Posted: 3/29/2012 5:58:12 PM EDT
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Well, if you think about it, we all prep by putting away food, guns and ammo, so I guess its ok for the Dept. of Homeland Security to do the same. Remember their order for freeze dried foods, now they need 450,000,000 hollow point bullets. Ouch!
Move along, nothing to see here? The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office is getting an "indefinite delivery" of an "indefinite quantity" of .40 caliber ammunition from defense contractor ATK. U.S. agents will receive a maximum of 450 million rounds over five years, according to a press release on the deal. The high performance HST bullets are designed for law enforcement and ATK says they offer "optimum penetration for terminal performance." This refers to the the bullet's hollow-point tip that passes through barriers and expands for a bigger impact without the rest of the bullet getting warped out of shape: "this bullet holds its jacket in the toughest conditions." We've also learned that the Department has an open bid for a stockpile of rifle ammo. Listed on the federal business opportunities network, they're looking for up to 175 million rounds of .223 caliber ammo to be exact. The .223 is almost exactly the same round used by NATO forces, the 5.56 x 45mm. The deadline for earlier this month was extended because the right contractor just hadn't come along. Looks like the Department of Homeland Security means business. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/us-immigration-agents-are-loading-up-on-as-many-as-450-million-new-rounds-of-ammo-2012-3#ixzz1qYqPnWLr |
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Don't read too much in to the IDIQ. Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity is .gov speak that means "doesn't have to go through a whole mess of paperwork and rebids when they decide they want to buy stuff". It means they can keep buying from whomever won the contract without having to get permission each time.
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Note they didn't by the food, they issued an RFI. Kind of like window shopping.
IDIQ contracts allways have some absurd upper limit, Woe be to the contracting offiicer who has to renegotiate a contract because they set the limit too low. Often times these contracts are made available to state and local agencies as well. Interesting they are going for their own 5.56 contract, they must be expecting a better deal (or lesser specs) than DOD. |
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Quoted:
Interesting they are going for their own 5.56 contract, they must be expecting a better deal (or lesser specs) than DOD. It's not lesser specs, just that nobody is buying military ammo anymore for LE like in the old days. All the federal agencies and most of the states are looking for bonded softpoint barrier loads for duty ammo nowadays. |
