Air Force builds $490m comm infrastructure
The Air Force has hired several companies under a $490 million contract to build a communications infrastructure for deployed personnel.
The Air Force has hired several companies under a $490 million contract to build a communications infrastructure for deployed personnel.
The service plans to buy 140 satellite communications terminals, 148 network control centers and 181 integrated communication access packages under the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract.
The contractors are two Northrop Grumman Corp. divisions?Defense Mission Systems of Reston, Va., and Electronic Systems of Gaithersburg, Md.?General Dynamics Corp. Decision Systems of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Dell Marketing of Round Rock, Texas; and Redcom Laboratories Inc. of Victor, N.Y.
The object is to improve interoperability, increase capacity, and decrease airlift and footprint of comm systems, and field common fixed solutions, a DOD statement said. Work under the contract is to be complete by July 2009.
The Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting agency. About $20 million of the contract amount is already obligated.