The Navy is taking over management control and reducing Lockheed Martin Corp.'s role in a bid to cut costs on the sea service’s largest missile launching system/.../
A shift toward government-led systems integration could create opportunities for smaller contractors that focus on services, said Todd Harrison, a defense analyst at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.
“It would bring in a slightly different crowd of contractors,” he said in a Sept. 20 interview.
The government may find that it lacks some skills required for systems integration and could turn to companies including SAIC Inc., Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. and CACI International Inc. that provide systems engineering support and don’t manufacture weapons, Harrison said.
“They would be a fall-back option” to assist the government as it takes over primary responsibility for systems integration from the private sector, he said. Larger contractors such as Lockheed, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman Corp. typically perform systems integration only when the entire integration function is outsourced, Harrison said.
The Navy may add workers at its Warfare Centers, which are responsible for equipping the fleet, because of the changed missile launcher acquisition strategy, Batzler said. The program office staff responsible for acquiring the launch system doesn’t expect to grow, he said.