nastyleg
08-20-2011, 07:17 PM
BAE, GD awarded Ground Combat Vehicle contracts
BY KATE BRANNEN - STAFF WRITER | POSTED : THURSDAY AUG 18, 2011 17:17:46 EDT
In a surprise move, the Army has awarded two technology development contracts instead of three for its Ground Combat Vehicle program. BAE Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems were announced as the winners Thursday.
An SAIC-led team that also included Boeing, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall did not receive a contract award.
BAE, which had teamed up with Northrop Grumman, received a $450 million contract, according to the contract announcement. General Dynamics Land Systems won a $440 million contract. Their team also includes Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.
Before the decision was announced, defense analysts and government officials had predicted that if the Army went with two contracts instead of three, the losing team would protest.
SAIC had said its approach to the program was to leverage the investments the company made in the Future Combat Systems Manned Ground Vehicle program and the Puma Infantry Fighting Vehicle to produce an American infantry fighting vehicle “designed for the challenges our warfighters are facing today as well as those of future conflicts.”
In an Aug. 17 acquisition decision memorandum, Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter gave the Army permission to award contracts for the program’s technology-development phase, but also ordered up a simultaneous review of alternatives.
Marked “For Official Use Only,” Carter’s memo also reveals a new bit of pricing data: The average procurement unit cost of each GCV will be around $13 million. This compares to the previously stated cost target of $9 million to $10.5 million.
An Army spokesman said the $13 million figure includes spare parts.
Carter’s memo directs the Army to conduct two reviews to see if there is anything else out there that could fill the Army’s need for a new infantry fighting vehicle without a brand-new development effort.
However, the memo also authorizes the Army to move ahead with its current brand-new development effort.
The Army plans to buy more than 1,800 GCVs to replace Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.
http://www.ARMYTIMES.com/mobile/index.php?storyUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.armytimes.com% 2Fnews%2F2011%2F08%2Fdefense-army-gcv-contract-winners-announced-081811%2F
BY KATE BRANNEN - STAFF WRITER | POSTED : THURSDAY AUG 18, 2011 17:17:46 EDT
In a surprise move, the Army has awarded two technology development contracts instead of three for its Ground Combat Vehicle program. BAE Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems were announced as the winners Thursday.
An SAIC-led team that also included Boeing, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall did not receive a contract award.
BAE, which had teamed up with Northrop Grumman, received a $450 million contract, according to the contract announcement. General Dynamics Land Systems won a $440 million contract. Their team also includes Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.
Before the decision was announced, defense analysts and government officials had predicted that if the Army went with two contracts instead of three, the losing team would protest.
SAIC had said its approach to the program was to leverage the investments the company made in the Future Combat Systems Manned Ground Vehicle program and the Puma Infantry Fighting Vehicle to produce an American infantry fighting vehicle “designed for the challenges our warfighters are facing today as well as those of future conflicts.”
In an Aug. 17 acquisition decision memorandum, Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter gave the Army permission to award contracts for the program’s technology-development phase, but also ordered up a simultaneous review of alternatives.
Marked “For Official Use Only,” Carter’s memo also reveals a new bit of pricing data: The average procurement unit cost of each GCV will be around $13 million. This compares to the previously stated cost target of $9 million to $10.5 million.
An Army spokesman said the $13 million figure includes spare parts.
Carter’s memo directs the Army to conduct two reviews to see if there is anything else out there that could fill the Army’s need for a new infantry fighting vehicle without a brand-new development effort.
However, the memo also authorizes the Army to move ahead with its current brand-new development effort.
The Army plans to buy more than 1,800 GCVs to replace Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.
http://www.ARMYTIMES.com/mobile/index.php?storyUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.armytimes.com% 2Fnews%2F2011%2F08%2Fdefense-army-gcv-contract-winners-announced-081811%2F