Raytheon, L-3 square off over $350M Army range contract
By
Nick Wakeman
Raytheon has won a $350 million contract to improve the instrumentation used at DOD test ranges, but L-3 thinks it should have won instead.
A division of L-3 Communications is objecting to a $350.6 million contract awarded to Raytheon Co. to replace the instrumentation used at Defense Department test ranges.
Raytheon won the contract from the Army Test and Evaluation Command on May 5, and L-3 filed its protest May 17. A decision from the Government Accountability Office is expected Aug. 25.
The contract is meant to replace what the Army called “the aging fleet of optical tracking instrumentation systems” used at the test ranges. The contract is known as the Advanced Range Tracking and Imaging System or ARTIS.
The contract has a five-year base with a five-year option.
The Army said that ARTIS is a system of systems and includes a maximum 86 optical tracking systems, 19 master remote control units and nine remote control units. The requirements will vary from location to location.
ARTIS will collect data on the performance of weapons, platforms (including aircraft and ground vehicles) and people perform on the test ranges.
The goal is that the new equipment will reduce costs and improve accuracy of data collection. The new system also should also bring new capabilities to field test programs and scenarios that cannot be done with the current equipment.
Deltek’s data on the contract says that this is a new contract and not a follow on. It likely is a consolidation of several existing contracts.
Given the scope of the work and the length of the contract, it is no wonder L-3 is protesting. I’m sure some others may follow.
The division of L-3 that is protesting is known as L-3 Brashear, which according to its website has a history going back to 1881. It’s in the business of building electro-optical and electromagnetic systems for applications such as high energy laser missions, fire control solutions and tracking systems.