Brian Bradley
NS&D Monitor
5/8/2015
The Air Force announced early this week plans to extend by at least three months Northrop Grumman’s Partial Bridge Contract (PBC)—comprising sustainment of the Minuteman 3 Propulsion System. The service awarded a three-month basic extension with two additional three-month options for the PBC. The PBC could conclude as late as June 30, 2016. The PBC is a transitional award linking Northrop’s status as ICBM Prime Integration Contractor (IPIC) to the Future ICBM Sustainment and Acquisition Construct (FISAC). The Air Force has awarded four of five planned FISAC contracts, with only Propulsion remaining.
Previously expected to expire on Sept. 30, one day before the expected implementation of FISAC Propulsion, the PBC is now expected to be renewed sometime in September, and the period of performance will cover until at least Dec. 31. “Award of the Propulsion portion of the FISAC contract is still in process,” the Air Force announcement states. “As a result, the Propulsion portion of the PBC needs to be extended in order to adequately transition to the winning offeror still to be determined. … Market research has identified one responsible source that can provide the highly specialized capabilities and qualifications that cannot be replicated within this urgent and aggressive timeline.” Northrop has worked the IPIC contract since 1997. Northrop, Orbital ATK and Lockheed Martin are competing for the Propulsion Subsystem contract, with Orbital ATK teaming up with Boeing.
When will AF Award FISAC Propulsion?
The Air Force’s official position is that it still intends to award FISAC Propulsion in October, but industry officials said they think that the service will most likely award the contract in mid- to late December. One source suggested to NS&D Monitor that the Propulsion award date would be postponed past October, noting that both the Air Force and industry thought the previously expected Propulsion award date was on an aggressive timeline.
The service announced its intent to award a sole-source Propulsion contract to ATK in early to mid-Fiscal Year 2014, but after a Northrop protest, the service decided to compete the contract. The Air Force did not respond to NS&D Monitor requests for comment. Under the IPIC, Northrop managed ICBM sustainment, including Air Force integration support, and the Reentry, Guidance, Ground and Propulsion systems. FISAC aligns ICBM management with the Air Force. The service awards individual contracts for Integration Support Contractor (ISC) and each system. The IPIC segued into Partial Bridge when BAE Systems won the FISAC ISC contract in 2013.
Northrop Receives MM3 Test Contract
The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center awarded Northrop Grumman this week a $99.1 million “requirements type contract” for nuclear safety cross check analysis, performance analysis and independent validation and verification on the Minuteman 3, according to an announcement. In this competitive acquisition, the Air Force received one offer. Work is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2020. Specifically, Northrop will provide independent testing and evaluation of the developer’s software and hardware for impacts on the ICBM’s nuclear safety. “Tests and evaluations are conducted to ensure that software meets approved specifications and nuclear safety requirements. It also ensures that software does not contain errors or deficiencies that could lead to violations of the Department of Defense nuclear weapon system safety standards,” the announcement states.
AF Awards B-2 Contract
The third Air Force triad contract issued this week was awarded by the Air Force Sustainment Center at Tinker AFB to Moog Inc., a sole-source $19 million firm-fixed-price requirements contract for repair and overhaul of seven different types of hydraulic servoactuators for B-2s, according to a May 7 DoD announcement. Servoactuators are used as a mechanism to induce or control motion in mechanical systems, and transform an input signal into motion. Work is expected to complete on May 7, 2016.
