Presidential Election 2016. A number of candidates vying for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominations make speeches on national security this past week. In a speech at the Citadel on Wednesday, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (R) says the U.S. military must maintain its technological superiority. “In my administration, security for the United States will mean gaining and keeping the edge in every category, old and new,” he says. If elected, Bush says he would work with Congress to accelerate submarine procurement, as well as to procure new aircraft, additional warships, improves missile defenses and surveillance and cyber capabilities. He also proposes adding 40,000 active duty soldiers to the Army and increasing the Marine Corps end strength by 4,000 active duty troops.
…More Jeb. Bush also calls for a number of Pentagon reforms similar to those proposed in the fiscal year 2016 defense authorization bill. The department must reform the acquisition process “so we buy the right tools at the right price, and get them to the warfighter at the right time,” he says. As president, Bush would also shed overhead and reduce the size of Pentagon workforce, he says.
…Kasich on Defense Acquisition. During his national security speech, Republican presidential contender Ohio Gov. John Kasich says the United States must rebuild its military, but also needs to be more disciplined when buying new weapon systems. “We can make our dollars go further and get our troops the equipment they need faster by rewarding on-target cost estimates, insisting on extensive prototyping, incentivizing contractors and program managers to be ahead of schedule and under budget, using off-the-shelf technology as much as we can, and putting in place high threshold criteria for design changes,” he says during a Tuesday speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
…More Kasich. In light of the attacks on Paris, Kasich calls for more investment in the often-overlooked area of signals intelligence. “End-to-end communications encryption technology is increasingly leaving our intelligence agencies in the dark. We must develop new signals intelligence methods to illuminate these targets technologically,” he says. Further investment in human intelligence assets will also be needed to penetrate and neutralize terrorist groups, he adds.
…Sanders on Security. If elected as president, Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says he would push for Muslim nations to take a greater leadership role in combating terrorist groups like the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. He envisions a NATO-like coalition of the United States, Muslim nations and other countries should come together to fight terrorism, but ultimately the United States would take more of a backseat role. “While the U.S. and other western nations have the strength of our militaries and political systems, the fight against ISIS is a struggle for the soul of Islam, and countering violent extremism and destroying ISIS must be done primarily by Muslim nations–with the strong support of their global partners,” he says during a Thursday speech at Georgetown University. “Wealthy and powerful Muslim nations in the region can no longer sit on the sidelines and expect the United States to do their work for them.”
…Clinton Speaks on ISIS. Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s anti-ISIS strategy would be most like President Barack Obama’s. “Like President Obama, I do not believe that we should again have a hundred thousand American troops in combat in the Middle East. That is just not the smart move to make here,” she says Thursday at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York. Instead, she proposes an “intelligence surge” of technical assets, Arabic speakers and Middle East experts to help penetrate ISIS. The United States should also support local and regional ground forces by arming Kurdish and Sunni soldiers if the Iraqi government will not do so, she says.
Christened. The Coast Guard christens its sixth 418-foot National Security Cutter, the Munro, at shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries’ yard in Pascagoula, Miss.. Construction of the Munro began in October 2013 and the vessel is scheduled to be delivered to the Coast Guard in 2016.
EMP Assessment. The House passes legislation directing the Department of Homeland Security to conduct research to mitigate the consequences of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) events, including an analysis on the risks to critical infrastructure from such events. The Critical Infrastructure Protection Act, which passes the House by voice vote on Nov.16, also “requires specific plans for protecting and recovering the electric grid and other critical infrastructure from a dangerous electromagnetic pulse event,” says the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.).
Mixed Infosec Bag. In FY ’15 the Department of Homeland Security took steps to strengthen its information security program, including development and implementation of a performance plan to define requirements, priorities and goals for the department for the year, the department’s Inspector General says in a new report. The IG also says that DHS is addressing President Barack Obama’s “cybersecurity priorities to ensure secure access to information systems.”
…The Negatives. But, says the IG, DHS isn’t ensuring compliance with information security requirements in all areas, pointing out that the department’s classified system information is left out of monthly information security scorecards and reporting to the White House. It also says the Coast Guard isn’t reporting personal identity verification data—which is related to accessing privileged and unprivileged accounts—to DHS as required by department guidance. And, the IG warns, DHS components “are not maintaining their information security programs on a year-round, continuous basis.”
Littoral Combat Ship. The Navy on Nov. 21 will commission the fifth Littoral Combat Ship, the USS Milwaukee, during a ceremony in the vessel’s namesake city. The Milwaukee, a Freedom-class LCS by Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri’s Marinette Marine, will travel from Wisconsin to its homeport in San Diego, Calif., after its commissioning, Joe North, Lockheed’s vice president of littoral ships and systems, says Thursday during a conference call with reporters.
Vertical Launch System Contract. Lockheed Martin nabs a $20 million contract for the manufacture of 284 repairable items used in the MK-41 Vertical Launching System. The three-year contract extends until November 2018. Work will be performed in Ventura, Calif., and Baltimore, Md.
Carrier Overhaul. Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding picks up a $20 million contract modification to conduct additional work on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) as part of the ship’s refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH). The supplemental work will ensure the ship is fully mission capable when it is redelivered to the fleet, according to a Defense Department contracts announcement. The work, which will be performed in Newport News, Va., is expected to be completed by November 2016.
Nuclear Propulsion. The Navy awards Bechtel Plant Machinery, Inc. a $93 million modification to a previously awarded contact for naval nuclear propulsion components. The work will be performed in Monroeville, Pa., and the contract announcement does not specify a completion date.
Raytheon MOKV Review. Raytheon completes the first program planning review with the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) on the future Multi-Object Kill Vehicle (MOKV) concept, according to a company statement. The milestone is a critical part of the concept development phase and is designed to ensure Raytheon is aligned with MDA’s expectations and on track for a concept review in December. As part of the nearly $10 million contract awarded in August, Raytheon is defining an operational MOKV concept. It is designed to destroy several objects by using advanced sensor, divert and attitude control and communications technologies.
Patriot Flight Test. The Army successfully completes the first in a series of flight tests for the latest upgrades to Raytheon’s Patriot Integrated Air and Missile Defense system, according to a company statement. The upgrades, collectively known as Post-Deployment Build 8 (PDB-8), improve Patriot’s ability to destroy all categories of threats, differentiate between friendly and enemy aircraft and make Patriot easier for soldiers to operate. PDB-8 is currently undergoing U.S. government testing and evaluation. Additional flight and ground testing against a variety of targets will be conducted before PDB-8 is phased into the Patriot inventory. Raytheon did not return a request for comment by press time Friday.
KC-46 Milestone. The Air Force completes KC-46 aerial refueling initial airworthiness, prime contractor Boeing says on Twitter. The milestone comes with the flight of the second EMD aircraft’s 20th flight. Airworthiness is criteria to ensure that minimum levels of design for safe operation and maintenance are established. Boeing didn’t return a request for comment by press time Friday.
Weather System Follow-On RFI. The Air Force seeks information from industry on a full-system solution for the Weather System Follow-On, according to a notice posted on Federal Business Opportunities (FBO). The Air Force seeks information on a solution consisting of a space vehicle containing a cost-effective, space-based passive polarmetric microwave sensor to meet anticipated Pentagon Space-Based Environmental Monitoring (SBEM) requirements. The space vehicle (bus and payload) will consist of one satellite launched into sun-synchronous, early to mid-morning orbit and will downlink to the Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN) with the potential capability to downlink to commercial ground stations via Unified S-band.
SSA RFI. The Air Force seeks information from industry regarding processed, commercial Space Situtaional Awareness (SSA) data for operational use, according to a notice posted on Federal Business Opportunities. The Air Force says SSA data must originate from non-DoD sensors and be validated on commercial systems outside of the DoD network. The application shall include a mix of optical, radar and passive radio frequency systems capable of providing astrometric, radiometric and/or photometric data. It must also provide high definition ephemeris data on space objects, including position, status, accuracy/confidence, covariance and historical trending data. Deadline for responses is Nov. 25.
ULA CubeSats. United Launch Alliance (ULA) by May 2017 will start placing CubeSat carriers with berths for 24 satellites on nearly every Atlas V rocket it files, company President and CEO Tory Bruno announces during a Thursday presentation in Denver. Bruno says the goal is to expand worldwide capacity for CubeSat as the tiny satellites face challenges of finding affordable rides into space as traditional rockets for launching satellites are expensive. Bruno says the Atlas V flies 10 times, or more, per year. ULA is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
NATO Cyber. About 600 cyber defenders from across NATO and partner nations are taking part in the Cyber Coalition 2015 exercise at facilities including NATO’s Cyber Range in Tartu, Estonia. This is the third year Estonia hosts the event. The exercise is a five-day training event testing the ability of members to defend their networks from complex security challenges. Its purpose is to drill procedures and rapid coordination between national experts in their ability to handle scenarios of increasing complexity. Non-member partner nations participating or observing this year include Austria, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Georgia, Japan, and Jordan.
Rocket Motor Test. The U.S. Air Force and Orbital ATK successfully complete a ground level static fire test of the Medium-Class Stage III (MCS-III) solid rocket motor. The test demonstrates technologies being studied for use in the future Air Force Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) system. The Air Force seeks to replace the Minuteman III propulsion elements with a new system as part of the GBSD program. Orbital ATK is helping the Air Force prepare for upcoming development work by maturing and demonstrating available technologies applicable to the GBSD system.
Northrop Grumman. The U.S. Air Force awards Northrop Grumman a $121 million contract modification (P00105) to definitizate an undefinitized contract action for previously awarded contract FA8726-09-C-0010. The company is to extend the services of the Battlefield Airborne Communication Node Payload. Contract work is set to be performed at San Diego, Calif. with an expected completion date of June 22, 2016. The contracting activity is the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Hanscom AFB, Mass.
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Todd May, a 24-year long NASA veteran, is named acting director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., while the agency looks for a permanent director. May succeeds Patrick Scheuermann, who retires after three years as the center director, ending a 27-year career at NASA. May is appointed Marshall deputy director in August and previously serves as manager of the Space Launch Systems (SLS) program beginning August 2011, which is managed at Marshall.
Lockheed Martin. The U.S. Navy awards Lockheed Martin a $113 million contract modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-15-C-0003). The modification is to procure additional long-lead time items needed for the manufacture and delivery of low-rate initial production Lot 10 F-35A aircraft for the U.S. Air Force and Lot 11 aircraft for the Netherlands government. Work is to be performed at Fort Worth, Texas; El Segundo, Calif.; Warton, United Kingdom; Orlando, Fla.; Nashua, N.H.; Baltimore, Md.; and Cameri, Italy. Work is expected to be complete by December 2019. Aircraft production (Air Force, $99 million) and non-Department of Defense ($13.7 million) funds for the full contract are obligated at the time of award. The contracting activity is the Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Md.
Raytheon ISR. The U.S. Air Force awards Raytheon a $393 million contract to continue to provide mission support for the Air Force’s Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS). DCGS is the Air Force’s primary intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) analysis tool. Under the contract Raytheon continues to sustain, maintain, and ensure operational availability of platforms and legacy systems that produce intelligence for the service. The systems collect, process, analyze, and disseminate data collected by sensors aboard Air Force ISR platforms. The contracting activity is the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, directly supporting the 25th Air Force, part of the service’s Air Combat Command.
Super Tucano. Lebanon acquires six A-29 Super Tucano turboprop aircraft from Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and Embraer. The sale includes a complete training system for Lebanese Air Force pilots and mechanics. The acquisition is part of a larger $462 million Foreign Military Sale (FMS) approved by the State Department in June.
Anti-ISIS Escalation. Few specifics are sorted out, but Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, in the wake of the deadly Paris attacks, directs U.S. military commanders to consider options for expanding the campaign to destroy the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization in Iraq and Syria. The secretary says he hopes the Paris tragedy in which 129 people were killed will galvanize other nations to do even more as well. “He’s asked his commanders in the field to consider where the coalition effort can be expanded further, with the help of our partners,” the Pentagon says in a statement. The U.S. is responsible for more than half of all strikes against ISIS targets in the two countries, though France’s offensive contribution to the bombing campaign is expected to increase. That nation’s aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle, steams this week to the region to become a base for French strikes.
Enlisted Adviser. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford taps Army Command Sgt. Maj. John W. Troxell as his senior enlisted adviser. “Sergeant Major Troxell is someone soldiers, airmen, Marines and sailors can look up to. He can inspire people, and he is someone I trust to tell me things straight,” Dunford says in a statement. Troxell is the command senior enlisted leader of the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and United States Forces Korea, stationed in Yongsan, South Korea. In his new role, Troxell will serve as the military’s most senior noncommissioned officer and the principal military adviser to the chairman and the secretary of defense on all matters involving joint and combined total force integration, utilization, health of the force and joint development for enlisted personnel.
Dumb Russian Bombs. Russian forces bomb targets in Raqqa, Syria, this week using antiquated strategic area bombing formations not employed by sophisticated militaries for decades, says U.S. Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for the U.S.-led Operation Inherent Resolve. “The Russians are using dumb bombs. Their history has been both reckless and irresponsible,” Warren says in a teleconference from Baghdad this week. “The Russians had a large air armada flying into Raqqa to conduct these operations. And it was notable to us that, you know, those are antiquated tactics. We don’t even use those type of tactics anymore. The idea of putting, you know, 10 ships in the air at one time, or 12 or even more, are very old fashioned. And those are the type of tactics needed only if you don’t possess the technology, the skills and the capabilities to conduct the type of precision strikes that our coalition conducts.”
Rebuilding Afghanistan. There remain significant challenges to redevelopment efforts in Afghanistan, the office in charge of overseeing U.S. spending in the war-torn nation says. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) this week identified several persistent issues facing the reconstruction effort. They include the inability to define requirements, measure effectiveness, and assess sustainability. “The fundamental problem is that U.S. agencies measure inputs and outputs, rather than outcomes, and if we have to cut programs going forward because we have a limited number of funds, we must know which programs are the most effective,” SIGAR says.
… Uncoordinated. The U.S. government lacks coordination with its Afghan counterparts and coalition partners, SIGAR says. Little to no coordination causes agencies and projects to work at cross-purposes, spend funds on frivolous endeavors, or fail to maximize impact. Poor planning, lax oversight and a lack of accountability also have hamstrung reconstruction efforts. “To this day, SIGAR has not been able to find one single person that has been fired or denied a promotion for all the many problems we have seen in the reconstruction effort.”
… Corruption. As with many developing nations, institutional corruption has taken hold in Afghanistan but has been difficult to detect and root out. “As DoD has noted, the initial U.S. strategy in Afghanistan not only failed to recognize the significance of corruption, but also may even have fostered a political climate conducive to corruption,” SIGAR says. “If Afghanistan is ever to prosper on its own, and if any of the gains we have fostered are to last, corruption must be addressed in a meaningful way.”
Australia Force Posture. The Air Force agrees to a force posture initiative with Australia that will rotate tanker and bomber aircraft in and out of the nation, Pacific Air Forces chief Gen. Lori Robinson says. Robinson says at a Defense Writers Group event in Washington that the two nations are negotiating timing. She says the idea is much like how the Air Force works in Guam: tankers and bombers rotate in to help airmen understand the “vastness” of the region. Robinson says the Pacific Air Forces area of responsibility covers 52 percent of the globe, much of it covered by water.