13 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial
By: Aaron Mehta
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Defense announced Friday it is issuing $84.4 million in funding through the Defense Production Act to small unmanned technology, space and shipbuilding companies.
The money, divided among seven different companies, will be used to “sustain and strengthen essential domestic industrial base capabilities,” per a Pentagon announcement. “These actions will help to retain critical workforce capabilities throughout the disruption caused by COVID-19 and to restore some jobs lost because of the pandemic.”
The Defense Production Act has been in the spotlight in recent months, as it's served as a central tool in attempts by the Trump administration to increase production of personal protective equipment to combat the spread of the coronavirus, something critics say the administration was too slow to implement.
Title III of the DPA gives the department the opportunity to fund what it sees as critical suppliers of the defense industry who might otherwise be at risk of closing. Although those authorities have been on the books for years, the department became more serious about using them following a 2018 landmark study of the defense industrial base that identified a number of sectors where small companies that provide key parts for America's arsenal could go out of business.
The undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, Ellen Lord, previously identified shipbuilding, aviation and the small space sector as three areas that are suffering under the economic impacts from COVID-19. She has said her office will keep an eye on those sectors. That seems to have played out in the Pentagon's announcement about the $84.4 million in funding.
Of the funding, $13.4 million went to five small unmanned systems companies. Funding was authorized and appropriated under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, and awarded through the Defense Innovation Unit — the Silicon Valley technology hub for the Pentagon. The department claims the funding “saved 14 jobs, created 20 new positions, and will support continued advancement of capabilities providing the companies additional paths for recurring revenue.”
Even before the economic damage from COVID-19, the department had identified small UAS manufacturers as a sector that needs to grow. Included in this latest funding are:
In addition, the Pentagon awarded $15 million to LeoLabs, based in Menlo Park, California, to “ensure the continued viability of space surveillance capability through the operation and maintenance of a world-wide highly capable phased-array radar network.” The department said LeoLabs is the only domestic commercial supplier with the capability to meet requirements in this area.
Last month, the Space Force invoked the DPA to get funding for six small space companies that were considered at risk, before it reversed those awards two weeks later.
While those are all fairly small technology firms, the biggest dollar amount awarded was $56 million for ArcelorMittal Inc., a steel and mining company based in Chicago, Illinois. The funding, also from the coronavirus relief package, will be used to “protect” jobs impacted by the pandemic that are critical to military shipbuilding.
Specifically, the investment will “expand ArcelorMittal's plate processing footprint and heat-treating capability, subsequently increasing its alloy steel plate production and ensure the U.S. Government gets dedicated long-term industrial capacity to meet the needs of the nation,” per the department.
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AIR FORCE Hydraulics International Inc., Chatsworth, California, has been awarded a $377,357,493 firm-fixed-price, requirements-type, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for multiple pieces of hydraulic equipment and hydraulic fluid purification systems to be used on multiple aviation platforms. Work will be performed in Chatsworth, California, and is expected to be completed Oct. 7, 2029. This award is a result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement; and future fiscal aircraft procurement funds will be obligated upon availability for task orders. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8532-21-D-0001). PKL Services Inc., Poway, California, has been awarded a $13,757,191 firm-fixed-price modification (P00008) to contract FA4897-18-C-2002 to continue providing military aircraft F15 SG maintenance and operations training. This contract provides for the Republic of Singapore Air Force training on F15 aircraft, and includes both maintenance and operations on the F15 aircraft. Work will be performed at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, and is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2022. Foreign Military Sales funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. The 366th Financial Acquisition Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, is the contracting activity. Honeywell International Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been awarded an $11,638,078 modification (P00006) to contract FA9453-19-C-0010 to exercise Option Two for critical design review, providing research options for Space Enterprise Technologies. The contractor shall conduct experiments, evaluate, and perform process development back-end pillar fabrication process. Work will be performed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is expected to be completed April 14, 2022, per Option Two: Critical Design Review contract line item number 2001 and a Military interdepartmental purchase request from HQ0157 Office of the Under Secretary of the Air Force – Acquisition, Technology and Logistics will be obligated to incrementally fund the option at time of modification. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $17,361,381. Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, is the contracting activity. CORRECTION: The dollar amounts awarded and obligated on Oct. 1, 2020, to Gryphon Technologies L.C., Washington, D.C. (FA7022-21-D-0001), for the processing, analysis and quantitative evaluation of environmental samples and other associated services in support of the Air Force Technical Applications Center's mission were announced inaccurately. The contract amount is actually $49,503,924, and the obligated amount is $4,160,824. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Senn Brothers Inc.,* West Columbia, South Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $225,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for fresh fruit and vegetables. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is South Carolina, with an Oct. 3, 2025, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Department of Agriculture schools. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-21-D-P365). The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a maximum $149,528,875 firm-fixed-price delivery order (SPRPA1-21-D-9001) against five-year basic ordering agreement SPRPA1-14-D-002U for KC-46 Commercial Common Program consumable parts. 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 three-year base contract with two one-year option periods. Location of performance is Missouri, with an Oct. 7, 2023, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. L1 Enterprises Inc., Frederick, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $45,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for medical equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency electronic catalog. This was a competitive acquisition with 131 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Maryland, with an Oct. 6, 2025, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DH-21-D-0050). * Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2375598/source/GovDelivery/