UT-Austin receives $1B Navy acoustics research contract

A University of Texas-Austin laboratory organization receives a potential five-year, $1.1 billion Navy contract to research acoustics for the U.S. military.

A research organization at the University of Texas – Austin has received a potential five-year, $1.09 billion contract from the Navy to perform research-and-development and engineering work for programs across the U.S. military.

The Navy did not hold a competition for the contract in accordance with U.S. law that regulates these awards for industrial mobilization, engineering, developmental, research capability or expert services. Work will cover core competency areas approved by the Defense Department for UT-Austin, the Defense Department said in its Wednesday contracts digest.

UT-Austin’s Applied Research Laboratory will focus on acoustics, navigation, command and control and warfare systems. The lab’s services will include R&D, engineering, design, development, testing and evaluation.

Started in 1945, ARL:UT conducts sponsored research into technologies for acoustics, electromagnetics and information sciences. DoD has designated the organization as a Navy University-Affiliated Research Center that can received sole-source contracts under an exemption in the Competition in Contracting Act.