ARLINGTON, Va. — Naval Air Systems Command has awarded Sikorsky a second production contract to build VH-92A helicopters for the U.S. Marine Corps, the company said in a release. 

The VH-92A has been selected to provide transport for the president of the United States, the vice president and other high-level government officials. The helicopter will replace the 19 VH-3D Sea King and VH-60N “White Hawk” helicopters operated by Marine Helicopter Squadron One. The Corps plans to acquire a total of 23 VH-92As. 

Under the $470.8 million low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot II contract, Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, will deliver six VH-92A helicopters in 2022 and 2023. 

“All six of the production aircraft from the first [LRIP] contract are undergoing modifications at Sikorsky’s Stratford, Connecticut, plant and are on schedule to begin deliveries in 2021,” Sikorsky said in the release. 

Five VH-92As have been assigned to government testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, the release said. A sixth is going through modification and will enter the test program this spring. The modification includes a mature mission and communications system. Initial operational test and evaluation is scheduled for later this year. 

Sikorsky said the aircraft in testing have accrued more than 1,000 test hours. 

The company and the U.S. Navy integrate mature mission and communications systems into the aircraft.  

“The program continues to progress on budget and within our planned acquisition timeline,” Marine Col. Eric Ropella, the Navy’s presidential helicopter program manager, said in the release.  

“Now that we are ramping up production, the VH-92A program is gaining momentum,” Dave Banquer, Sikorsky VH-92A program director, said in the release.

“This second contract award demonstrates the confidence the U.S. Marine Corps has in Sikorsky’s proven ability to deliver and support the next-generation presidential helicopter. The men and women of Sikorsky treasure our legacy of building and providing helicopter transportation for every president and commander in chief since Dwight D. Eisenhower. We are proud to continue that legacy with the VH-92A helicopter.”

HOUSTON — KBR has been awarded a $276 million task order to provide state-of-the-art information technology services and equipment to Naval Air Systems Command’s (NAVAIR) Logistics and Maintenance Information Systems and Technology Division, the company said in a release. 

Under this contract, KBR will assist NAVAIR in supporting global information grid and net-centric operations and delivering logistics IT capability to the Navy and other Department of Defense organizations. 

KBR’s tasks will include authentication, data transport, fleet user interfaces, large-scale storage, analytics tools and hardware and software infrastructure. As part of this work, KBR will acquire and deliver essential in-service systems engineering, modernization, testing and sustainment capabilities. 

“KBR’s talented workforce is proud to partner with NAVAIR in implementing and deploying cutting-edge IT solutions across the globe,” said Byron Bright, KBR’s president of government solutions U.S. 

This work, which has an increased scope, is a continuation of services that KBR is currently performing for NAVAIR. The company will perform this work at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland and other DoD locations. The work is expected to be performed over a period of five years. 

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy recently installed the first Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy (ODIN), a laser weapon system that allows its ships to counter enemy unmanned aerial systems (UAS), Naval Sea Systems Command said. 

The first system was installed on the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey during the ship’s recently completed dry-docking. 

ODIN’s development, testing and production was done by Navy experts at Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Dahlgren Division in Dahlgren, Virginia, in support of Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems. Their work on the laser weapon system known as LaWS positioned them to be the design and production agent for ODIN. 

During his recent visit to the Dewey, James F. Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research development and acquisition, said he was impressed by the rapid progress made by the team. 

Geurts said: “This is a great example of our organic talent at the warfare centers all working together with ship’s company to deliver a system which will provide game-changing capability. Bravo Zulu to the entire ODIN team on being mission-focused and delivering lethal capability to the warfighter.” 

Going from an approved idea to installation in two and a half years, ODIN’s installation on Dewey is the first operational employment of the stand-alone system that functions as a dazzler to combat threats from enemy UAS. 

Adversaries’ UAS production and employment has increased significantly, and ODIN was developed to counter these threats. 

“The Pacific Fleet commander identified this urgent counter-intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance need, and the chief of naval operations directed us to fill it as quickly as possible,” said Cmdr. David Wolfe, Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems Directed Energy office. 

“The NSWC Dahlgren Division team did an amazing job addressing challenges and keeping our accelerated schedule on track and moving forward to deliver this capability.” 

Within the next couple of years, the ODIN program will have all units operational within the fleet. Lessons learned from ODIN’s installation on Dewey will inform installation on other vessels and further development and implementation of surface Navy laser weapon systems.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The “Great Power Competition” with Russia
and China isn’t limited to winning allies in geostrategic flash points or
sailing through contested areas to promote freedom of the seas, according to
the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Near-peer adversaries “are actively exploiting other
nations’ natural resources, including fish stocks. In many cases [they are]
challenging the sovereignty of smaller or less-developed nations,” Adm. Karl
Schultz said in his annual State of the Coast Guard address, live-streamed Feb.
20 from Charleston, South Carolina.

Schultz identified China, which has the world’s largest
distant water fishing fleet, as “one of the worst predatory fishing offenders,”
engaging in Illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing (IUU). The problem goes
beyond conservation and sustainability, he said — “This is a national security
challenge warranting a clear response.”

An essential protein source for more than 40% the world’s
population, fish stocks are critical to the sovereignty and economic security
of many nations. The most conservative estimates put the annual loss to the global
economy from IUU fishing at more than $23 billion.

The Coast Guard could be a global leader in combatting IUU
fishing through international cooperation and targeted operations, Schultz
said, adding that the agency was developing a progressive IUU Strategic
Outlook, planned for release in late summer.

The United States already holds 16 counter-IUU fishing
bilateral agreements in the Pacific and West Africa. “And we are pursuing
additional agreements to help us push back against the destructive fishing
practices that are leaving vast expanses of the ocean and seabed in ruins,” he
said.

Nowhere is this more important than the Indo-Pacific, the
epicenter of global maritime trade and geostrategic influence, Schultz said.
Many Pacific Island countries — even U.S. island territories — lack the
capability to fully police their sovereign waters. Without mentioning any
country by name, Schultz said he was most concerned by a “coercive state’s
influence operations, intentions to construct dual-use infrastructure projects
and implied military threats to persuade other states to heed their strategic
agenda.”

To strengthen the community of island nations in Oceania,
the Coast Guard will continue Operation AIGA, which last year deployed an oceangoing
tender and a fast-response cutter (FRC) to Samoa and American Samoa, where they
conducted exercises with ships from the Royal Australian and Royal New Zealand
navies. By year’s end, delivery is expected of the first two, 154-foot FRCs to
be homeported in Guam.

WASHINGTON — A National Maritime Strategy is soon to be released, the U.S. Maritime Administrator said.  

Maritime Administrator Mark H. Buzby, speaking Feb. 20 at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Analysis, a Washington think tank, said that a “National Maritime Strategy was directed by Congress in the 2014 Coast Guard Authorization Act” and that a draft “was waiting for me in my in-box when I showed up in August 2017. We’ve been working on that.” 

“The final version of that strategy — or the recommendations of the strategy — are about to be released” … “very shortly, within days or a week or two,” Buzby said. 

“Constructing a National Maritime Strategy is going to be a matter of mustering national will,” he said. “It will move the ball quite a ways down the road and be a good path forward.” 

He was speaking at the roll-out of CSBA’s new report, “Strengthening the U.S. Defense Maritime Industrial Base: A Plan to Improve Maritime Industry’s Contribution to National Security.” 

Buzby said he had concerns about “the ability of our aging Ready Reserve Force [RRF] and relatively small remaining commercial U.S. Merchant Marine and mariner pool to meet this country’s needs in a protracted, all-hands-on-deck sealift effort.” 

He said the results of the Sept. 19 turbo-activation of the RRF and Military Sealift Command’s (MSC’s) surge sealift ships showed a disappointing level of readiness on short notice. 

He said that of the 61 ships — 46 RRF and 15 MSC — only 39 were ready to go on Sept. 16 when the activation was initiated, of which 33 were chosen for activation.  

“Recapitalizing that force has been a focus of Congress, [which] has authorized the purchase of ships — we’re doing that right now with the Navy,” he said. 

Buzby said the need for tankers has not been adequately addressed, citing for the need of a “bucket brigade of fuel necessary in a major conflict across the Pacific to keep everything running.” 

He said more than 80 tankers would be needed to sustain U.S. forces in a major conflict. 

“That need needs to be filled from someplace,” he said. 

Buzby also pointed out that the in a protracted sealift operation voluntary civilian mariner force would be short about 1,800 mariners.  

He also noted that of the seven shipyards that built sealift ships in the 1984 to 2002, only four are in operation and only one — NASSCO — is still in the business of building merchant and sealift ships. 

MCMURDO STATION, Antarctica — The 159 crew members onboard U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star departed McMurdo Station on Feb. 19 after escorting three refuel and resupply vessels and assisting with a five-day inspection of foreign research stations, installations and equipment in Antarctica, according to the Coast Guard Pacific Area. 

The departure marks the Polar Star’s 23rd journey to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze, an annual joint military service mission to resupply U.S. stations in Antarctica, in support of the National Science Foundation, the lead agency for the U.S. Antarctic Program. 

The Seattle-based 399-foot, 13,000-ton Polar Star created a 23-mile channel through the ice to McMurdo Sound, which enabled the offload of over 19.5 million pounds of dry cargo and 7.6 million gallons of fuel from three logistics vessels. Together these three ships delivered enough fuel and critical supplies to sustain NSF operations throughout the year until Polar Star returns next year. 

The Polar Star also supported a team of U.S. government officials from the State Department, National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Coast Guard who conducted a five-day inspection of foreign research stations, installations and equipment. 

The U.S. continues to promote Antarctica’s status as a continent reserved for peace and science in accordance with the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959. The inspection serves to verify compliance with the Antarctic Treaty and its environmental protocol, including provisions prohibiting military measures and mining as well as provisions promoting safe station operation and sound environmental practices.  

The team inspected three stations: Mario Zucchelli (Italy), Jang Bogo (South Korea) and Inexpressible Island (China). This was the 15th inspection of foreign research stations by the U.S. in Antarctica and the first since 2012. The U.S. will present its report on the inspections at the next Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Helsinki, Finland, in May. 

“I am immensely proud of all the hard work and dedication the men and women of the Polar Star demonstrate each and every day,” said Greg Stanclik, commanding officer of the heavy icebreaker.  

“Maintaining and operating a 44-year-old ship in the harshest of environments takes months of planning and preparation, long workdays and missed holidays, birthdays and anniversaries with loved ones. The Polar Star crew truly embodies the ethos of the Antarctic explorers who came before us — courage, sacrifice and devotion.” 

Commissioned in 1976, the Polar Star is the only operational U.S. heavy icebreaker, capable of breaking ice up to 21 feet thick. Reserved for Operation Deep Freeze each year, the ship spends the winter breaking ice near Antarctica, and when the mission is complete, returns to dry dock to conduct critical maintenance and repairs in preparation for the next Operation Deep Freeze mission.  

If a catastrophic event, such as getting stuck in the ice, were to happen to the Coast Guard Cutter Healy in the Arctic or to the Polar Star near Antarctica, the U.S. Coast Guard is left without a self-rescue capability. By contrast, Russia operates more than 50 icebreakers — several of which are nuclear-powered. 

The U.S. Coast Guard has been the sole provider of the nation’s polar icebreaking capability since 1965 and is seeking to increase its icebreaking fleet with six new polar security cutters to ensure continued national presence and access to the polar regions. 

In April, the Coast Guard awarded VT Halter Marine Inc. of Pascagoula, Mississippi, a contract for the design and construction of the Coast Guard’s lead polar security cutter, which will also be homeported in Seattle. The contract also includes options for the construction of two additional PSCs. 

“Replacing the Coast Guard’s icebreaker fleet is paramount,” said Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, commander of the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area. “Our ability to clear a channel and allow for the resupply of the United States’ Antarctic stations is essential for continued national presence and influence on the continent.”

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Cape Henry Associates (CHA) and KOVA Global (KOVA) have partnered in pursuit of upgrading the U.S. Navy’s training curriculum. CHA and KOVA came together to form Tanya Faye Kocha (TFK), a joint venture that leverages both CHA and KOVA.  

CHA and KOVA have worked together for more than a decade on defense contracts. KOVA is a woman-owned small business made up of more than 80% surface Navy veterans while CHA is a veteran-owned business whose employee base is 58% veterans and has a 99.5% on-time product delivery rate. 

TFK was formed specifically to compete for a Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division contract for development of training requirements analysis and curriculum modernization products and program management for the Navy. 

CHA and KOVA have worked together on similar contracts, such as the Carrier-Advanced Reconfigurable Training System (C-ARTS). Both parties are experienced in the systems and processes of this specific type of contract. 

TFK combines the high-speed agility and technical capabilities of KOVA and melds them with the sophisticated systems and processes of CHA to offer a focused, purpose-built joint venture with proven performance in high-volume production pipelines of diverse training analyses and content development.

OSHKOSH, Wis. — Oshkosh Defense said the U.S. Army Contracting Command-Detroit Arsenal has placed an order for 1,240 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) and associated kits. The U.S. Marine Corps also will use the JLTV. 

In addition to the Marines, this order includes JLTVs for Slovenia and Lithuania and kits for the Marines, the Army and the two foreign countries. 

“We work side-by-side with the Joint Program Office to give the military the necessary technological edge to compete with and defeat the most advanced adversaries,” said George Mansfield, vice president and general manager of joint programs for Oshkosh Defense. “Without sacrificing mobility or transportability, the JLTV can accommodate over 100 mission package configurations, a true testament to its agility and modularity.” 

The JLTV’s digital architecture allows incorporation of advances in weapons, lasers, sensors, networking and communications. Additionally, foreign interest in the highly capable JLTV platform continues to grow. The award includes orders for JLTVs to Slovenia and JLTVs to Lithuania through the Foreign Military Sales process. 

“We are proud of our vehicle and proud of this program,” Mansfield said. “The JLTV stands out as one of the few major programs delivering on its promises — it is on time, on budget, and delivering against all program requirements. Our mission is to enable the brave men and women of our Armed Forces and our allies to complete their missions and return home safely.” 

WASHINGTON — The Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced on Feb. 14 that it has awarded more than $280 million in grants through the new Port Infrastructure Development Program. This funding is designed to improve port facilities at or near coastal seaports. 

“Ports are gateways to the world and port infrastructure investments will improve the regional economy, increase productivity and economic competitiveness and create more jobs,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao said. 

The Port Infrastructure Development Program supports efforts by ports and industry stakeholders to improve facility and freight infrastructure to ensure U.S.  freight transportation needs — present and future — are met. The program provides capital financing and project management assistance to improve port capacity and efficiency.  

“We are very excited to have the opportunity to work more directly with America’s ports to enhance their facilities,” Maritime Administrator Mark H. Buzby said. “The grants awarded will ensure that these facilities are operating at their highest, most productive capacities.” 

The grant recipients were: 

• Anchorage 
• Long Beach, California 
• Los Angeles 
• Cape Canaveral, Florida 
• Miami-Dade County, Florida  
• Savannah, Georgia 
• LaPlace, Louisiana 
• Duluth, Minnesota 
• Harrison County, Mississippi 
• Cleveland 
• Toledo, Ohio 
• Charleston, South Carolina 
• Corpus Christi, Texas  
• Houston 
• Milwaukee

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant returned home here on Feb. 16 after a 55-day counter-drug patrol in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the Coast Guard 7th District said in a release. 

The Vigilant crew’s efforts during their patrol led to the seizure of 2,155 kilograms of cocaine, 30 pounds of marijuana and one pound of amphetamine, together valued at $81.7 million, and the detention of 11 suspected traffickers. 

While on patrol, the Vigilant crew interdicted three suspected drug smuggling vessels with two of the interdictions both occurring within a 24-hour span. The first interdiction occurred when the crew intercepted a 45-foot low profile vessel smuggling 810 kilograms of cocaine. The Vigilant crew resumed their patrol after the four suspected smugglers aboard were detained and evidence to facilitate prosecution was collected. 

Eight hours later, the crew interdicted a second vessel, a 35-foot panga, on which Vigilant’s boarding team seized 355 kilograms of cocaine, 30 pounds of marijuana, and one pound of amphetamine, and detained four suspected smugglers. 

While in the Pacific, the Vigilant crew worked with several U.S. and partner nation assets, including a Military Sealift Command ship and three Coast Guard cutters. In Panama, the crew conducted a professional exchange and training with officials from Panamanian law enforcement and military agencies to promote regional stability and security, economic prosperity and resiliency through collaboration. 

The Vigilant also hosted Panama’s Tactical Unit of Drug Operations and the National Aeronaval Service to share the Coast Guard’s process for collecting and preserving evidence to support the prosecution of smuggling cases. During a brief stop in Ecuador, the crew liaised with the Ecuadorian navy and local government officials to coordinate a short-fused custodial transfer of an Ecuadorian national suspected of drug smuggling. 

The Vigilant is a multimission 210-foot medium-endurance cutter whose missions include illegal drug and migrant interdiction and search and rescue. The cutter patrols throughout the Caribbean basin, Atlantic seaboard and periodically the eastern Pacific Ocean.