Letter to Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel - Current Procurement Process Edges Harris Out of Running to Produce Quality Radios for U.S. Military -- Multi-Vendor Process Ensures Equal Playing Field
Letter
Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer urged Secretary of Defense Hagel to allow companies across the country, including Rochester's Harris RF to compete for a 5-year multi-million dollar military radio contract. Earlier this month in a phone call, Schumer urged Hagel and top Pentagon officials to commit to open the competition for Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) manpack radio contracts by using a multi-vendor approach, which levels the playing field for commercial companies in the procurement process and helps provide higher-quality military radios for our nation's troops. Schumer today documented his push in a letter. The Army is now developing its acquisition strategy for the "Rifleman" version of these JTRS radios and the "Manpack" version, both a part of JTRS handheld, manpack, small form fit (HMS) program. The Army had originally indicated earlier this year it planned to award a single vendor a five-year contract for each radio. Schumer said instead commercial vendors, like Harris, should be able to compete for contracts each year to ensure the military has the best equipment and to ensure that there is healthy pricing competition for the work.
"My message to Secretary Hagel is that the single-vendor procurement process for these next-generation radio should be "over and out,'" said Schumer. "The Pentagon should reverse course and pursue a multi-vendor process for these next-generation radios, which would engender a healthy competition between radio manufacturers. When companies have an even playing field to compete on price and technology, taxpayers get the best deal for their money and our troops get the latest and greatest in technology. Just as a consumer wouldn't lock themselves in to buy the same smart phone model for the next 5 years when prices keep dropping and technology keeps advancing, we shouldn't lock down this contract to just one vendor for the next 5 years. We owe our troops the best possible military radios -- to maximize their safety and efficiency as they defend our country."
Schumer supports efforts by the Army to allow multiple companies that can produce JTRS-certified radios, like Harris RF, to compete to provide these radios to the Army during the next 5 years. Recent research has shown that commercially-produced JTRS radios are safer, simpler, and more reliable than many of the Army's models currently in use. Schumer said companies like Harris RF in Rochester should have a full and fair opportunity to compete to provide JTRS radios to protect our troops that are certified through the Army's Network Integration Evaluations (NIE). Just last week Harris RF Corp. has rolled out its latest multi- channel radio, the Falcon III Multi-channel Manpack radio. Schumer noted that Harris RF developed the Falcon III Multi-channel specifically in response to the U.S. Defense Department's Handheld, Manpack and Small Form Factor radio program.
JTRS is a series of next generation integrated, universally-applicable, tactical radio devices planned by the U.S. military to replace various radio devices currently deployed by U.S. armed forces in combat arenas. These next-generation radios support increased capabilities such as broadband data applications, streaming video, as well as current-generation voice capabilities.
In May 2012, Schumer helped secure language in the Senate-passed Fiscal Year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that recommends that a competitive acquisition process is approved for these radios, before any funds are obligated for the full rate production of these radios.
A copy of Schumer's letter to the Secretary of Defense Hagel appears below:
Dear Secretary Hagel,
Thank you for taking the time to discuss the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) acquisition strategy with me earlier this last month. We had a productive conversation regarding the benefits of a multi-vendor procurement contract vehicle, rather than a single vendor strategy, for the Rifleman and Manpack radios, both a part of JTRS handheld, manpack, small form fit (HMS) program. As we discussed, a multi-vendor acquisition strategy will have numerous benefits for the Army, including decreased cost, vendor-funded innovation, and maintaining the industrial base. A multi-vendor competition is the sensible path forward to both enable our military to benefit from commercially-developed products and to strike the most cost-competitive solution for taxpayers. The longer competition is delayed, the less opportunity we have to benefit from the cost-savings and innovation that competition drives.
As you know, the FY14 Senate and House Defense Authorization and Appropriations reports encourage multi-vendor contracts for these radios and the federal acquisition regulations (FAR) require a multiple vendor contact when procuring these kinds of products. However, the Army is seeking an exception to the multi-vendor requirement and instead of having a contract vehicle that has multiple vendors on it that will compete for each delivery order over the next five years the Army is seeking to contract with a single vendor, which will effectively shut out competition.
As you know, I have spoken to Undersecretary of Defense Frank Kendall twice to express my concerns on the Army's planned single vendor strategy. A multi-vendor strategy will be less expensive due to price competition between vendors. For example, DOD did a multi-vendor contract for two earlier radio purchases including the "Consolidated Single Channel Handheld Radio" (CISHR), that resulted in a price decrease of over 50% for the vehicular radio and 66% for the handheld. Additionally, both companies on the contract invested their international research & development dollars to innovate and deliver an incrementally better radio to the warfighter over the life of the contract.
These radios are going to be purchased for many years in the future, beyond the initial 5-year contract, amounting to billions of dollars over the life of the program. In the long term a single-vendor system would lead to escalating costs throughout the program and miss an opportunity for the government to realized significant cost savings while providing greater capabilities to our warfighters. In addition, I am concerned that a single vendor contract will cause many vendors to leave the market, leaving the Army with a de-facto sole-source competition going forward.
Lastly, I want to reiterate my concern that the Manpack RFP should not contain narrow "threshold criteria" that would effectively shut out competition by requiring the radios to have specific proprietary requirements, such as proprietary software, that only one specific vendor could provide. Such narrow threshold criteria would be tantamount to doing an end run around a competitive process with an even playing field. This is a real concern regarding the fairness of the competition and DOD making the best use of its budget.
Again, I appreciate your time to discuss this issue with me and I am heartened to know you will consider my concerns to pursue a multi-vendor acquisition strategy for the forthcoming five year JTRS Manpack radio. I was happy to see last month that the Army awarded the contract for the Mid-Tier Networking Vehicular Radio (MNVR) to Harris Corp., demonstrating that a non-developmental product can meet Army tactical radio requirements. As with the MNVR, I hope you will consider this an opportunity to bring greater savings to DOD and taxpayers.
Please contact me or my staff if we can be of any assistance.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
U.S. Senator
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