$249M to VSE for Life-Cycle Support of International Fleet Support Vessels

VSE Corp. in Alexandria, VA received a $249 million modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-05-D-4204) to add an option for continuous life-cycle support of naval vessels that are bought, sold or otherwise transferred through the international fleet support (IFS) program.

Under this contract, VSE provides design, configuration management, field engineering, maintenance planning, maintenance, spare parts support, training, casualty, and depot level repair. The company also provides engineering, technical, procurement, logistics, test, inspection, calibration, repair, maintenance, equipment upgrade installation, and overhaul support services, including reactivation to safe-to-sail status.

VSE will perform the work in Alexandria, VA and at various locations throughout the world as required by IFS customers. The company expects to complete the work by August 2010. The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) at the Washington Navy Yard in DC manages the contract.

The IFS program is a NAVSEA Deputy Commander for Surface Warfare (SEA 21) effort to provide complete life-cycle support for non-nuclear surface ships operated by allied navies…

India to License-build MiG-29 Engines

IAF MiG-29, top view

Until the arrival of the SU-30MKs and SU-30MKIs, India’s MiG-29 fleet was its primary counter to Pakistan’s F-16s. That fleet had a number of problems, the most prominent of which was a low readiness rate given the Russians’ long turnaround time for spares, repairs, and other support. Engines were reported to be a particularly troublesome issue. Yet India is acquiring MiG-29K fighters for use from its new full-size INS Vikramaditya carrier, and the thrust-vectoring MiG-29OVT/MiG-35 variant is a contender for its MRCA medium fighter aircraft competition. Both use variants of the same basic RD-33 engine: the RD-33MK Sea Wasp, and the MK-derived RD-133 with full thrust vectoring nozzles.

In 2006 the MiG-35’s MRCA position was strengthened, and India’s maintenance issues made easier, by a $275 million arrangement to license produce an improved version of the basic RD-33 engine in India. That arrangement is moving ahead – slowly…

Rizzani de Eccher to Build $44.8M Facility at Al Udeid Air Base Qatar

Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar

Rizzani de Eccher (USA) in Miami Beach, FL won a $44.8 million firm-fixed-price contract for the design and construction of a facility replacement at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. The company, which is a unit of Italian construction firm Rizzani de Eccher, expects to complete construction by Dec 30/10. US Army Corps of Engineers’ Transatlantic Programs Center in Winchester, VA received 8 bids for the contract (W912ER-09-C-0033).

Al Udeid Air Base is a military base located west of Doha, Qatar…

Up to $69.3M to Balfour Beatty for Naval Correctional Facility in Hampton Roads

Balfour Beatty Construction in Fairfax, VA won a $61.6 million firm-fixed-price contract for the design and construction of a joint regional correctional facility complex at Naval Support Activity Northwest Annex in Hampton Roads, VA. The new level II, medium security 400-person prison is expected to meet American Corrections Association (ACA) standards. The contract also contains 2 unexercised options, which if exercised would increase the cumulative contract value to $69.3 million.

The contract is incrementally funded with the 1st increment of $26.6 million being allocated at the time of award. The 2nd increment will be funded in FY 10 at $35 million. Work will be performed in Chesapeake, VA and is expected to be completed by May 2011. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 13 proposals received by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic in Norfolk, VA (N40085-09-C-5090).

Up to $100M to Korte for US Army Ranger Facility at Fort Lewis

US Army Rangers in Iraq

The Korte Co. in St. Louis, MO won a $24.2 million firm-fixed-price construction contract for the construction of a 2-story standard design company operations facility for the US Army Ranger Support Company and Headquarters and Headquarters Company at Fort Lewis in Washington state. The estimated construction cost could reach $100 million.

Korte will build administrative areas in the facility, including offices, open office areas, conference rooms, latrines, showers, and lockers. The readiness areas will include TA-50 lockers, equipment layout areas, arms rooms, storage cages for NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical) equipment, supplies, and communications equipment. The facility will include both secured and unsecured communications systems. Korte will demolition the 2 existing buildings, which total 101,536 square feet. Korte expects to complete construction by Feb 11/11. Bids were solicited through FedBizOpps with 9 bids received by the US Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District in Seattle, WA (W912DW-09-C-0020).

Fort Lewis is home to the 75th Ranger Regiment’s 2nd Battalion…

US Troops Have URGENT Need for Intel in Urban Warfare

BAE Systems National Security Solutions in Burlington, MA received a $7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide support to the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Urban Reasoning and Geospatial Exploitation Technology (URGENT) Phase II Program. The purpose of the URGENT program is to improve the quality and timeliness of geospatial intelligence about threats in urban environments to assist US troops in conducting urban warfare.

BAE will perform the work in Burlington, MA (93%) and Los Angeles, CA (7%) with an estimated completion date of May 15/11. Bids were solicited on the Web with 1 bid received by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, VA (HR0011-09-C-0101).

Under the contract, BAE is developing a design concept that promises to speed the collection and processing of geospatial data about urban environments and deliver them to US troops on the ground for mission planning, navigation, and targeting. BAE will do this by fusing different intel systems…

Wyle to Support USAF Space Innovation and Development Center

Wyle Information Systems in McLean, VA received a $13.9 million indefinite delivery/ indefinite quantity contract modification to provide technical services and space operations support to the Space Innovation and Development Center located at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado.

The contract is directed toward examining, assessing, and developing the means to integrate national system and US DoD space systems support to enhance combat and research and development capabilities within the US Air Force. This includes integrating existing and advanced-technology weapons, platforms and special test facilities as well as the technical expertise such as knowledge of emerging space-based technologies and systems.

Space Innovation and Development Center at Schriever Air Force Base manages the contract (FA2550-01-D-0003, P00026). The center’s mission is to advance warfare through rapid innovation, integration, training testing, and experimentation…

USA Contracts Resupply Ship for Diego Garcia for up to $31.4M

Sealift in Oyster Bay, NY received a $7.6 million firm-fixed-price contract for a 1-year time charter of a vessel, which will be US-flagged upon delivery to the US government. The ship’s primary mission will be to resupply US armed services personnel on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $31.4 million.

Sealift expects to provide the ship through November 2010, or October 2014 if all options are exercised. This contract was competitively procured with 6 offers received by the Military Sealift Command in Washington, DC (N00033-09-C-5502).

Up to $168.2M to Alutiiq-Melle for China Lake Support Services

Naval Air Weapons Station
China Lake

Small business qualifier Alutiiq-Melle in Anchorage, Alaska, won a $15.7 million firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for base operating support services at the US Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California. The contract includes a base period, 4 option periods and 5 award option periods for a total contract value, if all options are exercised, of $168.2 million.

Alutiiq-Melle expects to complete the work by September 2019. This contract was competitively procured as an 8(a) set-aside via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online Web site, with 5 proposals received by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest in San Diego, CA (N62473-09-D-4003).

China Lake is the home of the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division…

Hardware Standards and Virtualization: 2 Summer 2009 Snapshots

Military Embedded Systems magazine recently covered a couple of industry trends worth noting, in a pervasive but frequently overlooked area of military procurement. Despite OpenVPX’s somewhat rocky journey to replace VME, one area is continued progress toward important new hardware standards, as computer board suppliers turn to the defense market segment as a safe haven:

“Work on specifications that benefit technology used in military applications is getting an extra dose of attention, as this market is holding steady during this economic slowdown. One common theme appears to be the emphasis on smaller form factors such as the 3U VPX, FMC, and MicroTCA sizes. Many programs are very space and power limited, driving the need for smaller boards. Suppliers are refocusing efforts on this market and working to ensure that they will have a steady stream of technology to consider for possible defense programs. It is no secret that the military will continue to increase its reliance on embedded electronics in future programs.”

Software virtualization is making steady progress in businesses, as computing makes the difficult shift from a craftsman model to a utility model. It also has significant implications for military systems, which last a very long time and must often deal with legacy code based on electronically ancient systems. Real-time requirements can sometimes present problems when utilizing classic virtualization techniques, but an approach called Safe and Secure Virtualization (SSV) may one day allow entire subsystems to be retained from an original platform and inserted, unchanged, into new or drastically upgraded platforms.