April 26, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Contracts for April 22, 2021
Today
July 3, 2018 | International, Land
US Army’s interim short-range air defense solution crystallizes
By: Jen Judson
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army's interim short-range air defense system, which will urgently fill a capability gap identified a few years ago in the European theater, has crystallized.
The Army had already decided the Interim Maneuver-Short-Range Air Defense system would be developed around its Stryker combat vehicle, but it has now chosen Leonardo DRS to supply a mission equipment package that will include Raytheon's Stinger vehicle missile launcher, according to Col. Chuck Worshim, program manager for cruise missile defense systems with the Army's Program Executive Office Missiles and Space, who spoke to Defense News on June 28.
General Dynamics Land Systems — which produces the Stryker — will be the platform integrator for the IM-SHORAD system, he added.
The Army went through a selection process through the Department of Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium to determine the best collection of vendors to build prototypes.
A Boeing-GDLS team was a front-runner for an interim SHORAD mission package, unveiling before any other vendor a solution in August 2017 at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama.
Using an Avenger system on top of the Stryker, which was the team's solution, sought to take what was already in the Army's inventory to create a system.
And a SHORAD demonstration at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, last September saw more possibilities for the interim solution including Rafael's Iron Dome and South Korean defense firm Hanwha's Flying Tiger.
But a dark horse emerged at the Association of the U.S. Army's Global Force Symposium, also in Huntsville, in March. Leonardo DRS showed an unassuming small-scale mock-up of its concept at its booth at the symposium that featured its partner Moog's Reconfigurable Integrated-weapons Platform.
The platform would provide a choice of sights, direct-fire weapons and missiles, Ed House, DRS Land Systems' business development manager, told Defense News at the show. The system would be able to integrate both Stinger and Longbow Hellfire missiles, requirements for the service's IM-SHORAD solution.
It also would come equipped with a complement of direct-fire weapons and sights to include the M230 chain gun and the 7.62mm coaxial machine gun. But the solution also has non-kinetic defeat capabilities and Rada's onboard multimission hemispheric radar.
And that dark horse has won the opportunity to provide the mission equipment package for the IM-SHORAD prototype program.
The system will also have Hellfire rails as well as an onboard sensor, according to Worshim.
The Army decided to choose DRS to provide the mission equipment package because of the flexibility of its reconfigurable turret, which allows for growth opportunities should the threat change or something else change that requires a new interceptor or another capability, Worshim said.
The solution also posed less intrusion to the existing Stryker platform, he added, and provided an increased level of protection as the crew reloads ammunition, which can be done under armor.
While the Avenger solution was deemed technically acceptable and met requirements, one of the reasons the Army decided against using the Avenger on Stryker as the solution was because the government felt it would require major modifications to the Stryker, according to Worshim.
The Army has a desire to keep the Stryker as common across the fleet as possible, Worshim said.
Boeing was also looking to the government to supply Avenger turrets, of which a limited amount of those exist readily in the service's inventory, which would have been problematic when considering the Army's goal to deliver 144 IM-SHORAD systems by fiscal 2022, he explained.
Now that vendors have been selected, the Army will move into a negotiation period expected to wrap up in mid- to late July. The service expects to officially award the contract to build nine prototypes by Aug. 31, but has the intention to possibly move that date up, Worshim said.
Once the contracts are solidified, DRS will provide the first mission equipment package, complete with a new digital Stinger missile launcher in February 2019. Then GDLS will fully integrate the SHORAD prototype by April 2019.
The final prototypes will be delivered to the service by the first quarter of fiscal 2020.
As the prototypes are coming along, the Army will conduct prototype testing to see if the systems are meeting requirements. “From there, the Army will decide if this solution truly meets requirements in this respect,” Worshim said. If the solution does meet requirements, production efforts to build 144 systems — a total of four battalions — will move forward.
The Army's goal is to provide the first battery no later than the fourth quarter of 2020, but that will depend on funding. If funding is lower than expected, the Army will deliver the first platoon by about that time, according to Worshim.
The service has moved from receiving a directed requirement in late February 2018 to selecting vendors for the IM-SHORAD solution in just about four months, which, Worshim noted, is moving at “lightning speed” for a typical acquisition process.
The hope is the process to build an IM-SHORAD solution will be used as a model for Army procurement that incorporates the “fly before you buy” concept and creates a way to rapidly understand capabilities moving forward, he said.
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September 24, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Defense Firms Angle for Eastern Europe
By Dominik Kimla and Hamilton Cook Posted September 19, 2019 In White Papers One of the more dissonant aspects of NATO field exercises is, three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the continued presence of Warsaw Pact weapons and equipment: Soviet-made T-series tanks, MiG fighters, Mi-17 helicopters, BM-21 rocket artillery, and more. Like their western counterparts on the continent, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) states have repeatedly delayed needed recapitalization as defense needs gave way to domestic imperatives. But times – and threat assessments – are changing. By our analysis, cumulative CEE defense spending will be nearly $200 billion over the next five years, growing by nearly five percent per year. More than a quarter of that total, some $53 billion, will be spent on defense hardware procurement. This represents a rare opportunity for Western defense firms – European and American – to seize a first-mover advantage. However, US companies must find new ways to credibly differentiate themselves from European competitors that may offer more financial and industrial incentives (and fewer regulatory hassles) in the long run. Currently, US companies are well positioned for success as more aggressive US government advocacy has led to recent CEE customer wins for Black Hawk helicopters (Latvia, Poland, Slovakia), F-16 fighters (Bulgaria, Slovakia), HIMARS (Poland, Romania), JLTV (Lithuania), and Patriot AMD systems (Poland, Romania). The US effort to steer CEE weapons-buying decisions picked up further momentum last year with the State Department-led European Recapitalization Incentive Program (ERIP), which provided $190 million in financing assistance to five Balkan countries (along with Slovakia) to replace ex-Soviet and Yugoslav-made equipment. Even as ERIP expands, American companies will still have plenty of obstacles ahead. Historically, the limited new weapons procurement in most CEE countries included minimal offset or local industrialization requirements. Going forward, reporting suggests that CEE countries, even as small as Croatia or Slovenia, will demand some form of local industrial participation and technology cooperation to develop their indigenous capabilities. This puts American firms at a disadvantage given the US government's still-stringent technology transfer regime. Western European companies will differentiate themselves by proposing generous technology and work-sharing transfers, integrating local defense companies into their supply chains, and setting up a pan-European Defense Industrial Base. The European Defense Fund (EDF) will fuel this by providing up to €13 billion over the next eight years to cultivate and secure these local ties. By financing collaborative R&D projects, prototype development, and disruptive, higher-risk defense innovation, the EDF will entrench Western European companies in CEE defense establishments over the medium to long term. Yet, from the perspective of vulnerable members on NATO's eastern flank, only the US has the political power and defense capabilities to counter Russian meddling and aggression. Given the ambivalence of Western European powers about confronting Russia, and the appearance of oft-fluctuating US commitment to NATO, CEE nations may see buying American not only as a means to get best-in-class (but more costly) weapons, but also as a binding mechanism to enhance US political and military commitment. This dynamic was most vividly illustrated with Poland as it announced its intention to pursue the F-35, a platform historically out of Poland's “price range.” The purchase was also one of three major cornerstones for ensuring US investment in Polish security. The others were Poland's procurement of Patriot AMD systems and its agreement to – and its offer to fund – enduring US basing in-country. However, Poland will still expect significant local industrial benefit as part of any arms transaction, as defense acquisitions continue to be as much a political and (parochial) economic exercise as a military one. European firms have not stood idly by while the US competitors have targeted the region though, and they have gained their own CEE foothold. They have found success by targeting countries like Hungary, who recently purchased helicopters from Airbus along with tanks and howitzers from KMW. While this is smaller than recent US sales, Western European contractors have an advantage: time. Every programmatic delay buys more time for the EDF to mature, extend its tendrils into every Western European foothold in the region, and bring the promise of increased industrial participation. Thus, absent a dramatic softening of the US tech transfer regime, American contractors will need to push for more creative ways to provide credible differentiation from Western European competitors. First, they can take advantage of the upcoming eastern shift of US operations in the region and establish logistics and maintenance centers that are able to serve both a country's new equipment and US forces in region, in a model similar to the F-35's maintenance depots in Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom. This expands NATO's operational support footprint into the region and grants CEE countries access to a much larger sustainment enterprise. Second, American firms should push for more aggressive releases of Excess Defense Articles. While older, this equipment still represents a substantial increase in military capability that many CEE countries otherwise could not afford. This has been seen in Croatia, where 16 retired OH-58 Kiowa Warriors are providing the country with new capabilities it could not afford (and now cannot afford to replace) and a pair of UH-60Ms donated to the Croatia Special Forces have introduced the platform to the Croatian military ahead of an eventual Mi-8/17 replacement program. These introductions induct CEE customers to US-style CONOPS and equipping standards that increase switching-costs to European competitors. Finally, American contractors should extol the wider advantages of buying into the US defense enterprise. The opportunity to tap into the extensive US training enterprise during and after the acquisition process would be a boon to CEE nations overhauling their militaries. While this has most recently been highlighted by international F-35 customers conducting their initial training at Luke Air Force Base amid the expansive Western US training range infrastructure, it is an opportunity that can be granted to non-Air Force customers, particularly given the establishment of a new Combat Training Center in Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland. Meanwhile, the Foreign Military Sales process grants international contractors access to DoD buying power, not only for the acquisition itself, but also for the all-critical procurement of spare parts and weapons reloads decades down the line. As they pursue long-overdue military modernization CEE countries will have to balance competing economic, political, and security imperatives. While going with US defense prime contractors provides top-tier capability and stronger ties with the only NATO member that can credibly deter Russian military adventurism, Western European firms will offer the lure of technology sharing and a more lucrative package for local industry. How CEE nations strike that balance will shape the military-political alignment of Europe's eastern flank for the next generation. https://www.avascent.com/news-insights/white-papers/defense-firms-angle-for-eastern-europe/
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August 29, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - August 28, 2019
AIR FORCE The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $500,000,000, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity single award contract for Qatar Emiri Air Force (QAEF) F-15QA aircrew and maintenance training. This contract will provide F-15QA aircrew and maintenance training to support the QEAF. Work will be performed at St. Louis, Missouri, and moving to Qatar in 2021 and is expected to be completed August 2026. This is a sole-source requirement as the Boeing Co. has been country-designated as the sole-source provider for the F-15QA program, including F-15QA specific training, under the QEAF Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case QA-D-TAH. FMS funds in the amount of $262,147,569 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Installation Contracting Agency/338th Specialized Contracting Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA3002-19-D-A007). Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Indiana, has been awarded a $47,959,610 delivery order (FA8504-19-F-0018) to previously awarded contract FA8504-17-D-0002 for C-130J propulsion long-term sustainment. This order provides funding for Option II. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $47,959,610. Work will be performed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, and other various locations supporting C-130J propulsion long-term sustainment and is expected to be completed when the last engines are delivered. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $47,959,610 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity. NAVY Raytheon Co., Tucson, Arizona, is awarded a $349,014,465 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for Phase 2 of the Maritime Strike Tomahawk Rapid Deployment Capability for completion of the Phase 1 design and integration efforts as well as test and evaluation. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (69.3%); Dallas, Texas (6.6%); Boulder, Colorado (5.8%); Walled Lake, Michigan (3.9%); Englewood, Colorado (2.7%); Bristol, Pennsylvania (2.5%); North Logan, Utah (1.9%); Suwanee, Georgia (0.6%); and various locations within the U.S. (6.7%), and is expected to be completed in February 2023. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $44,577,180 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 Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-19-C-0079). Reyes Construction Inc., Pomona, California, is awarded $21,899,000 for firm-fixed-price task order N62473-19-F-5131 under a previously awarded, multiple award construction contract (N62473-16-D-1804) for design-bid-build to retrofit the graving dock at Naval Base, San Diego. The work to be performed provides for the retrofit the graving dock and includes asbestos and lead base paint abatement. The project includes demolition of the graving dock concrete deck; drill, grout and install micro piles; and install new reinforcement bars and cast-in-place concrete forming the sonar pit. Project includes installation of automated in-haul system to provide more precise horizontal control and in-haul of vessels during evolutions. The in-haul system will consist of capstan at end of dry dock for in-haul and a rail on each side of the dry dock with a series of trolleys fastened to mooring lines from the vessel. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by March 2022. Fiscal 2019 operation and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $21,899,000 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Four proposals were received for this task order. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Harper Construction Co. Inc., San Diego, California, is awarded $17,737,397 for firm-fixed-price task order N62473-19-F-5130 under a previously awarded, multiple award construction contract (N62473-18-D-5853) for the design-build construction of a directed energy integration laboratory at Naval Base, Ventura County. The work to be performed provides for the construction of a three-story building with laboratory and office space, site improvements, and all utilities. The options, if exercised, provide for an additional square footage of administrative space and open laboratory space. The task order also contains two unexercised options, which if exercised would increase cumulative task order value to $18,947,274. Work will be performed in Point Mugu, California, and is expected to be completed by January 2021. Fiscal 2019 military construction (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $17,737,397 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Five proposals were received for this task order. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Teradyne Inc.,* Reading, Massachusetts, is awarded a $14,456,731 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a five-year period of performance, to procure Enhanced Tactical Pod Tester (e-TPT). The e-TPT is a portable operational level test platform system, specifically for the AN/ALQ-99 airborne electronic warfare jamming system, found on EA-6B and EA-18G military aircraft. Work will be performed in Reading, Massachusetts, and is expected to be complete by August 2024. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,594,641will be obligated at the time of contract award, and $247,571 will 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). The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana, is the contracting activity (N00164-19-D-WS26). Advanced Technology International, Summerville, South Carolina (N00174-18-D-0009); and PAE National Security Solutions LLC, Fredericksburg, Virginia (N00174-18-D-0008), are each awarded a modification to their respective previously-awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts to exercise Option Two for support services for the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division Demonstration and Assessment Team. This requirement will provide support services to the Demonstration and Assessment Team for coordination of operational forces, to include warfighter workshops and other engagement activities, preparation and facilitation of technology demonstration and assessment planning and readiness meetings, and analysis and reporting of warfighting/warfighter inputs and concepts. Each task order will be competitively procured. Advanced Technology International will be awarded an $8,777,905 modification, which brings the cumulative value of this contract to $25,848,029. PAE National Security Solutions LLC will be awarded an $8,328,452 modification, which brings the cumulative value of this contract to $24,513,838. The location of the work will be determined by individual task orders and is expected to be completed by September 2022. No additional funds are being obligated at the time of this action. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division, Indian Head, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Wyle Laboratories Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, is awarded $8,433,703 for modification P00004 to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-reimbursable contract (N00421-17-C-0056). This modification provides program management services for the F/A-18 Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program in support of the government of Australia. Work will be performed at Patuxent River, Maryland (83%); Whidbey Island, Washington (7%); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (4%); North Island, California (3%); Amberley, Australia (2%); and Oceana, Virginia (1%), and is expected to be completed in August 2020. FMS funds in the amount of $6,807,165 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, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. ARMY BAE, Kingsport, Tennessee, was awarded a $202,437,733 fixed-price-incentive contract for the production and delivery of explosives and components at Holston Army Ammunition Plant, Tennessee. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2020. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-19-D-0074). Parsons Government Services Inc., Pasadena, California, was awarded a $139,123,690 firm-fixed-price contract for runway repair at Bucholz Army Airfield, Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 22, 2022. Fiscal 2018 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $139,123,690 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (W9128A-19-C-0005). FLIR Surveillance Inc., Wilsonville, Oregon, was awarded a $92,875,276 firm-fixed-price contract for repair and refurbishment and logistics support. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 29, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W909MY-19-D-0016). Korte Construction Co., St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded a $63,921,812 firm-fixed-price contract to design and build a KC-46A Depot Maintenance Hangar at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2022. Fiscal 2019 military construction funds in the amount of $63,921,812 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (W912BV-19-C-0015). Diversified Technical Systems Inc.,* Seal Beach, California, was awarded a $38,441,877 firm-fixed-price contract for the purchase of Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin anthropomorphic test devices. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 27, 2019. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (W900KK-19-D-0011). The Boeing Co., Mesa, Arizona, was awarded a $33,581,477 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for non-recurring engineering design activities for integrating the Improved Turbine Engine into the AH-64E Apache helicopter. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2022. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $10,000,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-19-C-0054). Valiant Global Defense Services Inc., San Diego, California, was awarded a $10,645,455 hybrid (cost-no-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract for Korea Battle Simulation Center operations and wide area networking support services. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Pyeongtaek, Republic of Korea, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2025. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $4,827,976 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army 411th Contracting Support Brigade, Republic of Korea, is the contracting activity (W91QVN-19-F-0139). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Noble Supply and Logistics,* Rockland, Massachusetts, has been awarded a maximum $90,000,000 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 15-month contract with no option periods. Location of performance is the Southeast Region Zone 2 of the U.S., with a Nov. 28, 2020, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contract activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE8E3-19-D-0010). SupplyCore Inc.,* Rockford, Illinois, has been awarded a maximum $77,500,000 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 15-month contract with no option periods. Location of performance is the Southeast Region Zone 1 of the U.S., with a Nov. 28, 2020, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contract activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE8E3-19-D-0009). A-dec Inc., Newberg, Oregon, has been awarded a maximum $49,500,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for hospital equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency electronic catalog. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with 88 responses received; 22 contracts have been awarded to date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Location of performance is Oregon, with an Aug. 31, 2024, performance completion date. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DH-19-D-0015). Latina Boulevard Produce LLC,* Cheektowaga, New York, has been awarded a maximum $49,353,705 firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for fresh fruits and vegetables. This was a competitive acquisition with four responses received. This is a 54-month contract with no option periods. Location of performance is New York, with a Feb. 27, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Air Force and Department of Agriculture schools and reservations. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-19-D-P346). The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a maximum $27,000,000 undefinitized contractual action delivery order (SPRPA1-19-F-0LB9) against a five-year base contract (SPRPA1-14-D-002U) with one five-year option period for E-6B repair. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. Location of performance is Oklahoma, with a March 1, 2021, performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/1946835/source/GovDelivery/