By Geoff Fein
Small contractors looking to land a defense contract without having to compete against the large prime companies can turn to the program executive office for littoral and mine warfare (PEO LMW), where opportunities abound.
PEO LMW probably has about 75 small businesses under Phase 1, 2 or 3 small business innovative research (SBIR) programs, or in the process of negotiations, Anne Sandel, PEO LMW, told Defense Daily in a recent interview.
“I am very pleased with that. We set ourselves a goal of $100 million in small business set asides for FY ’10. We are going to exceed that,” she said. “We probably didn’t set the bar high enough.”
Currently PEO LMW has more than 220 contracts or product procurements across its varied portfolio. Among the program offices that fall under PEO LMW are: PMS-340, Naval Special Warfare; PMS-403, Unmanned Maritime Vehicle; PMS-420, Mission Modules; PMS-495, Mine Warfare, and PMS-408 Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device (RCIED) Electronic Warfare (CREW) /Explosive Ordnance Disposal Coordinator (EDOC).
“If you divide 220 into [$2 billion], that’s not a lot of dollar value per contract,” Sandel said.
She added it’s hard to attract a large prime contractor by telling them “hey, I’ve got this great contract for $25 million, want to come help me?”
“It is not that exciting,” she added. “They want to work with us, but they also have a business revenue base they have to [sustain].
“When we go out and speak with a small business partner and say ‘hey I’ve got $10 million, $25 million [contract],’ that’s very much of interest [to them] and they really see us as a partner that they want to team with,” Sandel said.
Among the small companies that partner with PEO LMW are a large body of software houses, technical houses, and underwater vehicle developers, she noted. These companies “are out there and very eager and very willing to partner with us,” Sandel added.
Still, large contractors understand the importance of partnering with PEO LMW, too, she added. “They realize that at some point we are going to let larger procurement contracts and they want to be part of that.”
Sandel said she is now working on enticing both large and small firms to see if there is a significant market in PEO LMW. “Partner with us, help us walk through how we do this.”
And where do opportunities within PEO LMW exist? Sandel said there remains efforts for counter improvised explosive devices (IED), explosive ordnance detonation, anti- terrorism afloat and ashore, as well as special warfare teams.
“There are charts that dictate that globally, [the] counter IED, explosive ordnance detonation business is most likely not going to go away,” Sandel said. “It will continue at least at the level it’s been, unfortunately for all of us. I don’t anticipate you will see a rampdown or decrease in the funding level.”
She added, however, she’s hopeful there will be an increase in unmanned maritime systems.
“I am hopeful we’ll see that as an option by which we may not have the resources or the [funds] to go purchase another submarine or aircraft, but we may realize we can get that payload out effectively with an unmanned vehicle .”
PEO LMW is comprised of some of the most challenging technical areas Sandel said she has ever come across.
“We tend to run up against the leading edge of technological challenges because of the environment, threats, and missions,” she said. “We are in very harsh environments, very difficult…ever changing threats…we are accepting a little bit more risk than maybe anyone is comfortable with.”
Sandel added she is able to benefit from partnerships with the Office of Naval Research, the Naval Research Lab, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. “We have an ONR Ph.D on site with us. We team with these communities constantly because of these challenging harsh environments, vehicle challenges, as well as just the risk to human life.”
One challenge for PEO LMW is in the area of sensors, Sandel said.
“Sensor work is always difficult, especially when you are in a deep water environment. Mine warfare as seemingly simplistic as it might be, when we think of mine warfare we think of World War II mines, bobbing around or anchored at the bottom. That’s not mine warfare today,” she said.
Unmanned systems continue to be a challenge, especially in the area of power storage devices, Sandel said.
For personnel in the counter IED and EOD world, there are a host of challenges ranging from ensuring that technicians don’t have to get any closer to the explosive ordnance than possible, to the equipment they must carry and wear in 125 degree desert temperatures, Sandel said.
“It’s an amazing variation of challenges out there that we are continually striving to get the best solutions for,” she said.