Nonprofit awarded $950M Navy contract to boost submarine production
The USS California, a Virginia-class submarine, shortly after its arrival at the port in Lisbon, Portugal, for a courtesy visit earlier this year. Gettyimages.com/Horacio Villalobos / Contributor
By
Nick Wakeman
BlueForge Alliance, founded by a pair of Texas A&M professors, will focus on improving the submarine industrial base.
A Texas-headquartered nonprofit has secured a nearly $1 billion contract to help the Navy improve the submarine manufacturing industrial base and facilitate foreign military sales.
The BlueForge Alliance was founded in November 2022 by a pair of Texas A&M engineering professors.
BlueForge received $500 million in funding from the Navy during the first half of this year, according to a report by Breaking Defense.
The new award announced Wednesday is a $950.7 million contract to support planning, resourcing, coordination and what the Navy calls “uplifting” of the U.S. submarine industry base and foreign military sales requirements.
The contract was not a competitive procurement. Navy leaders see BlueForge as the only source that could satisfy their requirements.
Our partner publication Defense One has reported on BlueForge's role in efforts to add 100,000 workers to the industrial base and create a new generation of shipbuilders.
BlueForge is supporting the Navy’s 1-2 initiative to build one Columbia-class and two Virginia-class submarines each year.
The organization describes its mission as aimed at connecting the submarine supply chain, surrounding state and local governments, industry organizations, academics and community programs. The goal is to increase the capabilities and readiness of the industrial base.