Eight Win $8B Contract

Eight companies have each won a contract with a ceiling of $1 billion to provide the Defense Department with products and services for the Defense Message System.

DMS will replace the Automatic Digital Network, the current communications system known as Autodin.

Companies will compete with each other for task orders. Winning the contracts are: Booz-Allen & Hamilton Inc., McLean, Va.; Computer & Hi-tech Management Inc., McLean; CommPower, Camarillo, Calif.; Lockheed Martin Corp., Bethesda, Md.; Northrop Grumman Corp., Los Angeles; Open Systems Sciences, Newington, Va.; Science Applications International Corp., San Diego; and Telos Corp., Ashburn, Va.

The contracts will run through October 2006. The contracting office was the Procurement Operations Branch of the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service.

The products and services sold under the contract must be certified by the Defense Information Systems Agency to securely process and protect high-level classified data, voice and video.