Update: Norway cancels tank upgrade

On the same subject

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  May 14, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  US Air Force nuclear, space programs take hit in border wall reprogramming

  By: Joe Gould , Aaron Mehta , and Valerie Insinna Correction: A previous version of this story contained an erroneous amount of reprogrammed money. The story has been updated to show the Pentagon reprogrammed $1.5 billion in FY19 funds. WASHINGTON — In the wake of the Pentagon reprogramming $1.5 billion in fiscal 2019 funds to support President Donald Trump's border wall with Mexico, only the U.S. Air Force appears to be losing money appropriated for equipment updates. The funding largely comes from personnel accounts in the Air Force, Navy and Army. But the Air Force is the only service to lose funding for hardware, including nuclear and conventional weapons, surveillance aircraft updates, and space programs. Overall, the Pentagon reprogrammed $818.465 million from FY19 defense appropriations, as well as $681.535 million from FY19 overseas contingency operations accounts, or OCO, to reach that $1.5 billion total. Lawmakers expressed concern that the use of military resources and manpower on the southern border will damage military readiness. However, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said last week that ongoing deployments to support the Defense Department aren't doing so. “We've seen no degradation to readiness,” he told Senate appropriators May 8 at a defense budget hearing. “In fact, in some cases, it's enhanced our readiness because the troops get to perform certain functions.” Congressional Democrats and some Republicans have objected to the administration's use of this mechanism for funding the president's border wall, arguing it bypasses Congress' constitutional power of the purse. For the second time in recent weeks, the Pentagon ignored decades of precedent and carried out the transfer of funds without first consulting with the Senate Appropriations Committee. Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Senate Appropriations Committee's top Democrat, led a letter to Shanahan on May 10 to object to the latest instance, saying it harms hurricane cleanup at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. “We are dismayed that the Department has chosen to prioritize a political campaign promise over the disaster relief needs of our service members, given the finite reprogramming authority available," the lawmakers wrote. They noted that Shanahan's decision to notify Congress of the reprogramming came a day after he testified before the subpanel that oversees defense spending, and they wrote that they welcomed his views on “how you intend to repair the damaged relationship between the defense oversight committees and the [Defense] Department.” The letter was also signed by the Senate Armed Services Committee's top Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed, as well as Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin, Brian Schatz, Tom Udall , Patty Murray, Chris Murphy, Tammy Baldwin, Dianne Feinstein and Jon Tester. The reprogramming could be a topic at Shanahan's future confirmation hearing for the full job of defense secretary. A date for that hearing has not been set. Why the Air Force? About half of the non-OCO $818 million sum the Defense Department wants to redirect to the border comes from Air Force accounts, with space and missile programs taking the biggest hit. In total, the Pentagon expects the service to shear $402 million off its FY19 budget. About $210 million would be cut from Air Force space programs, specifically the Evolved Expandable Launch Vehicle program, which funds the use of rockets that send satellites and other capabilities into space. According to the reprogramming document, one rocket launch has been canceled due to the “Space Test Program (STP)-4 satellite provider termination of the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) spacecraft,” which is no longer necessary under the National Security Strategy. The Air Force's program for modernizing its E-3 Sentry early warning aircraft — more commonly called AWACS — also could lose funding that it no longer needs in FY19. The program, "Diminishing Manufacturing Sources Replacement of Avionics for Global Operations and Navigation,” or DRAGON, updates the E-3's avionics and brings it into compliance with future air traffic control requirements. But it is moving too slowly to use all of the funds it was appropriated in FY19, so the administration aims to have $57 million diverted for border protection. DRAGON has been delayed for two reasons, according to the reprogramming request. First, “aircraft have been available for programmed depot maintenance” at a slower-than-planned rate, dragging out the modification schedule. Additionally, DRAGON integration can only occur after AWACS are upgraded to the Block 40/45 configuration, and not all aircraft have gone through that process. The Air Force sees AWACS as a key part of its initial version of the Advanced Battle Management System, a family of systems that will provide ground surveillance across the different military services. Instead of retiring seven E-3s in FY18, Gen. Mike Holmes, head of Air Combat Command, said those planes could be upgraded with new sensors and communications gear. However, DRAGON isn't the only modernization effort for the Sentry that is moving slower than expected. In November, Bloomberg reported that the service terminated a contract with Boeing to upgrade the AWAC's characteristic disc-shaped radar due to repeated delays. Other Air Force programs that will take a hit include a planned upgrade to the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile and the air-launched cruise missile programs. A number of top defense officials previously said nuclear modernization is the top priority for the Pentagon, including Ellen Lord, the department's acquisition head, who on May 1 told Congress: “We have weapons that are decades over what was supposed to be their useful life. And we are out of time. We need to continue on the path we're on, or we are going to fall behind and not have the nuclear deterrence that we enjoy today.” The document reprograms $24.3 million, of the $124.5 million appropriated in FY19, from the Minuteman III Launch Control Block Upgrade program; the document claims funds are available due to a “slip in the production schedule for FY 2020.” Meanwhile, $29.6 million — more than half of the $47.6 million appropriated for the air-launched cruise missile programs in FY19 — will be reprogrammed. The explanation for that change: “Funds are available due to contract savings from reduced guided missile flight controller modification requirements; and due to lack of executable requirements for Support Equipment and Low Cost Mods in FY 2019.” The reprogramming of funds for the Hellfire missile is also notable, as the Pentagon has identified a lack of munitions stockpiles as a major issue to address in its budget request. As an example, the FY20 budget called for the maximum rate of production possible on Hellfire: $730.8 million for 9,000 of the weapons. The document states that funds are “available due to contract savings from all variants that provide precision kill capabilities. Savings are attributed to negotiated lower unit costs per missile system.” https://www.defensenews.com/smr/federal-budget/2019/05/13/us-air-force-nuclear-space-programs-take-hit-in-border-wall-reprogramming/

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  September 11, 2018 | International, C4ISR

  DISA chooses 20 small businesses for big IT contract

  By: Daniel Cebul The Defense Information Systems Agency has selected 20 small businesses for the opportunity to work on a range of information technology services for the Department of Defense, intelligence community and other federal agencies, according to a Sept. 10 announcement. The contract could run as long as 10 years and has a maximum value of $17.5 billion. The ENCORE III small business set-aside suite makes 20 small companies eligible to compete for contracts to provide services in 19 performance areas. Those areas range from requirements analysis to cloud professional services and enterprise IT policy planning. “One of the key advantages of leveraging the ENCORE III vehicle is that mission partners are able to team with us to determine the best acquisition strategy for their task,” Steve Francoeur, ENCORE III contracting officer, said in a press release. “Together, we are able to determine whether a best-value-trade-off or lowest price technically acceptable approach fits the mission requirement.” The announcement follows DISA's award of the ENCORE III full and open large business suite in March when another 20 businesses became eligible for task orders on the contract. https://www.c4isrnet.com/newsletters/daily-brief/2018/09/10/disa-chooses-20-small-businesses-for-big-it-contract

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  July 30, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - July 29, 2020

  NAVY Advanced Technology Systems Co.,* McLean, Virginia (N00039-20-D-0060); Forward Slope Inc.,* San Diego, California (N00039-20-D-0061); ITC Defense,* Arlington, Virginia (N00039-20-D-0062); Solute Inc.,* San Diego, California (N00039-20-D-0063); and Veterans First Initiative,* Gainesville, Virginia (N00039-20-D-0064), are awarded a $75,000,000 not-to-exceed, hybrid (firm-fixed-price, cost-plus fixed-fee, cost-reimbursable, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity) multiple award contract (MAC) for command, control, communications, computers and intelligence integrated international support services in support of U.S. security assistance and security cooperation programs. No contract funds will be obligated on the basic MAC awards. Funds in the amount of $2,000 per awardee will be obligated at the time of award on the first task order under each contract utilizing fiscal 2020 Foreign Military Sales (FMS) administration funding. This contract utilizes FMS funding from various security cooperation partners that will be identified as individual task orders are issued. Work will be performed in various overseas locations based on the requirement for each task order placed. The ordering period for each contract is five years. Contract funds that are awarded using FMS administration funding will expire at the end of the current fiscal year; any funds awarded using FMS case funding will not expire at the end of the year. These contracts were competitively procured with small business proposals solicited and 10 offers were received via the beta.SAM.gov and Naval Information Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce websites. The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Heffler Contracting Group,* El Cajon, California, is awarded an $25,000,000 maximum amount, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for heavy and civil engineering construction at various locations within the metro San Diego, California area (Naval Bases San Diego, Coronado, Point Loma and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar). No task orders are being issued at this time. The work to be performed provides for the design, construction, supervision, equipment, material, labor and all means necessary for other heavy and civil engineering construction, repairs, renovations and new construction projects. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months and work is expected to be completed by July 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) (O&M, N) contract funds in the amount of $2,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy); O&M, N; and O&M (Marine Corps). This contract was competitively procured via the beta.SAM.gov contract opportunities website and four proposals were received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N62473-20-D-1110). HDR Architecture Inc., Arlington, Virginia, is awarded a $13,781,605 firm-fixed-price contract to provide post-construction award services for the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center addition/alteration at Naval Support Activity Bethesda, Maryland. The contract is incrementally funded with the first increment of $3,000,000 being allocated at the time of award. Work will be performed in Bethesda, Maryland. The work to be performed provides architect and engineering post construction award services for construction consultation to the government and provides assistance with technical issues that may arise in connection with the project during the construction of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center addition/alteration at Naval Support Activity Bethesda, Maryland. This work consists of responding to requests for information, review shop drawing submittals, prepare record drawings, field consultation during construction, partnering meetings and other post construction award services as needed. In addition, full time/on-site representation will be required for field consultations or participations in construction progress team reviews. Work is expected to be completed by March 2026. Fiscal 2016 military construction (Department of Defense-wide) contract funds are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii), which authorizes the use of other than full and open competition when there is only one available source, this contract was sole sourced to HDR Architecture Inc. because of their uniquely qualified position to perform the required work. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Washington, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N40080-20-C-0016). Curtiss-Wright Fleet Solutions, Chesapeake, Virginia, is awarded a $13,308,348 not to exceed, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract for labor, parts, support to installations, troubleshooting, repair and maintenance of Navy equipment manufactured and serviced by Curtiss-Wright Fleet Solutions. Equipment includes low, medium and high pressure air compressors, single stage turbines, pumps, compressed air valves and manifolds for various ship classes in support of Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division. Work will be performed in Chesapeake, Virginia (85%); the remaining (15%) will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, as determined by the individual task orders. Work is expected to be completed by July 2026. Fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $500 ($500 minimum guarantee for contract) will be obligated at time of award via an individual task order and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1); only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N64498-20-D-4028). AIR FORCE L3 Technologies Inc., Bristol, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a $64,232,376 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Telemetry Security Products (TSP) and ancillary services. The contractor shall manufacture and deliver all TSP, National Security Agency (NSA) approved class one encryption products and NSA-approved encryption accessories, in accordance with individual delivery orders. The contractor shall perform the following services in accordance with individual delivery orders, telecommunications electronics materials protected from emanating spurious transmissions test, electromagnetic interference/radio frequency interference test, product upgrade/enhancement, repair and technical support as required. Work will be performed in Bristol, Pennsylvania, and is expected to be completed by July 28, 2025. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2019 Department of Defense procurement funds in the amount of $549,200 are being obligated at the time of award. Directorate of Contracting, Edwards Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity. Hardwood Products Co. L.P., Guilford, Maine, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $51,150,000 undefinitized contract action (UCA) for industrial base expansion for U.S. domestic production capacity for medical flock tip swabs. This contract award is part of the ongoing collaboration between the Department of Defense and Health and Human Services, led by the department's Joint Acquisition Task Force and funded through the CARES Act to enable and support domestic industrial base expansion for critical medical resources. Primary tasks under this contract action include procurement, assembly and installation of flock tip swab assembly and packaging machinery and buildout of a production facility. Work will be performed in Guilford, Maine, and is expected to be completed eight months after receipt of UCA. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Air Force Life Cycle Management, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8730-20-C-0056). A-Tech Corp., Albuquerque, New Mexico has been awarded a $16,923,957 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for a communication system with two-way time transfer operating within W/V-bands and incorporating Free Space Optical links. This system will model Heterogeneous Optical W/V-band Demonstration, evaluate and develop its components and demonstrate its potential at meeting these objectives. Work will be performed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is expected to be completed Oct. 31, 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition with one offer received. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 research and development funds in the amount of $365,733 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, is the contracting activity (FA9453-20-C-0024). Perry Management Corp., Pearl City, Hawaii, has been awarded a $15,041,798 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for refuse services. The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, vehicles, supervision and other items and services necessary to perform installation-wide Municipal Solid Waste collection/disposal to include asbestos disposal service specific to Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) Lackland, Texas. Municipal Solid Waste collection services at JBSA installations include Lackland, Randolph, Fort Sam Houston, Camp Bullis, Canyon Lake military recreation areas, and Seguin Airfield in Texas, in accordance with all local, state and federal laws, regulations, standards, instructions, commercial practices or international agreements. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and five offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $18,288 are being obligated at the time of award. The contract is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2025. The 502nd Contracting Squadron, JBSA Lackland, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA3016-20-D-0024). SRC Inc., North Syracuse, New York, has been awarded a $7,627,257 task order for primarily platform electronic fit and supporting telecommunication parametric data support under the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract FA7037-17-D-0001 for the sensor beam program. The contractor will research, analyze, technically document and perform reviews on electromagnetic systems, events and signatures required by all services and other U.S. agencies. Work will be performed at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, and is expected to be completed July 30, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. Acquisition Management and Integration Center-Detachment 2, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Draeger Inc., Telford, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a maximum $60,000,000 modification (P00029) exercising the sixth one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE2D1-14-D-0004) with nine one-year option periods for patient monitoring systems, subsystems, accessories, consumables and training. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Pennsylvania, with an Aug. 5, 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, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ARMY Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin JV, Tucson, Arizona, was awarded a $47,239,843 modification (P00022) to contract W31P4Q-19-C-0076 for full rate production of the Javelin weapon system. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2023. Fiscal 2010 and 2020 missile procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $47,239,843 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Threat Tech-Yorktown Systems Group JV LLC,* Hampton, Virginia, was awarded a $31,362,444 hybrid (firm-fixed-price, time-and-materials) contract for core functions support services for U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Fort Eustis, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 9, 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $19,997,056 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Field Directorate Office, Fort Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W911S0-20-C-0007). River City Construction LLC, East Peoria, Illinois, was awarded a $30,100,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a consolidated communications building at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed at Scott Air Force Base, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 9, 2023. Fiscal 2017 military construction (Air Force) funds in the amount of $30,100,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-20-C-0028). The Boeing Co., Mesa, Arizona, was awarded an $11,250,000 modification (P00053) to contract W58RGZ-16-C-0023 to update critical safety items for the Apache attack helicopter (AH-64E). Work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2024. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $11,250,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY Kitware Inc., Clifton, New York, was awarded an $11,947,912 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for a research project under the Semantic Forensics (SemaFor) program. The SemaFor program will develop methods that exploit semantic inconsistencies in falsified media to perform tasks across media modalities and at scale. Work will be performed in Clifton Park, New York; Corvallis, Oregon; and at university laboratories in New York, New York; Albany, New York; Tempe, Arizona; Urbana, Illinois; and Ann Arbor, Michigan, with an expected completion date of July 2024. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funding in the amount of $1,733,340 is being obligated at time of award. This contract was a competitive acquisition under a full and open broad agency announcement and 37 proposals were received. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR0011-20-C-0123). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2293268/source/GovDelivery/