U.S. Air Force Is Planning Something Big in the Nevada Desert

[VTOLicious]

Unusually worded, multi-billion dollar drone services contract possibly points to a new, shadowy unmanned aircraft—and a lot of them.
By Joseph TrevithickApril 10, 2017
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/9102/u-s-air-force-is-planning-something-big-in-the-nevada-desert

April 6:

URS Federal Services, Inc., Germantown, Maryland, has been awarded an estimated $3,600,000,000 indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract with award fee and award term portions for remotely piloted aircraft services. Contractor will provide testing, tactics development, advanced training, Joint and Air Force urgent operational need missions. Work will be performed at Nevada Test and Training Range, Nevada; Creech Air Force Base, Nevada; and Tonopah Test Range Airfield, Nevada, and is expected to be complete by March 31, 2034. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition with four offers received. Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $2,875,894 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Test Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity. (FA8240-17-D-4651).

April 12:

CORRECTION: The $3,600,000,000 contract to URS Federal Services Inc. (FA8240-17-D-4651) that was announced on April 6, 2017, had the wrong contract type and statement of work. The contract type is actually a cost-plus-award-fee, indefinite-delivery requirements contract. The statement of work is range support services and not remotely piloted aircraft services as stated in the announcement. All other contract information is accurate.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Reactivation of the 'Hunter-Killer' project?

 

[sublight_]

$17.5 million a month for 17 years, for range support and definitely not remotely piloted vehicles. Riiiiiight.....

 

[Ian33]

Yeah, I'd heard (and sent a private message about his a while back to a member here) that the F117 doing g the loyal wingman stuff for Lockheed had to move out by Christmas time from TTR as "some thing new" is coming to the base. New and not the RQ170-D

 

[Flyaway]

Yeah, I'd heard (and sent a private message about his a while back to a member here) that the F117 doing g the loyal wingman stuff for Lockheed had to move out by Christmas time from TTR as "some thing new" is coming to the base. New and not the RQ170-D

Its big brother perhaps?

Though I see they've modified the language in it perhaps realising the original wording gave too much away.

 

[xstatic3000]

Sorry to pour cold water on this theory, but the correction is accurate. The author of the original piece is really trying to create a story when there really isn't much at all there. Without saying too much, I'm extremely familiar with URS/AECOM's Germantown office, and I'm aware of this actual solicitation and award.

This is a standard, long-term facility support contract. However, it does appear that there actually is a requirement out there for contractor support related to "testing, tactics development, advanced training, Joint and Air Force urgent operational need missions" at Nevada Test and Training Range (which includes everyone's favorite Classified Flight Test Center), Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, and Tonopah. Again, this is nothing out of the ordinary and certainly doesn't point to some huge new operational UAV/UCAV program such as the author is suggesting. It's possible that this requirement is related to supporting the RQ-170 fleet and possibly some other unmanned vehicles that may be testing or training pilots out there in the desert. But it could just as easily be related to MQ-1/MQ-9 operations, such as developing tactics and training for using these systems against emerging threats.

 

[Flyaway]

Sorry to pour cold water on this theory, but the correction is accurate. The author of the original piece is really trying to create a story when there really isn't much at all there. Without saying too much, I'm extremely familiar with URS/AECOM's Germantown office, and I'm aware of this actual solicitation and award.

This is a standard, long-term facility support contract. However, it does appear that there actually is a requirement out there for contractor support related to "testing, tactics development, advanced training, Joint and Air Force urgent operational need missions" at Nevada Test and Training Range (which includes everyone's favorite Classified Flight Test Center), Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, and Tonopah. Again, this is nothing out of the ordinary and certainly doesn't point to some huge new operational UAV/UCAV program such as the author is suggesting. It's possible that this requirement is related to supporting the RQ-170 fleet and possibly some other unmanned vehicles that may be testing or training pilots out there in the desert. But it could just as easily be related to MQ-1/MQ-9 operations, such as developing tactics and training for using these systems against emerging threats.

In that case it could just as easily be at this stage for the Predator B in support of its development for the RAF as its launch customer.