14 Sep 04. The U.S. Army today announced that it has revised the acquisition strategy for the Warfighter Information Network – Tactical (WIN-T) program. Industry teams led by General Dynamics [NYSE: GD] and Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] have now begun the process of creating a combined effort under the revised strategy. The program could potentially be worth as much as $10bn over its total lifecycle. Combining both teams now brings a “best of breed” approach to the program and enables the Army to better synchronize WIN-T with current and future transformation programs.

WIN-T is envisioned to become the Army’s integrating communications network, keeping soldiers connected through a high-speed, highly secure wireless net that will deliver voice, data and video in real time. Under

the revised acquisition strategy, General Dynamics will act as the prime contractor, with Lockheed Martin providing complementary technical expertise and capabilities as a major subcontractor responsible for approximately 50 percent of the effort.

“We’re extremely pleased to be supporting the Army on this important program to deliver on-the-move communications capabilities to the warfighter. Together, the General Dynamics – Lockheed Martin team applies the very best of military and commercial communications expertise to the WIN-T system,” said Dave Kelley, Lockheed Martin’s WIN-T program executive. “The combined team will deliver the best available technology directly to the warfighter quickly and cost-effectively, helping to ensure that the WIN-T solution meets the Army’s needs for decades to come.”

Soldiers may see the future of tactical network technology sooner now that the Army is proceeding under this revised acquisition strategy for the Army’s future tactical network.

Combining contractors establishes a single baseline for the WIN-T program rather than two possibilities as offered by competing WIN-T teams, according to Col. Angel Colon, the WIN-T Project Manager. Under the previous acquisition strategy, the future network solution would have been defined in late 2005 when the Army was scheduled to select one of the proposed network solutions under development by the two contractors, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin.

“This combined effort will allow us to settle the WIN-T network architecture within the next four months,” said Colon. “A single-baseline approach sets the conditions to incrementally provide capabilities to the Current Force. Soldiers will benefit from this combined effort because it opens the door for the latest in information technology to be fielded where real-time, quality information is most highly valued – with our deployed and combat-ready units.”

“The single baseline approach also provides a single focus for other interdependent developmental efforts, including the Future Combat Systems (FCS) and Joint Tactical Radio Systems (JTRS),” said Don Keller, Project Director for WIN-T. “The Army will also benefit in the final product by incorporating the strongest features of each contractor’s design in a ‘best-of-breed’ approach.”

WIN-T is the Army’s tactical extension of the Global Information Grid. It is the Army’s key initiative that transforms the tactical network from the

Current Force to the Future Force, and is a key enabler of the FCS. The program is managed by the Project Manager, WIN-T, part of the Fort Monmouth-based Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical.

The concept of combining the two efforts originated with the Army’s WIN-T Project Manager in response to the Army’s need to define the future force network solution sooner. The WIN-T Project Office has been working on this strategy over the last year. The contractors jointly proposed the specific teaming arrangement in which General Dynamics shall act as the prime contractor and Lockheed Martin shall provide complementary technical expertise and capabilities as a major subcontractor responsible for