Northrop Grumman gets AF global transportation network deal

A team led by Northrop Grumman Corp.'s information technology business won a six-year, $63.8 million contract option for a next-generation information system that will improve the ability to provide near real-time visibility of passengers and material moving through the Defense Transportation Systems, the company announced Oct. 23.


Under the new contract option awarded by the U.S. Transportation Command, Northrop Grumman IT will provide the initial operational capability of the Global Transportation Network-21. The work will be done at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.


"DTS provides the United States with a critical and essential strategic mobility capability," said Barry Rhine, president of Defense Mission Systems for Northrop Grumman IT. He said GTN-21 is important because it will serve as the core operational data system for Transportation Command and set the technical standard for DTS information systems.


The Northrop Grumman team was one of four selected to compete in the four-month, first phase of GTN-21, which ended in August. At the completion of this phase, Transportation Command selected Northrop Grumman IT for phase II, with option terms that extend for up to 15 years with a potential value of $204.7 million.


Two key objectives of GTN-21 are to improve in-transit visibility, the ability to track the identity, status and location of any passenger or piece of cargo moving through the DTS; and to expand command and control decision support capabilities.


Members of the Northrop Grumman team include Accenture Ltd., Bermuda; Stanley Associates, Alexandria, Va.; Dynamic Process Solutions Inc., O'Fallon, Ill.; Integrated Information Technology Corp., Denver; Asynchrony Solutions, Inc., St. Louis; Milvets Systems Technology, Lanham, Md.; P3I Inc., Hopkinton, Mass.; and Digital Consulting Services Inc., Los Angeles. Northrop Grumman IT is in Herndon, Va. Northrop Grumman Corp. is based on Los Angeles.