Ground Combat

By Dan Dupont / May 21, 2010 at 5:00 AM

It's a big day for the Army -- and the start of something bigger, the service announced today:

The U.S. Army closed the industry Request for Proposal (RFP) submission process today for the Technology Development phase of the Ground Combat Vehicle Infantry Fighting Vehicle program. This marks the beginning of the formal source selection process, which will culminate with up to three competitive contract awards in late fourth quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2010.

The source selection process is used during competitive, negotiated contracting to select industry proposals that offer the best value to the Army. During the GCV source selection process the government will review the submitted proposals and adhere to Federal regulations designed to ensure full-and-open competition among offerors. The process also prohibits the release of information related to the proposals, companies involved, dollar amounts, details concerning the source selection.

Upon completion of the Source Selection and the Milestone A review, contract awards will be made for the technology demonstration phase of the program. The Technology Development Phase involves risk reduction, refinement of requirements, competitive sub-system prototyping activities, and planned technical reviews leading to a Preliminary Design which demonstrates the maturity to enter into Engineering and Manufacturing Development EMD phase.

But don't expect to hear much more for a while:

"We have had good response from industry and now the source selection process will begin immediately. Due to the sensitive nature of this procurement and the Federal prohibition on the release of procurement information, the program office will not release further source selection details until the close of the process," said COL Bryan McVeigh, program manager GCV.

More details:

The contracting strategy developed by the Army is in line with the new DoD 5000.2 guidance for competition. The program plans to award up to three (3) Technology Development phase contracts, marking a 27-month period in which to test and mature subcomponents and other material elements of the designs prior to a Milestone B decision in FY 2013. The subsequent EMD phase would run through the first quarter of FY 2016, and include delivery of the first prototype vehicle in FY 2015. The Army is approaching the GCV’s development in an incremental fashion -- designing it for adaptability, modularity and scalability to adjust to and incorporate technological change.

So who bids? Read our stories, one published today and the other yesterday:

Sources: Germany's KMW to Join SAIC, Boeing for Ground Combat Vehicle Race

Team Led By General Dynamics Submits Bid For GCV

And, as always, stay tuned for more.

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