Heather Wilson: Continuing Resolution Could Delay Air Force T-X Trainer Contract, Recruitment Efforts
Published on
Heather Wilson: Continuing Resolution Could Delay Air Force T-X Trainer Contract, Recruitment Efforts


Heather Wilson: Continuing Resolution Could Delay Air Force T-X Trainer Contract, Recruitment Efforts
Heather Wilson

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson has said the contract award for the service branch’s new trainer aircraft is likely to be delayed if Congress resorts to a continuing resolution to fund the Defense Department, Defense News reported Friday.

The report said the military branch is expected to award this year the T-X contract that covers the production of 350 trainer jets.

Industry teams vying for the T-X trainer contract include Boeing and Saab; Lockheed Martin and Korean Aerospace Industries; and Leonardo, according to the report.

Wilson said in a Thursday interview a CR could also delay the Air Force’s efforts to hire additional pilots and cybersecurity professionals.

“You probably have a hard freeze, if not a chill, on hiring,” she said.

“This becomes very quickly an extremely difficult problem.”

Wilson said she is concerned that issues such as Hurricane Harvey’s aftermath and North Korea’s missile threats could divert Congress’ attention away from military funding efforts.

/
Army Ramps Up Mobile Rocket Launcher Production Through Industry Collaboration
Published on
Army Ramps Up Mobile Rocket Launcher Production Through Industry Collaboration


Army Ramps Up Mobile Rocket Launcher Production Through Industry CollaborationThe U.S. Army has collaborated with industry to accelerate the production of the Lockheed Martin-built High Mobility Artillery Rocket System that works to home in on enemy targets at a range of up to 300 miles, Scout Warrior reported Monday.

“HIMARS production has resumed in the U.S. for the first time since mid-2013, creating a production capability critical for both U.S. and partner nations’ field artillery defense,” said Daniel O’Boyle, spokesman for program executive officer for missiles and space.

Boyle noted the re-establishment of a production line in the U.S. for HIMARS seeks to facilitate response to evolving conditions and requirements.

HIMARS is a long-range mobile rocket launcher mounted on an Army medium tactical vehicle designed to fire six guided multiple launch rockets and one MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System.

The U.S. military has provided HIMARS to Iraq’s security forces to help counter the Islamic State militant organization.

USCIS Gets 15-Year Lease for Consolidated HQ in Maryland
Published on
USCIS Gets 15-Year Lease for Consolidated HQ in Maryland


USCIS Gets 15-Year Lease for Consolidated HQ in MarylandThe General Services Administration has announced that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency will occupy a new headquarters as part of a new 15-year lease agreement.

USCIS will integrate five leased facilities and one federal asset into a single location at One Town Center in Camp Springs, Maryland, with an area of 574,767 rentable square feet, GSA announced Thursday.

“The consolidation of USCIS’ headquarters operation at One Town Center from multiple leased locations will reduce expenses, save public funds and provide the hardworking USCIS staff with a world-class workplace,” said Mary Gibert, National Capital Region commissioner at GSA.

GSA noted the new lease is anticipated to generate $21.4 million in savings from USCIS’ annual lease expenses and reduce the agency’s footprint by 128,000 RSF.

/
GAO: DoD Should Reassess Newly-Established Leadership Roles for Service Contract Mgmt
Published on
GAO: DoD Should Reassess Newly-Established Leadership Roles for Service Contract Mgmt


GAO: DoD Should Reassess Newly-Established Leadership Roles for Service Contract MgmtThe Government Accountability Office has urged the Defense Department to re-evaluate the roles, responsibilities, authorities and organizational placement of three new leadership positions that DoD created to help optimize the management of service contracts.

DoD issued a department-wide instruction in January 2016 to appoint functional domain experts (FDE), component level leads (CLL) and senior services managers (SSM) that will help oversee service acquisitions, GAO said Thursday.

FDEs are assigned within the office of the defense secretary and are in charge of service acquisition oversight within assigned portfolios.

CLLs work within military departments and components to support FDEs in managing service contracts while SSMs are tasked with planning, sourcing, executing and managing service acquisitions in military departments.

GAO found that officials appointed as FDEs see their FDE duties as secondary since they have multiple responsibilities; CLLs primarily exist in name only; and FDEs and CLLs had “minimal” impact on DoD’s efforts to manage service contracts.

SSMs — those who must implement the January 2016 instruction within their military departments — do not fully understand the value of FDEs and CLLs and their influence on military commands’ decisions.

Some SSMs told GAO that cultural barriers affected the implementation of a hierarchical, portfolio-management approach to service acquisition, due in part to military departments’ decentralized way of managing services.

GAO said DoD procurement and acquisition policy officials have taken steps to update the January 2016 instruction to clarify the leadership roles’ authorities and responsibilities.

The January 2016 instruction also required Services Requirements Review Boards to approve service contracts worth more than $10 million in a portfolio-based manner.

GAO revealed that military commands largely used existing contract review boards instead of the Services Requirements Review Boards and focused on evaluating individual contracts.

The congressional watchdog recommended DoD to clarify policies on the purpose and timing of the Review Board process.

/
David DeVries Appointed Michigan State CIO
Published on
David DeVries Appointed Michigan State CIO


David DeVries Appointed Michigan State CIO
David DeVries

David DeVries, former chief information officer at the Office of Personnel Management, has been named CIO of Michigan and director of the state’s Department of Technology, Management and Budget.

DeVries will succeed former DTMB director David Behen, who resigned in June to serve as vice president and CIO of La-Z-Boy, the state government said Wednesday.

“David’s efforts to modernize aging [information technology] infrastructure and improve cybersecurity at the federal level highlight his wealth of skills and experience that make him an excellent fit for this role,” said Gov. Rick Snyder.

DeVries formed the strategy and implementation plan of the Defense Department‘s largest IT modernization project as deputy CIO.

He also served as special assistant to the commanding general at the U.S. Army, where he led daily activities necessary to deliver enterprise-level IT services to the service branch within U.S.

DeVries’ appointment requires the state Senate’s advice and approval.

/
USAF Takes Over NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission
Published on
USAF Takes Over NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission


USAF Takes Over NATO Baltic Air Policing MissionThe U.S. Air Force has accepted responsibility for the NATO Baltic air policing mission from Poland’s air force during a handover ceremony at the Sialuiai air base in Lithuania.

The Defense Department said Thursday that approximately 140 airmen and seven F-15C Eagle aircraft from the 493rd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron have been deployed to Lithuania to lead the Baltic air policing rotation mission until the end of the year.

DoD noted that the NATO air policing peacetime collective defense mission helps defend the integrity of alliance members’ respective airspace.

The Baltic air policing mission supports the NATO Smart Defense model wherein allied countries perform operations using shared capacities and coordinated efforts to boost mission success.

Gen. Tod Wolters, commander of the NATO Allied Air Command and the U.S. Air Forces in Europe, said that maintainers, mission supporters and operators from the U.S. will help defend the sovereign skies above Lithuania over the next four months.

/
NASA Hosts Interagency Meeting on In-Space Structure Assembly
Published on
NASA Hosts Interagency Meeting on In-Space Structure Assembly


NASA Hosts Interagency Meeting on In-Space Structure AssemblyNASA has facilitated a meeting between spaceflight experts from multiple agencies to address technical challenges associated with the assembly of large structures in space.

The space agency said Thursday the technology interchange meeting at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland was the third in a series of discussions between members of the Science and Technology Partnership Forum, which includes NASA, the U.S. Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office.

“Many tough space technology problems are really important to multiple federal stakeholders — in-space assembly is an excellent example where multiple federal players have a vested interest in mission success,” said NASA Chief Technologist Douglas Terrier.

He added that the collaboration of multi-agency experts will help the government address technology challenges “at reduced costs, increased efficiency and faster than previously possible.”

Thirty experts joined the in-space assembly meeting and held discussions within smaller teams to identify synergies, development gaps and pilot projects for interagency partnerships.

The group will hold additional meetings to establish the project and partnerships, with the next one scheduled for September.

Participating agencies may eventually share resulting information from the technical discussions with U.S. industry and academic partners, NASA noted.

Previous interagency meetings focused on small satellites, data analysis and cybersecurity while future discussions will cover other technological challenges such as assured access to space.

/
Report: White House Eyes Linking Debt Ceiling Increase to Potential $6B Hurricane Relief Package
Published on
Report: White House Eyes Linking Debt Ceiling Increase to Potential $6B Hurricane Relief Package


Report: White House Eyes Linking Debt Ceiling Increase to Potential $6B Hurricane Relief PackageThe White House is considering plans to combine an increase in the U.S. debt ceiling with the proposed $5.95 billion disaster relief request for Hurricane Harvey in an effort to avoid a possible U.S. debt default, Bloomberg reported Friday.

Two administration officials told Bloomberg the initial request would allocate $5.5 billion in funds to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the rest to the Small Business Administration and is expected to be announced as early as Friday.

The Trump administration has begun to prepare the hurricane aid package to cover funding requests through the end of fiscal 2017 on Sept. 30.

Vice President Mike Pence said more than 311,000 citizens from Texas had requested federal hurricane relief funds as of Thursday and the government has granted over $530 million.

A Republican aide told the publication the House may vote on an initial disaster relief measure in the first half of September in an effort to replenish FEMA’s funds used in the hurricane’s aftermath.

/
Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker: Carrier-Based Tanker Drone Could Extend Fighter Jets’ Operational Range
Published on
Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker: Carrier-Based Tanker Drone Could Extend Fighter Jets’ Operational Range


Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker: Carrier-Based Tanker Drone Could Extend Fighter Jets’ Operational Range
Mike Shoemaker

Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, commander of Naval Air Forces, has said the integration of an unmanned aerial refueling tanker with the U.S. carrier air wing could raise the operational range of strike fighter jets by as much as 400 nautical miles, USNI News reported Thursday.

Shoemaker told the U.S. Naval Institute’s Proceedings magazine in an interview the service branch intends for the aircraft carrier-based MQ-25A Stingray drone to deliver approximately 15,000 pounds of fuel to the air wing’s fighter jets at 500 nautical miles.

“The MQ-25 will give us the ability to extend the air wing out probably 300 or 400 miles beyond where we typically go,” Shoemaker said.

The carrier air wing’s strike range is pegged at approximately 450 nautical miles and the additional miles could potentially boost the strike fighters’ operational range by at least 700 nautical miles.

Shoemaker noted Stingray would help relieve Boeing-built F/A-18E/F Super Hornets of mission and recovery refueling operations.

MQ-25 “will give us the ability to get out there and refuel four to six airplanes at range,” he added.

“It will also work as a recovery tanker for cyclic ops, with the ability to cover at least three cycles.”

Shoemaker’s remarks came a month after the Navy asked Boeing, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to submit proposed concepts for the MQ-25A Stingray program through an updated draft request for proposals issued in July.

/
FAA Authorizes Drone Operators to Aid Hurricane Damage Assessments
Published on
FAA Authorizes Drone Operators to Aid Hurricane Damage Assessments


FAA Authorizes Drone Operators to Aid Hurricane Damage AssessmentsThe Federal Aviation Administration has authorized 43 unmanned aircraft system operators as of Thursday morning to support damage assessments or provide media coverage related to Hurricane Harvey response operations in Houston.

FAA said Thursday the UAS permits cover federal, state and local government efforts to assess homes, critical infrastructure and establishments hit by the storm to expedite emergency assistance.

Local fire department and emergency management personnel use drones to identify Harvey-related damages to local infrastructure assets such as roads, bridges, underpasses and water treatment plants, FAA noted.

The agency added Texas’ environmental quality officials also fly UAS to determine the impacts of drainage and flooding from the storm.

1 … 2,265 2,266 2,267 2,268 2,269 … 2,712