A radio operator with the 23rd Marine Regiment prepares for joint terminal attack controller school on Fort Pickett, Virginia, in 2022. A $269 million Marine Corps IT contract is part of the service's effort to offer the joint force's best JTACs. U.S. Marine Corps / Cpl. James Stanfield
Marines will spend nearly $1B to develop littoral warfighting, upgrade tactical systems
ManTech will do both jobs under two five-year contracts.
The Marine Corps is pouring $269 million into a secretive project to upgrade the service’s tactical systems to better integrate across agencies, and another $715 million to design and test its new littoral warfighting systems.
The two five-year research and development contracts, totalling roughly $1 billion, went to technology solutions company ManTech, according to a Dec. 3 release from the contractor.
The integration contract, led by the deputy commandant for information’s office, will see ManTech use its rapid prototyping process to upgrade the Marines’ tactical network, then bring the products through evaluation, demonstration, and field testing, the release said.
A Marine official declined to say just how the work will improve the Corps’ tactical network, but said it is part of a larger Headquarters Marine Corps effort to make the service the premier battlefield choice for joint terminal attack control—that is, directing air strikes and other aerial support.
“The Deputy Commandant for Information’s War Room Division is excited for the opportunity this contract brings for our ability to develop technology that will enable the Marine Corps to integrate with the Intelligence Community, the Joint Force, and deliver a decisive advantage in any region,” Col. Allan Chiu, the War Room’s deputy director, told Defense One in a statement.
The Marine Corps’ current tactical network is fine for what it is, Chiu said.
“While our current system has served us well, we recognize that the rapidly changing character of modern warfare requires us to keep adapting and innovating,” he said.
A second contract will help the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory to develop and test concepts for fighting in shallow, coastal waters, as part of its Force Design 2030 project.
A second Marine Corps spokesperson said ManTech’s contributions will depend on initial discoveries under the contract.
“While specific details regarding ManTech's contributions to this project remain limited due to the sensitive nature of the work, the company’s expertise in systems engineering and innovative solutions will support the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory’s mission to shape future capabilities,” spokeswoman Emily Carroll told Defense One on Wednesday.
In ManTech’s release, David Hathaway, president of the company’s defense sector, said, “Together we will develop and deliver sophisticated solutions that modernize every platform essential to success in littoral warfare and address the pacing threat of hostile forces in any ocean.”
The company holds several other military contracts, including pieces of a $37.4 billion command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance project with the Army and a $28 billion project with the Defense Department’s Information Analysis Centers for research and analysis support.