Kearfott Guidance & Navigation Corporation, B-292895.2, May 25, 2004

B-292895.2 May 25, 2004 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Kearfott Guidance & Navigation Corporation protests the proposed sole-source award by the Department of the Navy, Strategic Systems Programs (SSP), of a contract to The Charles Stark Draper Laboratories (Draper) to set up and certify an integrated support facility (ISF) for repair and refurbishment of the MK 6 guidance system for the Trident II (D-5) submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). We deny the protest. View Decision B-292895.2, Kearfott Guidance & Navigation Corporation, May 25, 2004 DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND Trident II (D-5) MK 6 Guidance System The MK 6 guidance system, the current generation of guidance systems for the Navy's SLBM program, serves as the guidance system for the Navy's Trident II (D-5) missile system. The Trident II (D-5) missile, first deployed in 1990, is launched from submerged Ohio class (Trident) submarines. The D-5 missile has a range of more than 4,600 miles; can travel at speeds greater than 20,000 feet per second; and is capable of carrying multiple, nuclear-armed warheads, each of which can be independently targeted with pinpoint accuracy. The ability of the D-5 missile to accurately strike its targets involves the precise interaction of the missile's six main subsystems: (1) the ship's navigation system, which uses sonar, a global positioning system and other navigation equipment to identify the missile's launching position from the submarine; (2) the ship's fire control system, which constantly processes the submarine's location, true north, target location and other data to compute the proper trajectory for each missile; (3) the launcher system, which uses expanding gases that are ignited to eject the missile from the launch tube, through the water and to the surface; (4) the missile's three-stage rocket motor propulsion system; (5) the missile guidance system, considered the most complicated and sensitive of the D-5 missile's six main subsystems, which is responsible for directing the missile on a corrected trajectory, compensating for submarine position and in-flight effects such as high winds, and triggering the re-entry bodies for release towards the target; and (6) the re-entry bodies system, including separation of the warheads towards the precise target, which is totally dependent on the missile guidance system. Facts/Chronology Polaris, Poseidon, Trident at 1-9. The MK 6 guidance system is packaged in two assemblies, including the inertial measurement unit (IMU), containing the inertial instruments in a gimbaled stabilized platform, and the electronic assembly, containing the computers and support electronics. The IMU is primarily comprised of: (1) four gimbals; (2) two Kearfott'manufactured MITA-5 gyros, to provide a stable inertial frame of reference; (3) three size 10 –pendulous integrating gyro accelerometers— (10-PIGA), which measure missile velocity and transfer that information to the associated electronics to ensure that the proper velocity is maintained throughout the missile's flight so that the missile stays on target; (4) a stellar sensor system, comprised of a telescope optics assembly and a camera detector assembly, which updates the guidance system through sightings of stars; and (5) electronics for the camera, PIGA control, temperature control, gyros, gimbal torque motor drive, data measurement and other purposes, which are collectively referred to as the IMU electronics (IMUEs). The electronic assembly contains six computers that collectively provide for gimbal control, utility control and monitoring, and missile navigation and guidance computations. Id. at 1. For example, in the event that the pitch and roll of the missile causes the missile to tilt and move off target, thus moving the IMU gimbals, an electronic signal is sent via the IMUEs to the two gyros and three 10-PIGA accelerometers; the electronic assembly and IMUEs process the signals and information from the gyros and accelerometers and send corrections back to the gimbals, which aligns the gimbals back to an accurate target position; and the correction by the gimbals is then sent to the electronic assembly, which sends a signal to the missile steering system to correct the flight of the missile so that it stays on target. Contracting Officer's Statement (COS), at 2-5; Agency Report, Tab 73, Marvin A. Biren, The Trident II (MK 6) Guidance System, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.