Heather Wilson. President Donald Trump on March 21 formally submitted his nomination of Heather Wilson to become the next Air Force secretary after he announced his intention in late January. Wilson has served as president of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology since 2013. If confirmed, she will become the first Air Force Academy graduate to become the service’s top civilian. Wilson was subject to an Energy Department inspector general probe in 2013 that found she earned $450,000 from facility contractors without providing evidence that work was performed. Defense News reported Wilson could have her nomination hearing as early as the week of March 27. The Senate Armed Services Committee did not return requests for comment by press time Friday.
Micro UAV. The Army plans to release a request for information within the next month or two to assess the state of industry technology that could support the Short Range Micro (SRM), a future unmanned aerial vehicle, according to Maj. Mike Dvorak of the Army Capabilities Integration Center. Although the Army currently lacks money for the small UAV, it wants to be prepared to launch an acquisition effort in case the funding situation changes. “That way, however and whenever the money comes down … then we’re ready to go buy something,” Dvorak says. Dvorak adds that his “personal opinion” is that funding for SRM probably will become available “in the next year or two.”
Frigate Exports? While the U.S. Navy is the sole customer for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the upcoming Future Frigate, a more capable version of LCS, might have more potential for foreign sales, according to Neil King, director of frigate business development at Lockheed Martin. “There are some select … government-to-government discussions that are going on right now that I’m not at liberty” to discuss, King says. “We’ll see how that shakes out.” Lockheed Martin leads one of two teams building LCS. Both teams are expected to compete to build the frigate.
Gremlins Role. Although Kratos subsidiary Composite Engineering Inc. (CEI) was not picked to be one of two prime contractors to continue developing an air-launched, air-recovered unmanned air system for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), it plans to stay involved in the Gremlins program as a member of the winning Dynetics team. Kratos says CEI “will support Dynetics by designing, developing and building prototype Gremlin unmanned aerial vehicles, tooling and support equipment, as well as developing performance analyses, supporting subsystem testing and planning for potential future phases.” General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. received the other Gremlins contract. DARPA intends to award a single contract next year to build a demonstrator and test it aboard a C-130 plane.
Armed UGV. At a recent robotics conference near Washington, D.C., Milrem displayed a large gun mounted on its Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System unmanned ground vehicle, called THeMIS. While the U.S. military does not seem to be in the market for such an armed UGV, Milrem representatives say their goal was to show the versatility of the underlying UGV, which can be configured for a wide range of missions, including hauling soldier gear.
JIDO Consolidation Progress. The consolidation of the Joint Improvised Threat Defeat Organization within the Pentagon’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency that began last October is ongoing but so far has resulted in merging JIDO’s human resources, inspector general, contracts, comptroller, general counsel, legislative and public affairs, security and counter-intelligence offices with DTRA’s existing offices, Shari Durand, acting director of DTRA, tells a House Armed Services Committee panel. Over a year ago JIDO, once known as JIEDDO and later JIDA, was headed toward standing up as a separate agency before the decision was made to put it within DTRA. She says the transfer that began in Oct. 2016 involves 235 JIDO employees who have to learn new systems.
…Efficiencies. So far it’s hard to quantify any cost savings from the merger, although not standing JIDO up as a separate agency resulted in $1.5 million of cost avoidance because they didn’t have to acquire back office human resource services through the Defense Logistics Agency, Durand says. JIDO is able to take advantage of DTRA’s testbed capacity for research, development, test and evaluation, which will reduce costs associated with test ranges, she says. For DTRA’s part, it will be able to benefit from JIDO’s expertise in information technology support for warfighters, such as “situational awareness on improvised threats and attacking those networks.” Over time DTRA expects to be able to show Congress specific metrics and costs savings related to the merger, she adds.
Helmet Contract. Revision Military won the Army’s Advanced Combat Helmet Generation II (ACH GEN II) helmet contract. This five-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity helmet contract has a maximum value of $98 million and estimated completion date of March 2022. Revision’s ACH helmet solution is up to 24 percent lighter than the legacy ACH helmet system and this contract represents the first large-scale, significant advancement in ACH technology in 15 years, the company says. Since last contracted by the U.S. Army in 2012—when Revision delivered a total of 180,000 ACH helmets—Revision has invested millions of dollars in new manufacturing equipment and processes, research into the characterization and optimization of advanced ballistic materials, and in the building of a world-class team of scientists and engineers in order to evolve the company’s capabilities. Since 2013, Revision’s Newport, Vermont facility – where helmets for this contract will be manufactured – has expanded by 16,000 square feet, and more than doubled the number of employees there.
SBIRS-3. The third Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) satellite achieved a milestone by sending its first images down to earth, says prime contractor Lockheed Martin. The satellite was launched Jan. 20 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Lockheed Martin is now working to ensure that SBIRS GEO Flight 3 continues performance trends demonstrated by predecessors, including improved sensor pointing accuracy and the ability to detect dimmer targets than expected. GEO Flight 4, the next satellite in the series, will undergo final assembly, integration and test at Lockheed Martin’s satellite production facility in California prior to its launch planned for later this year. SBIRS is a missile warning satellite constellation.
Mattis NATO Meeting. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg where the two discussed the alliance’s role in transatlantic security and review preparations for the upcoming Special Meeting of NATO Heads of State and Government. Mattis and Stoltenberg discussed ways to encourage allies to assume a more equitable share of alliance security and defense responsibilities, the Pentagon says. They also discussed enhancing NATO’s role in fighting terrorism and defeating ISIS, and NATO’s missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Both pledged to consult in the coming months. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will skip his first multilateral meeting of NATO diplomats.
… Trump To NATO. President Donald Trump will travel to Brussels, Belgium, for the May 25, meeting of NATO Heads of State and Government. “The president looks forward to meeting with his NATO counterparts to reaffirm our strong commitment to NATO, and to discuss issues critical to the alliance, especially allied responsibility-sharing and NATO’s role in the fight against terrorism,” the White House says. In addition to the President’s participation in the NATO Leaders Meeting, he also will welcome Stoltenberg to the White House on April 12 where they will talk about how to strengthen the alliance to cope with challenges to national and international security.
…Mattis and Spain. Mattis also met with Spanish Minister of Defense Maria Delores de Cospedal to discuss the enduring U.S.-Spain security relationship. Mattis recognized Spain’s important contributions to global security, specifically in combating terrorism in North Africa, the Sahel, and in the defeat-ISIS fight, the Pentagon says. They discussed their commitment to NATO, the strong bonds such an alliance creates, and the need for all member nations to reach the 2 percent of GDP defense spending benchmark.
Prioritize Cyber Security. Republican Senators John Thune (S.D.) and Cory Gardner (Colo.) wrote separate letters to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross urging them to prioritize the security of their network systems. Pointing to an inspector general report that finds the Transportation Department’s cyber security program “ineffective,” Thune, chairman of the Commerce Committee, and Gardner, a committee member, ask Chao to make cyber security “a top priority.” In the letter to Ross, they also ask the new secretary to make cyber security a “top priority,” pointing to a Commerce inspector general report on continued “significant challenges” for the department in this area.
OA-7 CRS Mission. United Launch Alliance (ULA) postponed its NASA Commercial Resupply Services mission for Orbital ATK, according to a company statement. Launch was originally scheduled for no earlier than March 27. ULA says while completing testing for a ground support hydraulic condition discovered during prelaunch testing, a different issue with a booster hydraulic line was observed. The team is developing a plan to resolve the issue and a new launch date will be determined. The Atlas V rocket and Cygnus spacecraft remain secure, ULA Says. ULA is launching Orbital ATK’s mission to the International Space Station as part of deal made when Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket was out of commission following a failure in 2014.
NASA Authorization. President Donald Trump on March 21 signed the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 into law. The law cancels the Asteroid Redirect Mission, authorizes $19.5 billion in spending and affirms the continued use of the Space Launch System and Orion capsule, among others. The bill is the first comprehensive NASA authorization passed by Congress in more than six years.
National Space Council. Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), rumored candidate to be next NASA administrator, says he’s confident the White House will reconvene a National Space Council. Bridenstine tells an industry audience on March 21 he feels this way because Vice President Mike Pence spoke about the council on television while Trump signed the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 into law. Bridenstine, who attended the bill signing, says he’s thrilled the council could return as he’s taken initiative on a number of space efforts on Capitol Hill.
…Radio Occultation Data. Bridenstine says he’s working on getting $5 million in the fiscal year 2017 defense appropriations bill for the Pentagon to buy commercial GPS radio occultation data. The program is formally known as Commercial Weather Pilot in the Weather Follow-On. Radio occultation data is often used for climate monitoring and investigation. Radio occultation data is considered highly accurate and precise.
Army IT Contract. The U.S. Army awarded Boecore Inc. a $13.5 million modification for the Command Information Management System II contract. This award provides non-commercial integrated information technology solutions and support services for the Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Army Forces Strategic Command, and other Department of Defense agencies. The estimated completion date is July 31, 2018. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order. The contracting activity is Army Space and Missile Defense Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.
New Cyber Book. The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) presents the book, “Ethics and Policies for Cyber Operation.” The book consists of 12 essays on the importance of the ethical and regulatory problems raised by the deployment of cyber capabilities in military operations. The book is written by various policymakers, legal and military experts, ethicists, and philosophers. Each essay is an invited contribution or a revised version of a paper presented at a workshop on Ethics and policies for Cyber Warfare, itself organized by the CCDCOE in collaboration with the University of Oxford.
…CCDCOE Visit. Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel visited the Tallinn, Estonia based CCDCOE where he was briefed on recent developments in cyber defense, upcoming highlights of the center like the Tallinn Manual 2.0, the upcoming Locked Shields exercise, and the CyCon conference. “Luxembourg, as many other nations, is building up cyber capabilities. We are looking forward to furthering our cooperation with Estonia in this field and to be part of this very relevant endeavour. I am very pleased that Luxembourg will participate in the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in the future,” Bettel says.
…CCDCOE Hire. Kadri Kütt joins the CCDCOE as the new Head of Communications. In the role, Kütt is responsible for the external communication and media relations of the organization. She succeeds Liisa Past who is moving to become Chief Research Officers of the Cyber Defence Branch of the Estonian IT System Authority. Past remains connected to the CCDCOE as a team leader at the Locked Shields exercise. Kütt previously coordinated communication activities of Enterprise Estonia.