CACI, Lockheed, 5 Others Win Army Deal

Tech Services Contract Could Be Worth More Than $19 Billion Over 10 Years

The Army chose seven government contractors to provide technology and engineering services under a deal worth as much as $19.25 billion over the next 10 years -- a major award in the marketplace for computer software and systems and the expertise to support them.

CACI International Inc. of Arlington; Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. of McLean; Computer Sciences Corp. of El Segundo, Calif.; and Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp. are the large contractors selected for the program. The Army also chose three small companies: Viatech Inc. of Eatontown, N.J.; USfalcon Inc. of Lowell, Mass.; and Sensor Technologies Inc. of Red Bank, N.J.

Though the contract has a ceiling of $19.25 billion, there are no guarantees that all of that money will be spent or how much of it will go to each company. The award essentially narrows the field of competitors allowed to bid on an array of Army projects.

"It means if [the Army] needs those services, there is already a pool of companies that have met their criteria. Rather than going and setting up a new contract for each one," the military can chose between the seven preapproved contractors, said Timothy Rider, an Army public affairs officer.

While the Army has other similar contracts, it "is trying to set this one up as a main contract that is up and coming in the next couple years," said Marcus Fedeli, a federal contracts analyst at Reston-based Input, a market research and consulting firm.

CACI, which announced its selection yesterday, said in a wrtten statement that the contract is the largest in its "44-year history and positions the company to increase its size and strength as a top-tier information technology provider to the Department of Defense."

The contract was let through the Army's Communications-Electronics Lifecycle Management Command office in Fort Monmouth, N.J. It encompasses a variety of services the Army can request from the contractors, including systems engineering, research and development, software development, supply-chain management, information security and administrative support.

The government has increasingly moved toward these types of large, full-service contracts to simplify acquisition.

"The advantage of having larger contract vehicles is that there are more choices for the government. And having more choices with this simpler ordering mechanism means they can get the work on contract more quickly with less paper work," said Ray Bjorklund, vice president of Federal Sources Inc., a McLean market research firm.

Though the Army selected only seven prime contractors, those won't be the only companies to glean revenue through the deal. Each competed with a team of partners that can act as subcontractors on different projects. Lockheed Martin, for instance, said its team included 12 unnamed large businesses and 25 small businesses.