B -- Trade Studies and Tactics Development for CV-22

The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), Directorate of Procurement intends to extend existing contract USZA22-98-D-0001 with the Bell-Boeing Joint Program Office for CY04, CY05, CY06, and CY07. The CV-22 is a Special Operations Forces (SOF) variant of the V-22 aircraft being developed by the Department of the Navy for the US Marine Corps. Bell Helicopter and Boeing Space and Missile Defense Systems, Helicopter Division were competitively selected to jointly develop and produce the V-22 and its variants. The Department of the Navy is funding the R&D costs for the CV-22 up to an agreed to ceiling. USSOCOM is funding the remaining capabilities needed to meet the Joint Operational Requirements Document (JORD) for SOF requirements. The CV-22 program often involves making a choice between competing functional systems being developed for other aircraft platforms. The selected system must then be integrated into the CV-22 design, tested, incorporated in production planning/retrofit, and supported by the CV-22 logistical concept. The reason justifying the lack of competition is that Bell-Boeing is the only source capable of evaluating candidate solutions against the evolving CV-22 development baseline as it progresses from Preliminary Design Review, Critical Design Review (CDR) and production decision in FY 05. In order to ensure that needed CV-22 performance capabilities are available to meet SOF operator requirements, detailed trade studies and analysis must be accomplished well in advance of the production program. Therefore, it is imperative that USSOCOM have the capability of contracting with Bell-Boeing, the sole developer of the CV-22 system, to conduct trade studies and analysis of baseline /advanced CV-22 systems/sub-systems. This contract will also continue a tactical simulation effort begun in FY97 and enhance its operational realism and functionality. The tactical simulation support allows AFSOC aircrews to develop tactics to employ the CV-22 aircraft on SOF missions. The hybrid characteristics of the CV-22 (hover like a helicopter/fly like a fixed wing airplane) provide the user with new capabilities and approaches to execute mission scenarios. The SOF mission differs greatly from the USMC generic ship-to-shore mission. The long range, clandestine, infiltration/exfiltration mission accomplished in adverse weather under a single period of darkness requires specific tactics to ensure aircraft survivability and mission success. These tactics need to be developed and validated so crews can be trained and mission capable when CV-22 operational aircraft are delivered. Based on current force structure planning, there will not be an overlap between current aircraft platforms and CV-22. When these aircraft are delivered, they will be deployed operationally with a high projected operations tempo. The contractor has already developed a simulator that replicates CV-22 functionality planned for the aircraft. The simulator will be upgraded by the contractor to incorporate a new visual system to improve its fidelity. The simulator will include an operationally realistic environment that will allow aircrews to adequately assess the functionality of the CV-22 design. A full fidelity simulation exercise to check out high-risk items was completed in Sep 97 as part of the CV-22 Crew Systems development and the program successfully completed the Crew Systems CDR in Oct 97. A preplanned product improvement (P3I) program which will integrate USSOCOM special operations forces (SOF) unique capabilities in the CV-22 (a SOF variant of the V-22 aircraft being developed by the Department of the Navy for the US Marine Corps). No solicitation will be issued. The basic requirement was synopsized in the Commerce Business Daily on November 25, 1997, and updated on December 23, 1997. The P3I Program was synopsized on February 1, 1999 and FY/CY03 was synopsized in the FedBizOps on March 28, 2003. Any questions regarding the above requirement should be submitted in writing via fax or email to Ms. Jacqueline (Jackie) Germain, [email protected], fax (813)828-7504. See numbered note 22.