The Insider

By John Liang
September 11, 2014 at 6:49 PM

Shawn Brimley, an executive vice president at the Center for a New American Security, recently said Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work could have a tough time garnering support to carry out a truly transformational Pentagon research and development plan. As Inside the Pentagon reports today:

"The challenge for him is will he get the top-cover he needs to do the things he wants to do," Brimley said during an Aug. 26 interview. "He's looking inside the defense R&D budgets, the [internal research and development] budget for defense contractors, and I don't think he's seeing the kind of unified strategy he wants. He is trying to put together a sort of enterprise-wide, DOD-wide strategy for we think about technological offsets and innovation."

Brimley, who co-authored a paper with Work in January on the future of defense innovation, said the deputy secretary may have arrived at the precisely the right time.

"I think he's going to play a much more active role in assuring that the pot of money that exists on general, defense-wide R&D is thought of as a strategic lever," he said. "He wants to see a strategic frame for how that money is spent; communicate those priorities and hold people accountable for budget submissions that communicate those priorities."

By John Liang
September 10, 2014 at 9:42 PM

Doesn't look like there will be any action this week on the fiscal year 2015 continuing resolution introduced yesterday by House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY).

Jen Hing, communications director for the committee, just tweeted out the following:

For those that haven't heard: No action tomorrow on CR. Postponed to next week 4 time to consider new WH request on Syria.

By John Liang
September 10, 2014 at 4:36 PM

With President Obama set to outline his strategy to defeat the Islamic State on national television tonight, congressional Republicans have ideas of their own.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) released a fact sheet today that includes "five elements he believes are essential to any strategy designed to defeat and destroy ISIL":

1. Recognizes the Immediate Threat to US National Security

• ISIL is more than a regional threat, it poses a clear and certain threat to the United States, our interests, and our allies and partners across the globe.

• Waiting until a terrorist organization is planning an “imminent” attack will cost American lives, as we learned 13 years ago on September 11th.

• ISIL also poses an imminent and existential threat to our allies in a critical region within the world.  Their assistance is key to comprehensively and sustainably handling this threat.

2. Calls for Swift Action with a Clear Objective to Destroy ISIL

• The window for targeting ISIL while it is still operating largely in the open and has not yet fully blended in with the populace is closing.

• A go-slow strategy gives ISIL the space and time to defeat potential partners, attract more foreign fighters, secure additional funding, and plot and plan for future attacks against the United States, Europe, and our interests in the region.

• Our allies recognize that now is the time to act and are seeking US support and leadership. Missing the opportunity presented by this coalition will make the job harder in the long run and will not lead to a sustainable solution.

3. Embraces Simultaneous Operations In Iraq and Syria

• An Iraq first, or Iraq only strategy cannot sufficiently erode ISIL. Decisive simultaneous action in Iraq and Syria is required to deny ISIL a safehaven.

• Waiting until the political situation in Iraq becomes more clear fails to create the space for moderate Sunnis to reject ISIL. Rather it allows ISIL to further radicalize the population and foment sectarian tensions.

• Actions in Syria can be tailored to reduce the risk that operations embolden Assad or Jahbat al-Nusra and other al Qaeda affiliates.

4. Establishes the US as a Leading Coalition Partner

• The US is uniquely able to build, lead, and support coalition operations. There are military options available to us that leverage the capabilities of regional allies on the ground, with the US in a supporting role.

• It is misleading to suggest that the use of any American forces on the ground is akin to “serial occupation.”

• There is a narrow opportunity to defeat ISIL that will not require American boots on the ground in “surge” level numbers, but anyone who suggests a minimalist approach will be successful is not being clear-eyed about the challenge and resiliency of ISIL.

5. Does Not Rely On a Counter Terrorism (CT)-Only Approach

• Air strikes alone will not defeat ISIL, or meaningfully degrade them.

• Our allies are willing to lead the fight, but they will not be able to succeed on the ground without US support in areas like command & control, intelligence, refueling, and special operations.

• A strategy that closely resembles the CT centric standoff operations of the last 5 years is one that cannot prevent this threat from growing. Nor can it sufficiently roll ISIL back as a threat.

McKeon will expand on this in a speech at the American Enterprise Institute tomorrow morning.

By John Liang
September 9, 2014 at 4:04 PM

Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall has authorized the expansion of a career specialization in international acquisition.

In a Sept. 2 memo, Kendall writes:

The role international acquisition plays as an integral part of DOD's overall acquisition efforts has never been more critical. Increasingly, acquisition officials in many fields are involved in and have major responsibilities for international acquisition. The identification of all International Acquisition (Int Acq)  positions will ensure that acquisition workforce personnel -- regardless of position category -- will receive priority for training for successful performance. I hereby authorize the coding of Intl Acq Specialty positions in any functional areas.

Consequently, personnel engaged in "implementing or providing support to international cooperative research, development, engineering, test and evaluation, acquisition, life-cycle logistics, foreign military sales, direct commercial sales, building partner capacity transfers, and exportability integration" should have their job description categories include international acquisition, Kendall states.

By John Liang
September 8, 2014 at 8:24 PM

The Defense Department inspector general's office recently performed a "quality assurance assessment" of the Missile Defense Agency's Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle.

In a report released today, the IG found that while most of MDA's EKV quality management systems managed by prime contractor Boeing and subcontractor Raytheon were in compliance, "some areas need improvement." Specifically:

A. Boeing and Raytheon were not ensuring that software development processes and testing were sufficient, which could result in reliability issues.

B. Boeing and Raytheon did not ensure all quality assurance and technical requirements for mission-critical assemblies flowed down to the supply chain and were verified. Therefore, it is uncertain that all supplier products will meet system, performance, and reliability requirements.

C. Boeing and Raytheon were not adhering to configuration management processes, specifically with respect to management of change processes for design requirements. This leads to some uncertainty in fielded configurations.

D. Missile Defense Agency, Boeing, and Raytheon were not ensuring that all quality management systems were in compliance with the AS9100C standard. We identified a total of 48 nonconformances that were violations of the AS9100C standard. These nonconformances could result in the production of nonconforming hardware and software which could effect mission success.

Consequently, the IG recommends the MDA director do the following:

A. Ensure software development processes are fully documented, implemented, and enforced throughout the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle supply chain.

B.1 Ensure all suppliers of critical items are identified as critical suppliers, receive the necessary contractual requirements, and requirements are verified throughout the supply chain.

B.2 Ensure fielded hardware affected by an insufficient Hardware Acceptance Review Checklist process is assessed for risk.

C. Ensure design and configuration changes do not circumvent the Missile Defense Agency Assurance Provisions for configuration management.

D. Conduct an effective root cause analysis and implement corrective actions for all 48 nonconformances including assessing the risk to fielded hardware.

By Ellen Mitchell
September 8, 2014 at 7:15 PM

General Dynamics will consolidate its Advanced Information Systems and C4 Systems groups to create a new business unit, General Dynamics Mission Systems, according to a Sept. 8 company announcement.

The conversion will take effect January 2015, "following a comprehensive review of the structure," according to the GD statement. The restructuring will make the company "more efficient, cost-effective and responsive to our customers," and combining the organizations "will leverage their complementary capabilities and further enhance performance," David Heebner, executive vice president of GD's Information Systems and Technology group, said in the statement.

Chris Marzilli, the current president of GD C4 Systems, will lead the combined organization, which will be headquartered in Fairfax, VA.

By John Liang
September 8, 2014 at 4:44 PM

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association praised a decision by NATO to explicitly include major cyber attacks under the collective defense article of NATO's charter, meaning a cyber attack on one member state could be considered an attack on all, Inside Cybersecurity reports this morning:

"Cybersecurity is a top priority for the financial services industry, which is dedicating significant resources to protect the integrity of the financial markets and the millions of people who use financial services every day," SIFMA President and CEO Kenneth Bentsen said in a statement.

"We commend NATO for acknowledging the increasing threat that cyber attacks pose to the security and prosperity of its member nations and for taking action to enhance the collective defense effort," he said, noting SIFMA still believes cooperation between the public and private sectors to be the most effective way to mitigate cyber threats. "We hope NATO's action will encourage greater international cooperation on cybersecurity."

Inside Cybersecurity further reports:

"Cyber attacks can reach a threshold that threatens national and Euro-Atlantic prosperity, security, and stability," states NATO's declaration, issued at last week's summit in Wales. "Their impact could be as harmful to modern societies as a conventional attack. We affirm therefore that cyber defence is part of NATO's core task of collective defence."

By John Liang
September 5, 2014 at 5:31 PM

The 83 F-16s grounded in early August due to the discovery of cockpit cracks will remain grounded until the Air Force develops and implements a permanent fix, Inside the Air Force reports today:

A service spokeswoman told Inside the Air Force in a Sept. 4 email that a near-term solution that would have installed a high-strength fastener on the aircraft to allow them to return to flight while a more permanent repair is developed was deemed too risky. One aircraft based at Edwards Air Force Base, CA, received the temporary fix, but it has not yet flown. The service expects the parts associated with the repair will cost approximately $6,000 per aircraft, not including the associated manpower costs.

ITAF reported last month that the problem was brought to light in late July by a foreign F-16 customer who discovered the cracks while performing an unrelated inspection:

On Aug. 1, the service issued an immediate action time compliance technical order (TCTO) to inspect all F-16D aircraft. At that time, all of the service's 157 F-16Ds were grounded as the service conducted inspections. Unaffected aircraft, 75 in total, returned to flight between Aug. 3 and 15 as they were cleared.

"No cracked USAF aircraft have been released for flight," Cassidy said. "Aircraft that have passed the immediate action TCTO with no evidence of cracks have been returned to operational status."

The Air Force announced the grounding in an Aug. 19 press release in which Lt. Col. Steve Grotjohn, deputy chief of the weapon system division of the F-16 systems program office, noted that structural cracks often develop on an aircraft as a result of years of heavy use.

"As aircraft accumulate flight hours, cracks develop due to fatigue from sustained operations," Grotjohn said. "Fortunately, we have a robust maintenance, inspection and structural integrity program to discover and repair deficiencies as they occur."

By John Liang
September 4, 2014 at 7:29 PM

Five House lawmakers -- four from Virginia -- plan to tour Huntington Ingalls Industries subsidiary Newport News Shipbuilding's facilities this week.

House Armed Services Committee Vice Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX), seapower and projection forces subcommittee Chairman Randy Forbes (R-VA), readiness subcommittee Chairman Rob Wittman (R-VA), and Reps. Scott Rigell (R-VA) and Robert Scott (D-VA) will host a press conference Friday after a company tour, according to a statement from Rigell's office:

"Newport News Shipbuilding employs some of the hardest working men and women I have had the privilege to meet in my service to Virginia's Second Congressional district," said Congressman Scott Rigell, whose district includes parts of Newport News. "These good Americans equip the world's most powerful Navy, and it's an honor to introduce Congressman and Mrs. Thornberry to some of them. We must maintain a robust shipbuilding program in order to keep our nation safe and to keep jobs for Americans right here in Hampton Roads."

"As we have seen over the last several months, the world is not getting any safer," said Congressman Mac Thornberry. "The first job of the federal government is defending the country. And this shipyard plays a critical part in meeting that responsibility. I appreciate the chance to tour the facilities with my Armed Services colleagues from this area who are at the forefront of seeing that Congress fulfills its duties to help protect the nation."

"Vice Chairman Thornberry has long been an important voice in favor of a strong U.S. military," Congressman Randy Forbes said. "All of us who understand the necessity of a powerful, well-resourced United States Navy have an ally in Congressman Thornberry and I look forward to continuing to work with him in support of our men and women in uniform."

"The work done by the great folks at Newport News Shipbuilding is absolutely critical for maintaining and preserving the strength of our Navy," Congressman Rob Wittman said. "I'm pleased that Vice Chairman Thornberry will be joining us tomorrow to see firsthand the expertise and contributions of our shipbuilding community."

"I am pleased to welcome Congressman Thornberry to Newport News to showcase the hard work of the world's best shipbuilders," said Congressman Bobby Scott. "Shipbuilding is the backbone of our nation's Navy and I look forward to working with Congressman Thornberry and my colleagues in the Virginia delegation to support this critically important industry."

The Navy last month awarded the company a $25 million contract modification to complete 40 design and construction changes to the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78). As Inside the Navy reported Aug. 18:

The modifications are "routine in nature," Navy spokesman Lt. Rob Myers told Inside the Navy last week, but normally they would be executed individually. In this instance, the changes were "bundled" in order to save time and resources, Myers explained.

The changes are "fairly benign" and include things like structure and outfitting construction, as well as installation and integration of government furnished equipment, Myers added.

"The 40 headquarters modification requests for changes are routine in nature, and of the type to be expected on any CVN construction effort," Myers said. "They would normally be adjudicated individually; however, these changes were bundled to gain efficiencies in the negotiation and award process."

The modifications do not add new capability to the ship and do not impact the timeline of construction, he said. "None of the changes adds new capability to the ship nor do they represent an increase to established requirements," Myers told ITN. "Rather, they resolve issues identified during construction."

By John Liang
September 4, 2014 at 4:50 PM

With the Missile Defense Agency having issued a draft request for proposals last month for the Long Range Discrimination Radar program, potential contractors have been submitting questions to clarify some of the portions of the RFP. To wit, MDA released several answers this week, including to this question:

Since this is part of the US missile defense system, there could be catastrophic third party liability in the event of product malfunction or failure resulting in injury or death. This potential catastrophic third party liability is considered an unusually significant hazardous risk by the Contractor. The potential impact of this is well beyond any insurance coverage that the Corporation can take out. It is being requested that the MDA consider an application for indemnification under Public Law (PL) 85-804 for this work. Would MDA consider inserting clause 52.250‐1, Indemnification Under Public Law 85-804?

To which the agency responded:

MDA does not consider the performance of sensors program requirements to involve an unusually hazardous risk.

As Inside Missile Defense reported last month:

In its fiscal year 2015 budget request, MDA asked Congress for $79.5 million to begin developing the LRDR system, including a dedicated $50.5 million project line that would cover a $13 million effort to study potential radar sites and $37.4 million for product development, according to Pentagon briefing charts. Funding for the project line would total $615 million across the future years defense plan, with $136 million in FY-16, $152 million in FY-17, $145 million in FY-18 and $132 million in FY-19.

"The new LRDR is a midcourse tracking radar that will provide persistent sensor coverage and improve discrimination capabilities against threats to the homeland from the Pacific theater. This new radar also will give the Sea-Based X-band (SBX) radar more geographic deployment flexibility for contingency and test use," MDA's budget documents state.

As for where the new radar would be based, agency Director Vice Adm. James Syring said during a March 4 Pentagon briefing on MDA's budget request that "we've talked about Alaska, but we're going . . . to do the due diligence and evaluate all the possible alternatives in the Pacific."

Those alternatives appear to have been whittled down to Alaska, with the Aug. 8 cover letter attached to the draft RFP stating that "For planning purposes, offerors should consider both Eareckson Air Station and Clear Air Force Station, Alaska as possible site locations for the LRDR."

By John Liang
September 4, 2014 at 4:41 PM

The head of the Association of the United States Army is calling on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to end sequestration.

In a letter sent to Reid today, retired Army Gen. Gordon Sullivan writes:

Is this too hard? I cannot speak for 300 million Americans, but I will speak for myself. I have been in or around the U.S. Army for almost 60 years, and I am very concerned that our enemies, potential and current, don't see us as a rock-steady nation. They think we cannot act in a collaborative, efficient manner. Some of our closest friends are left scratching their heads wondering what is going on in America that makes us seem so indecisive and weak.

Those who know us best can see that we have lost our edge. Our forces are less ready, and we are taking apart a magnificent, combat-honed force based on a great American myth that when we need defense we can just create it. Let me be clear, it is a myth. A lesson we should have learned by now is that the cost of being unprepared is paid in lives and spilled blood.

Hope is the anchor of our souls, but success requires creating a vision and making it happen so our nation believes it and our allies and friends perceive us as serious and our enemies know we have placed ourselves where we belong, on center stage.

We don't have a year to fix what ails our national defense. We must stop sequestration now. We must cease downsizing now. We must rely on the elected, appointed and uniformed leaders of this nation to structure forces capable of ensuring our security. We have precious little time to show the world how good we are.

By James Drew
September 3, 2014 at 10:45 PM

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter prime contractor Lockheed Martin told InsideDefense.com today that the suspension on the delivery of Pratt & Whitney F135 engines has been removed. The F-35 office overseeing the program did not confirm whether it has lifted the suspension.

The comment comes one day after the F-35 joint program office said F135 engine deliveries were suspended until the root cause of a June 30 engine fire could be determined.

InsideDefense.com asked Lockheed whether the suspension could affect F-35 aircraft production and if the company maintains a surplus inventory of F135s to mitigate against disruptions to supply -- as reported earlier this week.

In a Sept. 3 email, Lockheed spokesman Michael Rein said: "There has been no appreciable impact to the F-35 production aircraft delivery schedule as a result of the F135 delivery suspension," adding:

Lockheed Martin maintains an inventory of engines with adequate schedule margin to account for any unforeseen minor delays in engine deliveries. Since the engine delivery suspension has been lifted, Lockheed Martin received additional F135 engines. No impact to F-35 production aircraft delivery schedule is anticipated.

When asked how Lockheed is working with the JSF joint program office to ensure its decision to hold back F135 deliveries does not impact the production schedule, Rein replied:

Lockheed Martin, Pratt &Whitney, and the JSF joint program office hold weekly production coordination meetings to plan both near-term and long-term F135 propulsion system deliveries. These meetings allow us to minimize any impacts to F-35 production due to an engine delivery delay.

JPO spokesman Joe DellaVedova was unable to say whether the suspension has been lifted and a further response has not been provided.

Earlier this week, InsideDefense.com reported that engine deliveries to Lockheed had been on hold since May. P&W initially suspended deliveries after the company discovered that a parts supplier had been using suspect titanium. The joint program office kept the hold in place following an engine fire at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida on June 30. InsideDefense.com further reported:

Regarding F135 delivery delays, DellaVedova said the decision to keep them on hold was related to the engine fire. The June 30 mishap involved an Air Force jet and resulted in the temporary grounding of all three F-35 variants. The aircraft returned to flight on July 15 under a restricted flight envelope that remains in place.

Continued disruption to the supply of engines could lead to aircraft production delays, which might affect the Marine Corps' F-35B initial operational capability date of July 2015.

Bates said engine production continues but without materials supplied by A&P Alloys. "Due to the unrelated Eglin engine incident, the JPO continued to suspend engine deliveries until further notice," Bates said. "We are delivering engines ahead of need for Lockheed Martin."

According to DellaVedova, holding back on deliveries will allow for corrective actions on the engines once the root cause of the F-35A engine fire is determined.

Pratt believes it has found a technical solution to rectify the fault that caused the fire. The company plans to run a series of tests over the next month to determine a way forward.

According to Pentagon officials, early analysis indicates the fire was an isolated incident caused by excessive rubbing of the fan blades in the cold section of the engine.

By John Liang
September 3, 2014 at 8:20 PM

The Marine Corps has retired the last UH-1N Huey helicopter, according to a service statement:

After more than 40 years of service, the Marine Corps retired the aging UH-1N Huey helicopter during a "sundown ceremony" Aug. 28, 2014, aboard Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, New Orleans. . . .

The UH-1N platform flown by HMLA-773, has been replaced by the new UH-1Y Venom platform which provides drastically improved capabilities to its predecessor in terms of range, airspeed, payload, survivability and lethality.

In 1996, the Marine Corps launched the H-1 upgrade program, signing a contract with Bell Helicopter for upgrading 100 UH-1Ns into UH-1Ys. The largest improvement was the increase in engine power. Replacing the engines and the two-bladed rotor system with four blades, the Y-model will return the Huey to the utility role for which it was designed. Originally, the UH-1Y was to be remanufactured from UH-1N airframes, but in April 2005, approval was granted to build them as new helicopters.

"A big thing for us is training and the UH-1Y is really going to help us be combat ready and have a more predominant place in Marine Corps aviation," said Lt. Col. Mark Sauer, commanding officer of Det. C, MAG-49.

The Marine Corps is not the only service that flies the UH-1 model. The Air Force, which has its own fleet of aging Hueys, has opted to replace the outdated aircraft with retired Army UH-60A Black Hawk helicopters. As Inside the Air Force reported last week:

This Black Hawk replacement plan has gained the most traction among the Air Force's Huey community, with officials from the schoolhouse at Kirtland Air Force Base, NM, and at various squadrons stating during a series of interviews that moving to a common H-60 airframe Air Force-wide is the best way forward.

Sikorsky officials have also offered suggestions for replacing the Hueys with Black Hawks. Depending on what the Air Force can afford, company officials said the service could either restore and reset the excess Army Black Hawks and keep them in the A-model configuration or simply purchase new production M-model H-60s -- a more expensive option.

The Black Hawk procurement strategy appears to align with the Air Force's recent decision to buy 112 new Combat Rescue Helicopters from Sikorsky to replace the old and war-weary HH-60G Pave Hawks. The CRH is a close derivative of the Army H-60M.

Global Strike Command is the lead operator of the UH-1N and its policy staff took the lead on developing a recapitalization plan. The command's three Huey squadrons support operations around the nuclear missile fields in Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota.

By John Liang
September 3, 2014 at 12:00 PM

The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments plans to hold a "congressional discussion" next week to talk about how the Defense Department measures readiness.

The Capitol Hill event, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 9, will be centered on an article published in the fall 2014 issue of the "Strategic Studies Quarterly" magazine titled "Rethinking Readiness."

The major tenets of the article, according to CSBA, are:

DOD's current method for resourcing readiness starts with the wrong metrics, lacks experimental data to isolate causal effects, and does not have a continuous feedback loop to update and refine readiness theories and models.

The military could be significantly overfunding or underfunding readiness without knowing it.

Todd Harrison, the study's author, "will explain how the DOD currently measures readiness and offer his recommendations on a more effective allocation of resources to achieve the readiness required by one’s strategy," according to a CSBA announcement.

By Lara Seligman
September 2, 2014 at 4:17 PM

A Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion aircraft assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit crashed earlier on Monday at sea in the Gulf of Aden, according to a Navy statement.

The pilot was attempting to land on the amphibious transport dock Mesa Verde (LPD-19) when the incident occurred, Naval Forces Central Command spokesman Cmdr. Kevin Stephens told Inside the Navy. The aircraft struck the ship before crashing into the ocean, he said.

The incident caused "relatively minor" damage to the flight deck area, Stephens said, adding that the aircraft was lost at sea.

The Super Stallion was in the process of transferring personnel back to the Mesa Verde from training ashore in Djibouti when it crashed at 2 p.m. GMT, according to the statement. The vessel is part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group currently on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

All 25 passengers, including 17 marines and eight sailors, were safely recovered, according to the statement. Eighteen of the 25 were medically evaluated and cleared, Stephens said, while seven had injuries that required them to be treated in the ship's medical ward.

The vessel is now at port in Djibouti, Stephens said. Two of the injured personnel are going to be evaluated at a shore facility, he said.

All of the patients are in stable condition, Stephens noted.

The incident was not a result of hostile activity, according to the statement. The Navy and Marine Corps are investigating the cause of the crash, Stephens said.