NEW YORK, 28 Dec. 2006. L-3 Communications' Communication Systems-East (L-3 CS-East) division, a supplier of secure government communication products and systems, has been awarded a five-year, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract by the National Security Agency (NSA) to supply the Talon KOV-26 in-line network encryptor to the federal government, U.S. military, and other approved customers. The contract value is not to exceed $35 million.

Certified by the NSA for Type 1 communications, the Talon PCMCIA card provides secure remote access at broadband data rates in a small package requiring no external power source. Talon is a high-speed alternative to the Remote Access Security Program (RASP), which is facing obsolescence.

Talon protects user data up to Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) and is compatible with the High Assurance IP Encryptor Interoperability Specification (HAIPE IS) protocol.

Talon enables high-speed access to classified networks, or to other remote Talon users via the Internet through use of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) USB communication adapters.

The initial release of Talon supports 10/100 Ethernet, but will be software upgradeable to support 802.11 b/g wireless, V.90 dial-up modem, and RS-232 serial interfaces. This upgrade, planned for the first quarter of 2007, will add support for the Future Narrowband Digital Terminal/Secure Communications Interoperability Protocol (FNBDT/SCIP) voice and data protocol.