M153 Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS)
The U.S. Army Contracting Command-New Jersey, on behalf of PM Soldier Weapons, intends to solicit, negotiate, and award a sole source contract to Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. This contemplated sole source contract will include the procurement of new-system and spare-part production ("production"), engineering services, sustainment, and product integration, to support current and future requirements of the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) variants and other Remote Weapon System (RWS) programs. The contemplated effort will be a Firm Fixed Priced (FFP) contract.
The M153 CROWS is a RWS that provides the operator with the ability to acquire and engage targets while remaining within the respective platform. This enables protective cover from incoming fire, blast protection, and protection during vehicle rollovers. It is designed to mount on a variety of wheeled, tracked, fixed and marine platforms. It can also be equipped with a variety of existing and future weapon systems including but not limited to the Mk19 Grenade Machine Gun (GMG), the M2 .50 caliber Machine Gun, the M240 Machine Gun, the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), the M134 Minigun, MK47 GMG, 40mm H&K GMG and the FGM-148 Javelin Anti-Tank Missile System.
The acquisition of production, logistics support, and engineering services from sources other than KDA will not meet schedule requirements for the CROWS variants and other RWS programs. Due to obsolescence issues, the current Technical Data Package (TDP) is invalid for a competitive procurement. Once the Government updates and validates the TDP, a future competitive procurement is planned to commence in late 2020. Until a new TDP is made available, it is likely that award to any other source would result in unacceptable delays in meeting current and emerging requirements as a result of unacceptable lead times from contract award to the services rendered. The potential new source would also have to manufacture CROWS spares that would function both reliably and safely and have a Government qualified depot to perform system repairs. Failure to meet these timelines will result in fielding delays and a break in the supply of spare parts negatively impacting ongoing operations and be detrimental to mission readiness and Warfighters safety. KDA is the only source able to meet the Government's CROWS and RWS program requirements within the necessary timelines. Please note this notice DOES NOT constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP). A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract action based upon the responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.
The anticipated award date for this action is planned for 4QFY17.
James D. Marks, Contract Specialist, Email james.d.marks15.civ@mail.mil
