Air Force Materiel Command to Take Over USAF Sustainment

Beginning on October 1, 2006, the USAF has announced that Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) will assume responsibility for sustainment across the force, becoming the USAF executive agent for programming, budgeting and execution. In practical terms, it means that money previously allocated to each major command to cover costs such as fuel (a growing issue), replacement parts and scheduled maintenance will eventually be funneled into one central pot and managed by AFMC. The program used to be called the Future Financials Initiative, but was broadened to “Centralized Asset Management” (CAM) to reflect its widened focus.

The USAF’s CAM program is based on four pillars:

2006: Robins AFB Ups the Ante with 3 Shingo Prizes

Yes, that’s a whole boat

Last September, DID’s “Robins AFB Wins Shingo Gold Prize” covered the C-5 Programmed Depot Maintenance workforce’s receipt of an award that BusinessWeek magazine referred to as the “Nobel prize of manufacturing,” awarded annually to companies that demonstrate world-class business results through the implementation of Lean Manufacturing principles and practices. Robins AFB were the first public sector winner of the Shingo (Gold level) prize.

This year, 3 groups from the 402nd Maintenance Wing of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center accepted awards at the Shingo Public Sector Conference on September 7th…

Dutch to Pay $150M for Stepped Up F-16 Maintenance

Dutch F-16B

On September 21, 2006, The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress [PDF format] of the Netherlands’ request for logistics support for F-16 aircraft and related systems, as well as associated equipment and services.

The estimated cost is $150 million, and the contractors will be United Technologies in West Palm Beach, FL (subsidiary Pratt & Whitney makes the F100 engine); Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, TX (F-16 manufacturer); and Westinghouse Electric Corp. in Baltimore, MD. The DSCA notes that implementation may require the assignment of 2 U.S. Government personnel and 1 contractor representative to the Netherlands for a period of up to 5 years, and adds:

A Month in the Life: Sept 2006 Hummer-Related Contracts

HMMWV, IEDed

The USA’s High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) remains the main source of mobility for US land forces. Despite vastly accelerated wear cause by the extra weight of up-armoring the vehicles, and the steady movement of US allies to more survivable options designed for the non-linear battlefield, the size of the existing fleet and continued large procurements mean that the “Humvee” (or “Hummer”) is expected to remain in that leading role for some time to come. A large associated manufacturing base in crucial political states doesn’t hurt, either.

Costs & Time Kill Full SU-30MKI Production in India (updated)

SU-30 MKIs

The Times of India reports that India’s $3.5 billion contract for licensed production of 140 SU-30MKI multi-role fighters has been changed in order to keep costs in line. The SU-30MKI is arguably the most advanced member of the SU-30 family in service, with Indian modifications that include different electronics, canard foreplanes, and thrust-vectoring engines. This Russian site notes key external changes from the SU-30K/MKs, which India is divesting via sales to Belarus. See also this report from a US Marine test pilot who flew the earlier SU-27 FLanker model.

The original deal would have shifted the entire production cycle to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), but this “full indigenization” would reportedly almost double the planes’ cost. Meanwhile, the life cycles of India’s fighter fleet meant that ongoing indigenization project problems and delays risked serious difficulties keeping India’s overall fighter strength at acceptable levels.

Russian newspapers say India abandoned full indigenization; HAL denies it. Who’s right? Maybe both sides – but one needs to read carefully.

2006-2011: $125M to Phoenix for Undersea Search, Salvage & Rescue Operations

Workin’ the Newt

Phoenix International, Inc. in Landover, MD received a potential $125 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-award fee contract. The primary purpose of this contract is to provide for the operation and maintenance of Navy-owned undersea search and recovery equipment; it includes engineering and technical services, equipment, material, ships/vessels and/or systems to assist the director of Ocean Engineering, supervisor of Salvage and Diving, in the conduct of worldwide rapid response undersea search, salvage, recovery and rescue operations. Phoenix has held this contract for some time now, and has been involved in projects like archeological recovery on the historic USS Monitor. They are also the prime contractor for support and maintenece of the next generation SRDRS (Submarine Rescue and Diving Recompression System).

Work will be performed in Landover, MD, and is expected to be complete by September 2011. The contract was competitively procured and advertised on the Internet, with one proposal received by The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC (N00024-06-D-4104).

$21M for Dredging in Philadelphia

Mechanical dredge

Small business qualifier Fort Mifflin Reclamation Associates Inc. in Kingston, PA received a $21 million firm-fixed-price contract for excavation of dredging material around Philadelphia, PA, and off-site disposal. Work is expected to be complete by Dec. 30, 2007. Bids were solicited via the World Wide Web on July 25, 2006, and 4 bids were received by the U.S. Army Engineer District in Philadelphia, PA (W912BU-06-C-0024).

Dredging contracts are fairly regular features at DefenseLINK, given their importance to shipping and (among other things) the maintenance of low prices for consumer goods. The U.S. Army Engineer District in Philadelphia has a background page about dredging that explains the rationale and the different options.

DID’s New Category: FOCUS Articles

Here at DID, some of our readers have been asking us to make our Focus Articles more accessible. These are DID’s pieces that highlight key weapons programs and cover related events and contracts on an ongoing basis, or deal with a critical industry issue.

In response, we’ve created a new topic category under the major heading “DID Site.” I’ve also gone back through the archives and tagged a number of key pieces that belong in the new topic archive. Presenting: DID Focus Articles, with pieces whose range includes missiles, blimps, aircraft, maintenance programs, ground vehicles, contracting vehicles, ships and submarines, benefits costing, robots & uavs, and more.

Reader feedback is appreciated here at DID, and we’re always looking for tips and additions regarding our focus article series. Just drop us a line via defenseindustrydaily.com’s tips@ emailbox.

From R&D to Weapons in the US Military: GAO’s 2006 Review

On Sept. 14, 2006, the US Government Accountability Office released report # GAO-06-883: “Best Practices: Stronger Practices Needed to Improve DOD Technology Transition Processes.” The report’s home page reads:

“The Department of Defense (DOD) relies on its science and technology community to develop innovative technologies for weapon systems, spending $13 billion on basic, applied, and advanced technology research. Several GAO reports have addressed problems in transitioning technologies to the acquisition community. This report, which was prepared under the Comptroller General’s authority to conduct evaluations, compares DOD’s technology transition processes with commercial best practices. Specifically, GAO identifies technology transition techniques used by leading companies [DID: actually just 3M, Boeing, IBM, and Motorola] and assesses the extent to which DOD uses the techniques…”

$11.3M for M24 Sniper Rifles

M24 sniper system

Faced with an enemy that has no compunctions about committing war crimes by using human shields, the US Army is discovering that snipers are a critical battlefield asset. For instance, the American Snipers 501c3 support organization got this letter from a 1st Stryker Brigade sniper team it had helped out with some gear:

“…On April 9th all hell broke loose here in Mosul and we were up on an OP. My shooter spotted approximately 150 personnel with RPG’s and AK’s inter mixed with civilian personnel. He was able to fire three shots before the crowd dispersed. He killed two and wounded one at a 430 meters while under indirect fire. Now the shot does not seem that difficult but if you add the fact that he was firing from the 5th story out of a 12 degree loophole and the persons were running. I am proud of my shooter for making those shots. We were in heavy fire for about 5 hours that day and in all my company killed about 30 NCF and sustained no friendly injuries. I just thought I would tell you a little bit about us…”

Of course, the rifles themselves need to come from the military. Remington Arms Company Inc. in Ilion, NY received an $11.3 million firm-fixed-price contract for M24 sniper rifles (and see weapon review), spare parts, and modular access rail systems (aka. “Picatinny Rails”). Work will be performed in Ilion, NY, and is expected to be complete by April 30, 2007. This was a sole source contract initiated on May 18, 2006 by the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command in Rock Island, IL (W52H09-06-C-0152).