The Air Force said Monday it amended the Three-Dimensional Long-Range Radar (3DELRR) solicitation to include options for full-rate production (FRP).
Air Force Col. Michael Harm, theater battle control division chief and senior materiel leader, said Monday in a statement the amended solicitation would help the service secure competitive pricing for FRP. The contract now comprises engineering and manufacturing development (EMD), low rate initial production (LRIP), interim contractor support and FRP. Contract award is still anticipated for second quarter of fiscal year 2017 with full replacement of the AN/TPS-75 radars scheduled to take place by 2028.
In its basis for contract award posted on Federal Business Opportunities (FBO), the Air Force said an offeror’s FRP total price cannot exceed the service’s maximum total FRP price of $725 million. In addition, an offeror’s EMD ceiling price cannot exceed the Air Force’s ceiling price of $287 million.
An offeror’s LRIP ceiling price cannot exceed the Air Force’s ceiling price of $173 million. Finally, an offeror’s total ceiling price of all contract line item numbers (CLIN) cannot exceed the Air Force’s maximum total ceiling price of roughly $1.3 billion.
The Air Force intends to award one contract following a limited competition, modified best value source selection limited to the incumbent prime contractors for the pre-EMD period of the 3DELRR technology development phase: Lockheed Martin [LMT], Northrop Grumman [NOC] and Raytheon [RTN]. Northrop Grumman spokesman Randy Belote declined to say whether the company would amend its bid for 3DELRR after learning about the modified solicitation. Both Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Melissa Chadwick and Raytheon spokesman Mike Doble said their companies are assessing the amendment and their options.
The 3DELRR program has a complicated history. Raytheon previously won the EMD competition in 2014 before the Air Force threw out the award and pursued corrective action, which includes this modified amendment. The corrective action prompted a lawsuit from Raytheon as well as bid protests with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) from Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. A federal judge dismissed Raytheon’s lawsuit in 2015 and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the dismissal in October (Defense Daily, November 13).