The extension was awarded Nov. 9 to incumbent provider Perspecta, which after a merger holds the contract originally awarded to HP Enterprise Services.

The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract has a maximum value of nearly $486 million dollars, and adds a new option period that will extend the potential ordering period by eight months from Oct. 1, 2019, through May 31, 2020.

In early September, Perspecta was awarded as similar contract worth $787 million that added an option period extending the potential ordering period by 12 months from October 1, 2018, through September 30, 2019. Work on the contract will be performed in the United States, Europe, Guam, Korea and Japan.

Under the NGEN contract, Perspecta operates the Navy Marine Corps Intranet and provides IT and network security services for the Navy and the Marine Corps. The Navy is preparing for a broad effort to modernize and improve IT services, and has been working toward issuing Next Generation Enterprise Network Re-compete (NGEN-R) contracts.

The NGEN-R contract is divided into two segments: an end user hardware (EUHW) segment, and a service management, integration and transport (SMIT) segment. The EUHW segment focuses on hardware as a service and hardware for purchase, such as cellphones, laptops and tablets. SMIT prioritizes network services such as system integration, software core build services and computer network defense.

The Navy issued requests for proposals for the EUHW segment on September 18, though RFPs were originally expected over the summer. The deadline for proposals is November 19.

The latest extension to the NGEN contract, designed to give the Navy more flexibility in cloud and IT buying, follows a late September announcement on a separate Navy cloud procurement. The Navy awarded CSRA LLC, a General Dynamics Information Technology company, a blanket purchase agreement for commercial cloud services. The one-year base agreement comes with four additional one-year options which, if exercised, total nearly $96 million.

According to the Project on Government Oversight report, there were “645 instances of the top 20 defense contractors in fiscal year 2016 hiring former senior government officials, military officers, members of Congress, and senior legislative staff as lobbyists, board members, or senior executives in 2018.” Of the Defense Department officials that moved to the private sector, a quarter of them (95) went to work for the top five American defense contractors (Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman).

Of the defense companies on this year’s Defense News Top 100 list, the top six (Lockheed, Raytheon, BAE Systems, Northrop, Boeing and General Dynamics) have 338 instances total in which senior government officials were hired as executives, directors or lobbyists, according to POGO’s database. It’s important to note that because some lobbyists work for multiple defense contractors, there are more instances than officials.

A leading concern is that former officials who join defense contractors will use their influence to win contracts from the services or agencies they recently led.

The POGO report cites retired Maj. Gen. Mike Boera, former U.S. Air Force director of programs in the office of the deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs, as one example. Boera joined Raytheon in 2015 as the executive of its intelligence, information and services division, which covers some of Raytheon’s cyber, command and control, mission support, training and services, sensors, and imaging business. That year, the Air Force awarded Raytheon $2.9 billion in contracts. (Boera joined Leidos in June 2018 as the vice president of Air Force strategic accounts where he is “responsible for strengthening and advancing trusted relationships with the United States Air Force with the objective of increased revenue and growth in Air Force business,” according to his LinkedIn account.)

This is not to say the reason Raytheon won these contracts was because of Boera’s former position, but critics argue that being unable to confirm that as fact is a problem.

Mandy Smithberger, the director of POGO’s Center for Defense Information and author of the report, said part of the problem of defense officials moving into industry leadership positions is that “the revolving door is corrosive and breeds cynicism around the decisions made at the Pentagon. Over our history we’ve repeatedly heard from whistleblowers and members of the military who complain this breeds a culture where government officials are subservient to contractors and people who question costs or performance are told to stop rocking the boat lest they be retaliated against professionally.”

Smithberger believes the leadership and management skills former officials bring to the table are not why they are hired. “It’s for their connections and influence,” she said.

So, how can former government officials avoid conflicts of interest when joining industry?

“Start with a blanket two-year cooling off period, and simplifying the laws to really reflect how to best protect the public interest. Some of the people we reached out to for comment, but weren’t willing to go on the record, said their companies interpreted restrictions that were placed on them much more broadly than the government did because they wanted to avoid even the appearance of a conflict,” Smithberger said. “The laws also need to be updated to reflect how influence really works, and how it’s much broader than what requires one to register as a lobbyist.”

The total Military Intelligence Program, or MIP, budget for fiscal 2018, including the base budget and Overseas Contingency Operations appropriations, was $22.1 billion. This is above the $20.7 billion the Pentagon requested for FY18 and the $21.2 billion requested for FY19.

According to a Congressional Research Service report, MIP funds “defense intelligence activities intended to support operational and tactical level intelligence priorities supporting defense operations.” Among other uses, these dollars can be spent to facilitate the dissemination of information that relates to a foreign country or political group, and covert or clandestine activities against political and military groups or individuals.

CRS also listed MIP funding going to U.S. Special Operations Command as it pursues “several current acquisition efforts focused on outfitting aircraft — both manned and unmanned, fixed and rotary wing — with advanced ISR and data storage capabilities that will work in multiple environments.”

In the early part of the decade, the MIP dropped from a high of $27 billion in FY10, hitting its low point in FY15 at $16.6 billion, according to numbers maintained by the analytics group Avascent.

Fiscal 2018′s $22.1 billion appropriation is the most MIP has been granted since fiscal 2012.

This funding is separate from the National Intelligence Program, or NIP, which funds both defense and nondefense intelligence programs. In FY18, NIP was appropriated $57.7 billion. According to CRS numbers, this is the most money the program has ever been given. The program’s previous peak was in FY11, when it was given $54.6 billion. The government has requested $59.9 billion for FY19.

On the defense side, some of the programs NIP supports include the National Geospatial-Intelligence Program, the National Reconnaissance Program, and the Defense Intelligence Agency’s General Defense Intelligence Program.

On the nondefense side, these dollars fund CIA human intelligence and open-source intelligence programs, Department of Energy counterintelligence operations against nuclear-related terrorist activities, and Department of Homeland Security analysts and collection activities to combat the smuggling of weapons and drugs.

In total, intelligence programs were appropriated $78.4 billion in FY18, accounting for approximately 11 percent of the total defense budget.

The value of 2018 industry deals to date is $30.3 billion, nearly half the value at the same time last year, but still 48 percent above the $21.3 billion, 10-year annual deal average, the PwC report said.

Deal volume and average deal size are both down from this time last year, 18 and 41 percent respectively, to 290 deals, averaging $197.1 million. Some of this disparity can be accounted for by the lack of a monster, blockbuster deal like United Technologies Corporation’s acquisition of Rockwell Collins for $30 billion last September.

Unlike last year’s four “Megadeals” ($5 billion-plus), only General Dynamics’ acquisition of CSRA qualifies so far in 2018.

Despite the lack of any high-value transactions in the third quarter, one notable move is Boeing’s announced agreement to acquire 80 percent of Embraer’s commercial business for $3.8 billion, the PwC report emphasized.

The report noted that a higher focus on information technology infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud computing and C4ISR is pushing a number of nontraditional and financial buyers to target diversified IT service organizations.

The report attributes decreased merger and acquisition activity in the sector to “a slowdown in new orders for aerospace [original equipment manufacturers] and the absence of a significant number of large transactions.” This relatively tame level of activity may be expected to increase as industry becomes “driven by an increased focus on emerging technologies, intensified competition and [a] rise in government spending to modernize the IT infrastructure,” said Bob Long, U.S. aerospace and defense deals leader for PwC.

Regional trends remained consistent with previous years’ activity, with North America-based firms remaining the most active acquirer. In the last quarter, companies there contribute 80 percent of deal value and 31 percent of deal volume, the report said. The report also identified the Asia-Pacific region as an important area in future commercial aerospace transactions due to fleet expansion and continued capital inflows to aircraft leasing.

According to the Defense News Top 100, the two companies combined total revenue in the civilian sector for fiscal year 2017 was $3.67 billion.

One of the biggest customers Harris CEO Bill Brown hopes to hold on to is the Federal Aviation Association. The FAA, “probably, outside of the [Department of Defense] broadly, is our biggest single customer,” Brown said.

“We do the [FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure] system, a number of next-gen programs.”

Brown identified NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as other important customers the company plans to keep working with.

L3 CEO Chris Kubasik, who appears to be on the verge of achieving his goal to make L3 the “sixth prime,” noted that much of the work Harris does with the FAA overlaps with what L3 has done with the Coast Guard.

“I kind of like having the FAA business, the security and protection business, commercial pilot training — they’re all in the same market to try and solve the same challenges with the synergies there,” Kubasik said.

Brown noted Kubasik’s work in the commercial aviation and security sector and said the two will “evaluate how synergistic they happen to be, but we’ve got a very strong position with the FAA, which we plan to continue that over time.”

The contract could run as long as 10 years and has a maximum value of $17.5 billion.

The ENCORE III small business set-aside suite makes 20 small companies eligible to compete for contracts to provide services in 19 performance areas. Those areas range from requirements analysis to cloud professional services and enterprise IT policy planning.

“One of the key advantages of leveraging the ENCORE III vehicle is that mission partners are able to team with us to determine the best acquisition strategy for their task,” Steve Francoeur, ENCORE III contracting officer, said in a press release. “Together, we are able to determine whether a best-value-trade-off or lowest price technically acceptable approach fits the mission requirement.”

The announcement follows DISA’s award of the ENCORE III full and open large business suite in March when another 20 businesses became eligible for task orders on the contract.

The agents — in possession of radiation detectors and small amounts of the radioactive materials needed to calibrate the devices — traveled from the national lab to San Antonio, Texas, in order to secure additional nuclear materials from a nonprofit research lab to be returned to Idaho.

As first reported by the San Antonio Express, the DoE agents made a critical error, stopping at a Marriott hotel located in a high-crime neighborhood for the night. Rather than take the nuclear equipment with them, the agents left the sensors and small samples unconcealed on the back seat of their rented Ford Expedition. In the morning, the back window of the vehicle had been broken and the sensitive material stolen.

San Antonio police were shocked the experts handled the material and technology so carelessly. The agents “should have never left a sensitive instrument like this unattended in a vehicle,” said Carlos Ortiz, a spokesman for the San Antonio Police Department.

Ortiz said the department closed an investigation of the robbery because one of the Idaho National Laborartory specialists informed them “that it wasn’t an important or dangerous amount” of plutonium. The spokeswoman for the national lab, Sarah Neumann, explained that, although the lab took the case very seriously, “[t]here is little or no danger from these sources being in the public domain.” Over a year since the theft, neither the plutonium nor cesium has been recovered.

While it’s shocking that the material was handled so carelessly, the loss of nuclear material is nothing new for the United States. According to a 2015 government watchdog report cited by the San Antonio Express, the Department of Enegery had never produced a comphrehensive inventory of the location and quanity of the U.S.’s plutonium loaned to other nations and 11 foreign sites with U.S-produced highly enriched uranium, suitable for use in a weapon, had not been visited by U.S. inspectors in over 20 years.

During the rapid production of nuclear material during the Cold War, approximately 6 tons of nuclear material was declared unaccounted for by the U.S. government. However, most of this material is thought to have been trapped in factory pipes, filters and machines, or improperly tracked in paperwork.

The former Army infantry officer will manage the company’s development and delivery of technology platforms to the Department of Defense, branches of the intelligence community and the Department of Veterans Affairs, among other clients.

“We welcome George to the Accenture Federal Services defense team, where his significant experience will help us accelerate projects for the Department of Defense and other clients across the federal government,” said John Goodman, chief executive of Accenture Federal Services.

“As the DoD prepares to modernize its IT systems and rapidly deploy innovative solutions that reduce costs and increase efficiency, George’s expertise will help our clients find the right solutions for their most complex challenges and meet the needs of servicemembers, veterans and their families,” Goodman added.

Batsakis has worked in the defense industry for more than 25 years and said he hopes to use his experience to propel the company forward.

“I’m excited to join the Accenture Federal Services team, as throughout my career I’ve learned the value of bringing together diverse and innovative teams to develop and implement new analytic and operational approaches to solve clients’ toughest problems,” he said. “I look forward to continuing the work to help the government take advantage of new technologies and services that secure vital military and intelligence networks and IT infrastructure, transform capabilities, and drive short- and long-term operational improvements.”

WASHINGTON ― U.S. Navy pilots from Carrier Air Wing One, placed aboard the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman, are conducting integrated flight operations with French Naval Aviation aircraft this week.

Designed to increase readiness, demonstrate systems and mission interoperability, and strengthen NATO, the exercise tests pilots by practicing air warfare and strike techniques. Aircraft taking part in the exercise include the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornet and E-2D Hawkeye as well as France’s Dassault Rafale M fighters.

“France is our oldest ally and a vital partner in ensuring security and stability in the region and across the globe,” said Rear Adm. Gene Black, the commander of Carrier Strike Group 8. “The opportunity to integrate with French Naval Aviation helps us enhance our interoperability as we work to achieve common objectives.”

During the exercise, flight operations were conducted over France and in French and international waters in the Bay of Biscay.

“When we operate together we’re stronger than just the sum of our parts, and this training continues our investment in that cooperation,” Black said.

WASHINGTON ― Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army crossed the Atlantic Ocean to participate in the Swift Response 18 exercise to demonstrate the unit’s readiness and global response capability.

The unit took off on a 7,000-kilometer, nonstop flight from its home base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Lithuania and Latvia on June 8.

During the flight, a C-17 Globemaster aircraft completed one aerial fueling, before members of the 82nd and British Army paratroopers assigned to the 3rd Regiment Parachute Battalion descended on the drop zones in Rukla, Lithuania, and Ādaži, Latvia.

Airborne forces from nine nations participated in the exercise, including Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“By working with our NATO allies and partner nations, we are able to maintain and strengthen our interoperability,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Scott Pence, the commander in charge of the jump near Rukla. “Every time we do an exercises like this and work with the Lithuanians, the Polish or Latvians, we are able to test our communication systems, our signals, and also our battle tactics, techniques and procedures.”

After reaching the ground, the soldiers simulated securing an airfield, with Lithuanian soldiers playing the opposition force.

“This is the whole purpose of our training: to show our allies our readiness and show our command we are ready to go anytime, anywhere,” said Pvt. Daniel Guevara, a paratrooper assigned to 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.