NAVSUP WSS Awards P-8A Contract to Small Business

NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support (WSS) awarded a five-year, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ), long-term contract for the P-8A Poseidon Maritime aircraft estimated at $30 million to small business, S&K Aerospace, in May 2020.

“It is a first time “break-out” where a small business will be responsible to manage the repair/upgrade and overhaul of 362 commercial common weapon replaceable assemblies (WRAs) used in support of the P-8A Poseidon Maritime aircraft,” said Debra Zaslow, Contracting Officer for PBL Center of Excellence.  

These items have been deemed “commercial common,” or items that can be used on both the P-8A, as well as, the Boeing 737 aircraft and were previously repaired primarily by large business Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

“Under this contract, small businesses, performing as prime and subcontractors, will play a vital role in supporting the Navy’s P-8A aircraft. S&K Aerospace will manage parts repairs, upgrades and overhauls, and notify the Government contracting office of commercial configuration changes and obsolescence-related issues,” said Annette Stevenson, Deputy Director, NAVSUP WSS Office of Small Business Programs.

Since these 362 items are identical to the ones used on the Boeing 737, it was decided by the NAVAIR Program Office that items could be repaired at various Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 145 Repair Stations.

“These are the large nation-wide and world-wide networks of repair facilities used by airlines and other private aircraft, all of which are governed by FAA regulations,” said Zaslow. “S&K Aerospace has in-depth knowledge of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-governed repair processes, infrastructure and regulations.”

This is the first time that NAVSUP WSS has procured repairs/upgrades/overhauls from approved Federal Aviation Administration 145 Repair Stations. As the prime contractor, S&K Aerospace will be responsible for maintaining all items under this contract and coordinating the necessary repair work to return items to ready for issue (RFI) condition via repair stations.

This contract will enhance overall mission readiness for the P-8A weapon system by leveraging the existing commercial common items repair competitive environment to achieve benefits in cost and repair turnaround time.

“This was an extremely complex requirement and source selection process involving multiple functional area experts across the Integrated Weapons Support Team, Contracting Department, Legal Counsel and Office of Small Business,” said Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Tobin, Deputy Director for NAVSUP WSS PBL Center of Excellence. “This highly functional Source Selection Team analyzed all proposals and ultimately chose S&K Aerospace as providing best value to the government based on their successful performance approach, past performance, small business subcontracting plan and price. This award is a big win for NAVSUP WSS, small business and the P-8A community”

NAVSUP WSS is one of 11 commands under Commander, NAVSUP. Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and employing a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel, NAVSUP's mission is to provide supplies, services, and quality-of-life support to the Navy and joint warfighter.