A Note From Our President & Founder Jim Garrettson
Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilsonâs remarks from Potomac Officers Club Space Summit
Air Force taps Orbital ATK for rocket motor tech IDIQ contract
Pratt & Whitney lands potential $2.7B Air Force contract for F117 engine sustainment
Northrop Grumman lands Air Force order to overhaul KC-10 engines
Air Force taps Colsa for C4ISR, cyber advisory services
DynCorp awarded $64m Air Force War Reserve Materiel support extension
On Wednesday Hon. Heather Wilson, the 24th Secretary of the U.S. Air Force, spoke at the Potomac Officers Clubâs Space: Innovations, Programs & Policies Summit as the headlining keynote speaker. Wilson provided valuable insight into the U.S. Air Forceâs perspective on current and future space capabilities and programs, the issues that the U.S. will need to take into consideration in order to remain a dominant space power, the importance of retaining U.S. space dominance, how the Air Force is partnering with industry to strengthen the nationâs space capabilities and more.
âThe reality is space is becoming a common domain for human endeavor,â Wilson said. âThere were different times in our history where this was predicted, but this is no longer just a prediction.â
Wilson stressed the importance of facing this reality and noted that the Air Force established theSpace Warfighting Construct to enhance the space architecture, guide the evolution of future space systems and programs, and alter how the Air Force utilizes its current capabilities against adversaries. The establishment of the Space Warfighting Construct was predicated on the belief that space will soon become a highly contested domain. As Wilson noted, âspace is, without a doubt, the domain we want to work in.â However, this will require that the U.S. be ready to respond to contention in space and capable of defending its assets.
Driving the point home, Wilson said that âour potential adversaries know how dependent we are on space. I canât think of a mission conducted by any of the military services that does not, in some way, connect with whatâs going on in space. Our adversaries know that, and as a result they have been developing technologies to deny us the use of space.â
The Air Force, according to Wilson, will need more resources and acquisition flexibility in order to meet the demands of joint operations in space. To address the potential demands of executing such joint operations, the Air Force established a Deputy Chief of Staff for Space and proposed a 20 percent increase for space-related endeavors in the Presidentâs budget for FY2018 to be used for new programs, combat and flight systems, and civilian hiring.
âIntegration of domains at high speed is absolutely vital to the success in future combat operations,â Wilson said. âSpeed and surprise â that is how we are going to win in future conflicts⦠We [will] need to be on both the offensive and defensive. Fighting and prevailing, ensuring unfettered access to space with our vital national interests, maintaining sustainability and making sure other countries understand that there will be a response in our ability to prevail in any conflict that ends up in space.â
Wilson closed by detailing the Air Forceâs main priorities for the future: restoring the readiness of the force, cost-effective modernization efforts, developing and growing talent and exceptional leaders, driving innovation and acknowledging allies, partners and the next-generation.
âWe need to inspire the next generation of talent and encourage them to blossom. We should be able to develop out talent as a new workforce â we all have a responsibility to inspire the next generation,â Wilson concluded.
In other Air Force related news, the service branch awarded a number of contracts since the beginning of October, with focuses ranging from rocket components and engine sustainment to C4ISR and cyber advisory services. Letâs take a look at the most significant Air Force contracts of the month.
On October 16th, the Defense Department announced that Orbital ATK received a five-year, $20 million contract to aid U.S. Air Force researchers advance solid rocket booster technology and address technical requirements for spacecraft, tactical and strategic propulsion systems. The ID/IQ contract provides a means for the Air Force Research Laboratoryâs aerospace systems and rocket propulsion division to develop solid rocket motor technologies.
The Defense Department announced on October 4th that Pratt & Whitney, a United TechnologiesCorp. subsidiary, had been awarded a potential five-year, $2.74 billion contract to assist the U.S. Air Force in sustaining F117 engines. The F117 engine powers Boeingâs Globemaster III aircraft, designed for military airlift missions. The DoD reported that the sole-source contract includes foreign military sales to Australia, Canada, India, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, U.K. and the Strategic Airlift Capability consortium.
On October 3rd, Northrop Grummanâs technical services business landed a potential $39.9 million delivery order from the Air Force to overhaul nine KC-10 aircraft engines. Funds from FY2018 have already been obligated by the Air Force for the KC-10 program support services, the Department of Defense reported. Work on the KC-10 engines will take place at McGuire Air Force Base, Travis Air Force Base and Tinker Air Force Base through March 2018.
The Department of Defense announced on October 2nd that Colsa had received a one-year, $56.2million contract modification to advise the Air Force on the command, computer, communications, control, intelligence and reconnaissance and cybersecurity areas. Colsa will provide technical and management advisory services as well as conducting additional acquisition, R&D, and test and evaluation support services under the contract modification. Work will take place at Air Force bases in California, Florida, Alabama, Massachusetts, Utah, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, and Illinois.
Another October 2nd contract was DynCorpâs $64.1 million contract modification to aid the Air Forceâs Central Command in managing its war reserve materiel assets. DynCorp will continue supporting the WRM program at South Carolinaâs Shaw Air Force Base and other locations in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. DynCorp has been a participant in the WRM program since 2000 and has provided human resources, contract, procurement, financial, facilities, quality, environmental, safety and health staffing management.
THIS WEEKâS TOP NEWS STORIES
Weekly Contract Awards This week’s top GovCon contract awards. SpaceX, Fluor, United Launch Alliance, Textron Systems, SAIC, Tyonek, AES, Zenetex Alliance, CGI Federal, Huntington Ingalls and many others.
James Mattis: DoDâs âThree Lines of Effortâ Seek to Maintain US Military Edge
Defense Secretary James Mattis has issued a memorandum that details the Defense Departmentâs âthree lines of effortâ that aim to maintain U.S. military superiority amid security threats posed by North Korea, Russia, China, Iran and the Islamic State militant organization.
CTO Yogesh Khanna Elevates to CSRA Senior VP Role
Yogesh Khanna, chief technology officer at CSRA, has been promoted to a senior vice president position at the Falls Church, Virginia-based government information technology services contractor.
CSRA Inks $235M Cash Deal for Praxis Engineering in Intell Market Push CSRA has agreed to purchase Annapolis Junction, Maryland-based Praxis Engineering Technologies for approximately $235 million in cash in a move to expand its capabilities in mission applications development and broaden its market presence in the intelligence community.
BWXT-Bechtel-Honeywell JV Wins $4.7B DOE Savannah River Site Liquid Waste Mgmt Contract
A joint venture of BWX Technologiesâ technical services group business, Honeywell International and Bechtel National has won a potential 10-year, $4.7 billion contract from the Energy Department to deliver liquid waste services for the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
The U.S. Space Force has announced its intention to erect a new field command: Space Futures Command. This wing of the service branch will scout, generate and assess cutting edge technologies and strategies that aid in the overall Space Force and Department of Defense missions. MeriTalk reported earlier this month that the command will feature three
By Chuck Brooks, President of Brooks Consulting International Protecting the frontier of space systems is unquestionably a security priority for governments and industry. Due to our increasing reliance on space, and particularly satellites, for communications, security, intelligence and business, satellite and space cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important in this new digital era. In recent years,
The Defense Information Systems Agency named 16 contractors that will provide the U.S. Space Force, defense organizations, other federal agencies and international allies with satellite-based services. Satellite communication services and capabilities could be procured from the vendors using the $900 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity award over five years, DISA said Friday. The Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Satellite-Based