Boeing Awarded $45M for 56 Upgraded A/MH-6 Airframe Structures

Pentagon Contract Announcement

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued Nov 26, 2018)
 

    

The Boeing Co., Mesa, Arizona, was awarded a $100,000 minimum, $45,000,000 maximum indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract (H92241-19-D-0001) for 56 upgraded primary airframe structures for the A/MH-6 rotary wing aircraft.  
Fiscal 2018 procurement funds in the amount of $5,173,400 shall be obligated at the time of award. The majority of the work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona. This contract is a non-competitive award and is in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302.1.  
U.S. Special Operations Command, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity.
-ends-
Source: http://www.defense-aerospace.com
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Boeing Awarded $45M for 56 Upgraded A/MH-6 Airframe Structures

Our Bureau | 01:11 AM, November 27, 2018

Boeing was awarded a maximum of $45 million contract for 56 upgraded primary airframe structures for the A/MH-6 rotary wing aircraft.
Fiscal 2018 procurement funds in the amount of $5,173,400 shall be obligated at the time of award. The majority of the work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona, the United States department of defense said in a statement Monday.
This contract is a non-competitive award and is in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302.1. US Special Operations Command, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity.
Source: http://www.defenseworld.net/news 
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MH-6M / AH-6M Little Bird Helicopter

The AH-6M / MH-6M 'Little Bird' are light attack/assault helicopters operated by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Night Stalkers). Both the AH-6M and MH-6M are based around a civilian airframe (MD530F), with extensive modifications in terms of avionics and provisions for the mounting of specialized equipment and weapons systems.

A MH-6M pictured in-flight, carrying Rangers strapped to benches along the fuselage.

photo courtesy US Army

AH-6/MH-6 - Crew

Although Little Birds can be crewed by just one pilot, it's more common that they are crewed by 2 Night Stalkers i.e. a Pilot and Co-pilot.

AH-6M Features

Based around the MD530 airframe, the AH-6M gunship features lightweight pylons for the loading over a number of weapons systems including:

• M134 miniguns
• M260 FFAR rocket pods
• AGM-114 Hellfire laser-guided anti-tank missiles
• GAU-19 .50 cal 3-barrel gatling guns

For target acquisition, the AH-6M's AN/ZSQ-3 (V2 Attack) FLIR sensor features a laser range finder and target designator via which the AGM-114 Hellfire missiles can be targeted.

AH-6M light attack helicopter armed with (left to right) M260 FFAR rocket pod, M134 7.62 minigun and GAU-19 .50 cal gatling gun.

U.S. Marine Corps photograph by SSgt. Artur Shvartsberg, MAWTS-1 COMCAM/Released

MH-6M Features

The MH-6M is configured for the insertion and extraction of special operations forces and can be configured with specialized equipment for this task:

• external personnel pods (EPS)
  fold-down benches fitted each side of the fuselage which each can hold 2-3 men
• fast rope insertion / extraction (FRIES) gear
• racks for carrying motorcycles (up to 2)
• winch / hoist system

Rangers deploy from MH-6M via fast-rope. The FRIES gear features a bolt-on frame to which the set of ropes are attached. A manual quick-release mechanism drops the ropes to the ground once the fast-rope insertion is complete.

U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Gabriel Segura

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Source: http://www.americanspecialops.com/night-stalkers/helicopters/little-birds.php 

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RELATED CONTENT:

Congress Concerned About AH/MH-6 Little Bird’s Future

SOCOM to continue upgrades while looking for replacement around 2030

By Chuck Oldham (Editor) - June 12, 2015 

https://www.defensemedianetwork.com 

As Congress wrangles over the National Defense Authorization Act, which President Barack Obama has threatened to veto, one of the provisions remaining is a directive to the Secretary of Defense to lay out the way forward for U.S. Special Operations Command’s AH/MH-6 Little Bird fleet. . .

John M. Vannoy, SOCOM’s Program Executive Officer (PEO) for Rotary Wing, said at the recent Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC), that in the near to medium term SOCOM will continue to upgrade the fleet of 51 AH/MH-6 Little Birds rather than replacing it.

Little Birds drop USASOC soldiers on a rooftop during a Capabilities Exercise in April 2012. The Little Bird has been incrementally improved over the years. USASOC photo

“They’re in a critical design review [CDR] for the Block 3 aircraft now, and that in fact will not replace, but will refresh that fleet, provide some more capability, but also provide some legs, life into that fleet to stretch us out into the 2020s,” Vannoy said.
“All 51 … will have a new structure airframe; we’ll balk more performance out of the Rolls-Royce engine; we’ll throw in a new cockpit that will look very similar to a smaller lighter version of our Rockwell CASS cockpits in the rest of our aircraft… ,” he said, adding that this was “both an approach to sustain this further out to the 2020-2030 time frame – where you see that MLBX, whatever it may be, what’s next – to sustain it, but also give us more capability.”
The AH/MH-6 fleet has been used by the 160^th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (160^th SOAR) since it began operations under a different designation in 1980.

 

SPECIAL MESA CITY COUNCIL MEETING Mon 26 Nov 2018

Readers of this blog might notice that the Agenda is the first focus of this post, instead of the usual image of the current elected members on the Mesa City Council. 
This meeting is SPECIAL in a number of ways: 2 items that are quickly dispatched and approved in about three minutes.
First of all there is a Resolution (a detailed 12-page document) Canvassing, declaring, and adopting the results of the General Election, consolidated with the Statewide General Election, held on November 6, 2018. Official Results
The second Item is an Ordinance Amending Article IV and Article VI of the Mesa City Code Title 5, Chapter 10 (Privilege and Excise Taxes) by increasing the rate of taxation in certain sections from one and three-fourths percent (1.75%) to two percent (2.00%) beginning on March 1, 2019. (Citywide) The Amendment is a codification of the tax rate increase approved by the qualified electors of Mesa under Question Two at the November 6, 2018 general election.
QUESTION 2 – CITY TRANSACTION PRIVILEGE (SALES) TAX 
YES 78,500   NO 69,732 
Please notice the high number of Under Votes on Mesa-Question 2 in the 83 Precincts
12535 Under Votes: Over Votes: 128 
The YES votes were 52.9%
The NO votes were 47.04% 
(The Precinct Canvass figures are on Page 5 of the Resolution)
Printed: Tuesday, November 20, 2018 2:33 PM 
Precinct Canvass November 6, 2018
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FINAL OFFICIAL RESULTS: Mesa City Council District 4Only 454 Votes separated the Winner from the Loser
2791Under Votes | Over Votes:27
BROWN, JAKE 5,005 47.54%
Mr. Brown was endorsed by The Mesa Chamber of Commerce and two other Councilmembers: Mark Freeman and Chris Glover
DUFF, JEN 5,459 51.86%
Ms. Duff has some challenges to do consensus-building when there's a split in the voting precincts and her small vote margin.
Write-In Candidate 63  0.60%
Total Ballot Cast ... 10,527 (100.00%)

13 PRECINCT CANVASS:
> Jake Brown got more votes in
Ellsworth Park, McAfee Place, Mesa Grand, Mesa Linda, Palm Gardens, and Reed Park
> Jennifer Duff raked-in her highest vote counts in:
Kleinman (1042 to 687)  +355
Heritage (746 to 601)     +145
Guerrero (639 to 443)     +196
Centennial (504 to 390)   +114
Penny Lane (275 to 195)
Clover (255 to 247)
Oak Park (205 to 170) _________________________________________________________________________

Meeting Name:

City Council

Agenda status:

Final

Meeting date/time:

11/26/2018 9:30 AM

Minutes status:

Draft

Meeting location:

Council Chambers - Lower Level Special Council Meeting

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ile #: 18-1332    Type: Ordinance Status: Agenda Ready In control: City Council On agenda: 11/26/2018 Title: Amending Article IV and Article VI of the Mesa City Code Title 5, Chapter 10 (Privilege and Excise Taxes) by increasing the rate of taxation in certain sections from one and three-fourths percent (1.75%) to two percent (2.00%) beginning on March 1, 2019. (Citywide) The Amendment is a codification of the tax rate increase approved by the qualified electors of Mesa under Question Two at the November 6, 2018 general election. The funds raised by the tax rate increase will be used solely for the purpose of funding Mesa Police and Mesa Fire and Medical services, personnel, equipment, training, and related costs. Attachments: 1. Ordinance

_________________________________________________________________________________      18-1317 1-a Resolution Canvassing, declaring, and adopting the results of the General Election, consolidated with the Statewide General Election, held on November 6, 2018.       18-1332 2-b Ordinance Amending Article IV and Article VI of the Mesa City Code Title 5, Chapter 10 (Privilege and Excise Taxes) by increasing the rate of taxation in certain sections from one and three-fourths percent (1.75%) to two percent (2.00%) beginning on March 1, 2019. (Citywide) The Amendment is a codification of the tax rate increase approved by the qualified electors of Mesa under Question Two at the November 6, 2018 general election. The funds raised by the tax rate increase will be used solely for the purpose of funding Mesa Police and Mesa Fire and Medical services, personnel, equipment, training, and related costs.        _________________________________________________________________________________ UPLOAD OF STREAMING VIDEO FROM YOUTUBE: Published: Nov 26 2018 Views: 12

AMERICA IS NO MATCH FOR CHINA'S NEW SPACE DRONES || WARTHOG 2018

Published on Nov 26, 2018

This video is made under fair use policy, also this material is made from public published domain for people with hearing and seeing disability
America's drone industry now has some real competitors.
by Eugene K. Chowhttps://nationalinterest.org/blog/the...

Warthog Defense members are sharing stories, insider tips, news from the front lines, and unique slices of military life including the tough stuff of war.
Warthog Defense provides headline news and technology updates since our community answers the call and makes news. We also cover the rest of the military experience —and in our military equipment guide we present what makes the military unique (and fun).

Will Downtown Mesa Be All-A-Buzz Tonight?

Not too many creatures of-any-kind were stirring or seen on Main Street just this afternoon in our Zombie Retail universe of Make-Believe Dreams and Schemes of Things for the Massive Make-Over and Transformation of Downtown. The trunks of the trees on the sidewalks were all strung with lights, hoping that shoppers would soon arrive for the revival of Merry Main Street. But what to my wondering eyes would soon appear from Holidays past in a set-up at the intersection of Macdonald & Main while visions of Sugar-Plum Fairies danced through my head?  
A fake Holiday Tree imported from China with astroturf carpet all-around. And 21 tents ready for a bazaar bonanza.

Now really how good can it get on a clear day here in the Great State of Arizona with blue skies and lots of sunshine all around?   (Just add people. Make downtown a destination)
You can imagine all the tents filled with jolly vendors offering their marketplace goodies to one and all. It probably won't be that 24/7 round-the-clock activity that makes downtown feel vibrant and exciting, but at least for the holidays it might a gap. It's a special  once-a-year added spectacular Pop-Up Event that attracts thousands to our downtown area that's been neglected for more than 40 years. There's free parking too - more than 5,000 spaces asking to be filled. There could even be some spill-over traffic to the year-round brick-and-mortar retail shops on Main Street: it's an antique shopper's paradise
Downtown is about as merry as you want to make it  . . .
The good news on the bright side of Black Friday: there are no crowds standing-in-line waiting to shop in all the brick-and-mortar stores on Main Street!
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Then again we always somehow manage to attract bikers!



That's usually First Fridays, better known as Bike Night.






For more information, hit up the city's official website > mesaaz.gov

Happy Holidays to one and all!

 

Closing The Border and Using Lethal Force

".. . Next week, Congress returns for its post-election “lame duck” session in which a top priority will be to authorize full fiscal 2019 spending plans for several agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service and the National Park Service. Temporary funding for the agencies expires Dec. 7. Congress already approved full-year spending for most of the U.S. government, meaning any shutdown would be limited.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to veto spending bills if Congress continues to refuse to fund the wall, and with Democrats poised to take over the House in January, the president could force the issue in the lame-duck session.
- From https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles
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POLITICS                                        

Trump Says He Closed Mexican Border and Authorized Lethal Force

By Toluse Olorunnipa     ‎November‎ ‎22‎, ‎2018‎ ‎10‎:‎20‎ ‎AM    

resident says ‘nobody’ will enter the U.S. illegally            

President says he signed order on border closing two days ago

"President Donald Trump said Thursday that he’s signed an order to close the U.S. border with Mexico, adding that he’s authorized troops to use lethal force against migrants who attempt to enter the U.S.

“If they have to,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, claiming without evidence that at least 500 criminals are among migrants trying to enter the U.S. “So I’m not going to let the military be taken advantage of. I have no choice. Do I want that to happen? Absolutely not. But you’re dealing with rough people. . . "

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Color Me Beyond-Excited Over InfoGraphics

Thanks to Twitter and Drew Savicki‏ @SenhorRaposa Nov 21
Here's the 2018 Senate election in Arizona. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema defeated Rep. Martha McSally in one of the closest Senate elections that Arizona has ever seen

3:49 PM - 21 Nov 2018

• 98 Retweets
• 321 Likes
• 

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Mesa Rising? In Hindsight > A Re-View of The Rogue Columnist Jon Talton

 

Your MesaZona blogger was surprised to see this column posted by Jon Talton from five years ago. 
Since it's Holiday Time all-over-again, let's take a cue from that classic Charles Dickens Masterpiece A Christmas Carole and see if the Future-Past has turned into reality:
You can see for yourselves.
Most of the article is reproduced here in its entirety, for you to see if what was on-the-table then really did come true.
Why did Rogue Columnist Jon Talton suck-up to Scott Smith so much five years ago?
That's just one piece of the Future-Past. Have we moved on?
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Rogue Columnist: Mesa rising

www.roguecolumnist.com/rogue_columnist/2013/11/mesa-rising.html

Nov 12, 2013 - ...at jontalton.com · Read Dr. David William Foster's academic assessment of Jon Talton's ... Mesa rising .... Jon, You are no doubt correct

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Hmmm . . . just playing the-game-of-politics. Scott Smith resigned as mayor, endorsing current mayor John Giles to fill his elected seat. Smith ran an unsuccessful campaign to lose to current Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, but he got a consolation prize when Steve Banda was forced to resign.
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Mesa rising

November 12, 2013

Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, right, with federal officials at the new Able Engineering facility, announcing an Obama administration initiative to boost manufacturing

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"Mesa has landed an Apple factory and 2,000 jobs (provided the Gilbert school board goes along with the tax incentives), the latest in a series of triumphs as Phoenix falls into eclipse and the big issues are "pension spiking" and the "food tax."
Blogger Note: 2,000 jobs?
No. It's been 'revised' to about 100

Image inserted for editorial purposes

Is "the city of wide streets and narrow minds" finally starting to punch at its weight?
Unlike most of the "boombergs" that have encircled Phoenix despite the aggressive annexation intended to prevent just that, Mesa always had a special identity. Settled by Mormons, Mesa had a distinctive set of small-businesses and agriculture-based industries and was surrounded by miles of citrus groves.

Another image insert

This began to change in the 1970s when the Superstition Freeway, as it built east, killed Main Street shops. Worse, the city inflicted a series of wounds on itself even as it notched huge population growth.

It allowed the city's tallest tower to be built outside downtown, along with the Maricopa County Courts buildings and other important assets. It allowed its lovely former Southern Pacific depot, which would have made a great multi-modal station today, to burn down.

What was lost:
Mesa's Southern Pacific depot downtown.
Instead of balancing industrial land use with residential, Mesa plowed under the groves for subdivisions. By the 2000s, most Mesans had to commute outside the city limits for work.
Mesa very nearly was left out of the starter line of light rail (WBIYB), but then-Mayor Keno Hawker persuaded a reluctant City Council to help fund one mile from Tempe into Mesa. The Mesa Arts Center was completed in 2005 in an effort to undo some of the damage to downtown, but it struggled.
By 2010, Mesa's population was more than 439,000. It was more populous than Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Minneapolis but had none of those cities corporate or cultural assets — or great bones. The municipal building, an ugly office on Main, seemed to exemplify its lack of ambition.
That has changed under Mayor Scott Smith, the most effective and interesting public official in Arizona today.
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Smith led the recruitment of five liberal arts colleges, four of which will be located downtown near light rail — which the city is extending through downtown.
Blogger Note: Only one is left, Benedictine University and it's struggled to enroll about 500 students (part-time, full-time, and online included in these five years.
Smith also presided over the creation of a Mesa-centric economic-development strategy rather than relying on the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. This includes the HEAT initiative – Healthcare, Education, Aerospace, Tourism and Technology — as well as StartUpMesa.
Mesa has retained the Boeing helicopter factory and also has taken over the former military laboratory at Falcon Field.
In addition, while Phoenix was losing baseball Spring Training, Mesa sprang for a new Cubs stadium. This is an important leg of tourism, but, importantly, Smith is not trying to make Mesa "the next Scottsdale," which seems the only aspiration other Arizona municipalities can manage.
Smith's impeccable LDS background — he's a BYU graduate — helps. Even though most Mormons with means have relocated to Gilbert and Chandler, the Saints still exert great power in the city and through a close-knit East Valley business community. He's a Republican, but he's not a Kook.
He's also had help thanks to the Real Estate Industrial Complex's lust for the former GM proving ground land. Thus, DMB is building the ambitious Eastmark development and has been a reliable partner in economic development.

Now CEO/President
Valley Metro Light Rail

Smith is also a regional leader. He doesn't hate the name Phoenix for the region, but embraces it.
So effective has Mesa become that my sources tell me Phoenix Symphony President Jim Ward seriously considered moving the orchestra from Symphony Hall in downtown Phoenix to the Mesa Arts Center.
Downtown Mesa will also be the home of the $30 million Barry and Peggy Goldwater Library and Archives. Some of you might say, "Good riddance, Barry gave birth to the extremism centered in the East Valley."
No, this is an astounding blunder by Phoenix leaders, if they exist. Goldwater went to Kenilworth School just north of downtown Phoenix, managed the downtown Phoenix Goldwater's department store and was a Phoenix City Councilman. The library and archives of the most prominent Phoenician in history will be in...Mesa.
To be sure, Mesa faces serious problems. Much of its older construction — including miles of east Main Street — is facing the same linear slum problem that has hobbled Phoenix.
Most of its assets, including Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and ASU Polytechnic, are spread far from each other and almost all are totally car-dependent. The "city," at 136 square miles, is mostly a collection of "master planned communities," a suburban form that works against creating a cohesive, connected city.
Although the city is more Hispanic than in the past, it was more than 77 percent white in 2010, hardly the diversity associated with a competitive city in the global economy.
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One test for Mesa will be if it can expand the pie of quality assets for the Phoenix metropolitan area rather than merely poaching from the city of Phoenix. Another will be if it can control the lust of the Real Estate Industrial Complex for the vast so-called Superstition Vistas land.
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Mesa has a chance to do great things. At the least, it can assume its place as capital of an East Valley where most of the metro's wealth and economic power has shifted. It can be a partner for regional progress, for example in pushing for commuter rail.
But Mesa can and should do more, acting like a real city.
. . . Let Phoenix beware. Mayor Greg Stanton can be a nice guy all he wants — and he faces a dysfunctional Council — but the big city is in noticeable decline. . .
In the meantime, Mesa deserves credit. And if only more Arizona Republicans could be like Scott Smith.