In a Trump win, 'buy-the-dip' opportunity seen in European defence

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

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - December 14, 2020

  AIR FORCE Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Clearfield, Utah, has been awarded a $185,700,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the A-10 Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) Legacy VII. This contract provides for sustaining engineering services of A-10 aircraft. Work will be performed in Clearfield, Utah, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 13, 2030. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $6,480,694 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8202-21-D-0001). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum Heights, Maryland, has been awarded a $163,650,543 requirements contract for the supply chain management of the APY-1/2 surveillance radar systems used on Airborne Warning and Control Systems aircraft. The contract provides for repairs, sustaining spares and engineering services relating to the APY-1/2 systems. Work will be performed in Linthicum Heights, Maryland, and is expected to be completed Sept. 9, 2028. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2021 defense working capital funds are being used and no funds are being obligated at the time of the award. The Air Force Sustainment Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8524-21-D-0006). The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a $79,569,583 firm-fixed-price contract for F-15 Eagle Passive Active Warning and Survivability System low rate initial production. Work will be performed in San Antonio, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2026. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 production funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8634-21-C-2702). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., McLean, Virginia, has been awarded a $13,464,704 requirements contract for the repairs, sustaining spares and engineering services relating to the Aircraft Alerting Communication Electromagnetic Pulse system. Work will be performed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 9, 2028. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2021 defense working capital funds will be used with no funds being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Sustainment Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8524-21-D-0001). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Science Applications International Corp., Fairfield, New Jersey, has been awarded a maximum $90,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for facilities maintenance, repair and operations items. 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 bridge contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are New Jersey, Hawaii, Guam and the Kwajalein Atoll, with a Dec. 14, 2021, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE8E3-21-D-0004). NAVY Raytheon Missiles and Defense, Tewksbury, Massachusetts, was awarded a $59,414,933 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost modification to previously awarded contract N00024-17-C-5145 to exercise options for DDG 1000 ship class integrated logistics support, engineering services and procurement of M5 call servers. The total ship activation (TSA) contract includes mission system activation and hull mechanical and electrical activation efforts to include waterfront integration, activation and test of Zumwalt class mission systems and mission system equipment at the system and subsystem levels; development and conduct of the Zumwalt class TSA test program; personnel, program management, planning, training and other efforts required to effectively support the execution of the Zumwalt class TSA; development and review of design drawings, technical data packages, installation control drawings and change documentation in support of Zumwalt class TSA; and development and implementation of government-approved proposed changes and the implementation of Zumwalt class cybersecurity/information assurance requirements. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (42%); Portsmouth, Rhode Island (27%); Tewksbury, Massachusetts (22%); Bath, Maine (7%); Ft. Wayne, Indiana (1%); and Marlboro, Massachusetts (1%), and is expected to be completed by December 2021. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); and fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy), funding in the amount of 5,489,262 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was procured under the statutory authority of 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1); 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. (Awarded Dec. 11, 2020) BAE Systems, Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc., Greenlawn, New York, is awarded an $18,003,287 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides for the production, test and delivery of up to five Mode 5 capable AN/APX-117A(V) systems; one Mode 5 capable AN/APX-118A(V) system; 308 Mode 5 capable AN/APX-123A(V) common identification friend or foe digital transponder systems; 289 Mode 5 kits; and associated shop replaceable assemblies and repairs incident to modification in support of fixed and rotary winged aircraft for the Navy, Army and non-Department of Defense participants. Work will be performed in Greenlawn, New York (85%); and Austin, Texas (15%), and is expected to be completed in December 2026. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-21-D-0008). Raytheon Missiles and Defense, Tucson, Arizona, is awarded a $17,765,396 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-16-C-5433 to exercise options in support Evolved SeaSparrow missile design agent, in-service support and technical engineering support services. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (91%); Hengelo Ov, Netherlands (2%); Raufoss, Norway (2%); Ottobrunn, Germany (1%); Richmond, Australia (1%); and various locations with less than 1% each (3%), and is expected to be completed by June 2021. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. government and other country funds (NATO consortium members, non-Foreign Military Sales (FMS) (99%); and the government of Japan (1%) under the FMS program. Fiscal 2021 other country funds in the amount of $9,772,474 (55%); 2021 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,127,125 (29%); 2020 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,354,250 (13%); 2021 research, development, testing and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $399,547 (2%); and FMS (Japan) funds in the amount of $112,000 (1%) 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. GBD JV,* Aberdeen, Maryland, is being awarded a $13,000,000 firm-fixed-price modification to increase the maximum dollar value of an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for new paving, paving repair and/or replacement of various types of paving within Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Washington area of responsibility (AOR). The work to be performed provides for new paving, paving repair and/or replacement of various types of paving such as roadways, airfields, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, etc. Other incidental types of work, including but not limited to, demolition, site preparations and site drainage are also included in the scope of work. Paving and associated work may be ordered for industrial, commercial and residential locations indicated with each task order. After award of this modification, the total cumulative contract value will be $63,000,000. Work will be performed in the NAVFAC Washington AOR, including but not limited to, Maryland (40%); Virginia (40%); and Washington, D.C. (20%). The term of the contract is not to exceed 48 months with an expected completion date of April 2021. No funds will be obligated at time of award and funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. Future task orders will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy); operation and maintenance (O&M) (Navy); O&M (Marine Corps); and Navy working capital funds. NAVFAC Washington, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N40080-17-D-0033). Forward Slope Inc., San Diego, California, is being awarded an $11,323,595 modification P00008 to previously awarded requirements-type contract N66001-18-D-0117 to provide command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) planning and design services in support of shore installation projects. This one-year modification increases the overall value of the existing contract to $34,867,630. The period of performance is from Jan. 11, 2021, through Jan. 10, 2022. Work will be performed at the contractor's facilities in San Diego, California (50%); and Hawaii (50%). Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds will be obligated as individual task orders are issued. This contract was originally competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-17-R-0002 published on the beta.SAM.gov website. Eight offers were received and one was selected for award. The Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-18-D-0117). ARMY InSap Services Inc., Marlton, New Jersey, was awarded a $24,507,978 modification (BA0250) to contract W91QUZ-11-D-0017 for enterprise application services support to the Army's Logistics Modernization Program. Work will be performed in Marlton, New Jersey, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 14, 2020. Fiscal 2020 civil consolidated working funds in the amount of $10,394,401 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Oakland Consulting Group, Lanham, Maryland, was awarded a $12,407,852 modification (BA0236) to contract W91QUZ-11-D-0018 for enterprise application services support to the Army's Logistics Modernization Program. Work will be performed in Lanham, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 civil consolidated working funds in the amount of $4,359,142 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Avion Solutions Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded an $8,820,564 modification (000337) to contract W31P4Q-18-A-0047 for logistics support for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems project manager's office. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $8,820,564 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2446305/source/GovDelivery/

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  October 1, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Boeing’s big month capped off with hat trick of new contracts

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — Boeing is the biggest aircraft manufacturer in the world, but the losses of the joint strike fighter program and Air Force's long range strike bomber still weigh heavily on the company's defense unit, and had prompted some in industry to wonder if the company's days of making cutting edge combat aircraft were numbered. Conventional wisdom held that Boeing needed to win either the Navy's unmanned tanker drone or the Air Force's next-generation trainer aircraft contract to keep its St. Louis, Mo.-based facility building tactical aircraft into the 2030s. a contract for the Air Force's Huey replacement helicopter was seen as out of reach as the service had formerly expressed a preference for sole-sourcing Black Hawks. But in a matter of weeks, Boeing racked up all three contracts, shocking the defense establishment. First came the MQ-25 Stingray award for the Navy's unmanned tanker drone on Aug. 30. An initial $805 million contract covers the design, development, fabrication, test and delivery of four Stingray drones, but Navy acquisition boss James Geurts said the entire program could be worth up to $13 billion for 72 aircraft. “It is a big win on a high-visibility competition/program and gives Boeing a franchise unmanned program,” wrote Roman Schweizer of Cowen Washington Research Group on Sept. 4. Boeing defeated Lockheed Martin and General Atomics to win the program — and that victory allows Boeing to cement its own status as the Navy's premier manufacturer of fixed-wing aircraft. “A Lockheed Martin win would have cemented its position as the builder of ‘next-gen' naval aviation platforms while Boeing would have been relegated to manufacturing fleet workhorses,” Schweizer said in his assessment of the award. “General Atomics would have a been a one-off, but we thought they would been a favorite for a low-cost, low-risk design.” Then on Monday, Boeing won another big competition — this time worth up to $2.38 billion — for the Air Force's UH-1N replacement helicopter. Boeing and Leonardo were immediately obligated $375 million for the initial four MH-139 helicopters, which will be built at Leonardo's commercial AW-139 production plant in Philadelphia. It was huge news for Leonardo, a large Italian defense contractor that had been attempting to break into the U.S. market with a major program for about a decade. But for Boeing, it was still a relatively small aircraft procurement program, with Byron Callan, an analyst with Capital Alpha Partners, writing that there were probably few opportunities for Boeing-Leonardo to sell the MH-139 to other users in the U.S. military. However, Boeing on Thursday won the major opportunity it had been seeking: the Air Force's T-X program. Boeing's clean sheet design beat out Lockheed and Leonardo to win a contract worth up to $9.2 billion. It's likely the actual program will be worth considerably less — Boeing would be obligated a total of $9.2 billion over time if the Air Force decides to execute all options on the contract for 475 training jets, and the services' program of record sits at 350 jets. But its importance to Boeing extends past the award's total contract value. Winning T-X was “possibly critical” for Boeing's St. Louis plant and for its defense business to remain a competitive player in tactical aircraft design, said Callan. “The MQ-25 win helps sustain production at that facility, which now builds F/A-18s and F-15s,” he wrote after the Sept. 27 announcement. “However, the F/A-18 and F-15 lines may end by the mid-2020s. T-X enables Boeing to keep that facility humming and therefore in the hunt for Penetrating Counter Air and other new military aircraft programs.” Analysts like Callan and Schweizer had speculated that Boeing would bid very aggressively to try to win the contract, but the question was whether the company could possibly offer a new purpose-built design at a significantly lower price point than competitors Lockheed Martin and Leonardo, which both proposed aircraft designs already in production and use by foreign militaries. It appears Boeing may have been able to do just that. Richard Aboulafia told Defense News in 2017 that the Lockheed and Leonardo trainers came with a price tag of about $25 million, although both companies were expected to bid lower than that to be competitive. Meanwhile, Jim McAleese of McAleese & Associates pegged the unit cost of Boeing's T-X at an “eye-watering” $19 million, far below the Air Force's $45 million per plane expectation. That low price “establishes an extremely high burden for disappointed offerors of Lockheed or Leonardo” to launch a successful protest with the Government Accountability Office, he stated in a Sept. 28 email, although Lockheed and Leonardo could potentially argue that the Air Force's cost and schedule risk assessments are too optimistic, given that Boeing offered a new airframe. Callan also pointed out that the MQ-25 and T-X wins could be advantageous to Boeing's commercial business. In the past, the defense sector has developed new materials that have later been adapted for use by the airline industry. With Boeing acquiring autonomy-focused businesses like Liquid Robotics and Aurora while investing in startups through its HorizonX organization, it is possible advances in military unmanned tech could give way to autonomous commercial cargo planes or other future concepts. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2018/09/28/boeings-big-month-capped-off-with-hat-trick-of-new-contracts

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  September 28, 2020 | International, Naval

  The Pentagon is eyeing a 500-ship Navy, documents reveal

  David B. Larter and Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The Pentagon's upcoming recommendation for a future Navy is expected to call for a significant increase in the number of ships, with officials discussing a fleet as large as 530 hulls, according to documents obtained by Defense News. Supporting documents to the forthcoming Future Navy Force Study reviewed by Defense News show the Navy moving towards a lighter force with many more ships but fewer aircraft carriers and large surface combatants. Instead, the fleet would include more small surface combatants, unmanned ships and submarines and an expanded logistics force. Two groups commissioned by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to design what a future Navy should look like suggested fleets of anywhere from 480 to 534 ships, when manned and unmanned platforms are accounted for — at least a 35 percent increase in fleet size from the current target of 355 manned ships by 2030. The numbers all come from an April draft of inputs to the Future Navy Force Study conducted by the Office of the Secretary of Defense. While the number will likely have changed somewhat in final recommendations recently sent to Esper, the plans being discussed in April are notable as they reflect what will likely be major shift in the Navy's future — and the expectation is that a larger-than-planned Navy based on the concepts laid out in the documents will remain intact in the final analysis. Esper himself hinted at that in comments last week. In a speech delivered at the think tank Rand, the secretary called for a Navy of “over 350 ships,” specifically by increasing the Navy's shipbuilding funding account. “In short, it will be a balanced force of over 350 ships — both manned and unmanned — and will be built in a relevant time frame and budget-informed manner,” he said. Indeed, the fleet compositions presented in the inputs broadly reflect the concept of a lighter fleet more reliant on unmanned or lightly crewed vessels that Esper described to Defense News in a February interview. “One of the ways you get [to a larger fleet] quickly is moving toward lightly manned [ships], which over time can be unmanned,” Esper said then. “We can go with lightly manned ships, get them out there. You can build them so they're optionally manned and then, depending on the scenario or the technology, at some point in time they can go unmanned.” The Future Naval Force Study, overseen by Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist, kicked off in January after Esper decided he wanted an outside take on the Navy's self-review of its future force structure. The OSD-led review tasked three groups to provide their version of an ideal fleet construction for the year 2045, one each by the Pentagon's Cost Assessment & Program Evaluation office, the Joint Staff, the Navy and a group from the Hudson Institute. Those fleets were war-gamed and the results were compiled into the Future Naval Force Study, which was briefed to Esper earlier this month. Ultimately, the Navy is using the feedback from the study to create their shipbuilding plan and fiscal 2022 budget request, the service said in a statement. “The Future Naval Force Study is a collaborative OSD, Joint Staff and Department of the Navy effort to assess future naval force structure options and inform future naval force structure decisions and the 30-year shipbuilding plan,” said Navy spokesman Lt. Tim Pietrack. “Although COVID-19 has delayed some portions of the study, the effort remains on track to be complete in late 2020 and provide analytic insights in time to inform Program Budget Review 22.” The April documents viewed by Defense News included notional fleets designed by CAPE and the Hudson Institute. Defense News did not have access to the Navy's inputs into the FNFS. Neither fleet reviewed by Defense News, nor the fleet developed by the Navy, will be the final composition reflected in the FNFS. The numbers, however, provide a glimpse of the radically different future fleet likely to be reflected in the final analysis expected later this year. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/09/24/the-pentagon-is-eyeing-a-500-ship-navy-documents-reveal/