The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would allow the Coast Guard to acquire between three and six polar icebreakers and only buy medium and large unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) that have been used by the Defense Department or another component within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The measure on the icebreakers was approved by voice vote and is contained in an amendment offered by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), who chairs the panel’s Coast Guard Subcommittee. The Coast Guard is requesting funding in FY ’17 for one heavy polar icebreaker. The service’s mission needs statement calls for six polar icebreakers, three heavy and three medium.
Hunter’s amendment would allow the Coast Guard to make economic order quantity purchases related to the icebreakers, which means the service could buy materials and components, long-lead materials, and award advance construction funding for multiple vessels at one time. The combined purchases would help reduce costs and provide the shipyard that ultimately builds the ships with more visibility.
The amendment also limits the liability should an eventual icebreaker contact be terminated for default or convenience to no more than the total amount of funding obligated by the government for the contract.
The overall bill, the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Amendments Act of 2016 (H.R. 5978), says the Coast Guard can’t award a contract for the design of a UAS during any year that funds are appropriated for design or construction of the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC).
The service on Thursday evening awarded a detail design contract to Eastern Shipbuilding Group for the OPC, selecting the surprise winner over bids by Bollinger Shipyards and General Dynamics [GD]. The service plans to buy up to 25 OPCs under the potential $11 billion program.
The bill also says the Coast Guard may only acquire a UAS if “has been acquired by, or has been used by,” the Defense Department or DHS, “unless the unmanned aerial system can be obtained at less independent contract action.” The bill doesn’t apply to UAS, which the Coast Guard is already operating or for “which funds for research, development, test, and evaluation have been receive from” DoD.
Language in the bill excludes small UAS, which weigh less than 55 pounds. The service is currently looking at acquiring small UAS and has pilot tested a number of systems.
The bill also creates other acquisition authorities. It says the vice commandant of the Coast Guard will represent the customer of major acquisition programs “with regard to trade-offs made among cost, schedule, technical feasibility, and performance with respect to such program.” The measure also calls for the commandant of the Coast Guard to be kept informed on key developments in major acquisition programs having to do with potential cost, schedule and performance tradeoffs, and significant increases in cost or schedule delays.
The bill also allows the Coast Guard to acquire additional units under a major acquisition contract without competition as long as the DHS Cost Analysis Division determines there would be cost savings.
Major acquisition programs have a life-cycle cost estimate of at least $300 million.
The bill was approved unanimously.