1 novembre 2022 | International, Aérospatial
Unlike traditional acquisition, Prime contracts seek companies outside of the established defense industrial base to find out what they're working on.
30 juin 2022 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité
The U.S. will 'offer robust national capabilities' to support the initiative, which is using lessons learned from the Russia-Ukraine war to tailor its methods.
29 avril 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense
By SAMANTHA MASUNAGA The year was 1989. The Pentagon was under the command of President George H.W. Bush and Defense Secretary Dick Cheney. And aviation giant McDonnell Douglas Corp. was riding high as the top federal contractor, grabbing 4.6%, or $9.15 billion, of all federal contracting dollars. The next two largest contractors, General Dynamics Corp. and General Electric Co., raked in about 4% and 3.4%, respectively. Thirty years and many acquisitions later, Pentagon spending has grown far more top-heavy. Today, Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing — which bought McDonnell Douglas in 1997 — together reaped almost 15% of total U.S. government contracting dollars in fiscal year 2017, according to the most recent federal numbers. The two aerospace giants are the only makers of fast combat jets in the U.S. and are the dominant players for military transport aircraft. The concentrated power of big defense companies became an issue two years ago when longtime Boeing executive Patrick Shanahan was confirmed as deputy secretary of Defense. Then in December, President Trump named him to serve as acting Defense secretary. After a monthlong ethics investigation into allegations that Shanahan promoted Boeing while slamming rival Lockheed Martin, particularly in discussions about its F-35 fighter jet contract, the Pentagon's office of inspector general concluded Thursday that Shanahan “did not promote Boeing or disparage its competitors.” “We did not substantiate any of the allegations,” the report said. “We determined that Mr. Shanahan fully complied with his ethics agreements and his ethical obligations regarding Boeing and its competitors.” Shanahan is considered a leading candidate for permanent Defense secretary. The question of possible favoritism toward Boeing had also been raised by some when the U.S. Air Force, in its 2020 budget, made a surprise request to purchase F-15X fighter jets, an update of that company's fourth-generation jet. The Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps have all made major commitments to the F-35, Lockheed Martin's more advanced and pricier fifth-generation fighter. The inspector general report said the Pentagon's mix of fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft was a decision made by former Defense Secretary James N. Mattis before Shanahan's confirmation to the department. A Defense official told trade publication Defense News that the decision was bolstered by concerns about keeping “multiple providers in the tactical aircraft portfolio.” But there was no contract competition based on a set of defined requirements — the way business typically works in the industry, said Richard Aboulafia, aviation analyst at market analysis firm Teal Group. “It's a duopoly structure business with a lot at stake,” he said of fast combat jet manufacturing. “It's amazing that no one considered the optics here.” In some cases, the military has encouraged monopolies. In 2006, Lockheed Martin and Boeing got government approval to form United Launch Alliance, a joint venture set up specifically to launch national security satellites. The venture was proposed after the companies argued there were not enough launches to sustain two competitors. “The market is more concentrated,” said Mandy Smithberger, director of the Center for Defense Information at the Project on Government Oversight, an independent watchdog group. “You see the government making decisions thinking about how it will impact industry probably more than they should be.” Still, when President Reagan was in office, there were a number of major manufacturers of tactical military jets — Northrop Corp., Grumman Corp., Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, and General Dynamics, to name a few, Aboulafia said. But as the Cold War ended in the 1990s, defense funding dried up, leading to major aerospace mergers, such as Lockheed and Martin Marietta, and Boeing's acquisition of Rockwell International's aerospace business and McDonnell Douglas. A push for commonality among the Pentagon's planes also led to the fewer numbers of tactical military jets. The idea was that using similar aircraft would lead to savings in development and production costs, Andrew Hunter, director of the defense-industrial initiatives group at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said in an email. As a result, the share of federal defense contracts awarded to the top largest private companies increased to 31.3% in 2000 from 21.7% in 1990, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper on the effect of 1990s-era defense industry consolidation. In 2017, the share of the top five reached 35%, according to federal data analyzed for that paper by Stanford University researchers. The paper concluded that those mergers resulted in a less competitive procurement process. But it did not find evidence of a significant increase in acquisition costs for large weapon systems, said Mark Duggan, director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and co-author of the paper. As the industry gets more concentrated, it can lead to concern that “there's only one or two potential contractors for a certain product, and then you may not get the kind of competitive outcome you want,” he said. The consolidation process hasn't slowed, driven by the perceived need to compete for more and bigger contracts. Last year, Northrop Grumman Corp. acquired spacecraft and rocket motor manufacturer Orbital ATK Inc. Months later, military communications firms L3 Technologies Inc. and Harris Corp. announced their intent to merge. Although acquisitions and mergers can lead to greater efficiency, they can also have a detrimental effect on product innovation, said Aboulafia of Teal Group. For example, he said, as aircraft manufacturers consolidate, clean-sheet designs may be more of a rarity in the future as there are fewer design teams in the industry from different companies. For Boeing, “in terms of designing a clean-sheet fighter jet, it's been many, many, many years,” he said. In 2017, Lockheed Martin won more than $50 billion in total federal contracting dollars, making the Bethesda, Md., company No. 1 on a list of the top 100 federal contractors, according to federal procurement data. Boeing was a distant second with more than $23 billion. When narrowed to weapon acquisition contract dollars in fiscal year 2017, Lockheed Martin's individual piece of the pie totaled about 17%, with Boeing further behind at about 7.5%, according to federal data analyzed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. News of the Defense Department ethics investigation came after watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sent a letter to the acting Defense Department inspector general, asking him to investigate allegations that Shanahan had boosted Boeing while working in the Pentagon. The letter includes a description from a Politico story published in January, in which Shanahan allegedly criticized Lockheed Martin's work on the F-35 joint strike fighter program, saying it “would be done much better” if Boeing had won the contract. In that article, an unnamed former Pentagon official told the news organization that Shanahan said during a high-level meeting that Lockheed “doesn't know how to run a program.” The inspector general's report said none of the witnesses interviewed said they heard Shanahan praise Boeing in meetings or discussions or make disparaging remarks about Lockheed Martin. Shanahan told the inspector general's team that he had never praised a Boeing military product and that he had said “program management on the F-35 is inadequate.” Shanahan's Boeing career spanned more than 30 years, during which he led its missile defense systems and military helicopter units. He also served as senior vice president of the company's commercial airplane division and is known for his work on Boeing's 787 Dreamliner program, which was behind schedule when he first took the helm. Boeing declined to comment this month on the initiation of the ethics investigation. The company referred to a statement it made in January, saying Boeing officials had not spoken to Shanahan about its programs during “his entire Pentagon tenure” and that the company “adheres to and respects Acting Secretary Shanahan's decision to recuse himself from company matters.” Shanahan isn't the first industry executive to lead the Defense Department. Under President Eisenhower, Defense Secretary Charles Wilson joined the Pentagon after serving as chief executive of General Motors, which made military vehicles at the time. Other defense industry brass have also joined the Pentagon over the years, though in lower roles. Analysts say the Pentagon could benefit from having a leader who understands how industry works, and who has been on the other side of the negotiating table and can avoid being tricked. And the Defense secretary typically works less with industry representatives than deputies do. “Secretaries aren't making a lot of decisions on individual contracts,” Smithberger said. “They're setting the priorities for the department.” But the potential conflicts may be “hard to escape,” said Loren Thompson, defense analyst at the Lexington Institute think tank, which receives funding from both Boeing and Lockheed Martin. “Boeing is so big that almost every discussion of strategy, budgets or programs bears upon its interests,” he said. https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-boeing-lockheed-shanahan-20190426-story.html
30 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
NAVY Advanced Technology Systems Co.,* McLean, Virginia (N00039-20-D-0060); Forward Slope Inc.,* San Diego, California (N00039-20-D-0061); ITC Defense,* Arlington, Virginia (N00039-20-D-0062); Solute Inc.,* San Diego, California (N00039-20-D-0063); and Veterans First Initiative,* Gainesville, Virginia (N00039-20-D-0064), are awarded a $75,000,000 not-to-exceed, hybrid (firm-fixed-price, cost-plus fixed-fee, cost-reimbursable, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity) multiple award contract (MAC) for command, control, communications, computers and intelligence integrated international support services in support of U.S. security assistance and security cooperation programs. No contract funds will be obligated on the basic MAC awards. Funds in the amount of $2,000 per awardee will be obligated at the time of award on the first task order under each contract utilizing fiscal 2020 Foreign Military Sales (FMS) administration funding. This contract utilizes FMS funding from various security cooperation partners that will be identified as individual task orders are issued. Work will be performed in various overseas locations based on the requirement for each task order placed. The ordering period for each contract is five years. Contract funds that are awarded using FMS administration funding will expire at the end of the current fiscal year; any funds awarded using FMS case funding will not expire at the end of the year. These contracts were competitively procured with small business proposals solicited and 10 offers were received via the beta.SAM.gov and Naval Information Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce websites. The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Heffler Contracting Group,* El Cajon, California, is awarded an $25,000,000 maximum amount, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for heavy and civil engineering construction at various locations within the metro San Diego, California area (Naval Bases San Diego, Coronado, Point Loma and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar). No task orders are being issued at this time. The work to be performed provides for the design, construction, supervision, equipment, material, labor and all means necessary for other heavy and civil engineering construction, repairs, renovations and new construction projects. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months and work is expected to be completed by July 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) (O&M, N) contract funds in the amount of $2,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy); O&M, N; and O&M (Marine Corps). This contract was competitively procured via the beta.SAM.gov contract opportunities website and four proposals were received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N62473-20-D-1110). HDR Architecture Inc., Arlington, Virginia, is awarded a $13,781,605 firm-fixed-price contract to provide post-construction award services for the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center addition/alteration at Naval Support Activity Bethesda, Maryland. The contract is incrementally funded with the first increment of $3,000,000 being allocated at the time of award. Work will be performed in Bethesda, Maryland. The work to be performed provides architect and engineering post construction award services for construction consultation to the government and provides assistance with technical issues that may arise in connection with the project during the construction of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center addition/alteration at Naval Support Activity Bethesda, Maryland. This work consists of responding to requests for information, review shop drawing submittals, prepare record drawings, field consultation during construction, partnering meetings and other post construction award services as needed. In addition, full time/on-site representation will be required for field consultations or participations in construction progress team reviews. Work is expected to be completed by March 2026. Fiscal 2016 military construction (Department of Defense-wide) contract funds are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii), which authorizes the use of other than full and open competition when there is only one available source, this contract was sole sourced to HDR Architecture Inc. because of their uniquely qualified position to perform the required work. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Washington, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N40080-20-C-0016). Curtiss-Wright Fleet Solutions, Chesapeake, Virginia, is awarded a $13,308,348 not to exceed, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract for labor, parts, support to installations, troubleshooting, repair and maintenance of Navy equipment manufactured and serviced by Curtiss-Wright Fleet Solutions. Equipment includes low, medium and high pressure air compressors, single stage turbines, pumps, compressed air valves and manifolds for various ship classes in support of Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division. Work will be performed in Chesapeake, Virginia (85%); the remaining (15%) will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, as determined by the individual task orders. Work is expected to be completed by July 2026. Fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $500 ($500 minimum guarantee for contract) will be obligated at time of award via an individual task order 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)(1); only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N64498-20-D-4028). AIR FORCE L3 Technologies Inc., Bristol, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a $64,232,376 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Telemetry Security Products (TSP) and ancillary services. The contractor shall manufacture and deliver all TSP, National Security Agency (NSA) approved class one encryption products and NSA-approved encryption accessories, in accordance with individual delivery orders. The contractor shall perform the following services in accordance with individual delivery orders, telecommunications electronics materials protected from emanating spurious transmissions test, electromagnetic interference/radio frequency interference test, product upgrade/enhancement, repair and technical support as required. Work will be performed in Bristol, Pennsylvania, and is expected to be completed by July 28, 2025. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2019 Department of Defense procurement funds in the amount of $549,200 are being obligated at the time of award. Directorate of Contracting, Edwards Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity. Hardwood Products Co. L.P., Guilford, Maine, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $51,150,000 undefinitized contract action (UCA) for industrial base expansion for U.S. domestic production capacity for medical flock tip swabs. This contract award is part of the ongoing collaboration between the Department of Defense and Health and Human Services, led by the department's Joint Acquisition Task Force and funded through the CARES Act to enable and support domestic industrial base expansion for critical medical resources. Primary tasks under this contract action include procurement, assembly and installation of flock tip swab assembly and packaging machinery and buildout of a production facility. Work will be performed in Guilford, Maine, and is expected to be completed eight months after receipt of UCA. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Air Force Life Cycle Management, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8730-20-C-0056). A-Tech Corp., Albuquerque, New Mexico has been awarded a $16,923,957 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for a communication system with two-way time transfer operating within W/V-bands and incorporating Free Space Optical links. This system will model Heterogeneous Optical W/V-band Demonstration, evaluate and develop its components and demonstrate its potential at meeting these objectives. Work will be performed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is expected to be completed Oct. 31, 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition with one offer received. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 research and development funds in the amount of $365,733 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, is the contracting activity (FA9453-20-C-0024). Perry Management Corp., Pearl City, Hawaii, has been awarded a $15,041,798 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for refuse services. The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, vehicles, supervision and other items and services necessary to perform installation-wide Municipal Solid Waste collection/disposal to include asbestos disposal service specific to Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) Lackland, Texas. Municipal Solid Waste collection services at JBSA installations include Lackland, Randolph, Fort Sam Houston, Camp Bullis, Canyon Lake military recreation areas, and Seguin Airfield in Texas, in accordance with all local, state and federal laws, regulations, standards, instructions, commercial practices or international agreements. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and five offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $18,288 are being obligated at the time of award. The contract is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2025. The 502nd Contracting Squadron, JBSA Lackland, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA3016-20-D-0024). SRC Inc., North Syracuse, New York, has been awarded a $7,627,257 task order for primarily platform electronic fit and supporting telecommunication parametric data support under the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract FA7037-17-D-0001 for the sensor beam program. The contractor will research, analyze, technically document and perform reviews on electromagnetic systems, events and signatures required by all services and other U.S. agencies. Work will be performed at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, and is expected to be completed July 30, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. Acquisition Management and Integration Center-Detachment 2, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Draeger Inc., Telford, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a maximum $60,000,000 modification (P00029) exercising the sixth one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE2D1-14-D-0004) with nine one-year option periods for patient monitoring systems, subsystems, accessories, consumables and training. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Pennsylvania, with an Aug. 5, 2021, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ARMY Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin JV, Tucson, Arizona, was awarded a $47,239,843 modification (P00022) to contract W31P4Q-19-C-0076 for full rate production of the Javelin weapon system. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2023. Fiscal 2010 and 2020 missile procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $47,239,843 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Threat Tech-Yorktown Systems Group JV LLC,* Hampton, Virginia, was awarded a $31,362,444 hybrid (firm-fixed-price, time-and-materials) contract for core functions support services for U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Fort Eustis, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 9, 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $19,997,056 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Field Directorate Office, Fort Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W911S0-20-C-0007). River City Construction LLC, East Peoria, Illinois, was awarded a $30,100,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a consolidated communications building at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed at Scott Air Force Base, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 9, 2023. Fiscal 2017 military construction (Air Force) funds in the amount of $30,100,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-20-C-0028). The Boeing Co., Mesa, Arizona, was awarded an $11,250,000 modification (P00053) to contract W58RGZ-16-C-0023 to update critical safety items for the Apache attack helicopter (AH-64E). Work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2024. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $11,250,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY Kitware Inc., Clifton, New York, was awarded an $11,947,912 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for a research project under the Semantic Forensics (SemaFor) program. The SemaFor program will develop methods that exploit semantic inconsistencies in falsified media to perform tasks across media modalities and at scale. Work will be performed in Clifton Park, New York; Corvallis, Oregon; and at university laboratories in New York, New York; Albany, New York; Tempe, Arizona; Urbana, Illinois; and Ann Arbor, Michigan, with an expected completion date of July 2024. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funding in the amount of $1,733,340 is being obligated at time of award. This contract was a competitive acquisition under a full and open broad agency announcement and 37 proposals were received. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR0011-20-C-0123). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2293268/source/GovDelivery/