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

Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - November 2, 2018

ARMY

American Mechanical Inc.,* Fairbanks, Alaska (W911KB-19-D-0001); Osborne Construction Co.,* Kirkland, Washington (W911KB-19-D-0002); and Patrick Mechanical LLC,* Fairbanks, Alaska (W911KB-19-D-0003), will compete for each order of the $48,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for design, construction and repair of various utilidor systems in military family housing on Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2023. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Anchorage, Alaska, is the contracting activity.

DynCorp International LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded an $18,153,589 modification (P00199) to contract W58RGZ-13-C-0040 for aviation field maintenance services. Work will be performed in Afghanistan, Iraq and Germany, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2018. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $18,153,589 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND

Boeing Co., Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a $42,835,847 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification under delivery order H92241-18-F-0022-P00002 for four new build MH-47G rotary wing aircrafts. The contract modification satisfies an urgent need to sustain U.S. Special Operations Forces heavy assault, rotary wing aircrafts. The contract modification is funded with fiscal 2018 procurement; and aircraft procurement, Army funds. The majority of the work will be performed in Ridley Park. This contract modification is a non-competitive award and is in accordance with Fair Acquisition Regulation 6.302.1. U.S. Special Operations Command, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity.

AIR FORCE

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a $14,592,654 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, time-and-material contract for the F-15 Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) Aircraft Maintenance Debrief System (AMDS). This contract provides administration and support to the RSAF F-15C, D, S and SA aircraft sustainment program at up to six locations throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Services acquired under this effort include, but are not limited to, providing fully-trained AMDS personnel to operate, maintain AMDS equipment and to provide AMDS familiarization training to RSAF members that will enable them to safely and efficiently operate all AMDS equipment. Work will be performed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is expected to be completed Nov. 4, 2023. Foreign military sales in the amount of $8,744,949 are being obligated at the time of award. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8505-19-C-0001). (Awarded Oct. 31, 2018)

NAVY

Detyen's Shipyards Inc.,* North Charleston, South Carolina, is awarded an $8,175,517 firm-fixed-price contract for a 59-calendar day shipyard availability for the mid-term availability of USNS Arctic (T-AOE 8). Work will include furnishing general services for the ship, collection holding tank, piping repairs, 4 overhead steel replacement, tank top steel replacements, main switch board cleaning, refurbish unrep saddles, winches, and drive chains, vent systems cleaning, underwater propellers cleaning and generator cleaning. The contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the total contract value to $8,175,517. Work will be performed in Charleston, South Carolina, is expected to be completed by Jan. 23, 2019. Navy working capital funds in the amount of $8,175,517 are obligated and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal. This contract was a small business set-aside with companies solicited via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Navy's Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220519C6001).

Raytheon Co., Space and Airborne Systems, McKinney, Texas, is being awarded a $7,676,741 cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order (N0001919F0270) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-15-G-0003). This order provides for completion of Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) 0043 for the Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared Processor and Video Obsolescence Avoidance system upgrade. This ECP productionizes the Input Image Processor Version 2 (I2P2) Circuit Card Assembly (CCA); updates associated support test equipment; and performance of I2P2 CCA qualification to enable future growth and mitigate potential obsolescence issues. Work will be performed in McKinney, Texas, and is expected to be completed in November 2019. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,676,741 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.

*Small Business

https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1680751/source/GovDelivery/

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  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - March 20, 2020

    23 mars 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - March 20, 2020

    NAVY Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona, is awarded a $392,412,665 modification (P00009) to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm contract (N00019-18-C-1068). This modification exercises options for the production and delivery of tactical missiles (Lot 20 AIM-9X, Block II and Block II plus), captive air training missiles, plus all up round tactical missiles, captive test missiles, special air training missiles, advanced optical target detectors, Block II and II plus guidance units (live battery), captive air training missile guidance units (inert battery), Block I and II propulsion steering sections, electronic units, multiple purpose training missiles, tail caps, maintenance, sectionalization kits, containers and spares for the Air Force, Navy and the governments of Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Israel, Japan, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (31%); Andover, Massachusetts (10%); Keyser, West Virginia (9%); Santa Clarita, California (8%); Hillsboro, Oregon (5%); Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (5%); Goleta, California (4%); Cheshire, Connecticut (4%); Heilbronn, Germany (3%); Simsbury, Connecticut (2%); San Jose, California (2%); Valencia, California (2%); Anaheim, California (2%); Cajon, California (2%); Cincinnati, Ohio (1%); Anniston, Alabama (1%); San Diego, California (1%); Chatsworth, California (1%); Amesbury, Massachusetts (1%); Claremont, California (1%); Sumner, Washington (1%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (4%), and is expected to be completed in July 2023. In addition, this modification provides for material in support of repairs, depot maintenance and refurbishment. The following funds will be obligated at the time of award: fiscal 2020 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $135,790,070; fiscal 2020 missile procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $129,267,647; fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force) funds in the amount of $8,172,170; fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,999,656; fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $800,197; fiscal 2019 missile procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $6,189,530; fiscal 2019 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,262,027; fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force) in the amount of $598,896; fiscal 2018 missile procurement (Air Force) in the amount of $503,814; fiscal 2018 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $267,280 and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) funds in the amount of $104,561,378. $4,369,646 of the funds obligated at contract award will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Air Force ($144,732,057; 36.88%); Navy ($143,119,230; 36.47%); and FMS customers ($104,561,378; 26.65%). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Alberici-Mortenson JV, St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $191,900,391 fixed-price award-fee contract for design-bid-build recapitalization of the dry dock at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay. Work will be performed in Kings Bay, Georgia, and is expected to be complete by July 2023. The work to be performed provides for concrete repairs in various locations throughout the dry dock, overhaul and repair of the steel caisson, upgrade power distribution, chilled water and a fire detection and alarm system. The project will also repair corroded steel members of the dry dock superstructure, re-coat the entire superstructure and replace roof and wall panels. The project will remove one bridge crane and overhaul two other bridge cranes. The scope also includes effort to rebuild or replace sluice gates and actuators, roller gate rails, flap valves and frames, all piping, and will upgrade control systems, electronic components and the auxiliary seawater system. The contract also contains nine unexercised options, which if exercised will increase the cumulative contract value to $592,343,628. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $191,900,391 are obligated on this 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 proposals received. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity (N69450-20-C-0016). Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, is awarded a $98,674,505 cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price and cost contract for sustainment of the Littoral Combat Ship Component Based Total Ship System – 21st Century -(LCS COMBATSS-21); and associated combat system elements. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey (84%); Camden, New Jersey (5%); Virginia Beach, Virginia (5%); Deer Creek, Colorado (2%); Manassas, Virginia (1%); Orlando, Florida (1%); and various other locations (under 1% - 2% total). The work executed under this contract will include maintenance and evolution of the LCS COMBATSS-21 (the backbone of the ship's mission system) and associated combat system elements in support of operational LCS ships. The work includes development, integration, test and delivery of future combat system baseline upgrades for in-service ships, supporting ship integration, installation and checkout, developmental test/operational test, developing training and logistics products, providing field technical support for combat systems, providing hardware engineering, equipment procurement and providing life-cycle supportability engineering and fleet support for fielded baselines. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $1,817,298 was obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract includes options, which if exercised will bring the cumulative value of this contract to $789,584,127. This contract was a sole-source acquisition in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). This contract was not competitively procured and only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-20-C-5601). (Awarded March 16, 2020) CACI Inc. - Federal, Chantilly, Virginia, is awarded a $13,222,827 cost-plus-fixed-fee task order for engineering, technical, administrative and managerial (support) services in support of the Ships Availability Planning and Engineering Center and non-nuclear waterfront and deep submergence system programs at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS). Work will be performed in Kittery, Maine, and is expected to be complete by March 2021. The purpose of this service contract is to provide technical work, engineering services, quality assurance, process development, consulting and content management support to the PNS departments, with frequent interface with other PNS departments and outside activities such as other private and naval shipyards, submarine maintenance engineering, planning and procurement. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) support will be in the areas of engineering, technical, planning, deficiency resolution and administration as outlined. This contract includes options, which if exercised, will bring the cumulative value of this contract to $83,189,359. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $3,803,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the SeaPort-NxG Navy.mil website, with one offer received. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, is the contracting activity (N39040-20-F-3000). BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP, Phoenix, Arizona, is awarded an $8,568,715 modification (P00001) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price delivery order N00019-19-F-4133 against basic ordering agreement N00019-18-G-0018. This modification provides for the procurement of 20 E-2 parachute survival ensemble units and 130 FLU-10 inflators for the Navy, in addition to 60 E-2 parachute survival ensemble units and 70 FLU-10 inflators for the government of Japan. Work will be performed in Phoenix, Arizona (89%); and Orchard Park, New York (11%), and is expected to be completed in November 2023. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,620,920; fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $889,322; fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $156,147; and Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $4,902,326 will be obligated at time of award, $156,147 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Navy ($3,666,389; 43%); and the government of Japan ($4,902,326; 57%). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND Lukos LLC, Tampa, Florida (H92240-20-D-0011); People, Technology & Processes, Tampa, Florida (H92240-20-D-0012); RMGS Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (H92240-20-D-0013); and SPATHE Systems LLC, Tampa, Florida (H92240-20-D-0014), were awarded a $245,000,000 maximum multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for logistics support, equipment related and knowledge based services in support of Naval Special Warfare Command (NSWC) enterprise requirements. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $2,500 are being obligated at the time of award for each contract. The work will be performed in various locations in the U.S. and overseas and is expected to continue through fiscal 2025. The contract was awarded competitively using Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 15 procedures with 13 proposals received. NSWC headquarters, Coronado, California, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY DRS Network & Imaging Systems LLC, Melbourne, Florida, was awarded a competitive single award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract for the production of Army installation kits. The contract ceiling is approximately $205,998,367, and the minimum guarantee is $2,000,000. The total value of delivery order 0001 is $16,884,194, funded by fiscal 2020 other procurement (Army) funds. Proposals were solicited via FedBizOpps, now beta.SAM.gov, and three proposals were received. The place of performance will be at the contractor's facility until the installation kits are delivered to the U.S. government at Red River Army Depot. The period of performance for the base period is March 20, 2020, to March 19, 2023; if all options are exercised, the contract performance will end March 19, 2030. The period of performance is a three-year base with seven one-year options. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity (HC1084-20-D-0006). ARMY Alliant Techsystems Operations LLC, Plymouth, Minnesota, was awarded a $104,770,422 modification (P00071) to contract W15QKN-13-C-0074 for precision guidance kits. Work will be performed in Plymouth, Minnesota, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 26, 2024. Fiscal 2020 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $104,770,422 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, New Jersey, is the contracting agency. Raytheon Co., Dulles, Virginia, was awarded a $64,751,190 modification (P00006) to contract W56KGY-16-D-0006 to provide operations and sustainment support for Persistent Surveillance Dissemination System of Systems in support of Product Manager Force Protection Systems. 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 May 31, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity. ID Technologies LLC,* Ashburn, Virginia, was awarded a $46,579,188 firm-fixed-price contract to purchase information technology equipment and accessories. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Ashburn, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of March 24, 2021. Fiscal 2020 revolving funds in the amount of $46,579,188 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W912DY-20-F-0193). L3 Fuzing and Ordnance Systems, Cincinnati, Ohio, was awarded a $19,381,064 modification (P00005) to contract W15QKN-19-C-0040 for the procurement of application specific integrated circuit chips. Work will be performed in Cincinnati, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2021. Fiscal 2020 procurement of ammunition, Army funds in the amount of $19,381,064 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, New Jersey, is the contracting agency. Oshkosh Defense LLC, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was awarded a $17,405,696 modification (P00295) to contract W56HZV-15-C-0095 to exercise an option covering priced man-hours, labor, material and fees on material for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) system technical support JLTV retrofit efforts. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 30, 2020. Fiscal 2019 other procurement, Army; and 2020 Marine Corps procurement funds in the amount of $17,405,696 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity. Oshkosh Defense LLC, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was awarded a $16,754,161 modification (P00344) to contract W56HZV-15-C-0095 to exercise options for packaged kits for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle family of vehicles. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2023. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $16,754,161 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity. Stantec Consulting Services Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana, was awarded a $14,143,940 firm-fixed-price contract for the design of pump stations and drainage structures. Bids were solicited via the internet with nine received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 20, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, Louisiana, is the contracting activity (W912P8-20-D-00004). SI2 Technologies Inc.,* North Billerica, Massachusetts, was awarded a $13,491,546 firm-fixed-price contract for protection of Army and Department of Defense assets and weapon systems from emerging threats. 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 April 28, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (W15QKN-20-D-0023). Flick Lumber Co. Inc.,* Galion, Ohio, was awarded a $9,340,523 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of performance oriented packaging (POP) boxes. Bids were solicited via the internet with ten received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 22, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-20-D-0021). Texas Dewatering LLC,* Bellville, Texas, was awarded an $8,502,179 firm-fixed-price contract for improvements in the Houston Ship Channel. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Houston, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 30, 2021. Fiscal 2020 civil operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $8,502,179 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W912HY-20-C-0010). DEFENSE FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING SERVICE Guidehouse LLP, McLean, Virginia, is being awarded a labor-hour contract option with a maximum value of $10,449,089 for audit finding remediation support services for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). Work will be performed in McLean, Virginia, with an expected completion date of March 31, 2021. Fiscal 2020 Defense-wide operating and maintenance funds in the amount of $10,449,089 are being obligated at the time of this option award. This award brings the total cumulative value of the contract to $34,766,166. This contract is the result of a competitive acquisition for which two quotes were received. The contract had a 12-month base period plus four individual one-year option periods, with a maximum value of $49,839,283. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Contract Services Directorate, Columbus, Ohio, is the contracting activity (HQ0423-18-F-0055). DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY RadiaBeam Technologies LLC,* Santa Monica, California, has been awarded a $10,202,941 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Gamma Ray Inspection Technology (GRIT) program. In Phase I, RadiaBeam Technologies LLC proposes a Laser-Compton approach for meeting GRIT program objectives and carrying out relevant system demonstrations. Work will be performed in Santa Monica, California (80%); Menlo Park, California (9%); Los Angeles, California (7%); and Paris, France (4%), with an estimated completion date of March 2021. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,718,701 are being obligated at time of award. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR0011-20-C-0072). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Chartwell RX LLC, Congers, New York, has been awarded a maximum $7,074,642 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for numerous pharmaceutical products in support of the Corporate Exigency Contracts program. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a one-year base contract with nine one-year option periods. Location of performance is New York, with a March 18, 2021, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense warstopper funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2D0-20-D-0005). UPDATE: Navistar Defense LLC, Melrose Park, Illinois (SPE8EC-20-D-0057), has been added as an awardee to the multiple award contract for commercial trucks and trailers, issued against solicitation SPE8EC-17-R-0008 and announced Jan. 9, 2018. (Awarded March 19, 2020) *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2120442/source/GovDelivery/

  • Italy plans to slash half a billion dollars from defense in 2019

    25 octobre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Italy plans to slash half a billion dollars from defense in 2019

    By: Tom Kington ROME — Italy will cut €450 million (U.S. $512.3 million) from its planned defense spending in 2019 by suspending helicopter and missile purchases and canceling an office move by the defense ministry to help shore up social welfare and tax cuts, a defense source has told Defense News. Italy's total outlay on defense in 2019 will be announced in parliament in the next few days, as Rome's populist government seeks support by members of parliament for its state budget, which contains billions of euros for a new wage for the unemployed. To free up funds to cover spending, Rome has made its cut to the defense budget, just as most European states are increasing their military outlay. During 2019 all ongoing purchases of NH-90 helicopters for the Italian Army and Navy will be suspended, the source said. Italy is planning to buy 60 NH-90s for the Army and 56 for the Navy at a total cost of €4 billion, with the procurement due to wind up in 2024. Upgrades to Tornado aircraft will also be suspended, said the source, who added that the two measures would save €370 million. Italy's purchase of the MBDA Camm-Er missile defense system will also be put off for a year, saving €30 million in 2019, the source added. Another €50 million — to reach the total of €450 million — will come from the cancellation of plans to move the headquarters of Italy's armed forces out of their separate buildings in Rome's city center to a unified HQ in the suburbs. The plan, dubbed ‘Italy's Pentagon,' was due to cost a total of €1.1 billion, the source said. The source added that F-35 purchases would be “slowed” in order to spread out payments. Italy is currently planning to buy 90 aircraft. Italian defense minister Elisabetta Trenta will discuss the plan with U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis when she visits the United States in November, the source said. The Italian coalition government which took office in June combines the anti-migrant League party with the anti-establishment Five Star party, which has long criticized spending on defense in Italy. A second defense source said that the defense ministry was about to publish its much delayed document breaking down the year's defense spending by program, which is normally released in the spring. The source said the document would this year indicate military procurement programs considered “ethical” by the new government. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/10/24/italy-plans-to-slash-half-a-billion-dollars-from-defense-in-2019

  • Four Bidders Square Off Over Two Coveted U.S. Air Force Contracts

    30 mars 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    Four Bidders Square Off Over Two Coveted U.S. Air Force Contracts

    Irene Klotz United Launch Alliance (ULA) CEO Tory Bruno is keen on competition, even if that means losing a government contract every now and then, as happened in February when NASA chose a SpaceX Falcon Heavy to launch a science probe to the metal asteroid Psyche in 2022 for $117 million. ULA had offered Psyche mission launch services aboard its workhorse Atlas V for an undisclosed price. “Can't win them all,” Bruno tells Aviation Week. “We win about half, but that's OK. That's how competition is supposed to work. “It's healthy for the government. It's healthy for the industry . . . because we try to be as efficient as we can and to differentiate ourselves, which ultimately usually results in more value for the customer, either in capabilities or in prices,” he adds. Bruno's mettle is being put to the test. This summer, a heated two-year competition to provide national security space launch (NSSL) services through 2027 concludes with the U.S. Air Force deciding whether to retain incumbents ULA and SpaceX or replace one or both with Northrop Grumman and/or Blue Origin. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, in partnership with the National Reconnaissance Office, plans to award firm fixed-price, indefinite-delivery contracts to two domestic launch service providers for procurements in fiscal 2020-24, with work split 60/40%. The NSSL Phase 2 Launch Service Procurement (LSP)—the first such solicitation since 2005—is designed to end dependence on Russian rocket engines for national security space launches, reduce launch costs and spur competition for current and future national security space launches. Unlike its competitors, ULA's business plan rests on winning a Phase 2 award. “We have an entire business plan that presumes we are going to win Phase 2,” Bruno said during a March 10 media roundtable at the Satellite 2020 conference in Washington. If ULA does not win, he added, “We'd have to go evaluate that.” Based on satellite orders compiled by several industry association surveys, Bruno figures there is enough business for two domestic medium-to-heavy-lift launch service providers, and he is confident ULA will be one of them. “There isn't much rocket science to this,” Bruno said. “The launch service provider is at the end of a 5-7-year-long chain. It's going to be about 30-35 launches a year for the next several years,” he said during a March 11 panel session at the conference. “We all need about 8-12 launches a year, at least, to be a sustainable, viable business. That makes room for four [launch service providers]. “The Russians will always have one—it is state-sponsored—they will make sure. Ariane will always exist, the Europeans will make sure. That leaves two for the U.S. because we want to ensure space access via two providers. So that is the right number, and that's why the Air Force will select two very shortly this summer,” Bruno says. The SpaceX View SpaceX looks at the launch market pie with a different eye. First, the company expects more than half of its projected 35-38 Falcon launches this year to carry Starlink satellites manufactured, owned and operated by SpaceX into low Earth orbit (LEO), a project intended to provide global high-speed, low-latency internet service. SpaceX's sixth batch of 60 Starlinks reached orbit on March 18, bringing the constellation head count to about 360. When that number doubles, SpaceX expects to be able to provide seamless internet coverage covering latitudes about 25 deg. north and south of the equator. After 24 launches, with approximately 1,440 Starlinks in orbit, the network will be capable of full global coverage, according to SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell. Ultimately, SpaceX plans to operate approximately 12,000 satellites, with a possible expansion to 42,000. The company is still working with the International Telecommunication Union for spectrum allocation and with individual countries for permission to transmit data to and from non-U.S. territories. Starlink's raison d'etre is to bring in enough revenue to carry out the space colonization dream of tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who founded SpaceX in 2002 with the goal of creating technologies for interplanetary transportation, with a particular eye on Mars. Toward that end Musk, who also serves as SpaceX CEO and chief engineer, is focused on developing the Starship, a two-stage, fully reusable transportation system capable of placing 110 tons (100 metric tons) into LEO. By comparison, the 1960s-era single-use Saturn V Moon rocket could put 154 tons into LEO. SpaceX is counting on revenue from the Starlink constellation to fast-track Starship development. Flying cargo and crew to the International Space Station and launching commercial and government satellites on the existing Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy fleet can bring in up to $3 billion a year, Musk said during a March 9 keynote address at Satellite 2020. Providing broadband should generate an order of magnitude more revenue, probably about $30 billion a year—a fraction of the current $2.8 trillion value of the telecommunications industry, Musk says. “Starlink is not some huge threat to telcos. In fact, it will be helpful to telcos because Starlink will serve the hardest-to-serve customers that telcos otherwise have problems with,” using landlines or cellphone towers, he adds. Shotwell says that even without Starlink, SpaceX is profitable. “Starlink is additive to our business,” she told reporters during a media roundtable in October. “We make money on the core business of SpaceX, which is Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and Dragons. “We could do Starship just on our own operating income, on our revenue, if we were to spread it out over time,” she added. “But Elon wants to get things done quickly, and so we're spending a lot of money on advancing Starship and Starlink. SpaceX does not need Starlink to be a healthy business.” In support of Phase 2, SpaceX has unveiled plans for a movable tower at its Falcon launch base at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 284-ft.-tall gantry features 11 floors and doors to shield Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets from rain and wind, while providing a controlled environment to hoist payloads on top of the vehicles as they stand vertically at the pad. SpaceX currently installs payloads horizontally inside hangars near its three launchpads. Some of the national security missions, however, require vertical integration. SpaceX also is working to qualify a longer payload shroud, which likewise is required for some NSSL missions. Starry-eyed SpaceX's passion for the Starship, previously known as the Big Falcon Rocket, caused a rare misstep in the company's quest for U.S. government launch contracts when it included a small role for the megabooster in its LSP developmental Launch Service Agreements (LSA) proposal, a precursor to the ongoing competition for launch services. In 2018, the Air Force awarded three LSA contracts, collectively worth about $2 billion, to ULA, Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin to help defray the costs of developing launch-system prototypes aimed at fulfilling various national security payload delivery requirements. SpaceX's LSA bid included use of the Starship for launch of some of the heaviest payloads and most challenging missions in 2025 and beyond, a scenario the Air Force deemed “high-risk.” SpaceX responded in May 2019 with a federal lawsuit, challenging the Air Force's procurement process. The lawsuit is under consideration in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. An LSA award was not necessary for companies to compete for the LSP Phase 2 program. Ironically, iconoclastic SpaceX, which previously sued the Air Force to speed up the breakup of ULA's 2006-16 monopoly on national security space launch services, is the only Phase 2 contender offering an existing and certified family of launchers. The company, which publishes base pricing on its website, has not disclosed what it would charge for NSSL missions, but SpaceX is well-known for undercutting its competition. Ten years ago, Iridium shopped for launch services to put its next-generation network of 75 communications satellites into orbit. It signed with SpaceX, which at the time was preparing for the first flight of the Falcon 9. SpaceX's bid for the Iridium Next launch campaign—which consisted of eight flights from January 2017 to January 2019 from Vandenberg AFB in California—was $500 million. “My next price from there was $1.2 billion to launch the same 75 satellites,” says Iridium CEO Matt Desch. “Thank God for SpaceX . . . . I'm not sure I could have afforded the second-best price.” Six years later, SpaceX broke ULA's monopoly on the Air Force's launch business with an $83 million winning bid to fly a GPS 3 satellite, undercutting the government's cost estimate, based on previous GPS launches by ULA, by about 40%, the Space and Missile Systems Center said at the time. Price and performance may tip the scales in SpaceX's favor for the upcoming Phase 2 LSP awards. With its March 18 launch, SpaceX has carried out 83 Falcon 9 missions, with one inflight failure and one accident during a prelaunch static test fire that cost another booster and payload. The Falcon Heavy has flown three times, all successfully. The Rocket That Scrum Built One company hoping to wrest the NSSL business away from the incumbents is Northrop Grumman, which presents a very different view of launch market viability. “The Air Force's intent from the beginning is to make sure that our business case didn't depend on them with large numbers of launches,” says Northrop's Charlie Precourt, vice president of propulsion systems. “We're not a launch vehicle searching for lots of different payloads,” he adds. “We're a launch vehicle that is built on existing manufacturing lines, facilities and workforce infrastructure.” Northrop's Phase 2 offering, the Omega, can close its business case with just 3-4 launches per year, far below ULA's estimate of what it takes to sustain a viable medium- to heavy-lift launch service program. Northrop is heavily leveraging investments and existing work for NASA and the defense community to develop the Omega, a family of two-stage, solid-propellant boosters topped with an Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 upper stage. ULA also is using an RL10 for the upper stage of the Vulcan. “The core of the Omega rocket is in form, fit and function the same as a segment of the SLS [Space Launch System] booster,” says Precourt. “What we're doing is a little bit different than what a launch vehicle company would normally do, which is to pursue lots of different payload customers. We meet that business need for the Air Force in a different way.” But the Omega also is a departure from Northrop's current programs, which include the five-segment solid-rocket motors for NASA's SLS, the air-launched Pegasus booster, the Minotaur and Antares. Northrop used an agile development system called scrum—initially developed by teams to write software in sprints—to design and manufacture the Omega. “We like to call Omega the rocket that scrum built,” says Precourt. “Scrum is about moving faster, how to innovate to go faster and do more in less time.” Between the May 2019 and February 2020 static test firings of the Omega's first and second stages in Promontory, Utah, engineers used scrum methodologies to apply lessons learned, such as determining what the environments were like inside the motor and how it behaves when fired, Precourt says. Both static firings were successful, completing full-scale engine testings planned prior to the Omega's debut launch in 2021. However, the May test, during which the Omega's two 31-ft. solid-propellant rocket motors were ignited, ended with the booster's 18-ft.-long nozzle breaking apart, a function of atmospheric conditions during testing and not an issue for certification or flight, Northrop says. “The nozzle was just one part of the design we analyzed. Our engineers ran in sprints, with the customer as part of the team, to assess data, anchor models and optimize the design,” says Precourt. “By taking a little extra time between the two tests and utilizing scrum, we were able to fully test design improvements without any impact to our launch-readiness date. We're deploying scrum more broadly across the plant as we go.” Under terms of Northrop's $792 million LSA agreement, awarded in 2018 for Omega development and certification work, the company plans to conduct two more full-duration static tests of the first and second stages after the Omega's first two flights, which will be used to certify the booster for national space security missions. Northrop is developing the Omega primarily to provide launch services to the Air Force, but it is also offering the rocket commercially. In December, the company announced it had a customer for the Omega's first flight, one of two missions required prior to flying high-value national security payloads. The debut mission will carry one or two Saturn NationSat geostationary communications satellites. Northrop said it is “converging on an agreement” with a customer for the Omega's second flight, which is expected to launch next summer, says spokeswoman Jennifer Bowman. Winning a follow-on Phase 2 contract is a high priority for Northrop. “We've been working really hard on that,” Precourt tells Aviation Week “Northrop as an entire company is focused on national security space. “We do threat assessment, mission planning, mission control and operations, satellite design and manufacturing [and] direct support of information to the warfighter,” he says. “Launch is a piece of that full-value stream of delivering to the warfighter, so NSSL fits right into the DNA of the company. We're really determined to deliver for the Air Force.” As to what it will take to dethrone an incumbent, Precourt says it is not that unusual: “It all comes down to who is best-prepared and best meets the need. That's what we're working hard to do.” Getting a Toehold Among the four contenders for the Air Force's launch business, Blue Origin's New Glenn offering may be the longest-shot, but even if it does not win a Phase 2 contract, it fully expects to be a key part of the team. That is because the company's BE-4 engines will power the first stages of both ULA's Vulcan rocket and Blue's New Glenn. Company founder Jeff Bezos has invested $2.5 billion in the New Glenn, including a new $200 million, 350,000-ft.2 factory and office complex in Huntsville, Alabama, where BE-4 engines and the New Glenn's BE-3U upper stages will be manufactured. Blue Origin also is expanding New Glenn manufacturing facilities adjacent to Kennedy Space Center. In March, the normally low-profile company displayed videos of the New Glenn's newly completed mission control center, a first-stage fuel tank, which is the rocket's largest structure, and the first completed 23-ft.-long payload fairing. At nearby Cape Canaveral AFS, a launch complex for the New Glenn is under construction, with the booster's debut expected in late 2021. Like SpaceX and Northrop, Blue Origin's future does not hinge on winning a Phase 2 contract. The company won LSA funding, which it says it is using to cover NSSL certification costs and program requirements to develop a West Coast launch site for polar orbits. Blue Origin has signed New Glenn launch contracts with at least five customers—Eutelsat, mμ Space Corp. of Thailand, Sky Perfect JSAT, OneWeb and Telesat—several of which are buying multiple flights. Powered by seven BE-4 engines on its reusable first stage, the New Glenn is designed to carry nearly 50 tons to LEO. “And that is the smallest orbital vehicle we are planning to build and launch,” says Clay Mowry, Blue Origin vice president of sales, marketing and customer experience. Like SpaceX's Musk, Bezos aims to parlay his company's space transportation technology into a future that more closely resembles the science fiction novels both men hold dear. Bezos' vision is for millions of people to be living and working off Earth. ULA and Northrop, meanwhile, seek only to serve the national security mission. The Air Force has never had such ripe pickings. https://aviationweek.com/shows-events/space-symposium/four-bidders-square-over-two-coveted-us-air-force-contracts

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