US-VISIT to get Lockheed bid

Lockheed Martin Corp. will lead a team bidding on the prime integrator contract for the government's planned system for tracking foreign visitors in the United States.

The company formally announced Aug. 12 its intentions for the Homeland Security Department's U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indication Technology (US-VISIT) project, which would use biometric technology to track visitors moving through all U.S. points of entry. The prime integrator will have a hand in each step of the system's development. Lockheed calls its team the Secure Border partnership. The group has experience in border and homeland security, and managing large, mission-critical system integration projects, company officials said.

A request for proposals for the prime integrator for US-VISIT program is expected by Nov. 30. DHS will receive proposals in January 2004 and award the contract in May 2004, officials said.

"They want a committed [company] that will partner with the government," said Dick Fogel, Lockheed's director of strategic initiatives. "They want to see an 'actionable solution,' which means the teams are going to have to actually do some work to demonstrate their solution will work."

By December, officials want the entry/exit system deployed at all airports and seaports, including two forms of biometrics. That deadline will be met using current contracts and projects. In October 2004, officials want all newly issued visitor documents to include biometrics, and by December 2004 the system is expected to be deployed at the 50 largest land ports.

Fogel said DHS officials want the prime integrator involved with the December 2004 deadline, which could present a challenge to the vendors.

"The later in 2004 a contract is awarded, the more difficult it is to have that happen effectively," Fogel said. "Even if an award is made in May, we think we could work hard to get a good solution [implemented] by December 2004."

Other companies on Lockheed's team include:

* Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., responsible for business process reengineering, change management and modeling.

* Harris Corp., leading communication efforts.

* IBM Corp., providing enterprise infrastructure development and Web-based applications.

* Management Systems Designers Inc., assisting in program development and implementation.

* Science Applications International Corp., helping security development, enterprise architecture, system engineering and biometrics.

* SI International, assisting with interfaces between systems at the State Department and DHS

* Unisys Corp., helping with biometrics and systems engineering.