CBP Explores Coastal Intercept Vessels. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a Request for Information for Coast Interceptor Vessels (CIV) for maritime law enforcement purposes. The vessels would operate in the littorals and provide CBP Marine Interdiction Agents with a versatile, multi-mission platform for patrol, interdiction, port security and special operations missions. The vessel will include the hull, deck, console, T-top, propulsion, electrical system, command and controls, mission systems and more.
Industry Opinion Sought. The House and Senate armed services committees reached out to industry in search of ideas to reform the Defense Department’s acquisition process. As part of a two-part reform effort, one side stemming from the Pentagon and the other being led by HASC Vice Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), the two committees asked nine industrial associations what steps DoD and Congress could take to reduce the cost of major acquisition programs and expedite the time it takes to deliver them to the warfighter, how DoD could better train and empower its acquisition workforce, how to improve planning and oversight of service contracts, and more. The committees asked that the industrial groups respond by July 10, in the hopes that some sort of acquisition reform language might be ready by early 2015, Thornberry tells Defense Daily last year.
…Welcome to HASC. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) was named the newest member of HASC on April 3. HASC Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) say in a statement, “Tulsi comes to us as a freshman Congresswoman, but she has experience where it counts—as a veteran soldier. We are always humbled to welcome veterans to this bipartisan committee, and it is particularly true in this case. Tulsi’s experiences as both an enlisted soldier and an officer will bring great credit and expertise to our oversight role. We know she will serve the people of Hawaii just as honorably as she has served her country.”
Coast Guard UMV Interest. The Coast Guard is interested in unmanned marine vehicles (UMV) that could operate for several months, if not several weeks, at a time unattended except for remote monitoring. The service’s Research and Development Center (RDC) has issued a Request for Information for commercial and government-off-the-shelf UMVs and associated sensor, data processing, communications, and monitoring packages to support offshore missions. The RDC plans to use the information to evaluate potential applications to various missions, impact on mission effectiveness, and life-cycle costs.
Rolls-Royce KC-130J. The Marine Corps awards Rolls-Royce a one-year contract worth more than $50 million to support its fleet of KC-130J air-to-air refueling tankers, according to a company statement. The MissionCare contract covers sustainment services for more than 200 Rolls-Royce AE 2100 engines as well as propellers and other propulsion system repairs for the KC-130J fleet. The deal also covers the deployment of Rolls-Royce field service reps at multiple bases. In addition to support for 47 Marine Corps aircraft, three KC-130Js for Kuwait will be supported via the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
NASA CCP. NASA commercial space 
partners meet milestones in February under the agency’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP), according to a NASA statement. Blue Origin completes a review of the design, manufacture and assembly of its sub-scale propulsion tank, a smaller version of the tank that will boost the company’s space vehicle into low-earth orbit. Boeing wraps up a critical design review (CDR) of the primary structures for its CST-100 spacecraft that advances the design of many of the spacecraft structures to a point at which fabrication can begin. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) completes an early design review for the ground systems it anticipates using at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to launch the company’s Dragon spacecraft on its Falcon 9 rocket. Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) is preparing to evaluate the data from numerous wind tunnel tests of its Dream Chaser spacecraft and United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket integrated stack configurations. CCP is a program to develop technology to transport humans to destinations in low-earth orbit.
NDIA Initiative. The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) performs an initiative to provide actionable, fact-based data to DoD about critical and fragile industrial base suppliers. The output will offer a mix of perspectives, spanning large, medium and small companies from both the defense and commercial industries supporting national security. The effort will produce clearly articulated impact statements based on first-hand knowledge of supply chain concerns, will provide overarching recommendations designed to benefit the entire defense industrial base and discuss potential remedies unique to specific sectors and tiers that could be more broadly applied using existing authorities and vehicles. For more information, visit http://www.ndia.org/industrialbase/ or email industrialbase@ndia.org.
Boeing ROK Tanker. Boeing submits a bid for South Korea’s next-generation aerial refueling tanker competition, company spokesman Jerry Drelling says in an email. South Korean Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Hyungchul Kim says recently the competition is down to three candidates: Boeing’s KC-46 manufactured for the U.S. Air Force, Airbus’ A-330 twin-engine commercial jet and a Boeing 767 modified into a tanker by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Kim says South Korea wants a winner selected and contract awarded by November.
SpaceX CRS-3… SpaceX reschedules its Cargo Resupply Services (CRS) mission for April 14 at 4:58 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., the company announces on Twitter. The CRS-3 mission was delayed from March 30 when a tracking radar at Cape Canaveral overheated due to an electrical short. This also delayed the NROL-67 mission, which has been rescheduled for no earlier than April 10. The Air Force said March 28 it expected tracking radar repairs to take about three weeks.
…April 10 Cape Launch? Patrick AFB, Fla., home of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, lists its next launch as April 10 at 1:45 pm EDT, according to the Patrick AFB website. That could be the official rescheduling of the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) NROL-67 mission that was also pushed back by the tracking radar issue. Patrick AFB’s website has Atlas V listed for the mission, which will carry NROL-67, but no mission is listed. A phone call to Patrick AFB public affairs was not answered April 4.
Upgrades In Progress. The Javelin weapon system continues to evolve through spiral upgrades, with a focus on affordability, the Lockheed Martin-Raytheon Javelin Joint Venture tells Defense Daily. “Current upgrades in process include an update to the Control Actuation System to move from an analog design to digital that will be fielded in 2015,” the JV says in a statement. “A separate upgrade to the multi-purpose warhead will reduce cost and add capability once fielded in 2016.” With the close collaboration with the Close Combat Weapon System project office and the Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC), the JV continues to identify and work multiple affordability options that will result in continued evolution of the system, it says.
New Consulting Business. PwC and Strategy&, formerly Booz & Company, come together for a new kind of consulting business, they say April 3. As part of the PwC network, a leading professional services network, Strategy& will be a leading strategy firm on its own and help PwC as a whole become the pre-eminent strategy-through-execution firm. The two combined will offer clients a combination of strategy consulting expertise and a proven track record of delivery with global scale and experience. PwC Strategy&’s Board of Directors will be chaired by Tony Poulter, a PwC partner and global consulting leader. Cesare Mainardi will be CEO of Strategy&. He has been CEO of Booz & Company for the past two years.
