The Insider

By Lee Hudson
December 10, 2013 at 6:02 PM

After recent internal investigations raised concerns of husbanding and port services contracts in U.S. Pacific Command, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus issued a memorandum Dec. 5 calling on the service to conduct a review of all acquisition strategies for similar services around the globe.

Mabus requested the office of the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition to submit a report by Dec. 19 on progress to date. The office will submit a report of final findings of fact, opinions and recommendations by Jan. 31.

Further, Mabus directed the auditor general of the Navy to audit husbanding and port services contracts to improve the delivery of goods and services, contract administration and eventual payment. The office will submit a report on Dec. 19 on progress to date and a final audit report on June 2.

“Throughout the course of your reviews and audits, you shall coordinate with the [Naval Criminal Investigative Service],” Mabus added. “At no time, shall your work interfere with any ongoing federal law enforcement investigation.”

By John Liang
December 10, 2013 at 4:27 PM

Raytheon and EADS subsidiary Astrium have teamed up to compete for a $91 million systems engineering and integration contract for NATO's Ballistic Missile Defense Program.

"This transatlantic team has a proven, successful track record supporting national and NATO missile defense," Yannick Devouassoux, Astrium's Head of Missile Defense and NATO programs, said in a joint Raytheon-Astrium statement. "The Astrium-Raytheon team will provide sound, innovative, and cost-effective solutions to help develop NATO's future ballistic missile defense capability."

The statement further reads:

The NATO BMD System Engineering and Integration contract will establish the contractual requirements for territorial defense, while helping create a NATO command and control network architecture for Europe. It will also provide a test infrastructure for the new architecture.

"With more than 30 years' experience in ballistic missiles development and production, ballistic battle analysis, and threat modeling, Astrium is a leader in European missile defense," said George Mavko, Raytheon Missile Systems' Director of European Missile Defense. "Combined with Raytheon's decades of experience in ballistic missile defense interceptors, radars and space sensors, this partnership will provide Europe the best, most affordable missile defense protection."

Once awarded, the contract will call for a seven-year period of performance with an estimated value of 67.6 million Euros (US $91 million).

By John Liang
December 9, 2013 at 4:18 PM

The Army Science Board next month will review the results of a study on "Creating An Innovative Culture In The Army," according to a notice posted in this morning's Federal Register.

The "Winter Plenary Meeting" will take place at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio, TX, on Jan. 15, the notice reads.

The board will also "begin work on the [fiscal year 2014] study topics."

By John Liang
December 6, 2013 at 8:47 PM

A Pentagon expert on Afghanistan will be among those testifying at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing next week on U.S. operations in that Central Asian country in the coming year.

Michael Dumont, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia, along with James Dobbins from the State Department and Donald Sampler from the U.S. Agency for International Development, are scheduled to testify on Dec. 11.

Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) had this to say about the upcoming hearing:

2014 will be a year of major change for United States operations in Afghanistan as the Administration looks to shift from combat operations to an advise and assist role. A successful transition in Afghanistan is critical to combating terrorism. At this hearing, the Committee will hear from the senior leadership of the State Department, Department of Defense and USAID to discuss the pending Bilateral Security Agreement, upcoming presidential elections, and oversight of U.S. assistance programs, among other critical issues.

By John Liang
December 5, 2013 at 4:15 PM

Seventeen teams have qualified for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Robotics Challenge Trials, according to a recent DARPA statement.

The event will take place Dec. 20 and 21 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, FL, "where spectators can observe as the robots are tested on the capabilities that would enable them to provide assistance in future natural and man-made disasters," the statement reads.

"The DARPA Robotics Challenge was designed to catalyze the robotics community to help mitigate the effects of future disasters, so it is rewarding to see such diverse, international participation," DRC Program Manager Gill Pratt said in the statement. "DARPA structured the challenge to encourage participation by experts in hardware and software alike since both fields are necessary to provide a realistic baseline on the current state of robotics. The diversity of approaches we expect to see demonstrated at the DRC Trials will mark the beginning of an important transformation in robotics, and these approaches will be further refined going into the DRC Finals in 2014."

The 17 teams "will attempt to complete eight physical tasks based on actions a human first responder might have to take in a real disaster situation," according to DARPA. "The tasks, described on the DRC Trials website, will test the human operators and their robots in the areas of: autonomous perception, autonomous decision-making, mounted and dismounted mobility, dexterity and strength."

The statement further details the reasons behind the creation of the robotics challenge:

During the Fukushima nuclear meltdown, which drove creation of the DRC, the simple act of turning a valve and venting hydrogen in the reactor buildings might have prevented catastrophe. However, that single capability is not enough for an effective disaster response robot. Disasters are unpredictable in their manifestation and effects, so the type of robots DARPA envisions to aid in these situations must be adaptable. The DRC Trials tasks require robots to demonstrate that they can move from a sanctuary area to a danger zone and then work effectively once there. All eight of the tasks to be tested are deemed equally necessary.

During a pre-qualification round in November, teams had their robots complete three basic actions to demonstrate their safety and readiness to participate in the DRC Trials. The robots had to approach and climb over a small barrier, walk through an open doorway, and rotate a valve 360 degrees, in addition to demonstrating a complete emergency stop. The results provided an indication of what to expect during the trials: many of the robots will move slowly and quite deliberately through the tasks. Similar to a one-year-old child beginning to walk and interact with the world, there will be stumbles and falls. However, like the DARPA Grand Challenges events in 2004 and 2005 that first tested driverless vehicle technology, the DRC teams are expected to show extraordinary improvement in the year between the DRC Trials and DRC Finals.

By John Liang
December 4, 2013 at 7:55 PM

The Energy Department this week released a draft copy of its 2014-2018 strategic plan.

Part of the draft document pledges that the department will work on nuclear nonproliferation issues:

We also will advance the President's vision for reducing the levels of nuclear weapons in the world, strengthen nonproliferation efforts, and prevent nuclear terrorism. DOE must maintain a safe, secure, and reliable nuclear weapons stockpile in the absence of underground testing and manage the infrastructure for the research, development, and production activities needed to meet national security requirements. We will carry out our responsibilities in accordance with the Administration’s June 2013 Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan that lays out a comprehensive modernization plan to ensure that our nuclear arsenal remains an effective deterrent.

We will strengthen efforts to reduce the nuclear terrorism threat through measures to identify, control and eliminate nuclear explosive materials worldwide. We also will provide support for the Administration’s efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

We will address the legal and moral imperative of cleaning up legacy Cold War nuclear waste to protect human health and the environment. Great progress has been made but significant technical challenges remain, and we will implement an integrated, systematic, and comprehensive process to address these issues.

By Gabe Starosta
December 4, 2013 at 3:06 PM

The Air Force has a new space policy chief in the Pentagon.

The service announced yesterday that Troy Meink was appointed to the position of deputy under secretary for space on Nov. 18. The job entails directing the staff of the Defense Department's executive agent for space -- a role filled by the Air Force secretary -- and coordinating all kinds of space policy and strategy across the Air Force and the rest of DOD.

Meink's official bio shows that he spent the last five years working as the director of signals intelligence systems acquisition at the National Reconnaissance Office. As an overseer of the Air Force's space portfolio, his responsibilities will include some signals intelligence programs, but also a large number of communications, positioning and missile defense satellite constellations.

Earlier in his career, Meink managed the Transformational Satellite Communications System program, which was terminated as part of the fiscal year 2010 budget.

By Christopher J. Castelli
December 3, 2013 at 6:52 PM

The Pentagon's inspector general has launched a review of the Defense Department's use of unmanned aerial systems to support civil authorities.

The assessment will "determine whether DOD policies and procedures for using UASs and associated processing, exploitation, and dissemination resources comply with applicable laws, regulations and national policies for providing support to domestic civil authorities," according to a Nov. 6 memo from Deputy Inspector General for Intelligence and Special Program Assessments Anthony Thomas.

The IG's office will perform the evaluation at "Office of the Secretary of Defense elements, selected military services, combatant commands, defense intelligence components and other DOD organizations," the memo states.

According to DOD's 2013 Strategy for Homeland Defense and Defense Support of Civil Authorities, the Pentagon's mission of providing support to civil authorities entails maintaining defense preparedness for domestic incidents involving chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons and developing plans and procedures to deal with complex catastrophes. In the past, the report notes, DOD has deployed forces to aid law enforcement along the southwestern U.S. border, to safeguard summits and high-profile sports events, and to respond to imminent or sudden events such as wildfires, hurricanes and earthquakes.

By John Liang
December 3, 2013 at 5:31 PM

Last week, InsideDefense.com reported on a Pentagon war game regarding the Air-Sea Battle concept for countering emerging threats:

Participants in the Navy's latest annual global war game concluded that creating a new "joint force information dominance commander" position, or a similar organization, could help unify joint capabilities to counter foreign weapons designed to keep U.S. forces at bay, Naval War College Professor Don Marrin, who directed the war game, told InsideDefense.com in an interview.

The war game explored how to improve command and control systems that appear inadequate for the Defense Department's Air-Sea Battle concept, which aims to counter anti-access and area-denial  (A2AD) threats. The former -- long-range missiles, satellites and cyberattacks -- could prevent U.S. forces from entering an operational area. The latter -- precision-guided arms, land and naval mines and bomb-laden boats -- could limit actions by U.S. forces in an area. The war game used a fictitious adversary and geography, Marrin said. But it focused on the kind of threats DOD closely associates with China's military.

To address such threats, the armed services are striving to achieve unprecedented "cross-domain synergy" that integrates Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps forces across the air, cyber, sea, land and space domains without regard for which service provides the needed action or capability. Without better command and control, such threats might jeopardize the integration of maritime forces, global strike aircraft based in the United States, Marine Corps and light Army units, and space and cyber capabilities in future operations, Marrin said.

We now have a DOD summary of that war game:

Overview Of 2013 Global War Game On Air-Sea Battle

A November 2013 summary of the Navy's 2013 Global War Game on Air-Sea Battle, which examined command and control in an anti-access and area-denial environment.

By
December 3, 2013 at 3:44 PM

In a Nov. 6, 2013, memo, Deputy Inspector General for Intelligence and Special Program Assessments Anthony Thomas states the IG has launched a review of the Defense Department's use of unmanned aerial systems to support civil authorities.

DOD IG Memo On Review Of UAS Support Of Civil Authorities

By Lee Hudson
December 2, 2013 at 3:56 PM

The Navy has accepted from Lockheed Martin a second Mobile User Objective System satellite following the completion of on-orbit testing and three ground stations, the company said in a statement today.

MUOS-2 was launched on July 19 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL.

The system dramatically improves secure communications, delivering simultaneous and prioritized voice, video and data, according to Lockheed Martin.

“MUOS-2 benefits from continuous improvement. We completed our baseline on-orbit testing in half the time compared to MUOS-1,” Iris Bombelyn, vice president of narrowband communications for Lockheed, said in the statement.

The Naval Satellite Operations center will “soon” begin relocation operations to place MUOS-2 in its operational slot, where the satellite will undergo testing and evaluation, the statement adds.

By Christopher J. Castelli
November 27, 2013 at 2:59 PM

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera this morning to discuss the security situation in the East China Sea, Assistant Press Secretary Carl Woog said in a statement.

"Hagel conveyed that the announcement by the People's Republic of China establishing the 'East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone' is a potentially destabilizing unilateral action designed to change the status quo in the region, and raises the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation," said Woog.

Hagel commended the Japanese government for "exercising appropriate restraint" and assured Onodera that U.S. military operations will not in any way change as a result of China's announcement. Hagel noted that "recent routine and long-planned U.S. flight operations have already occurred as normal following the announcement," according to the statement.

Further, Hagel "reaffirmed longstanding U.S. policy that Article V of the Japan-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty applies to the Senkaku Islands, and pledged to consult closely with Japan on efforts to avoid unintended incidents," Woog said. Hagel also discussed with Onodera "continued progress" on steps to realign U.S. Forces in Japan and mitigate impacts on the people of Okinawa, stressing that "resolving remaining issues is a top priority of the Pentagon as part of our rebalance to Asia Pacific and goal of achieving a force posture that is more geographically distributed, operationally resilient, and politically sustainable," the statement adds.

By Sebastian Sprenger
November 26, 2013 at 3:04 PM

Times are tough all over the military -- except, maybe, at Ft. Riley, KS, where the Army last week ordered what many a professional pianist might consider the pinnacle of exquisite musical instruments: A Steinway & Sons Model B grand piano, which cost the service $88,000. ("Concert preparation" before delivery is to be included, according to the Army.) A spokesman for the installation told InsideDefense.com that the piano will be used during religious services inside a new chapel being built at Ft. Riley.

That's some church piano.

Two things jump out about the choice of instrument: It had to be Steinway, and it had to be new, which is somewhat rare for that class of pianos. An Oct. 28 solicitation published on the Federal Business Opportunities website lays out a list of requirements that were pretty much copied and pasted from the Model B description on the piano maker's website, with a few tweaks.

What might have gone into the Army's decision to spend almost $90,000 on a concert-pianist grade instrument for a chapel in Ft. Riley, KS, when the service is facing for some serious cuts -- not to mention government programs writ large? We were told to stand by for more information.

UPDATE 1:40 p.m.: Ft. Riley spokesman Monte Volk maintained that the Steinway purchase represents the "best value for the government." He said buying a used grand piano wasn't an option because Army acquisition regulations cannot account for buying anything that isn't new.

By John Liang
November 25, 2013 at 11:00 PM

The Congressional Research Service recently issued its latest report on military contacts between the United States and China.

The Nov. 20 report -- originally obtained by Secrecy News -- notes that the most recent contacts between the two countries' militaries include:

* September 9 Under Secretary of Defense for Policy James Miller held the 14th DCT in Beijing. A Deputy Chief of General Staff, LTG Wang Guanzhong, spoke against U.S. involvement as a "third party" in disputes in the East and South China Seas. They started exchanges on strategic planning. Miller called on the PRC to maintain and increase pressure for the DPRK’s denuclearization.

* September 24-October 1 Since the last such visit in 1998, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CSAF), General Mark Welsh III, Pacific Air Forces Commander, General Herbert Carlisle, Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs Heidi Grant, and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Cody visited Beijing, Nanyuan Air Base, Hangzhou, and Hong Kong. The delegation met with CMC Member and PLAAF Commander Ma Xiaotian, and CMC Vice Chairman Xu Qiliang.

* November 12-14 PLA soldiers held the first field exercise with the U.S. Army. U.S. Army Pacific, Hawaii National Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, and Marine Corps worked with the PLA on tactics, techniques, and procedures concerning HA/DR. The exercise took place on Oahu, Hawaii.

* November 10-14 Reciprocating PLAN Deputy Commander Zhang Yongyi's visit, Vice CNO, Admiral Mark Ferguson, visited Beijing and Zhoushan. He met with PLAN Commander Wu Shengli and Deputy Commander Xu Hongmeng. Met by Vice Admiral Su Zhiqian, the East Sea Fleet's Commander, Ferguson toured the destroyer Changchun, corvette Shangrao (at sea), and a Yuan-class submarine.

* November 18-21 Beijing MR Commander, LTG Zhang Shibo, visited the Pentagon at Washington, DC; Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD; and NORTHCOM at Colorado Springs, CO.

By John Liang
November 22, 2013 at 11:21 PM

A Navy autonomous underwater vehicle has set a new mission endurance record, the Naval Research Laboratory announced in a statement this week:

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL) Acoustics Division, with Bluefin Robotics, executed a record setting 507 kilometer (315 mile), long-endurance autonomy research mission using its heavyweight-class mine countermeasures autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), Reliant.

NRL's Reliant AUV, when equipped with a low frequency broadband (LFBB) sonar system, is perhaps best known as the prototype for the new U.S. Navy Knifefish mine-hunter.

Navigating from the waters of Boston Harbor, the 20 foot long, 1,350 pound, 'heavyweight' AUV traveled south past Cape Cod, headed west through Nantucket Sound between Martha's Vineyard and the mainland, and then continued south of Long Island to the approaches to New York City. The fully autonomous endurance mission was designed to push the boundaries of traditional AUVs with the objective to uncover the challenges and requirements for significantly extending AUV endurance for new applications.

To optimize for endurance and range, the vehicle traveled at a depth of 10 meters and an average speed of 2.5 knots through busy waterways and strong currents. The vehicle surfaced at 20-kilometer intervals to report position via Iridium satellite and made Upper New York Bay with a 10 percent energy reserve crediting a new high capacity energy section.

"This record multi-day research mission demonstrates the state-of-the-art autonomy methods and capabilities of the Reliant AUV," said Dr. Brian Houston, head, NRL Physical Acoustics Branch. "It is our first step in developing a robust autonomy paradigm for AUVs in long endurance scenarios."