Hi jon44 and thanks for the question.
The Northrop Grumman Corporation was awarded the “Total System Support
Responsibility” contract in 2000, it will last for six years with
options to extend it.
The 13th JSTARS aircraft was delivered to the U.S Air Force on the
25th April 2002.
“Another major program, one that represents a paradigm shift in the
way the U.S. supports its military aircraft, is the Total System
Support Responsibility. Awarded in 2000, the TSSR has a six-year
initial period of performance valued at more than $500 million with
options that could extend Northrop Grumman's participation on this
program for more than two decades. Through this future support
contract, the Air Force expects to reduce the cost of supporting the
E-8C fleet by having the prime contractor, Northrop Grumman's
Integrated Systems, partner with the Warner Robins Air Logistics
Center.”
http://www.northgrum.com/who_we_are/who_isa_main.html
This press release from April 25th is the latest news regarding JSTARS
and the TSSR:
“April 25, 2002 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation”
“(NYSE: NOC) delivered the 13th E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack
Radar System(Joint STARS) aircraft to the U.S. Air Force today, more
than five weeks ahead of schedule.”
“The Joint STARS radar and the computer systems are installed here,
where the
team completes work on the production aircraft with ground- and
flight-testing. Northrop Grumman also provides support to the user
under a Total System Support Responsibility (TSSR) contract. The TSSR
effort is a unique partnership between the company and the Air Force
to provide the most efficient support to the E-8C Joint STARS fleet,
maximizing operational availability and mission reliability.”
NOTE: *PDF* Document so you will need Acrobat Reader.
http://www.is.northropgrumman.com/media_news/2002_data/13thjstars.pdf
From my research it would seem that Lockheed Martin either ‘pulled
out’ of or were unseccessful in their bid for “Total Systems Support
Responsibility” regarding the U-2, I can find no information regarding
TSSR and Lockheed Martin on either the www or at Lockheed Martinīs
website. However I am pursuing another line of enquiry that will
confirm or deny the above, which I will post as a comment when I have
received a reply.
With regard to the latest information regarding the U-2:
“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 15, 2002
Lockheed Martin Delivers First Upgraded U-2S Reconnaissance Aircraft”
almdale, CA — Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, a business area of
Lockheed Martin Corporation [NYSE:LMT], today delivered the first U-2S
reconnaissance aircraft equipped with state-of-the-art cockpit
displays and controls to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing based at Beale
Air Force Base, CA. This first aircraft is on schedule, under budget,
and meets all performance and program requirements. “
http://www.lmaeronautics.com/news/programnews/recon/u2/u2pr020415.html
With regard to the latest information regarding service contracts
awards for the U-2:
“Source : Raytheon Co. ; issued Oct. 25, 2001)
FALLS CHURCH, Va. --- Raytheon Company was recently awarded a $40.9
million follow-on contract for consolidated field service on the Air
Force's fleet of U-2 reconnaissance aircraft.”
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/data/communiques/archives/2001Oct/data/2001Oct7388/
I hope this information is of use to you, and as I said I will post a
further comment on the confirmation (or not) of my above thoughts
regarding TSSR and Lockheed Martin.
Thanks for the question.
THX1138
Some of the search strategies used:
tssr site:www.defense-aerospace.com
://www.google.com/search?as_q=&num=10&hl=pt&ie=ISO-8859-1&btnG=Pesquisa+Google&as_epq=tssr&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=www.defense-aerospace.com
tssr site:www.lmaeronautics.com
://www.google.com/search?as_q=&num=10&hl=pt&ie=ISO-8859-1&btnG=Pesquisa+Google&as_epq=tssr&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=www.lmaeronautics.com |
Clarification of Answer by
thx1138-ga
on
28 Jun 2002 10:31 PDT
jon44,
Thanks for the clarification and rating. Here is what I was able to
find out:
Basically, it isnīt a TSSR contract, but the objective is similar in
that it is an effort to centralize support/service requirements rather
than having different companies being responsible for different sub
systems. The name for this particular contract is a “Contractor
Field Service (CFS) program” so no it isnīt considered a TSSR.
“This program represents the successful evolution of an earlier CFS
consolidation effort by the Air Force and Raytheon. Previously, there
were separate support contracts for various subsystems used by the U-2
program; the CFS program will consolidate these individual efforts.”
http://www.raytheon.com/press/1999/jul/u2cfs.html
Description of a TSSR
“Total Systems Support Responsibility (TSSR)
* Provide incentive for contractor to earn follow-on contracts on a
long-term basis if TOC objectives are being met.
Pros:
* Focuses contractor effort on the total program from inception
through production and sustainment. The contractor can earn both
profit/fee incentives on instant and long-term business by optimizing
TOC performance, rather than giving up current profit/fee to design in
long-term savings.
* Focus is on all contract cycles, not just on immediate contract.
* Government focuses on continuous basis on impacts of actions and
decisions on TOC, not just on cost, schedule, and performance of the
current phase.
Cautions:
* Decisions may be based on uncertain models of future costs requiring
more sophisticated models.
* May affect ability to plan for government depot "core"
responsibilities since TSSR could be a contractor responsibility.
* For long-term, complex programs, there may be difficulty in keeping
models and incentives current due to instability in funding or
requirements.
* Motivation of parties must be kept in focus through different
acquisition cycles in order to adjust incentive structure effectively.
“
http://216.239.33.100/search?q=cache:Wweo80JKbhAC:acqnet.saalt.army.mil/library/final/appenb.htm++%22Total+Systems+Support+Responsibility+%22+description&hl=pt&ie=UTF-8
Description of the CFSR and the U-2
“U-2 Contractor Field Service Representative (CFSR) Support for DoD
Value Engineering Background(U) In FY00, as in the past, U-2
Contractor Field Service Representative (CFSR) support played a major
role in maintaining the U-2 Reconnaissance aircraft mission for ground
stations, data links, and sensors. Since 1955, Air Force officials
have periodically issued ten CFSR support contracts on a sole source
basis. Recently, this arrangement had become particularly cumbersome.
As a result, senior DoD leaders decided that the CFSR support for
ground stations, data links, and sensors had enough synergy to allow
these areas to be competed and consolidated under one contract. They
believed that this new arrangement would concentrate accountability
for the CFSR in the hands of one contractor rather than ten, thus
streamlining the overall maintenance process and providing the
warfighters with the most effective and most efficient support
possible. To this end, LR personnel formed an IPT to execute this
initiative. They determined to do this by employing innovative and
cutting-edge acquisition streamlining procedures.(122) “
http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:MmhSJRKGTQcC:www.robins.af.mil/History/PublicFY00/Chapter%25203%2520-%2520Final.htm+%22u+2%22+%22Contractor+Field+Service+%22+description&hl=pt&ie=UTF-8
The direct links to the above military website documents are not
working (for some reason) and so I have used the cache of these
websites in order to be able to view their contents.
I hope this has cleared the matter up for you. I still havenīt heard
from my source regarding Lockheed Martins involvement in TSSRīs but
when/if I do I will post a comment here and you will be notified by
e-mail.
Thanks for the question.
All the best
THX1138
|
Clarification of Answer by
thx1138-ga
on
03 Jul 2002 06:31 PDT
Hi again jon44,
Just a note to let you know that at long last I have received a reply
from Lockheed Martin. Here is their reply (sorry itīs not very
detailed but as you can see from my correspondence with them they were
a little 'suspicious' about my enquiry. Read from 'bottom up'
----------------------------------------------
"Thanks and I understand.
The U-2 program is under a current contract that has been in place to
upgrade the aircraft for the last 10 years. It is not a TSSR
contract.
Be safe on the 4th."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi ,
In fact I have no details regarding the person who asked the question
as I am an independant researcher for Google (the search engine
people) and it is in that capacity that I ask the question.
Researchers donīt know (and can not know) personal details of the
people who ask the questions.
All I would like (if possible) is information that is (or has been) in
the public domain that I might have missed. Of course I would not
expect you to tell me anything that might be considered 'sensitive' or
īconfidentialī but only information that could be considered 'public
knowledge'
Hope you can help.
PS. Have a great 4th of July!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks - but I guess I need to know more about your customer and why
he/she is asking. Is this from a reporter, Air Force rep, contracts
person, etc????
I want to provide you accurate information.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi,
I am actually a researcher and this is question that a customer asked.
Here is the complete question:
"Back in 1999, a number of defense contractors proposed to the U.S.
Air
Force an arrangement called "Total Systems Support Responsibility."
I'm wondering what the current status of the following two proposals
are:
Northrop Grumman for the JSTARS program
Lockheed Martin for the U-2 Aircraft.
Both were in negotiations some time in 1999. "
I have been able to find out the answer to the first part of the
question regarding Northrop Grumman :
As you can see, I donīt need anything in great detail, so if you could
point me in the direction of a press release or just let me know
(generally) what happened I would really appreciate it.
Many Thanks
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for your request. Before providing an answer would you please
let me know why you are interested? Thanks. Just need a bit of
background.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear ,
I wonder if you could help me to find out what happened to Lockheed
Martins involvement in the "Total Systems Support Responsibility"
(TSSR) program back in 1999. I remember they were in some kind of
negotiations, but I didnīt hear anymore about it. I seem to remember
it was for maintenance of the U-2.
Any help would be appreciated.
Many Thanks
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