The Insider

UAS Center Of Excellence
By John Liang
August 12, 2014 at 4:41 PM

The Federal Aviation Administration plans to set up an unmanned aircraft systems center of excellence that would involve various government agencies -- including the Defense Department.

According to a solicitation posted this morning on the Federal Business Opportunities website, the goal "is to create a cost sharing relationship between academia, industry, and government that will focus on research areas of primary interest to the FAA and the U.S. unmanned aircraft systems community."

Our purpose is to forge a union of public sector (FAA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Defense, state/local governments, etc.), private sector, and academic institutions to create a world-class consortium that will identify solutions for existing and anticipated UAS related issues. The FAA expects the COE to perform short- and long-term basic and applied research through a variety of analyses, development, and prototyping activities.

To this end, the FAA Centers of Excellence Program Office, ANG-E4, is soliciting proposals from accredited institutions of higher education with their partners and affiliates. The FAA intends to enter into cooperative agreements with core university members, and will award matching grants for public benefit. Initially, grants will be awarded to university members to establish the COE, define the research agenda, and begin UAS research, education, training and related activities.

As a result of this competitive process, the FAA also plans to award indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts to the selected COE team members for the benefit of the government. Thereafter, the COE team will be positioned to receive delivery order tasks on a cost reimbursement, cost sharing, and/or fixed price basis.

Universities must notify FAA of their interest by Aug. 22, according to the notice.

New DBB Members
By John Liang
August 11, 2014 at 7:32 PM

The Defense Business Board has gained eight new members, according to a Pentagon statement issued this afternoon.

The new appointees will join the 15 members already serving on the board, led by Robert Stein, the Defense Department statement reads, adding:

These men and women were chosen based on their proven track record of sound judgment in leading or governing large, complex private sector corporations or entities, and have a wealth of top-level, global business experience in the areas of executive management, corporate governance, audit and finance, human resources and compensation, economics, technology and healthcare.

The new members include:

- Taylor Glover, president and CEO, Turner Enterprises, Inc.

- Nancy Killefer, former senior partner, McKinsey & Company, Inc.

- Kenneth Klepper, former president and CEO, Medco Health Solutions

- Shelly Lazarus, chairman emeritus, Ogilvy & Mather

- Emil Michael, senior vice president of business, Uber Technologies, Inc.

- Hon. Thomas Nides, managing director and vice chairman, Morgan Stanley

- Nicholas Pinchuk, chairman and CEO, Snap-on Inc.

- Daniel Werfel, director of public sector practice, The Boston Consulting Group

The board's most recent meeting took place on July 24, where it unanimously approved a series of recommendations put forward by a task force designed to find ways to enhance innovation by attracting and retaining the best of the private sector. The task group also recommended emphasizing an open-architecture approach and ensuring that industry gets compensated for its intellectual property, according to the report approved by the board. As Inside the Pentagon reported that day:

The major "game changer" to help foster innovation would be a new acquisition model for the Pentagon, task force chairman David Langstaff told the board. DOD, he said, "needs to stop stuffing all acquisition in a process designed for a different time."

The defense secretary should issue a memorandum establishing Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 12 "Acquisition of Commercial Items" as the default acquisition method for non-platform procurement, according to the task force recommendations. DOD should also shift its focus from "exquisite" systems to those that are "good enough" as part of a push to open up a closed system, according to the report.

If enacted, these steps also demonstrate that the department is open to commercial involvement, the report states. The recommended steps are essential because the Pentagon is losing its more innovative suppliers as companies choose to focus elsewhere, Langstaff said. The report cites a "hollowing out" of the defense industrial base, adding that "without talent and investment there will be little innovation."

None of the recommendations made in response to the study -- called for by then-Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter in May 2013 -- would require legislative input. The task group set out to make recommendations that could be implemented quickly and internally, Langstaff said.

The board's next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 23, where it will discuss a study on science and technology. As ITP reported last month:

In a terms of reference memo signed out last month, Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work tasked the Defense Business Board with conducting a study to look at how innovative industry leaders manage science and technology and make "decisions to optimize their S&T investments and the processes they use to forecast and plan for future" research and development.

"Given the anticipated government spending reductions and increased investment from [the] private sector, the DOD needs a portfolio management strategy and the right tools to ensure its R&D funds are directed to achieve maximum benefits for the department," Work wrote.

Work's June 17 memo notes that DOD spends about $12 billion annually on S&T, and this money is "essential for building the knowledge and technology base for future DOD capabilities and is the source for critical 'leap-ahead' technologies that advance DOD's warfighting capabilities."

Hagel In Australia
By John Liang
August 11, 2014 at 4:50 PM

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is in Australia today, where he spoke about the U.S. shift to the Asia Pacific:

Recently, for the first time, we have Marines on a rotational basis here in Australia; 1,200, I think, is what we currently have. We have LCS ship in, and we'll have more on a rotational basis in Singapore, which is -- is new.

We have just concluded new arrangements and agreements with the country the Philippines on a rotational basis to use bases there.

And I could go on, but I think it gives you some tangible answer to your question, "Are we committed or not?" Yes, we're committed. We will continue to stay committed.

But I might also add that it does not mean that the U.S. rebalance to the Asia Pacific -- and this is a dynamic process that the United States certainly has used over the years as geo-political interests shift in the world. And I think by any measurement, any metric applied to Asia Pacific -- Secretary Pritzker, Secretary Kerry were quite clear on this when they were in India about a week ago -- that the economic development and the emergence of an astounding number of middle class that -- and all the economic development productive parts of a society of a country that are emerging in this part of the world are pretty clear.

We have an interest here, the United States. We'll continue to have an interest here. We are a Pacific power. We've been a Pacific power. So we're not going anywhere, and our partnerships are here. Our treaty obligations here are important to us. The president has made that case.

This is my sixth trip to the Asia Pacific areas since I've been secretary of defense the last year and a half. I'll do four this calendar year. Secretary Kerry, Secretary Pritzker were just in India. As you know, Secretary Kerry was just in Myanmar yesterday.

So I think by any measurement of commitment, it's pretty clear that the U.S. is committed to this part of the world, but also does not mean a retreat from any other part of the world. We have interests all over the world. We'll continue to work with our partners and strengthen those partnerships and the alliances we have in every part of the world and here as well.

On missile defense cooperation with Australia, Hagel said:

We are going to talk tomorrow, as I noted, in our discussions with the Australians, regarding ballistic missile defense. These are conversations that we started prior. We talked a little bit in our meeting today, the two of us, about this issue. And we think there's great opportunity and possibilities as we go forward and develop some options.

F-35As At Eielson
By Courtney Albon
August 8, 2014 at 5:27 PM

The Air Force has announced that Eielson Air Force Base, AK, is the preferred alternative to host the first F-35A Joint Strike Fighter squadrons in the Pacific area of responsibility.

In a press release issued today, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said range access was a key reason for the selection.

"Basing the F-35s at Eielson (AFB) will allow the Air Force the capability of using the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex for large force exercises using a multitude of ranges and maneuver areas in Alaska," James said in the statement. "This, combined with the largest airspace in the Air Force, ensures realistic combat training for the DOD."

The decision will be finalized once the service has conducted an environmental impact study, and according to the release, the service expects the first F-35As will arrive at Eielson AFB in 2019.

The release notes that now that the service has identified a preferred base for the F-35A's first Pacific presence, it will begin the process of identifying the location for the 18th Aggressor Squadron's F-16s. Eielson AFB will be included among those bases considered.

Past Performance
By John Liang
August 7, 2014 at 5:20 PM

The Defense Department had the highest compliance rate with a congressional past performance reporting requirement compared to other Cabinet agencies, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.

The GAO report, issued today, shows DOD having had an 83 percent compliance rate as of April 2014, up from 76 percent at the same time the previous year. The department with the next-highest compliance rate was Treasury, with 71 percent in April 2014 compared to 47 percent in 2013.

"Having complete, timely, and accurate information on contractor performance allows officials responsible for awarding new federal contracts to make informed decisions," the report reads. "Agencies generally are required to document contractor performance on contracts or orders exceeding certain dollar thresholds."

The fiscal year 2013 Defense Authorization Act "required the development of a strategy to ensure that timely, accurate, and complete information on contractor performance is included in past performance databases. The act also required a change to the timeframes allowed for contractors to provide comments, rebuttals, or additional information pertaining to past performance information," according to GAO.

Pegasus To Pease
By Courtney Albon
August 6, 2014 at 2:44 PM

The Air Force announced today that it has finalized its selection of Pease Air National Guard Base, NH, as the Guard's KC-46A main operating base.

The base was chosen last May as the preferred main operating base within the Guard, and the service has since been working to complete the environmental analysis that is required to make that decision final. The site was chosen, at least in part, because of its existing active-duty association and its location in a region where air refueling is in high demand.

The first KC-46 Pegasus will arrive at Pease ANGB in 2018.

"The KC-46A Pegasus aerial tanker remains one of our top acquisition priorities. Making a final basing decision is an important step in recapitalizing the tanker fleet," Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said in a statement today. "We will begin to replace our aging tanker fleet in 2016, but even when the program is complete in 2028 we will have replaced less than half of the current tanker fleet and will still be flying over 200 half-century-old KC-135s."

Altus Air Force Base, OK, has been selected as the home of the Pegasus' formal training unit and McConnell Air Force Base, KS, will serve as the main operating base.

Export Controls
By John Liang
August 6, 2014 at 2:26 PM

The head of the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security recently expressed hope that the Obama administration will publish by the end of the year the next two proposed rules in its export control reform initiative, covering toxins and guidance equipment such as night-vision goggles, Inside U.S. Trade reports this week:

Speaking to reporters at the bureau's annual Update Conference on July 29, BIS Undersecretary Eric Hirschhorn acknowledged that revising these two categories will "not be easy," which is why the administration first moved ahead with less difficult categories in its export control reform.

The reform effort involves moving items from the U.S. Munitions List (USML) to the less stringent controls of the Commerce Control List (CCL). The two upcoming rules would involve USML Categories XII and XIV, which cover guidance equipment and toxicological agents, respectively.

BIS officials have previously said the toxins category is difficult because it involves getting input from government scientists, who are not usually involved in export control debates. Private-sector sources have said Category XII will be difficult in part because the Department of Defense will likely take a hard line on protecting night vision equipment, which it views as vital to the strategic capabilities of the U.S. military.

But Hirschhorn expressed confidence that the agencies involved in the reform would ultimately be able to come to an agreement on these two categories. "I have a pretty high level of confidence both that [on the night-vision goggles] category and the toxins category … we'll reach a very sensible resolution for both, and I hope they will be published both before the end of the year," he said.

Inside the Pentagon reported last month that the Commerce Department has processed more than $900 million worth of exports that have been deregulated off the State Department's Munitions List since Oct. 15, 2013.

Additionally, the State and Commerce Departments are working on rules to ease restrictions on the export of sensors, night vision items, biological items and toxins, ITP reported:

Export reform "addresses today's national security threats and opportunities," said Eric Hirschhorn, undersecretary for industry and security at the Commerce Department, in a National Defense Industry Association webinar.

"Reform of the system will focus our limited resources within the government on the threats that matter the most, improve our interoperability with our closest friends and allies, strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base by reducing incentives for foreign manufacturers to design-out controlled U.S. origin parts and components and finally ease the licensing burden on U.S. exports," he said.

President Obama announced the Export Control Reform Initiative in 2009 to ease restrictions on military items that had been needlessly held to Cold War regulation standards. The plan moves items from the strict U.S. Munitions List to the more relaxed Commerce Control List.

So far, the Bureau of Industry and Security has processed more than 5,000 munitions licenses. The president's initiative aims to move 21 categories from the Munitions List. The categories represent about $80 billion in annual exports and close to 90 percent of the total value of American exports governed by licenses.

M-ATV Reset Contract
By Tony Bertuca
August 5, 2014 at 3:23 PM

Oshkosh Defense has been awarded $45 million to reset and upgrade 800 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicles, according to a recent Defense Department notice.

The effort will be funded with approximately $39 million from fiscal year 2014 operations and maintenance funds, while the remaining amount would come out of the Army's "other procurement" account, the Aug. 1 contract announcement states.

The Pentagon spent $45 billion to rapidly acquire more than 25,000 MRAPs to replace humvees and better protect soldiers against underbody blasts from improvised explosive devices in Iraq. The M-ATV was rapidly acquired and sent to Afghanistan because legacy MRAPs were deemed too bulky and lacking in maneuverability for operations there.

The Army will keep all of its M-ATVs after the military drawdown in Afghanistan, though it will divest 13,000 legacy MRAPs from its fleet of 21,000. Approximately 3,000 M-ATVs will be stored in prepositioned stocks, while 1,700 are assigned to Army units (Inside the Army, July 15, 2013).

Oshkosh has won several M-ATV upgrade opportunities in past years, including $350 million to provide underbody improvement kits aimed at making the blast-resistant vehicle even more protected against improvised explosive devices (ITA, June 27, 2011).

Peruvian LAV Contract
By Lee Hudson
August 5, 2014 at 2:31 PM

General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada announced on July 24 that the Peruvian government had awarded the company a $67 million contract to equip Peruvian Marines with Light Armored Vehicles.

Peru bought 32 of the LAV II personnel variant vehicles with amphibious capability. Included in the contract is a complete logistics support package. Deliveries will begin by mid-2015, the statement reads.

"We are proud to have been selected by the Peruvian Marines to meet their armoured vehicle requirement and look forward to establishing a long-term relationship with this very important customer," Danny Deep, GDLS-Canada vice president said in a statement.

In May, GDLS-Canada was awarded a $52 million contract modification for LAV mobility and obsolescence upgrade integration, Inside the Navy reported that month.

Upgrades for the LAV include a power pack with increased power, an upgraded driveline, steering and suspension to allow for additional payload and height management system, and upgraded electrical components including a redesigned driver's instrument panel, company spokesman Ken Yamashita wrote in a May 20 email.

Aerial ISR
By John Liang
August 4, 2014 at 7:17 PM

The Army wants industry to send feedback on draft specifications for an upgraded version of its aerial intelligence gathering system's sensor payloads. As Inside the Army reports this week:

The draft Performance Based Specification, posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website July 28 and labeled "for official use only," lays out the system-level requirements for the Airborne Reconnaissance Low-Enhanced (ARL-E) Mission Equipment Payload (MEP). The Army wants industry input on the specifications ahead of the anticipated Sept. 19 formal solicitation date, according to the request for information. Industry has until Aug. 11 to respond.

The ARL-E is the successor to the currently fielded ARL-Multifunction. The system overview portion of the draft specifications states the ARL-E will close several intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability gaps.

"The increment one capabilities provide ARL-E a more capable Full Motion Video, Radar, Hyperspectral, Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), and communications architecture capability over the current ARL-M platform," Chris Keller, deputy project manager for sensors-aerial intelligence, wrote in an Aug. 1 email to Inside the Army.

Budget justification documents state the new system will allow for a "rapid plug and play" sensor system to support different sensor-combinations. The band A -- or mandatory -- system requirements call for the ARL-E MEP to be capable of operating three sensor payloads at the same time, according to the draft specifications. The band B -- or highly-desired -- capability is four sensor payloads operating simultaneously.

Iron Dome Funding Approved
By John Liang
August 1, 2014 at 3:56 PM

The Senate this morning passed by unanimous consent a bill that would provide $225 million for the Pentagon to replenish Israel's Iron Dome rocket-defense system.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) said in a statement:

"It's right that we help our friends in Israel and adopt the Reid-McConnell-Mikulski amendment to replenish Iron Dome. It's crucial that Israel has the opportunity to defend itself while others are working on ceasefires or political solutions. As a treasured ally, it's important that we enable Israel to guard themselves against Hamas.

"Israel is under attack, and it's under attack by a terrorist group that denies its very right to exist. And it's under attack by an organization called Hamas that is sending thousands of rockets toward Israeli cities and towns, targeting innocent civilians. The most crucial of short-range missiles is a technology called Iron Dome.

"I am committed to the protection of Israel and I am more committed to the Iron Dome than ever. Iron Dome is a high-tech defensive system. It's not an offensive system. Israeli citizens are being bombarded with missile after missile. The money that we've approved today is needed to replace interceptor rockets for the critical Iron Dome missile defense system. Iron Dome is already saving lives and protecting towns and cities from the more than 2,700 rockets fired by Hamas in the last few weeks. Israel is an essential American ally and needs these assets to defend itself. By investing in this program, we are protecting civilians and helping to maintain Israel's qualitative military edge."

Roles And Missions
By John Liang
July 31, 2014 at 11:16 PM

The Government Accountability Office has released a report assessing the Defense Department's execution of the Quadrennial Roles and Missions Review, which House authorizers have taken steps to abolish due to the lackluster quality of past reviews.

GAO, in its July 31 report, asserts DOD "did not provide sufficiently detailed information about most of the statutorily required elements of the assessment." Additionally:

DOD's process for assessing roles and missions missed key principles associated with effective and comprehensive assessments. Specifically, DOD limited its process to leveraging the prior review that resulted in the Defense Strategic Guidance; by doing so its process did not include the following:

* A planned approach: DOD did not develop or document a planned approach that included the principles or assumptions used to inform the assessment.

* Internal stakeholder involvement: DOD included limited internal stakeholder involvement. For example, DOD gave the armed services a limited opportunity to review the draft prior to its release.

* Identification and involvement of external stakeholders: DOD obtained limited input from relevant external stakeholders, such as Congress, on the specific guidance and direction they expected of the roles and missions assessment.

* Time frames: DOD did not develop a schedule to gauge progress for conducting the assessment and completing the report, which may have contributed to the report being provided to Congress over 5 months late.

Prior to the report's release, Inside the Pentagon provided a preview, noting the House version of the fiscal year 2015 defense authorization bill includes language that would remove the requirement for the QRMR altogether. Senate authorizers did not include such a provision. ITP further reports:

"There's been consistent disappointment since the first QRMR with DOD's efforts," said a House staff member. "The last one was particularly bad because they, frankly, took the Defense Strategic Guidance report and slapped a cover page on it and said that's a QRMR."

The House staffer acknowledged that "GAO may come back and say it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, but if we're telling DOD they have less money and should do fewer reports, then let's start killing the ones that don't turn out so good."

The QRMR is theoretically aimed at answering several questions vital to understanding the DOD's mission, according the FY-14 defense authorization language.

Questions that should be answered include: "(1) The core mission areas of the Armed Forces; (2) The core competencies and capabilities that are associated with the performance or support of such core mission areas; (3) The elements of the department that are responsible for providing the core competencies and capabilities; (4) Any gaps in the ability of the elements of the department to provide for core competencies and capabilities; (5) Any unnecessary duplication of effort; and (6) A plan to address identified gaps and reduce unnecessary duplication of effort."

The House staffer acknowledged that periodically wrestling with such broad questions would be good for DOD, but noted "widespread" feeling among staffers and lawmakers that the QRMR was not the vehicle to accomplish such a task.

"It's like, 'I get why the Navy has an army, but I don't get why the Navy's army has an air force,'" he said. "There's an interesting philosophical question as to whether DOD can do this by itself and on a regular basis. Also, how much does the secretary of defense want to take on the services? To date, you haven't really seen one going to bat on a regular basis because nobody wants to adjudicate it."

The lack of rigor behind the QRMR, the staffer said, is due to the fact "there are huge disincentives not to do it."

Making Waves
By Lee Hudson
July 31, 2014 at 5:32 PM

Rear Adm. Jon Hill has assumed command of program executive office integrated warfare systems at Naval Sea Systems command, according to a July 31 NAVSEA statement.

Hill's previous position was cruiser and destroy combat systems director in PEO IWS. He has also served as major program manager for Aegis Combat Systems and Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense technical director in the Missile Defense Agency.

Hill relieved Rear Adm. Joseph Horn as PEO IWS during a change of command ceremony on July 18. Horn retired after 34 years of Navy service.

S&T Priorities
By John Liang
July 30, 2014 at 3:41 PM

The Office of Management and Budget recently issued a memo outlining "the administration's multi-agency science and technology priorities for formulating [fiscal year] 2016 Budget submissions."

Among those priorities are:

Advanced manufacturing and industries of the future. The Administration is committed to revitalizing America's manufacturing sector, which will require innovation in the products that are manufactured and the manufacturing systems themselves. Agencies should give priority to those programs that advance the state of the art in manufacturing, with particular emphasis on government-industry-university partnerships and enabling technologies for industries of the future (such as nanotechnology, robotics, materials development, and cyber-physical systems) that benefit multiple sectors, as described in the National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing. . . .

National and homeland security. National and Homeland Security and Intelligence mission agencies should invest in science and technology to meet the threats of the future and develop innovative new security capabilities. In order to provide cutting-edge capabilities to meet current and future mission requirements, national security agencies need to support a balanced portfolio of basic and applied research and advanced technology development. In particular, priority should be given to investments to develop capabilities in hypersonics, countering weapons of mass destruction, accelerated training techniques, and handling large data sets for national-security mission requirements.

OMB also encourages federal agencies "to identify and pursue clearly defined 'Grand Challenges' -- ambitious goals that require advances in science, technology and innovation to achieve -- and to support high-risk, high-return research."

In the past year, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency launched a "Cyber Grand Challenge" program to explore how to significantly improve defenses in cyberspace through automation, InsideDefense.com reported in January. Additionally:

Through one agency program, DARPA officials are examining ways to prevent people from being the weak link in the security chain. Eliminating the need to remember complex passwords, for example, might preclude users from scribbling them on notes vulnerable to prying eyes. The goal is to improve user authentication without further burdening users, and one solution could involve systems that can recognize typing patterns and use them to conduct continuous authentication once a person has accessed a system.

Special Ops Doctrine
By John Liang
July 29, 2014 at 3:14 PM

The Defense Department recently issued an updated joint doctrine document on special operations.

Among the changes, the new doctrine document:

* Expands the discussion of special operations joint task force, to include the addition of a vignette and a definition.

* Clarifies and defines preparation of the environment, operational preparation of the environment, and advance force operations.

* Revises special operations activities.

* Defines and discusses counter threat finance.

* Modifies doctrine in regard to command and control of special operations forces.

* Expands discussion of intelligence support to special operations.

* Adds sections on civil affairs operations, countering weapons of mass destruction, military working dogs, and engineer support.

Inside the Pentagon reported last week about Senate appropriators' concern that U.S. Special Operations Command does not fully understand its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance needs. The lawmakers are calling for a review of manned ISR aircraft requirements to support special operations forces:

In a report accompanying their fiscal year 2015 defense spending bill, Senate Appropriations Committee members said they agreed with their authorization colleagues that a review for platform requirements for manned ISR is needed. Senate appropriators also called for a $5.4 million reduction to the Pentagon's $40.5 million request to modify MC-12 aircraft that are being transferred from the Air Force to SOCOM.

"The committee is concerned with SOCOM's continuing changes to its requirements for manned ISR aircraft," according to the report approved by the panel last week. "The incremental changes to the manned ISR fleet, including the proposed divestiture of recently upgraded aircraft, seems to indicate that SOCOM does not understand its long-term ISR requirements."