NGB Ninja Justification.pdf
PDF 314 KB Posted
- Attached to
- 117th Ninja Warranty
- Solicitation number
- W50S6M25QA026
About this file
This document is a Memorandum for Record from the National Guard Bureau (NGB) dated 7 June 2024, addressing sustainment for the NINJA (C-sUAS) capability. The memo explains that NINJA is the current United States Air Force (USAF) and Air National Guard (ANG) program of record for Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-sUAS), with procurement intentionally avoiding a "one size fits all" solution due to varying mission requirements and threat landscapes. The Headquarters Air Force (HAF) and NGB/A4S have concurred that NINJA is optimal for domestic C-sUAS operations, particularly for protecting airbases located near civilian airports.
The memorandum emphasizes the critical nature of sustainment funding to ensure ongoing maintenance and software upgrades for the NINJA system. Notably, the document specifies that sustainment for a NINJA system can only be provided by Black River Systems, highlighting a sole-source requirement for system maintenance. The memo is signed by Lt Col Derrick Burks, Chief of Defensive Base Operations at NGB/A4S, who notes that procuring a system without maintaining it would be unintelligent, underscoring the importance of continuous system relevance and support.
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Text version
NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU
3500 FETCHET AVENUE
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MD 20762-5157
7 June 2024
MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD
FROM: LT COL DERRICK BURKS
SUBJECT: Sustainment for Ninja
1. NINJA is currently the USAF and ANG Program of record for C-sUAS capability.
Procurement memos have INTENTIONALLY not defined a single “one size fits all” solution for C-sUAS capability due to the various mission sets and variety or threats. Defining only one system would be equivocal to saying we can only use one type of vehicle or one type of ammunition despite having a variety of required capabilities to meet an ever-evolving mission.
2. Autonomy for MAJCOMs was allowed in vetting which equipment worked for which mission. HAF and NGB/A4S concurred that NINJA was the best for domestic C-sUAS operations in the protection of airbases (especially ones collocated with civilian airports).
3. Sustainment funding is necessary to ensure maintenance and software upgrades occur for the system to maintain relevance. It would be unintelligent to procure a system and then not maintain it. Sustainment for a NINJA system can only be provided by Black River Systems.
4. If you have any further questions, please contact me at derrick.burks.3@us.af.mil.
Derrick Burks, Lt Col, USAF Chief, Defensive Base Operations, NGB/A4S
NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU
3500 FETCHET AVENUE
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MD 20762-5157
| 2024-07-26T11:25:07-0400 | |
| BURKS.DERRICK.HOWARD.1259894910 |
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .