Navy sheds light on LCS contract delay

The Navy has delayed releasing a request for proposals for a new Littoral Combat Ship mission module production and sustainment contract because the service has been incorporating feedback from industry on previous draft solicitations, according to a Naval Sea Systems Command spokeswoman.

Inside Defense reported earlier this week the Navy is delaying its award for the LCS Mission Modules Design Engineering, Production and Sustainment contract to 2017. In an Aug. 24 email, NAVSEA spokeswoman Colleen O'Rourke said the delay is a result of instituting changes to solicitation materials based on feedback from interested companies.

"The Request For Proposal (RFP) was delayed as the Navy incorporated changes based on industry feedback from draft RFPs and associated technical data packages (TDPs) that had been posted to the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website," O'Rourke wrote. "It took additional time to ensure that the technical documentation released with the RFP is sufficient for prospective contractors to be able to develop valid proposals and pricing information."

Due to the delay, the Navy is extending its contracts with Northrop Grumman for LCS production and sustainment, respectively. O'Rourke said NAVSEA is proposing to extend the engineering, integration and logistics services contract with Northrop through September 2018, while additional hardware deliveries under the corresponding production contract may be scheduled for the summer of 2018.