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Army Pistol. The Army is very close to choosing a replacement for the Beretta M9 pistol, but service Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley says he is legally bound to silence on the program. Milley tells reporters that selection of one of several pistol designs is imminent. Army public affairs says the decision will come before the end of the month, but Milley would neither confirm nor deny that timeline. His personal attention to the program since being bestowed with acquisition authority last year shortens the overall selection timeline, he says. Does Milley personally favor any of the competing pistols? “No comment.”
JLTV Award. The program office overseeing development and acquisition of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle for the Army and Marine Corps received the 2016 David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Should Cost and Innovation Award, which honor extraordinary achievements that recognize the “best and brightest of acquisition” and of the Defense Department. The Joint Program Office, Joint Light Tactical Vehicles is presented the award for implementing should-cost initiatives which were in alignment with Better Buying Power and resulted in significant cost savings, the Pentagon says. The Joint Program Office used competitive prototyping to understand relevant cost structures within a warfighter-defined performance trade space. Cost and performance data provided by the competitive prototyping initiative was used to develop an innovative source selection criteria, which enabled industry to make cost-informed design decisions, a statement announcing the award says. The winning offeror’s proposal is anticipated to save $2.2 billion in life-cycle sustainment costs for vehicles procured on the current production contract. The ground-breaking source selection criteria positions the program to achieve significant cost savings, control future life-cycle costs, and maintain effective competition within the awarded JLTV initial production contract and follow-on production contracts. In total, the competitive strategy and vehicle design are estimated to save $7.9 billion across the end-state of the JLTV fleet. JPO staff has worked with several offices to ensure the best practices used to develop the JLTV solicitation are documented for use across the department.
… JLTV Award. Oshkosh Defense received another order from the Army for an additional 409 vehicles, 1,984 installed kits, 82 packaged kits and related services and support. The order, worth more than $176 million, is the fourth order for JLTVs since the contract was awarded in August 2015. “The JLTV program is providing our Soldiers and Marines with the world’s most capable light tactical vehicle,” says Dave Diersen, Oshkosh Defense vice president and general manager of Joint Programs. “We have begun delivering low rate production vehicles to the Army and Marine Corps for government testing in environments around the country and we have been pleased with its performance thus far.” The vehicles and kits for this order will begin delivery in late 2017.
Countering Extremists. The Department of Homeland Security on Friday awarded its first round of grants that support local efforts to counter violent extremism, spreading $10 million across 31 proposals from various organizations in multiple communities. The grants cover activities that include intervention, developing resilience, challenging the narrative, and building capacity, says Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. He says that “I know from visiting numerous communities across this country that very often the best efforts to counter violent extremism are local, tailored to a particular community.”
Carlin to MoFo. The global law firm Morrison Foerster has brought on former Justice Department official John Carlin to chair a new global risk and crisis management practice. Until late last year, Carlin served three years as assistant attorney general for the DoJ’s National Security Division. Before that job, Carlin was chief of staff and senior counsel to former FBI Director Robert Mueller. MoFo says Carlin will lead a cross-disciplinary risk and crisis practice drawing on attorneys in its groups in cyber security and data privacy, government enforcement, and white-collar defense. He is also chairing a new program on cyber security at The Aspen Institute, an education and policy studies organization that strives to examine critical issues from a nonpartisan perspective.
Icebreaker Team. General Dynamics is teaming with Norwegian ship designer and manufacturer VARD for the Coast Guard’s heavy Polar Icebreaker Program, the company says. GD’s exhibit booth at last week’s Sea Air Space Symposium displayed a graphic with the two companies’ names and an artist’s concept of a Coast Guard Icebreaker. VARD is owned by Italy’s FINCANTIERI. GD says VARD is one of the premiere global designers of polar icebreakers. GD’s NASSCO shipbuilding division is leading the company’s effort on the icebreaker program, for which the Coast Guard early this year plans to award initial design study contracts.
SBX Deployed. The U.S. military recently sent the Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX) into the Pacific Ocean from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to track North Korea’s possible test-firing of an ICBM, according to the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA). If the ICBM ends up threatening the United States, the deployment of the powerful mobile radar “boosts the probability of kill for each of the current 37 and soon-to-be 44 ground-based interceptors in both Alaska and California,” MDAA says. If the missile does not pose a risk, the deployed SBX will still “be in position to collect invaluable precision data on the warhead and debris of a North Korean ICBM test flying in space.” That data could help improve U.S. missile defenses, MDAA says.
Joint Programs. While Navy Secretary Ray Mabus continues to support the development and production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, he’s not a big fan of having multi-service programs for future fighters. “Joint programs tend to be far more expensive, far behind schedule,” and if they falter, it is difficult to hold service leaders accountable,” Mabus told the Defense Writers Group Jan. 11. “You can yell at me till the cows come home on the F-35. [I have] no authority over that. And neither does the [chief of naval operations]. Neither does the commandant” of the Marine Corps.
Zumwalt Update. The USS Zumwalt, the Navy’s first Zumwalt-class destroyer (DDG-1000), which arrived at its San Diego homeport for the first time in December, will begin an extensive test and evaluation period in fiscal year 2018 to help pave the way for achieving an initial operational capability in FY 2020, says Capt. Kevin Smith, the Navy’s DDG-1000 program manager. Meanwhile, construction of the other two ships in the class continues at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine. The Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) is 91 percent complete and will begin sea trials later this year, Smith told reporters Jan. 11. The Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) is 59 percent complete and will have its keel laying ceremony Jan. 30.
Priority Threat. President Barack Obama’s adviser on homeland security and counterterrorism issues Lisa Monaco says that emerging and infectious diseases are “almost the cyber of [the Trump] administration’s transition in addition to obviously cyber security.” Monaco, speaking at an Aspen Institute forum on Friday, says that cyber security was the number one threat facing Obama when he took office in 2009.
Mattis Waiver. The House passed a waiver to permit retired Marine Gen. James Mattis to serve as defense secretary, despite not having spent the required seven years out of active duty. The bill was passed Friday 268-151 with one voting present. The one Republican voting no was Justin Amash (Mich.). As the Senate passed the waiver Thursday, the bill was sent to President Barack Obama for potential signing into law.
3DELRR…The Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a bid protest decision, ruled that requests for recommendation for reimbursement of protest costs are granted in part, and denied in part, in the Three Dimensional Expeditionary Long Range Radar (3DELRR) program. GAO recommended Lockheed Martin be reimbursed the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protest challenging the Air Force’s technical evaluation and the cost of pursuing this request, including reasonable attorneys’ fees.
…More 3DELRR. GAO also recommended that Northrop Grumman be reimbursed the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protest challenging the Air Force’s price evaluation (including the issue of misleading discussions with respect to the allowability of internal research and development) and the cost of pursuing this request, including reasonable attorneys’ fees. The protestors should file their claims for costs, detailing and certifying the time expended and costs incurred, directly with the Air Force by Feb. 12. Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman had protested the 3DELRR contract award to Raytheon after the Air Force originally awarded the contract to Raytheon but decided to throw out the contract and recompete the program, spurring lawsuits. The Air Force had estimated a contract award in first quarter 2017. The service did not return a request for comment by press time.
House Approps. House Appropriations Committee (HAC) Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) announced that Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) will chair the commerce, justice and science (CJS) subcommittee while Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) will chair the defense subcommittee. CJS covers NASA. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) will serve as ranking member for the full committee. Democrats have not determined who will serve as subcommittee ranking members. A spokesman for HAC Democrats said Friday that an organizing meeting took place on Friday and that subcommittee chairs were expected to be announced after the inauguration following ratification by the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee and the House Democratic Caucus.
Senate Approps. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) will serve as ranking member of the Senate Appropriations (SAC) defense subcommittee for the 115th Congress while Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) will serve as ranking member for the commerce, justice, science and related agencies (CJS) subcommittee, according to a statement by full committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). CJS covers NASA. Shaheen will no longer serve as the lead Democrat of the Appropriations homeland security subcommittee. Durbin is a longtime veteran of SAC and is a supporter of SpaceX. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) will chair the full SAC. Committee spokesman Chris Gallegos declined to say who would chair individual subcommittees but said the full SAC roster was likely to be announced the week of Jan. 17.
HASC Chairs. House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) released subcommittee chairs for the 115th Congress: Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), readiness; Mike Turner (R-Ohio), tactical air and land forces; Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), strategic forces; Rob Wittman (R-Va.), seapower and projection forces; Mike Coffman (R-Colo.), military personnel; Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.), oversight and investigations and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), emerging threats and capabilities.
Senate Commerce. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will chair the Senate Commerce space, science and competitiveness subcommittee for the 115th Congress, Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) says in a statement. Texas is home to NASA Johnson Space Center.
LED Lamps. House Appropriations Committee (HAC) member Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio) asks Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Director Air Force Lt. Gen. Andrew Busch for where parts are made for a Canadian manufacturer’s two-foot LED lamp. Joyce says DLA approved an additional two-foot LED lamp for use by Naval Sea System Command (NAVSEA). Joyce says a request for quotation was issued, indicating both a U.S. made lamp and a Canadian-made lamp. Joyce says it is important to know where the Canadian parts are coming from and that the U.S. domestic industrial base should be protected.
SpaceX RTF. SpaceX is set to return to flight for first time in more than four months Jan. 14. The launch window at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., opens at 12:54 p.m. EST for a Iridium Next mission on a Falcon 9. The rocket had been out of service since an explosion following pre-flight testing on Sept. 1.
Giuliani’s Cyber. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s security consultancy website is full of vulnerabilities and flaws according to various media reports. Giuliani was tapped by the Trump transition team to put together a cybersecurity working group consisting of company executives to meet with President-elect Trump on a rolling basis. After the initial announcement media reports cited cybersecurity experts explaining numerous flaws that could compromise the site and allow intruders to enter the site form a backdoor to infect visitors or access employees. As of Friday, the security website was down.
Fortinet CISO. Fortinet appointed Phil Quade as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), becoming responsible for the company’s information security and ensure compliance with the latest global regulations and standards across all systems. Quade is also set to lead the strategy and expansion of Fortinet’s C-level enterprise customers to help inform product development and innovation based on evolving cybersecurity requirements. He will report to founder, chairman, and CEP Ken Xie. Previously, Quade served as the NSA Director’s Special Assistant for Cyber and Chief of the NSA Cyber Task Force responsible for the White House relationship with cyber issues.
Kaspersky Appointment. Kaspersky Lab North America appointed Rob Cataldo as senior director of enterprise sales. In the position, Cataldo is responsible for leading regional sales activities that target business-to-business (B2B)organizations with over 1,000 employees. He will report to Michael Canavan, senior vice president of B2B sales at Kaspersky Lab North America. Previously, Cataldo served as regional enterprise manager for Bromium, where he is responsible for new customer acquisition and account management in New England and upstate New York.
