DoD Contracting Competition Analysis
Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Leader’s owners or staff.
DoD contracts awarded without competitive bids are increasing as the military’s budget shrinks, reports a Breaking Defense analysis of Pentagon contracting competition. The percentage awarded without competition rose from 39 percent in 2009 to 42 percent in 2012. In 2013 the non-compete rate rose again despite a decrease of more than $20 billion in contracts awarded without competition. However, even with cutbacks and fears of a declining industrial base, the percentage of contract dollars awarded after competition with multiple offers has begun to rise.
America’s military leads the robotics revolution with advanced systems like the unmanned X-47B UCAS aircraft, but other nations are racing to catch up, according to War on the Rocks. The commentator believes, “the biggest threat to the US military’s lead in unmanned systems isn’t commercial sector innovation or even declining defense resources, however, but rather hidebound cultures and entrenched bureaucracies within the [DoD] itself.”
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter software may be 14 months late for required flight testing, Boomberg reports on a Pentagon review. A delay to September 2017 compromises the provision of full combat capability for all variants of the stealthy jet. Software is critical to delivering planned F-35 capabilities. Each jet will have more than 8 million lines of code once deployed.
An internal government audit revealed 83,000 DoD employees and contractors who held or were eligible for secret clearances owed more than $730 million in unpaid taxes as of June 2012, according to The Hill. The report reinforces government security concerns that individuals with access to classified information could become targets of foreign intelligence agents if they are having financial troubles.
Some flight restrictions on F-35 Joint Strike Fighters have been lifted by the Pentagon in the wake of the recent fleet grounding, reports the Air Force Times. Speed restrictions were relaxed and maneuverability restrictions were increased. Other restrictions remain, however, including inspections of the front fan section of each F135 engine every three hours.
Service members duped into predatory loans could see their debts erased under a settlement announced by federal and state regulators, according to the Military Times. Rome Finance agreed to wipe out $60 million in outstanding loans for about 17,000 military personnel and stop collections on another $32 million in loans found to be offered under false pretenses.
DARPA has issued a solicitation for the next phase of its Wireless Network Defense (WND) project, reports C4ISR & Networks. WND aims to protect wireless networks from cyber attack.
Military Times will soon be for sale in overseas Navy exchanges again after the company that had shipped the newspapers to Navy and Marine Corps bases went out of business in June, according to Navy Times.
DynCorp International LLC, Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $101,947,764 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00421-11-C-0033) to exercise an option for organizational level maintenance and logistics support for all aircraft and support equipment for which the Naval Test Wing Atlantic has maintenance responsibility. This includes all rotary, fixed, lighter-than-air, and unmanned aircraft on-site for project testing, transient aircraft, loaner aircraft, leased aircraft, and tested civilian aircraft assigned to the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland. In addition, this option provides supportability/safety studies, and off-site aircraft safety/spill containment patrols and aircraft recovery services. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in July 2015. Fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation; operations and maintenance; and working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $11,853,572 will be obligated at time of award; $3,980,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
