How the Defense Department buys parts

The Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Expedient Armor Program

Imagine a military without fasteners, it would just fall apart.

Fasteners are an integral part of the U.S. Military; in fact every soldier’s daily life depends on the availability and reliability of them.  Each time a military unit deploys they pack up a myriad of equipment and supplies for the purpose of not only supporting the mission at hand but to provide every imaginable item to support daily life.  These supplies and equipment are completely consumed, maintained, repaired or reused and many of them would not exist without fasteners.

Lets look at the different ways the Defense Department consumes fasteners.

Repair and Maintenance

Every piece of equipment has a lifetime which may be extended with scheduled maintenance.  This maintenance can be performed by the military or through an appointed government contractor.  Billions of dollars worth of government equipment are in some state of repair or overhaul at any given time. Repair or maintenance can occur on site, at local depots, or be shipped to one of the 20 major DOD repair depots in the U.S.

TM Screws

Figure 1.  This diagram (part of a much larger technical manual) is used to illustrate the parts breakdown for a very specific piece of equipment. Each labeled item has a very specific set of rules, such as which are to be repaired or replaced.  There are 24 unique fasteners listed in this illustration which are used on other assemblies.  The NSN 5305-00-725-2317 in this list is used on 15 other vehicles including the HMMWV model M1045A1.  General guidance for maintenance and repair of military equipment are described in technical manuals.

When items are overhauled, parts are either refurbished or replaced.  One way the military supplies parts is in kit form.  For example the NSN 2590-01-305-2166 is a parts kit for a winch, it contains 9 different types of screws, 6 different nuts and washers and two different types of cotter pins.  The kit sells for $7,350 each.  Repairs at military depots may use these kits or pull from a much larger local stock of fasteners kept in their stock bins.

Department of Defense

The four major agencies operating under the Department of Defense have a constant need for hardware such as screws, nuts, bolts, washers and rivets.  Agencies included are the Defense Logistics Agency, Air Force, Army and Navy (which includes the Marines).  There are currently 1,438 contracting offices which issue solicitations through these 4 agencies.

The  Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is the top agency for purchasing fasteners, issuing the majority of the solicitations.  Typically DLA buys are shipped to one of their 25 distribution sites located around the world or direct to the end user.  Repair depots (the actual consumers of these items) can then replenish their stock by sending requisitions to the DLA pulling from these distribution centers.  Sometimes the depot or base will create and post a solicitation for the item.

To find DLA solicitations, set up searches using standard classifications such as the Federal Supply Class (FSC) .  Classes of interest for fasteners are 5305, 5306, 5307, 5310, 5325, which are screws, bolts, studs, nuts & washers and fastening devices respectively.

Prime Manufacturers

Although the Defense Department issues millions of solicitations direct to vendors for needed parts, for major systems they prefer to buy through prime manufacturers. These companies will subcontract to thousands of vendors, that supply the parts needed to make and support aircraft, engines, ships, tanks, vehicles and communications equipment.  Familiar names like, Boeing, Lockheed, Motorola and Pratt & Whitney are all prime defense contractors.

These companies are prime targets for people who wish to sell to the defense department, but abhor the bureaucracy of government sales.  Prudent contractors can search DOD procurement history to find systems that contain components which they can supply.  Vendors can contact prime contractors directly and offer their products.  Many fastener suppliers already possess skills and familiarity with specifications of hardware used in major military systems or equipment.

Some companies who sell through prime contractors may also sell spares directly to the military.  A company may have produced a screw for Lockheed, who in turn used that screw in an end item sold to the military.  When the Defense Department orders more of that screw, it may appear under a Lockheed part number, not the original manufacturer’s.  This is useful information when searching for solicitations to sell directly to the DOD.

Direct Sales to End User

There are military bases everywhere, and sometimes demand for items arise, which must be purchased immediately.  These are designated as a emergency buys.  There are currently over three million government/military personnel who possess a government credit card which allow them the ability to purchase items without issuing a public solicitation under the right circumstances.

How They Buy

There are a number of ways parts can be purchased by the military.

Direct Procurement – The Defense Department issues a request for competitive quotes directly from manufacturers.  This can be issued through the Defense Logistics Agency, or from the individual agency with the requirement. Contractors can search for these solicitations, determine if they can manufacture the parts competitively and submit a bid.

Prime Contracts – Parts are purchased through the prime contractors, which are often supplied by subcontractors.

Credit Card – For urgent purchases, agencies can use a credit card to buy parts directly from manufacturers or distributors.

Knowing who and how they buy is the first step toward selling to the Defense Department.  Companies can register to sell directly to the DOD, or sell to companies who have already won defense contracts.  Either way, the government can be a consistent source of business for U.S. companies.

Other Sales Opportunities

Foreign Military Sales (FMS) is a program where U.S. Defense systems and services are sold to ‘friendly’ countries.  Brokers both foreign and domestic are constantly sourcing items (part numbers /NSN’s) for many of these older legacy systems.  Seeking out these suppliers or advertising your capabilities can also help increase your fasteners sales.

BidLink.net is a provider of defense industry information for contractors worldwide.  This data includes millions of defense contracts, procurement history, part numbers and vendor details.  This unique combination of resources allows BidLink to monitor and extract important information for the defense contracting industry.  BidLink.net, based in Washington, D.C., provides bid consolidation, searching and notification services, as well as part number (NSN) lookup to many military activities and thousands of private companies around the world.

This article was written exclusively for Fastener Journal.  http://www.fastenerjournal.com

Demand for Unmanned Aircraft Systems continue to grow in the U.S.

The MQ9-Reaper Unmanned Aircraft

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are a hot topic for both the U.S. Military and the FAA. According to the FAA there are some 100 U.S. companies, academic institutions, and government organizations developing over 300 UAS designs. This unmanned aircraft industry is in its infancy; currently the majority of the users of these systems are military. Unmanned aircraft systems are part of the larger group of unmanned systems which include unmanned ground systems, unmanned maritime systems and their related technologies. The Department of Defense is aggressively developing unmanned systems and technologies and has slated plans out till the year 2034.

Unmanned aircraft systems have experienced an explosive growth within the DoD, providing highly capable intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). While DoD is currently the primary user of these systems interest is growing within federal agencies, state and local governments. Potential uses such as law enforcement, firefighting and commercial real estate photography just to name a few. Sizes of current UAS’s range from only few inches to over 250 feet long, some can remain aloft for 30 hours or more.

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MQ-9 Reaper – Unmanned Aircraft System

The U.S. Air Force has procurement requests planned for 48 units per year over the next 5 years until 2015. The total budget request for UAS in fiscal year 2011 is $1,079,595,000 dollars. This procurement cost includes all components of the MQ-9 weapon system.

The MQ-9 Reaper is a fully operational UAS consisting of the aircraft, sensors, ground control station, (GCS) satellite link, spare equipment along with operations and maintenance crews for deployed locations.  A typical crew consists of a rated pilot to control the aircraft and command the mission and an enlisted aircrew member to operate sensors and weapons plus a mission coordinator, when required.

MQ9 Reaper Control Room

The MQ-9 baseline system carries a robust suite of sensors for targeting including infrared sensor, laser-guided munitions, and synthetic aperture radar; color/ monochrome camera, laser designator and a laser illuminator.  Each MQ-9 aircraft system can be disassembled and loaded into a single container, transported in the C-130 Hercules or larger aircraft, for deployment worldwide.

This past May (May 27, 2010) the Army recognized a milestone of 1 million hours of flight for unmanned aerial systems.

Based on the numbers and reports it looks like unmanned aircraft systems are here to stay, providing opportunities to companies both large and small.

* Writers are free to paraphrase or re-publish this article as long as they credit bidlink.net and link back to the original.

Photo credit: MQ-9 Reaper_081103-F-8477M-991|Capt. Sam Allen operates the controls of a battlespace simulator in the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Fundamentals Course’s laboratory. Captain Allen is an instructor with the 563rd Flying Training Squadron and the UASFC director at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. (U.S. Air Force photo/Rich McFadden)

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Air force requests over 100 new aircraft for FY 2011

Beale Global Hawk deploys for first time

The U.S. Air Force requests for over 100 new aircraft with 13 different models in their Fiscal Year 2011 Budget.

On the top of the list by volume is the MQ-9 Reaper an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) with a total request of 48 units.  The basic MQ-9 system consists of the aircraft, sensors, a control station, communications equipment, weapon kits, support equipment, simulator and training devices, initial spares and training. The total cost for all 48 units is just over one billion dollars. The prime contractor is General Atomics-Aeronautical Systems Inc.

The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) F-35 is second with a requested quantity of 23 aircraft at a total cost of  4.5 billion dollars. The F-35 is the much talked about next generation strike fighter with Lockheed Martin as prime contractor, while Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems are principal partners in the project.

Air Force FY2011 Aircraft orders (top 6 by quantity)

The Light Mobility Aircraft program is third with a requested quantity of 15 and a total program cost of 65 million dollars.  This program plans to acquire Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) aircraft to satisfy the USAF light mobility mission requirement. The new program has  no chosen manufacturer as of yet.  According to Government data there are currently 22 interested vendors.

The USAFA Powered Flight Program is requesting a quantity of 12 Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) aircraft for the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) in Colorado Springs, CO.  with a program cost of about 4 million dollars.

The RQ-4 Global Hawk is an unmanned aircraft system with a total procurement cost of just over 1 billion dollars for 4 units.  This aircraft is fully autonomous with a range of over 9000 nautical miles.

The CV-22 Osprey also on the list for a quantity and a cost of just over 500 million dollars for 5 complete systems.  The CV-22 is a Special Operations Forces (SOF) variant of the V-22 vertical lift, multi-mission aircraft.

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Top 10 States with highest percentage of Government contractors per capita

In a review of the latest data of Government contractors currently registered with the U.S. Government having an active CAGE code; the data shows that the District of Columbia ranks number one with the state of New York showing the lowest percentage of Government contractors per capita.

According to the most recent data tabulated by BidLink.net,  the associated chart represents the percentage of “Government contractors” (based on the number of CAGE codes) per state verses the population of the given state. The state populations used in these calculations are from the most recent extract of population estimates from U.S. census data based on state on residents 18 years or older.

Over 1.6 million organizations in the United States are currently active in the Governments database with an active CAGE code. Basically any company or organization wishing to do business with the U.S. Government, specifically military agencies such as the DoD, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines will have a CAGE code.

Highest Percentage of Defense Contractors (source: bidlink.net)

A CAGE code is a five (5) position alphanumeric code used to identify organizations that provide, manufacture, or control the design of items supplied to U.S. Government Military agencies. The CAGE code is an integral part of the military cataloging system and is shared with many of the automated data processing (ADP) systems throughout the military.

According to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation (DFAR) any organizations wishing to conduct business resulting in an contract award or any type of purchasing agreement must have their CAGE code active in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). CCR registration must be updated on an annual basis to remain in the system. Currently a little over a third of the total organizations active in the CAGE database are active in the CCR database.

There are two basic types of CAGE codes Manufacturers and Non-manufacturers.

Of the total active U.S. CAGE codes only 11% of them are classified and Manufactures and 89% of them are Non-manufacturers.

The basic CAGE code data contains contact information such as phone and address information. There is a myriad of other relative data which is associated to a single CAGE code. Information such as part numbers and National Stock Numbers (NSN’s) manufactures, sources, contract numbers, procurement history etc.

BidLink.net provides vital information to defense contractors by mining its enormous and comprehensive database.  This data includes millions of defense contracts, procurement history, part numbers and vendor information.  This unique combination of resources allows BidLink to monitor and extract important information for the defense contracting industry.  BidLink.net, based in Washington, D.C., provides bid consolidation, searching and notification services, as well as part number (NSN) lookup services to many military activities and thousands of private companies around the world.