Communications in a deployed environment will be easier for the Air Force because of a recent contract award by the Electronic Systems Center (ESC). ESC recently awarded a second follow-on indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract worth up to nearly $490 M for a program called Theater Deployable Communications. The contract was a multiple award naming Dell Marketing, Round Rock, TX; Northrop Grumman Defense Mission Systems, Reston, AZ; General Dynamics Decision Systems, Scottsdale, AZ; Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems, Gaithersburg, MD; and Redcom Laboratories, Victor, NY, as prime contractors. The program provides a communication infrastructure in the form of portable modules for use in a deployed environment. These modules are designed to improve interoperability, communication capacity and user connections, and they will decrease the system footprint so it can be moved easily. “The system provides telephone lines, Internet connections and all the other communication infrastructure that typically is behind your cube wall in an office environment,” said Joan Wandrei, system program manager. “We provide all this capability in a portable form, which is ideal for the functionality and flexibility required for the deployed environment.” Operators can use the specifically configured modules to communicate by radio or telephone, connect to a network locally or plug into a satellite unit to communicate globally. At a cost of between $50,000 to $150,000 per unit, each module provides a capability that is worth the cost. With only a few modules, weighing a couple of hundred pounds, a deployed unit can replace what was once an entire shelter of communication equipment. Major module configurations include voice, data, multiplexing, on-base transmission and network control modules. Each module can also be configured specifically to meet the requirements of the user with electronic units that are easily interchanged from one module to another. “Our first follow-on contract quickly reached a dollar ceiling of nearly $270 M with the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom,” Wandrei said. “The higher dollar amount for this follow-on contract is a reflection on the system importance to the war fighter. This contract will enable the user to rapidly acquire the communication infrastructure they need to support the Air Force mission in the Middle East and around the world.” Under the five-year contract, the Air Force can issue delivery orders up to the maximum dollar amount before the end of June 2009. Initial orders on the contract total $20 M and will be obligated in the near future.