A group of companies, including several from the Washington, D.C., region, won the U.S. Defense Department’s biggest contract last month, a potential $7 billion deal with the Army for information technology services.
The Pentagon didn't release many details about the agreement, only that the Army plans to buy "systems engineering software and services" for its Software Engineering Center, according to the June 7 announcement.
The center, based at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., operates more than 20 engineering labs and facilities at installations across the country, from Fort Belvoir, Va., to Fort Huachuca, Ariz., according to its website.
The award topped a list of more than 260 contracts with a combined value of more than $45 billion in June, according to a Military.com analysis of the Pentagon’s daily contract announcements. The value almost doubled from the previous month, driven by orders for more V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, naval destroyers and rocket launch services. The amount doesn’t reflect what is actually spent, or obligated, because many deals are only partially funded at first.
Giselle Lyons, a spokeswoman for Army Contracting Command, which is overseeing the IT contract, referred questions about the award to the Communications-Electronics Command's Software Engineering Center. An official there didn't respond to multiple telephone calls and e-mails on July 3 seeking comment. ACC didn't appear to mention the award in any of its official releases or newsletters in recent weeks. Both commands report to Army Materiel Command.
A total of eight closely held companies will share the work, including Nexagen Networks Inc. of Marlboro, N.J.; Adams Communication & Engineering Technology Inc. of Waldorf, Md.; AASKI Technology Inc. of Asbury Park, N.J.; Banc 3 Inc. of Princeton, N.J.; Data Tactics Corp. of McLean, Va.; Rivera Consulting Group Inc. of Sellersburg, Ind.; Bowhead Systems Management Inc. of Alexandria, Va.; and Blue Canopy Group LLC of Reston, Va.
Boeing Co. last month won or shared contracts worth more than $10 billion -- the most of any company -- largely to supply the military with more V-22 Osprey aircraft and CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopters.
The Chicago-based company received a potential $5 billion multi-year Army contract to build and refurbish the twin-engine, heavy-lift helicopters, some of which will be sold to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, according to the June 17 announcement.
A joint venture of Boeing and Textron Inc., based in Providence, R.I., also received a Navy contract to build 92 MV-22 Ospreys for the Marine Corps and 7 CV-22 Ospreys for the Air Force, according to the June 12 announcement. The deal will be worth $6.5 billion if the military opts to buy another 23 Ospreys, for a total of 122 aircraft.
There are 214 Ospreys flying operations today, Marine Corps Col. Greg Masiello, who manages the V-22 program, said last month during a press conference at the Paris Air Show. The military plans to buy a total of 458 of the aircraft and may sell another 100 abroad, he said.
General Dynamics Corp., based in Falls Church, Va., won a multi-year Navy contract worth as much as $3.5 billion for the construction of as many as five Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers through 2017, with most of the work expected to take place at the company's shipyard in and around Bath, Maine, according to the June 3 announcement. Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., based in Newport News, Va., won a similar deal valued at as much as $3.4 billion, with most of the construction slated to occur at the firm's shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss.
Hewlett Packard Co., based in Palo Alto, Calif., beat out a group of companies including Computer Sciences Corp. for a contract worth as much as $3.4 billion to upgrade the Navy's communications network as part of a program called Next Generation Enterprise Network, or NGEN, according to the June 27 announcement.
A joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp., based in Bethesda, Md., and Boeing received a $1.1 billion award from the Air Force to support the launch of medium- and heavy-lift rockets carrying military and spy satellites, according to the June 26 announcement.
