WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy final month awarded a collective $4.1 billion contract to eight firms to offer computers and networking gear for cyber warfare over the subsequent decade for floor warships and submarines.
It is a part of the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Providers (CANES) challenge to offer laptop {hardware}, software program, spare components, upkeep, and laboratory gear for ships and submarines.
That eye-popping quantity of greater than 4 billion {dollars} is a digital assure that we’ll see a slew of contractor protests within the new 12 months from firms that bid on this contract, but weren’t chosen. A contract of that prime greenback quantity hardly ever, if ever, fails to draw protests, which might delay this important program for months, if not years.
The businesses collaborating on this contract are BAE Programs Expertise Options & Providers Inc. in Rockville, Md.; Leonardo DRS Naval Electronics in Johnstown, Pa.; World Technical Programs in Virginia Seashore, Va.; L3Harris Applied sciences C5 Built-in Programs in Camden, N.J.; Leidos in Reston, Va.; Peraton in Herndon, Va.; Serco in Herndon, Va.; and VTG Milcom in Virginia Seashore, Va. These firms will compete for orders over the subsequent 10 years for CANES manufacturing models; software program; software program renewals; software program upkeep; spares and system parts; and lab gear.
Conspicuously absent are Normal Dynamics C4 Programs, Northrop Grumman Corp., CGI Federal, and others that previously have had a chunk of CANES contracts. CANES will consolidate and change present afloat networks and networking infrastructure for functions, techniques, and providers for tactical cyber warfare. It should improve cyber safety, command and management, communications and intelligence techniques afloat, and change unaffordable and out of date networks.
If protests materialize, it will not be the primary time the huge CANES program has attracted contractor protests. Eight years in the past the Navy awarded a $2.53 billion eight-year contract to 5 firms to acquire CANES laptop and communications gear. These firms had been BAE Programs Expertise Options & Providers Inc. in Rockville, Md.; Normal Dynamics C4 Programs in Taunton Mass.; World Technical Programs in Virginia Seashore, Va.; Northrop Grumman Corp. in Herndon, Va.; and Serco Inc. in Reston, Va.
That $2.53 billion is a large chunk of cash, and predictably the protests from firms not chosen got here in. Because of this, the Navy expanded the listing of CANES {hardware} contractors from 5 to seven, together with CGI Federal and DRS Laurel Applied sciences.
The unique contract was awarded in August 2014, the protests held-up this system till January 2015 — a delay of 5 months. It will not be surprisingly if we had been to see extra protests this time round.
Related: Contractor protests could hold up Navy CANES shipboard networking program until December
The Northrop Grumman Corp. Data Programs phase in San Diego (now Northrop Grumman Mission Programs) was chosen in early 2012 to be the general CANES shipboard electronics techniques architect.
CANES represents a important element of the Navy’s modernization planning by upgrading cyber safety, command and management, communications, and intelligence techniques afloat. The elevated standardization will cut back the variety of community variants by ship class throughout the fleet, Navy officers say.
Regardless of possible protests, this newest $4.1 billion contract has a particular emphasis on data warfare and cyber safety. This contract will improve cyber safety, command and management, communications and intelligence techniques afloat, and change unaffordable and out of date networks.
A contract value this a lot cash might generate protests that might halt work briefly till protest claims are sorted out — identical to the contracts that had been awarded initially in 2014. We’ll see how lengthy the CANES challenge will probably be held up this time if protests come to cross.
The first targets of the CANES program are to offer a safe afloat community for naval and joint operations; consolidate afloat networks utilizing a standard computing system; mature cross-domain laptop applied sciences; cut back the scale, coaching necessities, and logistics for shipboard networking; and enhance reliability, safety, interoperability, and utility internet hosting.
CANES serves because the bridge to the way forward for Navy afloat networks, consolidating present legacy and stand-alone networks, offering infrastructure for tactical functions, techniques, and providers, Navy officers say. CANES will consolidate and modernize shipboard community techniques to enhance operational effectiveness and affordability throughout the fleet.
CANES delivers its capabilities inside one system, bringing infrastructure that can allow well timed and interoperable data trade amongst tactical, help, and administrative customers, functions, and laptop techniques.
