Army names 171 companies as winners of $8.2B R&D contract

The Army has named 171 companies as winners of an $8.3 billion contract to support research and development work related to chemical and biological weapons.

The Joint Enterprise Research, Development, Acquisition and Procurement or "JE-RDAP" contract has a five-year base and a five-year option period. Task orders can be awarded that can cover work that goes for five years beyond the end of the contract.

The Army is running the program but the vehicle can be used by all parts of the Defense Department.

Of the winners, 85 are small businesses. The rest are competing for full and open opportunities.

The program also will include on-ramps to add new contractors, according to solicitation documents.

Some of the work to be competed under this contract include integration of defense systems and capabilities, chemical and biological detectors, decontamination systems, warning and reporting systems, biosurveillance, warfighter support and installation protection systems.

Some of the large businesses that have spots on the contract include Booz Allen Hamilton, Battelle Memorial Institute, General Dynamics IT, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, SAIC and Leidos.

The Army received 178 bids on the contract. This is a rare all new vehicle so there is no predecessor vehicle or incumbent contractors.

Click here to download a list of all the winners.