by John McHale

FORT MONMOUTH, N.J. — Officials at the U.S. Army Program Manager, Warfighter Information Network-Tactical at Fort Monmouth, N.J., are choosing a team led by engineers at Northrop Grumman Information Technology in Herndon, Va., to provide secure wireless local area network (LAN) capability to the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical.

The task order will provide Type 1 secure wireless networking capability to hundreds of vehicles and aircraft, Northrop Grumman officials say. This capability offers mobility, flexibility, and responsiveness to battlefield command vehicles. With secure command and control on the move for tactical operations centers, the Army gains additional tactical mobility and continuous communications during center setup and teardown, company officials claim.

"One of our strengths is our ability to stay compliant with established and emerging technical standards," says Mack Brewer, program manager for Northrop Grumman Information Technology. "This award yields significant cost savings to the Army because so many current products and applications can be used."

Made through the General Services Administration Millennia contract, the award has an initial value of $8.9 million to Northrop Grumman's Information Technology sector. The nine-year award, one base year plus eight one-year options, has a cumulative potential value of $83.4 million, if all options are exercised, Northrop Grumman officials say.

Current plans call for the Interim Brigade Combat Team and the First Digital Corps to initially receive this capability, company officials say. The Northrop Grumman team will provide end-to-end support of the product through hardened integration of commercial-off-the-shelf products, technical manuals, vehicle installation, and training.

Northrop Grumman's team includes General Dynamics Decision Systems in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Carley Corp. in Orlando, Fla. General Dynamics Decision Systems will provide the engineering and design of the wireless communications systems. Carley Corp. will create training products, Northrop Grumman officials say.

Work on the program will be primarily in Scottsdale, Ariz., Lakewood, Wash., and San Diego, Calif., with aircraft installations of the system at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Ga., company officials say.

For more information on Northrop Grumman Information Technology contact the company on the World Wide Web at http://northropgrummanit.com.