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May 4, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - May 01, 2020

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/

On the same subject

  • Here’s who will build the US Army’s heavy common robot

    November 18, 2019 | International, Land

    Here’s who will build the US Army’s heavy common robot

    By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has chosen FLIR's Kobra robot to serve as its heavy version of the Common Robotic System that will be used for explosive ordnance disposal and other heavy-duty jobs. The production contract will run for a period of five years and could be worth up to $109 million. The Army wanted its Common Robotic System-Heavy, or CRS-H, to weigh up to 700 pounds and to carry a variety of sensors and payloads to support missions. “The Kobra [unmanned ground vehicle] delivers unmatched strength, power and payload support in an easy-to-operate robot package,” according to a FLIR statement sent to Defense News. Kobra has a lift capacity of 330 pounds and can stretch up to eleven-and-a-half feet to get at difficult-to-reach places, but it is also still nimble enough to climb jersey barriers and fit into the back of a standard utility vehicle, according to FLIR. FLIR's legacy business, Endeavor Robotics, won a contract in 2017 to provide the Army with a medium-sized UGV — the Man Transportable Robotic System Increment II. FLIR is delivering the Centaur UGV for the program. FLIR bought Endeavor Robotics in February, an acquisition that made sense because FLIR's camera and sensors — its bread and butter — have been used on countless manned and unmanned vehicles like those developed by the Massachusetts-based robotics company. FLIR also acquired Prox Dynamics in 2016, the Norwegian maker of the tiny micro-drone — the Black Hornet — that is now used as the Army's soldier borne sensor. Endeavor also competed for the CRS-Individual system — a man-packable robot that is less than 25 pounds — but lost to fellow Massachusetts-based robotics company QinetiQ North America in March. For the CRS-H program, FLIR beat out QinetiQ. Kobra is also participating in a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency effort to build a system-of-systems solution that can operate in subterranean environments. The company's solution consists of the Kobra robot that will enter subterranean environments carrying radio repeaters —based on the company's small, throwable FirstLook robots — and drop them off along the way to continue connectivity as it travels deeper underground. The system will also carry a four-legged robot supplied from Ghost Robotics to explore more rugged and difficult terrain as well as a quadcopter that will investigate vertical shafts and other hard to reach places. The winner of the challenge is expected to receive $2 million in 2021. The CRS-I and CRS-H programs are part of a larger Army program to streamline its robotics inventory. By necessity, during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army clamored to buy UGVs that could help provide a level of standoff between soldiers and the dangers faced on the battlefield, mostly improvised explosive devices. The Army procured roughly 7,000 UGVs and ended up with a petting zoo of robots from Talons to PacBots to Dragon Runners, to name a few. The service had roughly nine variants of robots used for explosive ordnance disposal, two robots for engineering battalions to conduct route clearance, two for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) tasks and three for contingency and global response forces. The Army's way forward uses just a few common platforms where systems and sensors can be swapped out easily for different missions and which are all controlled using one universal controller. It's been the season for major headway in Army robotics programs across the board. The service is also underway with development of robotic combat vehicles in light, medium and heavy categories. The Army invited four teams to compete to build prototypes for its future light RCV last month: A Textron and Howe & Howe team, a team of QinetiQ and Pratt & Miller, HDT Global and Oshkosh Defense. And three teams were picked earlier this month to move on in the Army's competition for a medium-sized RCV: General Dynamics Land Systems, QinetiQ and the Textron and Howe & Howe team. The Army also awarded, at the end of last month, a contract to GDLS to provide the Squad Multipurpose Equipment Transport (SMET) unmanned vehicle. GDLS offered up its Multi-Utility Tactical Transport — or MUTT — in that competition. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2019/11/15/heres-who-just-won-a-contract-to-build-the-armys-heavy-robot/

  • Defense firms quietly resume political giving after post-insurrection pause

    June 8, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Defense firms quietly resume political giving after post-insurrection pause

    Defense companies have slowly ramped up their political donations to the Republicans they once purported to shun over a refusal to acknowledge President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.

  • Why defense firms need to get systematic about M&A — big and small

    November 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Why defense firms need to get systematic about M&A — big and small

    By: Eric Chewning and Frank Coleman III After years of growth, defense budgets will likely flatten (or decline). In such a financial environment, the U.S. Department of Defense will consider trade-offs between funding modernization, sustaining legacy equipment and preserving force structure. These hard choices will be informed by the DoD's strategic acquisition priorities, which will likely continue to reflect the need for innovation around leading-edge capabilities in areas like space, C5ISR, long-range precision fires, unmanned vehicles and artificial intelligence. To support these evolving mission requirements, the defense industry will need to ensure the industrial base is able to deliver technological advantage. This requires attracting world-class talent as well as the necessary financial capital to operate global industrial enterprises. Attracting these resources requires continued value creation through growth and return on invested capital improvements. But in a down budget environment, where is this growth to come from? While many will think organic growth is the best value-creating option (and often is), the answer also lies in augmenting a classic portfolio strategy with a systematic approach to transactions. Mergers and acquisitions are a proven growth accelerant for defense companies, and have generated superior shareholder returns and greater resilience for companies that have pursued it systematically. At first glance, this may simply seem like an obvious description of recent history. The aerospace and defense sector, after all, has seen rapid consolidation in the last five years, with deals worth $358 billion struck between 2015 and 2019, three times the total between 2010 and 2014. The problem for defense companies looking for more of the same is that this wave of consolidation now appears to have run its course. The combined market value of the top five defense hardware players is now more than four times that of the next five; so even as further mega-deals are theoretically possible, they will be increasingly difficult to execute, underscoring the value of programmatic M&A. Distinct from selective or organic deal-making approaches, programmatic M&A involves a company conducting two or more small or midsized deals per year, with an aggregate value greater than 15 percent of its market capitalization over five years, that align with their overall corporate strategy (which is hopefully linked to the “fast streams” of growth in the budget (see exhibit below)). These deals get choreographed around a specific business case, such as scaling or integrating vital digital capabilities, and are rooted in a disciplined appraisal of transactions. In the defense industry, programmatic M&A should be deployed against a strategy supported by the customer's need for innovation, lower costs and better mission outcomes for the war fighter. Our analysis shows that over the last decade, few defense companies took a programmatic approach to M&A. Those who did outperformed their peers in total shareholder returns by 10.4 percent. M&A was also an important key to resilience during the last defense spending downturn in 2007-2011: The top quintile of outperforming companies, as well as optimizing cash and flexing capex, used it as an opportunity to grow less cyclical parts of the business and build digital capabilities. Defense companies may be deterred by the current market environment, featuring stretched valuations, competition from institutional capital and a squeeze on mid-tier players. They may be cautious about the challenge of integrating smaller nondefense acquisitions into company processes and culture — a process that is easier to get wrong than right to be sure. The very complexity of these circumstances creates opportunities for bold players to differentiate themselves from their peers, align their strategies with national defense priorities and add significant value for shareholders. When done well, programmatic M&A can form a central pillar of their growth strategy. With a proactive approach to deal sourcing, holistic diligence, and in-house execution and integration expertise, companies can establish M&A as a critical capability and avoid the risks of reactive, one-off projects. In the challenging environment that confronts the defense industry today, those who act boldly will succeed in creating enduring businesses that can adapt to the evolving needs of the national defense. Eric Chewning and Frank Coleman III are partners at McKinsey and Company. Chewning previously served as chief of staff in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and before that as the Pentagon's industrial chief. https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/11/16/why-defense-firms-need-to-get-systematic-about-ma-big-and-small/

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