Time to talk OA. Defense Daily’s 6th annual Open Architecture Summit is scheduled to take place Oct. 10 at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, D.C. This year’s themes will be the Pentagon’s Better Buying Power 2.0 initiative, C4ISR, the Navy’s recent conducting of open architecture war games, and the role of intellectual property and data rights. Keynote addresses and panel discussions will provide the latest on military efforts to incorporate OA practices into acquisition programs. Featured speakers are Katrina McFarland, the assistant secretary of defense for acquisition; Lt. Gen. Charles Davis, the military deputy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition; Mr. Elliott Branch, the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for acquisition and procurement; and Richard Gray of the Office of General Counsel, Office of the Secretary of Defense. For more details and to sign up, visit www.openarchitecturesummit.com.
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Cutting Steel. Lots. Huntington Ingalls Industries says that it has officially begun fabrication on the Navy’s next Arleigh Burke-class (DDG-51) guided-missile destroyer. The milestone is declared once 100,000 tons of steel has been cut. The DDG-114 is slated to be called the Ralph Johnson and will be built at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding unit in Pascagoula, Miss. The Johnson marks the 30th Arleigh Burke destroyer built at Ingalls. Other DDG-51s are built by General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. The latest ship is expected to be delivered in 2017. It is named after Marine Corps Pfc. Ralph Henry Johnson, who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for saving the lives of other Marines in the Vietnam War by diving on an explosive device and dying instantly. He had been in Vietnam for just more than two months when he died at the age of 20.
Ike drydocking. USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) has entered drydock at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Virginia. The planned 14-month incremental availability is focused around modernization of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier’s propulsion plant and repairs. The work involves overhauling shafting and rudders, blasting and painting 100 tanks, installing new sponsons that host the Phalanx Close-In Weapons System, and other maintenance and repair tasks.
Pat on the Back. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee and often critical of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), praised the agency last week for the measures it is taking to improve mass transit security. “I am encouraged that TSA has taken substantial steps to ensure effective use of its very limited surface transportation security resources,” he says. “With only a fraction of TSA’s budget dedicated to mass transit security, TSA’ needs to set up smart and nimble programs to help ensure our nation’s subway and rail systems are protected from the most substantial threats.” Thompson’s comments follow a Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report which said the agency is doing a good job in establishing processes to identify and prioritize capability gaps in securing mass transit.
Fresh Start. When it leaves the starting gate later this month as a new public company and a greater focus on the enterprise, one of the changes Leidos is implementing that is different from its current perch in SAIC is making investments in research and development that benefit the entire organization rather than just a part of it, says Stu Shea, the chief operating officer with SAIC. “We will focus on growth through proactive sharing of technology,” says Shea, who will be president and CEO of Leidos following the spinoff from SAIC. Moving forward R&D investments will be focused on “enterprise contribution,” he says.
…Commercial Expansion. Leidos will have a significant footprint in the commercial market, particularly with its Health & Engineering Sector, which makes up one-third of the $2 billion company. Commercial business accounts for more than 20 percent of Leidos and the company will expand this through organic growth and selective mergers and acquisitions, says Shea. He adds that the heads of the National Security and Health & Engineering Sectors are leveraging earlier investments in cyber security and big data analytics for national security to improve services in healthcare and energy markets.
LMCLS Morelos-3. Mexico selects Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services (LMCLS) to provide commercial launch services using the Atlas V launch vehicle for the country’s Morelos-3 communications satellite, according to a company statement. Morelos-3 will be the third of three communications satellites that comprise the MEXSAT communications satellite system. Morelos-3 is scheduled for launch as early as 2015, according to Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Joan Underwood. LMCLS is a division of Lockheed Martin.
Orbital’s Coyote. Orbital Sciences successfully launches its 40th Coyote supersonic sea-skimming target (SSST) vehicle for the Navy, according to a company statement. The mission included consecutive launches of two Coyote missiles from the Pacific Missile Range in Hawaii. Each of the Coyote missions was rail-launched from the coast before executing their planned flight patterns, helping provide a successful target presentation for the customer. The design of the Coyote target vehicle integrates a four-inlet, solid-fuel ducted-rocket ramjet propulsion system into a compact missile airframe 18 feet long and 14 inches in diameter.
Northrop Grumman JTE. The Air Force awards Northrop Grumman a $219 million firm-fixed and cost-type contract for Joint Threat Emitter (JTE) follow-on production, according to a Defense Department statement. This contract provides for JTE first article and production units and associated drawings, technical orders, retrofit kits, provisioning and software. March 2016 is the expected completion date. This contract includes foreign military sales to Saudi Arabia.
Kwast Reassigned. The Air Force reassigns Maj. Gen. Steven Kwast as commander of the Curtis LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education and as vice commander of air university at Air Education and Training Command (AETC), according to the Air Force. Kwast was previously director of the Air Force’s Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) effort. The QDR sets a long-term course for DoD as it assesses the threats and challenges that the United States faces.
Morin To OSD. President Barack Obama announces his intent to nominate Jamie Morin as DoD’s director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE), according to a White House statement. Morin currently serves as assistant secretary of the Air Force for financial management, a position he has held since 2009. Morin served as senior defense analyst for the Senate Budget Committee from 2003 to 2009 and was a national fellow at the Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia from 2002 to 2003. Morin’s nomination is subject to Senate confirmation.
Final C-17 for Air Force. Boeing delivers the 223rd and final C-17 to the Air Force Sept. 12, fulfilling the production contract more than 20 years after the first delivery, according to a company statement. Boeing continues to produce C-17s for other customers around the world and maintain and sustain the aircraft through the C-17 Globemaster Integrated Sustainment Program. In addition to 223 C-17s delivered to the Air Force, 34 are operated by Australia, Canada, India, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the 12-member Strategic Airlift Capability initiative of NATO and Partnership for Peace nations.
New To The Family. Lockheed Martin’s Dragon family of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems has evolved again, and now includes the Dragon Dome integrated missile defense option. The new option for the configurable, scalable ISR system brings Lockheed Martin’s DIAMONDShield air and missile defense system to international customers in an open software infrastructure to allow for interoperability with the United States, NATO and coalition partners.
Shutdown Showdown. With the new fiscal year just two weeks away and no long-term funding in sight, Pentagon spokesman George Little says on Sept. 13 that Defense officials are in touch with the White House and Congress to figure out how to continue operating seamlessly into the new year. Regarding a continuing resolution needed to keep money flowing, he says, “discussions are underway and we can hopefully get to a resolution soon.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) seemed less hopeful. He tells reporters last week that “passing a CR is the right thing to do” but that “the anarchists are winning.” “We dare you, shut down the government,” Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) taunted Tea Party Republicans at the same press conference, adding, “they will lose” come next election season.
Rogers On Need For Cyber Bill. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, says he hopes to get cyber legislation to the president by the end of the year. Speaking at the Intelligence and National Security Alliance’s Intelligence Community Summit on Thursday, Rogers expressed concern that the private sector was not equipped to withstand an attack from a state adversary because there was not yet a clear process for real-time threat information sharing. “That’s our disadvantage,” he says. “This is the largest single threat that we know exists and is happening today and we’re doing nothing about.” Rogers says the Syrian Electronic Army, which is believed to be backed by Iran, is also a real threat. If the United States were to use an offensive cyber attack against the army or similar enemies, he says, the retaliation would be against both the government and the U.S. private sector.
Colorado Guard On Duty. The Colorado National Guard says in a release that nearly 100 soldiers and airmen with vehicles and helicopters have been mobilized to help local authorities in search and rescue operations as the state endures historic flooding. At least three have died from the floods, say news reports. Guardsmen and women also started traffic control points around the flooded areas. The guard is assigned to the Windsor Readiness Center; the Boulder, Fort Collins, and Denver armories; and Buckley AFB. “Supporting our neighbors in their time of need is one of the most rewarding missions the military has to offer,” says Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Edwards, Colorado’s adjutant general. “Having readiness centers in communities such as these ensures we provide rapid for our communities.”
Specialized Tactical Vehicles. Lenco Industries Inc. says it recently finished delivering 88 BearCat® armored vehicles to the Moroccan Auxiliary Forces. The BearCat® is part of Lenco’s line of light and medium armored response vehicles, used by hundreds of Specialized Tactical teams in the United States and abroad. With military grade armor materials, an open floor plan and a powerful 4×4 system, the BearCat® can easily accommodate 10 to 12 operators across rugged terrain. The BearCat can also reach speeds up to 90 mph for rapid response. The Moroccan Auxiliary Forces order includes five different BearCat® variants, for various missions. Morocco received the BearCat® Riot Control, Troop Transport, Communications, Convoy Protection and SWAT models.
More Artillery Shells. Raytheon says it will supply the Army with a second lot of the Excalibur Ib artillery round under a new $54 million contract revealed Sept. 10. The Excalibur Ib is a precision-guided artillery projectile based on Raytheon’s combat-proven Excalibur Ia-1 and Ia-2, a 155mm precision-guided, extended-range projectile that uses GPS precision guidance to provide accurate, first round, fire-for-effect capability in any environment. Raytheon says more than 690 Excalibur rounds have been fired in theater to date. The weapon was developed to reduce the time, cost and logistical burden traditionally associated with artillery munitions.
Continuing Comms. Exelis reveals a new system to allow communications to continue even in a heavily jammed battlefield. The small, lightweight Integrated Protection and Transmission System (iProTxS) can be quickly integrated with existing radios and electronic countermeasure (ECM) equipment on both mounted and dismounted platforms, the company says. Battlefield jamming is increasingly common and complex, making effective communications difficult. A single iProTxS system can be paired with as many radio systems as needed within an ECM system area of operation, providing an easy and affordable solution, the company says. The system integrates with narrowband FM radio systems, AM systems, digital 4-FSK frequency hopping, VHF, UHF, combat net radio, TETRA and professional mobile radio frequencies. Exelis says it will incorporate this technology into its product portfolio to enhance the capability of radios for its customers.
New National Security Program. David Berteau is named director of the new National Security Program on Industry and Resources at CSIS. This new program will combine ongoing research on the defense industry, government procurement, and national security programs and contracts with an increased focus on the current and future constraints on budgets and resources. “We are now in a period where managing defense resources is of paramount importance,” says John Hamre, CSIS president and CEO. “David Berteau has precisely the background and skills to lead this important effort.” Berteau is a senior vice president at CSIS and has been with the Center for 12 years. He has led the CSIS Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group (DIIG) for nearly six years. Berteau will apply more than 30 years of senior defense and national security management experience to the need for improved management of budget and program resources across the national security spectrum. In addition to issues historically addressed by DIIG, the National Security Program in Industry and Resources (NSPIR) will address critical defense industry concerns at a time when the diminishing defense budget and the demands of global competition pose serious challenges for the industry, the military, and the nation.