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January 24, 2020 | International, Aerospace

How Top Military Contractors Raytheon And BAE Systems Are Drawing Non-Traditional Suppliers Into Defense

During the long years that U.S. forces were fighting Islamic extremists in Southwest Asia, Russia and China were investing in new warfighting technologies.

Russia's hybrid military campaign against Ukraine in 2014 was a wake-up call for Washington to start paying more attention to “near-peer” threats. China's steadily increasing investment in long-range anti-ship missiles, anti-satellite weapons and cyber warfare reinforced awareness that America's military might be falling behind in the capabilities needed for winning high-end fights.

These trends led the Trump Administration to produce a new national defense strategy in 2018 focused mainly on countering the military challenges posed by Moscow and Beijing. Most of that strategy's content is secret, but one element is clear enough: the Pentagon wants novel solutions to emerging near-peer threats, and it wants them fast.

Policymakers in both the Obama and Trump administrations have repeatedly stated non-traditional military suppliers are a vital part of the Pentagon's effort to get ahead of overseas rivals and stay there. “Non-traditional” has a specific legal definition in defense acquisition policy that potentially allows suppliers to bypass burdensome regulations when offering commercial products from outside traditional military channels.

In more common-sense usage, non-traditional simply means any company capable of offering the military a better mousetrap that doesn't usually do business with the five-sided building. That includes a majority of tech companies in places like Austin, Boston and Silicon Valley, especially startups with cutting-edge ideas. It may also include larger industrial companies like General Motors that are re-entering the military market after a long absence.

The challenge facing policymakers is how to leverage the skills and intellectual property of these non-traditional players without suffocating them under a blanket of bureaucratic requirements that contribute little to finding novel solutions. One way to tap the dynamism of commercial enterprises is to partner them with longtime military contractors who can assume most of the burden for negotiating the bureaucratic landscape.

Here is how two companies, Raytheon and BAE Systems, have stepped up to the challenge.

Raytheon. Massachusetts-based Raytheon has been a major military contractor since it pioneered radar during World War Two. It is in the process of merging with United Technologies, an aerospace conglomerate that has long managed to operate successfully in military and commercial markets (both companies contribute to my think tank).

Raytheon executives say the pace of change and the expectations of military customers have changed radically in recent years. It is not uncommon for military customers to seek new ways of sensing, processing or communicating that must be delivered within months rather than years. This emerging dynamic has led the company to rethink who it partners with in producing such solutions, and how to interact with them.

Raytheon has a cultural affinity for diversity, which may help it to think outside the box about who its partners should be. Although not all of the non-traditional suppliers with whom it teams are Silicon Valley startups, a majority have not previously offered defense products as part of their portfolios.

The role the company has fashioned for itself in partnering with such enterprises is to act as a translator between the fluid world of commercial innovation and the rule-based environment of military acquisition. Raytheon has always been driven by its engineering culture, so the company knows how to identify promising technologies that can be assimilated into cutting-edge combat systems. But it also knows the ins and outs of a baroque acquisition system that outsiders frequently find impenetrable.

Raytheon seeks to leverage the energy of non-traditional sources while remaining in compliance with relevant government standards. For instance, there needs to be effective communication between the company and commercial sources, but the ability of the partner to observe the intricacies of sensitive projects must be tightly constrained. The tension of being a valued supplier but not accustomed to working in a classified environment must be managed.

Non-traditional partners provide Raytheon with base technologies that potentially enable unique military capabilities, and they often can generate novel solutions to technical challenges quickly, thanks to their entrepreneurial cultures. Raytheon configures and integrates these inputs for military customers while translating the needs of those customers into terms the non-traditional supplier can understand.

BAE Systems. The military electronics unit of another major defense contractor, BAE Systems, Inc., is headquartered across the border from Raytheon's home state in Nashua, New Hampshire. BAE concentrates on many of the same technologies Raytheon does such as sensors, signal processing and secure communications—which isn't surprising, since the core of its electronics operation was founded after World War Two by former Raytheon employees. BAE is a consulting client, which has given me some insight into how the company views non-traditional suppliers.

In addition to pursuing partnering initiatives such as those at Raytheon, BAE Systems has fashioned an internal mechanism for leveraging the technology of entrepreneurial startups by helping them to finance their businesses. That mechanism is called FAST Labs, and as the name implies it was conceived to help generate novel solutions to military challenges quickly.

Beyond determining whether the company should manufacture key technology inputs internally or go outside, FAST Labs continuously scouts for promising innovations that are emerging from U.S. startups. When it finds ideas with high potential, it seeks to build trusted partnerships with the enterprises, venture capital investors, universities and government agencies aimed at speeding the pace of innovation. For example, BAE has sponsored technology accelerators at places like MIT.

Most of the startups FAST Labs assists are commercial companies with “dual-use” technologies potentially applicable to military purposes. Although the company has a significant commercial electronics business, the focus of FAST Labs is mainly on meeting the demands of military customers. It takes its cues as to what might be most worthy of support from agencies like the Air Force Research Lab and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

FAST Labs seems to be a unique business model within the U.S. defense sector. Because the electronics technologies on which the Nashua operation concentrates are fungible across diverse markets, BAE Systems has benchmarked FAST Labs against renowned commercial R&D centers such as the old Bell Labs. It is an unusual approach to military innovation, but like executives at Raytheon, BAE execs say the usual approach to developing warfighting systems just doesn't cut it anymore with their Pentagon customer.

https://www-forbes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthompson/2020/01/24/how-top-military-contractors-raytheon-and-bae-systems-are-drawing-non-traditional-suppliers-into-defense/amp/

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  • A New Layer of Medical Preparedness to Combat Emerging Infectious Disease

    February 25, 2019 | International, Other Defence

    A New Layer of Medical Preparedness to Combat Emerging Infectious Disease

    DARPA has selected five teams of researchers to support PREventing EMerging Pathogenic Threats (PREEMPT), a 3.5-year program first announced in January 2018 to reinforce traditional medical preparedness by containing viral infectious diseases in animal reservoirs and insect vectors before they can threaten humans. Through studies in secure laboratories and simulated natural environments, the PREEMPT researchers will model how viruses might evolve within animal populations, and assess the safety and efficacy of potential interventions. Autonomous Therapeutics, Inc., Institut Pasteur, Montana State University, The Pirbright Institute, and the University of California, Davis, lead the PREEMPT teams. “DARPA challenges the PREEMPT research community to look far left on the emerging threat timeline and identify opportunities to contain viruses before they ever endanger humans,” said Dr. Brad Ringeisen, the DARPA program manager for PREEMPT. “One of the chief limitations of how infectious disease modeling is currently conducted is that it forecasts the trajectory of an outbreak only after it is underway in people. The best that data can do is inform a public health response, which places the United States in a reactive mode. We require proactive options to keep our troops and the homeland safe from emerging infectious disease threats.” According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 60 percent of emerging infectious diseases reported globally are zoonoses, meaning that they were initially diseases of animals and at some point became capable of infecting people. Zoonotic diseases are responsible for millions of human deaths every year, and the scope of the challenge is increasing due to the densification of livestock production, human encroachment into natural spaces, and upward trends in globalization, temperature, and population. Ebola is a high-profile example of a zoonotic disease. Despite being relatively difficult to spread — requiring direct contact with fluids from infected organisms — a string of outbreaks over the past five years has highlighted the threat it could present once established in densely populated areas. Researchers express even greater concern over the pandemic potential of new strains of the influenza virus and other airborne pathogens. Even in the United States and its territories, where viruses do not frequently emerge directly from animal reservoirs, vector-borne transmission of zoonoses such as West Nile virus disease is on the rise. The 2018 U.S. National Biodefense Strategy directs that it is essential to detect and contain such bio-threats, adopting a proactive posture to improve preparedness while also assessing and managing any biosecurity risks related to possible interventions. “The health of the American people depends on our ability to stem infectious disease outbreaks at their source, wherever and however they occur,” the document states. For the Department of Defense, that obligation extends to protection of deployed service members, who often operate in countries that are “hot spots” for emerging viruses yet lack robust public health infrastructure. The teams DARPA selected for PREEMPT comprise multidisciplinary researchers who bring expertise and field experience from around the world, some of whom represent institutions from nations at high risk from emerging infectious disease. Institutions participating as sub-contractors to DARPA receive funding from the lead organizations except as otherwise noted. The PREEMPT teams proposed to model specific diseases to assess the risk of spillover from animals into humans, identify key bottlenecks in the process as opportunities for intervention, and develop and assess novel, animal- or insect-focused interventions with built-in safety switches to prevent cross-species jump. The teams will collect samples from animal reservoirs in the field for analysis in secure, bio-contained facilities; some teams will also conduct analysis on existing banked samples and datasets. DARPA is not funding the release of PREEMPT interventions into the environment. Autonomous Therapeutics, Inc., under principal investigator Dr. Ariel Weinberger, leads a team made up of CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory; Navy Medical Research Unit-2, funded directly by DARPA; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Chicago Medical School; and University of Texas Medical Branch. The team will study air-borne highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in birds and small mammals, and tick-borne Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus. The Center for Comparative Medicine and the One Health Institute at the University of California, Davis, under principal investigator Dr. Peter Barry and co-PI Dr. Brian Bird, respectively, lead a team made up of the Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology; Mount Sinai School of Medicine; Rocky Mountain Laboratories of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to be funded directly by DARPA; The Vaccine Group, Ltd., a spin-out of University of Plymouth; University of Glasgow; University of Idaho; and University of Western Australia. The team will examine Lassa virus spillover from rodents, and study Ebola virus in rhesus macaques. The Institut Pasteur, under principal investigator Dr. Carla Saleh, leads a team made up of Institut Pasteur International Network partners in Cambodia, Central African Republic, France, French Guiana, Madagascar, and Uruguay; Latham BioPharm Group; and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The team will study several mosquito-borne arboviruses, which refers broadly to animal or human viruses transmitted by insects, as well as mosquito-specific viruses that could interfere with arbovirus infection in the insect vector. Montana State University, under principal investigator Dr. Raina Plowright, leads a team made up of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies; Colorado State University; Cornell University; Griffith University; Johns Hopkins University; NIH's Rocky Mountain Laboratories, funded directly by DARPA; Pennsylvania State University; Texas Tech University; University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Los Angeles; and University of Cambridge. The team will study henipavirus spillover from bats. The henipavirus genus of viruses contains multiple biothreat agents as categorized by NIH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Pirbright Institute, under principal investigator Dr. Luke Alphey, leads a team made up of the University of Nottingham and the University of Tartu. The team seeks to disrupt mosquito transmission of flaviviruses, which include Dengue fever, West Nile, and Zika viruses. Modeling and quantification are as important as new experimental technologies in preventing cross-species jumps. The results from modeling will inform when, where, and at what levels such interventions could be applied to achieve the greatest health benefits. Interventions under consideration include animal- or insect-targeted vaccines, therapeutic interfering particles, gene editors, and indirect approaches informed by environmental and ecological factors that affect how viruses are spread — for instance, understanding the environmental stressors that drive bats into closer contact with humans and devising mitigating options to reduce the likelihood of that contact. The research teams' approaches each come with a unique set of potential benefits and challenges, and the teams are responsible for assessing and demonstrating to DARPA the safety, efficacy, stability, and controllability of their proposed interventions. In the future, these considerations could factor into decisions by the ultimate end users — communities, governments, and regulators — on which strategies to pursue to prevent new zoonoses. DARPA and the PREEMPT teams receive guidance from independent expert advisors in the ethical, legal, social, and regulatory aspects of the life sciences. These individuals include Dr. Claudia Emerson, director of the Institute on Ethics & Policy for Innovation at McMaster University; Dr. Matt Kasper, legislative liaison for the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, and a former deputy director of field laboratory operations at the Naval Medical Research Center; and Dr. Steve Monroe, associate director for Laboratory Science and Safety at the CDC, and a former deputy director of the CDC's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases. The teams also benefit from established relationships with local universities, communities, and governments based on prior or ongoing research. These relationships will facilitate initial field collection and help to familiarize stakeholders with PREEMPT technologies as they are being developed. DARPA is also beginning outreach to the WHO as a potential avenue for future transition of PREEMPT technologies. DARPA intends that PREEMPT teams will perform fundamental research and publish results for review by the broader scientific community. https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2019-02-19

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - September 16, 2019

    September 17, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - September 16, 2019

    AIR FORCE General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., Fairfax, Virginia (FA8750-19-D-0005); American Systems Corp., Chantilly, Virginia (FA8750-19-D-0002); Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia (FA8750-19-D-0003); and Polaris Alpha LLC, Colorado Springs, Colorado (FA8750-19-D-0004), have been awarded a $427,000,000 maximum ordering amount indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price orders for the enhancements, modifications, integration, testing, demonstrations, deployments, maintenance and research and development of Global Application Research, Development, Engineering and Maintenance software baselines. Work will be performed at Fairfax, Virginia; Chantilly, Virginia; McLean, Virginia; and Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 16, 2026. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and four offers were received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $88,165 are being obligated at the time of contract award. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity. Kratos Unmanned Systems Division, Sacramento, California, has been awarded a $35,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Air Force Subscale Aerial Target peculiar spares. Work will be performed at Sacramento, California, and is expected to be complete by March 30, 2024. This award is the result of a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $185,606; and fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $35,255 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA8678-19-D-0001). CORRECTION: The Sept. 9, 2019, announcement of a $14,958,516 task order (FA8533-19-F-0091) against contract FA8533-18-D-0002 for Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, Florida, included an incorrect completion date. The expected completion date for the work is actually Jan. 8, 2022. WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES NCI Information Systems Inc., Reston, Virginia, has been awarded a $269,990,592 firm-fixed-price contract. This service delivery requirement will consist of satisfying Joint Service Provider (JSP) user needs for secure, accessible and stable information technology (IT) support. Service delivery services requires an understanding of the current operating environment of the JSP and the ability to leverage mature capabilities and industry best practices to improve efficiency and reduce complexity in order to enhance JSP's IT support services. Through the service delivery requirement, the JSP seeks to deliver responsive IT services and support to its users in the most efficient manner as possible. Work performance will take place primarily in the National Capital Region, including the Pentagon, Mark Center and Crystal City, Virginia. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $269,990,592 are being obligated on this award. The expected completion date is July 29, 2023. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HQ0034-19-F-0136). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Reinhart Foodservice LLC, Valdosta, Georgia, has been awarded a maximum $185,615,149 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full line food distribution. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. This is a two-year base contract with one one-year option period and one two-year option period. Location of performance is Georgia, with an Aug. 31, 2021, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Air Force and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-19-D-3211). Vinyl Technology, Monrovia, California, has been awarded a maximum $9,518,724 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the CSU-22/P, Advanced Technology Anti-G Suit. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a one-year base contract with three one-year option periods. Location of performance is California, with a Sept. 15, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-19-D-1188). NAVY Harper Construction Company Inc., San Diego, California, is awarded a $95,355,749 firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of the P-284 F-35C maintenance hangar at Naval Air Station, Lemoore, California. The project includes construction of a two-module Type I aircraft maintenance hangar, associated airfield pavements, operational and munitions storage, renovation of an existing battery shop, and building a new tool room. Project provides temporary facilities. Work will be performed in Lemoore, California, and is expected to be completed by November 2021. Fiscal 2019 military construction (Navy) contract funds for $95,621,143 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with five proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, is the contracting activity (N62473-19-C-2455). Environmental Chemical Corp., Burlingame, California, is awarded a $90,696,992 firm-fixed-price task order (N62470-19-F-9101) under the global contingency construction multiple award contract for P001, master time clocks and operations facility, Naval Observatory, District of Columbia. The task order also contains 10 unexercised options and nine planned modifications, which if utilized, would increase the cumulative task order value to $95,546,157. The work to be performed provides for the construction of a new building to house the master clocks, demolition and renovation of existing buildings, rehabilitation of existing foundations, and associated Verizon and Potomac Electric Power Co. work. The options that remain are for electronic security measures, and are available for award up to 365 days after task order award. The planned modifications that remain are for furniture, fixtures, and equipment and audio visual equipment. Work will be performed in Washington, District of Columbia, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. Fiscal 2019 military construction, (Navy) appropriation contract funds for $32,298,969 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Fiscal 2020 military construction (Navy) appropriation contract funds for $58,398,023 will be awarded in fiscal 2020. Options and planned modifications will be fiscal 2020 or later operation and maintenance (Navy) funds. Four proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N62470-19-D-8025). Hydroid Inc., Pocasset, Massachusetts, is awarded a $52,300,236 firm-fixed-price modification to previously-awarded firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00174-19-D-0009) to increase the ceiling for production support for the MK 18 family of unmanned underwater vehicle systems. The MK 18 program supports unmanned underwater vehicle systems. This award brings the cumulative value of this contract, if all options are exercised, to $100,170,578. Work will be performed in Pocasset, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by April 2024. No funds are being obligated at the time of this action. This contract is awarded on a sole-source basis in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2) — only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division, Indian Head, Maryland, is the contracting activity. AECOM Management Services Inc., Germantown, Maryland, is awarded a $26,822,300 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract action for operations, maintenance, engineering, and management services in support of Combined Tactical Training Range systems and equipment. 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In accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1), this contract was not competitively procured (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division, Norco, California, is the contracting activity (N6426719C0036). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Military Aircraft Systems, Melbourne, Florida, is awarded a $16,197,311 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-13-C-9999). This modification provides non-recurring engineering to incorporate Phase II of the Multifunctional Information Distribution System/Joint Tactical Radio System on the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft in support of the government of Japan. Work will be performed in Melbourne, Florida (75.15%); Norfolk, Virginia (8.98%); Ronkonkoma, New York (8.42%); St. Augustine, Florida (6.34%); various locations within the continental U.S. (0.79%); and Misawa, Japan (0.32%), and is expected to be completed in December 2021. Foreign Military Sales funds for $16,197,311 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. Nan Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii, is awarded a $15,128,199 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of an ordnance operations facility at Andersen Air Force Base. The work includes construction of a low-rise (one-story) reinforced concrete ordinance operations building, which includes administrative spaces to support Marine Corps ordinance operations. This project also constructs a low-rise (one-story) reinforced concrete inert storehouse. Work will be performed in Yigo, Guam, and is expected to be completed by December 2021. Fiscal 2019 military construction (Navy) contract funds for $15,128,199 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with three proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-19-C-1301). Bell Boeing Joint Program Office, Amarillo, Texas, is awarded a $14,523,096 modification (P00002) to a cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order (N00019-19-F-2768) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-17-G-0002). This modification exercises an option to procure support to implement capability defect packages and problem reports in accordance with work package task lists in support of V-22 fleet sustainment efforts. Work will be performed in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania (93%); and Fort Worth, Texas (7%), and is expected to be completed in June 2021. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds for $2,759,590 will be obligated at 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. International Marine and Industrial Applicators LLC, Spanish Fort, Alabama, is awarded a $14,152,760 firm-fixed-price contract for the accomplishment of preservation and non-SUBSAFE structural repairs and maintenance on USS Louisiana (SSBN 743). This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $14,495,622. The work to be performed on this contract will support main ballast tank, superstructure, sail, recesses, sonar dome, interior and external hull to include commercial blast, non-SUBSAFE structural repairs and preservation. The contractor shall furnish the necessary management, material support services, labor, supplies and equipment deemed necessary to perform the work. Work will be performed in Bremerton, Washington, and is expected to be completed by December 2020. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $14,152,760 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, Washington, is the contracting activity (N4523A-19-C-0803). The General Electric Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, is awarded an $11,660,580 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to research future concepts for advanced propulsion system technology for the next generation engine and integrated power and thermal management system as well as potential capabilities for the next generation jet engine aircraft in support of the Propulsion and Power Engineering Department. Work will be performed in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is expected to be completed in September 2022. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds for $11,660,580 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via a broad agency announcement; nine offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N68335-19-C-0622). ARMY General Dynamics Information Technology, Falls Church, Virginia, was awarded a $49,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to operate, sustain, and maintain the centralized meter data system. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 18, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W912DY-19-D-0007). The Dutra Group, San Rafael, California, was awarded a $23,168,500 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance dredging. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Southport, North Carolina; and Wilmington, North Carolina, with an estimated completion date of July 17, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, civil; and operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $23,168,500 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington, North Carolina, is the contracting activity (W912PM-19-C-0031). Oshkosh Defense LLC, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was awarded a $12,244,296 firm-price-incentive contract for M984A4 wrecker and self-recovery winch on the Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2021. Fiscal 2018 National Guard and Reserve equipment funds in the amount of $12,244,296 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-19-F-0511). ZelTech Training Solutions LLC,* Winter Park, Florida, was awarded a $10,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the acquisition of three variant pyrotechnic cartridge launchers, spares, shipping, test cartridges, site surveys, new equipment training, installation, test and integration, interim contractor support, technical data and contractor manpower reporting. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 15, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (W900KK-19-D-0012). B3 Enterprises LLC,* Woodbridge, Virginia, was awarded a $9,443,920 firm-fixed-price contract for refuel and defuel services, personnel, management, parts, supplies and transportation vehicles. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work will be performed in Daleville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2026. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $9,443,920 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W9124G-19-C-0006). L3 Doss Aviation, Colorado Springs, Colorado, was awarded a $9,424,653 firm-fixed-price contract for advanced helicopter flight training support services. Bids were solicited via the internet with seven received. Work will be performed in Fort Rucker, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2026. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $7,643 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W9124G-19-C-0006). ESA South Inc., Cantonment, Florida, was awarded a $7,672,322 firm-fixed-price contract to renovate and convert Building 87017 from a dining facility to a brigade headquarters at Fort Hood, Texas. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Fort Hood, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 20, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $7,672,322 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-19-C-0131). DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY Artel LLC, Herndon, Virginia, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract modification, P00010 to exercise Option Period Three against GS-35F-5151H/HC1013-16-F-0048 for commercial satellite communications service. The face value of this action is $11,817,932 funded by fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds. The total cumulative face value of the task order is $59,098,160. Quotations were solicited via the General Services Administration's Federal Supply Schedule, Information Technology Schedule 70, and one quotation was received from 29 offerors. Performance will be at the contractor's facility located in Herndon, Virginia. The period of performance for the base period was Sept. 25, 2016, through Sept. 24, 2017, with four 12-month option periods. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Inmarsat Government Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract modification to exercise Option Period One against GS00Q-17-NRD-4014/HC1013-18-F-0243 for commercial satellite communications service. The face value of this action is $10,999,476 funded by fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds. Primary performance will be at the contractor's facility in Reston, Virginia. Proposals were solicited via the General Services Administration's Complex Commercial Satellite Communications contract, and six proposals were received from 22 offerors solicited. The base period of performance is Sept. 17, 2018, through Sept. 16, 2019, with four 12-month option periods. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/1961889/source/GovDelivery/

  • Satellite startup True Anomaly opens Colorado factory

    August 17, 2023 | International, Aerospace

    Satellite startup True Anomaly opens Colorado factory

    The building, called GravityWorks, will host production for the company’s Jackal spacecraft, designed to perform rendezvous and proximity operations.

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