Steady flow of defense work continues

The scramble for lucrative defense contracts continues unabated. Four contractors in June landed major projects that will support the Joint Forces Command through multiple-award contracts worth more than $1 billion.

The JFCOM contracts, along with awards made by the Chief of Navy Information Office and the Army Communications-Electronics Command (Cecom) Life Cycle Management Command, were among the largest federal contract awards announced in June.

For the JFCOM contracts, the command awarded Lockheed Martin Corp. and General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems each a contract worth as much as $130 million to support core mission and business sustainment efforts, JFCOM officials said in early June.

JFCOM also awarded multiple-award contracts worth as much as $780 million for project support to Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems, General Dynamics AIS, and Science Applications International Corp., the officials said. Each company's contract is worth $49 million or approximately $260 million over five years.

General Dynamics AIS added to its defense-contract win streak by grabbing a contract in mid-June that is potentially worth $101.9 million to analyze and assess JFCOM's command and control capabilities.

Meanwhile, General Dynamics Information Technology pulled in a contract with a potential value of $98 million to deliver network communications services to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center.

ITT Corp. remained a formidable player in the defense arena with a $363 million contract awarded midmonth from Army Cecom Life Cycle Management Command to furnish baseline systems control, system enhancements, logistics support and training for the Single-Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (Sincgars).

The components covered in the contract include 58,000 receiver/transmitters, 34,800 vehicular amplifier adapters with Internet controllers and 34,800 radio frequency amps, Army officials said.

Sincgars’ tactical very-high-frequency radio serves as the primary voice and data communications for the Army’s ground combat forces at and below the battalion level. Combat forces use the system in ground vehicles and portable packs. The Internet controllers incorporated into the system function as digital routers for the Army’s Tactical Internet.

Lockheed Martin Corp., a bastion of defense contracting, won an Army contract potentially worth $203 million to provide a full range of field logistics services at Fort Bragg, N.C.

The contract calls for Lockheed Martin to provide maintenance, material and logistics services to Army Forces Command units and the Army Materiel Command. Specifically, the contractor will maintain wheeled vehicles, weapons, and power generation and engineering equipment that are ready for deployment for the Army Sustainment Command and 406th Training Support Brigade.

The award significantly tightens Lockheed Martin’s grip on military logistics services as it already operates Field Logistics Readiness Centers at Fort Stewart, Ga., and Fort Benning, Ga.

Alion Science and Technology Corp. continued to build its reputation as a premier defense contractor by snaring a pair of key Navy contracts in June.

Under a contract potentially worth $97 million, Alion will support the Chief of Navy Information Office with media relations, community outreach, visual information systems, IT support, Web site portal management, and business case analysis development and assessment.

The contractor also will assist with evolving public affairs requirements by developing strategies and tactical plans, producing communications materials, and supporting community outreach programs and events.

Alion also is prime contractor on a Naval Sea Systems Command Information Officer contract potentially worth $84.7 million. The contract calls for the company to deliver a broad range of operational and technical services, including resource management, enterprise application management, database and software development, and network management. As part of the work, Alion also will consolidate and enhance key IT systems, including Navsea's intranet.