PRECISION STRIKE.

• Author: Machi, Vivienne
• Position: SOCOM'S TOP 10

Special Operations Command is seeking its biggest procurement package for precision-guided munitions in several years, as it works to replenish stockpiles after years of counterterrorism missions and to equip its platforms for future high-end conflicts.

The command requested over $309 million in base and overseas contingency operations funding for precision-guided munitions in fiscal year 2019, up from around $75 million in both 2017 and 2018. That funding would go towards purchasing 329 AGM-176 Griffin air-to-ground missiles and 476 small-glide munitions, and modifying 84 small diameter bombs and "precision-guided munitions maritime systems," according to budget documents.

This increase reflects a trend across the Defense Department to replenish stocks depleted in the counterterrorism campaign over the past several years, said Susanna Blume, a senior fellow in the defense strategies and assessments program at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington, D.C-based think tank.

"It is not a decision that is unique to SOCOM; all of the services have increased their investments in precision-guided munitions in this budget request," she said.

The command plans to award a sole-source contract to Dynetics, a Huntsville, Alabama-based defense contractor, to deliver up to 4,600 munitions through calendar year 2022, according to a recent notice on FedBizOpps. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract is expected to be awarded this July. Dynetics' standoff precision-guided munition can be carried on AC-130 gunships or unmanned aerial systems, according to the company.

Additionally, the command plans to procure over 3,300 Griffin missile systems through calendar year 2022, via an IDIQ contract that is expected to be awarded to Raytheon in July. Actual munition quantities for both orders will be determined on a delivery order basis, according to the notices.

SOCOM also requested nearly $227 million in fiscal year 2019 funds to procure and install five precision strike packages onto MC-130J special operations tankers as part of the AC-130J recapitalization program that will replace legacy AC-130H/U aircraft, according to budget documents. The kits will provide SOF...