FAIRFAX, Va., 10 Nov. 2009. General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics, won a $22.2 million contract from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) to support the Naval Integrated Tactical Environmental System Next Generation (NITES-Next) program.

The contract has a potential value of $67.7 million over five years if all options are exercised.

General Dynamics will design, develop, integrate, test, and support the deployment of NITES-Next, which displays tailored meteorological and oceanographic (METOC) products on mission-planning and command-and-control systems.

NITES-Next is a network-centric solution based on a service-oriented architecture. This solution will employ geographic information systems (GIS), support physics-based modeling, and implement an advanced database design, reveals a company representative.

NITES-Next will make METOC products available across the Global Information Grid (GIG) in a joint environment. The work will be performed in Newport, R.I.; San Diego, Calif.; and Bay St. Louis, Miss.

"General Dynamics is excited to work with SPAWAR and the U.S. Navy to deliver a next generation tactical environmental system that will assist with safe passage and provide complete environmental assessment and situational awareness necessary for successful military operations," says Kenneth Slaght, vice president and general manager of General Dynamics Information Technology's Naval IT Solutions sector.