Army cedes $4B Iraq project

Contractors will take over 180 voice, data and video nodes at 100 bases and camps in southwest Asia under an Army program set to begin this spring.

Part of the $87 billion supplemental budget to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure, the Kuwait-Iraq Command, Control, Communications and Computers Commercialization project will support more than 100,000 troops now deployed in the region, officials said.

Teams led by Galaxy Scientific Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Computer Sciences Corp. will replace hundreds of tactical signal unit soldiers. The program has received $298 million for operations, maintenance and equipment procurements, although Army officials said they expect it to cost more than $4 billion over its life cycle.