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Tag: Department of Defense

HII taps former DOD chief of staff as EVP

Eric Chewning, who was chief of staff for two acting defense secretaries in the Trump White House, became Newport News-based Fortune 500 shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc.’s executive vice president of strategy and development on Monday.

Chewning will guide corporate strategy and identify opportunities for growth, cross-division collaboration and potential investment. He reports directly to HII President and CEO Chris Kastner.

“HII is an exceptional defense partner, with a storied 135-year history of providing essential capabilities for America’s and allied warfighters. … I am honored and excited to join this driven and committed leadership team,” Chewning said in a statement.

Chewning was most recently the Americas co-lead for McKinsey & Co.’s aerospace and defense practices. From 2017 to 2019, he served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for industrial policy, and from 2019 to 2020, he was chief of staff for Mark Esper and Patrick Shanahan, who were acting defense secretaries.

Chewning enlisted in the Army after 9/11 and is a former military intelligence officer and an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran. Before enlisting, Chewning was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, where he focused on corporate finance and global industrial sector mergers and acquisitions.

He has an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, as well as a master’s degree in international relations and a bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Chicago. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

HII is the country’s largest military shipbuilder, and its Newport News Shipbuilding division is the nation’s only manufacturer of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The company has 43,000 employees and posted $10.54 billion in annual revenue for fiscal 2022.

Reston contractor lands $235M extension for Iraq base support

A subsidiary of Reston-based federal contractor Acuity International LLC won a $235.6 million U.S. Air Force contract modification to provide base support and security services for the Iraq F-16 program, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.

The modification adds 12 months to the previously awarded contract, bringing the cumulative value of the contract to $360.78 million. The subsidiary, Sallyport Global Holdings Inc., will provide base operations and base life support in addition to security services at the Martyr Brigadier General Ali Flaih Air Base in Iraq. The contract involves foreign military sales to Iraq. Work is expected to be completed by Jan. 30, 2024.

Sallyport Global Holdings was a subsidiary of Reston-based Caliburn International, which in late 2021 split to form two companies — Acuity International, focusing on technology services, and Valiance Humanitarian LLC, which took the former firm’s migrant detention contracts.

Acuity has more than 3,300 employees in more than 30 countries. The company provides process- and technology-based medical, engineering and mission services and solutions to government and commercial clients.

Navy awards Boeing subsidiary $463M contract

Fairfax-based Argon ST Inc. has received a $463 million Navy contract to procure and produce sensor components for fielding in manned and unmanned aircraft, the Pentagon announced Friday.

Argon ST is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arlington-based aerospace contractor Boeing Co. Under the contract, Argon ST will procure various Multi-Intelligence Sensor Development (MISD) Sensor Suite components for use in aircraft. The company will also provide engineering support for the Navy, foreign cooperative partners and foreign military sales customers.

According to the Pentagon announcement, 75% of the work will be performed in Fairfax, with the remaining 25% taking place in Germantown, Maryland. Work is expected to be complete in January 2028.

In a February 2021 pre-solicitation notice, Naval Air Systems Command said that Argon ST is “the original designer, developer and manufacturer” of the MISD Low Band Sensor Suites used by the Navy and Army and determined that the company was the only one with the expertise to fulfill its needs.

Founded in 2001, Argon develops command, control communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) and combat systems to its clients. Boeing acquired the company, which is a division in the Boeing Defense, Space & Security unit, in August 2010.

Boeing has more than 140,000 employees worldwide. The company reported $62.2 billion in revenue in fiscal 2021.

HII lands $2.4B contract for Navy’s next amphibious warship

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc.’s Mississippi-based Ingalls Shipbuilding has received a $2.4 billion contract modification for the construction of the Navy’s fourth American-class amphibious assault ship (LHA 9), according to the Department of Defense.

The fixed-price incentive contract includes options that could bring the cumulative value of the contract to $3.2 billion if exercised. Work is expected to be complete by September 2029, though if all options are exercised, it will continue through March 2031, the defense department said.

Construction of LHA 9 is expected to begin in December. Ingalls received the original long-lead-time material contract for LHA 9 in April 2020.

“Ingalls shipbuilders are ready to build the Navy’s newest LHA,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson said in a statement. “We understand how important this work is, and consider it an honor to be given the opportunity to deliver this capability to the fleet. We value our partnership with the Navy and all of our critical supplier partners.”

Ingalls, a division of Newport News-based HII, has previously delivered 15 large-deck amphibious ships, including the Tarawa and Wasp classes. The first and second ships in the America class, the flagship USS America and USS Tripoli were commissioned by the Navy in 2014 and 2020, respectively. The third in the class, USS Bougainville, is currently under construction at Ingalls.

LHA 9 is expected to feature a larger flight deck configured to accommodate the F-23B Lightning II, the Marine Corps’ variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, and the MV-22 Osprey aircraft.

 

General Dynamics subsidiaries land new defense contracts

Subsidiaries of Reston-based Fortune 500 contractor General Dynamics Corp. have received multiple defense contracts in recent weeks totaling more than $1.6 billion with the potential for more.

On Thursday, the Pentagon announced that the company’s San Diego-based National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. received an $890 million modification to a contract for construction of the seventh and eighth ships in the Navy’s John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oilers. The contract includes an option for a third oiler that, if exercised, would bring the contract value to more than $1.6 billion. That same day, the Pentagon announced that the shipbuilder had also received a $535 million modification to another contract for construction of Expeditionary Sea Base 8, a flexible platform that supports a range of military operations, including deployment of forces and supplies. The awards add to another $600 million previously announced by the Pentagon in June for work on both programs.

Construction of the ships is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2023 and continue to 2027, General Dynamics’ NASSCO said in a news release Friday.

“NASSCO is committed to working together with the Navy to deliver these much needed ships to the fleet,” Dave Carver, president of General Dynamics NASSCO, said in a statement. “As partners with the Navy, we remain dedicated to ensuring the success of both of these programs to help enhance and expand the Navy’s forward presence and warfighting capabilities while providing sustained growth for our workforce.”

On Friday, Falls Church-based General Dynamics Information Technology Inc. announced it was awarded a $267 million contract to provide the Army National Guard with an integrated network operations center from which the contractor will operate, maintain and secure a ranging enterprise network in an unclassified and classified environment around the clock.

The network provides soldiers access to the internet and allows them to connect securely to databases and other networks, while allowing Army leadership access to tools for training, mission planning and execution. It is among the Department of Defense’s largest networks, with more than 124,000 users at 3,000 locations across the globe.

The award was made July 7 and includes a one-year base with three option years.

“This contract will advance the Army National Guard’s networking capabilities and enable its soldiers to be better connected and prepared in support of critical missions,” said Brian Sheridan, senior vice president for GDIT’s defense division. “As a long-time partner of the Army National Guard, we are looking forward to implementing innovative solutions to advance its mission readiness.”

General Dynamics Corp., an aerospace and defense contractor that employs more than 100,000 people worldwide, generated $38.5 billion in revenue in 2021.

Peraton lands $850M Pentagon contract

Herndon-based technology contractor Peraton will provide the Department of Defense with agile analytic platforms and data management solutions under a five year, $850 million contract, the company announced Wednesday.

“Peraton is proud to continue our longstanding relationship with the DoD supporting the modernization of its data management capabilities,” Tom Afferton, president of Peraton’s cyber mission sector, said in a statement. “We are excited and ready to meet the critical mission to effectively and efficiently sustain and evolve development and operations of U.S. intelligence systems.”

Peraton, which is owned by New York private equity firm Veritas Capital, is moving its headquarters from Herndon to Reston in September, It has 19,000 employees and 150 offices worldwide, and has been integrating Chantilly IT contractor Perspecta Inc. and Northrop Grumman Corp.’s federal IT and mission support services business since purchasing them for a combined $10.5 billion in 2021.

HII receives $826M defense contract

Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries will provide technology and other support to the Department of Defense under a $826 million contract.

According to a news release, HII’s McLean-based mission technologies division will also provide threat analysis and analytics support as well as operations integration and operational effects support. The work will support Defense Department service components, research labs, combatants commands, national intelligence agencies and organizations other than the military services that have manpower resources, such as the Defense Acquisition University, the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) and the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA).

The award has a ceiling of $826 million with a one-year base period and four one-year option periods.

“Advancing U.S. national security is HII’s highest priority,” said Andy Green, president of HII’s mission technologies division, in a statement. “We are proud to partner with the Department of Defense and its mission partners to deliver critical integrated technology services to counter and deter current and emerging global threats.”

Fortune 500 contractor HII is Virginia’s largest industrial employer with a workforce of more than 44,000 people, including Newport News Shipbuilding.

Northrop Grumman lands $338M helicopter avionics contract

Northrop Grumman has received a $338 million contract from the Navy for continued integration and development of the Marine Corps’ H-1 helicopter fleet’s avionics systems and weapons.

Under the contract, the Falls Church-based Fortune 500 aerospace, defense and technology contractor will research alternatives to and investigate and document new capabilities and anomalies of H-1 avionics and weapons; develop, integrate and test systems; and identify maintenance and equipment to support the systems, the Pentagon said in a July 1 announcement.

The H-1 fleet includes the AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom light attack helicopters. The H-1 fleet began using Northrop Grumman mission computers in 1997, according to Lindsay McEwen, vice president of navigation, targeting and survivability for Northrop Grumman. The contractor provides the digital cockpit and mission computer to the airframes, and recently integrated the Link 16 network, allowing crews to share data and communicate with other aircraft and users on military networks, as well as the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile.

Work is expected to be complete by June 2027. Funds under the award will be obligated as individual orders are made, the announcement said. The contract, which is cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price and cost reimbursable indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, was not competitively bid.

 

Northrop Grumman division lands $458M Navy contract

A division of Falls Church-based Northrop Grumman Corp. won a $458 million contract to support the Navy’s Columbia and Dreadnought Fleet Ballistic Missile Program, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Friday.

Under the cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, Northrop Grumman’s Marine Systems in Sunnyvale, California, will provide fiscal 2022 through 2026 shipyard field operations, program management, systems engineering, documentation, logistics and hardware production activities.

The Columbia class of ballistic missile submarines will include 12 submarines designed to replace the 14 Ohio-class submarines. Ballistic missile submarines provide a launch platform for intercontinental missiles.

Work is expected to be completed Nov. 30, 2027, and will primarily take place in California. About 4% of the work will be performed in Washington, about 3% in Florida, 0.8% in Maryland, 0.5% in Georgia and about 3% in the United Kingdom.

A Fortune 500 defense contractor, Northrop Grumman employs roughly 90,000 people worldwide and reported $35.67 billion in 2021 revenue. In March, the company won two contracts worth nearly $200 million for Navy projects.

Va. Tech to lead cybersecurity workforce initiative

Virginia Tech has received a $1.5 million award to lead an initiative that could help close a gap in the cybersecurity workforce.

The award, announced April 5, comes from the nonprofit Griffiss Institute, a New York-based STEM and defense technology incubator that runs the Department of Defense’s Virtual Institutes for Cyber and Electromagnetic Spectrum Research and Employ program, known as VICEROY. Under the award, Virginia Tech will partner with Old Dominion and Norfolk State universities to lead the Cybersecurity Research and Advanced Training of ROTC Students Virtual Institute, or CREATORS, to provide undergraduate and graduate students opportunities to learn about cybersecurity challenges and technology.

VICEROY originated from the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act and is intended to provide a pipeline of diverse graduates with cyber and electromagnetic skills who are ready to serve in those fields within the military or as civilians within the defense industrial base.

CREATORS will include summer internships and a year-long project that will start in the fall. Peter Beling, principal investigator on the project, said CREATORS will include about nine students per university and he hopes to spend the summer working with students to set up the project, which is still being developed.

“In the first semester, they’ll be sort of setting up and characterizing some kind of environment that might be subject to cyberattacks, like a collection of software defined radios,” Beling told Virginia Business. “Communication devices would be one example of it. It could be a classical kind of computer network that you might find in a business, or, in any kind of organization. In the second semester, they’ll focus on actually demonstrating attacks against the environment and defenses.”

The CREATORS institute builds on other advances Virginia Tech has made in cybersecurity education and research, including the launch of its National Security Institute last fall. In January, the university received a $2.8 million defense department grant to continue developing its Department of Defense Senior Military College Cyber Institute, which aims to equip undergraduates with skills and experience to join the cyber workforce.