Division ensuring vital systems sustained

Published April 5, 2016
By Patty Welsh
66th Air Base Group Public Affairs

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Battle Management's Strategic Warning and Surveillance Division here is working to ensure the abilities of the system that warn the president and national command authorities of attacks will be sustainable for the foreseeable future.

Officials from the division awarded a $28 million sustainment task order to the Raytheon Co. for work encompassing operations, maintenance and support to maintain mission integrity for the Air and Missile Warning command and control systems at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colorado, the Alternate Missile Warning Center at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, and forward-user and sensor sites worldwide.

Also included is maintenance for the Test Development Facility at Peterson AFB, Colo., and the Space Training System and Joint Space Operations Center located at Vandenberg AFB, California. This initial task order was awarded at the end of last year and covers an eight-month period of performance, with an option year to be exercised in August.

"With this order we are able to provide Integrated Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment authorities with accurate, timely and unambiguous assessments of air, missile and space threats," said Anita McCorvey, program manager. "The sustainment of unique, critical command center C2 systems, networks and associated components is vital to the nation's defense against attacks."

In addition to the mission capabilities, the North American Aerospace Defense Command and Cheyenne Mountain Complex - ITW/AA space support contract, or NISSC, will also provide support services and data products.

According to program officials, this task order award represents the completion of a 15-year Total System Performance Responsibility development acquisition contract.

McCorvey explained that in 2000, the government deemed it beneficial to institute a TSPR contract which allocated responsibility of requirements management to the contractor with the premise that industry would be able to execute rapid acquisition development.

However, in 2008, she said the program transitioned from a developmental program to a sustainment program and, as the TSPR philosophy was not cost effective, the program transitioned back to a more traditional acquisition process.

McCorvey said by using Better Buying Power concepts, the program office re-established fundamental acquisition principles such as bounding and managing the requirement and owning the technical baseline. She added that the program's goal is to reduce long-term sustainment costs.

"By instituting the BBP concepts, it enabled the government to achieve greater efficiencies through affordability, cost control, elimination of unproductive processes and bureaucracy and promoting competition," she said. "The results of the NISSC competition have achieved a 30 percent cost savings and firmly aligns our program with the Battle Management Directorate's motto of 'Can Do, Will Do.'"

Sustaining vital systems