A consortium led by Raytheon Co. Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) in Tewksbury, MA received a cost-plus award-fee letter contract with a not-to-exceed ceiling of $3 billion for DD (X) ship system integration and detail design. Raytheon and its partners will develop systems for the new destroyers that improve on existing technology, including radar, sonar, the ships’ computing network and external communications network and missile launchers. The consortium will also be integrating the systems to make sure they work together.
The Navy’s DD (X) program is a family of surface combatant ships expected to serve until 2061, including destroyers, cruisers and smaller LCS craft for near-shore operations.
The U.S. Defense Department plans to release a request for proposals today in search of technologies that would add bandwidth to the Defense Information Systems Network. The RFP for the DISN Access Transport Services contract will be released at www.ditco.disa.mil on or near May 25, 2005, according to an official with the Defense Information Systems Agency. DISA plans to award a single performance-based, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract.
The upgrades would affect two DISN contracts that will expire over the next two years: the DISN Transmission Services CONUS (for the continental United States) and the DISN Switched/Bandwidth Manager Services CONUS.
General Micro Systems announced their new Computing Engine initiative at the Military Embedded Electronics Computing Conference 2005. GMS’ Computing Engine design offers a field-upgradeable single-board embedded computing platform that extends the useful life of industrial control, defense and communications systems by five to ten years or more.
The design initiative began as part of a collaboration with General Dynamics Canada on the U.S. Marine Corps’ Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. The systems General Dynamics Canada shipped now had to be the same systems they would ship in 2012. Computing advancements being what they are, that kind of time scale was a problem that forced the team to come up with a non-traditional solution.
In an earlier article, DID covered the LAIRCM system for protecting large transport aircraft from shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. Now Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in Rolling Meadows, IL is receiving a $68.6 million firm-fixed-price contract modification to provide for AAQ-24(V) LAIRCM system hardware as well as the associated system support, spares, training, and installation support for 12 Air National Guard, 9 Air Force Reserve Command, and 4 Federal Aviation Administration aircraft. Northrop Grumman will also provide AAQ-24(V) LAIRCM system hardware to field the LAIRCM Lite configuration for a trial install on an Air Mobility Command C-5B Galaxy aircraft.
Negotiations were completed May 2005, and work will be complete by June 2007. The Headquarters Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH issued the contract (F33657-01-C-2093, P00080).
Small business qualifier J. Kokolakis Contracting Inc. in Rocky Point, NY won a $32.6 million firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a new library and learning center at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Work will be performed in West Point, NY, and is expected to be complete by Oct. 31, 2007. There were 15 bids solicited on Jan. 5, 2005, and five bids were received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York, NY issued the contract (W912DS-05-C-0011).
Longbow L.L.C. in Orlando, FL (a Joint Venture of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman) received an $11.1 million modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for Lifecycle Contractor Support for the Apache Fire Control Radar.
Boeing’s AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter is equipped with the AN/APG-78 Longbow fire control radar, whose use of millimetre wave sensing improves performance under poor visibility conditions and is less sensitive to ground clutter. The short wavelength also allows a very narrow beamwidth, which is more resistant to countermeasures.
AECOM Government Services Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas received a delivery order amount of $11.5 million as part of a $69.2 million firm-fixed-price contract for Support of the Iraqi Armed Forces. AECOM personnel provide a number of support services to U.S. forces and to foreign peacekeepers. It also operates a number of maintenance and support functions at Camp Doha, Kuwait, via its Combat Support Associates joint venture.
Work will be performed in Iraq, and is expected to be complete by March 30, 2007. There were an unknown number of bids solicited via the Internet on April 8, 2005, and three bids were received. The U.S. Army Field Support Command at Rock Island, IL issued the contract (W52P1J-05-D-0004).
The Naval Air Systems Command has exercised an option with Raytheon Co. Missile Systems in Tucson, AZ for depot level repair, maintenance, and post-production services of up to 300 AGM-88 High Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and the Governments of Turkey, Spain, Korea, and Greece under the Foreign Military Sales Program.
Small business qualifier First RF Corp. in Boulder, CO received a $10.6 million firm-fixed-price contract for C Antennas. Work will be performed in Boulder, CO, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 16, 2005. This was a sole source contract initiated on May 18, 2005 by the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command in Fort Monmouth, NJ (W15P7T-05-C-S207).
