Fort Monmouth Programs

Transcription

1 Fort Monmouth Programs By: Igal Sharret President, TELEGRID Technologies, Inc A Technologies in Perspective Article Published in the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Ft. Monmouth Chapter Newspaper Since its inception, the objective of this column has been to present a panoramic view of the impact that advanced technologies being developed, deployed and fielded by Fort Monmouth organizations and by the Army in general have on the warfighter. As such, each issue has always focused on a specific technology or on the work of a specific organization and provided a detailed treatment of each subject. In this issue I plan to take a slightly different approach. Instead of focusing in depth on a single technology or a specific organization, I will take a broader view and address several Fort Monmouth organizations and the technologies they are advancing. The catalyst for this change in approach is the recently held Advance Planning Briefing for Industry (APBI) which provided an excellent thumbnail sketch of future technologies and activities at this locale. APBIs are held once a year by Fort Monmouth organizations forming the so-called Team C4IEWS (i.e., Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Electronics Warfare and Sensors). In this forum, each organization briefs industry of their status, overall vision and future direction, and describes key business opportunities that industry could pursue and apply resources. APBIs benefit both industry and the Government. This was made clear by MG William H. Russ, commanding general of Fort Monmouth, in his opening remarks. He stated that The APBI Program continues to be one of our most successful ways of strengthening the government s partnership with industry and ensuring the most sophisticated, technologically superior equipment is available to the soldier. The exchange of information at these forums is key to enabling our military to maintain and enhance America s warfighting edge. True to these precepts, this year s APBI was no different than previous APBIs. Each organization from the CECOM Acquisition Center to Project Manager Night Vision/ Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition (PM NV/RSTA) presented their vision, their approach to doing business and their key contract opportunities. The following is a brief summary of each presentation. CECOM Acquisition Center Mr. Edward G. Elgart, Director. Mr. Elgart s presentation focused on the level of business being executed by CECOM and the Acquisition Center. It listed total obligations, which grew from $3.107 Billion in FY91 to $5.317 Billion in FY01. The presentation stated that in FY01 CECOM was number 1 in the Army Materiel Command s (AMC) total number of obligations. It was number 3 in total dollars obligated ($5,317 Million of $21,169.9 Million). As to customer

2 distributions, the presentation stated that the CECOM Research, Development and Engineering Center (RDEC) was at the top of the list in both FY00 and FY01. It was followed by the CECOM Logistics and Readiness Center (LRC), the CECOM System Management Center (SMC) (note that this organization no longer exists), and the Program Executive Office Command, Control and communications Systems (PEO C3S) (now known as PEO C3T where T stands for Tactical ). CECOM Logistics and Readiness Center (LRC) Mr. Anthony LaPlaca, Director. Mr. LaPlaca s presentation began with a definition of terms that apply to long term contracting. Due to the importance of these terms I felt that it would be best to repeat these definitions here. Flexible Long Term Contract (FLTC) This is a range quantity contract of three or more years covering the production and/or repair of one or more spare parts. Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract This is a contractual vehicle that provides for an indefinite quantity, within stated limits, of specific supplies or services during a fixed period, with deliveries to be scheduled by placing orders with the contractor. The Government is obligated to a stated minimum. Funds other than the minimum are obligated at the time of subsequent orders. Requirements Contract This is an instrument that provides for filling all purchase requirements of designated Government activities for specific supplies and services during a specific period with deliveries to be scheduled by placing orders with the contractor. No money is obligated at award. Funds are obligated when delivery orders are written. There is no guaranteed minimum quantity. The remainder of the presentation focused on the eleven FLTC contract opportunities anticipated for the FY time period. All contracts described were IDIQ contracts. They ranged from delivery of spares for the AN/APR-39A(V) Radar Warning Receiver to delivery of various antennas including the SINCGARS AS-3916 vehicular whip antenna and the AS-4461/-3567 and AV UHF SATCOM antennas. CECOM Research, Development and Engineering Center (RDEC) - DR. Louise C. Marquet, Director. Dr. Marquet s presentation began with a description of RDEC s mission and view of the future. It discussed the fact that the warfighter s demand for more and better C4ISR (i.e., Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) capabilities will grow as will the commercial marketplace s ability to satisfy these demands. Satisfying these demands is crucial since Our adversaries will have the latest technologies he stated. In this environment, the presentation discussed the technology needs of the RDEC and the opportunities in its various business areas. As shown in the enclosed diagram, the acquisition philosophy espoused by the RDEC is based on three central principles. First try to adopt complete commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies and/or products that satisfy the needs. Second, if that is not possible, try adapting existing COTS technologies/ products to your specific application. Third, if neither approach works, go to the development route but try to use as much as possible support from other services and agencies. The presentation proceeded to detail available RDEC business opportunities starting with Advanced Technology Demonstrations (ATDs). For FY02

3 RDEC will be performing on eight of the Army s 18 ATDs with a value of $55 Million. The overall FY02 Tech-Base funding (i.e., 6.2 and 6.3 programs) for the Army, it was disclosed, is $1.82 Billion. RDEC s total contract opportunities are up to $8.7 Billion. Of those, $8.4 Billion are included in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the Rapid Response II program. The remainder is distributed among the various directorates of the Center with Night Vision & Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) taking the lion share at $261 Million. The major program in that directorate is the High Tech Omnibus Contract - a service contract for sensor technologies and prototypes. The estimated value of this dual award contract is $15 - $25 Million each with four option years similarly valued for a total of $250 Million. Tobyhanna Army Depot (TYAD) Mr. Ronald Cappellini, Deputy Director. This presentation focused on the mission of the organization and its capabilities as well as on the teaming TYAD has been able to achieve with industry. As an example, eleven such teaming arrangements with industrial companies on important contracts were presented. These relationships have earned TYAD the designation of a Center for Industrial and Technical Excellence (CITE) by the Secretary of the Army. The missions of TYAD include engineering services; computer aided engineering; repair and overhaul of commodities; and systems integration. Engineering services cover activities including maintenance engineering, testing, support to new systems development, systems design, manufacturing and integration, configuration management and technical publications. TYAD is experienced in the overhaul of radio, communications and SATCOM equipment as well as missile and ground support equipment. It also has expertise in the overhaul of avionics, air traffic control and surveillance equipment; command control and computers; intelligence and electronic warfare equipment; and range threat equipment. TYAD s systems integration capabilities include prototype development, modification/ downsizing of equipment, production, data package development, system testing and fielding support. In that area, TYAD has successfully provided fielding support to the first Brigade Combat Team (BCT) at fort Lewis, WA teaming with the CECOM RDEC. PEO Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS) COL Scipio de Kanter, Deputy PEO. This recently created organization subsumed some of the programs of the now defunct CECOM Systems Management Center (SMC). The presentation focused on two major technologies and business opportunity areas. The first was Automatic Identification Technology (AIT), specifically the AIT III contract. The objective of this contract is to acquire commercially available AIT hardware, software and support services for various DoD organizations and Federal agencies as well as for foreign military sales. The estimated value of this IDIQ, Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract is $200 - $300 Million over ten years. The presentation also addressed the PEO EIS Computer Contract. This contract is a follow-on to the STAMIS (i.e., Standard Army Management Information System) Tactical Computer Contract (SCC-II) ending this year. It is considered to be a key element of the Army Small Computer Program (ASCP) and Information Technology Enterprise Solutions (ITES). The PEO strategy here is to consolidate these programs and provide a single point of contact for acquisition support to information systems hardware and software. The estimated value of this IDIQ contract

4 featuring competitive task orders issued on FFP, cost reimbursable, and time and material (T&M) basis is $500 - $750 Million over five years. PEO Command Control Communications Tactical (PEO C3T) Mr. John Parrapato, Deputy PEO. Mr. Perrapato s presentation began with an overview that covered the PEO charter and mission statement. The review made it amply clear why, true to its slogan, PEO C3T is considered to be the System Architect for the Tactical Army. It also discussed organizational issues such as the position of PEO C3T in the overall Department of the Army (DA) structure and the internal organization of the PEO and its major Program/ Project Managers (PMs). A list of the acquisition programs of PEO C3T was provided that gave general status information about each program and system currently being executed. The presentation then focused on two major contract opportunities the Ground Combat Command and Control (GC C2) family of systems and the Common Hardware Software-3 (CHS-3) program. The objective of the GC C2 family of systems was described as the Path for evolution of Common Software (CS), Combat Service Support Control System (CSSCS), Global Command and Control System Army (GCCS-A) and Maneuver Control System (MCS) programs beyond ABCS 7.0. This single contract will allow the four individual programs to take advantage of common or similar requirements in the development, fielding, training and support of software that goes beyond the ABCS 7.0 (that is, release 7.0 of the Army Battle Command System software). The four programs will retain their individuality as separate programs as they have since their original awards. The PEO C3T presentation highlighted five major work elements of the program including system of systems engineering and integration, common exportable infrastructure, common and unique GC C2 applications, and support of legacy (that is, ABCS 7.0) systems. Contractor responsibilities and a top level schedule that included ABCS 7.0, 8.0 and 9.0 were also presented. Though the specific contract type has not yet been determined, the value of the contract was estimated to be $150 - $250 Million. The objective of the second contract opportunity - CHS-3 was presented as Provide a standard suite of (commercial and rugged) computers, peripherals, software and programming support environment components that will operate and survive in the battlefield. CHS-3 is targeted for the Army s command and control systems, and is also available for all DoD and Federal Agencies. The hardware to be provided will include three versions. A commercial or commercial with minor modifications V1 version, a ruggedized V2 version and a near Mil-Spec V3 version. It will also include displays, storage elements, power supplies, etc. The software to be provided will include UNIX and Windows operating systems, graphical user interfaces, data communications software, office software, information protection software, etc. The acquisition strategy of the program was stated as a competitive procurement of COTS and enhanced nondevelopmental hardware and software. It is based on a best value award for a ten year IDIQ contract with five years warranty included. Technical assistance and support services (TASS) for ten years on a T&M basis are also included. The challenges presented by this program have been identified as the ten-year pricing requirement, dealing with obsolescence and the incorporation of new technologies. The estimated value of the program was placed at $2 Billion ceiling over the ten year period.

5 PEO Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors (IEWS) COL William Ehly, Deputy PEO. COL Ehly s presentation began by addressing the vision and the organization of PEO IEWS. It also provided an overview of the Army s actionable intelligence capabilities within the on-going Army transformation process. The technology needs for the Objective Force from the perspective of PEO IEWS were identified as the following: Image Intelligence (IMINT), Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT), Signal Intelligence (SIGINT), Masked Target Sensors and National Tactical Integration of intelligence information from various manned and unmanned platforms. As for contract opportunities, the presentation identified the Distributed Common Ground Station Army (DCGS-A) and the Integrated Multi-Int Common Ground Station for the Objective Force programs. Following PEO IEWS, presentations were made by Project Manager Signal Warfare (PM SW) and Project Manager Night Vision/ Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition (PM NV/RSTA). In each presentation key projects were presented as well as potential business opportunities. For example, PM SW focused on the Aerial Common Sensor, PREPHET and the Division Tactical UAV SIGINT Payload (DTSP) projects. PM NV/RSTA focused on FLIR, Firefinder, Thermal Weapon Sight (TWS) and Driver s Vision Enhancer (DVE). In conclusion, PEO IEWS presented their upcoming Virtual Acquisition Planning for Industry (VAPI) knowledge-based website tool. Developed in partnership with PEO C3T, this tool will function as a central repository of official data, information and knowledge. It will enhance industry s understanding of acquisition and logistics process and provide access to business opportunities. The website is scheduled for activation in late July of this year.