ALCOAST 616/08
COMDTNOTE 5230
SUBJ: NATIONWIDE AUTOMATIC IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM UPDATE
1. THE NATIONWIDE AIS (NAIS) MAJOR SYSTEMS ACQUISITION PROJECT
TODAY AWARDED A 12 MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT TO NORTHROP GRUMMAN
SPACE AND MISSION SYSTEMS CORPORATION (NORTHROP GRUMMAN) TO DELIVER
THE "CORE" NATIONWIDE AIS DATA EXCHANGE (TRANSMIT AND RECEIVE)
CAPABILITY. THE CORE CONSISTS OF ALL THE SYSTEM COMPONENTS AND
FUNCTIONALITY, INCLUDING AIS RECEIVE AND TRANSMIT MESSAGING, DATA
PROCESSING, DATA STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL, AND SYSTEM MONITORING, ON A
LIMITED GEOGRAPHIC SCALE. THIS CONTRACT WILL BUILD UPON THE CURRENT
RECEIVE-ONLY CAPABILITY THAT EXISTS IN 58 MAJOR PORTS AND 9
CRITICAL COASTAL AREAS BY ADDING THE NECESSARY SHORE-SIDE
COMMUNICATIONS, NETWORK, AND PROCESSING CAPABILITY TO ENSURE THE
EFFECTIVE EXCHANGE OF AIS INFORMATION BETWEEN AIS-EQUIPPED VESSELS,
AIRCRAFT, AIDS TO NAVIGATION, AND SHORE STATIONS WITHIN ALL MAJOR
US PORTS, WATERWAYS, COASTAL ZONES, AS WELL AS RECEIPT OF THIS
INFORMATION FROM AIS-EQUIPPED VESSELS BOUND TO THE US. OVER THE
NEXT 22 MONTHS, NORTHROP GRUMMAN WILL DELIVER THE CORE DATA
EXCHANGE CAPABILITIES AND PROVIDE TRANSMIT AND EXPANDED RECEIVE
COVERAGE IN SECTORS DELAWARE BAY, HAMPTON ROADS, AND MOBILE. THE
REMAINING SECTORS, INCLUDING THOSE IN THE WESTERN RIVERS AND
ALASKA, WILL BE PROVIDED WITH THIS CAPABILITY OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL
YEARS, AS FUNDING BECOMES AVAILABLE.
2. THE NATIONWIDE AIS PROJECT IS ALREADY MAKING CRITICAL
CONTRIBUTIONS TO MARITIME SAFETY AND SECURITY AT OUR NATIONS
HIGHEST PRIORITY PORTS AND COASTAL ZONES, WITH ALL AIS DATA MADE
AVAILABLE TO EVERY SECTOR COMMAND THROUGH THE ENTERPRISE
APPLICATIONS OF C2PC, MISLE-EGIS, AND MAGNET (SEE THE NATIONWIDE
AIS RESOURCE GUIDE AVAILABLE ON THE NAIS PROJECT OFFICE CG CENTRAL
WEBSITE FOR SPECIFIC DETAILS). THIS AIS DATA WILL SOON BE
INCORPORATED INTO A NEW, ROBUST COMMAND AND CONTROL NETWORK, WHICH
IS BEING DEVELOPED UNDER THE COMMAND 21/INTERAGENCY OPERATIONS
CENTER PROJECT.
3. AS DESCRIBED IN THE LAST NATIONWIDE AIS UPDATE, THIS CONTRACT
WILL ALLOW THE COAST GUARD TO FULLY LEVERAGE THE INHERENT FEATURES
OF AIS BY ADDING TRANSMIT CAPABILITIES TO OUR NATIONWIDE SYSTEM.
THIS NEW CAPABILITY SUPPORTS ALL COAST GUARD MISSIONS, AS WELL AS
PROVIDING ADDITIONAL SERVICES TO MARINERS TO ENHANCE THE SAFETY,
SECURITY, AND EFFICIENCY OF THE MARINE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
CONSEQUENTLY, THE PROHIBITION AGAINST LOCAL PURCHASES OF SHORE-SIDE
AIS INSTALLATIONS OR SUBSCRIPTION TO AIS DATA SERVICES, OUTLINED IN
THE LAST NAIS UPDATE, REMAINS IN EFFECT. REQUESTS FOR AIS COVERAGE
BEYOND THAT CURRENTLY PROVIDED BY NAIS SHOULD BE ROUTED THROUGH THE
CHAIN OF COMMAND TO CG-761. ADDITIONALLY, IN ORDER TO ENSURE THE
PROPER DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION OF THE CORE DATA
EXCHANGE CAPABILITIES, THE NATIONWIDE AIS PROJECT AND NAIS SPONSOR
OFFICE WILL BEGIN PLANNING FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE AIS VHF DATA LINK
(VDL). ALL SHORE-SIDE INSTALLATIONS CAPABLE OF TRANSMITTING AIS
MESSAGES SHOULD EXPECT FURTHER GUIDANCE AND COORDINATION WITH THE
PROJECT, THE PROJECT SPONSOR AND THE APPROPRIATE PROGRAM MANAGER TO
ENSURE THAT EXISTING REQUIREMENTS ARE INCORPORATED INTO THE
NATIONWIDE AIS TRANSMIT MANAGEMENT PROTOCOLS.
4. USING A DISCIPLINED AND DOCUMENTED ACQUISITION PROCESS, AND WITH
THE FULL PARTICIPATION OF THE COAST GUARDS TECHNICAL AUTHORITIES
AND PROJECT SPONSOR, AS WELL AS THIRD PARTY PARTNERS, THIS CONTRACT
HAS TAKEN ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT STEP IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE NAIS
PROJECT. IN ADDITION TO THE TWO-YEAR BASE PERIOD, THE CONTRACT
PROVIDES FOR SIX ONE-YEAR OPTION PERIODS. THE APPROXIMATE MAXIMUM
VALUE OF THIS CONTRACT, IF ALL OPTIONS ARE EXERCISED, IS
APPROXIMATELY 68 MILLION DOLLARS.
5. THE NAIS PROJECT PLANS TO ESTABLISH A PROJECT RESIDENT OFFICE AT
THE CONTRACTOR FACILITY IN NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA TO ADMINISTER AND
OVERSEE THE CONTRACT. CDR JEFF WESTLING AND LCDR SHAWN MAULDIN HAVE
BEEN ORDERED IN AS THE PCO AND PXO, RESPECTIVELY.
6. NORTHROP GRUMMAN IS AN EXPERIENCED LEADER IN THE C4ISR SYSTEMS
ENGINEERING INDUSTRY, PREVIOUSLY HAVING DEVELOPED AND DELIVERED
HAWKEYE FOR THE COAST GUARD AND GLOBAL COMMAND AND CONTROL SYSTEMS
- JOINT (GCCS-J) FOR THE DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY (DISA).
THE COAST GUARD SELECTED NORTHROP GRUMMAN FOLLOWING A RIGOROUS FULL
AND OPEN COMPETITION, WHICH INCLUDED MULTIPLE VENDORS WITH
EXPERIENCE IN THIS TECHNOLOGY. NORTHROP GRUMMAN WAS SELECTED
BECAUSE THE FIRM OFFERED BEST VALUE TO THE COAST GUARD OF TECHNICAL
CAPABILITY, MANAGEMENT APPROACH, AND PRICE.
7. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ENTIRE NAIS TEAM, INCLUDING OUR COAST
GUARD CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE, THE R&D CENTER, OPERATIONS SYSTEMS
CENTER (OSC), NAVIGATION CENTER (NAVCEN), TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS COMMAND (TISCOM), COMMAND AND CONTROL
ENGINEERING CENTER (C2CEN), MAINTENANCE AND LOGISTICS COMMANDS
(MLCS), AND PARTNERS SUCH AS THE NAVAL SEA LOGISTICS CENTER
(NAVSEALOGCEN), THE VOLPE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS CENTER
AND THE SPACE AND NAVAL WARFARE SYSTEMS COMMAND (SPAWAR).
8. QUESTIONS MAY BE DIRECTED TO THE NAIS PROJECT OFFICE, AT 202-
475-3120 OR THE SPONSORS REP (CG-761), AT 202-372-2652. FOR
ADDITIONAL GENERAL INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT THE NAIS INTERNET
WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.USCG.MIL/ACQUISITION/NAIS/DEFAULT.ASP
9. RADM GARY T. BLORE, ASSISTANT COMMANDANT FOR ACQUISITION, SENDS.
10. INTERNET RELEASE AUTHORIZED.