Top Macomb defense contractors under fire from CBO

Two of the top contractors in Macomb County’s defense corridor find themselves trying to beat back an attack from the Congressional Budget Office over plans to build a new Ground Combat Vehicle for the Pentagon.

Stryker vehicle

General Dynamics Land Systems and BAE, both located in Sterling Heights, reportedly received 2-year technology-development contracts of $440 million and $450 million respectively in 2011, for early prototype work on the Ground Combat Vehicle. But the CBO now says that alternative vehicles offered by the Israelis or the Germans might be a better, cheaper alternative – literally, a better bang for the buck. 

The $900 million project is overseen by the Army's Life Cycle Management Command at the TACOM complex in Warren.

 

Here’s what’s at stake: The Army expects to order about 1,750 GCVs for more than 20 military brigades at a cost of more than $28 billion after a finalized vehicle enters production, starting in 2019.

The CGV will replace the aging Bradley armored vehicles.

BAE officials say the CBO comparisons are based on outdated information on the capabilities of a “notional GCV.” General Dynamics representatives have said the CBO’s stats on firepower, survivability or resistance to attack without crew casualties are “suspect” and contrary to Army and industry analysis, according to ongoing coverage of the issue by Crain’s Detroit Business.

Crain’s reported that General Dynamics teamed up with Raytheon Co. and Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin Corp. on the design contract, while BAE is collaborating with Northrop Grumman Corp. and Virginia-based QinetiQ North America Inc. on that project. Detroit-based Tognum America Inc. is a supplier to both teams.

Meanwhile, veteran journalist Walter Pincus, in his column for the Washington Post, is raising questions about the effectiveness and price of the Stryker vehicle, which is manufactured by GD.

The basic Stryker has a two-person crew and carries a squad of nine soldiers. It can travel more than 60 mph on highways and travel up to 300 miles on its 50 gallon gas tank.

Last Tuesday, the Army published a pre-solicitation notice that it plans to award GD a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Phase II upgrade research and development of the Stryker family of vehicles, Pincus reported.

There are two basic versions: an infantry carrier and a gun system. There are eight other configurations: for reconnaissance; anti-tank guided missile; for nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological warfare; medical evacuation; commander’s vehicle; fire support; mortar carrier and engineer squad vehicle.

And there are seven variants of those designs.

In the realities of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, GD was forced to make major upgrades to the Strykers based on the emergence of IED attacks. But more armor means more weight, which means more wear and tear and more maintenance.

The more survivable double-v hull models were available within 18 months. But maintenance became even more complex, according to Pincus. The heavier weight wore out the tires faster. Other newly designed components were needed to meet failure rates of other parts. And more than 400 Strykers were damaged.

Pincus concludes:

The United States has spent $17.8 billion on the Stryker family of vehicles, the GAO report on Defense Acquisitions released last month said. That’s more than 115 percent higher than original projected costs. In the past five years, the increases have been running at 23 percent above the initial estimates.