Northrop Grumman [NOC] and BAE Systems secured contracts in November to provide AC/MC-130J radio frequency countermeasures (RFCM) for special operations forces.
Northrop Grumman received nearly $33 million while BAE received almost $22 million, according to a Nov. 12 Defense Department statement. Northrop Grumman’s total contract value for the basic period and eight option periods is $385 million while BAE’s similar contract could be worth as much as $376 million, according to a notice posted on Federal Business Opportunities (FBO). BAE said Monday in a statement its contract life cycle value is expected to exceed $400 million.
Work for both companies is expected to finish by Nov. 30. Northrop Grumman and BAE were each awarded $4.7 million in fiscal year 2015 research and development (R&D) funds.
The award was competitive with four offers received, DoD said. Honeywell [HON] spokeswoman Nicole Stewart said Monday the company bid for RFCM as subcontractor to Harris [HRS], which did not return a request for comment Monday. Boeing [BA] spokesman Jerry Drelling said Monday the company did not bid for the program.
BAE will provide product development and platform integration work over the next 12 months. Northrop Grumman said it would be unable to respond to an inquiry by press time Monday.
The contract is the first phase of a multi-phase program to upgrade aircraft system survivability and the capability to detect, identify, located, deny, degrade, disrupt and defeat threat systems in operationally significant environments, according to BAE. The company’s RFCM system offers fully integrated, precision geolocation and radio frequency countermeasure capabilities.
Designed to be integrated into both the MC-130J Commando II and the AC-130J Ghostrider aircraft, BAE’s RFCM system will support the varied and critical missions of special operations forces. These missions include the use of C-130Js for armed over-watch and refueling of helicopters in denied territories and for close air support and interdiction missions in sensitive and hostile territories.
Northrop Grumman said in a Monday statement its solution is built upon its high confidence aircraft protection systems, coupled with an open architecture (OA) approach. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) is the contracting activity on behalf of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).