NNSA to Keep JASON on Life Support Through January

摘要

The independent JASON panel of scientists appears set to receive a reprieve from the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration after the Pentagon last month said it would not renew MITRE Corp.’s expiring contract. “The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) anticipates the award of a firm-fixedprice/cost Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) hybrid contract to support the JASON program through January 31, 2020,” the semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear weapons agency said in a procurement note posted online Thursday. DefenseNews first reported on the publicly available document. The NNSA also said it might fund the JASON contract over the longer term. In the procurement note, the agency said it will “perform market research to determine a long term strategy for obtaining JASON scientific support services.” An NNSA spokesperson did not immediately reply to a request for comment about the expected financial terms of its planned JASON contract. The procurement note did not say when the new contract would take effect, but the group’s deal with the Pentagon is set to expire April 30.