WASHINGTON — The Army awarded General Dynamics Mission Systems a contract worth as much as $3.9 billion for commercial off-the-shelf IT hardware that could be purchased quickly during the next three years.
In an Aug. 1 announcement, the Department of Defense said the contract would be used for the Army’s common hardware systems 5th generation (CHS-5) program. The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract has a three-year base and a possible $3.9 billion ceiling that includes two one-year options.
The CHS-5 funding will serve as a kind of piggy bank for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and more than 120 DoD program offices to draw from for the rapid acquisition and delivery of tactical commercial-off-the-shelf IT hardware. The contract also covers technical assistance support services and logistics support, including repair and replacement of equipment. In a traditional year, the program accounts for between 75,000 to 100,00 pieces of hardware, an Army spokesman said. The hardware comes from 65 small businesses and 40 large businesses.
“The buying power and rapid execution of COTS IT hardware procurements and services are what makes CHS valuable to the Army,” Breck Tarr, the program’s product lead, said in an September 2017 press release. "The ability to deliver the exact configuration when the Government needs hardware is critical to supporting fielding schedules and sustainment.”
The contract helps the Army minimize cyber security risks and helps assures that a user who turns in equipment for repair receives the exact same equipment in return in 72 hours or less. It also includes a hotline for soldiers to call to help find the nearest regional support center, an Army spokesman said.
CHS-5 builds on the previous contract, the unsurprisingly named CHS-4. The new contract was expected to include a pre-negotiation pricing schedule for the life of the contract; additional warranty options with up to eight years of coverage; incentives to provide the lowest price hardware; and the ability to procure technical data packages based on competitive pricing, according to an Army press release.
Army leaders said in September they were seeking competition for the contract, but the Aug. 1 announcement said the Defense Department received just one bid.
“The CHS program is a great example of how the Army and industry can partner to ensure military services can rapidly acquire C4ISR solutions and other products that are not only cost-competitive with the commercial market, but logistically managed and supported for an extended period,” Chris Marzilli, president of General Dynamics Mission Systems, said in an Aug. 2 press release. “More importantly, the ability of the CHS program to quickly adapt to the evolving challenges of today’s battlefield plays a critical role in supporting the Army’s tactical network modernization efforts.”
Daniel Cebul is an editorial fellow and general assignments writer for Defense News, C4ISRNET, Fifth Domain and Federal Times.
