ITSI announced today that the company has been awarded a $350 million, firm-fixed price, Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ), Multiple Award Construction Contract (MACC) supporting assessment, repair and construction for petroleum, oil, and lubricant (POL) fuel system services at various locations worldwide. ITSI was selected from a pool of competitors for this MACC ID/IQ to provide work in support of sustainment, restoration, and modernization requirements worldwide, managed by the Naval Facilities Engineering Services Center (NFESC), at Port Hueneme, CA. The prime contractors will share awards totaling $350 million for work executed at the Department of Defense facilities. ITSI will provide services involving design-build, engineering, inspection, testing, and construction of POL fuel systems and their numerous components.

The Navy has been an important client of ITSI for over 10 years. As a prime contractor for the Navy, ITSI has successfully executed work in the areas of environmental consulting, remediation, and civil construction services. Currently, ITSI holds four additional Navy contracts, including a Performance-Based Multiple Award Contract for Environmental Remediation Services (PERMAC), Remedial Action Contract (RAC), and two ID/IQ contracts at Naval Air Station Lemoore and at Hunters Point Shipyard.

Dr. Shukla, President of ITSI, commented that he is, “Pleased that the Navy has selected ITSI for this important contract. The Navy is one of our most valued clients and we look forward to a continued partnership with them worldwide. Our company will continue to uphold high quality performance, dedication to our work, and successful execution of projects for all of our clients.”

InterAct announced that U.S. Army posts Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem have installed InterActCAD and InterActGIS to enhance their emergency response capabilities.  InterAct products and services were selected in response to a command-approved proposal for consolidation of both 911 centers into a single facility. Recognized worldwide for delivering accuracy and reliability to emergency dispatching operations, InterActCAD and InterActGIS utilize state-of-the-art, intuitive technology to manage and respond to emergency calls, pinpoint caller location and dispatch appropriate personnel with the utmost speed and efficiency.

Based in Atlanta, GA, Fort McPherson is home to Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; U.S. Army Forces Command; U.S. Army Reserve Command; U.S. Army Central; and other critical military operations. Fort Gillem, a neighboring facility, is an essential industrial and logistical support base, housing several Department of Defense and Army staff, as well as other government agencies.

According to Chief of Fire Prevention and Life Safety for Forts McPherson and Gillem, Roger Snell, “We are very pleased with the flexibility of InterAct software; the system is fully adapted to the way we work. InterAct fully customized the CAD and GIS systems to address our unique needs, including interfacing to the installation’s proprietary phone system.

He continued, “With the fully integrated InterAct systems in place, we have achieved a much more efficient communication flow between emergency dispatchers and responding units, coupled with fast access to essential reporting data. Our team can now generate reports within minutes to better identify peak incident volume times to determine appropriate staffing levels across the base.”

In addition to its superior functionality and ease-of-use, the aforementioned military facilities were to able acquire InterAct’s products and service through E-9 Corporation’s GSA Schedule, without having to undergo a time-consuming RFP. E-9, which served as the prime contractor for this deal, enables its government clients increase operational productivity through efficient use of information technology.

“InterAct’s solutions align with our core commitment to improve our customers’ business processes and maximize their investment in both people and technology,” said John Plott, president of E-9 Corporation. “Since their inception more than 30 years ago, they have truly led the way in public safety systems.”

“InterAct and E-9 Corporation did a great job of keeping the project on track,” said Howard C. Butler, Deputy Commander for the U.S. Army Garrison at Fort McPherson. “At every turn, they were ready to accommodate our schedule and find creative ways to avoid bottlenecks. When a construction delay threatened to hold up our training schedule, InterAct found a command briefing space that would work well as a training lab so we could keep to our original timetable.”

“When it comes to 911 dispatch, providing high quality software is just one aspect of our clients’ needs,” said InterAct Public Safety Executive Chairman and CEO Andrew J. “Flip” Filipowski. “Our goal is to continually find ways to adapt our systems and our approach to individual client needs. The Fort’s McPherson/Gillem consolidation is a great example of that. They had unique challenges in the way the 911 center recognizes locations across the two installations. I’m proud of the work our people performed to configure our systems to meet this new requirement.”

GE Security announced that its Homeland Protection Business is executing delivery on a contract worth up to $13.5 million for MobileTrace handheld contraband detection systems.

MobileTrace incorporates GE’s ITMS (Ion Trap Mobility Spectrometry), or trace technology, into a highly portable device. ITMS explosives and narcotics detection sensitivity and reliability has already been proven in other GE Security trace-based products at military bases, border crossings, airports and other critical security checkpoints around the world. U.S. courts have considered the results of testing with trace technology in drug related prosecutions.

“GE Security is honored to be chosen by the U.S. Army to provide detection technology designed to enhance security,” said Dennis Cooke, president of GE Security’s Homeland Protection division. “This is a significant government order for MobileTrace and reflects GE Security’s commitment to supporting various government agencies on their critical security agendas.”

Polaris announced the Company received orders from the U.S. Army to provide additional vehicles, parts and accessories of the company’s highly successful militarized ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle), the MV700, for operations in Afghanistan. The MV700 already has proven to be a very versatile vehicle in supporting a wide variety of missions conducted in urban, rural, mountain and desert areas worldwide. Values of these orders exceed $6 million and deliveries are planned for later this year.

“Polaris is very proud to continue its role in providing the U.S. Army and its allies with world-class machines that can be relied on to perform under the toughest conditions,” said Bennett Morgan, president and chief operating officer of Polaris. “We are very serious about what it takes to be a long-term valued supplier to military and government customers. Polaris Defense works very hard to ensure we are providing a complete capability including; vehicles, spare parts and logistical support for this critical market area.”

For the last five years, Polaris Defense has been supplying a family of vehicles to the U.S. Department of Defense as well as other government agencies and US Allies. Their mission is to provide the U.S. Armed Forces and its allies with the world’s toughest, militarized ATVs and Side-by-Side Vehicles.

ITT has been awarded $43 million in follow-on orders from the U.S. Army’s Research, Development and Engineering Command Acquisition Center for the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle (ENVG), and associated spare parts.

“Our unmatched capability, technology and customer support are at the heart of these most recent awards,” said Mike Hayman, president of ITT’s Night Vision business. “By continuing to deliver the industry’s most advanced night vision goggle, we are providing our warfighters with unrivalled capabilities required for current and future battlefield operations.”

ENVG optically combines an image intensification image, and proven thermal infrared technology, allowing for improved mobility and situational awareness—through clear target detection and improved target recognition. The ENVG combines the strengths of both technologies into one helmet-mounted unit, allowing warfighters to complete their missions more effectively, even when confronted by low-light or obscured conditions.

Americans in Orbit – 50 Years (AIO-50) announced today its own giant leap into space exploration by taking its International Space Science Education Program (ISSEP) to the private sector for funding so that America’s youth and education is again an integral part of the space program. With budget cuts looming over the future of government-funded space exploration; the retirement of the space shuttles next year; and a focus on Moon/Mars exploration as the next big NASA project, AIO-50 seeks to make space accessible to the ingenuity and creative thinking of America’s schools, colleges, and universities.

The ISSEP offers more opportunities for students, professors, and private industry professionals to participate in space-related discoveries, and contribute to resulting technologies. According to AIO-50 President, Craig Russell, it has become almost impossible for students to get space science projects into orbit. “Access to space for universities had dwindled over the past few years to virtually zero,” he says.

In July, Russell took the first step in preparation for the February 20, 2012 “America’s Launch” mission when he transported a boilerplate Gemini capsule from Kansas City, MO, to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL where it is currently on display. The capsule is “on loan” to AIO-50 from Vince Lawrence, president of SpaceCraftRentals.com.

“The capsule is available to any college or university program willing to test the recovery and landing system capabilities needed,” Russell says. “This is an exceptional hands-on opportunity for any college or university. The technology to land the Gemini on the ground has been available for fifty years. We have access to the original blueprints – we just need private funding and the academic world to make it work.” AIO-50 is currently seeking cooperative fundraising opportunities and corporate sponsorships, to support the school or schools that rise to the challenge.

The Gemini IR (Improved-Reusable) manned spacecraft will use modern instrumentation, computers, and GPS. Two private astronauts, Mission Commander Howard Chipman and Co-Pilot Veronique Koken will launch using the man-rated Falcon 9 rocket in February 20, 2012, commemorating the 50^th Anniversary of the Friendship 7 mission. “AIO-50 will launch on a regular basis, so engineering students from around the world will have the opportunity to work on space science experiments and small satellites,” says Russell.

Commander Chipman says, “We look forward to the opportunity… to inspire the young and old alike to a space-faring future for America and the world.”

Digimarc announced that it was officially awarded a contract by Battelle Energy Alliance, in the amount of $920,700, to help create a system to ensure the security and safety of strategic weapons facilities.

The Department of Defense’s Enhanced Security Weapons/Nuclear Weapons program will use Digimarc technology in a covert sensory system to provide long-range surveillance and intelligence of potential threat targets.

“We are pleased to be awarded this long-anticipated project and have our technology included as a key part of this innovative new program,” stated Bruce Davis, chairman and CEO of Digimarc. “The secure, persistent and imperceptible characteristics of digital watermarking, and its demonstrated value in government surveillance applications, make it ideal for this project.”

The program will meet the DoD requirements established by DoD S5210.41M which was signed in November 2004. Delivery of the project is anticipated by February 28, 2010.

CPI Aerostructures announced that the U.S. Air Force has released a new order under CPI Aero’s C-5 TOP contract for a variety of spoilers and fairings valued at approximately $4.9 million. Orders under this program, including this $4.9 million order, have totaled $8.2 million for 2009 and $30.6 million since the inception of the contract. On average CPI Aero has received $5.8 million of releases on this contract per year.

This award brings the total new year-to-date awards for the Company to $11.9 million.

CPI Aero is engaged in the contract production of structural aircraft parts for leading prime defense contractors, the U.S. Air Force and other branches of the armed forces. In conjunction with its assembly operations, CPI Aero provides engineering, technical and program management services. Among the key programs that CPI Aero supplies are the UH-60 BLACK HAWK helicopter, the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter, the MH-60S mine countermeasure helicopter, the Gulfstream G650, C-5A Galaxy cargo jet, the T-38 Talon jet trainer, the A-10 Thunderbolt attack jet, and the E-3 Sentry AWACS jet.

L-3 Communications has announced that its Global Security & Engineering Solutions (GS&ES) unit was one of three companies awarded a five-year, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) prime contract by the U.S. Air Force. The combined value of the contract is $495 million.

Through this force protection security system contract, L-3 will provide support to the elements of integrated base defense at Air Force and other Department of Defense sites throughout the world.

“As part of L-3’s Services Group, GS&ES is highly regarded by the U.S. Air Force Security Forces and their program office at Hanscom AFB,” said Jerry Bates, president of GS&ES. “We look forward to continuing the excellent relationship we forged during our work on the preceding Integrated Base Defense Security Systems contract. This follow-on award will continue our vital work protecting forces worldwide.”

The Shaw Group announced this past week that its Environmental & Infrastructure Group has been awarded an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract by the Department of Defense (DoD) to support its U.S. Navy fuel system operations. The scope of Shaw’s contract includes engineering, inspection and construction services at U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center Petroleum, Oils and Lubricants (POL) sites at DoD facilities around the world.

Shaw will support the sustainment, restoration and modernization requirements on projects, including designing, building, engineering, inspecting, testing and constructing POL fuel systems and various components.

Shaw is one of five firms selected to compete on task orders with a maximum contract value of $350 million, if all options are exercised, through 2014. The value of this award, which will be included in the company’s fourth quarter fiscal year 2009 backlog of unfilled orders, was not disclosed.

“The Department of Defense relies on POL sites globally to strengthen combat readiness through facilities lifecycle support,” said George Bevan, president of Shaw’s Environmental & Infrastructure Group. “Shaw’s delivery of sound engineering and management solutions enhances DoD readiness and cost efficiencies with respect to energy supply, distribution, and consumption.”