F-35A Deployment. The U.S. Air Force plans to send 12 F-35A Lightning IIs to Japan in early November, marking its first operational deployment of the new Lockheed Martin-built fighter jet to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. The F-35As, which are assigned to Hill Air Force Base in Utah, will spend six months at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa. The F-35A made its first appearance in Asia in mid-October at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition, also known as Seoul ADEX 17, in South Korea.
Antares Launch. Orbital ATK plans to launch its next cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station on Nov. 11 from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. A Cygnus spacecraft will lift off on an Antares rocket and deliver equipment and supplies to the orbiting laboratory. The mission, designated OA-8, is part of Orbital ATK’s commercial resupply services contract with NASA.
Helicopter Review. The U.S. Air Force’s Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH) program has completed a critical design review for its training systems, according to prime contractor Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company. The recent four-day review clears the way for the program to begin building the maintenance and aircrew training devices. A comparable review for the HH-60W aircraft itself, a derivative of the UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopter, took place earlier.
Bridenstine Hearing. Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) is scheduled to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee Nov. 1 on his nomination to be NASA administrator. The White House announced in September that President Donald Trump had picked Bridenstine for the job. In Congress, Bridenstine has promoted small satellites, lightweight launch vehicles, government purchasing of commercial data and services, and returning astronauts to the Moon.
UAS Pilot Program. The U.S. Department of Transportation is launching a pilot program to speed up the integration of unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace. Under the pilot program, which President Donald Trump ordered, the department will solicit proposals from state and local governments to create “innovation zones” for evaluating operations that are currently prohibited, such as flying at night, over people and beyond visual line of sight. After reviewing the applications, the department will pick at least five “partnerships.” The program is designed to help the department develop regulations for more complex UAS operations.
Mattis in Asia. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met with 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) counterparts on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines, to discuss mutual security challenges and our strong multilateral defense cooperation. Mattis emphasized the need for continued cooperation in the international community to apply greater diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea to fully implement all U.N. Security Council resolutions. Meeting participants also emphasized the need for continued ASEAN unity to address shared security challenges facing Southeast Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific. Mattis and his counterparts discussed the need to increase cooperation on countering violent extremism to stem the threat posed from groups like ISIS, and they address the threat posed by returning foreign fighters. Mattis said that the U.S. seeks to increase the scope and complexity of exercises to help build maritime security capacity in the region. He offered continued cooperation in maritime domain awareness and information-sharing to address common threats to regional security.
Army End Strength. The Association of the U.S. Army joined more than 30 other military and veterans’ groups in asking Congress to protect the interests of service members while negotiating a final 2018 defense budget. In a joint letter to leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, AUSA and the other members of The Military Coalition support the larger Army troop level increases passed by the House of Representatives in its version of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. “We believe force levels should be increased to meet continuing and projected demands,” the joint letter says.
Checkpoint Technology Win. L3 Technologies recently received an order from a major international airport for 25 of its ClearScan computed tomography-based scanning systems to screen carry-on bags, possibly the largest order yet for these systems for use at security checkpoints. Christopher Kubasik, L3’s president and chief operating officer, says on the company’s earnings call that the award has the option for another 30 of the CT-based systems, which offer the potential to eventually allow travelers to leave their liquids and personal electronics in their bags. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration is evaluating the technology to replace its Advanced Technology X-Ray systems that screen carry-on bags at airport checkpoints. Mark Laustra, the head of global business development for Analogic, which is offering the ConneCT CT-based system for checkpoint screening, tells Defense Daily that L3’s recent order “reaffirms the need for CT systems at airports worldwide.” The technology is currently used to automatically screen checked bags at airports for explosives.
CVN-79. Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding says the future Ford-class aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) is about 60 percent structurally complete. “We are working hard to be a stronger business, a better Navy partner and an employer of choice,” Newport News President Jennifer Boykin says in a statement.
LHD-8 Dry Dock. The amphibious assault ship USS Malkin Island (LHD-8) entered dry dock at General Dynamics’ NASSCO facility in San Diego, Calif. The Navy plans for depot-level maintenance availability to last 14 months and an upgrade of the ship with “the latest warfighting capabilities,” the service says. The ship will undergo routine maintenance, get a resurfaced flight deck able to accommodate the F-35B strike fighter, and prolong service life.
Cheap Shot. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing earlier this month to examine responsibilities for cyber defenses in the U.S., Chairman John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) left an empty chair at the witness table for Rob Joyce, the White House cybersecurity coordinator, who was invited to testify but didn’t appear. McCain acknowledged at the outset of the Oct. 19 hearing that the White House’s invoking of executive privilege to not send Joyce is consistent with previous Democratic and Republican administrations to not have the president’s staff testify before Congress, he said the issue of cyber requir3es us to completely rethink our old ways of doing business. Tom Bossert, the White House’s top adviser on counterterrorism, tells reporters that he has a “great deal of respect” for McCain and Congress, but “I felt that empty chair stunt was cheap and beneath him.”
Army Cloud. The Army awarded Booz Allen Hamilton a potential three-year, $248 million deal to provide support services as it continues its migration to cloud computing systems. “Migrating applications is more than a technical undertaking. It requires a real commitment to maximizing the benefits of cloud computing and achieving operational efficiencies, and a culture that backs up these principles,” says Booz Allen Vice President Bill Schuler in a statement. The Army’s PEO Enterprise Information Systems was seeking a cloud-based IT infrastructure solution for this contract.
New Cyber FFRDC Chief. MITRE Corp. has appointed Samuel Visner to lead its National Cybersecurity Federally Funded Research and Development Center, the NCF, effective Oct. 30. Visner, who joins MITRE after serving as senior vice president for Cybersecurity and Resilience at ICF International, succeeds Mark Maybury, who is now director of MITRE’s intelligence portfolios. The NCF supports the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence.
Dawn Blitz. The Navy and Marine Corps began the Dawn Blitz 2017 exercise off the coast of Southern California on Oct. 20. This is an amphibious exercise providing training for crisis response and to integrate the staffs of the Navy’s Expeditionary Strike Group 3 and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade. It includes ships based out of San Diego, including the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2), the amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage (LPD-23), the amphibious dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LSD-47), and the guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108). This year includes participation from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces and observers from Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico.
Flag Assignment. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson announced the assignment of Rear Adm. (lower half) Charles Cooper II as commander of Expeditionary Strike Group Seven in Okinawa, Japan. Cooper currently serves as commander Navy Region Korea, U.S. Naval Forces Korea, and Naval Components for U.S. Forces Korea. They also assigned Rear Adm. (lower half) Cathal O’Connor as chief of staff, J5, Joint Staff in Washington, D.C. O’Connor currently serves as commander of Expeditionary Strike Group Three in San Diego, Calif.
German-Israel Subs. Germany and Israel signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Israel to acquire three ThyssenKrupp Dolphin-2-class submarines. They are estimated to cost about $1.3 billion and will replace three earlier model Israeli Dolphins. Under the MOU, Germany will subsidize up to 30 percent of the hull, mechanical, and electric costs. Germany previously added a clause allowing them to cancel the deal if an underway corruption investigation finds criminal offenses.
Cyber Frigate. The U.S. Navy’s Frigate Program Office awarded Engility Holdings a $15 million contract to provide the Navy with cyber security engineering and architecture for the next generation frigate program, FFG(X). The company notes this is the first time the Navy plans to build cyber and network capabilities into the core architecture of a ship compared to adding them at post-production. Engility says its platform adds enhanced cyber resilience with “digital watertight doors” to protect operations from data breaches.
Wasp And Oak Hill. The Defense Department and Federal Emergency Management Agency say the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD-1) and dock landing ship USS (LSD-51) are no longer needed for Puerto Rico hurricane recovery. The agencies made the determination as part of an effort to transition from hurricane response to recovery. The Navy notes both ships have primarily helped through helicopter support but now the Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Island areas have enough land-based tilt-rotor and helicopter capabilities.
Kuril Base. Russia’s Interfax news agency reports a Russian official announced the country has decided to build a naval base in the Kuril Islands. Senator Franz Klintsevich, first deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, says the decision has been made and they are dealing with organizational issues now. The Kuril island chain extends between far eastern Russia and northern Japan. Russia has placed Bal and Bastion defense missile systems on the islands. Russia and Japan have been disputing the exact border of the Kuriles and northern Japan islands since the end of World War II.
CSRA Cyber Center. IT solutions company CSRA Inc. is hosting a kickoff event on Nov. 2 in McLean, Va. for the launch of its new Cyber Center of Excellence. Keith Alexander, a retired Army general and former director of the National Security Agency, will deliver a keynote address at the event. CSRA’s new cyber center will bring together industry experts to provide consulting services and rapid innovation services to its public-sector customers.
Zoo Drones. San Diego Zoo Global scientists and Northrop Grumman engineers are continuing a collaboration to advance the understanding of sea ice dynamics in a changing climate and impacts on polar bear behavior. Now in year two of the effort, the team spent 2016 testing and validating autonomous flight technology to better understand the performance of unmanned aircraft systems in remote areas with extreme weather conditions. For their upcoming Nov. 2017 mission – called Operation #PolarEye – the team is bringing new technology to San Diego Zoo’s conservation efforts to allow scientists to collect critical data using a new habitat monitoring system. “There are few studies of polar bears based on direct observation. With the development of this autonomous system, we are hoping to gain a perspective into polar bear lives rarely seen before,” says Dr. Nicholas Pilfold, scientist in population sustainability at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. “This data will ultimately help inform conservation strategies for the species.” The team is using a hexacopter platform, for its vertical takeoff and landing capability and its robustness in harsh conditions. The platform consists of six rotors, a triple-redundant navigation system, high-voltage battery packs and a custom payload bay to hold a range of integrated sensors.