Rapid Fire 10-26-11: Job Scenarios

• The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) commissioned a study [PDF] to measure the likely impact on US employment, were automatic cuts to be triggered by a lack of consensus from the Super Committee. The conveniently scary result is a loss of 1 million jobs, incl. about 300,000 in California, Virginia and Texas. This “sequestration” outcome seems unlikely, but few of the committee’s deliberations have been made public, and time is running short.

• Over in Mayport, FL, they’re worried about ship repair job losses, as the naval base stops hosting ships to maintain. The proposed aircraft carrier relocation won’t come in time.

• Got Fast Rope? The USAF is interested in a non-exclusive license to your solution.

$480M to GIS As Security Contractors to the USACE in Afghanistan

In October 2011, Global Integrated Security (USA), Inc. in Reston, VA won a 4-year, $480 million firm-fixed-price contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for Reconstruction Security Support Services throughout Afghanistan. Work will be performed in Afghanistan, with an estimated completion date of Oct 19/15. Five bids were solicited, with 5 bids received by the USACE office in Winchester, VA (W912ER-12-D-0001).

Global Integrated Security has performed RSSS work in Afghanistan before. A $34 million task order in December 2009 focused on Kabul and Kandahar, but a March 2010 contract [PDF] from the US Army Corps of Engineers saw them expand those services to encompass a National Operations Center providing intelligence and analysis, reconnaissance teams, interpreters, aviation services throughout Afghanistan; and “mobile security support services” to USACE personnel during travel to, and presence at, construction sites.

Rapid Fire 10-25-11: OMB Sides with SAC

• Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions (IS&GS) announced a voluntary layoff program to reduce its headcount by 250 in February 2012, out of a 30,000 total worldwide.

• Northrop Grumman to supply AQS-24A airborne mine-hunting system to Japan for their MCH-101 helicopters.

• The Begin-Saadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA) in Israel released a preliminary evaluation of the Iron Dome anti-rocket system. Uzi Rubin, the author of the report [PDF in Hebrew], thinks it’s too early to assess the full impact of the system, but says it did save lives.

• An F-15C Eagle from Nellis Air Force Base crashed in Nevada yesterday without making any casualty.

• US DoD deputy chief information officer Robert J. Carey claims rapid IT acquisition programs often fail to scale.

• Son of Stuxnet: meet Duqu, apparently an iteration of the cyberweapon used to penetrate Iran’s nuclear plants in the last couple of years.

• Pantex in Texas is dismantling the last 9,000-pound B-53 nuclear bombs.

• In a letter [PDF] sent to the US Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) Chairman last week, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) expresses its support for the version of the FY12 Appropriations bill approved by the SAC last month. The Senate still has to vote on the bill then go to conference with the House to agree on a common text for the bill.

• South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma appointed a Supreme Court of Appeal judge to probe the 1999 Strategic Defence Package (SDP).

• The US House Foreign Affairs Committee has a hearing today on the recent troop deployment in Central Africa. See video below: