The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
The Waiting Game. Navy Secretary Donald Winter is expected to decide today whether he will stay on as the top civilian in the Navy until the incoming Obama administration selects his successor. Defense Secretary Robert Gates gave Winter a few days extension to make a decision, a source says. Army Secretary Pete Geren and Air Force Secretary Michael Donley have accepted Gates’ invitation to remain in their jobs past Inauguration Day until their replacments are named.
Hill Grill. SASC will hold a confirmation hearing Thursday for the four Pentagon nominations President-elect Barack Obama announced last week: William Lynn as deputy defense secretary; Robert Hale as comptroller and chief financial officer; Michele Flourney as under secretary of defense for policy; and Jeh Charles Johnson as general counsel. SASC members Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) are lauding Lynn’s selection. Robert Gates, the holdover defense secretary, doesn’t require a confirmation hearing, but the SASC has called him to testify on Jan. 27. “When he comes in front of us he will be speaking for the administration, so in a way it’s more helpful to us than a confirmation hearing, because now he’ll be speaking for the administration early in the administration,” SASC Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) tells Defense Daily.
Supplementing The Supplemental. HAC-D Chairman John Murtha (D-Pa.) tells Defense Daily Gates’s $69.7 billion estimate for the next supplemental war-funding bill is “way too small,” and that his subcommittee is “looking at $16 billion, $17 billion more.” Gates sent the eight defense panel heads a Dec. 31 letter with his “personal estimate” for the supplemental request, which won’t gel before the Obama team’s arrival and forthcoming decisions on force levels in Afghanistan. Gates, who previously eyed a larger supplemental amount but faced resistance from the outgoing Bush White House, also sent the Hill a three-page chart listing $17.6 billion in “items deferred for later consideration:” $4.7 billion for recapitalizing Army Strykers, Humvees, and trucks; $1.4 billion for replacing Navy aircraft, including one E/A-18 (G) Growler, eight F/A-18 (E/F) Super Hornets, and four C-40 A Clipper Transports; $6 billion for miscellaneous equipment recapitalization; and $5.5 billion for an Afghanistan force boost.
HASC GOP Leaders. The new ranking members of the HASC’s subcommittees are: Air and Land Forces: Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.); Seapower and Expeditionary Forces: Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.); Strategic Forces: Rep. Michael Turner (R-Oh.); Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities: Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.); Military Personnel: Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.); and Readiness: Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.). Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.), the new ranking member of the full committee, announced the GOP leadership spots last Friday, though a ranking member for the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee had not been named at the time. The subcommittee structure is expected to be ratified at a full HASC organizational meeting on Wednesday.
HASC Cast. HASC is slated to receive five new Republicans for the 2009-2010 congressional session: Republican Reps. Mary Fallin (Okla.), Duncan D. Hunter (Calif.), John Fleming (La.), Mike Coffman (Colo.), and Tom Rooney (Fla.). Three GOP members are leaving the committee to serve on other panels: Reps. Tom Cole (Okla.). Phil Gingrey (Ga.), and Geoff Davis (Ky.), the HASC minority office announced last Thursday. Additional Republicans were lost because of retirement and election losses. The committee’s new party ratio is 37-Democrats-to-25-Republicans, compared to 34-Democrats-to-28 Republicans last session. The panel has seven new Democrats: Reps. Glenn Nye (Va.), Chellie Pingree (Maine), Larry Kissell (N.C.), Martin Heinrich (N.M.), Frank Kratovil (Md.), Eric Massa (N.Y.), and Bobby Bright (Ala.).
On Your Mark. Lawmakers will be required to post on their Web sites explanations of earmarks they want added to appropriations bills, the same day they request the earmarks, according to reforms announced last week by the heads of the House and Senate appropriations committees. Earmark disclosure tables also must be made public the same day as subcommittees report bills, and 24 hours before the full committees consider any legislation that does not go through subcommittees first. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) also commit to reduce earmarks to 50 percent of the 2006 level “for non-project- based accounts,” according to a Jan. 6 statement.
Brain Trust. The Pentagon plans to expand an effort launched last year to solicit research proposals from academia. The Minerva Initiative began last month with the award of some $50 million for social scientist projects at several academic institutions. Defense Secretary Robert Gates spearheaded the effort to increase collaboration between national security and academic institutions. Top areas of interest include Chinese military and technology, terrorism and religious and ideological studies, according to a DoD press statement. The Pentagon on Dec. 22 awarded contracts to seven researchers affiliated with 16 academic institutions. The National Science Foundation is expected to announce another round of awards this month. According to one Pentagon source, the department is preparing a new broad area announcement this month that could yield additional funding for such efforts before the year is out.
Not Backing Down. Air Force officials have every intention of awarding a contract for a new combat search-and-rescue helicopter this spring, industry sources tell Defense Daily. The service delayed the award in October to clarify the terms of the competition after Pentagon acquisition czar John Young’s office discovered irregularities in the source-selection process. Young later questioned the very need for a CSAR aircraft, saying in November that he doesn’t “necessarily just automatically rubber stamp the CSAR-X requirement” and that a combat rescue tends to be a “come-as-you-are mission anyway.” But industry sources say the Air Force is sticking to its guns. “We’ve talked to Air Force officials, and they are adamant that a CSAR-X contract will be awarded,” says one industry official. “Young’s comments were eye-opening, but the Air Force has its requirement and intends to follow through on this.” The Air Force has granted competitors Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky an extension to submit revised proposals. They are now due on Jan. 20 instead of Jan. 5.
Reuse. The Coast Guard is modifying some of its Short Range Prosecutors (SRP), originally assigned to the 123-foot Island-class boats, to be compatible with the National Security Cutter CGC Waesche‘s recovery systems, Rear Adm. Gary Blore, assistant commandant for acquisition and chief acquisition officer, told reporters at a briefing Dec. 30. Two other SRPs are being used with the Bertholf (NSC-1). “We have a technical authority reviewing how the stern launch recovery systems work on the NSC and they are working with us to optimize the design of not only the SRP and LRI (Long Range Interceptor), but also to see if we can do improvements on how we operate the stern launch and recovery system,” says Rear Adm. Ron Rabago, director of acquisition programs. There are eight SRPs that were part of the 123 program, Blore notes. “They are fully functional.”
…Good For Parts. The 123s were decommissioned after a failed attempt to add 13 feet to eight of the 110-class boats. The Coast Guard has been trying to recover the $96 million it spent on the effort from ICGS. The Department of Justice (DoJ) is now handling the investigation into the conversion effort. The Coast Guard has an agreement with DoJ that if they have a critical need for any parts or equipment that are on the 123s, they can make a request to the DoJ to remove the part, Blore says. “The only thing we really needed so far are the small boats,” he notes. “Much of what is on the 123s is reusable within the Island-class community…the engine shafts, props…small boats.”
On Tap. The Annual SNA symposium kicks-off Tuesday with speeches from Vice Adm. Derwood Curtis, commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen, and Rear Adm. Victor Guillory, director of surface warfare. NAVSEA program officials will also be on hand providing briefings throughout the symposium. Navy Secretary Donald Winter will speak at the annual dinner Thursday evening. The symposium runs through Thursday.
Big Blue Study. The IBM Center for the Business of Government late last year published the first in a series of studies examining the Coast Guard’s Deepwater program. The study looks at the original acquisition strategy and how it actually unfolded, says Rear Adm. Gary Blore, assistant commandant for acquisition and chief acquisition officer. “It talks a little bit about the beginning of the Deepwater program and brings it up to about three to four months ago,” Blore tells reporters at a Dec. 30 briefing. “They did extensive interviewing…it’s all done non-attribution.” He adds the Coast Guard cooperated fully in the study. “We think it’s a reasonable articulated case study of the way things looked in the late ’90s, how the Coast Guard addressed those [issues] and how the decisions the Coast Guard made turned out. I think they caught it pretty well.”
…Success. “The report highlights the risk of becoming locked in to or stuck in a contract with a vendor for a complex product or its components,” the study says. “The Coast Guard experimented with a novel contracting approach and learned several lessons for future acquisitions of complex products.” The effective acquisition of complex products requires: An expanded and more highly skilled acquisition workforce; a better understanding of risk; and an investment in learning, the study says. The report cites the HC-144A Ocean Sentry Medium Range Surveillance Maritime Patrol Aircraft as a successful acquisition effort. The National Security Cutter program received a mixed review, focusing in particular on problems with task orders and design issues. The report did, however, note that post 9/11 changes and the impact of Hurricane Katrina on Northrop Grumman’s Gulf Coast shipyards “make it surprising that the NSC was built at all.”
…And Failure. “Given the magnitude of the events beyond the Coast Guard’s and ICGS’s control, it is a testament to the work of the contract teams that the NSC was delivered with only a few issues (including a low number of starred trial cards at acceptance). The report did note that the effort to convert the 110-foot Island-class patrol boats to 123-feet “has been a failure by all accounts.” Eight of a planned 49 boats were initially modified before hull buckling and shaft alignment problems led the Coast Guard to decommission the craft.
Back To Basics. When the USS Tennessee (SSBN-734) begins her Engineering Refueling Overhaul (ERO) Jan. 22 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY), it will be the first time, the shipyard will utilize a “sub hub,” and “back to basics” work practice designed to lower costs and return ships to the fleet on time, the Navy says. The “sub hub” is a trailer complex modeled after those at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. It’s comprised of 12 trailers and an adjacent break room, tool room, and weld wire issue room. The complex is an example of NAVSEA Commander Vice Adm. Kevin McCoy’s “Back to Basics” approach to work at naval shipyards. This approach emphasizes eliminating bottlenecks and ensuring quality availabilities on time and cost, the Navy adds. The Tennessee project team has already estimated that co-location will save thousands of man-days over the course of its 18-month ERO at NNSY.
Still Soaring. Boeing’s ScanEagle completed its 1,500th shipboard sortie in service with the Navy, the company reports. The milestone was reached last week. ScanEagle has provided persistent, cost-effective intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) to the Navy since July 2005. The Navy has used ScanEagle aboard a variety of ships– ranging from the destroyer USS Mahan (DDG-72) to the amphibious vessel USS Whidbey Island (LSD-41)–as well as on support ships and small combatant craft. In addition, ScanEagle serves with other U.S. forces and with international customers in various theaters around the world, Boeing adds.
Mumbai Lessons. There are two broad lessons for authorities and response personnel in the United States from last November’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, a senior Homeland Security official tells a Senate panel. The two main lessons fall under prevention and deterrence, and response and recovery, Charles Allen, under secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, tells the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Under the prevention and deterrence heading, Allen says one lesson is that plots that are disrupted may resurface. He notes that a Lashkar-e-Tayyba operative arrested by Indian authorities last year had been arrested early last year with information on him about possible Mumbai landmarks that had been targeted for surveillance, including the Taj Mahal Hotel, which was attacked. Allen says that security was temporarily bolstered at this site and others but eventually fell back into the normal routine. He also says that terrorists consistently are looking for security vulnerabilities and that security must never be predictable.
…Response and Recovery. On the response and recovery side, Allen says responding to a similar attack in a major U.S. urban city would be difficult because of the chaos. “The attackers were able to exploit the initial confusion because of the indiscriminate firings to move on to new targets,” he tells the panel. However, he says the effects of the attacks may have been mitigated if Indian authorities had “exercised responses to terrorist attacks across all levels of government.” Allen points out that in the U.S. federal interagency partners as well as regional, state and local authorities participate in national exercises. He also says that public-private effort must be developed to ensure the flow of information during a crisis and that accurate threat information must be quickly issued to the public.
Success Story. “I have been tasked and we are responding with what is the way ahead for NATO with regard to counter-piracy operations,” Supreme Allied Commander-Europe Gen. John Craddock says. Proposals are being put together to go to NATO headquarters so that NATO can develop a policy. Craddock says its recent anti-piracy effort was a success. In the late fall, NATO was asked to put some NATO ships in Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia. It was approved, done quickly, and for six weeks, some of the NATO standing maritime fleet ships patrolled and escorted ships before turning the effort over to the European Union Dec. 20. “We said this is one of the best efforts we’ve seen here in the past several years in being able to respond to new and emerging crises that we think we’re going to see more and more of,” Craddock says.
Leverage. State Department counterterrorism chief Amb. Dell Dailey says the government is working to develop counterterrorism technologies. “We’ve got a program where I believe we leverage about $80 million with over 30 U.S. departments and agencies and several international firms that work on detection through imaging explosives, train dogs, to the ideal border command post and ideal border control post, blast mitigation…all kinds of activities,” he says. More than a decade ago Congress made the State and Defense Departments co-leads in the Technical Support Working Group to develop counterterrorism technology for the interagency efforts. “There’s over 300-400 specific areas of activity,” he says.
Top Priority. To any successor, Dailey would say: “The single most critical thing I say a nation needs to do is establish, implement, and enforce counterterrorism legislation, which is the essence of good governance–legislation.” Such legislation shows the nation is serious, that it wants to apply the laws to terrorism, and shows it understands that terrorism standard criminal-type laws may not be fully adequate. As an example, Dailey says, “the criminal goes after things and does things solely for money and he is interested in his own life. A terrorist does it ideologically and he’s not interested in his own life. So the laws and regulations we have for a criminal may not reach the same level of access or success or containment with a terrorist, he adds.
Learning From Mumbai. The multiple terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India in December showed that individuals could be as deadly and successful as a car bomb that kills 40, Dailey says. “This will open the door of awareness” for other organizations, small organizations, to say we know we need to go this way here because suicide bombing has been effectively controlled by virtue of strong security protection, from barriers to palisades, he says. “Now you have to go into a second perimeter to protect the target from individuals on foot,” Dailey says. “With a certain amount of training, a certain amount of explosives and reconnaissance ahead of time and some communications ability, the spectacularness of an on-foot attack I think now will ring true, unfortunately, to terrorist organizations.”