BAE, GD awarded Ground Combat Vehicle contracts

[unhappycamper]

unhappycamper note: Since the ‘Pentagon’ (DoD? Gannett?) has ‘requested’ that I only post one paragraph from articles on Army Times, and Airforce Times, To keep in that same (new) tradition, I will also do the same for for articles on Navy Times, Marine Corps Times, stripes.com and military.com.
To read the article in the military's own words, you will need to click the link.

Read all about Fair Use here.

unhappycamper summary of this article: The DoD is trying to award every conceivable contract before they get told "We're out of money". And they are hoping no one notices.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_Combat_Vehicle

Development

In June 2009, a blue-ribbon panel met in Washington, D.C. to discuss requirements for the Ground Combat Vehicle.<7> In October and November 2009, more than 100 defense contractors turned up for two U.S. Army-organized industry day events in Michigan to express interest in bidding on the vehicle.<8><9> A review required for continuation was held and passed in February 2010 in Washington D.C.<10><11> A request for proposals (RFP) was issued on February 25, 2010 to which companies had 60 days to respond,<11> but was extended an additional 25 days.<12> A committee is currently examining the current schedule for the GCV to "shave a little time off".<13> For fiscal year 2011, the U.S. Army wishes to spend $934 million of the $2.5 billion allocated for BCT Modernization to develop the GCV.<14>

Up to three competitive contracts were to be awarded by early fall.<6><15> A prototype development contract decision would have followed by 2013.<16> The Technology Development Phase (or Milestone A) would begin in the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2010 with the award of up to three vehicle contracts. This will be followed by an Engineering & Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase and Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) phase before full production could start.<17>

Nine vehicles were evaluated in the Analysis of Alternatives (AOA). The four primary vehicles included in the AOA were the M2A3 Bradley II, a modernized Stryker, an M2A3 Bradley variant used in Iraq, and a XM1230 Caiman Plus MRAP. The five secondary vehicles included two unnamed foreign-made platforms, the M1126 Stryker Infantry Fighting Vehicle, the M1A2 SEP TUSK Abrams, and a modernized M1 Abrams. Vehicles included the The AOA were determined to be inferior to the planned GCV.<18>

On August 25, 2010, the U.S. Army canceled the current RFP to revise the requirements.<19> A new RFP is to be issued 60 days later.<20><21> When Peter Chiarelli was asked if the Army was developing an alternative to the GCV, Chiarelli replied "We're totally committed to GCV."<22> The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform suggests deferring development of the GCV until after 2015.<23>


defensemagazine sez:

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2011/January/Pages/Army%E2%80%99sGroundCombatVehicleStirsConfusionInIndustry.aspx

The Army plans to award up to three fixed-price contracts for a “highly-survivable platform for delivering a nine-soldier infantry squad to the battlefield,” the proposal stated. In their bids, competitors must use mature technologies and hit a target unit cost of $9 million to $10.5 million, with an operation and sustainment cost of $200 per mile. Proposals in excess of $450 million will be considered unaffordable, the RFP stated.



BAE, GD awarded Ground Combat Vehicle contracts
By Kate Brannen - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Aug 18, 2011 17:17:46 EDT

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.

[xchrom]

1. Military contractors have a jobs program. Nt

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. We didn't need a department of defense to shake off British imperialism, if it truly

was a department of defense we wouldn't need one now.

[unhappycamper]

3. Update:

The Army’s GCV fait accompli
By Philip Ewing Friday, August 19th, 2011 2:45 pm
Posted in Land

The first Ground Combat Vehicle hasn’t even been built yet, but its cost per unit has already busted the Army’s own original projected limits: Although service officials wanted the GCV to cost no more than about $10 million per copy, their own latest estimate is that it’ll wind up being closer to between $11 million and $13 million. The Defense Department’s office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation believes it’ll be closer to between $16 million and $17 million per vehicle.