Lockheed Martin [LMT] delivered Tuesday its proposal for the technology maturation and risk reduction phase of the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) contract competition, and on Thursday identified the team of contractors that will offer technical support if it wins the award.
The team encompasses General Dynamics [GD] for support on weapon system command and control; Draper Laboratory for guidance, navigation, and control; Bechtel for launch facilities; and Aerojet Rocketdyne [AJRD] and Orbital ATK [OA] as propulsion system suppliers, John Karas, Lockheed vice president and GBSD program manager, said during a conference call with reporters.
The GBSD intercontinental ballistic missile (ICMB), part of the U.S. plan to modernize each leg of the nuclear triad, will replace the decades-old Minuteman III ICBM. It is expected to be deployed in the late 2020s, with a service life that will extend through 2075. Congress has authorized $114 million for the program for fiscal year 2017.
Lockheed Martin previously developed the Air Force’s first-ever operational ICBM and provided ground command and control systems for the Minuteman III.
The Air Force released a request for proposals (RFP) at the end of July for the technology maturation and risk reduction phase of GBSD acquisition, an advanced development operation meant to identify specific technologies for integration in the full system. Bids were due Wednesday.
The service said early last month that procurement had entered this phase following the Aug. 23 approval of the program’s Milestone A, which was granted upon confirming that the GBSD acquisition plan “is appropriately structured to reduce risk, balance design and requirement trades, and ensure affordable execution,” the Air Force said at that time.
The service plans to award up to two contracts in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 for an estimated 36-month period of performance.
While the Air Force has estimated the program would cost $62.3 billion over 30 years in then-year dollars, Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, said in an acquisition decision memorandum issued in late August that it would cost roughly $85 billion.
However, late last month, Jamie Morin, director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) at the Defense Department, said the CAPE-determined $85 billion may actually be on the lower end of the estimated cost range. Air Force Secretary Deborah James said it could take over a year for the service to refine its cost estimate with input from industry, CAPE, and other defense officials.
Asked for his take on the Air Force cost estimate for GBSD, Karas said “we have just begun to put together a life cycle cost model” and that it’s “too early to tell” the kind of cost range that may be necessary.
Karas said Lockheed Martin would rely on the Air Force’s decision on cost to adjust its activities under the contract, adding that “we can be very agile and adaptive and try to put together a program that will fit under whatever budget curve we’re given.”
Karas highlighted Lockheed Martin’s “digital tapestry” initiative as a key factor in lowering costs and improving quality; this approach includes manufacturing in 3-D, advanced simulation and prototyping and virtual reality systems. “We can save $10 million to $15 million a year just by avoiding extra design and build time,” he said.
Boeing [BA] and Northrop Grumman [NOC] also announced Tuesday that they responded to the solicitation. Both share a history of work in support of the Air Force; Boeing developed the original Minuteman missile starting in 1958, while Northrop Grumman was the service’s ICBM systems engineering and technical assistance contractor for several decades.