Three land counterterrorism contract worth $690 million

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency chose three companies as prime contractors to develop and test solutions to counter the threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to enhance the agency's counterterrorism and homeland defense capabilities.


The contract for the Arms Control, Non-Proliferation, Homeland Defense and Chemical and Biological Weapons Defense program has a value of $690 million over five years, with an option to extend it for a second five-year period.


The prime contractors on the indefinite quantity, indefinite delivery contract are the IIT Research Institute, McLean, Va.; Science Applications International Corp., San Diego; and Applied Research Associates Inc., Albuquerque, N.M. The contract was awarded August 30 and announced Sept. 26.


"There is no more important contribution to the country that our company can make right now than working to beat back the growing threats to America's health, safety and national well-being," said Bahman Atefi, IITRI's president and chief executive officer.



The scope of the contract will allow the vendors to provide counterterrorism measures and technologies in many areas, said Sydell Gold, senior vice president and deputy sector manager in the advanced technology and analysis sector at SAIC.


In fiscal 2003, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency will, for the first time, will do some work for the Homeland Security Department in biodefense initiatives. This is the vehicle that will be used for a lot of that work, Gold said.


The work could include developing sensors and command and control networks to be tested in different U.S. cities to determine how they would respond in case of a chemical or biological attack, she said.