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The US Army has awarded LONGBOW, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, a five-year sustainment indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract for up to US$235.8 million to provide post production support services for the AH-64 Apache helicopter LONGBOW Fire Control Radar (FCR).
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The IDIQ contract value is estimated over five years and now provides tailorable services as individual orders for foreign military sales customers.
Post-production sustainment services include program and logistics management, repair of system modules as required, replenishment of depot parts, field engineering support, and operator and maintainer training for AH-64D and AH-64E configurations.
Jim Messina, LBL president and Lockheed Martin program director, said, "With a tailored sustainment approach, customers have the flexibility to add services as needed based on fleet demands."
The sustainment IDIQ contract includes initial task orders for 12 foreign military customers in 11 nations, three of which have been awarded, with others planned for transition by year-end. Additional customers may also be added during the five-year contract period of performance.
"This contract also enhances LBL’s agility to achieve our customers’ sustainability requirements," Messina added.
The LONGBOW FCR provides Apache aircrews with automatic target detection, location, classification and prioritisation, while enabling rapid, multi-target engagement in all weather conditions over multiple types of terrain and through battlefield obscurants.
"A significant benefit of the sustainment IDIQ contract vehicle is rapid contract award timeline for our international allies," Shalini Gupta, LBL vice president and Northrop Grumman director for LONGBOW programs, said.
During the US Army’s AH-64E Apache Follow-On Test and Evaluation II (FOT&E II), the modernised Version 6 LONGBOW FCR successfully demonstrated many new operational modes and capabilities, including maritime, single target track, and 360-degree surveillance mode, as well as extended detection range capability against land, air and sea targets.
Gupta added, "LBL can now be awarded sustainment task orders within weeks after letter of offer and acceptance signature, versus the previous timeline of years to complete the contract process."
To date, nearly 500 LONGBOW FCR systems have been delivered to the US Army and 12 nations.
