U.S. Air Force awards $498M IBDSS contract.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) announced recently that the U.S. Air Force awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) as one of four awardees to provide advanced systems for protecting U.S. Air Force bases worldwide. Jacobs is a major subcontractor to Northrop Grumman.

The Air Force estimated the value of the five-year contract at $498 million.

The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity Integrated Base Defense Security System (IBDSS) contract was awarded by the Air Force Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass. This contract vehicle is available to any federal agency seeking to enhance its security.

Under the IBDSS contract, Jacobs will provide architectural, engineering, and construction management services to support the installation of various technologies and force protection elements that enable the integrated protection of critical assets.

"This acquisition will support quick-reaction temporary and permanent fixed-site deployments as well as multiple installations at different locations in parallel throughout the world," the Air Force said in its contract announcement. "IBDSS provides a critical line of defense for all critical assess--fixed, temporary, or mobile--by way of electronic detection, alarm assessment, access control, communications, and command, control, and display capabilities to support and give effective response."

Additional members of this comprehensive Northrop Grumman Mission Systems team include Honeywell Technology Solutions Inc. Columbia, Md.; Raytheon Technical Services Company, Reston, Va.; Boeing Autometric, Springfield, Va.; CSC, El Segundo, Calif.; ENSCO Inc., Springfield, Va.; Flaherty Technical Services Inc., San Antonio, Texas; and Advanced Biometric Security, Littleton, Mass.

In making the announcement, Jacobs Group Vice President Warren Dean stated, "Jacobs brings extensive experience and knowledge in aviation and security projects. We are very pleased to be a member of the Northrop Grumman team supporting the U.S. Air Force."

Jacobs, with over 35,000 employees and revenues approaching $5.0 billion, provides technical, professional, and construction services globally.