TSA to use ITOP for contract

As the next step in creating itself as an agency, the Transportation Security Administration released a statement of objectives for its $1 billion Nationwide Information Technology Infrastructure contract.

The agency will use the Transportation Department's Information Technology Omnibus Procurement II (ITOP II) contract as its purchasing vehicle, and the statement of objectives has been provided to the 25 ITOP vendors.

Some of the largest systems integrators hold ITOP contracts, and so will be eligible to bid on the TSA contract, including Lockheed Martin Corp. of Bethesda, Md., Northrop Grumman Corp. of Los Angeles (through its acquisitions of Logicon Inc. and Litton TASC), Science Applications International Corp. of San Diego and Unisys Corp. of Blue Bell, Pa.

Cost proposals are due July 8. An award is anticipated before the end of the month.

TSA has been tight-lipped about elements of the infrastructure contract, which is thought to include data centers, seat management and telecommunications. An agency spokesman did not return telephone calls asking about its requirements.

ITOP has been in place for more than three years. The seven-year vehicle, with a $10 billion ceiling, is broken into three components: information systems engineering, systems operations and management and information systems security.