By Geoff Fein
Just over two years ago, the Coast Guard said it was going to dissolve its relationship with Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS) and pursue acquisition of Deepwater assets on its own.
Now, well into this effort to assume responsibility for being the lead systems integrator, the Coast Guard is gaining traction in acquisition, Rear Adm. Gary Blore, assistant commandant for acquisition and the chief acquisition officer for the Coast Guard, told Defense Daily, days before he is turn over the reins to Rear Adm. Ron Rabago, director of acquisition programs.
Blore said it gets confusing because the Coast Guard still has two contracts, one with General Dynamics [GD] and one with ICGS that have lead system integrator (LSI) functions in them.
ICGS is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin [LMT]-Northrop Grumman [NOC] to recapitalize the Coast Guard’s fleet of ships, aircraft and communications systems. In April 2007, the Coast Guard decided to take the lead systems integrator role away from ICGS and bring it in house to assure accountability for Deepwater (Defense Daily, Jan. 8, 2009).
“It’s more like between six months and a year that we have been the LSI in everything we do,” Blore said. “It was a good 18 months transition up to that period.”
Rabago will take over Blore’s duties on Friday. Blore will head out to Seattle, Wash., to become a district commander where he will command Coast Guard forces in the Pacific Northwest.
As the service begins to work out the contract for the next National Security Cutter (NSC), Blore said the intent is to go forward with Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, the current prime contractor.
The Coast Guard will be the LSI and work through Northrop Grumman.
“I often get asked if we have thought about competing it and looking at what advantages that would have for the government. Absolutely, we have,” Blore said. “We have done some analysis on that, and put together an extensive write-up on why we feel that it is in the government’s interest to go directly to Northrop Grumman.”
The decision to stick with Northrop Grumman has to do with the small size of the NSC buy, Blore noted.
“It’s a total of eight ships. We have already contracted for three with a long-lead for number four. It’s just not practical to expect any efficiencies to contract for five ships,” he added. “And not only will there not be any efficiencies, but there will be a lot of inefficiencies. You’ll be paying more for those ships…by probably 25 to 30 percent…than if you just stayed with Northrop Grumman, because they are all tooled up and ready to build.”
As for making sure there is funding for the remaining five NSCs, Blore said the fact of the matter is the Coast Guard is being funded each year and doesn’t have a multi-year contract.
“Because of that, there is always going to be anxiety each fiscal year about what funding level are you going to get for the next portion of the contract,” Blore said. “In retrospect, we be in a better place as a an agency [if] maybe had we originally argued that we wanted a multi-year contract. It might give a little bit more stability to the project, but that is something the Coast Guard has never had in any of its projects.”
Blore said a multi-year contract is something the Coast Guard will certainly explore with the new administration.
“Pascagoula…Northrop Grumman’s shipbuilding facility…has done a pretty good job putting in a new line basically for the NSC. They have it all enclosed in sheds,” Blore said. “If you looked at that line right now, you have the Waesche (WMSL-751) at the end of the line and it’s about 83 percent complete, and you have Stratton (WMSL- 752) at the beginning of the line and its like 4 percent complete, and there is not a lot in the middle. That’s not an efficient way to run a production line.
“Obviously, if we can sequence after the Stratton, number four, number five, and number six, about one per year, that would be the greatest cost avoidance for the government because you’d always have ships moving through that production line. That would be the idea behind that multi-year contract,” he added.
Blore said there have been discussions about a multi-year approach for the NSC within the Coast Guard’s acquisition directorate and he expects similar discussions will be held with the Office of Management and Budget as well as Congress.
“Now that I believe we have proven the NSC as a viable asset there’s no more argument about–‘does it have a 30-year fatigue life, will it meet your mission performance standards, will it be TEMPEST certified, etc., etc.’ Yes, yes, yes,” he said. “Now maybe we ought to say, ‘now that we have the ship we want the most efficient way to contract for it.”
The lead ship of the class, the Bertholf (WMSL-750), has been delivered and accepted by the Coast Guard (Defense Daily, May 18).