In Testimony presented before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Seapower on April 6, 2006, John F. Schank of the RAND Corporation noted some work they had done with Britain’s Ministry of Defence regarding its naval industrial base, and made a number of recommendations based on those lessons:
“Demands on the U.S. naval shipbuilding industrial base have also been falling, resulting in concerns, for example, about the submarine design base. At the same time, the United States also faces a likely future increase in demand, as the Navy builds to a 313-ship fleet. Let me review some of the suggestions we made to the UK MOD in three respects – the need for long-range planning, ways to improve efficiency, and the need to sustain hard-to-replace resources – and then I will conclude with some possible implications for the United States.
The Headquarters 311th Human Systems Wing recently set up $6 billion worth of contracts associated with this endeavor. Solicitations began August 2005, negotiations were completed in April 2006, and work will be complete in April 2017. The contract details and winners are:
The “blogosphere” has experienced 6000% growth since 2003, played a role in both reporting and aid coordination in the wake of terror attacks and disasters, and even birthed a whole genre called “MilBlogs” that are often penned by soldiers in the field. Which may explain why the Defense Science Board will conduct a study this summer on the military implications of Internet search engines, online journals and blogs.
Kenneth Krieg, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics and a former Defense Science Board member, requested the study on “Information Management for Net-Centric Operations” to help evaluate the implications of the information network boom. “‘Googling’ and ‘blogging’ are making their way into military operations at all levels,” Krieg wrote. “But the full implications of this revolution are as yet unknown, and we have no clear direction and defined doctrine.” Krieg called access to information and collaboration among those who play a role in these missions “the lifeblood of military and civil-military operations.”
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in Philadelphia, PA received a maximum $5.25 million firm fixed price requirements contract for Zanamivir inhalation (Relenza) packages for the US Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. There were 2 proposals solicited and 2 responded. Date of performance completion is March 31, 2007. The contract was issued by the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA (SP0200-06-D-0001).
Zanamivir/ Relenza is a powder that is inhaled twice a day for five days from a breath-activated plastic device called a Diskhaler for treatment of influenza. The FDA says that to reduce the risk of getting influenza, Relenza is inhaled once daily for 10 to 28 days as prescribed by a healthcare provider. Relenza is not recommended for people with underlying respiratory disease such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Though it was introduced before Tamiflu, it has reportedly been all-but-abandoned in the market and is the subject of a $320 million lawsuit by its creator, Biota, against GlaxosmithKline.
Fresh from a January 2006 reorganization of its $30 billion Integrated Defense Systems business, Boeing announced that its Wichita plant faced a restructuring and 900 layoffs by the beginning of 2007, abpout 25% of its 3,600 person workforce there. Most will be management and management support employees.
As the official memo notes, the Wichita plant will focus the Wichita location’s future on being a center for 747 and wide-body modifications and upgrades, B-52 heavy bomber engineering, technical publications, and mission planning. Now that Boeing has just completed a 20-year contract to re-engine the KC-135 air tanker fleet, the program office and some KC-135 fleet support engineering work will move to Oklahoma City.
Mesnwhile, the unions are preparing a lobbying effort, and other opportunities may beckon…
General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp. in Groton, CT received a $10 million cost-plus-fixed-fee modification under a previously awarded Basic Ordering Agreement (N00024-05-G-4417) for execution of the Improved Los Angeles Class SSN attack sub USS Charlotte [SSN 766] depot modernization period, and the USS Georgia [SSBN 729] engineered refueling overhaul. Note that the USS Georgia’s overhaul is part of her conversion from an SSBN nuclear missile submarine to an SSGN stealth strike platform.
Work will take place in Norfolk, VA (99%) and Groton, CT (1%), and is expected to be complete by September 2006. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair in Groton, CT issued the modification.
The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA recently issued a pair of firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity type contracts for maintenance, repair, and operations services programs for the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia. Work will be performed in Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia; and of course at the contract winners’ facilities. There were 59 proposals solicited and 10 responded; the contracts will end on April 10, 2007. Winners included:
BMAR & Associates, LLC in Hopkinsville, KY won a maximum $100 million contract (SP0500-04-D-0307).
Elliott Lewis Corp. in Philadelphia, PA won a maximum $100 million contract (SP0500-04-D-0309).
