January 28, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - January 25, 2019

NAVY

The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, is awarded a $2,458,707,154 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-14-C-0067). This modification provides for the production and delivery of 19 P-8A lot 10 aircraft to include 10 for the Navy, four for the government of the U.K. and five for the government of Norway. In addition, this modification includes engineering change proposal 4 SilverBlock for the government of the U.K. and Lot 10 segregable efforts consisting of unknown obsolescence, Class I change assessments and obsolescence monitoring. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington (80.6 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (2.6 percent); Greenlawn, New York (2.4 percent); Cambridge, U.K. (1.6 percent); and various locations within and outside the continental U.S. (12.8 percent),and is expected to be completed in March 2022. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy); and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds in the amount of $2,458,707,154 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Navy ($1,256,865,203; 51 percent); the government of Norway ($694,971,086; 28 percent); and the government of the U.K. ($506,870,865; 21 percent), under the FMS program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair, San Diego, California (N00024-16-D-4416); Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., San Diego, California (N00024-16-D-4417); and General Dynamics, National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, California (N00024-16-D-4418), are each awarded firm-fixed-price modifications under previously-awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple-award contracts to exercise Option Period Three for complex, emergent and continuous maintenance and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) availabilities on surface combatants (DDG and CG) homeported in San Diego, California. These three contractors will have the opportunity to provide offers for individual delivery orders during option period three, with an estimated cumulative value of $90,275,086. Exercising these options ensures continued facilities and human resources capable of completing complex, emergent and continuous maintenance, repair, modernization and CNO availabilities on surface combatant ships assigned to or visiting the port of San Diego, California. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by March 2020. No funding will be obligated at time of award. Operations and maintenance (Navy) funds will be obligated as the delivery orders are issued. The Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.

Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Indiana, is awarded a $26,332,225 firm-fixed-price requirements contract for the depot repair of T56-A-427 engines, utilized on E-2 Hawkeye aircraft, including the repair of the power section, torque meter, gearbox, and accessories in accordance with Navy depot manuals and approved repair practices. Work will be performed in San Antonio, Texas (55 percent); Winnipeg, Canada (25 percent); Indianapolis, Indiana (15 percent); and Oakland, California (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in January 2020. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be issued against individual task orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals; two offers were received. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-19-D-0024).

Ocean Ships Inc., Houston, Texas, is awarded a $20,800,875 firm-fixed-price contract for the operation and maintenance of Expeditionary Transfer Dock (ESD) vessels. This contract includes a 12-month base period, four 12-month option periods and a six-month option under Federal Acquistion Regulation 52.217-8, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $118,985,659. Work will be performed at sea worldwide and is expected to be completed, if all options are exercised, by November 2024. Working capital contract funds in the amount of $20,800,875 are obligated for the base period, and will not expire. The Navy's Military Sealift Command, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220519C3003).

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, California, is awarded a $19,590,756 modification (P00020) to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-17-C-0033). This modification provides for the procurement of software design and system integration, qualification testing, and cybersecurity activities as well as engineering services in support the MQ-8 Fire Scout Unmanned Air System. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed in December 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance; and aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $19,590,756 will be obligated at time of award, $12,080,557 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is being awarded a $13,930,396 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract for engineering, training, integrated logistics support, installation/checkout of developed systems and support services for Harpoon Ship Command Launch Control Set, Encapsulated Harpoon Command and Launch Systems, and Advanced Harpoon Weapon Control System, Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response, and Harpoon missiles. These efforts are in support of the Navy and the governments of Brazil, Chile, Israel, Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada, Turkey, U.K., Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Germany, India, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Mexico, Thailand, Greece, Qatar, and Belgium. Work will be performed in St. Charles, Missouri, and locations inside and outside the continental U.S., and is expected to be completed in December 2021. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be issued against individual task orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-19-D-0010).

Joyce & Associates Construction Inc.,* Newport, North Carolina, is awarded $9,058,945 for firm-fixed-price task order N4008519F4580 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N40085-16-D-6302) for repairs to waste water collection system core area at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The work to be performed provides for various repairs to the sanitary and industrial waste water system including gravity lines, force mains, lift stations and appurtenances and incidental related work. Work will be performed in Havelock, North Carolina, and is expected to be completed by April 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, (Marine Corps) contract funds in the amount of $9,058,945 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Five proposals were received for this task order. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-16-D-6302).

Lyon Shipyard, Inc.,* Norfolk, Virginia, is awarded a $7,994,140 firm-fixed-price, single-award contract for the repair, maintenance and modernization of USNS Prevail (TSV 1) during the ship's docking phased maintenance availability. The work of this contract consists of temporary services, structural repairs, hull gauging, electrical, mechanical, piping and other miscellaneous repair work. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by July 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $7,994,140 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. This contract was procured as a competitive small business set-aside under the North American Industry Classification 336611 for shipbuilding and repair. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N50054-19-C-0002).

DEFENSE COMMISSARY AGENCY

Military Produce Group LLC, Norfolk, Virginia, is being awarded an indefinite-delivery, requirements type contract to provide fresh fruits and vegetable products for commissaries located in the east areas of the continental U.S. The award amount is estimated at $146,066,237 for the base year. Actual obligations using Resale Stock Activity Group, Defense Working Capital Funds will occur upon issuance of delivery orders during the period of performance. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract is for a 24-month base period beginning Feb. 11, 2019, through Feb. 7, 2021. The contract includes three one-year option periods. If all three option periods are exercised, the contract will be completed Feb. 4, 2024. The Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Lee, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HDEC02-19-D-0001).

AIR FORCE

Robbins-Gioia LLC, Alexandria, Virginia (FA7014-19-D-5001); and Synergy Solutions and Innovations, Arlington, Virginia (FA7014-19-D-5000), have been awarded a ceiling $50,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-priced with time and material elements, multiple award contract for the Business Capability Lifecycle Management Projects. This contract is for exploring more effective and efficient ways to support Air Force business operations and refine the development of Defense Business System requirements supporting the business mission area information technology by leveraging existing technologies owned by the Air Force, streamlining and standardizing business processes across the Air Force, and developing integrated solutions that are achievable in a constrained fiscal environment. This contract shall also be used for technical and engineering; information and data management, process engineering, performance assessment, change management, facilitation, project management, and scheduling. Work will be performed primarily in Washington, District of Columbia., and is expected to be completed Jan. 24, 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and seven offers were received. A total of two task orders using fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $27,405 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force District of Washington, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Corp., Marietta, Georgia, has been awarded a $33,732,110 ceiling requirements contract for C-130J long-term sustainment support for the Royal Norwegian Air Force. The estimated value of the first order is $6,155,584. Contractor will provide the Royal Norwegian Air Force with return and repair support, spares support, engineering support, and in-country representative support for their C-130J aircraft platform. Work will be performed in Marietta, Georgia, and Gardermoen Air Station, Norway, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2019. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition and is 100 percent Foreign Military Sales for Norway. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8553-19-D-0001).

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Georgia, has been awarded a maximum $18,728,697 modification (P00007) to exercise an option on contract FA8106-16-D-0006 for engineering services to provide support the C-20 and C-37 fleet for Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. This modification adds the third increment of the five-year, multi-year basic contract. Work will be performed in Savannah, Georgia, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2019 Air Force, Army, and Navy operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $10,495,503 are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $83,700,000. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity.

Space Dynamics Laboratory, North Logan, Utah, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $18,295,163 undefinitized contract action for the tasking, collecting, processing, exploitation, and dissemination (TCPED) capability to support the Republic of Korea Global Hawk program. This contract provides for the procurement of the TCPED system, spares and support equipment, sustainment support, and system familiarization. Work will be performed at North Logan, Utah, and is expected to be completed by May 2020. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales to the Republic of Korea. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $9,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8620-19-C-1002).

ARMY

Pate Construction Company Inc.,* Pueblo West, Colorado, was awarded a $23,978,896 firm-fixed-price contract for a procurement project consisting of 8,100 feet of reinforced concrete lined channel or concrete box culvert for the existing McKinley ditch. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Alamogordo, New Mexico, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 15, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $23,978,896 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque, New Mexico, is the contracting activity (W912PP-19-C-0014).

Vertex Aerospace, Madison, Mississippi, was awarded a $9,086,502 modification (P00300) to contract W58RGZ-13-C-0044 for aviation field maintenance services. Work will be performed in Fort Rucker, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $9,086,502 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

Shilog LTD,* McAlester, Oklahoma, was awarded a $7,777,536 firm-fixed-price contract for Polybutadiene, Liquid, Hydroxyl-Terminated, Type II. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2022. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-19-D-3015).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Bren-Tronics Inc.,* Commack, New York, has been awarded a maximum $9,832,972 firm-fixed-price contract for storage batteries. This is a six-month base contract with a five-month option that is being exercised at the time of award. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. Location of performance is New York, with a Dec. 23, 2019, performance completion date. Using military services are Army and Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio (SPE7L719C0005).

*Small business

https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1741001/source/GovDelivery/

On the same subject

June 10, 2020 | International, Aerospace

US Air Force delays full-rate production decision for KC-46 aircraft
By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force will delay a full-rate production milestone for the KC-46 aerial refueling tanker to the end of fiscal 2024 to correspond with a fix for one of the aircraft's key systems, the service announced late Monday. The Pentagon's independent weapons tester — Director of Operational Test and Evaluation Robert Behler — intends to conclude operational testing of the KC-46 only after prime contractor Boeing fixes the tanker's critical deficiencies and has finalized its production configuration. “Accordingly, the Air Force will defer the KC-46 full rate production decision until after the completion of [initial operational test and evaluation], and the receipt of the statutorily-required Beyond Low Rate Initial Production report from [Behler],” the Air Force said in a statement. The KC-46 program has several remaining category 1 deficiencies, the term used by the Pentagon to describe the most serious form of technical problems. Two of the deficiencies involve the aircraft's remote vision system, which is a series of cameras and sensors used by the boom operator to see outside the KC-46 and refuel other aircraft. The Air Force has contended that the RVS does not properly function in all weather and lighting conditions; the service has refused to deploy the KC-46 until the problem is fixed. Boeing in April agreed to completely redesign the system on its own dime, which will take until at least 2023. One other issue involves the KC-46 boom, which was developed to meet NATO-specific requirements but cannot refuel the A-10 aircraft. The Air Force is paying to redesign the boom actuator, as the service signed off on the original design and did not realize until afterward that it did not meet the specifications needed to refuel the A-10. In March, the Air Force announced an additional category 1 deficiency after maintainers found fuel leaking between the tanker's primary and secondary fuel protection barriers. It is unclear whether this is still a problem, as Boeing had already developed a fix and began retrofitting aircraft when the issue was revealed. “Given its confidence in deficiency resolution timelines for both the aerial refueling boom and Remote Vision System, the Air Force is rescheduling the KC-46's Full Rate Production Decision milestone to late Fiscal Year 2024,” the service stated. The Air Force notes that delaying the full-rate production decision will not affect the program's cost — which is locked into place courtesy of a firm, fixed-price deal with Boeing that holds the contractor financially responsible for cost overruns;nor will it cause the service to alter its current delivery schedule. Boeing is already producing KC-46s at “full rate,” which for the program is 15 tankers per year. It delivered the first KC-46 to McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, in January 2019. Since then, Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, and Pease Air National Guard Base, New Hampshire, have also taken on new KC-46s. Boeing is set to produce 179 KC-46s over the program of record. The company has racked up cost overruns of about $4.6 billion in excess of the $4.9 billion contract it was awarded in 2011. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/06/09/the-air-force-delays-a-full-rate-production-decision-for-the-kc-46/
June 21, 2018 | International, Security

Synthetic biology raises risk of new bioweapons, US report warns
Ian Sample Report warns that swift progress in our ability to manufacture viruses is making us vulnerable to biological attacks The rapid rise of synthetic biology, a futuristic field of science that seeks to master the machinery of life, has raised the risk of a new generation of bioweapons, according a major US report into the state of the art. Advances in the area mean that scientists now have the capability to recreate dangerous viruses from scratch; make harmful bacteria more deadly; and modify common microbes so that they churn out lethal toxins once they enter the body. The three scenarios are picked out as threats of highest concern in a review of the field published on Tuesday by the US National Academy of Sciences at the request of the Department of Defense. The report was commissioned to flag up ways in which the powerful technology might be abused, and to focus minds on how best to prepare. Michael Imperiale, chair of the report committee, and professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Michigan, said the review used only unclassified information and so has no assessment of which groups, if any, might be pursuing novel biological weapons. “We can't say how likely any of these scenarios are,” he said. “But we can talk about how feasible they are.” In the report, the scientists describe how synthetic biology, which gives researchers precision tools to manipulate living organisms, “enhances and expands” opportunities to create bioweapons. “As the power of the technology increases, that brings a general need to scrutinise where harms could come from,” said Peter Carr, a senior scientist at MIT's Synthetic Biology Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. More than 20 years ago, Eckard Wimmer, a geneticist at Stony Brook University in New York, highlighted the potential dangers of synthetic biology in dramatic style when he recreated poliovirus in a test tube. Earlier this year, a team at the University of Alberta built an infectious horsepox virus. The virus is a close relative of smallpox, which may have claimed half a billion lives in the 20th century. Today, the genetic code of almost any mammalian virus can be found online and synthesised. “The technology to do this is available now,” said Imperiale. “It requires some expertise, but it's something that's relatively easy to do, and that is why it tops the list.” Other fairly simple procedures can be used to tweak the genes of dangerous bacteria and make them resistant to antibiotics, so that people infected with them would be untreatable. A more exotic bioweapon might come in the form of a genetically-altered microbe that colonises the gut and churns out poisons. “While that is technically more difficult, it is a concern because it may not look like anything you normally watch out for in public health,” Imperiale said. The report calls on the US government to rethink how it conducts disease surveillance, so it can better detect novel bioweapons, and to look at ways to bolster defences, for example by finding ways to make and deploy vaccines far more rapidly. For every bioweapon the scientists consider, the report sets out key hurdles that, once cleared, will make the weapons more feasible. One bioweapon that is not considered an immediate threat is a so-called gene drive that spreads through a population, rewriting human DNA as it goes. “It's important to recognise that it's easy to come up with a scary-sounding idea, but it's far more difficult to do something practical with it,” said Carr. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/jun/19/urgent-need-to-prepare-for-manmade-virus-attacks-says-us-government-report
January 18, 2019 | International, Aerospace

FLIR Systems Awarded $89 Million Contract from French Armed Forces to Deliver Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System
WILSONVILLE, Ore. — FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) announced today it has been awarded a contract from the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) in support of the French Operational Pocket Drone (DrOP) program. The contract has a ceiling value of $89 million to provide the FLIR Black Hornet® 3 nano-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and Personal Reconnaissance System (PRS) to support French Armed Forces operations. #FLIR Awarded $89M contract from @defense_gouv to deliver Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System #Military #France #ArmedForces The Black Hornet PRS is the world's smallest combat-proven nano-Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and is currently deployed in more than 30 countries. The Black Hornet enables the warfighter to maintain situational awareness, threat detection, and surveillance no matter where the mission takes them. Equipped with electro-optical/infrared sensors and the ability to fly up to 25 minutes, the Black Hornet bridges the gap between aerial and ground-based sensors, provides the same situational awareness and threat detection capabilities as larger unmanned air and ground vehicles. “We are honored to support the French Armed Forces' mission with the delivery of the Black Hornet PRS and related services,” said Jim Cannon, President and CEO at FLIR Systems. “This award strengthens our partnership with the French Armed Forces and our focus on unmanned technology, an emerging area that is strategically critical to FLIR's business.” This program provides the expanded capability of the Black Hornet 3 for the French Armed Forces. The contract will be managed and executed by FLIR in Hvalstad, Norway. For more information about Black Hornet VRS, visit www.flir.com/blackhornet. About FLIR Systems, Inc. Founded in 1978, FLIR Systems is a world-leading industrial technology company focused on intelligent sensing solutions for defense, industrial and commercial applications. FLIR Systems' vision is to be “The World's Sixth Sense,” creating technologies to help professionals make more informed decisions that save lives and livelihoods. For more information, please visit www.flir.com and follow @flir. https://business.financialpost.com/pmn/press-releases-pmn/business-wire-news-releases-pmn/flir-systems-awarded-89-million-contract-from-french-armed-forces-to-deliver-black-hornet-personal-reconnaissance-system

All news