May 30, 2023 | International, Naval
Malaysia adds funds to troubled littoral combat ship program
Malaysia has reduced the number of ships it will receive under a revised contract, from six to five.
April 23, 2019 | International, Naval
The US Navy, seeking savings, shakes up its plans for more lethal attack submarines
By: David B. Larter
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy is shaking up its plan for acquiring a new, much larger and more deadly version of its Virginia-class attack submarine it aims to start buying this year.
The plan heading into this year was to start a contract on the 5th block of Virginias in October, beginning with an upgraded version of the block-four Virginia (a “straight-stick” Virginia), then the second boat in 2019 would be the first boat with the added with 84-foot section known as the Virginia Payload Module, designed to expand the Virginia's Tomahawk strike missile load-out from 12 to 40.
The rest of the 10-ship buy was suppose to have the VPM, a move designed to offset the retirement of the four 154-Tomahawk-packing guided missile submarines in the mid-2020s.
But the Navy is looking for savings and things have changed heading into the 2020 budget cycle.
Instead of nine of 10 block-five Virginias being VPM boats, the Navy is proposing to Congress that they add a third Virginia in 2020, but the first boat will be another “straight-stick.” Then in 2021, the Navy will return to buying two Virginias, but the first boat again will be a straight-stick and the second will have VPM. All the block five boats, VPM and otherwise, will have acoustic upgrades.
The net effect will be one fewer Virginia Payload Module in the block-five buy. Instead of nine of 10 boats in the buy having VPM, the Navy is proposing that eight of 11 boats have the VPM, deferring the VPM presumably to Virginia Block Six, which is slated to begin in 2024.
The last-minute shuffling of the deck on Virginia, which includes pushing out VPM boats for which Congress had already appropriated advanced procurement money, shifts what was originally supposed to be the end of the straight-stick Virginias this year to buying one new straight stick a year for the next three years.
This has raised concerns among those in the submarine building industry because of the potential for disruptions in the workflow at the yards, which is carefully planned out years in advance, and could even bleed over into the new, strategically vital Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program.
“Just like there is one rule in real estate (‘location, location, location'), there is one rule in building ships: Predictability, predictability, predictability,” said Dan Gouré, a former Bush Administration defense official and military analyst with the Arlington-based Lexington Institute. “And they are messing with that now, for the first time in quite a while. And that makes no sense.”
The late changes have also affected the timeline for contract negotiations, and a source with knowledge of the details said a planned April contract date for block five is now unlikely. The date had already slipped from the beginning of the fiscal year in October, according to 2018 budget documents.
The Virginia-class program has begun seeing creeping delays which the Navy acknowledged this year will likely be between four and seven months on each boat for the foreseeable future. The service says it has struggled to meet more aggressive construction timelines because of issues within the supplier base, which are causing delays.
A spokesman for the Navy's research, development and acquisition office said he wouldn't comment on precisely what savings would be achieved with the strategy, citing ongoing negotiations, but said the move of a matter of competing priorities within the budget. He also said the changes in the VPM schedule were not part of ongoing supplier challenges.
“To support the Navy's PB-20 request the decision to delay VPMs in FY-20 and 21 was based on competing requirements,” said Capt. Danny Hernandez, RD&A spokesman. “This was not based on any issues with shipbuilding or supply chain.”
Added Wrinkle
The third boat in 2020 also adds a wrinkle to the schedule. According to the Navy's justification books, the third boat will not start construction until 2023, which is the year before the service plans to buy a second Columbia-class boomer.
That means the shipyards will be building three Virginias in 2023.
The Virginia Payload Module strategy of continuing to buy straight-stick Virginias into 2021, ensures that General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Newport News will be building both straight sticks and Virginia Payload Module Virginia-class boats and the Columbia class simultaneously through 2026 and beyond, according to Navy budget documents.
That will stress the yards and the supplier base, raising the risk that Columbia could run late, according to an industry source who spoke on background.
“The juxtaposition of Virginia VPM and Columbia will be an added challenge for the shipyards,” the source said. “VPM and Columbia will have no learning curves when both projects are started. As we saw with Seawolf and Virginia (and every other first of a class ship the Navy has ever built) first ships are late and over cost.
“Unfortunately, with the delay to the original program, Congress and the Navy have run the clock down, so there is no margin for Columbia to be late.”
The mounting challenges within the submarine building enterprise prompted RD&A chief James Geurts to stand up a new program office specifically for the Columbia class, which was previously organized under Program Executive Office Submarines. Rear Adm. Scott Pappano is heading the new enterprise.
“My concern was with Columbia being our No. 1 acquisition priority and all the other submarine activities we have going on, do we have enough leadership bandwidth available to oversee and run all those programs simultaneously?” Geurts said in an early March roundtable with reporters.
“As I understand the challenges going forward, [I wanted to] get PEO-level support to that program as it starts ramping up. And I didn't want to wait for a crisis for that to occur; I wanted to make sure we are proactively working the program.”
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August 26, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence
Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - August 25, 2020
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has been awarded a $617,452,596 regulated tariff contract for the ownership, operation and maintenance of the water and wastewater utility systems at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. 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 50-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Oklahoma, with an Aug. 31, 2071, performance completion date. Using military service is the Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2071 Air Force operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (SP0600-20-C-8331). Atlantic Diving Supply Inc., doing business as ADS, Virginia Beach, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $28,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for facility maintenance, repair and operations supplies and related incidental services. 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 327-day bridge contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Southwest Africa, with a July 19, 2021, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Europe and Africa, Kaiserslautern, Germany (SPE5B1-20-D-0003). CORRECTION: The contract modification announced on Aug. 20, 2020, for Bremen-Bowdon Investment Co., Bowdon, Georgia (SPE1C1-17-D-1085 P00012), for $8,125,822, was actually awarded on Aug. 21, 2020. NAVY FlightSafety Services Corp., Denver, Colorado, is awarded a $220,766,476 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for aircrew training services for the TH-73A Advanced Helicopter Training System to include flight training devices (FTD) and classroom instruction to train student naval aviators (SNAs) to the standards necessary to meet an annual pilot production rate of over 600 advanced rotary wing and intermediate tilt-rotor SNAs. Additionally, it provides for the operation and maintenance of FTDs. Work will be performed in Milton, Florida, and is expected to be completed in June 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; two offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (N61340-20-D-0021). Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $191,723,019 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00024-20-C-6117) for the procurement of engineering design development services and associated material and travel, supporting the fleet of Navy submarines and Foreign Military Sales requirements. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $2,224,208,878. This contract combines purchases for the Navy (90%); and the governments of Canada (8%); Japan (1%); and Australia (1%). Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (85 %); Virginia Beach, Virginia (11%); Fairfax, Virginia (2%); San Diego, California (1%); and Waterford, Connecticut (1%), and is expected to be completed by June 2030. If all options are exercised, work will continue through June 2030. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $500,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. 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 Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-20-C-6117). SeaLandAire Technologies Inc.,* Jackson, Michigan, is awarded a $9,706,013 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N68335-20-F-0456) against previously issued basic ordering agreement N68335-20-G-1049. This order provides for continued advanced technology research and development efforts for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) products for airborne anti-submarine warfare systems under SBIR topic N010-014 titled, “High Gain Array of Velocity Sensors.” Further development and research efforts will include systems engineering, modeling and analyses, measurement of target and environment data, architecture, fabrication, installation, test, maintenance, aircrew training and procurement activities. Additionally, this order provides engineering services for prototyping and delivery of 36 digital directional frequency analysis and reporting vertical line array sonobuoys in order to transfer this SBIR technology to the UnderSea Advantage Next Generation Multistatic Active Coherent system. Work will be performed in Jackson, Michigan (90%); Columbia City, Indiana (5%); and Key West, Florida (5%), and is expected to be completed in August 2025. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $370,770 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity. U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND Construction Helicopters Inc., Howell, Michigan, has been awarded a $168,759,265 modification (P00010) to contract HTC711-17-D-R016 for continued rotary wing airlift support within the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility. The option period of performance is from Sept. 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021. Funds were not obligated at award. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $653,647,312 from $484,888,047. U.S. Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Kekolu Contracting LLC, La Plata, Maryland, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $111,700,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity enterprise contract. Work will be performed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; and Joint Base Anacostia Bolling, Washington, D.C., and is expected to be completed May 23, 2025. This contract is for streamlined acquisition base engineering requirements, providing minor construction projects, maintenance and repair of real property. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and seven offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $192,943 are being obligated at the time of award. The 316th Contracting Squadron, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity (FA2860-20-D-0004). PAE Aviation and Technical Services LLC, Marlton, New Jersey, has been awarded a $19,766,706 modification (P00063) to contract FA4890-15-C-0018 for the Aerial Targets Program. The contract modification provides for the exercise of an option for an additional year of service under the multiple year contract which directly supports live-fire weapon system testing and enables the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group to perform developmental and operational weapons testing for all air-to-air missiles for F-15, F-16, F-22, and F-35 aircraft. Work will be performed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida; and Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, and is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2021. Fiscal 2021 operations and maintenance funds will be used but no funds will be obligated at time of award. Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Joint Base Langley-Eustis Air Force Base, Virginia, is the contracting activity. ARMY HD CW JV, Charlotte, North Carolina (W912HN-20-D-2000); GHD Inc., Duluth, Georgia (W912HN-20-D-2001); and CDM Federal Programs Corp., Jacksonville, Florida (W912HN-20-D-2002), will compete for each order of the $15,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect-engineer general design services for civil works. Bids were solicited via the internet with 10 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 24, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity. Nora Contracting LLC,* Detroit, Michigan, was awarded a $10,576,854 firm-fixed-price contract to construct a columbarium for the Veterans Administration (VA) at the Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Indiana, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 26, 2022. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 VA construction funds in the amount of $10,576,854 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-20-C-0033). DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY Radiance Technologies Inc,* Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded a $10,110,811 cost-plus-fixed-fee completion contract for a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency research project for the Secure Advanced Framework for Simulation and Modeling (SAFE-SiM) program. SAFE-SiM seeks to build a government-owned and controlled, faster-than-real time modeling and simulation (M&S) capability for theater-wide, mission-level M&S. This capability would enable rapid analysis supporting senior-level decisions for concept of operations development, force structure composition, resource allocation and targeted technology insertion. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama (50%); Cambridge, Massachusetts (14%); Albuquerque, New Mexico (13%); Chantilly, Virginia (12%); San Diego, California (6%); and Rome, New York (5%), with an expected completion date of August 2021. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,750,000 are being obligated at the time of award. This contract was a competitive acquisition in which 10 offers were received. The Defense Advanced Research Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR0011-20-C-0146). Cole Engineering Services Inc., Orlando, Florida, was awarded a $9,141,146 cost-plus-fixed-fee completion contract for a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency research project for the Secure Advanced Framework for Simulation and Modeling (SAFE-SiM) program. SAFE-SiM seeks to build a government-owned and controlled, faster-than-real time modeling and simulation (M&S) capability for theater-wide, mission-level M&S. This capability would enable rapid analysis supporting senior-level decisions for concept of operations development, force structure composition, resource allocation and targeted technology insertion. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida (65%); and Austin, Texas (35%), with an expected completion date of August 2021. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,310,000 are being obligated at the time of award. This contract was a competitive acquisition in which 10 offers were received. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR0011-20-C-0144). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2324805/source/GovDelivery/
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May 2, 2022 | International, C4ISR, Security
Finland wins NATO cyber defense competition
The multi-day event is typically conducted under intense conditions, simulating a spreading crisis that ropes in the military and civilian worlds and the public and private sectors.