The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace and Defense

Amphibious Answers. If the Marine Corps’ ground-combat vehicle fleet-mix study recommends the service buy a Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC), the Senate Armed Services Committee wants the Navy secretary and Marine Corps commandant to submit a report to lawmakers. The SASC, in the fiscal year 2013 defense authorization bill it filed last week, says the study should assess if MPCs can mitigate capability gaps and also explain the vehicle’s role in filling the service’s forcible-entry needs. The committee also wants an assessment of operational risks tied to using ship-to-shore connectors to deliver MPCs to shore. The study, further, should compare the acquisition and life-cycle costs of a split fleet of Amphibious Combats Vehicles (ACs) and MPCs with the costs of a fleet of only ACVs, the SASC says.

ACV Action. The SASC also calls for the Government Accountability Office to conduct an annual review of the ACV acquisition program. The yearly reports would include an assessment of how the program is adhering to goals for development and procurement costs, schedules, performance, and risk mitigation. The SASC also wants the GAO to assess the progress of developmental and operational testing and any plans for correcting potential deficiencies in areas including vehicle performance, operational effectiveness, and reliability. The reports, further, would include assessments of the ACV’s procurement plans, acquisition strategy, production results, and test-and-evaluation master plan. The SASC wants the GAO’s first report to also assess the “sufficiency and objectivity” of the ACV’s analysis of alternative, initial capabilities document, and capability development document.

Sequester Shuffle. The Bipartisan Policy Center in a June 7 report calls on lawmakers to stop so-called sequestration cuts to defense and non-defense spending of $1.2 trillion over the next decade from starting next January, and advocates a replacement deficit-cutting plan the includes entitlement and tax reform. The report still calls for defense reforms, saying: “Although imposition of the sequester will have very significant adverse consequences on our national security, this does not mean that critically needed reforms to the Department of Defense budget and business models should not be undertaken.” The center’s Task Force on Defense Budget and Strategy is co-chaired by former National Security Adviser James Jones, former Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, and former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman. Jones, also the former Marine Corps commandant, says: “We can have a more effective fighting force at lower cost to the taxpayer. Unfortunately, the sequester is not the way to get there.”

FFRDC Focus. The Professional Services Council (PSC) wants to know if federal agencies are using federally-funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) to circumvent competitive procurement processes. The trade group calls, in a June 5 paper, for Congress to require that contracts now sole-sourced to FFRDCs that can be done by for-profit contractors be opened to competition. “Typically FFRDCs receive sole-source contracts that contain no performance-based incentives and there is strong evidence that FFRDCs are significantly more expensive than for-profit contractors,” PSC Executive Vice President and Counsel Alan Chvotkin say in a statement. “In this era of fiscal austerity, it is time for Congress to review and redefine how the FFRDC sponsors buy their systems engineering and other support services and take steps to ensure that excess costs are eliminated.”

America Launches. The first of the Navy’s next fleet of amphibious assault ships has been launched from dry dock in a milestone for the LHA-6 (America-class) program. The America was put into the water Monday by the ballast dry dock systems at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ yard in Pascagoula, Miss. HII says the ship, which at the moment weighs more than 29, 000 tons, became one of the largest objects moved across land when it was transitioned to dry dock three weeks ago. On May 31, the Navy issued a $2.38 billion contract for the second ship in the America-class program, the Tripoli.

Vacuum Behind Sub Fire. The Navy has reached a preliminary conclusion behind a fire aboard a Los Angeles-class (SSN-688) attack submarine, saying a vacuum in the living quarters of the USS Miami (SSN-755) picked up a “heat source” that ignited debris in the cleaner. The fire occurred on May 23 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in southern Maine, where the subs undergo modernization and overhauls. There were no injuries, no weapons on board and the fire did not affect the vessel’s nuclear propulsion plant, which had been shut down for two months, the Navy says. The Navy says a formal investigation is underway to identify lessons learned and issue corrective recommendations. “The fire started in a vacuum cleaner used to clean worksites at end of shift, and stored in an unoccupied space. The style vacuum used was one you would find in a typical shop environment,” the Navy says. “The vacuums were not plugged in and there was no apparent defect that would have caused the vacuums to ignite. Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire started with a heat source being vacuumed up and igniting the debris in the vacuum cleaner.”

FLIR Aiming for IFT. FLIR Corp. says it is competing as part of an industry team for the Customs and Border Protection program to deploy sensor-equipped fixed towers along portions of the nation’s southwest border to help prevent illegal immigration and drug smuggling into the United States. The company would not say whether it is bidding for the Integrated Fixed Tower (IFT) system as a prime or subcontractor. FLIR, through its acquisition of the former ICx Technologies, has significant systems integration capabilities, particularly with integrating cameras and radars on towers. FLIR can also provide the day/night cameras and ground-based radar that are required for the fixed towers.

Eye on Overlap in DHS. The House Homeland Security Committee last week approved a bill that seeks to identify overlapping missions and operations between some of the components within the Department of Homeland Security. Among the provisions in the Securing Maritime Activities Through Risk-Based Targeting for Port Security Act (H.R. 4251) is a section calling for the Government Accountability Office to review port security and maritime law enforcement operations within DHS to look for duplication and redundancies. Another section seeks a GAO review of the department’s aviation assets to compare costs, capabilities and missions and to assess the relative costs and operations benefits of unmanned air vehicles versus manned aircraft. A third section directs DHS to identify common mission requirements before starting new aviation and marine acquisition programs. The bill was agreed to by voice vote.                     

…Hold that TWIC. The proposed legislation would also allow holders of Transportation Worker Identification Credentials (TWIC) whose cards are set to expire after 2014 to keep their cards until DHS publishes a final rule on TWIC readers for access control to secure areas of the nation’s seaports. The bill says that if the reader rule isn’t published by Dec. 31, 2014, then TWIC cards that expire after that date will remain valid pending publication of the rule.

State R&D Document. The State Department, for the first time, releases a document prioritizing the needs of its Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance for research and development programs to address “critical arms control and nonproliferation technology requirements in the realm of verification and transparency.” In the April 24 document, Verification Technology Research and Development Needs, the State Department lists information and communications technology, such as social media, as its top area for providing new verification and transparency capabilities. The Department also prioritizes new tools to supplement analysis of existing information, such as 3-D modeling software and visual analytics. View the document at http://bit.ly/M5s3HQ.

GeoEye-3. GeoEye expects to begin construction on its fourth next-generation, high-resolution imagery satellite, GeoEye-3, in late 2013, according to Paul McDonald, Lockheed Martin’s GeoEye spacecraft director. McDonald also tells reporters last week that GeoEye-2 will both launch and be operational in the “first half” of 2013. Lockheed Martin is partnering with GeoEye to complete development and construction of GeoEye-2 and its associated command-and-control system. ITT Exelis is also a partner on GeoEye-2, providing the imaging payload, which includes a telescope, sensor subsystem and outer barrel assembly, a GeoEye spokesman said.

Wolfenbarger Heads AFMC. Air Force Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger assumes the top position of the service’s Materiel Command in a ceremony Tuesday, replacing Gen. Donald Hoffman, the Air Force says in a statement. Wolfenbarger also becomes the Air Force’s first female four-star general during a ceremony at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Materiel Command is responsible for the technology, acquisition, test and sustainment of the service’s current and future weapons systems.

LM F-22 O2 Contract. The Air Force awards Lockheed Martin  a $19.1 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for automatic backup oxygen supply in the F-22 life support system, it says in a statement. The contract includes 40 retrofit kits, plus non-recurring engineering and 10 spares. Work is to be completed April 20, 2013. The service has come under fire after struggling to find a cause for possible hypoxia symptoms found in F-22 pilots. The F-22 is developed by Lockheed Martin.

WGS-8-9-10. The Air Force says it intends to award Boeing a contract for the 10th Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite in July, according to a spokeswoman from Air Force Space Command, Space and Missile Systems Center’s Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate. A Boeing spokeswoman also says it began unit assembly on the WGS-8 during the second quarter of 2012 and expects to begin unit assembly on the WGS-9 by the end of the year. WGS is to provide broadband communications connectivity for the United States and its allies, including tactical communications for ground forces, relaying data and imagery from airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms. WGS is the Defense Department’s highest-capacity communications satellite system and can process more than 3.6 gigabits per second of data.

DigitalGlobe and Russia. DigitalGlobe, a commercial provider of high-resolution satellite imagery, says June 4 in a statement it inked a deal with a division of Russia’s federal forestry agency to supply imagery to help it better manage key forestry regions. Forested regions account for approximately half of Russia’s land mass, according to a statement. DigitalGlobe of Longmont, Colo., is one of two businesses participating in a National Geospacial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) program to provide imagery to the federal government.

Breathe Easy. Dräger says today its new DHS 7000 hybrid system is available, an innovative respirator that uses the company’s worldwide leading breathing technology to ensure the purity of breathing air. “The DHS 7000 is designed for situations where seconds could make a difference in keeping a person safe,” says David Warnacut, product manager, Compressed Air Breathing Equipment. “This versatile system enables the wearer to quickly adapt to and overcome unknown hazards–whether chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear. For additional protection, we have removed several lights and alarms that could compromise the wearer’s location.” High versatility supports CBRN and long-duration missions, he adds.

Continuing Support. DynCorp International is awarded a cost-plus-incentive-fee contract with one base year and four, one-year options, with a total contract value of $198 million if all options are exercised to provide operations support services within the designated Joint Operation Area and Manila, Republic of the Philippines. “We are proud and honored that Naval Facilities Engineering Command has chosen DI to continue to provide quality support services to the men and women of the Joint Special Operations Task Force- Philippines,” says Kenneth Juergens, group vice president, Global Logistics and Development Solutions, DynCorp International.

Developing New Radars. General Dynamics C4 Systems is leading a team to develop and deploy modernized range instrumentation radars, replacing an aging and outdated fleet of radar systems currently operating at Army test ranges. The Range Radar Replacement Program (RRRP) has a total potential value of $385 million over 10 years if all options are exercised. The initial $29 million award provides funding for the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the program and initial production and integration of the new radar systems at White Sands Test Center, N.M.; Yuma Test Center, Ariz.; Aberdeen Test Center, Md.; and Redstone Test Center, Ala. The team includes: STAR Dynamics; Georgia Tech Research Institute of Atlanta; and EO Imaging.