Defense Department taps Sentel for weapons testing

Sentel Corp. won a $22 million Defense Department contract to test and evaluate domestic and foreign weapon systems, the company announced today. The contract covers two and one-half years with four option years.

Under the contract, Sentel of Alexandria, Va., will provide test support for weapons and equipment that interest the U.S. armed services.

The contract was awarded under the General Services Administration's Millennia Lite contract, a vehicle supporting federal government information technology initiatives.

The contract supports the Defense Comparative Testing Program Office in Arlington, Va., which manages the congressionally directed Defense Acquisition Challenge program and the Foreign Comparative Testing Program for the deputy undersecretary of defense for advanced systems and concepts.

The Comparative Testing Program Office oversees and reviews the testing of weapons systems and equipment to ensure that military service performance, effectiveness and suitability issues are addressed. The office also prepares inputs to test planning documentation, provides guidance on required test activities and reviews test results to ensure success.

Sentel, an engineering and software company, has more than 300 employees and annual sales of $37.5 million, according to Hoover's Online of Austin, Texas.