Army awards $5B comms system support recompete
By
Ross Wilkers
The Army makes almost two dozen awards on its $5.1 billion global communications network support contract.
The Army has selected 22 companies for a potential 10-year, $5.1 billion contract to provide IT services and hardware in support of a communications network used by soldiers.
Awardees will compete for task orders during this second iteration of the Global Tactical Advanced Communication Systems II contract that covers five base years followed by a potential five-year option.
Army officials received 24 bids in total for the GTACS II vehicle, according to the Pentagon’s Monday contracts digest. That means two proposals were not selected for award.
Winners are as follows:
- Adams Communication & Engineering Technology
- Advanced Technology Systems
- Boeing
- CopaSat
- DataPath
- Envistacom
- Fairwinds Technologies
- GATR Technologies (acquired by Cubic Corp.)
- General Dynamics
- Globecomm Systems (acquired by Speedcast International)
- Kratos Defense & Security Solutions
- NewSat North America
- Nexagen Network
- PAE
- Quantum Research International
- Serco Inc.
- STS International
- Telecommunication Systems (acquired by Comtech Telecommunications)
- TMC Design
- Trace Systems
- Tribalco
- Ultisat (acquired by Speedcast International)
GTACS II is the follow-on to the first iteration of this contract awarded in 2012 to 20 companies at a $10 billion ceiling. Both defense and civilian agencies can use the contract.
The list of GTACS I awardees indicates some notable incumbents as not receiving an award for the recompete such as CACI International, L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Rockwell Collins (now part of United Technologies Corp.) and Science Applications International Corp.
Incumbents chosen for the new contract were DataPath, Envistacom, Globecomm, Nexagen and Trace Systems.
For the new contract, the Army has broken up services into five task areas with the first three intended to build on each other in succession.
Task areas one through three will cover a program lifecycle across the research-and-development, production and deployment, and sustainment through disposal phases. Areas four and five involve special projects and work reserved for small businesses, both of which are not tied to the first three areas.
Work will involve software and hardware engineering, program management and analysis, systems engineering and supply chain management support.