Air Force Information Technology
The U.S. Air Force’s Network-Centric Solutions (NETCENTS) contract has been awarded to a team led by General Dynamics Network Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, Falls Church, Virginia. The $9 billion information technology contract is an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for a three-year base period and two one-year options. The team will provide information technology, networking and voice, video and data communications products and services to support Air Force global information requirements. Team members are Accenture, Reston, Virginia; The Boeing Company, Chicago; CACI International, Arlington, Virginia;
The Centech Group, Arlington, Virginia; GTSI, Chantilly, Virginia; Harris Corporation, Melbourne, Florida; Raytheon Company, Lexington, Massachusetts; Sprint, Herndon, Virginia; and Unisys, McLean, Virginia. The Air Force Materiel Command Standard Systems Group, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, awarded the contract.
Supporting Multinational Information Sharing Programs
Specialized information technology services for the development, operation and maintenance of global enterprise computer networks that support the global war on terrorism, operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, and NATO operations will be provided by Anteon International Corporation, Fairfax, Virginia. Under a $150 million contract, the company will support the Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System and the Linked Operations Intelligence Center Europe programs. The Department of Army Research, Development and Engineering Command Acquisition Center, Aberdeen, Maryland, is administering the contract.
Disaster Credit Management Systems
The Small Business Administration is improving the direct loan-making process it uses in assisting disaster victims, both homeowners and businesses. SRA International Incorporated, Fairfax, Virginia, will provide information technology services in support of the SBA’s Web-enabled electronic loan application processing system. The company will be implementing software changes, maintaining software and hardware architecture, updating system documentation and providing ongoing support to users of the system. Members of the support team include
Absulon Technology Partners Incorporated, Reston, Virginia;
Beckett Consulting Incorporated, Falls Church, Virginia; and
SuperSolutions Corporation, Minneapolis. The contract has an estimated value of $13.9 million over 42 months.
Acquisition Agreement
Seeking to expand its capabilities to meet the network-centric warfare requirements of the national security and intelligence communities, BAE Systems North America, Rockville, Maryland, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Alphatech, Burlington, Massachusetts, for $88.4 million in cash. Alphatech specializes in image and signal processing, multi-intelligence fusion and intelligent systems. The company was founded in 1979 by faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It now has 322 employees, 80 percent of whom hold advanced degrees. Alphatech’s revenues for the six months ending June 2004 were $32 million.
IT Support Team for FDIC
Consolidating 36 existing contracts, the General Services Administration’s Federal Systems Integration and Management Center has named SRA International Incorporated, Fairfax, Virginia, to provide comprehensive enterprisewide information technology services supporting the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). FDIC, created in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation’s banking system, insures deposits at more than 9,000 banks and savings associations and is responsible for identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which those institutions are exposed. Services to be provided under the $341 million contract include program management, client and help desk support, data center operations and local area network administration, security operations support, and equipment distribution. Teaming with SRA are Unisys Corporation, McLean, Virginia, and Northrop Grumman Corporation, Los Angeles.
Landmark Border Security Project
In one of the largest deployments of facial recognition technology to date, the U.S. Department of State has selected Identix Incorporated, Minnetonka, Minnesota, to supply and integrate a biometric knowledge discovery engine for processing visas. The agency is seeking the ability to compare biometric facial images of applicants against large databases from multiple agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security. The Identix system will enroll 35 million legacy visa images and will acquire and enroll approximately 8 million new visa images during the first year of operation as well as acquire and enroll at least 10 million e-Diversity visas.
The product, known as ABIS 3.0, processes up to 2,000 matches per hour against variable galleries and databases provided by the department. The objective is to automate fraud-detection assistance capabilities through the use of facial recognition to screen for duplicates, aliases and faces on a watch list before issuing a visa. ABIS 3.0 incorporates skin biometric technology into facial search systems. The skin subcomponent utilizes the microfeatures of the skin to enhance accuracy. In tests, the technology has distinguished between identical twins. The $2.2 million contract is for one year. Science Applications International Corporation, San Diego, and International Biometric Group, New York, will be teaming with Identix.
Certifying Training TechnologiesThe U.S. Joint Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia, has awarded a $28.9 million contract for the design, establishment, support, operation and maintenance of a Joint Advanced Training Technology Laboratory. The facility will be used to evaluate, mature and certify training technologies, standards, architectures and capabilities before they are adopted into the global joint training infrastructure environment; identify, evaluate and solve joint training shortfalls and develop new tools; and replicate the conditions for an exercise or concept exploration. Anteon International Corporation, Fairfax, Virginia, will provide information technology and engineering support for modeling and simulation; joint command and control and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance systems; information security; database design; opposing forces technologies; instrumentation, data collection and after action review technologies; and knowledge management systems.
To submit information about contract awards, contact the
associate editor.
