JLTV RFP Deadline Passed: Lockheed, American General and Oshkosh Now Wait

The deadline for USTACOM’s 4th and final iteration of its JLTV RFP for Low Rate Initial Production and Full Rate Production has passed, and all three prime contractors have submitted their proposals. The Firm Fixed Price contract should last 3 years of LRIP followed by 5 years at full rate. Pricing the years out will depend of whether Multiyear Procurement is approved by Congress.

Americas

• Computer Sciences Corp. saw revenues fall nine percent, blaming the downturn at least in part on an inability to recruit specialized talent needed to fulfill business already won.

• The U.S. Navy, Air Force and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency test launched a Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) from a B-1 bomber. The missile flew to several waypoints and was able to avoid an obstacle place between it and its target. The Navy stated that this third test of the LRASM indicates it has “transitioned from a DARPA demonstration to a formal, U.S. Navy program of record.” The B-1 will be the first platform to enable launching, to be followed by the Navy’s F/A-18.

Middle East

• Saudi Arabia awarded a $166 million contract to Gilbane Federal to design facilities needed to mondernize the kingdom’s F15 variants.

Asia

• While South Korea reportedly shrugged its shoulders and indicated it hadn’t been consulted after being warned by China that it wouldn’t be wise to deploy the American THAAD anti-missile system on the peninsula, the Pentagon isn’t bashful about confirming it has been in “constant discussions” with its South Korean ally.

• Russia’s deputy prime minister warned the country’s defense industry that after 2020 they should expect relatively little domestic purchasing or subsidy. The statement appears to be designed to impel executives to invest today’s revenues into technology and upgrades to make them sustainable after the current up-arming is over.

Today’s Video

• Lockheed released this video showing off its LRASM anti-ship missile capabilities, now in the news again after a test launch.

‘Fat Leonard’ Procurement Scandal Takes Down Three Rear Admirals

The Secretary of the Navy
issued letters of censure to three rear admirals – all of whom are retiring – for involvement in the “Fat Leonard” scandal that involved officers steering ships to particular port facilities in return for gifts and sexual favors. A review concluded that the three admirals improperly accepted gifts between 2006 and 2007 and that their improper familiarity with Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis “cultivated an unacceptable ethical climate within the respective commands.”

Rear Admirals Michael Miller, then a commander serving on the USS Ronald Reagan; Terry Kraft, CO of the same carrier; and David Pimpo, the Reagan’s supply officer, have all asked to retire. The Navy’s issuance of reprimands does not preclude criminal charges. Secretary Mabus promised to set up an ethical disciplinary process to follow up with Navy officers who are not charged criminally, or whose ethical lapses aren’t addressed directly in criminal proceedings. Navy officials previously indicated that the scandal will grow wider as leads are followed up.

Francis, proprietor of a Malaysian naval resupply and refit firm named Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd. pleaded guilty to various corruption charges, having been successfully lured to the U.S. in a San Diego hotel sting, and after finally losing the services of a bribed senior official in the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, who had previously been tipping him off. Francis’s firm aggressively sought Navy business, bribed officials for secret ship movement information and for favorable contracting decisions and overcharged for services. Allegations have been made as well that Francis was effective in changing the schedules and destinations for certain Navy deployments.

Francis has been cooperating in recent weeks, according to the Washington Post.

Francis has agreed to pay back $35 million in money made through the scheme, and awaits sentencing of up to 25 years in prison.

Navy captain Daniel Dusek pleaded guilty to giving Francis secret information in exchange for money, prostitution services and travel services around the Pacific. Dusek was relieved of his relatively new command of the Bonhomme Richard in 2013 when he was first suspected of involvement. Dusek is one of five navy officials to plead guilty, and the most senior so far.

He has admitted to, in at least one instance, to change the movements of a carrier and strike group to ensure that they stopped at Francis’s Port Klang facility in Malaysia.

A couple months before Dusek’s arrest, a former commander of the USS Mustin, Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz, was arrested for bribery, about the same time that Naval Criminal Investigative Service supervisory agent John Bertrand Beliveau II was arrested.

Misiewicz allegedly attempted reschedule port visits to include Francis’s firms facilities, adopting routes that included Sepangar, Malaysia, and Laem Chebang, Thailand.

Already, several mid-level officers have been found guilty, including one who pleaded guilty only last week.

In documents presented to the court using Francis’s own words, the scheme was designed to “drive the big decks into our fat revenue” facilities.