accepted delivery Dec. 7 of the USS John Finn (DDG-113), a DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer built by Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division. The Navy has another 13 destroyers under construction or contract at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., and General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine.
Trump/Boeing. President-elect Donald Trump spoke with Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Dennis Muilenburg on Dec. 6 after he called for the Air Force to cancel the Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization (PAR) program due to “costs being out of control.” Boeing spokesman Todd Blecher says Muilenburg congratulated Trump on his election win. Blecher says he also committed to working with the new administration to control costs as they establish requirements for the new Air Force One to keep the program as affordable as possible and deliver the best value to American taxpayers. They also discussed the overall importance of American manufacturing and Boeing’s continuing strong contribution to U.S. jobs.
Inmarsat. Inmarsat signed a contract with Arianespace to launch its S-band satellite on an Ariane 5 launch vehicle after originally awarding the mission to SpaceX, according to an Inmarsat statement. Inmarsat attributed the move to a delay in SpaceX’s launch schedule. Inmarsat will launch Inmarsat-5 F4 in the first half of 2017. SpaceX sookesman John Taylor said the Inmarsat mission was to occur on a Falcon Heavy, which has yet to debut.
SpaceX. SpaceX pushed back its mid-December return to flight on Falcon 9 to early January, according to a company statement. SpaceX says it is finalizing the investigation into its Sept. 1 anomaly and that the delay allows for additional time to close-out vehicle preparations and complete extended testing. The mission will eventually launch an Iridium-1 satellite.
Welsh Northrop Grumman. Northrop Grumman elected retired Air Force chief of staff Gen. Mark Welsh to its board of directors, according to a company statement. Welsh retired as chief of staff in July after 40 years of military service. He is currently dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.
Combat Rescue Helicopter. Sikorsky opened a new systems integration lab to begin testing key systems for the Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH), according to a company statement. The lab encompasses 2,500 square feet located within the company’s main manufacturing facility in Stratford, Conn., including four laboratories for testing avionics, electrical power, electronic flight controls and integrated vehicle diagnostics. The Air Force program of record for CRH calls for 112 helicopters to replace the service’s HH-60G Pave Hawk aircraft.
F-35 ANG. The Air Force announced five installations as candidate bases for the next two Air National Guard F-35A locations, according to a service statement. Dannelly Field Air Guard Station, Montgomery, Ala.; Gowen Field Air Guard Station, Boise, Idaho; Jacksonville Air Guard Station, Fla.; Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Detroit, Mich.; and Truax Air Guard Station, Madison, Wis., are all candidates. The Air Force will now conduct on-the-ground site surveys at each candidate location. The preferred and reasonable alternatives are expected to be selected in the spring of 2017 and the Air Force will complete the environmental impact analysis process before making a final basing decision. The F-35As are expected to begin arriving at the second air third Air National Guard locations in the early to mid-2020s.
Buswell on Trump Team. Brad Buswell, a former industry executive and deputy at the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology branch, has been added to President-elect Donald Trump’s DHS transition team, the incoming administration says. Buswell currently runs his own consulting firm supporting companies that do business with the federal government, in particular the Defense Department and DHS, according to his profile on LinkedIn. Before his consulting work, Buswell spent nearly two years with OSI Systems’ Rapiscan security division as head of their aviation products and their North America business. Before that, he was president and CEO for three years of Morpho Detection, a competitor to Rapiscan in the security detection arena. Buswell was the deputy Under Secretary for S&T at DHS from October 2006 to July 2010.
New Vectrus President and CEO. The board of directors of Vectrus, Inc. appointed Charles Prow as the company’s president and chief executive officer (CEO), succeeding Kenneth Hunzeker. Prow served for over 25 years in government services positions at IBM Corporation, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Coopers & Lybrand. “We believe Chuck’s broad federal experience and rich skill set will assist Vectrus in expanding our customer base and capturing new opportunities we see in the facilities and logistics services market. Additionally, Chuck has an established track record associated with IT, which represents a growth area for Vectrus. We are looking forward to his leadership and contributions in enhancing Vectrus’ position in this market,” Lou Giuliano, non-executive chairman of the board, says in a statement.