Lockheed Martin [LMT] was awarded a $500 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract to provide additional funds for engineering development efforts in support of the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) of the VH-71 Presidential Helicopter, the Navy recently said.
This action is aligned with the FY ’09 Appropriations/Authorization Act, the Navy added.
The contract modification, increasing the contract ceiling on the VH-71 contract, is a reflection of cost growth already reported by acquisition leadership in March 2008, Cmdr. Cappy Surette, a Navy spokesman, said.
“This contract was modified to raise the ceiling cost on the contract and to provide an additional $89 million in incremental funding in order to continue the engineering design and integration activities for the various communications, navigation, mission systems for the three previously procured test vehicles, and the five pilot production aircraft required for the Increment 1,” Surette added.
The contract shall continue to be funded incrementally with research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) funding, he said. “The contract will continue to be funded incrementally as is typical of all developmental contracts.”
Under this contract, three test vehicles and five pilot production aircraft were previously procured, Surette noted.
“The VH-71 helicopters will ultimately replace the Office of the President’s current fleet of VH-3D and VH-60N helicopters for both CONUS and OCONUS operations,” he said. “As the VH-71 program moves forward with an executable schedule and funding profile, a balance between cost and capability will be maintained.”