Military readies $1B base protection

Defense contractors expect the military to award a $1.1 billion contract next month for the Installation Protection Program (IPP) to have networked chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear-detection sensors at 200 sites and an information technology backup plan.

Defense Department officials kept the prevention and training initiative quiet for three years after Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz issued a memo in 2001. But companies now want to talk about it as the contract-award date approaches.

The department's Joint Program Manager, called Guardian, manages the five-year program. The office, located in Fairfax, Va., wants an industry team led by one company to oversee prevention, training and IT services, called a lead systems integrator.

Lockheed Martin Corp. officials on Feb. 20 issued a statement confirming that it submitted a contract proposal as a lead integrator. Other major defense contractors have made bids, according to industry officials knowledgeable of the procurement.

Lockheed Martin's Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Programs and Warfare Systems office, located in Manassas, Va., assembled a five-company team to pursue the contract, including IT vendor CACI International Inc., an Arlington, Va., vendor that specializes in integrating sensors and computer modeling and simulation.