General Dynamics Information Technology, Fairfax, Va., was competitively awarded a task order by the General Services Administration Federal Systems Integration and Management Center to be the single-service provider for consolidated information technology (IT) enterprise services and support for the National Defense University (NDU). The five-year contract has a potential value of $39.9 million, if all options are exercised. Under this contract, General Dynamics will deliver enterprise service desk, data center and application support services that enable NDU to more efficiently and effectively use IT resources throughout the enterprise with minimum service disruption. The company will provide reliable network availability, information assurance services, server administration and maintenance, systems engineering and network operation and maintenance to all five NDU colleges: Dwight D. Eisenhower School of National Security and Resource Strategy, National War College, Joint Forces Staff College, Information Resources Management College and the College of International Security Affairs.
DRS C3 and Aviation, Gaithersburg, Md., is being awarded a $8,222,300 firm-fixed-price contract for AN/SPS-67 (V)5 below-deck radar sets and an installation check-out kit for DDG 114, DDG 115 and DDG 116 . The radar set is a short range two dimensional, surface search/navigation radar system that provides highly accurate surface and limited low-flyer detection and tracking capabilities. The AN/SPS-67(V) provides C-Band radar navigation, station keeping/surface search functions, and a digital moving-target indicator.
TT Government Solutions, Piscataway, N.J., was awarded a $7,048,800 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the development of security technologies designed to provide the soldier with a secure mobile smart device for tactical use. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity.
Crew Training International Inc., Memphis, Tenn., is being awarded a $26,629,629 fixed price with cost-reimbursable line items for the MQ-1/MQ-9 contract aircrew training and courseware development for personnel is support of unmanned aircraft systems operations. The contracting activity is Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Va.
Exelis Systems Corp., Newport News, Va., is being awarded a $35,794,575 contract modification to provide air and surface surveillance capability in support of Department of Defense’s (DoD) Counterdrug Program and North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (NORAD) air sovereignty mission. The location of the performance is Yuma, Ariz.; Fort Huachuca, Ariz.; Deming, N.M.; Marfa, Texas; Eagle Pass, Texas; Rio Grande City, Texas; Cudjoe Key, Fla.; Lajas, Puerto Rico and Newport News, Va. The contracting activity is Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Va.
Raytheon Network Centric Systems, St. Petersburg, Fla., is being awarded a $20,334,000 not-to-exceed firm-fixed-price letter contract for Cooperative Engagement Capabilities (CEC) production during fiscal years 2012-2013. CEC is a sensor netting system that significantly improves battle force anti-air warfare capability by extracting and distributing sensor-derived information such that the superset of this data is available to all participating CEC units. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
Logos Technologies, Fairfax, Va., has been awarded $111.8 million by U.S. Naval Air Systems Command to develop an additional 22 Kestrel wide-area persistent surveillance systems to support U.S. forces in the field. The NAVAIR contract calls for the delivery of 20 Kestrel systems and spares, as well as two units for testing and upgrading. In addition, Logos Technologies will provide operational, logistical and analytical support on Kestrel through 2013. With its 360-degree field of view, Kestrel allows operators to simultaneously track and record multiple targets in medium-resolution over many kilometers. Kestrel can also cue full motion video (FMV) sensors for higher resolution imaging. Designed for use on a tethered blimp, the Kestrel surveillance system can scan a city-sized area, both day and night. This provides a heightened level of security for troops at forward operating bases. At the same time, Kestrel can be programmed for autonomous monitoring.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, Calif., was awarded a $102,588,732 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for the services in support of the Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft system. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity.
Since the U.S. General Services Administration scandal over a training conference in Las Vegas, reinforced by concerns regarding two expensive Department of Veterans Affairs conferences, fear has spread across government and industry that government-related conferences are now a thing of the past. This is just not the case—nor should it be.
If government leaders make bad decisions with respect to conferences—or other areas within their job scope—they should be held accountable. Controls should be in place to minimize future abuses. Organizations that support government in conferences that recommend or support such abuses similarly should be penalized.
The May 11, 2012, memo from the Office of Management and Budget applying controls to travel and conferences clearly had two objectives. The first was to direct a management approval process for all federal agencies to ensure consistent review of proposed travel and conferences, along with adherence to policies. The second was to achieve spending reductions of 30 percent in travel and conference costs from fiscal year 2010 levels. Implementing guidance from federal agencies has reinforced these objectives, directing the leadership at every level to focus conferences on mission needs and to ensure government requirements are met at these conferences in a cost-effective way.
GPS vulnerabilities could be addressed with upgraded long-range navigation.
In an instant, one million people in Tel Aviv are vaporized. Hamas, the terrorist extremist group backed by Iran, has detonated a dirty bomb—a conventional explosive with radioactive material—and is attacking Israel with long-range rockets. Concurrently, the U.S. Air Force loses all communication with its Navigation System Timing and Ranging Global Positioning System satellites. Intelligence reports indicate that Iran has launched multiple antisatellite missiles that have destroyed several navigation satellites, effectively disabling the Global Positioning System.
This is a fictional scenario, but it may not be that far-fetched. The U.S. military must take into account the vulnerabilities of its Navigation System Timing and Ranging (NAVSTAR) Global Positioning System (GPS) and invest in a land-based system that provides the same capabilities.
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