The Air Force will issue a request for proposals in the spring for an alternate source for the Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals (FAB-T) and plans to be on contract by the end of the fiscal year, according to a top Air Force space official.
Maj. Gen. John Hyten, director of space programs for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, told reporters Friday the service is going to start looking for that alternate source this year.
“So we’re going to start that alternate source this year, take them through a certain level of development as a basically a hedge against Boeing not being able to do it,” Hyten said.
FAB-T is an information and communications system that provides the link enabling strategic nuclear command and control using the Milstar Extremely High Frequency (EHF) and Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) waveforms. The Air Force has been concerned that Boeing [BA], the prime contractor for FAB-T, will not be able to provide the capability it needs. Hyten said the service told Congress and Boeing on Jan. 4 that it intended to terminate the contract, but on Jan. 9, Boeing submitted a firm fixed-price proposal to the service to complete the FAB-T development and on Jan. 13 issued a “not to exceed” for production.
Hyten said although they weren’t firm proposals, they were enough to catch the eye of Frank Kendall, the Pentagon’s acquisition executive.
“They were attractive enough to the (Defense) Department that Mr. Kendall decided it would be bad business to not fully evaluate those proposals, because they may turn into the best way to complete the capability, to deliver what we need for the warfighter in that mission area,” Hyten said.
Hyten iterated that Boeing continues to work on the program while the Air Force works on “fleshing out” the possibility of turning a cost-plus contract into a fixed-price contract. But, at the same time, Congress appropriated money for FAB-T in the fiscal year 2012 budget and Hyten said it’s Kendall’s prerogative that the service executes an alternate source to reduce the risk Boeing can’t come through.
But Hyten said the Air Force hasn’t made a commitment to Boeing, either, that they’ll continue the program.
“They’re going to have to come in with firm proposals with real numbers that we know exactly what it is we’re buying and then we’ll bring it to Mr. Kendall,” Hyten said.