General Dynamics wins Air Force navigation tool work

A simulation tool to help warfighters prepare for real situations will be developed by General Dynamics under an $8.3 million contract the company signed with the General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service.

Under the contract, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems of Arlington, Va., will handle development, analysis, operations and support of the Global Positioning System Interference and Navigation Tool, known as "Giant."

Giant is a simulation and mission-planning aid used to determine navigation system performance and its impact on weapons system effectiveness. The system can be used, for example, to improve precision-guided munitions accuracy in a GPS-jamming environment. Giant models the satellites and user equipment, receivers and antennae in real-world scenarios and provides an evaluation of the GPS environment.

There currently are more than 200 registered Giant users spanning the acquisition, test, intelligence and operations communities.

The order was issued under a blanket purchase agreement by the General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service, Greater Southwest Region. Work will be performed for the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center Strategic Plans and Development Directorate in Los Angeles and developed in Dayton, Ohio, and Colorado Springs, Colo.

General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems is a unit of General Dynamics Corp. of Falls Church, Va.

The parent company, which has about 72,200 employees and had annual revenue of $21.2 billion in fiscal 2005, ranks No. 5 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list of federal IT prime contractors. The 2006 Top 100 list will be released May 15.