Lockheed, Verizon are month's heavy hitters

Lockheed, Verizon are month’s heavy hitters 

Even among the big contracts that support the massive enterprise that forms the federal government, recent wins — totaling $7.5 billion — by Lockheed Martin Corp. and Verizon Business Network Services Inc. top the charts.

The Special Operations Command tapped Lockheed Martin for a $5 billion, 10-year Special Operations Forces Support Activity Contractor Logistics Support (SOFSA CLS) contract to maintain and repair aircraft, ground vehicles, weaponry and electronics equipment; manage the flow of parts and supplies domestically and abroad; and improve the command’s critical infrastructure.

However, there might be a snag. According to a report by Reuters, L-3 Communications Inc., the current contract holder, filed a protest March 10 with the Government Accountability Office.

“We had started transition activities the day of the award,” a Lockheed Martin spokesman said, but all work halted with a stop-work order issued March 11.

John Murdo, Lockheed Martin’s SOFSA CLS program director and general manager, “has a strong team in place, and we’re ready to start moving gangbusters as soon as we get the word,” the company spokesman said.

GAO has 100 days from the filing date to decide the protest. 

The situation is different for Verizon Business Network Services' win of a $2.5 billion, 10-year contract award from the Defense Department. The Verizon Communications Inc. business unit was the incumbent and award winner.

Under the previous contract, the Defense Information System Network Transmission Services-Pacific (DTS-P), Verizon Business had provided around-the-clock support for DISN-Pacific, DOD's consolidated telecommunications infrastructure for the Pacific region.

According to the new contract, DTS-P II, the company will provide DISN-Pacific with capabilities such as end-to-end transmission services for bandwidth ranging from 64 kilobits/sec to 10G wavelength over fiber and satellite. It also will provide managed data services that include IP, Ethernet and Internet.

Washington Technology's 2008 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors puts Lockheed Martin at No. 1, L-3 Communications at No. 8 and Verizon Communications at No. 18. 

More winners 

QinetiQ North America scored a $250 million contract from the Air Force Space and Missile System Center to provide space operations technical support. The win came just a week after the Army awarded the company a spot on the $17.5 billion, 10-year Simulation and Training Omnibus Contract. The initial awards in January went to 142 companies, but the Army continues to add to the list.

ITT Corp. and General Dynamics Corp. each won substantial defense contracts. The Naval Sea Systems Command placed a $317 million order with ITT for more vehicle-mounted jammers to block the detonation of improvised explosive devices, and Canada's army named General Dynamics to provide $341 million worth of digital communications support.

The military also issued smaller awards for innovative and emerging technology. Unisys Corp. won a $7.1 million contract from the Army Logistics Innovation Agency, charged with looking for ways to improve military logistics processes through innovation, experimentation and technology.

The Navy is spending $3.3 million for help in identifying emerging technologies and weapons systems. Alion Science and Technology Corp. will analyze technical data to help the Navy ensure that applicable technologies are quickly implemented to meet user requirements.

Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency tapped 23 small businesses to help bring new green technologies to market. The $1.6 million in awards are part of EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research Program.