The Navy plans to issue a full and open Request For Proposals (RFP) to procure the follow-up to the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) full deployment contract in late fiscal year (FY) 2021 or early FY ‘22.
A notice published Aug. 16 said the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) intends to release the RFP specifically in the fourth quarter of FY ‘21 or the first quarter of FY ‘22, with a contract award expected around the fourth quarter of FY ‘22.
CANES aims to modernize the Navy’s shipboard computing systems and consolidate five legacy networks into one.
The notice said the CANES program “consolidates and replaces existing afloat networks providing the necessary infrastructure for applications, systems and services required to dominate the cyber warfare tactical domain.”
The Navy said CANES represents a key aspect of the Navy’s modernization planning via upgrading cybersecurity, command and control, communications and intelligence systems as well as replacing obsolete or unaffordable networks.
The Navy said it expects to issue a Multiple Award Contract (MAC) Indefinitely Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with a 10-year ordering period.
In February, Rear Adm. Douglas Small, commander of Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, confirmed a CANES capability will be part of the minimally viable product of Project Overmatch set to be delivered to the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG) in 2023 (Defense Daily, Feb. 9).
Project Overmatch is the Navy’s portion of the overall DoD Joint All-Domain Command and Control effort. Last October, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday directed Small to lead Project Overmatch to help build the Naval Operational Architecture, which itself aims to support the future naval force with both manned and unmanned ships operating in a distributed manner (Defense Daily, Oct. 15, 2020).
Initially, Northrop Grumman [NOC] designed CANES, but the Navy retains the intellectual property rights and plans to compete more contracts going forward. The original eight-year $2.5 billion CANES contract was previously awarded to Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, General Dynamics [GD], Global Technical Systems, and Serco Inc. in 2014 (Defense Daily, Aug. 20, 2014).