F/A-18F Super Hornet
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The US Navy flies the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, and has just taken delivery of its first operational EA-18G Growler electronic warfare & strike aircraft. These buys are actually managed out of a common multi-year procurement (MYP) contract, which also manages many of the EA-18G’s support costs since it’s derived from the Super Hornet and many of the required maintenance items are common to both planes. The contract covers 42 aircraft per year, split between Super Hornets and EA-18Gs, with a variation quantity clause permitting up to 6 additional aircraft per year under the same terms. FY 2008 marks year 4 of the 5-year MYP-II contract.

DID already has an EA-18G FOCUS Article; we will be using this entry to cover the Super Hornet MYP program’s budgets, and this article has been updated to include all announced contracts since MYP-II began. The latest entry is more engine contracts, which are now being added to this article…

• Hornet MYP: Aircraft Types & Budgets
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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SLS
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US aeromedical evacuation has changed. Forward-based units or helicopters are still the primary link from the battlefield during the “golden hour” that follows major trauma. Once a patient has been stabilized, however, more advanced care at more advanced facilities may be needed. For several decades, the USA had a fleet of dedicated aircraft, the last being its DC-9 derived C-9A “Florence Nightningale” fleet. In its place is a new approach devised by USAF Lt. Gen. Paul K. Carlton Jr., the Air Force surgeon general until 2002. The idea is that every USAF Air Mobility Command aircraft can become an aeromedical aircraft, as newly arrived aircraft on the tarmac are loaded with about 800 pounds of gear and supplies per patient and diverted to hospitals like Landstuhl in Germany. Instead of waiting for days to stabilize a patient, outbound flights are sometimes coordinated while a patient is still in surgery. The result? Lower average cargo volume and weight statistics for US transport aircraft missions, and a 90% survival rate for troops injured in current operations. In Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the rate was about 75%.

On to the next step in quality improvement, which could have significant implications for civilian disasters as well. USAF aircraft without organic litter systems rely on the patient support pallet (PSP), whose weight and bulk make it heavily reliant on cargo handling equipment for loading and unloading. This assumes the PSP is even present with the evacuation crew, of course; if not, additional stops will be required to pick up the equipment. In an age of rising fuel prices, those side-trips get very expensive, and time is always of the essence.

Enter the Air Mobility Battlelab. They were established in 2001, and will deactivate in September 2008 as part of a USAF cost-savings initiative. Before they go, however, they’re developing an idea that might solve these problems…

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Water tower etc.,
Times Beach
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Most people never see services like wastewater management and water distribution, maintenance of the electric grid, et. al. The cost is built into their taxes and utility bills, or into initial subdivision fees. Military bases have to deal with these sorts of issues, just as homeowners and developer do – but on a much larger scale. The preference in the US military seems to be shifting toward very long term (about 50 year) term fixed-price or regulated tariff contracts, which are often coupled with partial privatization or conveyance of assets to make the contractor 100% responsible for the utility.

This Spotlight article covers recent contracts that fall under this format, totaling over $4.3 billion…

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T-AKE Construction
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The entire T-AKE dry cargo/ ammunition ship program could have a total value of as much as $6.2 billion in exchange for 14 ships, as the US looks to modernize its supply ship fleet. Indeed, the House Armed Services Committee recently put together an FY 2008 budget that added $456 million for another T-AKE ship – though this figure would not cover all of the internal systems et. al. that must be added to make it operational.

How do T-AKE ships fit into US naval operations? What ships do they replace? What’s the tie-in to US civilian industrial capacity? How were environmental standards built into their design? And what contracts have been issued for T-AKE ships to date? DID has answers in this FOCUS Article; recent updates tinclude the mystery of the disappearing shipbuilding appropriation, and the launch of USNS Amelia Earhart…

• T-AKE Ships: Mission & Capabilities
• T-AKE Ships: The Civilian Industry Angle
• T-AKE Ships & the Environment
• T-AKE Ships: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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Savi Technology, Inc. of Mountain View, CA, which became a Lockheed Martin subsidiary in an May 2006 acquisition, recently received time and ceiling extension to its US military RFID contract. The firm has provided RFID solutions to the DoD for more than a decade, and helped build the DoD’s RF In-Transit Visibility (ITV) network, which spans more than 45 countries and tracks military supplies through 4,000 sites. The current RFID II contract was initially awarded in January 2003, and this is the 2nd contract extension and 3rd ceiling increase that Savi has received. This latest modification extend its period to Jan 31/09, and its ceiling is increased by about $60 million to $483 million.

Think of RFID as wireless bar codes that don’t need to be swiped individually. Savi’s products include active RFID asset tags, data rich high performance tags, sensor tags that monitor security and environmental conditions, related fixed and mobile readers, as well as fully integrated site and enterprise software products that enable customers to track shipments worldwide. The US military has invested heavily in RFID for its supply chain; recent years have begun to feature positive results, as well as the creation of an RFID solutions center near Wright-Patterson AFB, OH.

These contract amendments were made by the U.S. Army’s Information Technology, E-Commerce and Commercial Contracting Center (ITEC4), and the executive agent for the DoD is the office of the Product Manager, Joint-Automatic Identification Technology. In addition to the US DoD, this Lockheed Martin group provides RFID solutions for NATO, and defense forces in the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, et. al. One of its current foci building interoperable RFID-based networks for allies, enabling them to improve the management of consignments for multi-national, joint-force operations – something USJFCOM has also been working hard to achieve. See Lockheed Martin release.

Harrier GR9
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It sounds like something James Bond would be sent to keep out of enemy hands. BAE Systems has announced a GBP 84 million (about $165 million) contract to develop ‘Capability E’ for its Harrier II GR9 (AV-8B+ counterpart) V/STOL jump jets, while the UK Ministry of Defence values the program at GBP 99 million (about $195 million) within the existing GBP 500 million GR9 capability release programme.

There’s no need to call James, but the CAP E contract is nonetheless important to the UK’s Harrier fleet, which will remain Britain’s key expeditionary close-support aircraft and naval aviation backbone until the F-35B Lightning II STOVL fully supplants them some time in the 2020s. Capability E will involve the design, development, integration and clearance of a number of systems including software functionality for secure communications, the establishment of a second secure communications channel, a replacement video recording system, modified Auxiliary Communications Navigation Identification Panel (ACNIP), and the introduction of a Tactical Information Exchange Capability (TIEC). TIEC is the project name adopted for the introduction of a common system solution that provides Link 16 and IDM data link communications for Tornado GR4 and Harrier GR9 fleets. TIEC will not use a standard MIDS-LVT black boxes, substituting an equivalent item which is lighter, slightly smaller, and comes in a single box instead of 2 boxes.

Harrier II, Afghanistan
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Britain’s Harriers are in the process of receiving AN/AQS-33 Sniper ATP surveillance and targeting pods to improve their close air support capabilities, after some complaints surfaced from Afghanistan. The fleet is also involved in Brtain’s “future contracting for availability” model of fixed-price through-life maintenance support, and the capability release programme will be implemented under the Harrier Joint Upgrade and Maintenance Programme (JUMP) program at RAF Cottesmore as each incremental capability is tested and approved.

Around 1997/98, the Defense Logistics Agency changed their business practices, and entered into Prime Vendor long term sustainment contracts with various suppliers to provide materials needed to support the maintenance, repair, and operation (MRO) of its facilities. Items such as plumbing, electrical components, heating/ ventilation/ air conditioning (HVAC), lumber, fixtures, other hardware supplies, etc. would be included. The Prime Vendors need not make these items; the idea is to use purchasing power and commercial purchasing practices to consistently get the US Department of Defense the best prices on these civilian items, delivering them quickly and with little overhead.

These contracts are not small; collectively, they represent billions of dollars each year. Unless otherwise stated, the contracts are issued by the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP) in Philadelphia, PA. Specific purchases then take place via orders under the overarching contracts described below, up to the limits mentioned. The USA is divided into a number of regions, and these contracts also include locations abroad; DID has used the same geographical groupings in describing these contracts over the past couple of years, and the firms receiving them. The latest addition is over $1.8 billion in contracts for the CENTCOM region…

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Bell OH-58D, Iraq
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“Can the US Army Afford Helicopter Modernization?” covered a CBO report addressing the USA’s future helicopter procurement plans. Meanwhile, the existing fleet must still be maintained, lest rising maintenance costs eat into the procurement budget. The future fleet will also need to improve.

There’s a trend around the world toward HUMS (Health & Usage Monitoring Systems). Initial helicopter HUMS systems were developed twin-engine helicopters flown to offshore oil rigs in the North Sea, whose savage weather and freezing seas can quickly combine to turn even relatively minor mechanical problems into life-threatening events. In time, HUMS are spreading to other commercial platforms, while trying to remain cheap enough to stay economically feasible.

As one might expect, the US Army is very interested. Their current maintenance system largely relies on aviation maintenance and parts replacement based on operating hours, or on a set number of days. In contrast, moving to a HUMS system that can monitor issues (diagnostic), predict likely faults before they occur (prognostic), and schedule maintenance based on need, ought to have several benefits. For starters, it would vastly improve reliability diagnosis of the platform as a whole, and help to identify required areas for improvement. It would also cut down on spare parts usage, save man-hours, and keep more helicopters available to fly. Now, a coalition led by Bell Helicopter has submitted a winning proposal…

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LCpl Taylor RM,
Afghanistan
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It seems like a simple, and eminently sensible change. Instead of paying for hours of service and spare parts for military platforms, and trying to forecast usage, set required reliability levels. Then implement public-private partnerships and pay defense contractors a fixed rate per year, with incentives and penalties centered around required in-service rates. Sensible? Yes, and financially attractive because it turns large portions of the maintenance budget into pre-contracted, fixed costs. Simple? No.

Minor complications include the critical importance of in-service availability as something that extends beyond a mere contract term, and the need to avoid bankrupting one’s contractors after they have accepted most of your fleet’s maintenance risk. To which one must add factors such as highly variable per-year usage rates for equipment, the lack of adequate information to make accurate forecasts on either side of the table, the importance of creating the right incentives around long-term maintenance so this is not skimped, and the need to factor maintainability into future equipment contracts in a much more integrated fashion. Each one of those aspects, taken by itself, represents a major challenge. Together, they present formidable obstacles to success.

Tornado maintenance
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Faced with constrained budgets and rising maintenance costs, however, the British Ministry of Defence has spent the last several years creating exactly this kind of “future contracting for availability” through-life maintenance framework for platform after platform. The efforts of exceptional individuals like former Air Vice-Marshal Nigel Bairsto have made a tremendous difference, and so has the extensive organizational commitment of multiple MoD agencies and front-line commanders. Britain currently leads the world in this field, even as the rising curve of aging defense equipment throughout the Western world forces defense ministries and departments to confront the same issues. This Spotlight article provides an index of DID’s coverage in this area…

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Typhoon fires ASRAAM
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Implementation of Britain’s “future contracting for availability” approach of paying for machines in service, rather than parts and hours, generally involves a phased set of contracts and agreements. As each party’s understanding the risks and demands grow, the contract’s complexity and comprehensiveness grow as well, and the framework moves closer and closer to the desired goal of a full availability contract. “Britain Hammers Out Through-Life Support Framework for Tornado Fleet” described how this approach works on the ground, and talked about some of the keys to success. “UK’s “Contracting for Availability” Adds Hawks, Looks Ahead” mentioned the MoD’s March 2007 Long Term Partnering Agreement Foundation Contract with BAE Systems, which aims to place all British military aircraft under this kind of framework.

In late 2007, the UK’s Eurofighter Typhoon fleet entered Quick Reaction Alert service with the RAF, and began flying with new ground-attack capabilities [MoD | BAE]. In step with its growing operational responsibilities, the the Typhoon fleet also began moving toward an availability contracting maintenance model…

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