May 23, 2024 | International, Land
February 3, 2020 | International, Naval
The carrier Ford is trying to shake years of controversy and find its groove
By: David B. Larter
ABOARD THE CARRIER GERALD R. FORD IN THE VIRGINIA CAPES — Capt. J.J. Cummings is literally jumping up and down with excitement.
“Ahhhhhh I love that s---!” he shouts as the roar of an F/A-18 Super Hornet's twin engines fades into the distance.
The fighter jet's low flyby a few hundred yards off the port side of the U.S. Navy's most expensive-ever warship is a loud reminder that the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford isn't a construction project anymore.
For Cummings, the ship's Massachusetts-born commanding officer, and for the ship's crew, Ford is now a living, breathing warship with jets operating from its $13 billion flight deck. “I could watch flybys all day,” the career fighter pilot said Jan. 27 during a visit by Defense News aboard the vessel.
Standing on the deck of the first-in-class Ford, Cummings is showing off the major redesign of the flight deck, which expanded the available space to maneuver and refit fighters to get back in the air.
“This spot right here is what defines the Ford class,” he said, stopping in front of the in-deck refueling stations. “On the Nimitz class, if you want to refuel an aircraft you have to pull a hose across the flight deck and you can't drive over it so you can't maneuver aircraft the way you might like.
“Now you just open this hatch, pull the aircraft up and hook up right here.”
The redesigned flight deck, which was developed in consultation with NASCAR pit engineers, gives the Ford an extra half acre of real estate over its predecessors. The extra space is key to the Navy's newest platform, built from the keel up to maximize how efficiently the ship can generate sorties, as well as be adaptable to new aircraft and weapons systems over time.
But the 23 new technologies incorporated into the Ford, while making the ship a technological marvel, have also been the cause of ongoing controversy as delays and cost overruns marred the program.
Over the coming year, Ford will be underway 11 times over 220 days, working out the kinks, training sailors and writing the book on how the new class of carriers will operate. In the mind of the Cummings, that puts his crew in the history books.
“What the American people should know is that this ship is absolutely amazing, and our crew is even more amazing than that,” Cummings said. “What people should know is that we are, no kidding, pioneers in naval aviation. Every [major] system on this ship is different from Nimitz class, so these people are pioneers. We're writing the book for the Ford class for the rest of history.”
One of the enabling technologies to help them increase sortie generation is the advanced weapons elevators. The system is designed to cut the time it takes to move bombs from lower decks — where they are assembled and tested — to the flight deck for arming the Super Hornets.
Delays with that technology contributed to the downfall of former Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer and have been the latest in a long line of headaches caused by new technologies the Navy packed into the Ford.
To date, four of the planned 11 advanced weapons elevators work as advertised. As secretary, Spencer made a public pledge to have the weapons elevators ready by last summer, but now they may not all work until 2021, delays he blamed on shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries.
Ensuring the Ford's readiness has been a major focus of the acting Navy secretary, Thomas Modly. For Modly, the continued troubles with the Ford are hurting the organization.
"There is nothing worse than having a ship like that, our most expensive asset, being out there as a metaphor for why the Navy can't do anything right,” Modly said at a December U.S. Naval Institute forum.
'Managing the complexity'
The high-level attention on Ford, which has become a favorite topic of President Donald Trump when he talks about major defense programs, has made the Navy eager to highlight efforts dedicated to preparing the ship for theater operations.
For the crew and officers, many of the headaches come from managing the sheer number of new technologies on the ship, said Cmdr. Mehdi Akacem, the air boss on Ford.
“The biggest challenge is managing the complexity,” Akacem said. “I think there is more technical complexity packed into this ship than the Apollo program. I learn so much every day, I have to constantly refocus on what's in my lane.
“There are so many new systems. ... The challenge is sustaining that focus on one new thing after another. I don't think there are any five people who understand all the complexity on this ship, all these technical challenges happening in parallel.”
That has made it difficult to develop maintenance and qualification procedures for the crew. However, slowly but surely the crew is figuring it out, Akacem said.
“One of the parts of the overall system that's still maturing is the maintenance documentation, the technical manuals, parts lists, periodicity of preventive maintenance,” Akacem said.
“One of the neat modifications on the Advanced Arresting Gear, very simple to look at but a huge time saver: We used to have to take the system offline, climb into the Advanced Arresting Gear, climb all around it with a grease gun to go grease the bearings," he added. “Now there is a manifold so the sailor can just walk up with a gun — pump, pump, pump and done. And it saves about 45 minutes out of the grease process. Those are the kinds of things we've learned through the post-shakedown availability.”
That's what the officers and crew of Ford hope to figure out this year: How does this ship work, and what is the best way to man and maintain it? And for sailors, the only way to figure that out is to get the ship underway.
“All good things come from ships at sea,” Akacem said. “We've sat around and philosophized about, ‘Well, can we get by with less?' or ‘Do we need more here?' Now we're proving that out."
“With the Advanced Arresting Gear — that's probably where the steepest learning curve exists for our sailors — we were feeling overwhelmed the first couple days with preventative maintenance, corrective maintenance and a bunch of the technical preparations. But our level of uncertainty has gone down so much in just a couple of weeks,” he added. “Just the confidence growth has been tremendous.”
The learning process has even led to some firsts for the Navy, said Cummings. “We have aviation boatswains mates — typically some our roughest, toughest people up here — and we're making them be electricians and fiber-optics experts, which is a different theme," the ship's commanding officer explained.
“So now we're putting [interior communications specialists] into the air department, which is a first. So now you have your ICs, who are your techie fiber-optics people, with your hardcore, hydraulic fluid-drinking, grease-wearing hard-chargers. It's a very interesting mix in the air department," he added. “So is the manning right? Absolutely not. We're still figuring it out. Some of these systems are a little immature, and we're figuring it out, but it's going to take time.”
A training challenge
A major hurdles for the crew has been getting sailors trained and qualified to operate, maintain and fix their own gear, Cummings said.
“Self-repair: That's a challenge” he said. “The ability to get underway, operate and fix our gear ourselves without having to pull in and bring in tech reps out from all over.”
In the absence of new schoolhouses, which are on the way, sailors have relied on shore-based testing sites and simulators from vendors for training, Cummings said.
“It's a challenge. The infrastructure to train up our sailors — well, it's coming and we're working toward that end,” he said. “[There's] a lot of on-the-job training."
As far as schools, General Atomics will host sailors at Rancho Bernardo, a neighborhood in San Diego, California. From there, the sailors will have access to a simulator to practice catapult launches.
The Navy will also send sailors to the test site for Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Arresting Gear in Lakehurst, New Jersey.
“The schoolhouses are coming, but it's a challenge. We're a first-in-class, we get a lot of Nimitz-class stock projected on to our ship, but it doesn't work for our ship,” Cummings explained.
Another challenge has been rack space. According to a recent Congressional Research Service report, the Navy is 100 racks short of what it would need to house a full crew and air wing. And while that isn't an immediate issue for this event, it could prove a problem closer to its first deployment.
But Naval Sea Systems Command said in a statement that the ship has what it needs for its first deployment already.
“The ship's bunks will be sufficient to meet ship's crew, air wing, and embarked staff requirements for first deployment, based on overall berthing numbers identified in the manpower estimates for the Gerald R. Ford class,” NAVSEA said in a statement. “For ship's crew, specifically, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is designed to operate with hundreds fewer Sailors than required on the Nimitz class.”
‘Off and running'
But for all the myriad issues that come from fielding a radically different first-in-class ship, Cummings and his crew are jazzed about how it's performing. Many of the key technologies, such as the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and the Advanced Arresting Gear have performed remarkably well — a significant improvement over some of the bugs the ship faced when aircraft started landing on and launching from the carrier in 2017.
“I just spoke to some of the first ones to use the flight deck back in 2017 and 2018: exponential improvement in performance,” Cummings said. “For the catapult, we smoothed out many of the software issues and tolerances. We reduced those tolerances to a right number and we've had very few issues with the catapults.
“Our Advanced Arresting Gear is performing spectacularly. A couple hiccups here and there, a quick reset: off and running.”
Ford has been using its time at sea to develop wind envelopes for all the aircraft currently flying in the fleet. The process included generating a series of wind conditions, launching and landing an aircraft, and downloading the technical data; then rinse and repeat.
“By the time we pull in at the end of January, every fleet aircraft — C-2, E-2D, F/A-18 Super Hornet, Growler and T-45 (our jet trainer) — will be validated to be given their full envelopes for these aircraft to go on deployment or to train our young aviators,” Cummings said.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will ultimately be integrated into the ship, which is a matter of reconfiguring some spaces to handle classified materials and storing parts, among other things, but the ship will not deploy with the jet at first.
As the ship keeps to a breakneck schedule over the next year, Cummings hopes to rack up a significant number of “cats and traps” (meaning individual catapult launches and recoveries) to get a stronger idea of how the ship will stand up to the crushing operations tempo of a carrier on deployment.
“Our goal is to get about 7,000-8,000 cats and traps to figure out: ‘Hey, what's going to break?' ” he said. “What parts do we need on order?' Let's refine our procedures. So through post-delivery test and trial period, that's our goal. And with an embarked air wing in the April time frame, we're going to be able to start getting after that. We've got a big year ahead of us."
The Ford is doing about 10-15 traps per day as it works through the data set, and ultimately it should have about 1,000 by the time it pulls back in at the end of January, Cummings said. To get to that 7,000-8,000 goal, the Navy must get its student pilots lots of traps on Ford.
“For the Next year, the only carrier on the East Coast able to provide carrier qualification capability is the Gerald R. Ford,” Cummings said. “When we get our flight deck certified in March, after that we're going straight into carrier qualifications. So all year, any chance we can: ‘Hey, bring 'em out because we need some time in the batting cage. Hit off the tee and see where we have holes in our swing.' ”
The post-delivery test and trial period is supposed to last 18 months. After PDT&T, the ship is headed to full-ship shock trials, where live explosives are set off next to the ship to see how the class stands up to shock damage. Navy officials previously testified the entire process could delay the Ford's deployment by up to a year.
So taking a year to conduct the trials, then fix all the broken crockery: That would allow Ford to enter the 7.5-month carrier predeployment workup cycle in the second half of 2022, and then it would likely be able to deploy by mid-2023.
So, after years of delays, cost overruns and controversy, the ship is finally getting into its groove. And that's the message Cummings wants to send over the next year of operations.
“This ship is kick-ass,” Cummings said. “I came here a year and a half ago, I heard all the stories, heard from the critics, came here, and they were all wrong in their assumption about our ship. What people should know is that this ship is amazing.”
On the same subject
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December 18, 2020 | International, Land
European Union awards grant to forge unmanned ground vehicle standard
By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — The European Commission has awarded Estonia and the country's robotics company Milrem a grant to lead the way on a standard architecture for military unmanned ground vehicles, the company announced. The deal, worth close to $40 million and signed Dec. 11, formally kicks off a pan-European development for a new generation of battlefield ground robots. Named Integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System, or iMUGS, the project uses Milrem's THeMIS vehicle as a reference platform for creating a “standardized European-wide ecosystem for aerial and ground platforms,” according to the company. Also covered by the project is relevant technology in the fields of command and control, communications, sensors, payloads, and algorithms. The connection to the European Union's coffers comes through the bloc's European Defence Industrial Development Programme. Besides Estonia as the lead, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia and Spain also are part of the iMUGS group, adding a combined €2 million (U.S. $2.4 million) to the effort. The countries each bring their relevant national companies to the table, including Safran Electronics & Defense, Nexter Systems, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, Diehl Defence, and Bittium Wireless. “Estonia has the honor and a great responsibility taking the lead in this project as nothing on a similar scale has been conducted before,” said Martin Jõesaar, chief of the project office in the Estonian Centre for Defence Investment. “Our goal is not only making iMUGS a one-time effort, but to build it into a base project for future developments. Our long-term goal is that each of the modular systems built will pave a way for further innovation in its field.” While the sums involved in iMUGS are relatively small in the world of defense programs, the effort has the potential to shape the European market for military robotic vehicles. The initiative is a prime example of defense companies like Milrem, some of them years ago, sensing a chance to position their own offerings firmly in the thicket of European defense priorities. But the THeMIS robot is not the only game in town. Rheinmetall is equally trying to position its unmanned portfolio in the European market, even without EU backing. In the case of its Mission Master vehicle, the intellectual property belongs to the company's Canadian division, which makes support through EU channels tricky. Still, the vehicle is being tried by the land forces of several countries on the European continent. According to Milrem, European countries are expected to need thousands of ground robots during the next 10-15 years, creating a market valued in the billions of euros. “With seven participating nations and key industrial players, the unmanned ground system developed during iMUGS is expected to become the preferred European solution for integrating into armed units,” the company claims. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/12/16/european-union-awards-grant-to-forge-unmanned-ground-vehicle-standard/
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December 24, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - December 21, 2018
ARMY Lockheed Martin Corp., Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $3,378,834,083 fixed-price-incentive foreign military sales (Kuwait and Saudi Arabia) contract to produce Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target Advanced Capability-3 missiles with associated ground support equipment and initial spares. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama; Camden, Arkansas; Ocala, Florida; Chelmsford, Massachusetts; Grand Prairie, Texas; and Lukin, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2024. Fiscal 2019 other procurement Army funds in the amount of $1,808,140,141 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-19-C-0011). Armed Forces Services Corp., Arlington, Virginia (W15QKN-19-D-0042); Booze Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia (W15QKN-19-D-0043); Canvas Inc.,* Huntsville, Alabama (W15QKN-19-D-0044); CTRMG-GAPSI JV II LLC,* Fairfax, Virginia (W15QKN-19-D-0045); Dynamic Systems Technology Inc.,* Fairfax, Virginia (W15QKN-19-D-0046); GAP Solutions Inc., Herndon, Virginia (W15QKN-19-D-0047); Goldbelt Glacier Health Services LLC, Alexandria, Virginia (W15QKN-19-D-0048); HR Services Solutions LLC,* Manassas, Virginia (W15QKN-19-D-0049); Hyperion Biotechnology Inc.,* San Antonio, Texas (W15QKN-19-D-0050); 360 Patriot Enterprises LLC,* Alexandria, Virginia (W15QKN-19-D-0051); Quality Innovation Inc.,* Leesburg, Virginia (W15QKN-19-D-0052); Strategy Consulting Team LLC,* Fairfax, Virginia (W15QKN-19-D-0053); Serco Inc., Reston, Virginia (W15QKN-19-D-0054); Strategic Resources Inc., McLean, Virginia (W15QKN-19-D-0055); Three Wire Systems LLC, Falls Church, Virginia (W15QKN-19-D-0056); Zeiders Enterprises Inc., Woodbridge, Virginia (W15QKN-19-D-0057); and Science Applications International Corp., McLean, Virginia (W15QKN-19-D-0058), will compete for each order of the $2,457,541,083 hybrid (cost, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, firm-fixed-price-level-of-effort, and time-and-materials) contract to provide support for enterprise level human resource services for Department of Defense programs and systems. Bids were solicited via the internet with 32 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2028. U.S. Army Contracting Command, New Jersey, is the contracting activity. Leading Technology Composites Inc.,* Wichita, Kansas (W91CRB-19-D-0009); Engense Inc.,* Camarillo, California (W91CRB-19-D-0010); and Florida Armor LLC,* Miami Lakes, Florida (W91CRB-19-D-0011), will compete for each order of the $268,864,369 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract for Enhanced Side Ballistic Insert hard armor plates. 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 Dec. 20, 2022. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. AECOM Technical Services, Los Angeles, California (W912DR-19-D-0001); APTIM Federal Services LLC, Alexandria, Virginia (W912DR-19-D-0002); Bay West LLC,* St. Paul, Minnesota (W912DR-19-D-0003); Cape Environmental Management Inc.,* Norcross, Georgia (W912DR-19-D-0004); EA Engineering, Science, and Technology,* Hunt Valley, Maryland (W912DR-19-D-0005); HydroGeoLogic Inc., Reston, Virginia (W912DR-19-D-0006); Kemron Environmental Services Inc.,* Atlanta, Georgia (W912DR-19-D-0007); Leidos-CDM Solutions LLC, Denver, Colorado (W912DR-19-D-0008); Seres-Arcadis JV LLC,* Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (W912DR-19-D-0009); and Weston Solutions Inc., West Chester, Pennsylvania (W912DR-19-D-0010), will compete for each order of the $230,000,000 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract for environmental services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 25 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 20, 2023. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Baltimore, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Vectrus Systems Corp., Colorado Springs, Colorado, was awarded a $127,447,882 modification (P00172) to contract W52P1J-10-C-0062 for Kuwait base operations and security support services. Work will be performed in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, with an estimated completion date of March 28, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $127,447,882 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command in Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. International Business Machines, Bethesda, Maryland, was awarded a $92,148,924 modification (P00044) to contract W52P1J-17-C-0008 for services and solutions necessary to support and maintain the Army's General Fund Enterprise Business System. Work will be performed in Bethesda, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 15, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $15,159,296 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command in Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $92,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to purchase Launcher Integration Network Kit boxes, and associated software development activities. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-19-D-0016). Parsons-Versar JV, Arlington, Virginia, was awarded a $75,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for general architect/engineer construction phase support services. One bid was solicited with two bids received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 20, 2023. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Louisville, Kentucky is the contracting activity (W912QR-19-D-0008). URS Federal Services Inc., Germantown, Maryland, was awarded a $60,350,545 modification (0002 38) to contract W52P1J-12-G-0028 for logistic support services for Army Preposition Stock-2. Work will be performed in Mannheim, Germany; and Dulmen, Germany, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 20, 2021. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $9,375,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contacting Command in Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. AM General LLC, South Bend, Indiana, was awarded a $20,110,570 modification (P00001) to contract W56HZV-18-C-0177 for recapitalization of High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles for the Army National Guard. Work will be performed in South Bend, Indiana, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2019. Fiscal 2017 other procurement Army funds in the amount of $20,110,507 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. DCT Inc.,* McAlester, Oklahoma, was awarded a $17,707,507 firm-fixed-price contract for full food service operations to be performed at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2023. U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9124J-19-D-0005). DynCorp International LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $12,431,031 modification (P00202) to contract W58RGZ-13-C-0040 for aviation field maintenance services. Work will be performed in Afghanistan, Egypt, Kosovo, and Germany, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Army; and aircraft procurement Army funds in the amount of $12,431,031 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. FLIR Systems Inc., Wilsonville, Oregon, was awarded a $10,442,932 modification (P00016) to contract W9113M-15-D-0001 for guaranteed repair and refurbishment of forward looking infrared radar. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2019. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. DynCorp International LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $9,367,994 modification (P00280) to contract W58RGZ-13-C-0042 for aviation field maintenance services. Work will be performed in Fort Hood, Texas, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2019. Fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019 operations and maintenance Army; and aircraft procurement Army funds in the combined amount of $9,367,994 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Zodiac-Poettker JVII LLC,* St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded a $8,690,000 firm-fixed-price contract to construct a company headquarters fire station at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Bids were solicited via the internet with eight received. Work will be performed in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 24, 2020. Fiscal 2019 military construction funds in the amount of $8,690,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Kansas City, Missouri, is the contracting activity (W912DQ-19-C-4000). CORRECTION: The contract announced on Dec. 20, 2018, to Raytheon Co., Andover, Massachusetts, for the Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target missile system, had the incorrect award amount and obligated amount. The contract was awarded a $692,997,550 and $515,192,122 were obligated at the time of the award. All other information in the announcement is correct. AIR FORCE Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Rolling Meadows, Illinois, has been awarded a $1,310,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm‐fixed-price, cost-reimbursable contract for sustainment, modernization, production, and development of the LITENING advanced targeting pod. Work will be performed in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, and is expected to be completed Dec. 31, 2023. This contract is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia is the contracting activity (FA8540‐19‐D‐0001). Lockheed Martin Services LLC, Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been awarded a $462,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Global Positioning Systems Control-Segment Sustainment II. The contract provides depot-level software maintenance; organizational-level hardware and software maintenance; support to and integration of GPS Acquisition Category III programs onto the operational control system platform; systems engineering; Technical Order Management Agency support; maintenance and sustainment of the consolidated test environment; and non-recurring engineering and studies, as required. Work will be performed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2025. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition and one offer was received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $41,524,038 are being obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity (FA8823‐19‐D‐0001). General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, has been awarded a $291,391,727 cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract for MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial systems support and services. This contract provides for program management, logistics support, configuration management, technical manual and software maintenance, contractor field service representative support, inventory control point management, flight operations support, depot repair, and depot field maintenance. Work will be performed in Poway, California, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2019. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $51,481,522 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8528-19-C-0001). Raytheon Corp., McKinney, Texas, has been awarded a $59,211,905 cost-plus fixed-fee and firm-fixed- price contract for Reaper MQ-9 sensors contractor logistics support. This contract provides for program management, contractor-filed service-representative support, depot repair, depot maintenance, sustaining engineering support, supply and logistics support, configuration management, tech data maintenance, software maintenance, inventory control point, and warehouse support for the MQ-9 sensors. Work will be performed in McKinney, Texas; and Jacksonville, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2019. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds are being obligated in the amount of $37,779,873 at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8528-19-C-0002). Alutiiq Commercial Enterprises LLC, Anchorage, Alaska, has been awarded a $53,895,599 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, for Fort Eustis, Virginia, base operations support services. This contract provides for base and facilities maintenance in support of the 733rd Civil Engineering Division. Work will be performed in Fort Eustis, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2023. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and six offers were received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $2,926,134 are being obligated at the time of award. The 633rd Contracting Squadron, Joint Base Langley Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity (FA4800-19-D-0001). Universal Technology Corp., Dayton, Ohio; University of Dayton Research Institute, Dayton, Ohio; and Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia, have each been awarded a not-to-exceed $44,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract for the Structures Engineering Research program. This contract provides for basic, applied, advanced, and demonstration/validation research to develop, demonstrate, integrate, and transition new aerospace vehicle structures technologies to the warfighter. These structures' technologies will provide cost-effective, survivable aerospace vehicle platforms capable of accurate delivery of weapons and cargo worldwide. Work will be performed in Dayton, Ohio; and McLean, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by December 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition via a Broad Agency Announcement and three offers were received. No specific funds are obligated on the basic IDIQ, although in conjunction with the basic IDIQ award, the first task order is incrementally funded with fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $50,000 at time of each award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, is the contracting activity. (IDIQ contracts: FA8650-19-D-2241, FA8650-19-D-2242, and FA8650-19-D-2243; initial task orders: FA8650-19-F-2245, FA8650-19-F-2246, and FA8650-19-F-2248) Kratos Technology & Training Solutions Inc., San Diego, California, has been awarded a $20,700,432 modification, (P00113) to contract FA8808-13-C-0008 for Control System Consolidated (CCS-C) Production and Sustainment Contract. These services are required to sustain and provide post-production development for the current CCS-C system for telemetry, tracking and commanding of current and future military satellite communications satellites. Work will be performed in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and is expected to be completed Dec. 19, 2018. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $20,700,432 will be obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity. Range Generation Next LLC, Sterling, Virginia, has been awarded a $16,782,397 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00220) to previously awarded contract FA8806-15-C-0001 for relocating communications systems to the newly constructed Eastern Range communications facility. Work will be performed primarily at the Eastern Range at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2021. Fiscal 2019 procurement funds in the amount of $16,782,397 are being obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has been awarded an estimated amount of $14,446,683, Option Three modification (P00013) to contract FA8105-16-D-0002 for KC-135 engineering services for sustainment. The contract modification provides for recurring engineering services for sustainment of the KC-135 aircraft. Work will be performed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; San Antonio, Texas; Huntsville, Alabama; and Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is estimated $70,901,530. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity. Contract was awarded Dec. 20, 2018. General Atomics - Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, has been awarded a $13,074,090 firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Block 30 Ground Control Station (GCS), Linux retrofit kits. This contract provides for the production of Linux retrofit kits to retrofit currently fielded Block 30 GCSs. Work will be performed in Poway, California, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2020. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2017 and 2018 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $13,074,090 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8620-19-F-2305). BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services Inc., Rockville, Maryland, has been awarded a $12,392,102 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract modification (P00002) to contract FA8109-18-D-0005 to exercise Option One. The contract modification extends the contract term for an additional 12 months in order to continue providing diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages (DMSMS) support for Air Force and non-Air Force users supporting the Air Force, to proactively reduce mission capability impacts to improve logistics support and weapon system sustainability. This effort will help assure all required parts and materials supporting Air Force-managed weapon systems are available within acceptable production lead times and will reduce the overall cost of ownership of the weapon systems by facilitating economical DMSMS resolutions costs, reducing the number of reactive solutions, minimizing any delays in organic depot-level repair, as well as contractor repair, and by improving weapon system availability. Work will be performed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah; Robins Air Force Base, Georgia; and Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, with some work performed at Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The work is expected to be completed by June 20, 2021. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 consolidated sustainment activity group engineering funds will be obligated on any individual task orders issued during the option one performance period. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $24,778,204. Air Force Sustainment Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona, has been awarded a $9,573,118 firm-fixed-price modification (P00008) to contract FA8675-18-C-0003 for the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile program. This modification provides for a life of type procurement of known obsolete components in support of production and sustainment through the program of record and procurement of three guidance section refill stations in support of sustainment efforts. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2019. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Morocco, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Spain, and U.K. Air Force and Navy fiscal 2017 procurement funds in the amount of $6,367,933 and FMS funds in the amount of $3,205,185 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity. NAVY Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, is being awarded a $910,723,811 fixed-price incentive firm target modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-18-C-2305) to exercise the fiscal 2019 option for construction of a DDG 51 class ship (DDG 132). This modification also includes options for engineering change proposals, design budgeting requirements, and post-delivery availabilities on the fiscal 2019 option ship which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the fiscal 2019 option ship to $921,990,345. Work will be performed in Bath, Maine (65 percent); Cincinnati, Ohio (5 percent); Atlanta, Georgia (3 percent); York, Pennsylvania (2 percent); Coatesville, Pennsylvania (2 percent); Falls Church, Virginia (2 percent); South Portland, Maine (1 percent); Walpole, Massachusetts (1 percent); Erie, Pennsylvania (1 percent); Charlottesville, Virginia (1 percent); and other locations below 1 percent (collectively totaling 17 percent), and is expected to be completed by May 2026. Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $900,723,811 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, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Rotary and Mission Systems, Liverpool, New York, is being awarded a $184,114,000 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-16-C-5363) to exercise options for full rate production of Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 2 subsystems (AN/SLQ-32(V)6). SEWIP is an evolutionary acquisition and incremental development program to upgrade the existing AN/SLQ-32(V) electronic warfare system. SEWIP Block 2 will expand upon the receiver/antenna group necessary to keep capabilities current with the pace of the threat and to yield improved system integration. Work will be performed in Liverpool, New York (23 percent); Lansdale, Pennsylvania (23 percent); Andover, Massachusetts (21 percent); Frankfort, New York (9 percent); Hamilton, New Jersey (7 percent); Hauppauge, New York (7 percent); Brockton, Massachusetts (3 percent); West Yorkshire, U.K. (2 percent); Minneapolis, Minnesota (2 percent); Huntsville, Alabama (2 percent); Lancaster, Pennsylvania (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by June 2021. Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); and fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $184,114,000 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, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is being awarded a $76,581,676 not-to-exceed firm-fixed-price contract for the design, fabrication, installation, test and delivery of two F/A-18E Tactical Operational Flight trainers and two F/A-18E low cost trainers for the government of Kuwait under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri (50 percent); New Orleans, Louisiana (30 percent); and Kuwait City, Kuwait (20 percent), and is expected to be completed in February 2022. FMS funds in the amount of $20,490,233 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (N6134019C0005). Raytheon Co., Tewksbury, Massachusetts, is being awarded a $72,117,547 modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-17-C-5145 to exercise options for DDG 1000 ship class integrated logistics support and engineering services. The DDG 1000 ship class is a multi-mission surface combatant designed to fulfill volume firepower and precision strike requirements. DDG 1000 combat systems provide offensive, distributed and precision firepower and long ranges in support of forces ashore, while incorporating signature reduction, active and passive self-defense system and enhanced survivability features. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, Rhode Island (40 percent); San Diego, California (28 percent); Tewksbury, Massachusetts (24 percent); Marlboro, Massachusetts (2 percent); Ft. Wayne, Indiana (2 percent); Bath, Maine (2 percent); St. Petersburg, Florida (1 percent); and Nashua, New Hampshire (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2019. Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy); and fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $81,555,802 will be obligated at time of award, and $8,816,581 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Pacific Architects and Engineers Applied Technologies, Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $47,889,307 cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, cost reimbursable contract for the development, test, and installation of the SureTrak surveillance system in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division's SureTrak program office (AIR-5.2). The SureTrak system is a state-of-the-art, fully integrated, multi-sensor, data acquisition and display system used to perform airspace surveillance, waterway clearance, shoreline surveillance, and environmental monitoring functions at several Navy, Air Force and National Aeronautics and Space Administration facilities around the nation, as well as foreign governments. Work will be performed in various locations inside the continental U.S. (CONUS), including Patuxent River, Maryland; Wallops, Virginia; Dahlgren, Virginia; Vandenberg Air Force Base , California; Patrick Air Force Base, California; and Point Mugu, California. Work will also be performed outside CONUS at various locations, including Nigeria, Africa; SaoTome-Prinipe, Africa; Djibouti, Africa; Kenya, Africa; Tunisia, Africa; Congo, Africa; Togo, Africa; and Benin, Africa. Work is expected to be completed in December 2023. No funds are being awarded at time of award, funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via a request for proposals; one offer was received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00421-19-D-0023). BAE Systems, Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc., Greenlawn, New York, is awarded $38,141,300 for firm-fixed-price delivery order N0001919F0030 against a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contract (N00019-17-D-0003). This delivery order provides for the procurement of 14 AN/APX-117A(V) Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) transponders for the government of Bahrain; 969 AN/APX-123A(V) IFF transponders to include 777 for the Navy, 101 for the Army, two for the Coast Guard, 13 for the government of the U.K., nine for the government of Japan, 12 for the government of Norway, 35 for the government of Saudi Arabia, four for the government of Australia and 16 for the government of the United Arab Emirates; 100 mode 4/5 remote control units for the Navy; 62 IFF mounting trays to include 30 for the Navy, 8 for government of the U.K., 12 for the government of Norway, and 12 for the government of Bahrain; seven mode 4/5 Shop Replaceable Assemblies (SRA) with crypto for the Army, 136 signal processors for the Army; 210 Mode 5 change kits to include 100 for the Navy and 110 for the Army; 100 integrations of Mode 5 change kits for the Navy, 40 receiver/transmitters for the Army, 44 SRA power supplies for the. Army; 211 conversion kits to include 201 for the Army and 10 for the government of Australia; one AN/APX-118A(V) IFF transponder repair for the government of South Korea and four AN/APX-123A(V) IFF transponder repairs for the Navy. Work will be performed in Greenlawn, New York (78 percent); and Austin, Texas (22 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2021. Fiscal 2018 Special Defense Acquisition Fund; working capital (Defense); fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Army); fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy); fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy); fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy); fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); fiscal 2018 and 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); and foreign military sales funds in the amount of $38,141,300 will be obligated at time of award, $118,601 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This order combines purchases for the Department of Defense ($26,170,660; 69 percent); Army ($4,799,989; 13 percent); Navy ($3,940,577; 10 percent); the government of Saudi Arabia ($1,166,65; 3 percent); the government of the United Arab Emirates ($533,104; 1 percent); the government of the U.K. ($439,443; 1 percent); the government of Norway ($409,272; 1 percent); the government of Japan ($299,871; 1 percent); the government of Australia ($203,056; 1 percent); the government of Bahrain ($174,966; 0.46 percent), and the government of South Korea ($4,197; 0.01 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Co., Tuscon, Arizona, is being awarded a $37,902,562 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-16-C-5433 to exercise options in support of Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) design agent, in-service support and technical engineering support services. This contract is to procure ESSM technical engineering support services, design agent and in-service support for calendar years 2016-2020. These requirements support ESSM missile production. The ESSM program is an international cooperative effort to design, develop, test and procure ESSM missiles. The ESSM provides enhanced ship defense. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, (91 percent); Hengelo OV, Netherlands (2 percent); Raufoss, Norway (2 percent); Ottobrunn, Germany (1 percent); Richmond, Australia (1 percent); and various places below one percent (3 percent), and is expected to be completed by December 2019. Fiscal 2019 other country; fiscal 2018 weapons procurement (Navy); fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); Foreign Military Sales; and fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funding in the amount of $16,663,004 will be obligated at time of award, and funds in the amount of $208,225 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This is a sole-source contract pursuant to an international agreement between the U.S. and nine other countries. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut, is being awarded a $37,347,581 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-12-C-2115 to exercise options to procure on-board repair parts for Virginia-class submarines PCU Massachusetts (SSN 798) and PCU Idaho (SSN 799). This option exercise is for Block IV Virginia-class submarines, PCU Massachusetts (SSN 798), and PCU Idaho (SSN 799) mechanical and electronic repair parts that will be stored on the ship while at sea. Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut, and is expected to be completed by February 2022 for PCU Massachusetts, and August 2022 for PCU Idaho. Fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $9,498,000 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, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Georgia, is being awarded a $31,674,573 indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for sustainment engineering and logistics services in support of the C/KC-130J for the Marine Corps, Marine Corps Reserves, Coast Guard and the government of Kuwait. Work will be performed in Marietta, Georgia (66.5 percent); Palmdale, California (18 percent); Abdullah Al-Mubarak Air Base, Kuwait (2.5 percent); Iwakuni, Japan (2.5 percent); Miramar, California (2.5 percent); Cherry Point, North Carolina (2.5 percent); Elizabeth City, North Carolina (2.5 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (2.5 percent), and Greenville, South Carolina (0.5 percent). Work is expected to be completed in December 2023. No funds are being awarded at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0001919D0014). Detyens Shipyards Inc., North Charleston, South Carolina, is being awarded a $30,106,818 firm-fixed-price contract for a 120-calendar day shipyard availability for the post shakedown of USNS Hershel ‘Woody' Williams (T-ESB 4). This contract consists of the funds listed in the following areas Category “A” work item cost, additional government requirement, other direct costs, and the general and administrative costs. Work will include furnishing general services for the ship, hull perimeter lighting, high voltage/medium voltage switchboard inspect and clean, expansion of handheld ultra-high frequency radio repeater system, segregate grey and black water transfer line, aft house habitability modifications, temporary sensitive compartment information facility installation - industrial support, additional temporary expandable units, A6 level installation of commercial broadband satellite program and OE-570 antennas, high frequency, ultra-high frequency and very high radio infrastructure, motor gasoline stowage capability, aviation support spaces heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrade Phase I. This contract also contains options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative contract value to $38,485,181. Work will be performed in North Charleston, South Carolina, and is expected to be completed by July 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $30,106,818 are obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Funds will be obligated at time of award. Work will be completed by July 9, 2019. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website with two proposals received. The Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220519C4150). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum Heights, Maryland, is being awarded a $27,594,541 fixed-price incentive firm-target modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-15-C-5319) to exercise options for the production of two AN/SLQ-32(V)Y Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 3 system low rate initial production units. SEWIP is an evolutionary acquisition and incremental development program to upgrade the existing AN/SLQ-32(V) electronic warfare system. SEWIP Block 3 will provide select Navy surface ships a scalable electronic warfare enterprise suite with improved electronic attack capabilities. Work will be performed in Linthicum, Maryland (98 percent); and Los Angeles, California (2 percent), and is expected to be completed by June 2021. Fiscal 2017 and 2018 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $27,594,541 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, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Austal USA LLC, Mobile, Alabama, is being awarded a $21,070,175 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N6931619F4000) against previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N00024-15-G-2304) to accomplish the post shakedown availability (PSA) execution for the littoral combat ship, USS Manchester (LCS-14). 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 Manchester (LCS-14) 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 July 2019. Fiscal 2013 and 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); and fiscal 2018 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $21,070,175 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair Gulf Coast, Pascagoula, Mississippi, is the contracting activity. Fincantieri Marine Systems North America Inc., Chesapeake, Virginia, is being awarded a $17,220,420 for modification N55236-17-D-0009 to exercise option year two of previously awarded firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity to provide maintenance support for the mine countermeasure-1 class main propulsion diesel engines and ship service diesel generators. Work will be performed in the homeports of San Diego, California; Sasebo, Japan; Manama, Bahrain; and ports-of-call as required, and are scheduled to be completed by January 2020. No funding is being obligated at time of award. In accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) this contract was not competitively procured. The independent contractor, under the direction of the regional maintenance center and not an agent of the government, shall provide diesel engine technical, engineering, and field service support for Mine Countermeasure-1 class ships homeported in San Diego, California, and forward deployed in Japan and Bahrain. Obligated funding will cover preventive maintenance services and travel in the base year and subsequent option years in accordance with work item specifications and work item plans, drawings, other references, the delivery schedule, and all other terms and conditions set forth in the contract. The Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Daylight Defense LLC, San Diego, California, is being awarded a $16,306,540 modification (P00012) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-16-C-0036). This modification provides for the procurement of Distributed Aperture Infrared Countermeasure Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation and Fiber Optic Cable Assemblies. This modification exercises an option for the production and delivery of 24 lasers and 26 fiber optic cable assemblies in support of the Air Force and the Navy. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed in July 2020. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy and Air Force) funds in the amount of $16,306,540 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Air Force ($10,799,888; 66 percent) and the Navy ($5,506,652; 34 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Cianbro Corp., Pittsfield, Maine, is being awarded an $11,169,941 firm-fixed-price modification for construction of the dry dock one refueling facility at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine. The work to be performed provides for all changes not previously accounted for in changing the facility from a defueling facility to a refueling facility, including, but not limited to, trailer relocation, commissioning, testing and demonstrations, scaffolding, concrete installation, metal installation, insulation installation, metal wall panels, roof hatches, compression seals, doors and hardware, ceiling system, flooring, coatings, electrical, heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning, fire protection, controls, and testing and balancing. After award of this modification, the total cumulative contract value will be $50,526,989. Work will be performed in Kittery, Maine, and is expected to be completed by May 2021. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $11,169,941 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-17-C-5002). DMR Consulting Inc,* Panama City Beach, Florida, is being awarded a $9,426,737 firm-fixed–price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for depot level repair, overhaul, and modification for the MK-105 magnetic minesweeping gear. This contract supports the depot level repair and maintenance of the MK105 magnetic minesweeping gear. The MK105 Magnetic Influence Minesweeping system, better known as the “sled”, is a high speed catamaran hydrofoil platform which is towed behind the MH-53E helicopter and is used to sweep magnetic influence mines. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $48,318,732. Work will be performed in Panama City, Florida, and is expected to be completed by December 2019. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with three offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division is the contracting activity. (N61331-19-D-0002) MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY The Boeing Co., Huntsville, Alabama, is being awarded a five-year, sole-source, cost-plus-award-fee contract (HQ0147-19-C-0001). The total value of this contract is $240,204,960. Under this follow-on contract, the contractor will provide the Missile Defense Agency support by performing highly complex technical systems engineering and integration requirements related to the Ballistic Missile Defense system. The work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama. The period of performance is from Dec. 15, 2018, through Dec. 14, 2023. One offer was solicited and one offer was received. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds will be used to incrementally fund this award in the amount of $54,900,000. The Missile Defense Agency, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (HQ0147-19-C-0001). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY SupplyCore Inc.,* Rockford, Illinois, has been awarded a maximum $80,000,000 firm-fixed-price, bridge 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 contract with no option periods. Location of performance is the north central region of the U.S. with a Dec. 18, 2019, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE8E3-19-D0003). Michelin North America Inc., Greenville, South Carolina, is awarded an estimated $11,838,003 fixed-price, indefinite-delivery, requirements contract for various types of tires supporting the Global Tire program. This was a competitive acquisition with five responses received. A total of three contracts are awarded as a result of the subject solicitation. This is a three-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is South Carolina, with a Dec. 20, 2021, performance completion date. Using customer is Defense Logistics Agency. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio (SPE7LX-19-D-0034). Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., Akron, Ohio, is awarded an estimated $10,786,368 fixed-price, indefinite-delivery, requirements contract for various types of tires supporting the Global Tire program. This was a competitive acquisition with five responses received. A total of three contracts are awarded as a result of the subject solicitation. This is a three-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Ohio, with a Dec. 20, 2021, performance completion date. Using customer is Defense Logistics Agency. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio (SPE7LX-19-D-0033). Consumer Fuels Inc.,* Huntsville, Alabama, has been awarded a $7,433,117 firm-fixed-price contract for the 105mm Light Towed Howitzer's MVSS sensor head kit. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. This was a competitive small business set-aside acquisition with five offers received. Location of performance is Alabama, with a May 29, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-19-D-0022). Mast Technologies Inc.,* San Diego, California, has been awarded a $7,718,000 firm-fixed-price contract for rubber tiles that support the Navy's Passive Counter Measure Material systems. This is 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 contract with no option periods. Location of performance is California, with a Jan. 4, 2021, performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 Navy working capital funds. The contracting activity is Defense Logistics Agency, Land and Maritime, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania (SPRMM1-19-C-HA10). UPDATE: Clark Equipment Company, Statesville, North Carolina, (SPE8EC-19-D-0036) has been added as an awardee to the multiple award contract for commercial portable power equipment, issued against solicitation SPE8EC-17-R-0010, announced May 31, 2017. DEFENSE FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING SERVICE Ernst and Young, Washington, District of Columbia, has been awarded a labor-hour contract option with a maximum value of $36,467,951 to provide financial statement audit services for the Navy. Work will be performed in Alexandria, Virginia, with an expected completion date of Dec. 31, 2019. The contract option has a 12-month option period with two individual one-year option periods remaining. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Navy funds are being obligated at the time of the award. The cumulative value of the contract, including the option is $73,632,391. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Contract Services Directorate, Columbus, Ohio, is the contracting activity (HQ0423-17-F-0101). KPMG LLP, McLean, Virginia, has been awarded a fixed-price contract option with a maximum value of $11,647,639 for audit services of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Civil Works (CW) and suballotted funds financial statements. Work will be performed in McLean, Virginia, with an expected completion date of Dec.31, 2019. This contract is the result of a competitive acquisition for which three quotes were received. The contract had a 12-month base period plus four individual one-year option periods, with a maximum value of $57,693,820. This award brings the total cumulative value of the contract to $21,440,433. Fiscal 2019 USACE CW revolving funds in the amount of $11,647,639 are being obligated at the time of this option award. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Contract Services Directorate, Columbus, Ohio, is the contracting activity (HQ0423-18-F-0039). DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE EDUCATION ACTIVITY Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service Co. Ltd., Japan (HE1254-19-D-2000), is awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award contract for lease bus and maintenance services for daily student transportation in the amount of $33,702,302. The location of performance is mainland Japan. The award is for a five-year base period ending July 31, 2024; and a five-year option period ending July 31, 2029. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds will be used to fund the initial task order. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal HE1254-18-R-2001, with two offers received. The contracting activity is the Department of Defense Education Activity, Alexandria, Virginia. U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND Phoenix Air Group Inc., Cartersville, Georgia, was awarded task order,HTC71119FR019, exercising option period three, on contract HTC71116DR001 in the amount of $8,797,654. The task order provides headquarters U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) continued Charter Air Transportation services. Work will be performed in Stuttgart Army Airfield, Germany, to various points throughout Africa and Europe. The period of performance is from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2019. Fiscal 2019 AFRICOM operation and maintenance funds were obligated at award. The total cumulative face value of the contract value increased from $39,352,268 to $48,149,922. U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1720584/source/GovDelivery/