U.S. Army Works to Get Prototypes to Soldiers in the Field ASAP

The U.S. Army Joint Munitions & Lethality Life Cycle Management Command (JM&L LCMC) awarded indefinite-delivery/ indefinite quantity contracts with cost-plus-fixed-fee/ firm-fixed-price orders to 5 companies to support the Army’s effort to get high-tech weapon prototypes in the hands of soldiers in the field as soon as possible. The effort, known as the Rapid Prototyping and Technology Initiative (RPTI), is run by the Army’s Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC).

The maximum value of the 5 contracts is $300 million.

DID has a list of winners, contract numbers, as well as work to be performed under these contracts…

The 5 companies receiving the contracts are:

• Alion Science and Technology (W15QKN-09-D-0014)
• Battelle Memorial Institute (W15QKN-09-D-0015)
• Booz Allen Hamilton (W15QKN-09-D-0016)
• Concurrent Technologies (W15QKN-09-D-0017) and
• Raytheon (W15QKN-09-D-0018)

The companies will provide engineering, scientific and acquisition support services to ARDEC in its effort to provide working prototypes to soldiers within weeks of receiving a requirement from the field.

ARDEC provides prototypes for ammunition, weapons, energetics, warheads, fire control, sensors and seekers, fuse products, novel weapon concepts, protection, assembly, packaging, demilitarization, and environmentally required waste treatments, according to a news release by Booz Allen Hamilton. Recent ARDEC activities in support of U.S. soldiers include engineering and prototyping of improved gun mounts, protective shields for soldiers, IED detection and defeat mechanisms, new energetic materials, as well as acquisition of associated materials, equipment, and supplies, the company said.