The Air Force plans to issue the request for proposals around the end of March for the next phase of the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar program. Teams from Lockheed Martin and Sensis are nearing completion of their contracts for initial technology development. For the next phase, service officials will select one contractor—either one of them or perhaps some other company—via a full and open competition to complete technology development and prepare for initial production. The contract award is anticipated around January 2012. Its total value could be up to $740 million. The Air Force plans to buy 35 3DELRR units to replace its TPS-75 systems. They will be the service’s primary ground-based long-range radar for tracking aircraft and ballistic missile threats in a theater. Maj. Brian McDonald, 3DELRR program manager at Hanscom AFB, Mass., said both Lockheed and Sensis “have put a terrific effort into maturing the critical technologies and reducing risk for the program” during the initial technology development phase. (Hanscom report by Patty Welsh)
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.