7 décembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - December 6, 2018

AIR FORCE

Northrop Grumman Amherst Systems, Buffalo, New York, has been awarded a $450,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for U.S. agencies (Air Force, Navy, etc.); and Foreign Military Sales countries for Joint Threat Emitter production end-items, spares, support equipment, testing, training, etc. Work will be performed in Buffalo, New York, and various contiguous U.S. and outside the continental U.S. locations, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 5, 2025. This contract involves foreign military sales to U.S. partner countries. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and one offer was received. Fiscal 2018 other procurement funds in the amount of $9,150,318 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8210-19-D-0001).

The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, has been awarded a $158,950,309 firm-fixed-price modification (P00003) to contract FA8609-18-F-0006 for one KC-46A Japan aircraft. This modification provides for the exercise of an option for an additional quantity of one aircraft being produced under the basic contract. Work will be performed in Seattle and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2021. This modification involves foreign military sales to Japan. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $449,375,855. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.

The Boeing Co., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has been awarded a sustainment order (FA8134-19-F-0001) with an estimated amount of $75,000,000 to previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract FA8106-16-D-0002 for E-4B sustainment support. The order will provide contractor logistic support services. Work will be performed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, and San Antonio, Texas, with an expected completion date of Nov. 30, 2019. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $57,188,079 are obligated at time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Nov. 30, 2018)

Dayton Power and Light Co., Dayton, Ohio, has been awarded a $28,179,453 modification (P00001) to contract FA8601-18-C-0010 to exercise Option One for electricity services. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2019. No funds are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio is the contracting activity.

Raytheon Co., Marlborough, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $10,722,437, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Force Element Terminal Risk Reduction effort. The contract will deliver risk reduction studies, analyses, and demonstrations related to Raytheon's Advanced Extremely High Frequency Airborne Military Satellite Communication product line. Work will be performed in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 30, 2019. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,959,991 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hansom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8705-19-C-0005).

The Boeing Co., El Segundo, California, has been awarded a $10,361,265 modification (P00034) to contract FA8823-15-C-0002 for services required to ensure continued Wideband Global Satellite Communication operations and logistics sustainment support. The contract modification is for the exercise of Option Period Four. Work will be performed at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado; El Segundo, California; and Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is expected to be completed Dec. 31, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $10,361,265 will be obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity.

Cloud Lake Technology, Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded an $8,875,620 modification (P00012) to contract FA8075-17-C-0002 for Information Analysis Center Program Management Office (IAC PMO) support. IAC PMO support services provides program management analysis, acquisition management, operations analysis, financial analysis, process improvement, strategic communications and performance measurement support. This modification provides for the exercise of an option for additional services under the basic contract, and brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $21,870,362. Work will be performed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2020. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $2,904,150 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Installation Contracting Agency, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, is the contracting activity.

CORRECTION: The Nov. 14, 2018, announcement that Kaman Precision Products Inc., Orlando, Florida; and Middletown, Connecticut, was awarded a $52,026,000 firm-fixed-price modification (P00009) to contract FA8681-18-C-0009 for Joint Programmable Fuzes was incorrect. The contract was actually awarded Dec. 3, 2018.

ARMY

General Dynamics - Ordnance and Tactical Systems, Garland, Texas, was awarded a $264,767,596 firm-fixed-price contract for MK80 and BLU-109 Tritonal bomb components. Bids were solicited with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-19-D-0015).

RIPTIDE Software Inc.,* Oviedo, Florida, was awarded a $103,221,000 hybrid (cost, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price) contract for the OneSAF system. Bids were solicited with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 5, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (W900KK-19-D-0003).

L3 Communications Security and Detection Systems, Woburn, Massachusetts, was awarded an $83,942,786 firm-fixed-price contract for manufacturing, delivering and supporting the AN/PSS-14. 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 Nov. 20, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W909MY-19-D-0001).

General Dynamics Land Systems Inc., Sterling Heights, Michigan, was awarded a $58,088,134 firm-fixed-price contract for procurement of expedited active protection systems mounting kits and ballast kits to support the Abrams M1A2 battle tank. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2020. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $12,739,706 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-19-C-0038).

Weeks Marine Inc., Covington, Louisiana, was awarded a $12,787,500 firm-fixed-price contract for dredging. Bids were solicited with one received. Work will be performed in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of May 26, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $12,787,500 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, Louisiana, is the contracting activity (W912P8-19-C-0010).

Tetra Tech-Maytag Aircraft Corp. J, Pasadena, California, was awarded a $9,043,009 modification (P00002) to contract W912DY-18-F-0056 for maintenance and repair of equipment. Work will be performed in Twenty Nine Palms, California; Bremerton, Washington; Barstow, California; Ridgecrest, California; El Centro, California; Fallon, Nevada; Lemoore, California; Port Orchard, Washington; Coronado, California; San Diego, California; Arlington, Washington; Everett, Washington; Bridgeport, California; Oceanside, California; Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California; Oak Harbor, Washington; San Clemente Island, California; San Nicholas Island, California; and Yuma, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 30, 2019. Fiscal 2019 Defense Working Capital funds in the amount of $9,043,009 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

Broadway Electric Inc.,* Elk Grove Village, Illinois, was awarded a $7,173,000 firm-fixed-price contract for removing generators, paralleling switchgear, and replacing feeders. Bids were solicited with three received. Work will be performed in Battle Creek, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 18, 2019. Fiscal 2015, 2018 and 2019 Economy Act Reimbursable funds in the amount of $7,173,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W911XK-19-C-0002).

Eastman Aggregate Enterprises LLC,* Lake Worth, Florida, was awarded a $7,864,771 firm-fixed-price contract for flood control and coastal emergency beach erosion control. Bids were solicited with two received. Work will be performed in Broward County, Florida, with an estimated completion date of April 29, 2019. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $7,864,771 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity (W912EP-19-C-0006).

NAVY

BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP, Sterling Heights, Michigan, is awarded a $140,354,780 modification to exercise options for the fixed-price-incentive (firm target) Contract Line Item Numbers (CLIN) 3001, 3002, and 3003 portions of a previously awarded contract (M67854-16-C-0006). This modification is for the purchase of 30 Amphibious Combat Vehicles and associated production, fielding and support costs. Work will be performed in York, Pennsylvania (85 percent); and Aiken, South Carolina (15 percent), and is expected to be completed in August 2020. Fiscal 2019 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $140,354,780 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website. The option CLINs were included within that contract and are being exercised in accordance with FAR 52.217-7 option for increased quantity-separately priced line item. The U.S. Marine Corps' Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M67854-16-C-0006).

Emprise Corp. LLC, Ledyard, Connecticut, was awarded a $96,470,026 firm-fixed-price level of effort with a five-year ordering period for Shipboard Automated Maintenance Management Systems (SAMM). Engineering services in this contract will assist Military Sealift Command (MSC) afloat and ashore operations. The engineering maintenance management systems consist of both afloat and ashore systems with various modules and functions that work together to optimize MSC maintenance programs. SAMM is required for shipboard personnel to document maintenance performed on MSC vessels and record daily machinery operational data. The system also provides a consistent maintenance plan for the MSC fleet. This engineering system is a recurring requirement, which will allow MSC to continuously achieve interoperability and maintain and sustain fleet operations. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and work is expected to be completed Dec. 9, 2023. This contract will be funded with Fiscal 2018 working capital funds (Navy and U.S. Transportation Command) funds in the amount of $10,000,000 will be obligated at the time of award. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website, having one offer received. The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220519D1001). (Awarded Dec. 5, 2018)

BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair (BAE), San Diego, California, was awarded a $78,847,897 firm-fixed-price contract for the execution of the USS Shoup (DDG 86) fiscal 2019 Depot Modernization Period Availability (DMP). This availability will include a combination of maintenance, modernization and repair of USS Shoup. This is a Chief of Naval Operations-scheduled DMP. The purpose is to maintain, modernize and repair USS Shoup. This is a “long-term” availability and was competed on a coastwide (west coast) basis without limiting the place of performance to the vessel's homeport. BAE will provide the facilities and human resources capable of completing, coordinating and integrating multiple areas of ship maintenance, repair and modernization for USS Shoup. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $87,672,675. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by February 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $59,836,401; and fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $19,011,496 will be obligated at time of award, and $59,836,400 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured using full and open competition via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received in response to solicitation N00024-18-R-4407. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-4407). (Awarded Dec. 3, 2018)

L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC., Madison, Mississippi, was awarded a $21,845,138 modification (P00035) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursable, labor hour, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-13-D-0007). This modification increases the ceiling and extends the period of performance to provide contractor logistics services and materials for organizational and depot-level services required to support and maintain the TH-57 fleet. Work will be performed in Milton, Florida, and is expected to be completed in January 2019. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity.

Teledyne Wireless LLC, a Teledyne Microwave Solutions Company, Rancho Cordova, California, is awarded an $8,243,062 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract in support of evaluation, minor repair and manufacture of 10kW traveling wave tubes; manufacture of 13kW traveling wave tubes; government-furnished equipment maintenance for traveling wave tubes; and incidental engineering services. Work will be performed in Rancho Cordova, California, and is expected to be completed by November 2023. This work is to support subcomponents of the Aegis Combat System. The traveling wave tube design was developed by Teledyne Wireless LLC, who has proprietary design rights for the 10kW and 13kW traveling wave tubes. Fiscal 2018 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $196,276 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured, in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1 (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana, is the contracting activity (N00164-19-D-WP83).

Black Construction/Mace International JV, Harmon, Guam, is awarded firm-fixed-price task order N4008419F4086 for $27,350,842 under a multiple award construction contract for the design build repair of Unaccompanied Personnel Housing (UPH) -13 and UPH-17 at U.S. Navy Support Facility, Diego Garcia. The work to be performed provides for repairs to the building components and utility systems which are old and increasingly deteriorated. The work will also address life safety and energy deficiencies which have begun to generate intensive maintenance and reliability concerns. Work will be performed in Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, and is expected to be completed by August 2023. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $27,350,842 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Two proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Far East, Yokosuka, Japan, is the contracting activity (N40084-18-D-0066).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Creation Gardens Inc.,* Louisville, Kentucky, has been awarded a maximum $49,500,000 firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for fresh fruits and vegetables. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a 36-month contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Kentucky and Indiana, with a Dec. 4, 2021, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Department of Agriculture schools. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-19-D-P344).

Heart and Core LLC, Minnetonka, Minnesota, has been awarded a maximum $7,920,000 modification (P00011) exercising the second one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-17-D-1018) with four one-year option periods for moisture wicking T-shirts. This is an indefinite-delivery contract. Locations of performance are California and Minnesota, with a Dec. 15, 2019, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

*Small business

https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1707044/

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According to the industrial base report, “defense unique requirements and decreasing DoD demand drove out other suppliers, leaving a single qualified source for chaff.” Peter Navarro, the White House's director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, called attention to the fragile chaff supply base during a Nov. 9 speech at the Center of Strategic and International Studies, calling it a “single point of failure.” Meanwhile, the outlook for flare companies seems even more grim, with the report noting a number of explosions that had plagued both Esterline and Kilgore over the past several years, often leading to factorywide shutdowns that delayed deliveries of product to the Defense Department. “Both companies have experienced quality and delivery problems since the accidents,” the report stated. “As program offices look to improve quality and cost, they are beginning to look offshore at more modern facilities, where there are fewer quality and safety concerns.” One of the biggest problems facing chaff and flare manufacturers is the fluctuating demand signal from the Defense Department — their only customer for the product — based on the military's operational needs, the Association of Old Crows, a professional organization centered on electronic warfare and other countermeasures, said in a statement to Defense News. “Spending on countermeasures flares in the U.S. and among several NATO allies surged during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom and then dropped sharply as these conflicts reduced their operations tempo or wound down,” the organization stated. “The industrial base is small, yet it must be able to meet big fluctuations in customer demand. This creates a tremendous challenge that could be managed more successfully with better coordination among U.S. military customers or even between NATO partners." A history of safety issues and scandal Though chaff and flare companies usually fly under the radar of the defense trade press, when they do appear in the media, it's usually related to life-threatening accidents at manufacturing facilities or the like. In May 2016, Esterline was forced to temporarily halt operations at its plant in East Camden, Arkansas, after an explosion injured two employees. Local newspaper El Dorado News Times reported that one of the victims suffered “a blast to the face,” which left burns on the hands, chest and face, and took shrapnel to the elbow, according to a Facebook post by the victim's relative. Kilgore Flares also sustained several high-profile accidents in recent years, most notably a 2014 explosion that killed one employee at its factory in Toone, Tennessee. The same plant was the site of a 2016 explosion where no one was injured, according to WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation of the 2014 incident, the worker had been removing residual flare materials that ignited, prompting the explosion. “The investigation identified noncompliance in process safety information, process hazard analysis and ... operating procedures. The employee suffered severe burns on multiple areas of his body and was transported to a hospital, where he received medical treatment and burn therapy, but died from his injuries,” the administration had said. Kilgore also came under the scrutiny of the U.S. Justice Department in 2016 for selling the Army flares made with magnesium that a supplier — ESM Group Inc. — illegally imported from China. The company was fined $8 million for violating a requirement that all magnesium used to make flares be sourced from American or Canadian suppliers, reported the Memphis-based CBS affiliate WREG. Kilgore and Esterline did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Pat Kumashiro, former head of the maintenance division for the Air Force's Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection Directorate and currently director of the Air Force market at LMI, said China is paying attention to weaknesses in the American defense-industrial base. “They are pretty savvy as it relates to understanding global supply chains, and when they have opportunities to buy mineral rights — and you see them doing a lot of work and being very aggressive in Africa — they are doing it for a reason,” he said. If an adversary such as Russia or China identifies that there are a limited number of sources for chaff and flare, they can find ways to impact U.S. suppliers — which in turn degrades the mission capability of fourth-generation planes, Kumashiro said. “Operational pilots are not going to go into harm's way without an operational chaff [and] flare system,” he said. The evolving landscape for chaff and flare Big changes appear to be coming down the pipeline for both Esterline and Kilgore Flares. For the former, the question is whether the Defense Department allows TransDigm to acquire Esterline. "Our general goal in this area is to promote competition among contractors but also ensure that DoD is paying fair prices for the best, most usable products that it can get,” a staff member of Rep. Speier told Defense News. But Speier and his colleague Jones believe TransDigm could artificially inflate prices by claiming there is a commercial market for those products, which would limit the ability of Defense Department procurement officers to have full access to pricing data, the staffer said. Should the Defense Department decide to allow the TransDigm deal to go forward, Speier may push to add language to next year's defense authorization bill that would pose additional limitations on what products are deemed “commercial,” or it could call on the Pentagon to study the level of competition throughout the industrial base, the staffer said. For Kilgore Flares, the changes appear to be more conventionally positive. This May, Chemring Group said it would spend $40 million to expand Kilgore's production facility in Toone and grow the plant's employment numbers from about 280 to 375 people. From 2018-2022, the company plans to improve existing facilities, construct new buildings and buy modern equipment, including a new flare extruder and assembly facility, the company said in a news release. In total, those expenditures will triple the plant's production capacity. Kilgore's investment may indicate that chaff and flare manufacturers see some relief on the horizon. Industry officials who spoke to Defense News about this sector said they were hopeful the Defense Department's industrial base report could indicate a heightened level of Pentagon interest. The department already has certain levers it can pull to address problems in its supply base. One such effort, called the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program, involves targeted investments to sustain certain manufacturers who produce a critical capability. Another resource is the Defense Production Act Title III program, which offers grants, purchase commitments, loans or loan guarantees to portions of the industrial base that are weakening. The Defense Department called for an expansion of those programs in recommendations to the White House submitted as part of the industrial base report. A classified annex also includes detailed fixes for certain critical industries. So far, however, it's unclear what assistance could be coming down the pipeline for the chaff and flare industry. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2018/11/13/the-militarys-chaff-and-flare-industry-is-on-fragile-ground

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