Wittman says patience wearing thin on F-35 sustainment plan

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  September 2, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Military Moves Forward with Plan to Make Air Force One Supersonic

  By Oriana Pawlyk The U.S. Air Force has taken initial steps to begin prototyping a supersonic aircraft that could someday carry the president around the world in half the time. Last month, the service's Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate awarded a $1 million small business innovation research (SBIR) phase II contract to Exosonic, a start-up aerospace company, to begin the design and development of a low-boom executive airlift concept. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/09/01/military-moves-forward-plan-make-air-force-one-supersonic.html

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  July 5, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Tightening Chest and Tingling Fingers: Why Are the Military’s Fighter Pilots Getting Sick?

  BY LARA SELIGMAN On June 28, a young U.S. Navy officer flying in a two-seater electronic warfare jet in the skies over Washington State suddenly felt a tightness in his chest and tingling in his extremities. He instantly recognized his symptoms as signs of hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation. The jet, an EA-18G Growler from a training squadron out of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, diverted to a local airport, and made an “uneventful” landing, according to Navy spokesman Cmdr. Scot Cregan. The crew member, an electronic warfare officer in training, was transported to a hospital for medical treatment. Both the pilot and the trainee officer survived, but the incident, the latest in an alarming string of similar episodes, could have been deadly. Across the U.S. military fleets, pilots and aircrew are experiencing a dramatic surge in so-called physiological episodes, which leave aviators disoriented and shaken. At worst, these unexplained incidents can be fatal — the Navy has linked four F/A-18 fighter pilot deaths over a span of 10 years to the events. The continuing mystery over the pilots' sickness is part of a deeper concern about the military's aviation readiness, as the rate of fatal aircraft crashes recently reached a six-year high. It also raises larger questions over the ability of the world's largest and best-funded military to resolve a basic problem that appears primarily limited to the United States. The Navy considers the physiological episode problem its “number one aviation safety priority.” From 2009 to 2016, the rate of such events increased almost eightfold in the F/A-18 and EA-18G — a version of the two-seater F/A-18 — fleets, from 16 to 125 incidents. In the Navy's T-45 training fleet, the spike is even more significant: In 2009, the Navy reported just one such incident, but in 2016, the number was 38. Most recently, two aviators endured a harrowing landing after the temperature inside their Growler cockpit suddenly plunged to as low as -30 degrees. A mist formed in the cockpit, covering the instruments and windows with ice and rendering the pilots almost completely blind. The aircrew had to turn on the emergency oxygen supply. The crew and ground-based controllers managed to work to land the aircraft safely. But both the pilot and the electronic warfare officer suffered “severe blistering and burns on hands” due to frostbite. The Navy believes the incident was caused by a failure of the environmental control system, a series of pipes and valves that regulates airflow to the air conditioning and oxygen systems. The Air Force has a similar oxygen problem. In 2010, Capt. Jeff Haney died when an engine bleed-air malfunction caused the control system on his F-22 stealth fighter to shut off oxygen flow to his mask. Since then, the episodes have continued in almost every aircraft type, including the A-10 attack jet, the T-6 trainer, and the new F-35 fighter. The most recent incidents have not yet been directly linked to fatalities. But in a sign that the military recognizes the severity of the problem, in the past year both the Navy and Air Force have grounded fleets in response to these events: the Navy's T-45s in April 2017, the Air Force F-35s at Luke Air Force Base in June 2017, part of the Air Force's A-10 fleet in November 2017, and the T-6s in November 2017 and again this February. Neither service has identified a single point of failure or a solution to these episodes despite years of investment — a fact that has not gone unnoticed by prominent lawmakers. “What's occurring in the Navy is absolutely unacceptable,” said Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, in 2017. “This is absolutely critical for our pilots.” “I have no doubt the Navy is taking that issue seriously,” said Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, during an event in Washington in 2017. But, “I don't understand why we can't figure out what's causing the oxygen problem.” In May, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), introduced legislation to create an independent National Commission on Military Aviation Safety in response to the surge in deadly crashes over the last year. Some, but not all, of these incidents were related to hypoxia. Meanwhile, NASA has waded into the fray. After completing a congressionally mandated review of the Navy's investigation into the F/A-18 and EA-18G incidents, which faulted both the Navy and manufacturer Boeing, the agency is embarking on a new study of how pilots breathe while flying high-performance aircraft. The services continue making incremental changes to the aircraft design, flight gear, and maintenance procedures in an effort to mitigate the risk to aircrew. In the T-45, at least, these modifications have reduced the number of incidents, according to Rear Adm. Sara Joyner, who until recently led the Navy's physiological episode investigation. Rear Adm.-select Fredrick Luchtman currently leads the effort. But other Navy and Air Force fleets continue to see physiological episodes at alarming rates. “More work remains to be done, and this will remain our top safety priority until we fully understand, and have mitigated, all possible PE [physiological episode] causal factors,” said Rear Adm. Roy Kelley, commander of Naval Air Force Atlantic, in congressional testimony June 21. https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/07/03/tightening-chest-and-tingling-fingers-why-are-the-militarys-fighter-pilots-getting-sick/

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  May 7, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - May 6, 2019

  AIR FORCE Vital Link Inc., Sealy, Texas, has been awarded a $228,843,057 indefinite-delivery requirements contract for the sustainment of Air Force noise suppressors. This contract provides for the repair, refurbishment and relocation of noise suppressors. Work will be performed at Air Force locations worldwide, and is expected to be complete by Nov. 5, 2029. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and one offer was received. No funds are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8534-19-D-0003). The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $35,800,000 delivery order for Radar Modernization Program (RMP) Common Configuration General Purpose Processors (GPP3) and Waveform Generators (WFG). This contract provides for 57 GPP3s and 11 WFGs to ensure a common configuration of the APG-82(v)1 radar, as well as 14 spares. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri, and is expected to be complete by Oct. 31, 2023. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2019 procurement funds in the amount of $17,686,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Fighter/Bomber Directorate, F-15 Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8634-19-F-0009). Metis Solutions LLC, Arlington, Virginia, has been awarded a $10,301,762 fixed-price level-of-effort contract for financial services. This contract provides for counter-threat finance services to U.S. Central Command, U.S. Africa Command, and the U.S. European Command areas of responsibility. Work will be performed in several locations worldwide, and is expected to be complete by Oct. 20, 2019. This award is the result of a non‐competitive bridge acquisition and one offer was received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. Headquarters Air Combat Command, Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Joint Base Langley‐Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity (FA4890‐19‐C-A007). (Awarded March 20, 2019) CORRECTION: The contract announced on May 2, 2019, for Engility Corp., Andover, Massachusetts (FA8650-19-C-6024), for research and development, included an incorrect award amount. The correct award amount is $57,296,527. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Shore Terminals LLC, doing business as NuStar, San Antonio, Texas, has been awarded a $227,733,110 firm-fixed-price contract to receive, store and ship various types of jet fuel. This was a competitive acquisition with one offer received. This is a four-year base contract with one five-year option period. Locations of performance are Texas and California, with a May 6, 2023, performance competition date. Using customers are Navy and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (SPE603-19-C-5006). Point Blank Enterprises, Pompano Beach, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $92,881,740 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract for enhanced small arms protective inserts. This contract was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a one-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Florida, with a March 31, 2021, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-19-D-1154). CORRECTION: The contract announced on May 2, 2019, for Raytheon Co., McKinney, Texas, was announced with an incorrect delivery order number and incorrect basic ordering agreement number. The correct delivery order number is SPRPA1-19-F-CB01 and correct basic ordering agreement number is SPRPA1-19-G-CB01. ARMY Eagle Eye - Enviroworks JV,* Anchorage, Alaska (W9128F-19-D-0034); Ahtna-CDM JV,* Irvine, California (W9128F-19-D-0035); IE- Weston Federal Services JVB LLC,* Pasco, Washington (W9128F-19-D-0036); and Relyant Global LLC,* Maryville, Tennessee (W9128F-19-D-0037), will compete for each order of the $95,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for rapid disaster infrastructure response. Bids were solicited via the internet with 19 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 5, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity. Cray Inc., Seattle, Washington, was awarded a $22,549,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Department of Defense High Performance Computing Modernization Program's Technology Insertion. Four bids were solicited with four bids received. Work will be performed in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 5, 2025. Fiscal 2018 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $22,549,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W912DY-19-F-0296). Cray Inc., Seattle, Washington, was awarded a $14,549,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Department of Defense High Performance Computing Modernization Program's Technology Insertion. Four bids were solicited with two bids received. Work will be performed in Vicksburg, Mississippi, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 5, 2025. Fiscal 2018 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $14,549,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W912DY-19-F-0298). AAI Corp., doing business as Textron Systems, Hunt Valley, Maryland, was awarded an $8,928,378 cost-plus-fixed-fee Foreign Military Sales (Australia) contract for logistics support. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 7, 2020. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-19-F-0407). U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND n~Ask Inc., Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded a $7,816,490 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (H92401-19-C-0014) for demonstration of a prototype, modular intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance small-satellite in support of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $2,000,000 were obligated at time of award. The work will be performed primarily at the n~Ask Colorado facility. The period of performance is scheduled to run through September 2020. USSOCOM headquarters, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1838303/source/GovDelivery/