SAN DIEGO, 23 Aug. 2009. U.S. Navy officials needed a company to design software for a naval oceanographic and military weather analysis and signal processing system called the Naval Integrated Tactical Environmental System-Next Generation (NITES-Next).

They found their solution from General Dynamics Information Technology Inc. in Fairfax, Va. General Dynamics won a $22.2 million contract, announced Friday. NITES-Next ocean and weather intelligence processing software inputs, stores, and processes information concerning weather and ocean conditions -- also referred to as meteorological and oceanographic (METOC) data.

NITES-Next weather processing and ocean forecasting capability includes assessing how weather and ocean conditions might influence naval operations, weapon systems, and sensors, and displays its information in graphic fashion.

NITES-Next information also goes to warfighter mission planning systems, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems, and decision support systems.

SPAWAR awarded the contract on behalf of the Navy's Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence systems.

This contract includes options for a second NITES-Next software release, as well as options for deployment, operations, and support services, support for demonstrations and exercises, and AN/UMK operations and support, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $67.7 million

Work will be in Fairfax, Va.; Bellevue, Neb.; Waterford, Conn.; Manassas, Va.; and Redlands, Calif., and should be finished by August 2012. Contact General Dynamics Information Technology online at www.anteon.com.