New Marine One. President Biden on Monday took his first flight in the new Sikorsky-built VH-92A presidential helicopter. The milestone arrived as the Marine Corps announced it had also received delivery of the final VH-92A from Sikorsky. “This exceptional team has successfully completed the program of record for the VH-92A within budget and schedule,” Marine Brig. Gen. David Walsh, program executive officer for air anti-submarine warfare, assault and special mission programs, said in a statement. “This helicopter not only embodies the hard work and dedication of those responsible for building and delivering the aircraft, but it will remain a recognizable patriotic asset known around the globe for safety, security, and reliability.” Sikorsky in May 2014 was awarded the contract to build the next presidential helicopter, known as Marine One. The Marine Corps ultimately took delivery of 23 VH-92As, which includes 21 operational helicopters and two test aircraft.
Weapon Sights. The Army has awarded Leonardo DRS a $52 million production order to deliver additional advanced Sniper Weapon Sights, the company said on Aug. 20. Leonardo DRS noted the order was placed under the current Family of Weapon Sights–Sniper (FWS-S) IDIQ contract. “Incorporating DRS’s proven cooled infrared imaging technology, FWS-S is a clip-on thermal weapon sight used in conjunction with existing, day, sniper optics to provide rapid target acquisition capabilities to the sniper during day and night,” the company said in a statement. “The sighting system gives users the ability to acquire targets in a range of difficult environmental conditions, including smoke or fog, providing strategic and tactical advantages to the sniper.”
Gaetz Wins. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, fended off a primary challenge on Tuesday and defeated former Naval aviator Aaron Dimmock to secure the Republican nomination for Florida’s 1st Congressional district. Gaetz won approximately 72.6 percent of the vote compared to Dimmock’s 27.4 percent. Dimmock, who has been the director of the Missouri Leadership Academy in Missouri since 2021, had received the backing of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Gaetz has held the seat since 2017 and will face Democrat Gay Valimont in November, with the district considered solidly red.
U.S. Air Force and Navy Flight Control Computers. BAE Systems said that Boeing has chosen the company to upgrade the fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control computers (FCCs) for the new Boeing F-15EX Eagle II fighters for the Air Force and the F/A-18E/F Navy Super Hornets. “The FCCs feature common core electronics that support the quad-redundant FBW flight control systems, providing the safety, reliability, robustness, and performance needed for the missions of these advanced platforms,” BAE Systems said. “As the original manufacturer of the FCCs for both aircraft, BAE Systems will modernize the FCC electronics hardware and software to increase processing power, enhance cyber and product security, address obsolescence issues, and support sustainment well into the future.” The upgraded FBW flight control system “allows the pilot to focus more on the mission and less on flying the aircraft,” the company said.
Bioindustrial Awards. The Defense Department last week announced seven new awards to plan new facilities for biotechnology production in support various areas of the defense industrial base. The latest awards under the Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program include Battelle, $1.9 million for a facility that would produce less expensive chemicals for smokeless propellants, Biosphere, $1.5 million for a manufacturing plant for high-performance oils for use across defense applications, Genomatica, $1.5 million for a biofinery to make polymer precursors for aviation and automotive markets, Industrial Microbes, $1.6 million for a facility that converts ethanol feedstock into acrylic acid, Modular Genetics, $2.5 million to onshore a precursor chemical for energetic materials, the Better Meat Company, $1.5 million for facility that makes high protein ingredients that can be shelf-stable, and ZymoChem, $1.6 million for a facility to produce biobased monomers used to fabricate military fabrics and gear.
…Battery Supply Help. DoD also awarded $20 million to Electra Battery Materials Corp. to “complete an industrial scale hydrometallurgical plant and establish production of cobalt sulfate at the company’s facility” in Canada. “This award will develop North American production of a key precursor material for large capacity batteries, helping to create a more robust industrial base capable of meeting growing demand across both the defense and commercial sectors,” Laura Taylor-Kale, assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy, said in a statement. The investment by the Defense Production Active Investments office was made using funding provided by Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022 and follows a $3.6 million investment in June by Canada to Electra for the next phase of a battery materials recycling project underway at the same facility.
Austal Expands. Shipbuilder Austal USA last week added 10,000 more square feet of space at its research facility in Charlottesville, Va., to support its role in the Navy’s additive manufacturing (AM) program. Austal USA Advanced Technologies, which now has 25,000 square-feet of space in Charlottesville, is helping the Navy strengthen its supply chain by using 3D printing to manufacture castings, forgings, and fittings. The company operates the Navy’s AM Center of Excellence in Danville, Va. “The expansion of our Advanced Technologies research center demonstrates Austal USA’s recognition of the importance of the U.S. Navy’s submarine program to our nation’s maritime defense,” Michelle Kruger, Austal USA president, said in a statement.
DoD-Related Cyber Suit. The Justice Department has joined a whistleblower lawsuit against Georgia Tech and the Georgia Tech Research Corp. for allegedly failing to meet Defense Department cybersecurity regulations related to defense contracts they were working on. The lawsuit charges the Astrolavos Lab at Georgia Tech with failing to develop and implement a required system security plan, failing to update or turn anti-virus software on desktops, laptops, and networks, and that both Georgia Tech and GTRC submitted a false cybersecurity assessment score to DoD for the school’s campus. The lawsuit was originally filed by two senior members of Georgia Tech’s cybersecurity compliance team.
CISA HQ Coming. The General Services Administration last week awarded Clark Construction a $524 million contract to construct the 630,000 square-foot Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency’s headquarters at the St. Elizabeth’s West Campus in Washington, D.C. Construction is expected to begin this fall and finish in 2027. “CISA requires a long-term solution for our headquarters to best meet the needs of our agency,” CISA Director Jen Easterly said in a statement.
USAF Autonomous Parts Delivery. The Autonomy Prime program under the Department of the Air Force’s AFWERX innovation arm said that Joby Aviation and Reliable Robotics showed the future relevance of small, autonomous aircraft to the service’s Agile Combat Employment concept in daily flights of a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan during the Air Force Exercise AGILE FLAG 24-3 at Mojave Air and Space Port, Calif., from Aug. 5-9. The 23rd Wing from Moody AFB, Ga., and the 9th Reconnaissance Wing from Beale AFB, Calif., “used Joby and Reliable Robotics’ autonomous flight technology” to allow the Grand Caravan to fly about 1,150 miles with 1,200 pounds of cargo, the Air Force said. Col. Max Bremer, Air Mobility Command Special Access Program management officer, said in a statement that “the return on investment with this technology is significant,” as the Air Force, through autonomous smaller cargo transport, “can preserve cargo aircraft for more critical tasks like transporting large parts, engines, or weapons.” While a C-17 costs $20,941 per hour and a C-130J $7,671, an autonomous Cessna 208B costs between $1,200 and $1,600, the Air Force said.
SECNAV Visits U.K. BAE. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro visited BAE Systems’ Barrow-in-Furness shipyard during a visit to the U.K. this month, following a similar visit in Denmark. The Navy said Del Toro discussed expanding collaboration and applying best practices to U.S. submarine construction while meeting with government, Royal Navy, and industry leaders there. The service billed this as a continuation in Del Toro’s push for Maritime Statecraft as a whole-of-government approach to improve U.S. and allied maritime power. He also received an update on the SSN-AUKUS program that will be the design both the U.K. and Australia use for their next nuclear-powered conventionally-armed submarines.
Silent Swarm. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) in July led the third annual Silent Swarm 2024 event, a two-week-long electromagnetic spectrum operations experimentation. During this event, teams experimented with 50 technologies at the National All-Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC) in Alpena, Mich. The Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Integrated Sensing and Cyber (OUSD R&E IS&C) sponsored the event. The Navy noted the first event in 2022 had 17 technologies, which doubled one year later, and was now larger and more complex again. “We have matured our processes and we have a more diverse collection of technologies across multiple domains and participants from industry, government research labs, and academia this year,” Robert “Ice” Gamberg, the Project Lead for Silent Swarm at NSWC Crane, said in a statement. This iteration also included Australia and the UK participating in the planning cycle and it had four participants from partner nations at the event itself.
…And Naval Microelectrics. NSWC Crane also hosted the annual Microelectronics Integrity Meeting (MIM) on July 29-30 in Indianapolis, Ind. This had over 500 people from government, academia and industry looking to address challenges in the microelectrics industry. “The MIM is where government, academia, and industry get together on relevant topics of trusted microelectronics, securing the supply chain, and investments made to ensure advantage as a nation going forward,” Carl Todd, Trusted Microelectronics Division Manager at NSWC Crane, said in a statement. The Navy noted a major discussion point at the MIM was investments from the 2022 Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act, which aims to use $54 billion in funding to advance microelectronics in the U.S.
LCS-26. The Navy plans to commission the future USS Kingsville (LCS-36) Independence-variant littoral combat ship on August 24 in a ceremony in Corpus Christi, Texas. LCS-36 is the 18th Independence-variant LCS and the first ships named after the town of Kingsville, Texas. The Navy previously accepted delivery of the ship from shipbuilder Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., on March 1. Acceptance trials were completed on Feb. 1. The company has one final LCS variant ship in production, the future USS Pierre (LCS-38).
Seahawk Mishap. The Navy announced it is investigating the cause of an unspecified Aug. 15 mishap involving two MH-60S Seahawk helicopters on the training ranges of Naval Air Station Fallon, Nev. The helicopters are assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 12, which is at the station for “comprehensive, integrated training in both real and simulated environments.” The Navy said the mishap’s cause is under investigation while the two crews of 10 people total were taken to a nearby hospital and released following treatment for non-life threatening injuries.
