19 novembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - November 16, 2018

AIR FORCE

Space Vector Corp., Chatsworth, California (FA8818-19-D-0001); and OrbitalATK Inc., Chandler, Arizona (FA8818-19-D-0002), have been awarded a combined ceiling $424,000,000 multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee for Sounding Rocket Program-4 (SRP-4). The SRP-4 contract provides suborbital launch services and launch support services necessary to accomplish the Rocket Systems Launch Program's suborbital mission. This contract will be used to meet Department of Defense and other government agency requirements for sub-orbital research, development, and test launch services, including prototype demonstrations and missile defense targets. Work will primarily be performed in Chatsworth, California; Chandler, Arizona, and a variety of government launch sites, depending on mission requirements. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition with a seven-year ordering period. Space and Missile Systems Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, is the contracting activity.

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Labatt Food Service, San Antonio, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $295,636,225 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity with economic-price-adjustment contract for full line food distribution support for the San Antonio region. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. This is a two-year base contract with one one-year option period, and one two-year option period. Location of performance is Texas, with a Nov. 15, 2023, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. 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-3206).

Allison Transmission, Indianapolis, Indiana, has been awarded a maximum $20,781,402 firm-fixed-price contract for transmission overhaul kits. 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 13-month contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Indiana, with a Dec. 31, 2019, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-19-C-0057).

Peckham Vocational Industries,** Lansing, Michigan, has been awarded an $8,609,660modification (P00003) exercising the first one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-18-D-N029) with two one-year option periods for drawers. This is a firm-fixed-price contract. Location of performance is Michigan, with a Nov. 21, 2019, performance completion date. Using military services are Army and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

NAVY

Lockheed Martin Corp., Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded a $282,085,646 not-to-exceed undefinitized contract action modification to previously-awarded contract N00024-18-C-2301 for long-lead-time material and detail design in support of the construction of four Multi-Mission Surface Combatant ships (MMSC). The MMSC is a lethal and highly maneuverable surface combatant capable of littoral and open-ocean operation. This contract involves foreign military sales to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Work will be performed in Marinette, Wisconsin (55 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (23 percent); Herndon, Virginia (11 percent); Moorestown, New Jersey (6 percent); Manassas, Virginia (1 percent); San Diego, California (1 percent); and various places below one percent (3 percent), and is expected to be completed by October 2025. Foreign military sales (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) funding in the amount of $124,201,733 will be obligated at the time of award 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)(4) (international agreement). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.

Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia (N00189-19-D-Z012); Cydecor Inc., Arlington, Virginia (N00189-19-D-Z013); and Whitney, Bradley and Brown Inc., Reston, Virginia (N00189-19-D-Z014), are awarded an estimated $69,920,361 multiple award cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts that will include terms and conditions for the placement of both cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price task orders to provide management support services to facilitate warfighting, manpower and business transformation initiatives in support of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Information Dominance. The contracts will run concurrently and will include a 60-month base ordering period with no additional options. Work will be performed at government facilities in Arlington, Virginia (90 percent), and at the various contractor locations in which the percentage of work at each of those locations cannot be determined at this time (10 percent). The ordering period will begin March 2019 and is expected to be completed by February 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $100,000 will be obligated (approximately $33,333 on each of the three contracts to fund the contracts' minimum amounts) and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured for the award of multiple contracts pursuant to the authority set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation 16.504. The requirement was posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website, with ten offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity.

Kellogg Brown and Root Services Inc., Houston, Texas, is awarded $55,452,842 for task order A00011 under previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N62470-17-D-4012) to exercise the first option period for base operations support services at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, and other areas within Africa. The work to be performed provides for all management and administration, public safety, galley, ordnance, air operations, fire and emergency services, bachelor quarters, housing, pest control, integrated solid waste, base support vehicles and equipment, custodial, electrical, water, wastewater, port operations, supply, morale-welfare-recreation, facilities investment, and environmental services to provide base operations support services. After award of this option, the total cumulative contract value will be $122,263,227. Work will be performed at various installations in Territory of Djibouti, Africa and other areas within Africa, and work is expected to be completed November 2019. No funds will be obligated at time of award. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Europe Africa Southwest Asia, Naples, Italy, is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Space, Sunnyvale, California is being awarded a cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee $49,069,660 modification (P00002) to a previously awarded contract (N00030-18-C-0100) for Trident II (D5) missile production and deployed system support. The work will be performed in Kings Bay, Georgia (22.25 percent); Bangor, Washington (22.80 percent); Cape

Canaveral, Florida (22.22 percent); Sunnyvale, California (12.59 percent); Borgo San Dalmazzo, Italy (6.81 percent); Biddeford, Maine (3.70 percent); Denver, Colorado (2.06 percent); and other various locations (less than 1.00 percent each; 7.57 percent total), and work is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2023. Fiscal 2019 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of

$31,281,073; and fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $17,788,587 will be obligated on this award. No funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Space, Sunnyvale, California, is awarded $41,329,513 for cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee modification P00016 to a previously awarded contract (N00030-17-C-0100) for Trident II (D5) missile production and deployed system support. The work will be performed in Sunnyvale, California (69.71 percent); Denver, Colorado (10.92 percent); Clearwater, Florida (8.78 percent); Cape Canaveral, Florida (3.04 percent); Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (1.99 percent); Santa Clara, California (1.06 percent); and other various locations (less than 1.00 percent each; 4.50 percent total) with work expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2023. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $11,513,121; and fiscal 2019 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $29,816,392 are being obligated on this award. No funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Military Aircraft Systems, Melbourne, Florida, is being awarded $32,730,879 for modification P00003 to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract (N00019-18-C-1037) for long-lead items for Japan E-2D Aircraft JAA5 under the Foreign Military Sales program. Work will be performed in Syracuse, New York (22.04 percent); Potez, Aire-sur-l'Adour, France (11.50 percent); Edgewood, New York (8.42 percent); Menlo Park, California (6.12 percent); Woodland Hills, California (5.53 percent); Rolling Meadows, Illinois (5.01 percent); Marlborough, Massachusetts (4.59 percent); Greenlawn, New York (3.06 percent); Owego, New York (3.06 percent); Independence, Ohio (3.06 percent); Gardena, California (2.29 percent); Melbourne, Florida (2.09 percent); Clemmons, North Carolina (1.81 percent); Falls Church, Virginia (1.53 percent); Melville, New York (1.49 percent); Long Beach, California (1.17 percent); Laval, Quebec, Canada (0.04 percent); and various locations within the U.S. (17.19 percent), and is expected to be completed in August 2022. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of $32,730,879 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

IAP Worldwide Services Inc., Cape Canaveral, Florida, is awarded a $20,881,626 contract modification for recurring/non-recurring services type contract for base operations services at Naval Support Activity Annapolis. The work to be performed provides for all management, supervision, labor hours, training, equipment, and supplies necessary to perform base operating services to include but not limited to facility investment, service calls, pest control, operation of utility plants, refuse collection, special events, and snow and ice removal. Work will be performed in Annapolis, Maryland, and work is expected to be completed July 2019. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy); and fiscal 2019 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $14,629,883.85 for recurring work will be obligated on individual task orders issued during the contract period. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N40080-18-D-0500).

Triton Marine Construction Corp., Bremerton, Washington, is awarded a $17,914,200 firm-fixed-price contract for the repair of trestle box beams at Naval Weapons Station (NWS) Earle. The work to be performed provides for concrete spall repairs on the underside of Trestle 1A to the pile caps, beams, and deck; carbon fiber reinforced polymer strengthening of existing reinforced concrete box beams using the wet layup process; and installation of five new pile bents ten new piles will be driven on Trestle 1A to strengthen the existing box beams at NWS Earle waterfront complex. Work will be performed in Colts Neck, New Jersey, and is expected to be completed by March 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $17,914,200 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with six proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-19-C-9032).

EMR Inc.,* Niceville, Florida, is awarded $16,897,000 for firm-fixed-price task order N6945019F1000 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N69450-17-D-0507) for renovations to Colmer Dining Facility Building 367 at Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport. Renovations include expansion of cold storage areas, improvements to electrical and mechanical systems, updated parking and architectural components. In addition, a temporary kitchen facility composed of modular units will be placed in service at a separate location. The contractor shall provide all labor, supervision, engineering, materials, equipment, tools, parts, supplies and transportation to perform all work described in the request for proposal. Work will be performed in Gulfport, Mississippi, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 2021. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $16,897,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One proposal was received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity.

Technology Unlimited Group,* San Diego, California, is awarded a $15,059,071 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee, multiple-award contract to provide systems engineering support for Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence programs. This is one of six contracts awarded. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This two-year contract includes three, one-year options which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to an estimated $38,798,332. All work will be performed in San Diego, California. The period of performance of the base award is from Nov. 16, 2018 through Nov. 15, 2020. If the options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through Nov. 15, 2023. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test and evaluation (Navy, Air Force and Defense Agency); operations and maintenance (Navy, Air Force and Defense Agency); other procurement (Navy and Air Force); foreign military sales; and Navy working capital funds. This contract was competitively procured via Request for Proposal N66001-16-R-0180 published on the Federal Business Opportunities and the SPAWAR e-Commerce Central website, with 21 offers received and six selected for award. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-0005).

Harmonia Holdings Group LLC,* Blacksburg, Virginia, is awarded a $15,028,289 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee, multiple-award contract to provide systems engineering support for Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence programs. This is one of six contracts awarded. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This two-year contract includes three, one-year options which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to an estimated $39,540,512. Work will be performed at government facilities in San Diego, California (90 percent), and at contractor facilities in Blacksburg, Virginia (10 percent). The period of performance of the base award is from Nov. 16, 2018 through Nov. 15, 2020. If the options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through Nov. 15, 2023. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test and evaluation (Navy, Air Force and Defense Agency); operations and maintenance (Navy, Air Force and Defense Agency); other procurement (Navy and Air Force); foreign military sales; and Navy working capital funds. This contract was competitively procured via Request for Proposal N66001-16-R-0180 published on the Federal Business Opportunities and the SPAWAR e-Commerce Central website, with 21 offers received and six selected for award. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-0004).

Effecture LLC,* San Diego, California, is awarded a $14,803,612 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee, multiple-award contract to provide systems engineering support for Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence programs. This is one of six contracts awarded. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This two-year contract includes three, one-year options which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to an estimated $38,403,117. All work will be performed in San Diego, California. The period of performance of the base award is from Nov. 16, 2018 through Nov. 15, 2020. If the options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through Nov. 15, 2023. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test and evaluation (Navy, Air Force and Defense Agency); operations and maintenance (Navy, Air Force and Defense Agency); other procurement (Navy and Air Force); foreign military sales; and Navy working capital funds. This contract was competitively procured via Request for Proposal N66001-16-R-0180 published on the Federal Business Opportunities and the SPAWAR e-Commerce Central website, with 21 offers received and six selected for award. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-0002).

Trabus Technologies Inc.,* San Diego, California, is awarded a $14,704,521 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee, multiple-award contract to provide systems engineering support for Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence programs. This is one of six contracts awarded. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This two-year contract includes three, one-year options which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to an estimated $38,129,755. All work will be performed in San Diego, California. The period of performance of the base award is from Nov. 16, 2018 through Nov, 15, 2020. If the options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through Nov. 15, 2023. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test and evaluation (Navy, Air Force and Defense Agency); operations and maintenance (Navy, Air Force and Defense Agency); other procurement (Navy and Air Force); foreign military sales; and Navy working capital funds. This contract was competitively procured via Request for Proposal N66001-16-R-0180 published on the Federal Business Opportunities and the SPAWAR e-Commerce Central website, with 21 offers received and six selected for award. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-0007).

Grove Resource Solutions Inc.,* Frederick, Maryland, is awarded a $14,704,521 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee, multiple-award contract to provide systems engineering support for Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence programs. This is one of six contracts awarded. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This two-year contract includes three, one-year options which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to an estimated $39,258,893. Work will be performed at Government facilities in San Diego (90 percent) and at contractor facilities in Frederick, Maryland (10 percent). The period of performance of the base award is from Nov. 16, 2018 through Nov.15, 2020. If the options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through Nov. 15, 2023. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test and evaluation (Navy, Air Force and Defense Agency); operations and maintenance (Navy, Air Force and Defense Agency); other procurement (Navy and Air Force); foreign military sales; and Navy working capital funds. This contract was competitively procured via Request for Proposal N66001-16-R-0180 published on the Federal Business Opportunities and the SPAWAR e-Commerce Central website, with 21 offers received and six selected for award. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-0003).

Vigor Marine LLC, Portland, Oregon, is awarded an $11,668,324 firm-fixed-price contract for a 56-calendar day shipyard availability for the regular overhaul and dry docking of USNS Rappahannock (T-AO 204). Work includes general services, structural steel repairs, repair oil leaks in both port and starboard main engines, replace ballast tank level indicators, repairs to the emergency diesel generator, tank repairs and preservation to the marine sanitation device and vacuum collection holding and transfer tanks, renew valves for the ballast system, repairs to the main seawater piping, overhaul number one main seawater cooling, pump, overhaul number three ships service diesel generator turbocharger, repairs to staterooms, ship dry-docking and undocking, preservation to the ship's underwater hull and freeboard, refurbish the hauling winch assembly and motors on station number three, refurbishment of the rollers on the sliding block/transfer head/guide and refurbishment to the kingpost for station three. The contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the total contract value to $13,586,233. Work will be performed in Portland, Oregon, and is expected to begin on Jan. 7, 2019 and is expected to be completed by March 3, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $11,668,324 will be obligated. Funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220519C4001).

Trandes Corp.,* Lanham, Maryland, is awarded an estimated $11,619,097 contract modification to increase the ceiling of an existing indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-reimbursement contract (N66001-15-D-0146). Support includes removal of old and installation of new commercial-off-the-shelf precision approach radar; logistics and training support; remote landing site tower generator repair; tactical air navigation systems installation support; and Marine Air Traffic Control and Landing System, and Amphibious Assault Direction System sustainment support. This modification increases the estimated value of the contract from $19,226,946 to $30,846,043. This ceiling increase does not obligate funds. Funding will be obligated via task/delivery orders, which will be placed using operations and maintenance (Navy); and other procurement (Navy) funds. This modification is issued using other than full and open competition in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 6.302-1 and 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) - only one responsible source. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.

Data Intelligence LLC,* Marlton, New Jersey, is awarded a $11,314,171 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee, multiple-award contract to provide systems engineering support for Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence programs. This is one of six contracts awarded. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This two-year contract includes three, one-year options which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to an estimated $28,840,430. Work will be performed at government facilities in San Diego, California (90 percent), and at contractor facilities in Marlton, New Jersey (10 percent). The period of performance of the base award is from Nov. 16, 2018 through Nov. 15, 2020. If the options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through Nov. 15, 2023. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test and evaluation (Navy, Air Force and Defense Agency); operations and maintenance (Navy, Air Force and Defense Agency); other procurement (Navy and Air Force); foreign military sales; and Navy working capital funds. This contract was competitively procured via Request for Proposal N66001-16-R-0180 published on the Federal Business Opportunities and the SPAWAR e-Commerce Central website, with 21 offers received and six selected for award. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-D-0006).

Ratcliff Construction Inc.,* Orange Park, Florida, is awarded $9,990,000 for firm-fixed-price task order N6945019F0850 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N69450-18-D-1315) for consolidation and repair of Aviation Hangar 600 at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. The work to be performed provides for complete exterior and interior repairs consisting of underutilized space in the west “lean-to” two story structure. Remotely located areas will be consolidated into renovated spaces. This includes complete renovation of Aviation Hangar 600 to include demolition of structures and repair by replacement of mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection systems. Work will be performed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and is expected to be completed by August 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $9,990,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Six proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity.

ARMY

DRS Sustainment Systems Inc., St. Louis, Missouri, was awarded a $30,439,974 firm-fixed-price contract for small enclosure kits to support production of the Chemical Biological Protective System. 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. 15, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-19-D-3009).

General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, St. Petersburg, Florida, was awarded a $14,413,028 firm-fixed-price contract for Army Ground Mobility Vehicles and associated kits. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 16, 2019. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-19-F-0072).

VSE Corp., Alexandria, Virginia, was awarded a $13,068,557 modification (P00014) to contract W911SA-16-C-0002 for labor, equipment and transportation necessary to provide logistics readiness support services to perform and assist with property accountability, vehicle operations and supporting functions, maintenance management services, field and sustainment level maintenance, storage site operations, hands-on-training mission support, and refurbishment support at various locations in Arizona, California, Texas, Oklahoma, Nevada, Arkansas and New Mexico. Work will be performed in Mountain View, California, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 29, 2019. Fiscal 2019 other funds in the amount of $11,715,802 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, is the contracting activity.

*Small business

**Mandatory source

https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1693147/source/GovDelivery/

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  • THE DOD’S APP STORE DOES THIS ONE CRUCIAL THING TO STAY SECURE

    5 juillet 2018 | International, C4ISR

    THE DOD’S APP STORE DOES THIS ONE CRUCIAL THING TO STAY SECURE

    Lily Hay Newman EVERY DAY, COMPANIES like Google and Apple wage a constant battle to keep malicious apps out of their marketplaces and off people's phones. And while they do catch a lot of malware before it does any damage, there are always a few nasty infiltrators that manage to sneak by and end up getting downloaded by thousands of consumers. No one wants these mistakes to happen, but when you're a crucial app store for the Department of Defense, these mistakes can't happen. That was the problem facing the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency as it set about creating a flexible yet ultrasecure app store in 2012. NGA is a combat support organization that primarily assesses and distributes geospatial intelligence. The agency wanted to provide sensitive and mission-critical apps to groups across the DOD through a platform that had the security and resilience of a government defense product, while also offering a streamlined, up-to-date user experience similar to ubiquitous commercial app stores. "We recognized that we did not know everything when it came to apps, and we wanted to be using the innovation that was happening in the commercial sector," says Joedy Saffel, division chief and source director of NGA who has worked on the GEOINT App Store from the beginning. "But how do we do that in a safe, secure manner? How do we do that from a contractual perspective? And how do we do that in a way that nontraditional vendors will trust doing business with the government? It was a great challenge." The key, Saffel says, is getting developers to agree to hand over the source code of their apps for in-depth analysis and review. Whether an app is a simple time/speed/distance calculator for a pilot or a hyper-specialized classified tool, sharing source code is a big risk for developers, because it means trusting third parties with the core intellectual property they have built their businesses on. But NGA soon realized that full access was the only way its project could work. So NGA's GEOINT App Store runs its security protections and screening processes in a way a commercial platform never could. Need To Know You can browse through the GEOINT App Store yourself today and see many of the mapping, aeronautical, weather-forecasting, location-sharing, and travel-alert services that it hosts for Android, iOS, desktop, and web. But that's just the public unclassified section—one crucial aspect of designing the platform was building segmentation controls so DOD employees with different levels of clearance, or simply different needs, could have gated access to different apps. "We built the App Store to be a completely unclassified environment that's open to the public," says Ben Foster, a technical director at NGA who is the product manager for the app store. "But it also has identity management that uses a federated approach to authentication. It's even flexible enough to integrate with other identity-management platforms across DOD. If a user is a helicopter pilot, they might see and get different apps then someone who is a tactical operator in the Army." This system also works with the platform's pricing variations: Some apps are free to everyone, some downloads come with a fee that needs to be taken out of a particular department's budget, and some apps are licensed by NGA or another agency. The most radical part of the GEOINT App Store from a government perspective is the speed with which NGA can process apps and get them live in the store. In general, government acquisition processes take many months or years, a clear problem when it comes to constantly evolving software. So NGA worked with its chief information officer, IT Directorate, legal team, international affairs division, and contracting office to establish a streamlined app-vetting process that would be acceptable under federal acquisition regulations. The agency also contracted with a private firm called Engility to directly manage the outreach, acquisition, and development environment for customizing prospective apps to NGA's requirements. The process, known as the Innovative GEOINT Application Provider Program, or IGAPP, minimizes bureaucratic hurdles and guides developers who want to submit an app through a pipeline that vets, modifies, and generally grooms apps for NGA's store. "What we focused on early on was providing tools so developers can bring their app and do a lot of the pre-testing and development with Engility," NGA's Saffel says. "We're able to be flexible with that because it's being done outside of the government footprint in a brokered environment. And then NGA has a governance board that meets every week, and the whole process has matured enough that by the time an app comes to NGA, we can review it and get that application into the app store and exposed within two weeks' time." Though the process might be even faster if NGA only did the minimum vetting required, Saffel says that the GEOINT team worked to find a balance where the apps go live quickly, but there's still time for the automated code analyses and human audits that commercial app stores can't do. Check It Out After a developer submits their app, Engility does extensive source code analysis and vulnerability scanning and produces an initial findings report. John Holcomb, the IGAPP program manager from Engility, notes that an initial vulnerability report can have as many as 1,000 items on it that a developer needs to address. "It's a little intimidating at first," Holcomb says. "But we walk them through it, and they go back and modify their code—it's their code, we don't modify it for them. We might go through four runs of that on a brand-new app, but by the time we're done, they will have remediated their code down to the level that the government needs. There are still going to be bureaucratic hurdles, but it's our job to break through those." In addition to digging deep into source code, IGAPP also tests how apps function in practice, to make sure that there aren't benign-looking aspects of the code that actually underlie a shady function. "We take the compiled application and we watch what it does," Holcomb says. "Who does it phone home to? Is it sending private information unencrypted?" After an app gets approved for inclusion in the GEOINT App Store, developers continue to work with IGAPP on developing and vetting software updates so that patches and improvements can be pushed out quickly. The brokered vetting process means that the government never holds developers' source code directly. The inspection is always mediated by Engility, which signs nondisclosure agreements with developers and isn't a software maker itself. Holcomb says that the company carefully guards app data while storing it, and once a project is done, Engility doesn't just do a soft data deletion; it hard-purges the information from its cloud servers within 30 days. NGA's Saffel and Holcomb both note that developers were apprehensive about the unusual workflow at first, but over the years the app store has gained credibility. Developers say they benefit from the IGAPP process both by securing lucrative government contracts and by integrating the improvements from the IGAPP development into their commercial products. The code audits and security vetting IGAPP offers are expensive, so developers generally don't do such extensive assessment on their own. "Everyone's dream is to sell to the government, but it normally takes years of effort to get to a position where you can. In our case, I was able to sell to the government in less than a month," says Bill DeWeese, CEO of the firm Aviation Mobile Apps, which has had six apps accepted into the GEOINT App Store. "You do feel a little anxiety about sharing source code, you worry about your IP leaking and someone getting ahold of it. But I haven't had any issues, and the benefit is the increased quality of your products at no cost—you get the analysis for free and you can put it in your commercial offerings." NGA's Saffel says the governance board that evaluates the apps at the end of the process is careful to stay vigilant so nothing goes into the store by accident. The board will still push back on apps or turn them away when warranted, but Saffel says the process has matured such that most of what the board sees these days is ready or very near ready to go live. And IGAPP prioritizes its patching process and infrastructure, to make it easy for developers to push bug fixes and improvements throughout the life of an app. All of this means a consumer-grade turnaround time for critical Department of Defense tools without the consumer-grade security concerns. "NGA is kind of a unique combat-support agency," Saffel says. "With the GEOINT App Store we chose to go into a very risky new frontier for DOD and the government in general, but I think we've demonstrated that we can do things differently and still be secure and still control access. We're supporting a lot of different mission sets, and I expect that the app store will keep growing." https://www.wired.com/story/dod-app-store-does-this-one-crucial-thing-to-stay-secure/

  • U.S. homeland defence strategy underlines Canada’s importance

    22 mars 2021 | International, Aérospatial

    U.S. homeland defence strategy underlines Canada’s importance

    The U.S. Air Force released this week its strategy for defending the United States and Canada from threats posed by Russia but also China and other adversaries as beefing up continental defences increasingly takes the centre stage in relations between Ottawa and Washington. The strategy covers two separate but highly interlinked commands: the North American…

  • Defense Contractors Keep Most Plants Running Despite Outbreak

    14 avril 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Defense Contractors Keep Most Plants Running Despite Outbreak

    By Anthony Capaccio As of Wednesday, 86 sites were closed out of 10,509 locations Boeing's aircraft plant closings are one big exception The Pentagon's contractors have largely avoided widespread closings or “major impacts” so far from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a running tally compiled by its contracts management office. Of 10,509 locations tracked or monitored by the Defense Contract Management Agency, 135 had closed at some point as of Wednesday. Forty-nine of those reopened after an average of about 10 days. “These closures have generally been short-term in order to clean facilities” or to “reduce the potential exposure of employees,” agency spokesman Matthew Montgomery said in a statement. The agency doesn't track how many workers are affected, he said. And the numbers on closings don't reflect defense contractors that have cut back their operations -- or the outsized impact of Boeing Co.'s shutdowns. Boeing, the No. 2 U.S. defense contractor, has indefinitely halted assembly of the KC-46 refueling tanker and the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft at its facilities in Washington State, the initial U.S. center of the pandemic. Last Friday, the company began a two-week shutdown of the Philadelphia-area factory where it manufactures military rotorcraft, including the Chinook CH-47 cargo helicopter and the tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey. Huntington Is Open By contrast, Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., has had no closings to this point, according to spokeswoman Beci Brenton. With 42,000 employees, it's the sole U.S. builder of aircraft carriers and the co-contractor of Navy attack submarines and DDG-51 destroyers. Montgomery said the Defense Department “has worked closely with local and state governments to ensure that the defense industrial base is considered critical infrastructure to help minimize the impact of statewide closures.” Impacts from closings “are being seen across all sectors including but not limited to clothing and textiles, aerospace, shipbuilding, and ground vehicles,” he said. Many Pentagon contractors “are struggling to maintain a mission-ready workforce due to work site closures, personnel quarantines and state and local restrictions on movement” that can't “be resolved through remote work,” Kim Herrington, the Defense Department's pricing and contracting director, said in a memo Wednesday. To support the defense industry, the DCMA has modified about 1,400 contracts to increase the rate for “progress payments” for work completed on time from 80% to 90% of costs incurred for large businesses and from 90% of cost to 95% for small businesses. The move resulted in $3 billion being advanced to industry, according to Herrington. That's in addition to $882 million that the Air Force is providing to Chicago-based Boeing. The funds were being withheld until the company corrected or provided sufficient plans to correct numerous deficiencies with KC-46 tankers. Most of those flaws remain unresolved. Also, the Pentagon issued guidance Thursday that lets military contracting officers reimburse companies for documented payments to employees who can't work because of coronavirus facility closings or related restrictions. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-10/defense-contractors-keep-most-plants-running-despite-outbreak

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