20 must-follow contracts

 This list ranks the the 20 largest and most important contracts that will hit the market in 2010, according to research from Input. With price tags in the billions and services ranging from pure information technology to satellite communications to research and development, these contracts will be highly sought after by a variety of government contractors. Look for more coverage on these procurements as the year unfolds.

1. Criminal Justice Program Support
2. Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading Edge Solutions II
3. Connections
4. Strategic Services Sourcing
5. Communications and Transmission Systems Program
6. Chief Information Officer Solutions and Partners 3
7. NetCents II
8. Compass DOD Enterprise Software Initiative
9. Future Commercial SatCom Acquisitions
10. Common Hardware Systems 4
11. System Engineering and Technical Assistance Research and Development
12. Defense Information Systems Network Global Services Management
13. Special Operations Forces Information Enterprise
14. Design and Engineering Support Program 3
15. Information Technology Support Services IV
16. Support Services
17. Continental U.S. Support Base Services II
18. Field Training Systems Support III
19. Global Combat Support System
20. Information Assurance Support Services

Click on the page numbers below to see a brief of the top 20 contracts.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

1. Criminal Justice Program Support

Agency: State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

Value: $50 billion

Status: Request for proposals expected in November; award expected in February.

Purpose: The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is part of the U.S. war on drugs and develops anti-crime policy and programs. The bureau is focused on working with foreign governments, criminal justice systems and law enforcement agencies. The contractor that supports the bureau supplies as many as 2,000 personnel, such as trainers, crime scene investigators, corrections officers and organized crime investigators. Other services include logistics, database support and procurement.

Incumbents: DynCorp., Civilian Police International and Lockheed Martin Corp.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

2. Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading Edge Solutions II

Agency: Homeland Security Department

Value: $45 billion

Status: RFP expected in February; awards expected in September.

Purpose: This recompete of the successful Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading Edge Solutions contract, known as EAGLE, will be used by DHS to buy professional services to support and build its information technology infrastructure. Services will cover infrastructure engineering; operations and maintenance; independent test, validation, verification, and evaluation; and management support services.

Incumbents: Accenture, AT&T Corp., BAE Systems Inc., BearingPoint Inc., Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI International Inc., Computer Sciences Corp., Dynamics Research Corp., Electronic Consulting Services Inc., General Dynamics Corp., IBM Corp., Keane Inc., Kforce Inc., Lockheed Martin, ManTech International Corp., Nortel Government Solutions, Northrop Grumman Corp., Perot Systems Corp., Pragmatics Inc., Raytheon Co., Science Applications International Corp., SRA International Inc. and Unisys Corp.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

3. Connections

Agency: General Services Administration

Value: $35 billion

Status: RFP expected in April; awards expected in September.

Purpose: This contract is for governmentwide telecommunications equipment and services, including the upgrade of IT and infrastructure worldwide. The contract will be used for integrating voice and data traffic into a single communications system. Awards will be made nationally and across three regional groups of states.

Incumbents: A&T Systems Inc., American Systems, Apptis, AT&T, Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI International, EDS, EPS, General Dynamics, Government Telecommuncations, MAI, ManTech International, McDean Inc., Nextiraone Federal, Omega Consulting, SAIC and Verizon.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

4. Strategic Services Sourcing

Agency: Army

Value: $30 billion

Status: RFP expected in December; awards expected in August.

Purpose: The contract is used for a broad range of services that support command-and-control operations and systems. Services include system and software engineering, logistics and business operations support, and training.

Incumbents: Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI International, CSC, D&S Consultants Inc., Lockheed Martin, Sensor Technologies Inc. and USFalcon Inc.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

5. Communications and Transmission Systems Program

Agency: Army

Value: $30 billion

Status: RFP expected in January; awards expected in July.

Purpose: Requirements include providing multiple transmission modes for various forms of communications, including satellite, microwave, fiber optic, over-the-horizon, radio and wireless. The systems must interface with the Global Information Grid and operate on military and commercial satellites. Services include systems integration, systems engineering, management and operations.

Incumbents: Boeing Co., CACI International, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

6. Chief Information Officer Solutions and Partners 3

Agency: National Institutes of Health

Value: $20 billion

Status: RFP expected in October 2009; awards expected in July.

Purpose: The follow-on to CIO-SP2 absorbs the ImageWorld contract, which will not be recompeted. Task areas under the contract include IT services for biomedical research and health care; CIO support; imaging; outsourcing; operations and maintenance; integration services; critical infrastructure protection and information assurance; digital government; enterprise management systems; and software development.

Incumbents: Accenture, AEA Technology Plc, Amdex Corp., A-Tek Inc., BAE Systems., BearingPoint, Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI International, Client Network Services Inc., Computech Inc., CSC, Creative Technology, Daston Corp, Digicon Corp., General Dynamics, Harris Corp., InfoPro Inc., Ingenium Corp., KBM Group Inc., L-3 Communications Corp., Lockheed Martin, Nortel Government Solutions Inc., Northrop Grumman, People Processing Information, QinetiQ Group, Raytheon, RGII Technologies Inc., SAIC, SRA International, Stanley,Inc., STG Inc., Systems Plus Inc., TechTeam Global Inc., TranTech Inc., Unisys,Universal Hi-Tech Development, and Wyle Laboratories.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

7. NetCents II

Agency: Air Force

Value: $13.6 billion

Status: RFP expected in October 2009; awards expected in July.

Purpose: This is a family of contracts. One is focused on hardware and software products — and the services needed to support those products. A second is a full-and-open competition for infrastructure support services. A third is a small-business set-aside contract for infrastructure support.

Incumbents: Booz Allen Hamilton, Centech Group Inc., General Dynamics, Harris, Lockheed Martin, NCI Information Systems, Northrop Grumman and Telos Corp.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

8. Compass DOD Enterprise Software Initiative

Agency: Defense Department

Value: $7.5 million

Status: RFP expected in December; awards in May.

Purpose: The contract fills a need for systems integration services for commercial software and installation of that software using service-oriented architectures.

Incumbents: Accenture, BearingPoint, CSC, Deloitte and IBM.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

9. Future Commercial SatCom Acquisitions

Agency: General Services Administration

Value: $5 billion

Status: RFP expected in February; awards expected in February 2011.

Purpose: GSA and the Defense Information Systems Agency are working together to buy commercial satellite services for the government. Requirements include global reach, provisioning in 30 days, scalable capacity, and compliance with security standards.

Incumbents: ADCI, Americom Government Services Inc., AOS, Arrowhead Global Solutions Inc., Artel Inc., At&T, Caprock Communications Inc., CVG Inc., Dasnet Corp., DRS Technologies Inc., E&E Enterprises Global Inc., EDS, General Dynamics, Global Communications Solutions Inc., Hughes Network Systems Inc., Intelsat Ltd., Knight Sky Consulting & Associates, L-3 Communications, Mackay Communication Inc., New Orleans Teleport Inc., O’Gara Satellite Inc., PSI Systems, Ritenet Corp., Satellite Communications System, Segovia Inc., Skjei Telecom Inc., Stratos Mobile Networks, Telecommunications Systems Inc., Telenor and Viasat Inc.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

10. Common Hardware Systems 4

Agency: Army Materiel Command

Value: $3.7 billion

Status: RFP expected in October 2009; awards expected in January.

Purpose: The contract is used to buy and service hardware and software, including storage and display technologies. Requirements include providing repair services at Fort Hood and Fort Bragg in the United States; Fort Sill, Germany; Camp Victory in Iraq; Camp Casey in Korea; and Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan.

Incumbent: General Dynamics.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

11. System Engineering and Technical Assistance Research and Development

Agency: Army

Value: $3 billion

Status: RFP expected in October 2009; awards expected in January.

Purpose: This contract supports the Army Space and Missile Defense Command, providing systems engineering and technical assistance services. Work includes concept development and assessment, analysis, threat estimation, and logistics assessments.

Incumbents: Radiance Technologies Inc., S3 Technologies Inc. and DMD Inc.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

12. Defense Information Systems Network Global Services Management

Agency: Defense Information Systems Agency

Value: $2.7 billion

Status: RFP expected in December; awards expected in August.

Purpose: The contract supports the Defense Information Systems Network, providing network and telecommunications services. Services include program management, cost and schedule management, hardware and software management, and logistics.

Incumbent: SAIC.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

13. Special Operations Forces Information Enterprise

Agency: Special Operations Command

Value: $2.4 billion

Status: RFP expected in September 2010; awards expected in January 2011.

Purpose: The contract supports the Special Operations Command’s worldwide IT infrastructure. The infrastructure has 56,000 users in the United States and internationally. Requirements include planning and acquisition management, integration, testing, training, information assurance, and service delivery and support.

Incumbent: L-3 Communications.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

14. Design and Engineering Support Program 3

Agency: Air Force Materiel Command

Value: $1.9 billion

Status: RFP expected in January; awards expected in January 2011.

Purpose: The contract provides the Air Force Materiel Command with engineering and technical services to support weapons systems, subsystems and related processes. The contract is used for studies, technology insertion, prototype development and documentation.

Incumbents:  Aerospace and Commercial Technologies Inc., Aerospace Engineering Spectrum, Arinc Inc., BAE Systems, Battelle Memorial Institute, CACI International, DRS Technologies, Dynamics Research Corp., General Dynamics, Jacobs Engineering Group, L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin. Manufacturing Technology Inc., NCI Information Systems, Northrop Grumman, SAIC, Southwest Research Institute, Support Systems Associates Inc., Tybrin Corp. and the University of Dayton.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

15. Information Technology Support Services IV

Agency: Justice Department

Value: $1.5 billion

Status: RFP expected in March; awards expected in September.

Purpose: The contract is used for a wide range of IT services as the department tries to keep up with rapidly changing technologies.

Incumbents: Access Systems Inc., BAE Systems, CGI Group, CSC, General Dynamics, Intellidyne LLC, Keane, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Pragmatics, SRA International and Unisys.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

16. Support Services

Agency: Coast Guard

Value: $1 billion

Status: RFP expected in October 2009; awards expected in February.

Purpose: The contract supports the Coast Guard’s acquisition directorate. Services include program management, engineering and technical expertise, business management, studies and analysis, and acquisition support.

Incumbents: Technical and Project Engineering and multiple other contractors.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

17. Continental U.S. Support Base Services II

Agency: Army

Value: $1 billion

Status: RFP expected in February; awards expected in August.

Purpose: The contract is used to support Army garrisons, particularly to help with the mobilization of reserve forces. Task areas include contract management, plans, training, mobilization, security, human resources, and materiel management and supply.

Incumbents: Automation Precision Technology, Cubic, Eagle Support Services Corp., Eagle Systems and Services Inc., Logistics Solutions Group, and Logistics Company Inc.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

18. Field Training Systems Support III

Agency: Navy

Value: $980 million

Status: RFP expected in November; awards expected in August.

Purpose: The contract is used for operations and maintenance services on things such as training device operations, contractor instruction services, training device relocation, training system management, and in-service engineering office support.

Incumbents: Boeing Co., CAE Inc., CSC, Cubic Corp., Engineering Support Personnel, Fidelity Technology Corp., Flight Safety Services Corp., L-3 Communications, LB&B Associates Inc., Lockheed Martin and Proactive Technologies Inc.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

19. Global Combat Support System

Agency: Air Force

Value: $791 million

Status: RFP expected in November; awards expected in October.

Purpose: The Air Force will use this contract to modernize its IT systems. Work includes code translation, database re-engineering, sustainment, program management and technology updates.

Incumbent: Lockheed Martin.

See the full list of hot contracts for 2010.

We rank the top 20 contracts that will hit the market during the next 12 months, based on research conducted by Input.

20. Information Assurance Support Services

Agency: Navy

Value: $249 million

Status: RFP expected in March; awards expected in September.

Purpose: The contract will support the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in Charleston, S.C. Some of the requirements include knowledge of high-performance computing, modeling and simulation, command-and-control systems, network systems security, and IPv6.

Incumbent: Honeywell International.