According to information released by the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command on August 28, 2020, the U.S. Navy has awarded the first delivery orders from the Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity - Multiple Award Contract (IDIQ-MAC) to support the Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) Family of Systems.
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US Navy’s unmanned surface concept and program. (Picture source NAVSEA)
Advanced Acoustics Concepts LLC, Arete Associates Inc., Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., and Peraton Inc. were awarded fixed-price contracts on Aug. 12 for sonar tow body integration technical evaluations. The combined value of the contracts was $1,549,202. Arete Associates Inc. received the first IDIQ-MAC delivery order on July 23 for volume sonar risk reduction analysis. The fixed-price contract was valued at $903,625.
The delivery orders were solicited under the Payloads functional area of the IDIQ-MAC and will support risk reduction efforts to inform the future AN/AQS-20 surface towed sonar production contract. Deliverables include trade studies, test and verification studies, product improvements plan, Technical Data Package analysis, and obsolescence reviews to ensure production and delivery of a mature, fully integrated system that meets Fleet requirements.
The AN/AQS-20 mine-hunting sonar system is designed to be incorporated into the Littoral Combat Ship Mine Countermeasures (MCM) Mission Package and will be integrated with, and deployed from, the MCM USV. The program will continue to leverage the IDIQ-MAC to support future upgrade and production efforts, as well as maintenance and sustainment of the towed sonar.
The USV Family of Systems includes the platforms and systems that comprise the U.S. Navy’s future unmanned surface fleet. Under the IDIQ-MAC, the government intends to support, maintain and modernize USV systems, subsystems, and payloads to meet current and future operational requirements for Unmanned Maritime Systems under Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants.
NAVSEA selected 40 vendors in February 2020 to compete for individual task and/or delivery orders under the IDIQ-MAC’s six USV FoS Functional Areas: Payloads, Non-Payload Sensors, Mission Support Systems, Autonomy and Vehicle Control Systems, Ashore and Host Platform Elements, Logistics and Sustainment. The IDIQ-MAC’s contract ceiling for all orders is $982.1 million.
