CIWS is a fast-reaction terminal defense against low- and high-flying, high-speed maneuvering anti-ship missile threats that have penetrated all other defenses. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $367.2 million.

Work is expected to be completed by October 2023. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. government (85%); Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (8%); and the United Kingdom (7%) under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.

Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy); 2019 other procurement (Army); 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); FMS Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; FMS United Kingdom; and 2019 weapons procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $199.6 million will be obligated at time of award. Funds in the amount of $60 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c) (1). Raytheon is the only source that can provide the MK 15 CIWS to fulfill Navy, Army, Coast Guard, and FMS requirements without unacceptable delays and substantial duplication of costs that cannot be recovered through competition. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-5406).

Source:  U.S. DoD
Associated URL: Click here to visit

Work will be performed in Phoenix, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 22, 2022. Fiscal 2019 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $110.9 million were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity.

Source:  U.S. DoD
Associated URL: defense.gov

Lt. Gen. Lindile Yam, the chief of the Army, told media earlier in the month, "As Chief of the Army and the Command Council we are very unhappy with delays that have gone with Hoefyster." He said there were "extreme further delays" to the IFV program, revealing that "there will be no delivery of the Badger -- not in the near future."

Project Hoefyster envisions the delivery of 244 Badger IFVs to the South African Army. DefenceWeb noted that the vehicles were slated for delivery in 2022, a delay of three years from earlier plans to begin transferring the IFVs to the Army beginning this year.

The South African Army is presently "completely irrelevant" due to the "non-delivery of Hoefyster," Lt. Gen. Yam said. He added, "We don’t know what to say anymore. Delaying that is delaying South Africa’s constitutional mandate. It’s not something we should be discussing without consequences. It’s not justifiable by any means."

At present, the military is not considering adjusting its plans for receiving the Badgers, defenceWeb reported. However, the Badgers are more expensive to produce now given that the military must import components from abroad and the national currency, the Rand, has fallen against the dollar and other major currencies such as the euro.

The Lt. Gen. lamented that South African procurement is "becoming chaos" given the problems facing the defense industry. He said, "Some projects have been delivered on; some we have had to close down because money just got taken away by Treasury."

Source:  defenceWeb
Associated URL: Click here to visit