Falls Church-based General Dynamics beat out Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin for a contract to build a government wireless network that analysts said could be worth up to $10 billion.
The contract is for the Integrated Wireless Network Program, a communications network that would be used by offices under the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security and Treasury. Offices as wide-ranging as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms to the U.S. Coast Guard would have access to the network, which would span the country and be inter-operable with state and local public safety and homeland security networks. The network is designed so that emergency workers in a disaster would not have issues communicating because they use different networks.
“The idea is that over the next 15 years, a nationwide network will be created that supports communications for up to 80,000 federal agents,” General Dynamics spokesman Rob Doolittle said.
The Department of Justice previously narrowed the competition to two companies — Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics — which were asked to design a network for a smaller geographic region, which would be evaluated for the award.
The loss disappointed Lockheed Martin, but it would be premature to comment on whether the company will protest until the government debriefs it, spokesman Keith Mordoff said Wednesday, adding he did not know when a de-briefing would occur.
The Department of Justice hasn’t released a final estimate for the contract, but analysts have projected the award to be worth anywhere from $3 billion to $10 billion.
In a report Wednesday, analysts Myles Walton and Edwin Keller of CIBC World Markets called the award a “big win” for General Dynamics and said they would not rule out a protest from Lockheed Martin.
