On March 5, 2014, DARPA responded to each protester advising that, on review of the white papers, it had determined that the proposed technical solutions would not enable DARPA to complete technology maturation of the LRASM within 24 months, and would result in substantial duplication of costs and unacceptable delay. Kongsberg asserts that the Government has a unique opportunity to leverage the Norwegian investment to achieve near-term long-range anti-ship capabilities at a reduced cost. Kongsberg claimed that the Norwegian Ministry of Defense has invested approximately $1 billion in development of the missile and ongoing integration on the F-35 aircraft. Kongsberg, in its white paper, stated that it is developing its existing Joint Strike Missile for long-range precision strike missions. According to Raytheon’s white paper, the Tomahawk Missile upgrades established that the government should not move forward with any anti-surface warfare acquisitions without formally evaluating Raytheon’s weapon systems. Raytheon, in its white paper, stated that it disagreed with DARPA’s intent to award a sole-source contract, and described technology upgrades to its Tomahawk Block IV missile, which it asserted would enable the Tomahawk Missile to meet the Navy’s unmet anti-surface warfare capabilities. The follow-on effort was to include “further sensor and avionics hardware development based on previous results achieved under the current contract,” and the “fabrication of missile hardware to enable additional missile flight tests.” On December 20, 2013, DARPA posted the sole-source notice challenged here, DARPA-SN-14-14, publicizing its intent to award a sole-source follow-on contract to Lockheed, for continued maturation of the LRASM subsystems and system design. On June 29, 2009, DARPA awarded a contract to Lockheed for the LRASM demonstration program. Following the evaluation of all proposals, Lockheed’s proposal was selected for funding. Nine offerors submitted proposals in response to the 2008 BAA, including Lockheed and protester Raytheon. The BAA was for a research and development effort only, and did not require a contractor to develop and deliver a production version of an anti-ship strike weapon. The BAA advised that the extension of the system to future delivery vehicles and launch platform flexibility were of interest, and that “though the intended demonstration under this effort is a ship launched anti-ship missile, solutions which could be adapted to other launch platforms, such as aircraft and submarines. The program was initiated with the publication of a broad agency announcement (BAA), DARPA-BAA-08-41, on June 6, 2008, seeking competitive proposals for a research and development effort to “apidly develop and demonstrate a ship launched standoff anti-ship strike weapon.” Agency Report (AR), Tab 6, BAA, at 5. In response to this statement, DARPA and the Office of Naval Research jointly began a technology demonstration program known as the LRASM program. In March 2008, the DOD issued an urgent operation needs statement to fill a capability gap in anti-surface warfare capabilities. The missile is also capable of providing naval fire support and strike missions from long distances. The missile provides a stand-off launch capability to detect land or sea targets. An advanced engagement planning system was installed to accurately engage targets using geographic information in the area. The high-mobility JSM system is equipped with an accurate navigation system to support flying close to terrain. The middle section is equipped with a fuel tank and a 125 kg HE Fragmentation warhead. The front section of the JSM includes an Image Target Seeker to distinguish between ground and unintended targets. It measures 4 meters in length and weighs 416 kg. The missile is equipped with air intakes, wings and tail fins. The JSM outer mold line is changed to fit F-35A/C internal weapons bay. Differences include the JSM will introduce Link-16 and overland capability, to be retrofitted in NSM. Similarities include seeker, software, mission planning, warhead, and engine. The Joint Strike Missile (JSM) is an air launched variant being designed for the F-35 (internal and external carriage) to meet Royal Norwegian Air Force requirements. The JSM development was completed in mid-2018 after a series of successful verification tests, while the completion of the JSM integration on the F-35 fighter jet is expected during 2022-2024. Norway is a partner nation in the development of the fifth-generation Joint Strike Fighter. The missile can be employed against sea- and land-based targets. The JSM is Norway’s advanced anti-surface warfare missile designed for the new F-35A Lighting II’s internal weapons bay.
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