Air Force buys more rugged computers

The Air Force is purchasing rugged notebook computers made by Getac Inc. under a $17 million Quarterly Enterprise Buy, according to Getac officials.

As part of the contract, NCS Technologies Inc. will manufacture and provide Getac's B300 rugged notebook and V100 rugged convertible computers to the Air Force. The V100 converts from a notebook to a tablet.

Now in its fifth year, the Quarterly Enterprise Buy program has realized more than $167 million in information technology cost savings for the Air Force, according to Getac. The program also offers end users out-of-the-box compatibility with all Air Force networks and standard software, Getac officials said.

By purchasing computers with standard configurations at regular intervals as an enterprise, the Air Force achieves savings of about 23 percent off General Services Administration schedule pricing, Air Force officials said. Participating in the program should provide a benefit to smaller Defense Department agencies that cannot purchase in sufficient volume to achieve significant discounts, according to the Air Force.

Getac is based in Lake Forest, Calif. NCS Technologies is based in Manassas, Va.