By Geoff Fein
The Navy last week issued its draft request for proposals (RFP) for the Aegis Platform System Engineering Agent (PSEA) including Advanced Capability Build (ACB) developer support for future development of the Aegis Weapon System (AWS) and Aegis Combat System (ACS).
PSEA is the integrator function and a major step in the Navy’s combat system open architecture efforts.
“This is a huge step,” Rear Adm. Terry Benedict, program executive officer integrated weapons systems, told Defense Daily recently. “We committed years ago that we’d increase competition.”
Benedict, who left IWS this week to become director, Strategic Systems Programs, said the release of the Aegis PSEA is what the team at IWS committed to do.
“PSEA is responsible for end-to-end combat system performance; systems engineering configuration control, testing, training and logistics; integrating components developed and/or modified by other contractors; and providing technical support to in-service ships,” according to the Navy’s fifth quarterly open architecture report to Congress (Defense Daily, March 17). According to the solicitation (N0002410R5120) at http://www.fbo.gov, this is the first PSEA for the CG-47 and DDG-51 ship classes and other future surface combatants with a combat system that is an evolution of the Aegis Combat System.
Lockheed Martin [LMT] developed and builds the Aegis Combat System.
Besides Lockheed Martin, potential competitors include General Dynamics [GD] and Raytheon [RTN].
The systems engineering, development, and integration work under the PSEA contract will begin with ACB 14 and Technology Insertion (TI) 16, and continue with future ACB/TIs through the period of performance of the contract, according to the solicitation.
In addition, the contractor shall assume responsibility for in-service computer program maintenance beginning in FY ’12, with full assumption of responsibility for this function for all Aegis baselines in FY ’14. The successful contractor shall provide engineering services associated with the integration of new combat systems configurations and interfaces including systems engineering, software development and upgrades in support of the Aegis class ships, according to the solicitation.
According to the 232-page solicitation, “the contractor shall define and follow an open systems approach for using modular design, standards-based interfaces, and widely- supported consensus-based standards as documented in an Open System Management Plan (OSMP) per CDRL and PEO IWS Surface Navy Combat Systems Software Product Line Architecture, Architecture Description Document, Version 1.0. The contractor shall demonstrate compliance to that plan during all design reviews.”
NAVSEA intends to award one cost type contract via full and open competition. The solicitation will be issued electronically via http://www.neco.navy.mil