WASHINGTON — The Air Force hopes to release a final request for proposals for JSTARS replacement aircraft by the end of the year, but that is becoming increasingly unlikely as the service weighs whether to move forward with changes to its contract strategy that could push fielding further into the future, the service's top civilian said.



The service is currently deliberating whether it will rewrite its industry solicitation to include fixed-price language required by lawmakers in this year's defense policy bill, which passed both chambers in a veto-proof majority. A provision was included in the bill that would allow the defense secretary to waive that requirement in the interests of national security, and the service is seriously considering that option, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James told Defense News in an exclusive interview.



After the National Defense Authorization Act conference report was unveiled last week, James directed service acquisition executive Darlene Costello to reevaluate the contract and offer advice about whether a fixed-price contract was feasible and in the service's best interest. The service had initially intended to follow a "hybrid approach" for the engineering, manufacturing and development phase of the program, which would make most of the contract firm-fixed-price but keep some riskier elements under a cost-plus structure.



"There is also a waiver authority in that language, and so we are also in discussions with OSD about the possibilities there. So there is no final decisions on the way ahead yet," James said on Dec. 8. "We hope to get it out by the end of the year, [but] there's no guarantee."



The Air Force intends to purchase 17 aircraft to replace its current Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System fleet, and an EMD contract is expected to be awarded in fiscal year 2018. Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman all plan to submit proposals.



Although industry had expected a final RFP in September, the service decided to release another draft while it worked with the House and Senate armed service committees' staff, hoping to persuade lawmakers to eliminate the fixed-price requirement that had been included in the Senate committee's version of the bill. During the Air Force Association conference that month, service acquisition officials warned that mandating a firm, fixed-price contract would cause a chain reaction of schedule delays. A three- to six-month delay on issuing the RFP could bump initial operational capability by about a year, Costello said then.



