Translation device company lands Navy contract

Voxtec International Inc., which manufactures mobile speech-to-speech translation devices, has been awarded a five-year, $45 million contract from the Naval Air Systems Command Aircraft Division.

Under the Small Business Innovative Research Phase III indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, the Navy will purchase an unspecified number of Voxtec's Phraselator P2 hand-held device, which facilitates accurate communication in different languages without a human translator. More than 5,000 units are being used by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The contract also covers future research, development and refinement of the Phraselator's phrase-based language technology, the company said.

The Navy will also be able to purchase future low-production prototypes from the Annapolis, Md., company in addition to the commercial devices currently in use.