Contract Award: Northrop Grumman receives the first delivery order for U.S. Navy CANES

News Report

As announced by U.S. DoD, Northrop Grumman, through its Space and Mission Systems Corp., Reston, Va., has been awarded a $36,646,047 delivery order under a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract (N00039-10-D-0028) for the procurement of the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) common computing environment to include guided missile destroyer (DDG) variant first article; DDG variant production units; and multipurpose amphibious assault ship variant first article.

This contract includes options, which, if exercised at the maximum quantities, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to an estimated $637,773,236. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed by September 2012.  If all contract options are exercised, work could continue until September 2013.

The issuance of this delivery order to Northrop Grumman is the result of the CANES competitive down-select to a single contractor for continued performance under the contract options for development, production and logistics support for CANES.

The Program

For years, the U.S. Navy has been living with a costly maintenance, logistics and support problem. The trouble is that each of the C4I systems aboard its ships requires a separate network infrastructure with a unique set of wires and experts to keep the system running. Now, the U.S. Navy plans to replace those "afloat networks" with a single, common network system. The goal of Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) is thus to consolidate and replace numerous legacy systems and deliver an open, common network to every ship, submarine and shore-based command and control center in the U.S. Navy.

From a programmatic point of view, CANES is the consolidation and enhancement of the requirements for five existing legacy network programs, as well as a single support framework for all C4I applications that currently require dedicated infrastructure to operate delivered and managed legacy systems. These include the Integrated Shipboard Network System (ISNS), Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) Networks, and Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System Maritime (CENTRIXS-M).

CANES will have at its roots primarily the ISNS, but will also incorporate the capabilities of other networks to create a single Consolidated Computing Environment using standard network infrastructure and a common rack architecture. Enterprise services will support hosting of both warfighting and administrative application programs. This evolution requires detailed technical exchanges between the programs’ engineers and a significant amount of resource reprogramming.

The program will take advantage of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), and rapid COTS insertion, in order to bring fiscal savings to the U.S. Navy, as well as operational agility to the warfighter. U.S. Navy leaders believein fact that they have been leaving money on the table by maintaining their old systems without gaining new capabilities. By consolidating the computing infrastructure around a common network, U.S. Navy officials hope to extract best-of-breed technology and capabilities from the commercial sector. The CANES solution should also solve a significant configuration management and supportability problem. Currently, each ship has a different configuration of hardware and applications. Training sailors aboard ship to operate and maintain all of the systems increases the complexity and total ownership costs to the U.S. Navy. By moving to a common configuration for hardware and enterprise services, trained sailors can operate and maintain CANES regardless of ship class.

By separating the hardware from the software, U.S. Navy should be also capable to accept emerging requirements and quickly turn them into software solutions that ride on the common CANES infrastructure. Additionally, the high cost and schedule requirements of installing a system on a ship is simplified by delivering a set of CD/DVDs or providing a software download from a secure website. This methodology also makes it technically viable to reuse software, increase open competition by using a non-proprietary CANES backbone, and support other business strategies that will make C4I systems more affordable, supportable and available to the warfighter.

The Context

Since 2010, CANES has witnessed a head-to-head competition between Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Lockheed Martin's team included General Dynamics, ViaSat, Harris and American Systems. Northrop Grumman’s CANES team included IBM, Atlas Technologies, Beatty and Company Computing, Juno Technologies, and Syzygy Technologies. On March 2010, both the two teams were awarded a contract for design and development of the CANES common computing environment. On July 2011, U.S. SPAWAR completed the Critical Design Reviews for both competing systems.

References: U.S. DoD (1), DefenceAerospace.com (2), SPAWAR (3), DefenseNews (4), Journal of Software Technology (5), Defence Industry Daily (6)

Contract Award: Raytheon to support U.S. Navy's Cooperative Engagement Capabilities

News Report

As announced by U.S. DoD, Raytheon Network Centric Systems has been awarded a $67,407,373 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-08-C-5202) for design agent and engineering support services in support of the U.S. Navy's Cooperative Engagement Capabilities (CEC) Program.

CEC is a sensor netting system that significantly improves battle force anti-air warfare capability by extracting and distributing sensor-derived information such that the superset of this data is available to all participating CEC units.  CEC improves battle force effectiveness by improving overall situational awareness and by enabling longer range, cooperative, multiple, or layered engagement strategies.

Under the terms of the award, Raytheon will support services in the areas of technical and engineering support, training, supplies, overhaul, maintenance and repair, assemblies, Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) preparation and proofing, and facilities improvements to both reliability and interoperability.

The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Work will be performed in St. Petersburg, Fla. (90 percent), and Largo, Fla. (10 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2012.

This contract action combines purchases for the U.S. Navy (50 percent), and the government of Australia (4 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program.

The Technology

Cooperative Engagement Capabilities is based on the approach of taking full advantage of the diversities provided by each combatant at a different location with different sensor and weapons frequencies and features. This approach requires sharing measurements from every sensor (unfiltered range, bearing, elevation, and, if available, Doppler updates) among all units while retaining the critical data characteristics of accuracy and timeliness. For effective use, the data must be integrated into each unit’s combat system so that it can use the data as if it were generated onboard that unit. Thus, the battle force of units networked in this way can operate as a single, distributed, theater defensive system.

The concept behind CEC in the Navy domain is thus a sensor netting system that allows many ships to pool their radar and sensor information together, creating a very powerful and detailed picture that’s much finer, more wide-ranging, and more consistent than any one ship could generate on its own. The data is then shared among all ships and participating systems in the air and on the ground, using secure frequencies.

Ships using CEC get more than a detailed picture – they can extend engagement ranges through cooperative engagements, such as handover of missile control from the launching platform to another ship or radar that is better able to see and illuminate the target. This is especially helpful with long-range anti-air missiles, which have ranges of several hundred miles.

With the combination of precision gridlock, very low time delay, and very high update rate, a combatant may fire a missile and guide it to intercept a target, even a maneuvering one, using radar data from another CEC unit even if it never acquires the target with its own radars. The remote engagement operation is essentially transparent to the combat system operators. Engagements can be coordinated, whether conventional or cooperative, via real-time knowledge of the detailed status of every engagement within the CEC network. Moreover, a coordination doctrine may be activated for automated engagement recommendations at each ship, based on force-level engagement calculations.

Modifications to already existing combat system may be required to allow utilization of remote radar and engagement data in a manner similar to that of data generated onboard.

The Context

The CEC concept was conceived in the early 1970s. Requirements development and critical experiments were performed primarily for a U.S. Navy air defense coordination exploratory development program, which was originally called Battle Group Anti-Air Warfare (AAW) Coordination.

The first critical at-sea experiment with a system prototype occurred in 1990. The CEC became a U.S. Navy acquisition program in 1992.

Since 2000, the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in Washington, issued the majority of CEC-realted contracts, and Raytheon’s Network Centric Systems has been the contractor.

References: U.S. DoD (1), Defense Industry Daily (2), Johns Hopkins (3)

Contract Award: TWD to provide enterprise IT services and support for US Naval Sea Systems Command

News Report

As announced in a recent press release, TWD has been awarded a $121 million SeaPort-e Task Order by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). Working directly with the Command Information Office (CIO), TWD will provide enterprise IT services and support.

Provided Services

Under the Seaport Enhanced contract, TWD provides professional engineering, technical and programmatic support services for the US Naval Sea Systems Command's Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUSC), headquarters, and its field activities.

Services available under this contract span the entire spectrum of product areas supported by the Warfare Centers and may cover a range of technical skills including: research, technology development, concept exploration, design and demonstration, prototyping and fabrication, test and evaluation, certification, deployment, life cycle sustainment, operation and maintenance, improvement, modernization, overhaul, demilitarization and disposal.

Under the terms of the agreement, TWD and its team will support NAVSEA in critical areas including, but not limited to:

• Microsoft® SharePoint® Development and Administration
• Network Architecture and Design
• Systems Management and Virtualization
• IP and PBX Telecommunications Services
• Video Teleconferencing Support
• NAVSEA Headquarters Information Assurance Support
• Certification and Accreditation Lifecycle Support
• Applications Lifecycle Management
• IT Solutions Engineering
• Data Warehousing and Archiving Support
• NMCI/CoSC/NGEN Support

The Context

The US Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the largest of the Navy's five system commands. With a fiscal year 2008 budget of $24.8 billion, NAVSEA accounts for nearly one quarter of the Navy's entire budget.

NAVSEA is comprised of command staff, headquarters directorates, affiliated Program Executive Offices (PEOs) and numerous field activities. With a force of 53,000 civilian, military and contract support personnel, NAVSEA engineers, builds, buys and maintains the US Navy's ships and submarines and their combat systems.

The origin of NAVSEA dates to 1794, when Commodore John Barry was charged to oversee the construction of a 44-gun frigate and ensure that all business "harmonized and conformed" to the public's interest. Today, the NAVSEA organization has 33 activities in 16 states. NAVSEA strives to be an efficient provider of defense resources for the nation, and it plays an important role in the US Navy Enterprise. As a Provider Command, it has the responsibility of directing resource sponsors into the proper mix of manpower and resources to properly equip the fleet.

NAVSEA has the further responsibility of establishing and enforcing technical authority in combat system design and operation. These technical standards use the organization's technical expertise to ensure systems are engineered effectively, and that they operate safely and reliably.

Comments

“This win is the largest unrestricted task order in TWD’s history and represents a big step forward in the company’s development,” said Larry Besterman, CEO and President, TWD. “We are pleased to continue our long-standing relationship with the Department of Defense.”

“We are honored to have the opportunity to support NAVSEA,” added Besterman. “We look forward to delivering technology value that streamlines processes to ensure NAVSEA’s mission is achieved efficiently and cost-effectively. Our goal is to swiftly identify NAVSEA’s challenges and deliver integrated solutions, all while maintaining existing operations that create high value for the customer”
References: TWD (1,2), NAVSEA (3)

US Navy unveils new "green" data center

References: Navy.mil (1)

News Report

US Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) unveiled a new data center that will play a key role in consolidating more than 100 Navy data centers to increase effectiveness and efficiency and to reduce costs while still meeting the Navy's security and operational requirements.

The Centre

The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic (SSC Atlantic) in Charleston is one of the five field activities of US Navy's SPAWAR, and its systems centers provide much of the tactical and non-tactical information management technology required by the Navy to complete its operational missions.

Construction of the new data SSC Atlantic's centre began on Oct. 15, 2010 and was recently completed. The $9.498 million data center was designed to the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design silver rating standard.

The Navy's data center consolidation initiative will provide cost-savings due to reductions in physical locations, power and data center management contracts.
The Context

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus laid out five aggressive energy goals in October 2009 to improve energy security and efficiency, increase energy independence, and help lead the nation toward a clean energy economy. This initiative assists in achieving the energy goal of increasing alternative energy afloat and ashore where by 2020, the Department of the Navy (DON) will produce at least 50 percent of shore-based energy requirements from alternative sources and 50 percent of DON installations will be net-zero.

Comments

"This data center will be part of the Navy's data center consolidation effort. Not only is this data center efficient, it's green. That is another big piece of what we want to do. We need to protect the environment and the resources that we have. This data center will help us do that," said Navy's Chief Information Officer Halvorsen, who is the Navy's senior official on matters related to information management, information technology/cyberspace and information resources management. He is also the Department of the Navy's lead for IT/cyberspace efficiency.

"We are here today to support the Sailors and Marines underway and in harm's way. The demand for IT efficiencies and demand for efficiencies at large across our Navy are increasing. Through facilities like this and efforts like this, we are able to not only increase our IT efficiencies and reduce our spending in IT, but also build up a core of quality professionals, diverse IT professionals, that can man, manage, and engineer such a facility and maintain it," said Weddel, assistant deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance.