A -- 12-Month Extension to the Airborne Infrared Surveillance Contract

The Missile Defense Agency has a requirement for a one-year extension of the Airborne Infrared Surveillance (AIRS) effort under Contract HQ0006-02-C-0044. The extension is to perform limited RDT&E in FY07 and closeout the program. With this one-year extension, this contract will end not later than 30 September 2007. The limited RDT&E effort continues to exploit the use of an electro-optic/infrared sensor designed, developed and integrated into the host aircraft by the incumbent contractor, L-3 Communications /Aeromet Division. The sensor is hosted on a Gulfstream II aircraft operated by L-3 Communications /Aeromet and is used as a test asset for data collection by the MDA. The aircraft/sensor combination is called the High Altitude Observatory (HALO) II. The key technical capabilities requiring further demonstration and evaluation during the final period of performance are: 1) cued and autonomous search, detection, and acquisition; 2) real-time missile tracking and 3-D state vector generation; 3) real-time discrimination of object(s) of interest; 4) real-time connectivity with MDAs Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications system; and 5) data reduction as a result of contract closeout. The effort will continue to include data collection, analyses and potential modification of the sensor suite mounted on the HALO II aircraft. The HALO II sensor suite will be used to collect infrared surveillance data against targets of interest to the MDA. This data will be processed in real time on board the HALO II to form state vectors and object sighting messages to be downlinked to the MDA C2BMC system as fire control solutions. The required effort consists of detailed test planning, engineering evaluations, minor modifications, and experiments and demonstrations for the HALO II aircraft and its support equipment. MDA intends to award a contract extension to L-3 Communications /Aeromet for this one-year effort. MDA intends that this contract extension will be cost-plus-fixed-fee, the same contract type as the current, on-going contract. This contract extension will be awarded to L-3 Communications /Aeromet pursuant to FAR 6.302-1-(a) (iii): only one responsible source. It is improbable that a new competition for a one-year extension could be executed without causing an adverse impact in the remaining AIRS effort. A contract extension to the incumbent Contractor is the only solution to avoid unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agencys requirement.