Back to news

October 31, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - October 30, 2019

ARMY

General Dynamics Land Systems Inc., Sterling Heights, Michigan, was awarded a $162,403,915 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to procure small multipurpose equipment transport systems; support hardware including authorized stockage list kits and prescribed load list kits; and services for refurbishment, user training, field service representative, system technical support, program management support for pre-production meetings, and storage. Four bids were solicited with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 29, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-20-D-0002).

The Boeing Co., Mesa, Arizona, was awarded a $62,294,566 modification (PZ0005) to contract W58RGZ-19-C-0024 for performance-based logistics support for the AH-64D/E Apache Attack helicopter. Work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2024. Fiscal 2019 Army working capital funds in the amount of $62,294,566 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

AGCM Inc.,* Corpus Christi, Texas (W912DY-20-D-0002); Alliance Consulting Group Inc.,* Alexandria, Virginia (W912DY-20-D-0003); PCS and MOCA JV LLC,* Decatur, Georgia (W912DY-20-D-0004); Professional Project Services Inc., Oak Ridge, Tennessee (W912DY-20-D-0005); Project Time and Cost LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (W912DY-20-D-0006); and Michael Baker International Inc., Alexandria, Virginia (W912DY-20-D-0007), will compete for each order of the $49,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect-engineering services. Bids were solicited via the internet with seven received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 18, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

NAVY

BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services Inc., Rockville, Maryland, is awarded a $69,247,177 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for up to 931,200 man hours of installation and certification technical support to the Combat Integration and Identification Systems Division, Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Webster Outlying Field and Patuxent River in support of the Navy and the governments of Japan, South Korea and Australia. Work will be performed in St. Inigoes, Maryland (80%); and Rockville, Maryland (20%), and is expected to be completed in April 2025. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals; one offer was received. The NAWCAD, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00421-20-D-0003).

Aircraft Readiness Alliance LLC,* Anchorage, Alaska, is awarded a $55,170,944 modification (P00012) to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N68936-17-C-0081). This modification exercises an option to provide depot level maintenance services in support of the Fleet Readiness Center Southwest mission. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (79.5%); Lemoore, California (8.5%) Camp Pendleton, California (3.4%); Yuma, Arizona (2.4%); Miramar, California (2.2%); Whidbey Island, Washington (1.7%); Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii (1%); Nellis, Nevada (1%); and Fallon, Nevada (0.3%), and is expected to be completed in October 2020. Fiscal 2020 working capital (Navy) funds in the amount of $19,062,893 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division, China Lake, California, is the contracting activity.

AUSTAL USA LLC, Mobile, Alabama, is awarded a $21,529,121 cost-plus-fixed-fee task order N69316-20-F-4000 against a previously awarded basic ordering agreement N00024-19-G-2318 to accomplish advance planning, material procurement and work in support of the post shakedown availability (PSA) of the littoral combat ship USS Charleston (LCS 18). This effort encompasses all of the manpower, support services, material, non-standard equipment and associated technical data and documentation required to prepare for and accomplish the USS Charleston (LCS 18) PSA. The work to be performed will include correction of government responsible trial card deficiencies, new work identified between custody transfer and the time of PSA, and incorporation of approved engineering changes that were not incorporated during the construction period which are not otherwise the building yard's responsibility under the ship construction contract. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington, and is expected to be completed by September 2020. Fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance (Navy); fiscal 2014 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); and fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $14,700,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Funding: fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance, Navy (75%); fiscal 2014 shipbuilding and conversion (20%); and fiscal 2019 other procurement, Navy (5%). This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1); only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair Gulf Coast, Pascagoula, Mississippi, is the contracting activity.

The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, is awarded a $17,630,211 modification (05) to a cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order (N00019-17-F-2017) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-16-G-0001). This modification exercises an option to perform 27 modifications in support of the Increment 3 Block 1 retrofit requirement for P-8A aircraft for the Navy and the government of Australia. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington (64.9%); Edinburgh, Australia (33.8%); and Meza, Arizona (1.3%), and is expected to be completed in September 2021. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $11,362,276; and cooperative engagement agreement funds in the amount of $6,267,935 are being obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $10,571,178 modification (P00015) to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-14-C-0040). This modification provides for the development and delivery of an enhanced simulator database and project management support for the F-35 aircraft in support of the government of Japan. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida (70%); and Fort Worth, Texas (30%), and is expected to be completed in July 2021. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $10,311,534 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland is the contracting activity.

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Allison Transmission, Indianapolis, Indiana, has been awarded a maximum $35,266,682 firm-fixed-price contract for transmissions. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a one-year base contract with one, one-year option period being awarded at the time of award. Location of performance is Indiana, with a March 31, 2022, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-20-C-0023).

Alliant Healthcare, Grand Rapids, Michigan, has been awarded a maximum $30,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for medical/surgical supplies. This was a competitive acquisition with 16 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no options. Location of performance is Michigan, with an Oct. 29, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DE-20-D-0004).

Propper International, Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, has been awarded a maximum $13,099,478 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract for Improved Combat Vehicle Crewmen's coveralls with the operational camouflage pattern. This is a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. Location of performance is Puerto Rico, with an Oct. 29, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. 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-1205).

AIR FORCE

Lockheed Martin Co., Space Systems Co., King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a $7,325,831 contract modification (P00031) to previously awarded contract FA8823-17-C-0003 for the AN/UMQ-13 Meteorological Data Station MARK IV-B System sustainment. The MARK IV-B is a web enabled client-server system that receives, processes, disseminates and stores real time imagery and mission sensor data from polar orbiting and geostationary satellites. Data from multiple satellites can be processed simultaneously. Using approved network protocols the system disseminates environmental imagery and sensor data to internal/external modeling systems and provides stored environmental imagery and sensor data to forecaster users. The MARK IV-B Forecaster client software is fully interrogatable and enables weather personnel to manipulate and transform environmental data. The MARK IV-B provides both automatic and semiautomatic dissemination of products to other approved external systems. Work will be performed at King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2020. The total cumulative face value is $27,313,202. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $3,438,207; and spectrum relocation funds in the amount of $644,391 are being obligated at the time of option award. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity.

*Small Business

On the same subject

  • Sorry, France: This Fighter Jet Is No F-35 Stealth Fighter

    October 25, 2019 | International, Aerospace

    Sorry, France: This Fighter Jet Is No F-35 Stealth Fighter

    It has a radar cross-section similar to that of a Super Hornet. That means it is nowhere near as stealthy as an F-35. by Sebastien Roblin In January 2019, French Defense Minister Florence Parly announced France would commit $2.3 billion to develop an F4 generation of the Dassault Rafale twin-engine multirole fighter. This would include production in 2022–2024 of the last twenty-eight of the original order of 180 Rafales, followed by the purchase of an additional thirty Rafales F4.2s between 2027–2030, for a total of 210. Since 2008, France has deployed land- and carrier-based Rafales into combat in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Mali and Syria. Despite incorporating stealth technology, the Rafale (“Burst of Fire” or “Gust of Wind”), is not a true stealth aircraft like the F-35. True, the French jet's wings and fuselage are primarily composed of radar-absorbent composite materials and lightweight titanium. Other stealthy design features include S-shaped engine inlets, serrated edges and a channel exhaust cooling scheme designed to reduce infrared signature. These give the Rafale an estimated Radar Cross Section (RCS) of slightly above one square meters—comparable to peers like the Super Hornet and Typhoon, but orders of magnitude greater than that of the F-35 jet. Land-based Rafales are currently priced $76–$82 million per plane, only modestly cheaper than the F-35A which benefits from vastly greater economy of scale, though the Rafale's operating costs are likely lower. Paris particularly prizes maintaining an independent domestic arms industry and has never seriously considered purchasing F-35s. Instead, France is working with Germany and other partners to develop a sixth-generation Future Combat Air System stealth jet to enter service in 2035-2040. Until then, France is doubling down on the 4.5-generation Rafale by integrating additional F-35-style avionics and improving its network-centric warfare capabilities. The Rafale is much more agile than the F-35, with superior climb rate, sustained turn performance, and ability to super-cruise (maintain supersonic flight without using fuel-gulping afterburners) at Mach 1.4 while carrying weapons. The Rafale's all-moving canards—a second set of small wings near the nose—give the Rafale excellent lift and low-altitude speed and performance, as you can see in this majestic airshow display. However, compared to larger fourth-generation twin-engine jets like the Su-35 or F-15, the Rafale can't fly quite as high (service-ceiling of 50,000 instead of 60,000 ft), and has a lower maximum speed (only Mach 1.8 compared to Mach 2-2.5). The Rafale's agility won't help as much if it is engaged at long distances by enemy surface-to-air missiles and stealth jets. To compensate, the Rafale boasts an advanced Spectra electronic warfare system that supposedly can reduce the Rafale's cross-section several times over—it is rumored by reflecting back signals using ‘active canceling.' Spectra also incorporates powerful jammers and flare and chaff dispensers, provides 360-degree early-warning, and can even assist Rafale pilots in targeting weapons to retaliate against attackers. Spectra's capabilities reportedly allowed Rafales to deploy on raids over Libyan airspace in 2011 before air defense missiles had been knocked out. Other key capabilities include sensor fusion of the Rafale's RBE-2AA Active Electronically Scanned Array multi-mode radar, which can track numerous targets over 124 miles away, with its discrete OSF infrared-search and track system, which has an unusually long range of sixty-two miles. Rafale pilots also benefit from uncluttered instrumentation combining voice command with flat-panel touch screens. The multirole jet carries a punchy thirty-millimeter revolver cannon and up to twenty-one thousand pounds of weapons on fourteen hardpoints, making it a versatile air-to-ground platform. Because Paris requires expeditionary capability in Africa, the Rafale can refuel in flight and carry up to five fuel tanks for very long transits, and can be operated from relatively unprepared airfields, unlike most high-performance jets. What's new in the Rafale F4? Dassault produces three basic types of Rafales: the single-seat Rafale-C, the two-seat Rafale-B (the additional weapon systems officer being preferred for strike and reconnaissance missions) and the carrier-based single-seat Rafale-M, which has an arrestor hook, reinforced landing gear and buddy-refueling pod capability. Each type has evolved in common generations designated F1, F2, F3 and F3R. The F4 generation introduces additional network-centric warfare capabilities and data-logistics similar to those on the F-35 Lightning, enabling Rafales on patrol to build a more accurate picture of the battlespace by pooling their sensors over a secure network, and even exchange data using new satellite communications antenna. The pilots also benefit from improved helmet-mounted displays. The Spectra defensive system will receive more powerful jammers and new threat libraries tailored to meet the improving capabilities of potential adversaries. Furthermore, Dassault seeks to use “Big Data” technology to develop a predictive maintenance system reminiscent of the F-35's troubled ALIS system to cost-efficiently implement preventative repairs. Other systems to be tweaked include the air-to-ground mode of the RBE-2AA radar, the M88 turbofan's digital computers, and a new AI-system for its reconnaissance and targeting pod allowing it to rapidly analyze and present information to the pilot. Rafale-Ms will also receive a new automated carrier landing system. New weapons set for integration most notably an improved model of the Mica short-to-medium range air-to-air missile, which has a range of forty-nine miles. The Mica can be launched without initially being locked and guided remotely by a data link on the fighter before engaging either an infrared or AESA radar seeker to close in for the kill, using a vector-thrust motor to pull off tight maneuvers. Because both the Rafale and the Mica missile can employ passive infrared targeting without using an indiscrete active-radar for guidance, the MICA can be launched with little warning for the target. The Mica-NG model will incorporate new infrared-matrix sensors for better performance versus stealth fighters, carry additional propellant for longer range, and integrate internal sensors to reduce maintenance costs. Its dual pulse motor will allow it to accelerate just prior to detonation for a greater probability of achieving a kill. For longer range engagements, newer Rafales F3Rs and F4s can launch British Meteor missiles which can sustain Mach 4 speeds. Another weapon set for integration is heavier 2,200-pound variants of the AASM HAMMER, a guidance kit similar to the U.S. JDAM. Previously, the Rafale could only carry 485-pound variants of the weapon which can use either GPS-, laser- or -infrared guidance to deliver precise strikes. Unlike the JDAM, the HAMMER also incorporates a rocket-motor, allowing it to hit targets up to thirty-seven miles away when released at high altitude. The Rafale will also be modified to integrate future upgrades of the French SCALP-EG stealthy subsonic cruise missile and the supersonic ASMP-A cruise missile which carries a 300-kiloton-yield nuclear warhead. Reportedly France may develop a hypersonic AS4NG variant increasing range from 300 miles to over 660 miles. Currently, the French Armée de l'Aire has three Rafale multi-role squadrons and two nuclear-strike squadrons based in Mont-de-Marsan (south-western France), Saint-Dizier (north-eastern France) and al-Dhafra in the UAE. There are also an operational conversion unit and a testing and evaluation squadron. The French Navy has three Rafale-M squadrons which rotate onboard France's nuclear-powered carrier Charles de Gaulle. In 2018, a squadron of Rafale-Ms proved their capability to operate from the U.S. carrier George H. W. Bush. The forthcoming Rafale F4s will progressively replace France's fourth-generation Mirage 2000s, over 110 of which remain in service today. French periodical Le Figaro claims that older Rafales will also eventually be updated to the F4 standard. Abroad, Dassault is finish delivery of orders from Egypt (twenty-four), Qatar (thirty-six) and India (thirty-six). All three countries may order additional Rafales, though the price of its initial Rafale order has caused a political scandal in New Delhi. As France must wait nearly two decades before a European stealth fighter can enter service, its armed forces are betting that in the interim adding networked sensors and weapons to the Rafale's superior kinematic performance and powerful electronic warfare systems will keep the agile jet relevant in an era of proliferating stealth aircraft and long-range surface-to-air missiles. Sébastien Roblin holds a master's degree in conflict resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, editing, and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring. This first appeared early in June 2018. https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/sorry-france-fighter-jet-no-f-35-stealth-fighter-90616

  • Pentagon announces $400 million in Ukraine arms transfers

    May 12, 2024 | International, Security

    Pentagon announces $400 million in Ukraine arms transfers

    The new package includes air defense munitions, missiles, ammunition and armored vehicles.

  • Reloading vertical missile tubes at sea is within a crane arm’s reach

    December 4, 2023 | International, Land

    Reloading vertical missile tubes at sea is within a crane arm’s reach

    Opinion: Here are five ways to help sustain naval power in strategically important waters.

All news