Propulsion Controls Engineering, LLC

Propulsion Controls Engineering, operating as Propulsion Controls and a subsidiary of Tecnico Corporation, is a San Diego-based small business limited liability company specializing in ship repair, propulsion system maintenance, and maritime equipment overhaul for the U.S. Navy and federal maritime agencies as a prime contractor (82% of recent awards) and as a subcontractor to major defense shipbuilders. The company competes predominantly under total small business set-asides on Navy platforms, though a material share of work on complex maintenance contracts flows through full-and-open delivery orders from established IDIQ vehicles.

Propulsion Controls Engineering's federal footprint centers almost entirely on Naval Sea Systems Command and Military Sealift Command customers. The top five customer agencies account for 93% of recent awards, led overwhelmingly by Naval Sea Systems Command (464 awards, $2.49 billion combined potential value) and Military Sealift Command (275 awards, $214.9 million), with a sharp concentration gap between them and the remainder of the federal customer set. That concentration extends to dollar magnitude: NAVSEA accounts for approximately 88% of the vendor's combined potential value across all awards, while MSC represents roughly 7.6%. The company holds a federal grant footprint in addition to contract work—a $105,489 project grant from Naval Sea Systems Command effective through December 2026 funds workforce development and training enhancement, including regulatory compliance, leadership development, and continuous improvement curricula across the company's Certified Quality Management System.

Representative prime contract work includes a $7.53 million delivery order from Naval Sea Systems Command for maintenance and engineering on USS Boxer (LHD-4) under the Complex and Non-Complex Maintenance on Surface Combatant and Amphibious Class Ships—San Diego IDIQ (awarded February 2025), a $3.17 million total small business set-aside delivery order for USS Chosin (CG-65) repairs on the same vehicle (awarded May 2025), a $2.95 million delivery order for USS Boxer propulsion system reconciliation work (awarded December 2025), and a $1.33 million general ship repair delivery order to Military Sealift Command for the USNS Grasp (awarded November 2023). Smaller delivery orders across 2025 and into 2026 include pump and motor overhaul work on USS Charleston (LCS-18), USS Jackson (LCS-6), USS Makin Island (LHD-8), and USS Anchorage (LPD-23), priced in the range of $45,000 to $161,000 each. The company also receives Naval Supply Systems Command purchase orders for individual component repairs—alternating current motor repairs, butterfly valves, ball valves, globe valves, and relief valves—typically sub-$350,000 in value and frequently set-aside for small business.

Propulsion Controls Engineering holds five significant indefinite delivery vehicles: a $1.32 billion multiple-award IDIQ for Littoral Combat Ships Class Sustainment (awarded May 2025, performance through May 2030); a $49 million single-award IDIQ with Military Sealift Command for general ship repair services in the San Diego, Bremerton, and Oahu areas (awarded January 2025, through January 2030, total small business set-aside); a $24.95 million multiple-award IDIQ for Landing Craft Air Cushion and Ship to Shore Connector repairs at Camp Pendleton North (awarded June 2024, through May 2029, originally set-aside for total small business); a $73.8 million total small business set-aside IDIQ with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for dockside repair services (awarded September 2023, through August 2028); and a $35 million multiple-award IDIQ with Naval Sea Systems Command for pump and motor repairs within a 50-mile radius of San Diego (awarded March 2024, through March 2029, total small business set-aside). The single largest parent vehicle by task-order count is an indefinite delivery contract carrying 119 task orders valued at $41.5 million combined.

Activity has accelerated significantly: seven awards year-to-date in 2026 (as of April 6), 114 awards in 2025, and 90 in 2024, compared to 53 in 2023 and 13 in 2022. Only one award carries an ultimate completion date in the next twenty-four months, indicating minimal recompete pressure in the near term. The company performs substantially all work at its San Diego, California facility or shipboard, with place-of-performance specifications typically designating San Diego or subordinate locations such as Camp Pendleton North (for LCAC repairs) and occasional references to Bremerton and Hawaii under MSC work.

In its subcontractor role, Propulsion Controls Engineering delivers pump and motor repairs, valve repairs, propulsion system maintenance, and direct support services to BAE Systems Maritime Solutions San Diego Inc. (the overwhelming majority of sub work, with dozens of awards across fiscal-year docking selected restricted availabilities and continuous maintenance for ships including USS Essex, USS Green Bay, USS Somerset, USS Okane, USS Paul Hamilton, and USS Charleston), National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (for docking selected restricted availabilities on USS Harpers Ferry, USS America, and related planning and repair work), Lockheed Martin Corporation (for Littoral Combat Ship construction and post-delivery testing support), Prism Maritime Inc. (for combat systems alteration and installation support), and Serco Inc. (for hardware installation of C4ISR systems). The sub work reflects Propulsion Controls Engineering's positioning as a specialized provider of propulsion, mechanical, electrical, and components-level repair services to the major Navy surface-ship primes.

Across both prime and sub activity, the company specializes in pump and motor overhaul, rewind, and repair; valve repair and supply; propulsion system maintenance on surface combatants and amphibious vessels; emergency and continuous maintenance on Navy ships; and general ship repair and dockside maintenance. The company has maintained federal contracting registration since 2002 and holds established teaming relationships with major defense contractors including BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, and Prism Maritime, positioning it as a critical resource for sustained naval vessel operations across the Pacific Fleet and Military Sealift Command.