Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - June 19, 2020

Sur le même sujet

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  20 juin 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  These US partners in the Asia-Pacific are to receive ScanEagle drones

  By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia — The U.S. Department of Defense has announced a contract award for 34 Insitu ScanEagle drones under the Foreign Military Sales program to partners in the Asia-Pacific region. Under the $47.9 million contract, announced May 31, the UAVs are for the governments of Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Respectively, they will take delivery of twelve, eight, eight and six ScanEagles. The manufacturer is a Boeing subsidiary. The announcement marks the first time that military equipment will be transferred to Vietnam following the end of a U.S. arms embargo imposed since the communist takeover there in 1975. It was fully lifted in 2016. The order also provides for spare payloads, spare and repair parts, support equipment, tools, training, technical services, and field service representatives. Work is expected to be completed in 2022. Defense News understands from multiple sources that the UAVs will be provided to these countries by the U.S. government, although there are conflicting reports on whether these will falls under the purview of the DoD's capacity-building program or the maritime security initiative announced in 2015. One of the key advantages of the ScanEagle is its ability to be launched by a pneumatic catapult unit and recovered by Insitu's Skyhook system, which means it can be operated from any patch of open space or from aboard a ship, negating the need for a runway. Sensor payloads available for the UAV include electro-optic, infrared and high-resolution video cameras that enable the operator to track stationary and moving targets. The UAVs will assist the recipient countries in improving maritime domain awareness over their territorial waters and exclusive economic zones. The contract announcement came on the same day that the DoD released its latest Indo-Pacific Strategy Report. The document lists as key priorities, among other things, building partner capacity and enhancing maritime domain awareness for third party partners in the region, as well as strengthening interoperability that includes increased information sharing between the U.S. and other like-minded countries in the region. All the recipient nations in this contract have interests in the South China Sea, with Indonesia being the only country among this group of four that does not claim ownership of any of the islands, features and rocks in the disputed Spratly or Paracel groups. https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2019/06/05/these-us-partners-in-the-asia-pacific-are-to-receive-scaneagle-drones/

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  27 juillet 2020 | International, Terrestre

  Should Army Compete With Industry On OMFV?

  Industry sources say the Army shouldn't enter its own in-house design team in the race to replace the M2 Bradley. Top Army officials told us why it would work. By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR.on July 24, 2020 at 7:00 AM WASHINGTON: Is fourth time the charm? After three failed attempts to replace the Reagan-era M2 Bradley troop carrier with better tech for modern warfare, the Army has a bold new strategy – one that could include a government design team competing head-to-head against contractors. The draft Request For Proposals (RFP), released Friday, raised some eyebrows in industry. But in an exclusive interview with Breaking Defense, Army officials told me a government team should stimulate, not stifle, much-needed innovation and competition. “We recognize that this does generate some concerns about potential organizational conflicts of interest,” said James Schirmer, the Deputy Program Executive Officer for Ground Combat Systems. “We certainly take those seriously.” The potential government team is now developing a formal “Organizational Conflict of Interest Mitigation Plan,” creating organizational firewalls so the Army team can't influence the requirements or selection process, Schirmer told me. If that plan doesn't pass muster with Army lawyers, he said bluntly, “then we would be prohibited from awarding a contract to the government team.” “To my knowledge, there's not a direct example of something similar occurring,” Schirmer agreed. But armored combat vehicles are a uniquely military design problem with few equivalents in the commercial world. “If you look at small arms, while we do have expertise in-house, there's a commercial industry that is very, very similar to the small arms that we're procuring for the military,” Schirmer told me. “If you look at aviation, while there's obviously some very important differences with military aircraft versus civilian ones, there's an awful lot of similarities.” “On the combat vehicle side, they're aren't as many similarities,” he said. “The engines that we use in commercial trucking can't survive under armor without cooling.... Our suspension systems are not unlike some commercial construction equipment, but we drive our vehicles at much higher speeds and are generally much heavier.” Meanwhile, Army scientists and engineers have spent decades studying everything from engines to armaments, from automated targeting systems to complete concepts for new vehicles. “We've got government folks that are really experts on combat vehicles and have good ideas,” Schirmer told me. “This phase primarily is generating ideas... potentially some innovation from inside our own halls.” That said, Schirmer didn't rule out the possibility that a government team might compete in later phases of the program – not just in developing “preliminary digital designs,” the subject of the draft RFP, but potentially in building a physical prototype vehicle as well. Actual mass production, however, would definitely be up to the private sector. “The government's got the ability to build prototypes,” he said. “The challenge would be the transition from an EMD [Engineering & Manufacturing Development]-like prototype into a production asset. That's something, typically, the government has not done.” So, he said, “the government team might need some help in that phase.” A government team might need help crafting a sufficiently detailed design that a contractor could actually build a working vehicle from it. Conversely, the manufacture would have to set up their supply chain and production line without the benefit of having done a prototype beforehand. “We'd have to figure out how we do that if the government were to continue as a competitor,” Schirmer said. “But to be honest, we have not thought beyond this phase” in any detail. Remember, the Army's still seeking industry feedback on the draft RFP; it has until next year to revise and finalize it. So at this point, it's not certain that a government team will even enter the current phase of the competition, let alone win a contract to develop the preliminary digital design. “We have room to award up to five contracts,” Schirmer said. “Even if the government team is one of those, there will be four additional contracts for industry.” “There's plenty of room for industry to get in and win,” he said. “I don't think they're going to be at a disadvantage relative to ... the government team.” Industry experts and insiders weren't so sure. Skeptics Speak Out “Let's face some reality first,” said Bill Greenwalt, an acquisition veteran who's worked in both the Pentagon and Congress. “There is no way the Army can effectively mitigate conflict of interest with a government design team, and there is no way that the government team will not have an advantage, through access to information flow within the Army's chain of command not available to the private sector.” After three previous failed attempts to replace the Bradley – FCS, GCV, and the first version of OMFV – the Army rebooted the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle program and tried to give industry wide leeway to come up with solutions, instead of prescribing rigid requirements. But with the new mandate for a two-man crew and the proposal for a government design team, Greenwalt lamented, “just when the Army has finally asked industry to come up with a solution rather than dictate it to them, it seems they have signaled what they really want to do is dictate the solution.” “Unfortunately, for decades, the Army has [been] wanting to return to the pre-World War II arsenal system where they controlled everything but were woefully un-innovative,” Greenwalt told me. “Rather than this half measure they should just nationalize the industrial base and get it over with and then see what kind of innovation they come up with.” Two industry sources, who asked to remain anonymous, expressed similar skepticism that the Army's Combat Capabilities Development Center (CCDC) and its subordinate commands, particularly the Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC), can pull this off. “I anticipate the CCDC and its conglomerate of R&D facilities will think they can compete and win,” one industry source told me. “Their design will be exquisite and probably un-manufacturable.” “The CCDC and its R&D teams are under intense pressure from Futures Command to prove their value for the voluminous funding they have received over the last 10 years,” the source continued. “Armaments Center (formerly ARDEC) has the best track record for working with industry on guns, cannons (ERCA) and ammo, but GVSC (formerly TARDEC) has an abysmal record of having any of its technology investment migrating to a fielded platform.” “I'm not in agreement with the Army on the acquisition strategy,” another industry source told me. “They think there are companies that would welcome the government business [to mass-produce a government design]. But I'm always skeptical of a build-to-print proposal when the company doing the production has little invested in the design. The government loses out on innovation and cost in the process, because there is no incentive to improve or advance the product.” Greenwalt put the skeptics' bottom line most bluntly: “Private industry should think long and hard about whether to potentially waste their valuable engineering talent and bid & proposal dollars on such a competition.” Army officials, however, argued that they've set the competition up to let industry participate at minimal risk. “They submit a proposal, and then the government is paying them for their initial design,” said Brig. Gen. Richard Ross Coffman, director of armored vehicle modernization at Army Futures Command. While the final value is still being worked out, each of the up to five contract awards for the next phase should include enough funding for industry to get through Preliminary Design Review (PDR) without having to invest additional money of their own. But what if a company feels it's not competitive without investing its own Independent Research And Development (IRAD), as General Dynamics in particular has already done over the years? “That's a question for industry, [but] that is not the intent of the program,” Coffman told me. “We're trying to reduce risk for industry.” The Army wants a wide range of competitors – definitely from industry, but perhaps in-house as well – to offer the widest possible range of ideas. OMFV could resemble a Bradley rebuilt with the best available 21st century tech, or it could look nothing like a 20th century Infantry Fighting Vehicle at all. “Industry has a choice,” Coffman said. “Industry can use a traditional IFV model... or industry can provide a different manner in which we will transport our infantrymen on the battlefield in the most dangerous places on Earth.” “I think we're going to see a lot of unique solutions to the problem,” he said. The biggest technological innovation the Army's seeking: replacing the three-man crew used in the Bradley – and almost every comparable IFV worldwide – with just two humans assisted by powerful software. Why the Army thinks that's achievable, and why some are skeptical, is the topic for Part II of this story, coming Monday. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/07/should-army-compete-with-industry-on-omfv/

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  28 janvier 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - January 25, 2019

  NAVY The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, is awarded a $2,458,707,154 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-14-C-0067). This modification provides for the production and delivery of 19 P-8A lot 10 aircraft to include 10 for the Navy, four for the government of the U.K. and five for the government of Norway. In addition, this modification includes engineering change proposal 4 SilverBlock for the government of the U.K. and Lot 10 segregable efforts consisting of unknown obsolescence, Class I change assessments and obsolescence monitoring. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington (80.6 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (2.6 percent); Greenlawn, New York (2.4 percent); Cambridge, U.K. (1.6 percent); and various locations within and outside the continental U.S. (12.8 percent),and is expected to be completed in March 2022. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy); and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds in the amount of $2,458,707,154 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Navy ($1,256,865,203; 51 percent); the government of Norway ($694,971,086; 28 percent); and the government of the U.K. ($506,870,865; 21 percent), under the FMS program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair, San Diego, California (N00024-16-D-4416); Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., San Diego, California (N00024-16-D-4417); and General Dynamics, National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, California (N00024-16-D-4418), are each awarded firm-fixed-price modifications under previously-awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple-award contracts to exercise Option Period Three for complex, emergent and continuous maintenance and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) availabilities on surface combatants (DDG and CG) homeported in San Diego, California. These three contractors will have the opportunity to provide offers for individual delivery orders during option period three, with an estimated cumulative value of $90,275,086. Exercising these options ensures continued facilities and human resources capable of completing complex, emergent and continuous maintenance, repair, modernization and CNO availabilities on surface combatant ships assigned to or visiting the port of San Diego, California. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by March 2020. No funding will be obligated at time of award. Operations and maintenance (Navy) funds will be obligated as the delivery orders are issued. The Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Indiana, is awarded a $26,332,225 firm-fixed-price requirements contract for the depot repair of T56-A-427 engines, utilized on E-2 Hawkeye aircraft, including the repair of the power section, torque meter, gearbox, and accessories in accordance with Navy depot manuals and approved repair practices. Work will be performed in San Antonio, Texas (55 percent); Winnipeg, Canada (25 percent); Indianapolis, Indiana (15 percent); and Oakland, California (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in January 2020. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be issued against individual task orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals; two offers were received. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-19-D-0024). Ocean Ships Inc., Houston, Texas, is awarded a $20,800,875 firm-fixed-price contract for the operation and maintenance of Expeditionary Transfer Dock (ESD) vessels. This contract includes a 12-month base period, four 12-month option periods and a six-month option under Federal Acquistion Regulation 52.217-8, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $118,985,659. Work will be performed at sea worldwide and is expected to be completed, if all options are exercised, by November 2024. Working capital contract funds in the amount of $20,800,875 are obligated for the base period, and will not expire. The Navy's Military Sealift Command, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220519C3003). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, California, is awarded a $19,590,756 modification (P00020) to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-17-C-0033). This modification provides for the procurement of software design and system integration, qualification testing, and cybersecurity activities as well as engineering services in support the MQ-8 Fire Scout Unmanned Air System. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed in December 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance; and aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $19,590,756 will be obligated at time of award, $12,080,557 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is being awarded a $13,930,396 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract for engineering, training, integrated logistics support, installation/checkout of developed systems and support services for Harpoon Ship Command Launch Control Set, Encapsulated Harpoon Command and Launch Systems, and Advanced Harpoon Weapon Control System, Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response, and Harpoon missiles. These efforts are in support of the Navy and the governments of Brazil, Chile, Israel, Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada, Turkey, U.K., Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Germany, India, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Mexico, Thailand, Greece, Qatar, and Belgium. Work will be performed in St. Charles, Missouri, and locations inside and outside the continental U.S., and is expected to be completed in December 2021. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be issued against individual task orders as they are issued. 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-D-0010). Joyce & Associates Construction Inc.,* Newport, North Carolina, is awarded $9,058,945 for firm-fixed-price task order N4008519F4580 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N40085-16-D-6302) for repairs to waste water collection system core area at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The work to be performed provides for various repairs to the sanitary and industrial waste water system including gravity lines, force mains, lift stations and appurtenances and incidental related work. Work will be performed in Havelock, North Carolina, and is expected to be completed by April 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, (Marine Corps) contract funds in the amount of $9,058,945 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Five proposals were received for this task order. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-16-D-6302). Lyon Shipyard, Inc.,* Norfolk, Virginia, is awarded a $7,994,140 firm-fixed-price, single-award contract for the repair, maintenance and modernization of USNS Prevail (TSV 1) during the ship's docking phased maintenance availability. The work of this contract consists of temporary services, structural repairs, hull gauging, electrical, mechanical, piping and other miscellaneous repair work. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by July 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $7,994,140 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. This contract was procured as a competitive small business set-aside under the North American Industry Classification 336611 for shipbuilding and repair. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N50054-19-C-0002). DEFENSE COMMISSARY AGENCY Military Produce Group LLC, Norfolk, Virginia, is being awarded an indefinite-delivery, requirements type contract to provide fresh fruits and vegetable products for commissaries located in the east areas of the continental U.S. The award amount is estimated at $146,066,237 for the base year. Actual obligations using Resale Stock Activity Group, Defense Working Capital Funds will occur upon issuance of delivery orders during the period of performance. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract is for a 24-month base period beginning Feb. 11, 2019, through Feb. 7, 2021. The contract includes three one-year option periods. If all three option periods are exercised, the contract will be completed Feb. 4, 2024. The Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Lee, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HDEC02-19-D-0001). AIR FORCE Robbins-Gioia LLC, Alexandria, Virginia (FA7014-19-D-5001); and Synergy Solutions and Innovations, Arlington, Virginia (FA7014-19-D-5000), have been awarded a ceiling $50,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-priced with time and material elements, multiple award contract for the Business Capability Lifecycle Management Projects. This contract is for exploring more effective and efficient ways to support Air Force business operations and refine the development of Defense Business System requirements supporting the business mission area information technology by leveraging existing technologies owned by the Air Force, streamlining and standardizing business processes across the Air Force, and developing integrated solutions that are achievable in a constrained fiscal environment. This contract shall also be used for technical and engineering; information and data management, process engineering, performance assessment, change management, facilitation, project management, and scheduling. Work will be performed primarily in Washington, District of Columbia., and is expected to be completed Jan. 24, 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and seven offers were received. A total of two task orders using fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $27,405 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force District of Washington, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Corp., Marietta, Georgia, has been awarded a $33,732,110 ceiling requirements contract for C-130J long-term sustainment support for the Royal Norwegian Air Force. The estimated value of the first order is $6,155,584. Contractor will provide the Royal Norwegian Air Force with return and repair support, spares support, engineering support, and in-country representative support for their C-130J aircraft platform. Work will be performed in Marietta, Georgia, and Gardermoen Air Station, Norway, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2019. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition and is 100 percent Foreign Military Sales for Norway. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8553-19-D-0001). Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Georgia, has been awarded a maximum $18,728,697 modification (P00007) to exercise an option on contract FA8106-16-D-0006 for engineering services to provide support the C-20 and C-37 fleet for Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. This modification adds the third increment of the five-year, multi-year basic contract. Work will be performed in Savannah, Georgia, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2019 Air Force, Army, and Navy operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $10,495,503 are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $83,700,000. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity. Space Dynamics Laboratory, North Logan, Utah, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $18,295,163 undefinitized contract action for the tasking, collecting, processing, exploitation, and dissemination (TCPED) capability to support the Republic of Korea Global Hawk program. This contract provides for the procurement of the TCPED system, spares and support equipment, sustainment support, and system familiarization. Work will be performed at North Logan, Utah, and is expected to be completed by May 2020. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales to the Republic of Korea. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $9,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8620-19-C-1002). ARMY Pate Construction Company Inc.,* Pueblo West, Colorado, was awarded a $23,978,896 firm-fixed-price contract for a procurement project consisting of 8,100 feet of reinforced concrete lined channel or concrete box culvert for the existing McKinley ditch. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Alamogordo, New Mexico, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 15, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $23,978,896 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque, New Mexico, is the contracting activity (W912PP-19-C-0014). Vertex Aerospace, Madison, Mississippi, was awarded a $9,086,502 modification (P00300) to contract W58RGZ-13-C-0044 for aviation field maintenance services. Work will be performed in Fort Rucker, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $9,086,502 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Shilog LTD,* McAlester, Oklahoma, was awarded a $7,777,536 firm-fixed-price contract for Polybutadiene, Liquid, Hydroxyl-Terminated, Type II. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2022. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-19-D-3015). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Bren-Tronics Inc.,* Commack, New York, has been awarded a maximum $9,832,972 firm-fixed-price contract for storage batteries. This is a six-month base contract with a five-month option that is being exercised at the time of award. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. Location of performance is New York, with a Dec. 23, 2019, performance completion date. Using military services are Army and Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio (SPE7L719C0005). *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1741001/source/GovDelivery/