December 12, 2023 | International, Aerospace
Saab to provide semi-autonomous Double Eagle undersea system to Kuwait
The Double Eagle can launch from several types of craft and from the shore to carry out mine countermeasure missions.
May 4, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND
Core One Solutions LLC, Sterling, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0002); Crisis Response Co. LLC, Keller, Texas (H92400-20-D-0003); Consulting Services Group LLC, Herndon, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0004); D3 Air & Space Operations Inc., St. Augustine, Florida (H92400-20-D-0005); Defense Acquisition Inc., Huntsville, Alabama (H92400-20-D-0006); EnGenius, Huntsville, Alabama (H92400-20-D-0007); Firebird AST, Arlington, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0008); Federal Information Systems Inc., San Antonio, Texas (H92400-20-D-0009); FITT Scientific LCC, Colonial Heights, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0010); Gemini Industries Inc., Burlington, Massachusetts (H92400-20-D-0011); Global Dimensions LLC, Fredericksburg, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0012); Geo Owl LLC, Wilmington, North Carolina (H92400-20-D-0013); Iron EagleX, Tampa, Florida (H92400-20-D-0014); INTEROP-ISHPI JV LLC, Virginia Beach, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0015); ITELITRAC Inc., Ashburn, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0016); Infinity Technology LLC, McLean, Virginia (H9240-020-D-0017); K2 Solutions Inc., Southern Pines, North Carolina (H92400-20-D-0018); Legion Systems LLC, Tampa, Florida (H92400-20-D-0019); Lukos LCC, Tampa, Florida (H92400-20-D-0020); METIS Celestar JV LLC, Tampa, Florida (H92400-20-D-0021); MHM Innovations Inc., Fairfax, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0022); Nisga'a Tek LLC, Chantilly, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0023); OSCAR DEUCE LLC, Virginia Beach, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0024); Prescient Edge Corp., McLean, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0025); ProCleared LLC, Chantilly, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0026); Preting LLC, Springfield, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0027); Quiet Professionals, Tampa, Florida (H92400-20-D-0028); R3 Strategic Support Group Inc., Coronado, California (H92400-20-D-0029); The Red Gate Group Ltd., Chantilly, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0030); R&K Enterprise Solutions Inc., Newport News, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0031); RMGS Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0032); Special Applications Group, Tampa, Florida (H92400-20-D-0033); SOLUTE Inc., San Diego, California (H92400-20-D-0034); Systems Plus Inc., Rockville, Maryland (H92400-20-D-0035); Spathe Systems LLC, Tampa, Florida (H92400-20-D-0036); Strategic Solutions Unlimited Inc., Fayetteville, North Carolina (H92400-20-D-0037); Streamline Defense LLC, Tampa, Florida (H92400-20-D-0038); T3i Inc., Imperial Beach, California (H92400-20-D-0039); TriDcor JV LLC, Wesley Chapel, Florida (H92400-20-D-0040); Tyoneck Global Services LLC, Anchorage, Alaska (H92400-20-D-0041); Threat Tec LLC, Hampton, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0042); Universal Strategy Group Inc., Franklin, Tennessee (H92400-20-D-0043); Vistra Communications LLC, Lutz, Florida (H92400-20-D-0044); VxL Enterprise LLC, Alexandria, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0045); Walsingham Group Inc., Fayetteville, North Carolina (H92400-20-D-0046); and Webworld Technologies Inc., Fairfax, Virginia (H92400-20-D-0047), were awarded 46 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts worth $950,000,000 maximum for Special Operations Forces core support services in support of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) enterprise requirements in the U.S. and globally. Contracted subject matter expertise and knowledge-based services will support education, training, engineering, technical, professional, administrative, management support, program management and other requirements. Funding shall be provided on a delivery order basis. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds will be used to satisfy a $2,500 contract minimum guarantee. The contracts were awarded competitively using Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 15 procedures. USSOCOM, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity.
AIR FORCE
COLASKA Inc., North Pole, Alaska (FA5004-20-D-0001); HC Contractors Inc., North Pole, Alaska (FA5004-20-D-0002); Paving Products Inc., Fairbanks, Alaska (FA5004-20-D-0003); Great Northwest Inc., Fairbanks, Alaska (FA5004-20-D-0004); and Granite Construction Co., Watsonville, California (FA5004-20-D-0005), have been awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts with a maximum estimated aggregate value of $350,000,000 under a multiple award task order contract for airfield/roadway paving and striping. These contracts provide for all plant, labor, supervision, equipment and materials necessary to repair, maintain and construct roads, parking lots, airfields and associated incidental work. Work will be performed on Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska; Fort Wainwright, Alaska; Fort Greely, Alaska; Clear Air Force Station, Alaska; and 168th Air National Guard property, Alaska, and work is expected to be completed April 30, 2027, if all six options are exercised. These awards are the result of a competitive acquisition and five offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $500 are being obligated to each contractor at the time of award. The 354th Contracting Squadron Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, is the contracting activity.
Point Junction Car Rental, Doha, Qatar, has been awarded a $95,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for lease vehicle services at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. This is a non-personal services contract to provide vehicle lease service for the Expeditionary Logistic Readiness Support Squadron. Work will be completed Nov. 30, 2024, and is the result of a competitive acquisition with 21 offers received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $30,713 will be obligated at the time of award. The 379th Expeditionary Contracting Squadron, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, is the contracting activity (F5702-20-D-0201).
The Applied Research Laboratory at University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, has been awarded a $75,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to establish or maintain an essential engineering, research, or development capability to be provided by an educational or other nonprofit institution or a federally funded research and development center under the authority 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(3)(B). The purpose of the Vanguard Center's Unified University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) for Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC) Support (VaCUUMS) is to leverage the UARC's core competencies to accomplish research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E). The Air Force Research Laboratory UARC is necessary to maintain essential engineering, research and development capabilities at the MHPCC Vanguard Center by conducting scientific and technology investigations and by providing scientific expertise, capabilities and interdisciplinary facilities required for progression from basic theories of knowledge to practical and realistic fielded application in the areas of: sensor development; image processing; command and control integration; advanced data visualization and analytics; machine learning; and autonomy. Work will be performed in Maui, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed May 2024. This award is the result of the sole-source acquisition, and fiscal 2020 RDT&E funds in the amount of $358,422 are being obligated under Task Order 0001 (FA9451-20-F-0004) at time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, is the contracting activity (FA9451-20-D-0004).
Akima Support Operations LLC, Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been awarded a $14,499,202 firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursement contract to exercise Option Period Four for civil engineer services. The contractor will provide non‐personal services for continued operational support and civil engineer services to include engineering, environmental, operations, maintenance and emergency management. Work will be performed at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, for the period of May 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $14,499,202 is being obligated at the time of award. The 6th Contracting Squadron, MacDill AFB, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA4814‐17‐C‐0002).
NAVY
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Rolling Meadows, Illinois, is awarded a $123,526,724 modification (P00001) to previously awarded, fixed-price, incentive-firm-target contract N00019-19-C-0011. This modification procures the necessary hardware, systems engineering, technical support, analysis and studies to integrate the Department of Navy Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures system onto aircraft for the Navy, Army, Air Force and the governments of Norway and New Zealand. Work will be performed in Rolling Meadows, Illinois (34%); Goleta, California (30%); Longmont, Colorado (11%); Blacksburg, Virginia (6%); Lewisburg, Tennessee (3%); Boulder, Colorado (3%); Carlsbad, California (2%); Apopka, Florida (1%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (10%). Weapon replaceable assemblies hardware procurements are as follows: 418 Advanced Threat Warning (ATW) sensors, 272 High Capacity Cards (HCCs), 160 Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) cards, 64 Guardian Laser Transmitter Assemblies (GLTAs), 64 GLTA shipping containers, 53 -2103 signal, 48 Control Indicator Unit Replaceable (CIURs), 14 Smart Connector Assemblies (SCAs) and six Multi-Role Electro-Optical End-to-End Test Sets (MEONs) for the Navy; 156 HCCs, 138 ATW sensors, 23 CIURs and 23 -2103 signal for the Army; 64 PCMCIA cards and 45 ATW sensors for the Air Force; six GLTAs, six GLTA shipping containers, six SCAs and four HCCs for the government of Norway; and 30 Infrared Missile Warning Sensors, five GLTAs, five GLTA shipping containers, five SCAs, three HCCs, two CIURs and two MEONs for the government of New Zealand. Work is expected to be complete by July 2022. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $76,228,341; fiscal 2020 procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $2,926,699; fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds (Navy) in the amount of $2,802,286; fiscal 2019 procurement (defense-wide) funds in the amount of $3,418,527; fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $410,223; fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $25,262,278; fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement funds (Navy) in the amount of $3,184,415; and Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $9,293,955 will be obligated will be obligated at time of award, $3,184,415 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Navy ($82,625,265; 67%); Army ($25,262,278; 20%); Air Force (6,345,226; 5%); the government of New Zealand ($6,338,009; 5%); and the government of Norway ($2,955,946; 2%). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Alion Science and Technology Corp., Burr Ridge, Illinois, is awarded a $49,999,999 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides non-recurring engineering and logistics support for the Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) family of training systems. Work will be performed in Mayport, Florida (20%); Jacksonville, Florida (20%); North Island, California (20%); Kaneohe, Hawaii (20%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (20%). The LVC Integrated Training System is a networked, personal computer (PC) based deployable trainer designed to support integrated and coordinated tactical training and simulation. Additionally, this contract procures the current training system configuration comprised of PCs with each PC system representing a mission training station in a particular aircraft (i.e. SH-60B, SH-60F, P-3C), shipboard system or combat systems which, when in a networked environment, allow for integrated mission training. Work is expected to be complete by April 2025. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via Federal Business Opportunities; one offer was received. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (N61340-20-D-0015).
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Charlottesville, Virginia, is awarded a $27,430,321 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-19-C-4101 to exercise options to procure integrated bridge and navigation systems for the DDG-51 (guided missile destroyer) New Construction Ship Program and DDG-51 Midlife Modernization Program with physical throttles kits and engineering services. Work will be performed in Charlottesville, Virginia. The integrated bridge and navigation system is a hull, mechanical and electrical upgrade. It is part of the comprehensive plan to modernize the DDG-51 class to ensure the ships remain combat relevant and affordable throughout their life. Work is expected to be complete by August 2021. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy); and 2019 and 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $18,759,918 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Corp., Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, was awarded a $19,467,608 cost-plus-incentive fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, undefinitized contract modification (N00024-20-C-5105) for the procurement of the Korean Gun Computing System development, software, and hardware and subassemblies for installation. This modification will finalize the Korean Gun Computing System interface design specifications for the integration with the Aegis combat system. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to the government of South Korea. Work will be performed in Seoul, South Korea (51%); Moorestown, New Jersey (46%); and Clearwater, Florida (3%), and is expected to be complete by July 2026. FMS funding in the amount of $1,975,021 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract modification was not competitively procured in accordance with the authority from 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(4). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Awarded April 29, 2020)
Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, Tewksbury, Massachusetts, is awarded a $17,220,849 cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price order under basic ordering agreement N00024-18-G-5501 for dual band radar systems engineering in support of CVN 78. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, Rhode Island (30%); Andover, Massachusetts (30%); Tewksbury, Massachusetts (20%); and Marlborough, Massachusetts (20%), and is expected to be complete by February 2022. Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $17,220,849 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This order was not competitively procured, in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) with only one responsible source, and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-20-F-5506).
Ocean Ships Inc., Houston, Texas, is awarded a $15,114,743 modification for the fixed-price portion of previously awarded contract N32205-19-C-3003 to fund the operation and maintenance of two expeditionary transfer dock (ESD) vessels: U.S. Naval Ship (USNS) Montford Point (T-ESD 1) and USNS John Glenn (T-ESD 2). Work will be performed at sea worldwide, and the vessels will continue to support Military Sealift Command's world-wide prepositioning requirements. Work is expected to be complete by November 2024, if all options are exercised. This modification exercises the first of four one-year option periods of this contract. Working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $15,114,743 are obligated for fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2021, and will not expire at the end of each year. The Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
DRS Laurel Technologies, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, is awarded an $11,786,168 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-17-C-4109 to exercise options for procurement of AN/USQ-82(V) hardware in support of DDG-51 (guided missile destroyer) class new construction, DDG- 51 class modernization, and Aegis Ashore Japan. Work will be performed in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The AN/USQ-82(V) Program is a control system network. Its purpose is to transfer mission critical data to and from users associated with combat, navigation, aviation, power, propulsion, steering, alarms indicating and damage control systems. Work is expected to be complete by August 2021. This contract combines purchases for the Navy (79%) and government of Japan (21%) under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy); 2020 and 2013 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); and FMS Japan funding in the amount of $11,786,168 will be obligated at the time of the award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Del Medical Inc., Bloomingdale, Illinois, has been awarded a maximum $100,000,000 firm‐fixed‐price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite‐quantity contract for radiology systems, accessories and training. This is a five‐year base contract with one five‐year option period. This was a competitive acquisition with 50 responses received. Location of performance is Illinois, with an April 30, 2025, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D1‐20‐D‐0009).
Vitol Inc., Houston, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $99,594,897 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for fuel. This was a competitive acquisition with 14 responses received. This is a one-year contract with a 30-day carry-over period. Locations of performance are Texas and the United Kingdom, with a July 30, 2021, performance completion date. Using customer is Defense Logistics Agency Energy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (SPE602-20-D-0482).
First Nation Group LLC, doing business as Jordan Reses Supply, Niceville, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $47,500,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for medical equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency electronic catalog. This was a competitive acquisition with 115 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Florida, with an April 30, 2025, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DH-20-D-0037).
The Boeing Co., doing business as Boeing, St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a maximum $29,864,155 firm-fixed-price, fixed-quantity contract for B-52 hatches. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.301-1. This is a two-year, three-month contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Missouri and Kansas, with a July 15, 2022, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (SPRTA1-20-F-0014).
Tennier Industries Inc.,* Delray Beach, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $8,771,992 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for a variety of trousers and parkas. This is a one-year base contract with two one-year option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. Locations of performance are Florida and Tennessee, with an April 30, 2021, performance completion date. Using military services are the Marine Corp, Army and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-20-D-1273).
DEFENSE COUNTERINTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY AGENCY
Next Tier Concepts, Vienna, Virginia, was awarded an estimated $24,919,863 firm-fixed-price contract modification (HS0021-19-D-0132-P00005) and task order modification (HS0021-19-F-0115-P00003) for the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). These modifications extend performance for functions supporting the background investigation mission. Work will be performed in Boyers, Pennsylvania. This task order modification is funded with fiscal 2020 DCSA working capital funds with $15,045,937 obligated at time of award. The anticipated period of performance for the task order includes a three-month base period from May 1, 2020, to July 31, 2020, plus two one-month option periods of August 2020 and September 2020. This requirement was synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities website as a sole-source requirement on April 15, 2020. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1, only one responsible source and no other supplies or services meet agency requirements. The justification and approval will be posted within 14 days of award. DCSA Acquisition and Contracting, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
ARMY
Manson Construction Co., Seattle, Washington, was awarded a $16,695,000 firm-fixed-price contract for dredging of the Oakland, California, inner and outer harbor plus transportation of the dredged material. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Oakland, California, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2020. Fiscal 2020 civil operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $16,695,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco, California, is the contracting activity (W912P7-20-C-0005).
*Small business
https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2173758/source/GovDelivery/
 
					December 12, 2023 | International, Aerospace
The Double Eagle can launch from several types of craft and from the shore to carry out mine countermeasure missions.
 
					July 28, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval
The U.S. Navy's F/A-18 and EA-18G fleets have experienced a dramatic turnaround. In 2017, less than half of the Navy's Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets were able to fly. Now, 80% of its carrier-based fighters are ready for missions. The solution involved fixing a single component within the General Electric F414 engine. The Navy faulted constrained spending following the 2008 financial crisis and increased demand from the wars in the Middle East as reasons for the fleet's lack of readiness. More specifically, those conditions exacerbated an issue embedded in the military's vast supply chain. For 20 years, the Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers have continually had electronic systems and new sensors added that placed greater and greater demand for power from its General Electric engine. That demand taxed a key component of the F414's electrical power generation system—its generator control unit (GCU), which keeps the generator output within a specified range. Initial attempts to address the GCU's issues through “component-level reliability improvements were not sustainable,” Navy spokeswoman Gulianna Dunn tells Aviation Week. Eventually, the GCU, already in short supply, failed to keep pace, causing a cascading effect on the availability of the carrier-based fighters. In the words of a Navy program official, the GCU was the “top platform degrader for all naval aviation.” When sequestration-era spending limits were imposed on the Pentagon in 2013, the entire military faced across-the-board funding cuts, including the operations and maintenance accounts. The Navy had to make tough choices about what bills it would pay and what to defer. At the same time, flight hours for the Super Hornet and Growler in the Middle East increased to meet the high operational tempos of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve. As the Navy reduced aviation sustainment budgets, the program office did not have sufficient funding to purchase spare parts. From fiscal years 2013-16, the program office requested between $193.6-311.5 million and received between $85.2-136.3 million, according to a 2019 Defense Department Inspector General report. To compensate, Navy officials cannibalized aircraft to obtain the required spare parts. Maintainers removed working parts from an aircraft and installed them on a second jet to make that aircraft operational. A backlog of spare parts exacerbated fleet readiness and availability rates—an issue that affected the GCU acutely. New mission payloads created new types of electrical load, straining the aircraft's electronics, and wearing out the GCU at a faster rate. The second-generation (G2) and G3 GCU models that equipped the fleet could handle only about 150 flight hours. To increase reliability General Electric Aviation Systems, in consultation with the Navy, began working to redesign the GCU. A G3-to-G4 conversion kit could reach up to 532 flight hours. A G4 GCU was even better—sustaining 1,220 flight hours. Naval Air Systems Command (Navair) flight-tested the G4 in August 2015, and GE started production in mid-2016, Joe Krisciunas, general manager and president of GE Aviation Electrical Power Systems, tells Aviation Week. But the part was still only being manufactured at a minimal rate. The matter came to a head in October 2018, when then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis set an 80% mission-capable readiness goal. At the time, only 260 F/A-18 and EA-18G aircraft were capable of flying missions—approximately 60%, far short of the mandate. In response, the Navy convened a Reliability Control Board (RCB) in 2019 to improve the F/A-18 and EA-18G mission-capable rate. The board pinpointed the main problem—insufficient production of the F414's GCU. The Navy had 200 of the units on back order. Navair worked with GE to ramp up GCU production, according to Lt. Cmdr. Jason Shaw, power and propulsion lead at the F/A-18 and EA-18G program office. The RCB determined GE was producing roughly six GCUs per month that would funnel into the program office, Boeing or Naval Supply Systems Command (Navsup). The program and Boeing had predictable delivery schedules, but Navsup would only receive GCUs that were produced beyond what the other two contracts required. “It created a hole on the supply shelf,” Shaw says. “When a jet would lose a GCU, there was no other one to replace it from supply.” The team brainstormed and decided GE would increase production to about 21 GCUs each month, while Navair would defer a contract for 320 GCU conversion kits to 2021. Pushing the contract would leave room for Navsup to acquire a more predictable delivery schedule. The company doubled its GCU production rate from 2018 to 2019, and almost doubled it again in 2020 to reach the 21 units per month rate, Krisciunas says. These courses of action resulted in zero GCU back orders by mid-June 2020. Additionally, the team is working with GE to resolve production issues related to GCU testing capacity. The plan is to purchase new, larger test stands and upgrade software on existing test equipment. This would allow the company to conduct more tests and further increase production. The test stand is a large electric motor that simulates the engine spinning the gearbox, and it has a pad that duplicates the GCU interface. A test stand costs approximately $1.5-2 million and typically takes 15-18 months to get up and running, Krisciunas says. Still, more improvements are being made: The program office is now assessing wiring issues that may have also contributed to low GCU reliability. The service awarded a $17 million contract to purchase additional software and cables for Automated Wiring Test Sets, which will allow aircraft mechanics to identify system faults. “The U.S. Navy is the only [Pentagon] military branch to have met and sustained the 80% readiness call that Mattis put out, and that is largely associated with resolving the issues with GCUs,” Shaw says. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/how-one-component-improved-us-navy-fa-18-fleet-readiness
 
					July 31, 2024 | International, Land
Production will run from 2024 to 2026, with Marshall contracted to manufacture and deliver composite torpedo launcher tubes and associated equipment for integration into SEA’s Torpedo Launcher Systems.