satellite communications

Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, California, has been awarded a $298,044,362 firm-fixed-price Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications contract.  This contract provides a payload to develop hardware and software. Work will be performed in Redondo Beach, California, and is expected to be completed May 2025. This is a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $31,190,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA8808-20-C-0049).

Iridium Satellite LLC., Tempe, Arizona, was awarded a non-competitive, firm-fixed-price contract modification (P00013) for the extension of services on the current Airtime contract (HC104714C4000). The face value of this action is $8,836,000 funded by fiscal year 2019 defense working capital funds. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $478,194,000. Performance will be at the contractor's facility. The original solicitation was issued on the basis of other than full and open competition pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1), only one responsible source and no other type of supplies or services would satisfy agency requirements. The period of performance is July 22, 2019, through August 21, 2019.

The Russian military has been using a clever—and lethal—propaganda technique against Ukrainian soldiers. They spam the soldiers’ cellphones with demoralizing messages and then take advantage of the resulting confusion to geolocate the soldiers’ cellphone signals and launch an attack.

Gen. Baker: You're never going to be able to emulate [in training] the gut-wrenching emotions of Russian-style messaging.#AFCEATechNet

— George Seffers (@gseffers) August 9, 2017

L-3 Communications Corp., Communication Systems West, Salt Lake City, Utah, was awarded a $499,987,656 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for common data link and satellite communications support services. Bids were solicited via the Internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of October 31, 2021. The Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W56KGY-17-D-0001).

The Boeing Co., Colorado Springs, Colorado, was awarded a $46,216,088 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to support the Wideband Satellite Communications Operational Management System. Bids were solicited via the Internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of September 1, 2021. The Army Contracting Command, Rock Island, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-16-D-0079).

Harris Corp., Melbourne, Florida, is being awarded a $10,276,458 modification to a previously awarded, firm-fixed-price contract (N00039-13-C-0001) to exercise an option for Commercial Broadband Satellite Program systems, including two Force Level Variant (FLV) dynamic shipboard systems, three FLV dual antenna/dual channel systems and one FLV dynamic shipboard system with radar cross-section reduction. Work will be performed in Melbourne, Florida, and is expected to be completed by January 30, 2017.

The U.S. Navy’s fourth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS-4) satellite is talking from space to the satellite control team at the Naval Spacecraft Operations Control facility after its Florida launch this morning. MUOS-4 will enable near-global coverage for a new secure military communications network offering enhanced capabilities for mobile forces.

Boeing Service Co., Richardson, Texas, was awarded a $15,008,500 sole-source, firm-fixed-price contract to provide airborne broadband satellite communications enterprise service for U.S. senior leaders conducting official travel on Air Mobility Command and Air Combat Command aircraft fleets. Work will be performed primarily at Boeing and their subcontractor's facilities worldwide with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2015, with six one-year option periods. Fiscal 2015 operations and maintenance funding is being obligated at award. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity (HC1013-15-C-0006).

AIS Engineering Incorporated (AIS) has announced it was awarded contract HC1013-14-F-0038 (CTC0195) for commercial satellite communications transponded capacity to provide bandwidth for the Joint Satellite Engineering Center for the project manager Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (PM WIN-T). AIS will be providing the satellite capacity together with SES Government Solutions. The task order is valued at more than $50 million over the life of the contract. The Future Commercial SATCOM Acquisition program is managed by the General Services Administration in partnership with the Defense Information Systems Agency. 

SES Government Solutions, McLean Virginia, has been awarded an $8,245,160 firm-fixed-price contract for the purchase of commercial on-orbit transponders to support Ku-band communications for U.S. Africa Command and operations and sustainment support for a base year and four one-year options. Work will be performed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany and the western portion of Africa, and is expected to be complete by Aug. 5, 2019. The Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California is the contracting activity (FA8808-14-C-0001).

ViaSat Incorporated, Carlsbad, California, was awarded a $30,641,786 firm-fixed-price, multi-year contract for Enhanced Bandwidth Efficient Modem (EBEM) production and support to include: (1) fabrication and production delivery of: a. MD-1366(U) Strategic EBEM; b. MD-1366A(U), tactical EBEM; c. ethernet service expansion module; (2) post production software support; (3) hardware maintenance repair; (4) potential capabilities enhancement(s) via engineering change proposals. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-14-D-0056).

Harris Corp., Palm Bay, Fla., is being awarded an $11,164,184 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00039-13-C-0001) for Commercial Broadband Satellite Program Force Level Variant (FLV) terminal systems. The Commercial Broadband Satellite Program FLV terminal system is used to provide the Navy with terminal-to-shore, space and terrestrial connectivity to significantly increase throughput of data; improve satellite communications reliability; and provide redundancy for military satellite communications. The FLV terminal systems are deployed on CVN, LPD-17 class and T-AHs ships.

 
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Redondo Beach, Calif., is being awarded a $148,313,460 contract for the Enhanced Polar System Control and planning segment, which will provide extremely high frequency protected satellite communications capability to forces operating in the North Polar Region. The location of the performance is Redondo Beach, Calif. The contracting activity is the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.

Boeing Satellite Systems Incorporated, El Segundo, California, is being awarded a $317,700,000 contract modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract for Wideband Global Satellite Communications (WGS) Satellite Vehicle 10 (SV10) production, processing, launch, and on-orbit activation. The modification adds an additional satellite to the existing requirements for WGS 7-10. Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, California, is the contracting activity.

Harris Corporation, Government Communications Systems Division, Palm Bay, Florida, was awarded a $47,050,513 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the sustainment and support services for the AN/GSC-52 modernization program's family of satellite communications earth terminals and associated equipment. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Alexandria, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Boeing Satellite Systems Incorporated, El Segundo, California, is being awarded a $376,523,860 modification of the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) Block II follow-on contract. This contract exercises the option to produce, process, launch, and activate on-orbit Satellite Vehicle 9 as previously negotiated. U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Command, El Segundo, California, is the contracting activity

Raytheon Company, Network Centric Solutions, Marlborough, Massachusetts, is being awarded an approximate $67 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus fixed-fee/cost-plus incentive-fee/firm-fixed-price hybrid contract for the procurement of highly specialized engineering services to meet the Navy's Satellite Communications Program requirements to include, but not limited to, the following systems produced by Raytheon:  Extremely High Frequency (EHF); Super High Frequency (SHF) WSC-6 (v)5/7; Global Broadcast Service (GBS); Submarine High Date Rate (SUB HDR); and Navy Multiband Terminal (NMT). The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.

Raytheon Technical Services, Norfolk, Virginia, was recently awarded more than $51 million for support of the AN/USC-38 extremely high frequency satellite communications program. The Naval Inventory Control Point, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Sunnyvale, California, was awarded a $49 million contract modification to provide contractor sustainment engineering support for the advanced extremely high frequency satellite program. U.S. Air Force Space and Missiles Center, El Segundo, California, is the contracting activity.

Raytheon Company recently received the first production order for next-generation Navy Multiband Terminal (NMT) satellite communication terminals. The initial production award is for 22 systems, consisting of 15 ship, five submarine and two shore terminals, along with other services and products; it is valued at more than $37 million. The program could potentially be valued at $1 billion over five years. NMT is a family of multi-banded ship, submarine and shore communications terminals providing the Navy and international partners, with the possibility of selected Army and Air Force users, a powerful and reliable new capability in support of its net-centric architecture.

GPS vulnerabilities could be addressed with upgraded long-range navigation.

In an instant, one million people in Tel Aviv are vaporized. Hamas, the terrorist extremist group backed by Iran, has detonated a dirty bomb—a conventional explosive with radioactive material—and is attacking Israel with long-range rockets. Concurrently, the U.S. Air Force loses all communication with its Navigation System Timing and Ranging Global Positioning System satellites. Intelligence reports indicate that Iran has launched multiple antisatellite missiles that have destroyed several navigation satellites, effectively disabling the Global Positioning System.

From the battlespace to the boardroom, the way of doing things in the past is passé.

Quote of the Day:
“Adaptability often is viewed as a responsive act. However, adaptability and preparation are inexorably linked.”—Alfred Grasso, president and chief executive officer, the MITRE Corporation