BAE awarded $22M contract for work on USS Little Rock, USS Sioux City

Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Pentagon officials on Monday announced a new modified deal with BAE Systems for post-shakedown availabilities for the USS Little Rock and USS Sioux City littoral combat ships.

The deal is classified as a cost-plus-award fee worth more than $22.4 million to exercise options for post-shakedown availabilities, or PSA.

PSA is an industrial term for correcting deficiencies found during the shakedown cruise or to accomplish other authorized improvements. Normally, PSAs occur after delivery and are complete prior to the Navy's deadline for completing Shipbuilding and Conversion work.

Work will be performed on the USS Little Rock LCS-9 and USS Sioux City LCS-11 Freedom-class littoral combat ships. The Little Rock was delivered to the Navy in September and is scheduled to be commissioned alongside the original USS Little Rock CLG-4, in Buffalo, N.Y., in December. The Sioux City entered service earlier this year.

BAE Systems will contribute all manpower, support services, material, non-standard equipment and associated technical data and documentation required to prepare for and accomplish the PSA, according to the Pentagon.

Work on the contract will be performed in Jacksonville, Fla., and is expected to be completed by February 2019.

Fiscal 2017 and 2012 shipbuilding and conversion, along with the Navy's fiscal 2017 other procurement funding in the amount of $14.5 million will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.