Air Force to brief industry on draft solicitation for new ICBM program
Posted: December 23, 2015
The Air Force next month plans to conduct in-depth technical discussions with industry on the requirement to modernize the silo-based intercontinental ballistic missile fleet, a meeting that comes in anticipation of an early 2016 decision to acquire the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program, a projected $62 billion project.
The ICBM systems directorate and the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center plan to host a three-day meeting, Jan. 11-13 at Hill Air Force Base, UT, with industry representatives, a gathering that comes as the Air Force plans to seek permission by March to formally launch acquisition by soliciting bids for the first material phase of the GBSD -- technology maturation and risk reduction (TMRR).
An objective of the gathering is to review draft acquisition documents circulated to industry earlier this month, including a statement of work for the technology maturation and risk reduction phase of development; a GBSD weapon system specification; and a GBSD security classification guide, according to a Dec. 22 notice published on the Federal Business Opportunities website.
In addition, the Air Force intends to brief industry at the January conference on its plans to utilize “model-based systems engineering” in the GBSD program, according to the notice. “The government will provide an overview of how it intends to 'Own the Technical Baseline' (OTB) using a model-based systems engineering (MBSE) approach.”
The GBSD program aims to modernize the ICBM fleet in order to keep the silo-based leg of the nuclear triad operational beyond the end of the Minuteman III's service life in 2030. In July 2014, the Air Force -- after weighing a wide range of options -- decided on a plan to develop and deploy a new missile using existing Minuteman infrastructure.
“GBSD will replace the entire flight system, retaining the silo basing mode while recapitalizing the ground facilities, and implements a new Weapon System Command and Control,” according to an Air Force summary of the GBSD decision.
This approach carries an estimated $62.3 billion price tag to develop and acquire though the 2030s, according to the Air Force. A February 2015 draft estimate tallied $48.5 billion for new missiles, $6.9 billion for command and control systems, and $6.9 billion for renovation of launch control centers and launch facilities.
This fall, the Air Force announced in a presolicitation notice that it was “contemplating a sole source award(s) to potentially all prospective prime contractors who anticipate submitting a formal proposal for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent technology maturation and risk reduction contract,” according to an Oct. 30 notice published in Federal Business Opportunities.
The aim of the TMRR phase is to complete a preliminary design and function baseline in anticipation of transitioning to development and production.
A Sept. 11 request for information for GBSD outlined a notional schedule that envisioned a TMRR phase beginning with contract award during the second quarter of fiscal year 2017 and concluding three years later in the second quarter of FY-20 with a milestone B review that would transition the program to engineering and manufacturing development. That would be a year longer than the Air Force estimated in its notional schedule submitted to Congress last February as part of its FY-16 budget request.
“The schedule depicted [in the FY-16 budget request] was a notional schedule as the Air Force continues to refine the draft acquisition strategy in preparation for the upcoming Milestone A (scheduled for the end of the second quarter in FY16),” Maj. Rob Lesse, an Air Force spokesman told Inside Defense in an email. “The exact timing of Milestone B is still TBD,” the spokesman said. -- Jason Sherman
