Boeing-SAIC FCS Team Conquers Avalanche of Proposals; Announce Initial Broad Industry Announcement Awards.

Business Editors & Aerospace Writers

SEAL BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 5, 2002

Despite what it referred to as an "amazing" number of responses to its recent request for proposals, the Future Combat Systems (FCS) team today announced the first 30 of what will eventually be about 89 contracts to companies from coast-to-coast and around the world.

The Army and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, working in partnership with The Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) -- Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) FCS lead systems integrator (LSI) team, reviewed more than 2,900 proposals from around the globe in the past few weeks.

The contracts to be awarded will cover three main elements of this key Army transformation program: combat systems, supportability and command, control, computers, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

"The scope of work involved in the review process was far greater than we anticipated," said Jerry McElwee, Boeing vice president and FCS LSI program manager from his office in Anaheim. "We are really excited by the volume of response and see it as a testimonial to how well the entire Broad Industry Announcement (BIA) process is working."

The BIA proposals were all received via the Boeing-SAIC FCS Web site, part of an "honest broker" approach that the team instituted to ensure fairness in the review process and to secure the most qualified contractors. This approach stems from the unique partnership relationship between the Army and its LSI team. It also represents a significant change in the Army procurement process.

The contract awards from the approximately 195 individual BIA candidate responses that were selected will be spread among about 94 companies. Sixty-four statements of work will go to eight major suppliers; these contracts are currently in negotiation.

To date, contracts have been awarded to:

Applied Data Trends, Huntsville, Ala.
Architecture Technology Co., Eden Prairie, Minn.
Aspen Systems, Marlborough, Mass.
CHI, Lowe Gwynedd, Pa.
Cougaar, Fairfax, Va.
CyberNet, Plano, Texas
Defense Service, Sterling Heights, Mich.
Hamilton Sundstrand, Windsor Locks, Conn.
IAC, Poway, Calif.
Intelligent Automation Inc., Rockville, Md.
iRobot, Summerville, Mass.
Kaman, Hudson, Mass.
LexCarb LLC, Lexington, Ky.
Mesa, Madison, Ala.
Metadapt, San Francisco
NAI Labs, Glenwood, Md.
NATC, Carson City, Nev.
Orincon Corp., San Diego
Physics Math & Computers, Socorro, N.M.
PreMag, Albany, N.Y.
Remotec, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Robotic Technologies, Potomac, Md.
Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Rockwell Scientific, Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Scientific, Tempe, Ariz.
SeQual, San Diego
SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif.
University of Texas Austin, Austin, Texas
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blackburg, Va.
Vista Controls, Santa Clarita, Calif.

"I am really pleased with the diversity of suppliers who will be receiving contracts," said Col. Bill Johnson, program manager. "There will be a number of small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs) receiving contracts, including several woman-owned SDBs.

"We will also be awarding contracts to a number of international suppliers," Johnson said. "Domestically, the contracts cover almost every region of the country."

Johnson noted that the team would issue weekly updates as additional contracts are negotiated.

The Boeing-SAIC team was awarded the hotly pursued FCS LSI role in March of this year. The LSI role was strategically important for the Boeing Space and Communications and Phantom Works organizations, which are jointly managing the program. FCS represents the key step into a network-centric, integrated battlespace market that is part of Boeing's vision for the future.

FCS is a networked system of improved communications links and lighter, more mobile armored vehicles that is, in effect, the backbone of the Army's long-term transition plan to reach what it calls the "objective force." FCS will serve as the core building block to develop what the Army calls "overmatching" combat power, sustainability, agility and versatility necessary for full-spectrum military operations.

This next-generation objective force will be lighter and more mobile; the Army transformation requirements include the ability to put a combat-capable brigade anywhere in the world within 96 hours, a full division in 120 hours, and five divisions on the ground within 30 days.

Boeing Space and Communications (S&C), with headquarters in Seal Beach, is the world's largest space and communications company. A unit of The Boeing Co., S&C provides integrated solutions in missile defense, information and communications, launch services and human space flight and exploration.

It is a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and NASA's largest contractor. The global enterprise has customers worldwide and manufacturing operations throughout the United States and Australia.

The Phantom Works advanced research and development division serves as the catalyst of innovation for the Boeing enterprise. By working together with all the business units, it provides the innovative, breakthrough technologies they seek to reduce the cycle time and cost while improving the quality and performance of their aerospace products and services.

SAIC is the nation's largest employee-owned research and engineering company, providing information technology, systems integration and eSolutions to commercial and government customers. SAIC engineers and scientists work to solve complex technical problems in national security, homeland defense, energy, the environment, telecommunications, health care and transportation.

With annual revenues of $6.1 billion, SAIC and its subsidiaries, including Telcordia Technologies, have more than 40,000 employees at offices in more than 150 cities worldwide. More information about SAIC can be found on the Internet at www.saic.com.