How COVID-19 affected the Army’s plan for testing new network tools

On the same subject

• 

  September 23, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense – September 22, 2020

  DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Sysco Hampton Roads Inc., Suffolk, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $804,744,193 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a five-year contract. Location of performance is Virginia, with a Sept. 20, 2025, ordering period end date. Using military services are Air Force and Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-20-D-3286). O&M Halyard, Mechanicsville, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $35,188,397 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for medical and surgical products. This was a competitive acquisition with 18 responses received. This is a one-year base contract with nine one-year option periods. Location of performance is Virginia, with a Sept. 21, 2021, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 Warstopper funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency, Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D0-20-D-0018). Raytheon Co., McKinney, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $32,248,579 firm-fixed-price contract for television cameras and sensor assembly units for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. 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 two-year base contract with one one-year option period. The option is being exercised at the time of award. Location of performance is Texas, with a May 25, 2023, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-20-C-0188). AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Space, Sunnyvale, California, has been awarded an $85,273,664 fixed-price, incentive-firm, firm-fixed-price, cost‐plus‐incentive‐fee and cost-reimbursement modification (P00180) to previously awarded contract FA8810‐13‐C‐0002 to continue Space Based Infrared System contractor logistics support. Work will be performed at Peterson Air Force Base, Buckley AFB, Greeley Air National Guard Station, and Boulder, all located in Colorado, and is expected to be completed March 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds will be used with no funds being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $1,914,295,948. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson AFB, Colorado, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., Layton, Utah, has been awarded a $13,287,959 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00132) to contract FA8214-15-C-0001 for additional qualification requirements for the Signal Conditioner Module for the MOD 7 Flight Test Kit (SC Module). The objective of this proposed effort is to perform full qualification and acceptance testing to support new builds. Work will be performed in Layton, Utah, and is to be completed June 30, 2022. Fiscal 2020 missile procurement funds in the amount of $4,140,649 are being obligated at the time of award. Modification is funded with current year 3020 funds. AFNWC/PZBB is the contracting agency at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Hill AFB, Utah, is the contracting activity. Systems and Technology Research,* Woburn, Massachusetts, has been awarded an $8,297,019 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for software deliverables. This contract provides for the research and development of challenge problems to validate and evaluate the design technologies developed by the Technology Area (TA) 1 team and the symbiosis technologies developed by TA2 teams. The focus of the research is Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) related models and seed designs. This effort brings two unique and differentiated design approaches to the Symbiotic Design for Cyber Physical Systems community from two pioneering UUV developers. Work will be performed in Woburn, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed October 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and 23 offers were received. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,011,150 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-20-C-0535). ARMY FN America LLC, Columbia, South Carolina, was awarded a $78,709,973 firm-fixed-price contract for M249 Squad Automatic Weapons. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 19, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Newark, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (W15QKN-20-D-0036). James Construction Group LLC, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was awarded a $13,349,914 firm-fixed-price contract to design and construct a new two-lane bridge. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed at Fort Hood, Texas, with an estimated completion date of May 23, 2022. Fiscal 2020 military construction (Army) funds in the amount of $13,349,914 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-20-C-0038). World Wide Technology LLC, St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded an $8,980,145 firm-fixed-price contract for network upgrades. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 9, 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $8,980,145 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army 408th Contracting Support Brigade, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, is the contracting activity (W912D2-20-F-0046). Julius Kaaz Construction Co. Inc.,* Leavenworth, Kansas, was awarded an $8,852,723 firm-fixed-price contract to complete the renovation of Building 50 at Fort Leavenworth. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, with an estimated completion date of March 25, 2022. Fiscal 2020 civil construction funds in the amount of $8,852,723 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, Missouri, is the contracting activity (W912DQ-20-C-4015). NAVY Life Cycle Engineering Inc., Charleston, South Carolina (N64498-20-D-4036, $44,312,721); and McKean Defense Group LLC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (N64498-20-D-4037, $33,941,662), are awarded a combined total $78,254,383 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for engineering and technical services to support the shipboard Electronic Chart Display and Information System and the Situational Awareness Bridge Display System for the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (20%); Norfolk, Virginia (10%); San Diego, California (10%); Washington, D.C. (5%); Mayport, Florida (5%); Charlottesville, Virginia (4%); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (4%); Yokosuka, Japan (4%); the Kingdom of Bahrain (4%); Bremerton, Washington (2%); Rota, Spain (2%); and the remainder of the work (30%) will be performed at the contractor sites according to each awarded task order, and is expected to be completed by September 2025. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $500,000 ($250,000 obligated on each contract) will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. These contracts were competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with four offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., Jacksonville, Florida, is awarded a $75,129,607 modification (P00006) to previously awarded, cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract N00019-19-D-0003. This modification exercises options to provide aircraft inspections, modifications and repairs as well as inner wing panel (IWP) modifications and repairs for the F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G series aircraft. These efforts restore the aircraft and IWP to meet service life projections in accordance with new design specifications. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Florida (80%); St. Louis, Missouri (15%); and Lemoore, California (5%), and is expected to be completed in September 2021. No funds are being obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Etolin Strait Partners LLC,* Norfolk, Virginia, is awarded a $30,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract modification for the exercise of Option Year One under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for construction projects located primarily within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Washington, D.C., area of responsibility (AOR). The work to be performed provides for various maintenance, repair, alteration and minor new construction projects for facilities located primarily within the NAVFAC Washington, D.C., AOR in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. The total contract amount after this modification will be $60,000,000. No task orders are being issued at this time. Work will be performed primarily in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., and is expected to be completed by September 2021. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. Task orders will be primarily funded by fiscal 2021 military construction (Navy); operations and maintenance (O&M) (Navy); O&M (Defense Logistics Agency); and Navy working capital funds. NAVFAC Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N40080-19-D-0007). Centerra Integrated Services LLC, Herndon, Virginia, is awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a maximum amount of $30,000,000 for minor construction, alteration and repair of real property and utilities at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. An initial task order is awarded at $64,194 to provide new high density polyethylene pile fenders at the Windward and Leeward Ferry Landing. The work to be performed provides for, but is not limited to, general construction projects including new construction, repair, alteration, renovation, demolition and other construction-related operations or projects. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by January 2021. All work for this contract will be performed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of September 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) (O&M, N) contract funds in the amount of $64,194 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by O&M, N and O&M (Army). This contract was competitively procured via the beta.SAM.gov Contract Opportunities website with three proposals received. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity (N69450-20-D-0072). Bette & Cring LLC, Latham, New York, is awarded a $23,064,843 firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of a co-generation plant at the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. This work to be performed is a construction project for the co-generation plant with a combined heat and power system to generate electricity and steam at the Naval Research Laboratory. Site preparation includes above-ground site demolition and relocations, underground site demolition and utility relocations, excavation, grading preparation for construction and paving. Mechanical systems will include water, steam, sewer, heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C., and is expected to be completed by April 2023. Fiscal 2016 and 2017 military construction contract funds in the amount of $23,064,843 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with four proposals received. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N40080-20-C-0023). The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $21,909,659 modification (P00040) to previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract N00019-16-C-0032. This modification exercises an option for test and evaluation support for Next Generation Jammer integration on the EA-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri, and is expected to be completed in September 2021. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,360,505 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. Pacific Maritime Industries (PMI) Corp.,* San Diego, California (N00189-20-D-0030); TST Fabrications LLC,* Norfolk, Virginia (N00189-20-D-0031); and Tri-Way Industries (TWI) Inc.,* Auburn, Washington, (N00189-20-D-0032), are awarded an estimated $15,984,115 multiple award for a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract that will include terms and conditions for the placement of firm-fixed-price task orders to provide a means to purchase shipboard lockers and related materials in support of the Shipboard Habitability Improvement Program at competitive prices in accordance with the delivery schedules listed on the Statement of Work. The contracts will run concurrently and will include a 60-month base ordering period with an additional six-month ordering period option pursuant of Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.217-8, which if exercised, will bring the total estimated value of this contract to $19,540,057. The base ordering period is expected to be completed by September 2025; if the option is exercised, the ordering period will be completed by March 2026. Specific requirements for habitability support cannot be predicted at this time; therefore, the various locations of where the supplies will be delivered cannot be determined at this time. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,500 ($2,500 on each of the three contracts) will be obligated to fund the contracts' minimum amounts and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Individual task orders will be subsequently funded with appropriate fiscal year appropriations at the time of their issuance. This contract was competitively procured with the solicitation posted on beta.SAM.gov as a small business set-aside for the award of multiple contracts pursuant to the authority set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation 16.504, with four offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department, Norfolk Office, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, California, is awarded a $9,018,804 firm-fixed-price modification (P00023) to previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-successive-target contract N00019-17-C-0018. This modification establishes final configuration and final price determination for the unique material required for the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft. This modification provides for the procurement of three Integrated Functional Capability (IFC) 4.0 material kits and one IFC 4.0 retrofit kit. Additionally, this modification adds scope to support non-recurring engineering efforts associated with wing and v-tail modifications and the procurement of components and associated efforts in support of Lot Three low rate initial production. Work will be performed in Rancho Bernardo, California (28.9%); Palmdale, California (12.6%); Waco, Texas (9.6%); Red Oak, Texas (5.6%); Sparks, Nevada (5%); Verona, Wisconsin (4.4%); Bridgeport, West Virginia (2.4%); Westchester, Ohio (2.4%); San Clemente, California (2.1%); Salt Lake City, Utah (1.2%); Menlo Park, California (1.1%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (24.7%), and is expected to be completed in March 2022. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,018,804 will be obligated at the time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Oceaneering International Inc., Chesapeake, Virginia, is awarded a $7,733,142 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-6413 to exercise options for configuration changes, engineering services, material maintenance and repair. Work will be performed in Chesapeake, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by September 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Defense-wide; 80%), and fiscal 2020 procurement (Defense-wide; 20%) in the amount of $497,000 will be obligated at the time of award, of which, funds in the amount of $397,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2357052/source/GovDelivery/

• 

  December 17, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Budget watchdog warns this fighter could cost three times that of the F-35

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — A next-generation air superiority jet for the U.S. Air Force, known by the service as Penetrating Counter Air, could cost about $300 million in 2018 dollars per plane, the Congressional Budget Office states in a new study. At that price, PCA would be more than three times that of the average F-35A jet, which is set at about $94 million to capture both the expense of early production lots and the decline in cost as the production rate increases, according the report, which predicts the cost of replacing the Air Force's aircraft inventory from now until 2050. This sum, while not an official cost estimate from the Pentagon, represents the first time a government entity has weighed in on the potential price tag for PCA. The CBO estimates the Air Force will need 414 PCA aircraft to replace existing F-15C/Ds and F-22s, the Air Force's current fighters geared toward air-to-air combat. It also surmises that the first aircraft will enter service in 2030, based on the service's stated desire to begin fielding PCA around that time frame. The reason for the whopping price tag? Part of it comes down to the cost of new technology. “The PCA aircraft would probably have a greater range and payload, as well as improved stealth and sensor capabilities, than today's F-22; those characteristics would help it operate in the presence of the high-end air defenses that DoD believes China, Russia, and other potential adversaries may have in the future,” the CBO states. The other reason comes down to history. The Air Force doesn't have a great track record when it comes to producing stealth aircraft at the low costs initially envisioned by leadership. Both the B-2 and F-22 programs were truncated in part due to the high price per plane — which in turn contributed to the production rate never accelerating to the point where unit costs begin to decrease. The early years of the F-35 program were also marred by a series of cost overruns that eventually prompted the Pentagon to restructure it. “Containing costs for the PCA aircraft may be similarly difficult,” the report states. The Air Force has said little about PCA since the release of the Air Superiority 2030 flight plan in 2016, which stated a need for a new fighter jet that would be networked into a family of systems of other air, space, cyber and electronic warfare technologies. “The replacement may not be a single platform,” Gen. Dave Goldfein, the Air Force's chief of staff, told Defense News earlier this year. “It may be two or three different kinds of capabilities and systems. And so as we look at air superiority in the future, ensuring that we're advancing to stay ahead of the adversary, we're looking at all those options.” Although Air Force leadership won't say exactly what it's doing to develop PCA or when a new jet may be coming online, it's clearly making investments. In the fiscal 2019 budget, the service requested $504 million for “next-generation air dominance,” its portfolio of future fighter technologies and weapons. The Air Force expects to ramp up funding to $1.4 billion in FY20, hitting a high in FY22 with a projected $3.1 billion in spending. According to the CBO's analysis, Air Force procurement of new aircraft could peak at about $26 billion in 2033, as the service buys both the F-35 and PCA. Those two fighters, together with the B-21 bomber, are set to be the largest drivers of cost as procurement reaches its height in the mid-2030s. “Although the Air Force could probably modify both retirement plans and replacement schedules to smooth out the 2033 peak, the average annual costs of procuring new aircraft would still be higher than in the recent past: $15 billion in the 2020s, $23 billion in the 2030s, and $15 billion in the 2040s,” the report states. Dealing with an upcoming bow wave CBO's estimates included 35 platforms that will be replacing legacy systems, with six programs making up more than 85 percent of the projected procurement costs cited throughout the report: the F-35, PCA, the KC-46A, the B-21, the C-130J cargo plane as well as the yet-unannounced C-17 replacement. The report envisions a future where the Air Force is allowed to retire all of its legacy fighter and attack aircraft — the A-10, the F-15, the F-16 and even the F-22 — in favor of three aircraft: the F-35, PCA and a light attack aircraft configured to take on low-threat missions. The Air Force has yet to decide whether to buy a light-attack aircraft or how extensive its purchase may be, although the service is expected to put out a request for proposals by the end of the month. “Funding for new fighter aircraft makes up about half of the total projected costs of procuring new aircraft,” the CBO states, with the F-35 set to be the most expensive program through the 2020s until PCA takes its place in the early 2030s. The Air Force could decrease costs in a couple of ways, although all of them come with significant drawbacks. For one, it could extend the lives of its legacy fighter and attack aircraft, and delay programs like PCA. However, the CBO notes that “obtaining replacement parts can be both difficult and expensive, and a refurbished fleet may not provide as many available and mission-capable aircraft as a new fleet.” If the service wants to increase the availability of its inventory without paying the high price associated with developing a new stealth fighter, it could retire its legacy F-15s and F-16s and buy new ones. That option is probably more expensive, but would result in aircraft that are more reliable. The Air Force could also defer the PCA program while allowing some of its legacy aircraft to be retired, the CBO posits. However, Air Force leadership contend that the service is already too small, with Secretary Heather Wilson arguing that the number of operational squadrons needs to increase from 312 to 386 — a goal that necessitates buying more aircraft. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/12/14/budget-watchdogs-warn-of-expensive-price-tag-for-next-air-force-fighter/

• 

  July 18, 2023 | International, Aerospace

  Teledyne FLIR Defense Awarded Contract to Supply 1,000 More Black Hornet Nano-Drones to Ukraine

  The Norwegian MOD will procure an additional 1,000 Black Hornet UAS, as well as spare parts, maintenance, and training for Ukrainian operators and instructors