Northrop Grumman unveils SBI-Net team

Led by Northrop Grumman Corp., six of the nation's largest federal prime contractors have formed a team to pursue the Homeland Security Department's upcoming $2 billion contract.In addition to Northrop Grumman of Los Angeles, the partnership includes General Dynamics Corp., Falls Church, Va.; L-3 Communications Titan Group, San Diego; Anteon International Corp., Fairfax, Va.; SRA International Inc., Fairfax, Va.; and BearingPoint Inc., McLean, Va.These six integrators all fall within the top 25 companies listed on Washington Technology's 2006 list of federal prime contractors.Also listed among Northrop's "large partners" for the project are architecture and engineering firms L. Robert Kimball & Associates of Ebensburg, Pa., and HNTB Corp. of Kansas City.SBI-Net is a comprehensive surveillance system at the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada that will assist Customs and Border Protection agents in controlling the borders. It will provide integrated technologies, infrastructure, rapid-response capability and personnel.The contract is expected to be awarded in September.Northrop Grumman said its team also includes solutions providers EMC Corporation, Hopkinton, Mass.; ESRI, Redlands, Calif.; Hughes Network Systems, LLC, Germantown, Md.; Motorola, Inc., Schaumberg, Ill.; Sprint/Nextel, Reston, Va.; Oracle Corporation, Redwood Shores, Calif.; Identix, Minnetonka, Minn.; and Nortel, Brampton, Ontario, Canada.In related news, DHS has released several to the SBI-Net solicitation, including clarifications on which employee travel expenses are reimburseable.The DHS said long-distance temporary travel in most cases is authorized, but commuter travel is not. "An example of commuter travel is when an employee travels long distance from their legal residence on Monday and returns each weekend for an indefinite period," the amendment states.