SAN DIEGO — Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest on April 14 awarded a $99.8 million task order for the design and construction of 25 new ordnance magazines and an inert storage facility at Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake,…
BAE Wins DARPA Contract to Develop Machine Learning Analytics
BURLINGTON, Mass. — BAE Systems was awarded a contract by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop machine learning analytics as a service — a first-of-its-kind, cloud-based model for the government, the company said in an April 21 release. …
Coast Guard Cutter Offloads 1,300 Pounds of Marijuana
MIAMI — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kathleen Moore crew offloaded about 1,300 pounds of marijuana, worth an estimated $1.1 million, on April 13, at Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, according to the Coast Guard’s 7th District. The drugs were interdicted by the Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane in the…
Special Operations Command Accepts Submersible with General Atomics LiFT Batteries
SAN DIEGO — General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced April 21 that the first Dry Combat Submersible (DCS) featuring its lithium-ion fault tolerant (LiFT) battery system as an energy source was accepted by the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). The DCS is a long-endurance delivery vehicle capable…
Second Unsafe Intercept by Russia Reported in U.S. 6th Fleet AOR
MEDITERRANEAN SEA — For the second time in four days, Russian pilots flew in an unsafe and unprofessional manner while intercepting a U.S. Navy P-8A maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft April 19 in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR), according to a release from the 6th Fleet. A P-8A…
Rite-Solutions Selected in $74 Million Undersea Weapon Systems Navy Contract
Middletown, R.I. — Rite-Solutions recently was selected as one of 17 companies that will participate in a five-year, $73.7 million contract to help the U.S. Navy develop future generations of its Undersea Weapons Family of Systems (FoS), the company said in…
Attack Submarine USS Vermont Commissioned
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy commissioned USS Vermont (SSN 792), the 19th Virginia-class attack submarine, on April 18, the Navy said in a release. Although the traditional public commissioning ceremony was canceled due to public health restrictions on large public gatherings, the Navy commissioned…
DOT Announces Nearly $20 Million in Funding to Small Shipyards
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) has awarded $19.6 million in discretionary grants to 24 small U.S. shipyards through the Small Shipyard Grant Program, according to an April 20 release from MARAD. The funding will help modernize America’s small shipyards, making them…
Navy Awards Ship-to-Shore Connector Contract to Textron
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy has awarded a contract for the fiscal year 2017-2020 procurement of ship to shore connector craft, the Navy’s Program Executive Office (PEO)–Ships said in an April 16 release. Ship to shore connectors are the evolutionary replacement for the existing fleet of landing craft air cushion (LCAC) vehicles and will primarily transport weapon…
Marine Corps Makes First Operational MQ-9A Flight in Middle East
SAN DIEGO — U.S. Marine Corps pilots and sensor operators from Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 (VMU-1) conducted their first operational flight of an MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aircraft system in the Middle East on March 20, according to an Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) release. …


