The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
LCS Rising. Just when it looked like the Navy and the shipyards thought they had LCS’ costs under control, comes word that General Dynamics LCS-2 is facing a 9.3 percent increase. That increase would raise the ship’s cost to almost $480 million. “The cost increase was prompted by continuing challenges in detailed design and construction of LCS-2, which is the first of its design,” a Navy spokesman says. “Lead ships are always difficult; in this case the final design has more structure in order to meet Navy, as opposed to commercial, requirements. The shipbuilder underestimated the challenge of building this design and outfitting it to Navy standards.”
…Be Prepared. “There will be some increase to the Basic Construction Costs (the contract cost to the LCS-2 shipbuilder) above what we expected when we submitted our budget this year,” the Navy spokesman says. “However, cost increase will be manageable within available LCS funding using the remaining FY ’07 funds from the two ships not awarded.” Last year, the Navy cancelled contracts for both LCS-3 and -4 after the service was unable to renegotiate new contracts with General Dynamics or Lockheed Martin, which is building LCS- 1. “The Navy believes this cost increase is limited to the first ship of the class, and will not be seen as a recurring cost on follow ships. We are working hard to get the LCS program on track, through increased oversight and management processes,” the spokesman says. “Getting a thorough schedule, plan and budget on both LCS-1 and -2 is essential, and has been a top focus of the program.”
A New Approach. CNO Adm. Gary Roughead tells reporters last week that even though service chiefs tend to look at acquisition as something that is under the realm of the service secretary, as officials work their way through programs there has to be a coordinated approach. “I believe the service chiefs have an obligation and a requirement to properly set requirements. I also believe that as programs evolve we need to monitor them to ensure we are not getting requirements creep.” What the Navy has put in place under Sec. Donald Winter’s leadership is a process where by at certain stages, as officials go through the program they are also involved in the reviews. “The Commandant of the Marine Corps and I are in the process of working our way though the requirement establishment for this next generation of IT system that we are going to use. I believe it is the way to go,” Roughead adds. “I believe service chiefs have to play an active role in that. Does that mean I will sit on every board for every program regardless of cost? No. But we are looking at them and clearly NextGen is one of the most significant programs we are going to undertake simply because on 1 October 2010, the NMCI contract comes to an end, and a new one has to be in place. We all know how much we depend on IT and information management, so it is very important to me.”
…That Creepy Feeling. Roughead has been outspoken about the need to end requirements creep. He points to how he and the commandant are reviewing how the services are approaching the attributes of the follow-on to NMCI, and other programs. “The AoA for the cruiser is one that has been churning within my organization for sometime. That’s a case where I am having my staff go back and answer some questions that I keep pushing back with regard to certain aspects of our CG(X) program,” he says. “But it also gets into other areas as well. ASW is a major priority for me. I’ve had some reviews, looking at what we are buying, what the objective of that program is to be, and do we have our resources applied in the right part of what I refer to as the kill chain? Everything from intelligence to the killing of the submarine and being able to review it in that way. I have been spending a fair amount of time with my staff pressing on those issues.”
Take A Memo. Intelligence and defense leaders recently signed a joint acquisition authority MoA concerning the management of all major acquisition programs run by DoD intelligence community (IC) elements, the NRO says. “The agreement codifies a joint oversight provision in the 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act,” NRO says. The NRO anticipates that Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Director of National intelligence Mike McConnell will determine to retain or delegate acquisition authority for each DoD manor intelligence system acquired by DoD IC elements (NGA, NSA, DIA and NRO). The NRO, like other DoD IC acquisition agencies, will execute Milestone Decision Authority for some program and not for others, NRO says.
The 1000. Capt. Jim Syring, program manager for DDG-1000 says recent testimony before the HASC by Adm. Timothy Keating, commander U.S. Pacific command, shows strong support for the multi-mission combat ship. “Asked by [HASC] vice chairman [Rep. Gene] Taylor [D-Miss.], would you want five versus two [DDG-1000s], any officer is going to take five over two regardless of the ship. That was absolutely a supportable answer,” Syring says. But what wasn’t reported was the second part of that exchange, Syring notes. “Would you take DDG- 1000 in your theater today over a nuclear CG(X)? And [Keating] said based on the capability this ship is going to bring I would take [DDG-1000]. It is meant to operate in that theater. [Keating] certainly understands the value of stealth, and talks about the value of stealth in the areas he is concerned about.”
JSF waiting game. Following last Wednesday’s Defense Acquisition Board meeting on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, it’ll likely take the standard two to three weeks for Pentagon acquisition chief John Young to sign an acquisition decision memo and for a public announcement to be made, says Cheryl Limrick, spokeswoman for the F-35 program office. The DAB weighed allowing the developmental JSF program to enter Low Rate Initial Production II. Airframe builder Lockheed Martin awaits approval for production of 12 planes. A March Government Accountability Office report laments cost increases with the delayed JSF effort, and Sen. Christopher Bond (R-Mo.) predicts word of a Nunn-McCurdy cost breech will follow the DAB meeting.
Seeing ahead on C-5. Defense acquisition chief John Young gave the Air Force’s C-5 Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program (RERP) the green light to enter low-rate initial production March 25, a service spokeswoman said. Young’s milestone C approval allows the Air Force to proceed with LRIP Lot 1 — material, fabrication, and initial spares (one aircraft) and LRIP Lot 2–long-lead contract options (three aircraft). Young in February had to recertify the C-5 RERP for continuation following a Nunn-McCurdy cost breach. Current plans call for re-engining 49 B-model and C-model C-5s.
Shopping Spree. Boeing receives a $56.68 million cost reimbursement contract for advance procurement of materials, tooling and test equipment for six future combat systems Non- Line of Sight-Cannon (NLOS-C) vehicles. The March 21 award is for work that will be performed primarily in Minneapolis, Minn., and completed by Dec. 30.
New Venture. SCHOTT North America and Dynamic Defense Holdings LLC of Boothwyn, Pa., form a new joint venture company, DiamondView Armor Products LLC. The new company will produce glass-ceramic armor materials and systems, the companies said March 27. DDH will be the 51 percent majority shareholder of the new company. SCHOTT will supply its high- quality glass-ceramic products to the new venture. DDH will use its proprietary lamination and design technology to produce cutting-edge armor systems for the defense and security industries. The products produced by the joint venture will provide transparent and opaque armor systems for personal, vehicular, architectural and other applications.
The Sting. Northrop Grumman says it will provide the Army with new Scorpion (TM) unattended ground sensor system spares and technical support under a $2.4 million contract. Scorpion’s primary function is to provide long and short range target recognition for situational awareness, border and perimeter security and persistent surveillance. The work is a follow on to a recently completed U.S. Central Command program for which Northrop Grumman delivered more than 600 Scorpion systems to the Army and more than 900 worldwide.
Rad-Robot. Australian scientists develop a prototype remote-controlled robotic vehicle to detect radiation, the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel Hon. Warren Snowdon, says. “It will greatly enhance our ability to respond to radioactive incidents,” he says. The concept vehicle is called RASP, for Remote Advanced Sensor Platform, was developed jointly by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). It’s small and light and can be operated from distances of up to 350 metres with full control of the robot. “It could be deployed in almost any area or location, from aircraft to cargo containers,” Snowdon says. “For the first time, we will also be able to provide our national security agencies with the ability to remotely identify the nature of the radioactive sources.”
Power Up. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, an Army official and several hundred BAE Systems employees celebrate the delivery of the company’s 10,000th T700 digital engine control, in Ft. Wayne, Ind. The plant builds the controls for AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. The T700 control, which governs the operation of the engine for maximum performance and efficiency, has been in production since 1989, the company says March 28.
A Gaggle Of Osprey. The Bell Boeing Joint Project Office, Friday, was awarded a $10.39 billion modification to convert a previously awarded advance acquisition contract to a fixed-price-incentive-fee multiyear contract for the manufacture and delivery of 141 MV-22 (Marine variant) and 26 CV-22 (Air Force variant) tiltrotor aircraft, including associated rate tooling in support of production rates, the Pentagon says. The work is expected to be completed in October 2014. Contract funds in the amount of $24.21 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, the Pentagon adds. “The Multi-Year Procurement sets a strong positive course for the V-22 Osprey program,” says Gene Cunningham, vice president of the Bell Boeing Program Office in Amarillo. “The MYP contract allows the industry team to stabilize our production plans, creates savings for the taxpayer, and increases the number of aircraft being produced for the war-fighter.”