General Dynamics nabs Army wireless network deal

General Dynamics Network Systems and its team of more than 15 subcontractors will create and deploy a network that offers voice communication over the Internet at the Army's Pohakuloa Training Area in Hawaii.

The rugged terrain of a volcanic crater high above sea level in a remote section of Hawaii will present a challenge to General Dynamics Corp. as it deploys a secure voice and data network at an Army training facility.

General Dynamics Network Systems and its team of more than 15 subcontractors will create and deploy a network that offers voice communication over the Internet at the Army's Pohakuloa Training Area in Hawaii. The two-year contract is worth $2.7 million.

The company designed the wireless network to overcome the training area's unusual geography, which spans 51,000 acres and is located in the volcanic crater at more than 6,800 feet above sea level. These circumstances make an underground installation impractical.

The Army awarded the contract under its Installation Information Infrastructure Program, known as I3MP, a multiyear initiative to upgrade communications capabilities with greater bandwidth for growing demands for voice, video and data services at all its installations worldwide.

General Dynamics Network Systems of Needham, Mass., is a unit of General Dynamics of Falls Church, Va. The company, which has about 72,200 employees and had annual revenue of $21.2 billion in fiscal 2005, ranks No. 5 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list of federal prime contractors.