Fire Scout System and Software Engineering Sustainment

The Naval Air Systems Command has awarded contract N00019-23-C-0002 to Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in San Diego, California, for system and software engineering requirements to support the MQ-8 Fire Scout Unmanned Aircraft System. This is a Cost Plus Fixed Fee contract focused on the sustainment and support of the system. The acquisition was conducted on a sole-source basis under the statutory authority of Title 10, U.S.C. Section 2304(c)(1) and Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1, as Northrop Grumman was determined to be the only responsible source with the unique capabilities and Technical Data Package necessary to satisfy agency requirements. The effort is governed by Class Justification and Approval number 22-0108, which authorizes non-competitive contract actions for MQ-8 Fire Scout support and sustainment services through June 22, 2026. Prior to the award, a pre-solicitation notice was posted to SAM.gov in March 2022, which yielded no responses. The government has determined that the anticipated costs for these services are fair and reasonable, and the performance of the work is centered in San Diego, California.