Xacta to continue common-access card production

Xacta Corp. has won a five-year contract extension from the Defense Department to support the Defense Manpower Data Center's Common Access Card program, the company said.

The contract has a potential value of $100 million. Work is expected to last until August 2008.

Xacta, a subsidiary of Ashburn, Va.-based Telos Corp., will continue as the prime contractor for issuing the department's secure identification cards through the agency's Real-Time Automated Personnel Identification System. Xacta is also responsible for installing and maintaining the equipment necessary to produce the cards on a worldwide basis.

The Common Access Card, which is based on smart card technology, is the standard ID for Defense Department employees, contractors and other qualified personnel. The card allows users to gain physical access to secure areas and online access to government networks.

"We understand that the success of the CAC depends on a smooth and secure production," said Richard Tracy, chief security officer at Xacta.

In building the production systems, Xacta has partnered with Fargo Electronics Inc. of Eden Prairie, Minn., and Viisage Technology Inc. of Billerica, Mass. The two companies provide specialized printers for creating cards that can't be duplicated or forged. Fargo's printers are designed for deployment to mobile locations; Viisage's printers are for fixed locations.

With prime government IT revenue of $137.6 million, Telos ranked No. 49 on Washington Technology's 2004 Top 100 list, which measures federal contracting revenue.