DISA awards $450M deal for top-secret communications system upkeep

The Defense Information Systems Agency has awarded a contract worth up to $450 million to Harris IT Service Corp. for the maintenance of the Crisis Management System.

The 10-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity hybrid contract includes services for program management support, engineering and maintenance of the system. The base one-year ordering period is expected to be completed by August 2015, with no guarantee that the agency will be exercising any of the following nine one-year options.

The Crisis Management System, or CSM, provides presidential communications using a top-secret voice, video and data network, and allows policy makers to exchange information during emergency situations. The system is capable of providing multi-party calls between fixed and mobile sites for operations and can be equipped in the Air Force One planes and Marine One helicopters, according to FCW.  

The system supports the president, Joint Chiefs, several agency watch centers, cabinet members, and continuity of operations (COOP) sites.

The system is owned and operated by the National Security Staff, but is maintained by DISA as directed by the National Security Council, according to DISA’s 2015 budget estimates. CSM, which is one of DISA’s Special Mission Areas, is expected to cost the agency $990 million for fiscal year 2015.

Harris originally won the initial Crisis Management System contract back in 2004, reports NextGov. The nine year contract was valued at $175 million.