Reprogramming Resistance. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, opposes the Pentagon’s proposal to take $416 million from operation and maintenance accounts and use it to beef up missile defense. He says the reprogramming request, which requires congressional approval, would harm efforts to improve military readiness. “We’d be cutting money for aviation support, maintenance, and spare parts that our pilots desperately need, in order to pay for programs that won’t be available until the 2020s,” Smith says. “Moreover, it would only be a downpayment for programs that will ultimately cost over $4.5 billion, and there isn’t even any strategic plan for them yet. I don’t think that’s a smart approach, and I don’t support reprogramming it.”
Icebreaker Schedule. A Coast Guard spokesman tells Defense Daily that the acquisition documents for the heavy polar icebreaker “are being completed as anticipated” and the schedule is holding to release a draft Request for Proposal in October and the final RFP in fiscal year 2018. He says the schedule is holding for awarding the detailed design and construction contract for the vessel in fiscal year 2019. Last week the Government Accountability Office reported that that Coast Guard needs to complete acquisition planning documents for the icebreaker before the end of fiscal year 2017, which was last Friday, or it risks delaying release of the RFP. The new icebreaker is supposed to be delivered in fiscal year 2023.
New Identity. IDEMIA is the new name of the former OT-Morpho, the comprehensive identity solutions company created through the merger earlier this year of Oberthur Technologies and Morpho, which was Safran Group’s Identity & Security business unit. IDEMIA, with 14,000 employees and an estimated $3 billion-plus in annual sales, is a portfolio company of the private equity firm Advent International. “Thanks to our talented people and the solutions they invent, citizens and consumers can now connect, interact, exchange, pay, travel or even vote in total confidence, drawing on the benefits of a connected world,” says Didier Lamouche, IDEMIA’s CEO.
Border Wall Update. Customs and Border Protection says that construction of eight border security wall prototypes began Sept. 26 in San Diego. Construction includes four prototypes made of concrete and four using other materials. The prototypes are expected to be finished within about 30 days and will each be between 18 to 30 feet high. President Donald Trump, before he was elected, campaigned on building a 2,000 mile wall along the southern U.S. border. Administration officials have suggested that the wall will not be that long. CBP erected about 650 miles of fencing and other barriers along the southern border during the Bush and Obama administrations.
Shareholder Return. Lockheed Martin is boosting its dividend and share repurchase authority to strengthen its return to investors. The company will increase its dividend in the fourth quarter to $2 per share, up 18 cents or 10 percent, from the third quarter. Lockheed Martin also doubled its share repurchase authority to $4 billion.
Cyber Acquisition. root9B, which provides cyber security services in the area of risk mitigation, has been acquired by the early stage investment firm Tracker Capital Management, LLC. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. In 2016, root9B had a net loss of $18.3 million from continuing operations. The company’s management team remains in place.
Afghanistan Hearing. Defense Secretary James Mattis and Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, are scheduled to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee Oct. 3 on the political and security situation in Afghanistan. In August, the Trump administration outlined a new strategy for the war-torn country.
Dunford Vote. The Senate has confirmed Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford to a second two-year term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The full Senate’s action Sept. 27 came the same day the Senate Armed Services Committee approved his reappointment by voice vote.
Nuke Sub Support. The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $341 million modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise an option for support for in-service nuclear submarines. This includes design agent, planning yard, engineering, and technical support. The contract includes Spain foreign military sales and is expected to be finished by Sept. 2018.
Fitz Aegis Radar. NAVSEA awarded Lockheed Martin a $15.5 million modification to replace the damaged USS Fitzgerald’s (DDG-62) SPY-1D Aegis radar. This modification includes the production, test, and delivery of a SPY-1D Array, one SPY water cooler, one C&D water cooler, and 11 high voltage power supply cables. The equipment will go directly to the shipyard for repair and installation. The work is expected to be finished by Oct. 2019.
…And Repair Planning. Separately, NAVSEA awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries a $29 million contract for initial planning of Fitzgerald emergent repair and restoration. Initial planning/preparation phase of an availability will include the restoration and modernization of DDG-62. The Navy plans to award a modification for the full restoration/modernization scope in Dec. 2017. This is a sole-source basis contract under regulations for unusual and compelling urgency basis.
…And Homeport. And, the Navy announced DDG-62 will be changing homeports from Yokosuka, Japan to Pascagoula, Miss. to support repairs. The change is effective Dec. 15, after the completion of the planned heavy lift of the Fitzgerald from Japan to Pascagoula in November.
DDG-1000 Support. NAVSEA awards Raytheon a $111 million contract for Total Ship Activation (TSA) and engineering services in support of the DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer program. This will provide production, integration, activation, and testing on the DDG-100 class ship mission systems and missions systems equipment. The award includes four options that if exercised would raise the total value to $490 million. The contract is not competitively procured and is expected to be finished by April 2021.
USS Colorado. The US Navy accepts delivery of the future USS Colorado (SSN-788), the 15th Virginia-class submarine. The ship’s sponsor is Annie Mabus, daughter of former Navy Secretary Ray Mabus. This Block III Virginia-class submarine is set to be commissioned in the spring of 2018. The Block II replaces 12 separate vertical launch tubes with two large-diameter Virginia Payload Tubes that can each launch six Tomahawk cruise missiles.
…And USS Little Rock. Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) delivered the future USS Little Rock (LCS-9) to the U.S. Navy at a ceremony at the FMM shipyard in Marinette, Wisc. LCS-9 is the 11th Littoral Combat Ship and fifth Freedom-variant delivered to the Navy. The ship is planned to be commissioned in Buffalo, NY in December. The ship completes acceptance trials in August. The companies note the future USS Sioux City (LCS-11) is preparing for trials to begin later this fall.
Japan Aegis Ashore. The Japanese government is considering several candidate sites for deploying Aegis Ashore missile defense systems to protect against North Korean missiles, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. The Defense Ministry intends to request costs for the basic system design in the initial fiscal year 2018 budget with operations targeted to start in 2023. The government is considering several sites along the coast of the Sea of Japan. These include, from west to east, Fukuejima sub-base in Goto, Nagasaki Prefecture; Unishima sub-base in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture; Sado sub-base in Sado, Niigata; and Kamo sub-base in Oga, Akita Prefecture. The report says the Japanes government thinks two Aegis Ashore sites, each costing about $715 million, would provide sufficient defense.
AARGM Award. The U.S. Navy awards Orbital ATK a contract worth up to $350 million to continue full-rate production of the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM). The Navy awarded the company an initial award of $157 million for Lot 6 missiles and included an option for Lot 7 missiles. The contract includes all-up round missiles and captive air training missiles for the U.S. Navy, Italian air force and other allies through Foreign Military Sales orders.
JCREW. NAVSEA awarded Northrop Grumman a nearly $268 million modification to a previously awarded contract to produce for Joint Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device (RCIED) Electronic Warfare (JCREW) systems at full-rate production. This award is for Increment One Block One JCREW systems in support of the Expeditionary Warfare Program Office. Work will largely occur in San Diego, Calif. and is expected to be finished by Aug. 2022.
$1.1 Billion R&D. NAVSEA awards the Applied Research Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin a $458 million contract for research, development, engineering, test, and evaluation for programs throughout the Defense Department. This is the largest research contract in the university’s history. It provides R&D in core competency areas approved by the department for the University of Texas including research work in acoustics, navigation, command and control, and warfare systems. The contract includes options that if exercised would raise the total value to nearly $1.1 billion. The contract is not competitively procured in accordance with U.S. Code regulations. Work is expected to be finished by Sept. 2022.
NSA/CYBERCOM Split. A National Security Agency official clarifies any discussion of a split with U.S. Cyber Command will remain solely about dividing the current leadership role held by Adm. Mike Rogers, and the two organizations have no plans to dissolve their partnership. “We are a big intelligence machine,” says George Barnes, deputy director of the NSA. “Intelligence is required to feed cyber activities and operations. We will never separate,” he says Sept. 29. The partnership with Cyber Command allows service members to accelerate their intelligence capabilities with access to NSA’s tools, according to Barnes. “We will have a tight and growing partnership in the future. That will independent of whether or not we have one or two masters at the top.”