The U.S. Navy on Wednesday said it planned to launch an open competition around fiscal 2017 for a next-generation missile, seeking to reassure weapons makers they still have prospects after a separate deal with Lockheed Martin Corp for 90 air-launched missiles sparked a formal protest.
Navy acquisition chief Sean Stackley told reporters the Lockheed program was limited in scope and the future, bigger missile development program would be open to all potential bidders.
"That will be competed. That is 100 percent competition," he said after a hearing held by the House Armed Services Committee's seapower and projection forces subcommittee.
Stackley defended the Pentagon's decision to order 90 long-range anti-ship missiles from Lockheed that were developed under a contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). He said the move was justified given the urgent needs of military commanders and said the initial DARPA research contract with Lockheed was awarded after a formal competition.
"The way to get it out there as quickly as possible is to take this system that DARPA has developed with Lockheed and build a limited number (of air-launched missiles) to get it out into the fleet's hands by the 2018 timeframe," he said.
Stackley said the decision required a special "justification and authorization" by the Pentagon's acquisition chief since it was a sole-source deal and that move had sparked a protest by a rival company.
He declined further comment, but said he wanted to make very clear that the larger procurement would be competitively bid.
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