At least five US defence companies are competing for the right to provide the US Air Force with long-term contractor support for five special-operations variants of the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules.
The Integrated Weapon System Support Programme (IWSSP), worth $1 billion, is intended to cover single-source maintenance and upgrade work over a ten-year period for the USAF's 87 special-operations C-130s.
The five bidders are understood to include Ball Aerospace, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon E-Systems. The list would shrink, however, if Lockheed Martin's acquisition of Northrop Grumman gets the required US anti-trust approval.
The MC-130H, MC-130E and AC-130H are Lockheed Martin variants, while the AC-130U Spectre gunship is a Boeing development through its acquisition of Rockwell International's defence units. The MC-130P, however, was modified by Smiths Industries.
The initial contract will cover support of all five C-130 variants for a decade, and for completion of AC-130U development work. At the end of the ten-year period, only the MC-130H and the AC-130U will remain in service. Continued work on those aircraft will be provided through contract options.
The USAF is expected to release the draft request for proposals (RFP) on 30 September, with he final RFP due out on 5 January, 1998. Last bids are expected from the contractors in April, and the USAF will select the IWSSP winner in August 1998.
Source: Flight International
