AF Extending Partial-Bridge Nine Months

The Air Force announced this week that it is extending Northrop Grumman’s Partial Bridge Contract (PBC)—comprising sustainment of the Minuteman 3 Propulsion System—by approximately nine months. The PBC is a transitional award linking Northrop’s contract as ICBM Prime Integration Contractor (IPIC) to the Air Force-managed Future ICBM Sustainment and Acquisition Construct (FISAC). The service has awarded four of five planned FISAC contracts, with only Propulsion remaining. Previously expected to expire on Sept. 30, the PBC is now expected to be renewed sometime in September, and the period of performance will cover Sept. 30, 2015-June 30, 2016, according to the announcement. “Award of the Propulsion portion of the FISAC contract is still in process,” the announcement states. “As a result, the Propulsion portion of the PBC needs to be extended in order to adequately transition to the winning offeror still to be determined.” While the announcement hinted at a delay of the FISAC Propulsion contract, timing is unclear. “Market research has identified one responsible source that can provide the highly specialized capabilities and qualifications that cannot be replicated within this urgent and aggressive timeline.” Northrop, Orbital ATK and Lockheed Martin are competing for the Propulsion Subsystem contract.

 

Under the IPIC, Northrop managed ICBM sustainment, including Air Force integration support, and the Reentry, Guidance, Ground and Propulsion systems. FISAC aligns ICBM management with the Air Force. The service awards individual contracts for Integration Support Contractor (ISC) and each system. The IPIC segued into Partial Bridge when BAE Systems won the FISAC ISC contract in 2013.