August 16, 2019 | International, Aerospace
By: Leo Shane III
The next few months could decide whether the Defense Department gets another base closing round in the next decade, according to a new analysis from a conservative think tankwarning military officials not to dismiss the potential looming impact on budgets and readiness.
Officials from the Heritage Foundation, whose policy priorities have helped influence President Donald Trump's administration, have in the past supported a new base closing round to cut back on excess military infrastructure and more efficiently spend annual defense funding.
In the analysis released this week, author Frederico Bartels — policy analyst for defense budgeting at the foundation — said a Pentagon report on the issue being compiled now represents “the best chance for the Department of Defense to make the case for a new round of BRAC” in years, and perhaps the last realistic chance to advance the idea for the near future.
“I think it's the last chance of the Trump administration to make an argument for this,” he said in an interview with Military Times. “Even if he gets re-elected next year, I think it will be hard to go back and make the case if they're unsuccessful this time.”
The military convened six base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commissions between 1988 and 2005, shutting down dozens of military installations and turning over that land to state and local municipalities.
The process has always been fraught with political turmoil, as lawmakers protest any loss of jobs, military personnel and resulting economic benefits in their districts. But the 2005 BRAC round was particularly controversial, as defense officials consolidated numerous service locations into joint bases and massively rearranged force structure in an attempt to modernize the military.
As a result, cost saving projections from that process were significantly below past rounds, and members of Congress have strongly opposed any attempts at another round since then.
In the fiscal 2019 national defense authorization act, lawmakers did include language for a new military infrastructure capacity report — due next February — where defense officials can make the case for the need for additional closures. Similar Pentagon reports in the last few years have shown excess capacity of between 19 and 22 percent.
Bartels said Pentagon leaders have repeatedly supported the idea of another round in recent years, but have done a poor job selling lawmakers on the idea.
“The department needs to make the case for a new round of BRAC based on two key tenets: potential savings and the National Defense Strategy,” he wrote. “A new BRAC round could save $2 billion by reducing unneeded infrastructure. Additionally, a new round of BRAC would permit the department to assess its infrastructure against the threats outlined by the National Defense Strategy, providing a holistic look at all of the infrastructure.”
He warns that naming specific locations will only exacerbate political tensions on the issue, and said defense officials also need to publicly acknowledge problems with the 2005 base realignment round to win back congressional support.
And Bartels argues that the Trump administration must do more to push the issue. Defense officials requested a base closing round as part of their annual budget for six consecutive years before the Trump White House dropped the idea in their fiscal 2019 and 2020 budget plans.
If officials fail to request one next spring, or if the planned infrastructure report is delayed by several months, the department risks pushing the idea back at minimum an entire extra budget cycle and likely several more years down the road. Even if approved, the new BRAC round is likely to take several years of research and debate before any recommendations are made.
“I think there is still support for this in Congress,” Bartels said. “I think there are enough people that are about good stewardship of government funds that this can move ahead, if (defense officials) make the right argument. At least, I hope those lawmakers still exist.”
The full analysis is available on the Heritage Foundation's website.
February 13, 2023 | International, C4ISR
Spy balloons sighted over NATO territory illustrate the need for data sharing among allies, including in space, said Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
February 16, 2022 | International, Aerospace
March 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Tactical & Survival Specialties Inc.,* Harrisonburg, Virginia (SPE8EJ-20-D-0010); W.S. Darley & Co.,* Itasca, Illinois (SPE8EJ-20-D-0011); Atlantic Diving Supply Inc., doing business as ADS,* Virginia Beach, Virginia (SPE8EJ-20-D-0012); Federal Resources Supply Co.,* Stevensville, Maryland (SPE8EJ-20-D-0013); Unifire Inc.,* Spokane, Washington (SPE8EJ-20-D-0014); and Quantico Tactical Inc.,* Aberdeen, North Carolina (SPE8EJ-19-D-0015), are sharing a maximum $4,000,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract under solicitation SPM8EJ-13-R-0001 for special operational equipment. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. These are 365-day bridge contracts. Locations of performance are Virginia, Illinois, Maryland, Washington, and North Carolina, with a March 6, 2021, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE8EJ-20-D-0010). General Dynamics Mission Systems Inc., Taunton, Massachusetts, has been awarded a maximum $49,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for production of spare parts in support of the Warfighter Information Network Tactical Increment 1. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulations 6.302-1. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Massachusetts, with a March 5, 2025, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland (SPRBL1-20-D-0003). Cummins Inc., Memphis, Tennessee, has been awarded a maximum $9,752,276 fixed-price contract for diesel engine repair kits. This was a competitive acquisition with one offer received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Tennessee, with a March 5, 2025, performance completion date. Using military services are Army and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio (SPE7LX-20-D-0095). NAVY The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, is awarded $800,000,000 for an advanced acquisition modification (P00167) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-14-C-0067). This modification procures long lead material and activities in support of lot 11 P-8A aircraft production and delivery. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington (97.04%); Huntington Beach, California (2.4%); Mesa, Arizona (.55%) and El Segundo, California (.01%). The purpose of this contract modification is to procure long-lead material and activities in support of 18 P-8A Lot 11 aircraft (8 Navy, 4 New Zealand, and 6 Republic of Korea). The mission of the P-8A MMA is to provide long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance capable of broad-area, maritime and littoral operations. Work is expected to be completed by June 2020. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $800,000,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, has been awarded a $320,689,444 cost-type contract for Mobile Unmanned/Manned Distributed Lethality Airborne Network (MUDLAN) accelerated development and demonstrations software and hardware. This contract provides for the enhancement of technologies to be developed under the MUDLAN Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration program, including digital beam forming multi-beam Common Data Link apertures; directional K/Ku/eKU and W-band systems; MUDLAN multi-functional network controller (MFNC) for connecting multiple platforms while maneuvering; and using the MFNC to recognize jamming and autonomously move to other bands. Work will be performed in Fairfax, Virginia, and is expected to be complete by March 6, 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition, and two offers were received. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $650,000 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-20-C-0555). Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory LLC, Laurel, Maryland, has been awarded a cost-plus-fixed-fee $16,769,744 modification (P00009) to task order FA8819-19-F-1003 for deep space advanced radar concept technology demonstration. The contract modification completes the delivery of the technology demonstration project. Work will be performed in Laurel, Maryland; and White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2021. Fiscal 2020 research and development funds in the amount of $2,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The total cumulative face value of the task order is $45,564,088. The Space and Missile System Center Directorate, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the contracting activity. ARMY Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, Florida, was awarded a $154,979,758 contract for Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor System (M-TADS/PNVS) systems for the Apache attack helicopter in support of the Moroccan government. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-20-F-0225). Raytheon Co., Andover, Massachusetts, was awarded a $108,321,679 modification (P00002) to contract W31P4Q-19-C-0055 for the procurement of hardware, facilities, equipment, and all technical, planning, management, manufacturing, and testing efforts to include all incidental services to produce the PATRIOT Digital Sidelobe Canceler and Peripheral Enhancement Assembly box production kits. Work will be performed in Andover, Massachusetts; Chatsworth, California; and Simsbury, Connecticut, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2022. Fiscal 2020 missile procurement, Army; and 2010 Foreign Military Sales (Netherlands) funds in the amount of $108,321,679 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Oshkosh Defense LLC, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was awarded a $25,522,182 modification (P00314) to contract W56HZV-15-C-0095 to exercise available options on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle contract. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 other procurement, Army; Marine Corp procurement; and Navy procurement funds in the amount of $25,522,182 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity. Sierra Nevada Corp., Sparks, Nevada, was awarded an $8,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Tactical Automated Landing System components support for the RQ-7B tactical unmanned aircraft system. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 27, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911QY-20-D-0011). General Dynamics Mission Systems, Taunton, Massachusetts, was awarded an $8,016,219 modification (P00001) to contract (W15P7T-19-F-0022) to procure warranty coverage for the configuration items for the Tactical Network Transport On the Move System. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Taunton, Massachusetts, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $8,016,219 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Bluehawk LLC, West Palm Beach, Florida, was awarded a $32,094,786 labor-hour contract (HHM402-20-C-0019) to provide technology transfer analysis and assessment services. Work will be conducted in Charlottesville, Virginia, with an expected completion date of Aug. 31, 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and management funds in the amount of $2,935,456 are being obligated at time of award. This contract was awarded through a HUBZone set-aside and six offers were received. The Virginia Contracting Activity, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2104849/source/GovDelivery/