Alion Science and Technology said it was awarded a three-year $30 million contract to support the Army Rapid Equipping Force (REF) in assessing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and government-off-the-shelf (GOTS) solutions to increase soldiers’ ability to survive and succeed in combat.
The constantly shifting nature of asymmetric warfare means that U.S. soldiers require frequent updates to the technologies they use in-theater.
“Alion’s ability to identify and assess leading-edge technology is critical to closing the capability gaps faced by warfighters,” said Chris Amos, Alion senior vice president and manager of the Technology Solutions Group. “We will reach out to the military, industrial, academic and scientific communities to find existing and emerging solutions.”
Under the contract, Alion, an employee-owned technology solutions company, will serve as systems integrator and evaluator of system performance. The company will perform a full range of engineering, reliability and risk assessments, and also will conduct operational tests in a combat environment within six to nine months from the REF’s receipt of an urgent U.S. Central Command requirement.
Amos said the company will be seeking out those solutions that enhance survivability, effectiveness and more efficient fuel use in theater, “Whether these technologies are off- the-shelf or still in the latter stages of development, our team of experts will recommend the systems that can best support warfighters in combat.”
The work was awarded as a task order under the Defense Technical Information Center’s WSTIAC contract with the period of performance through Sept. 14, 2014.
WSTIAC, operated by Alion, is one of the nine Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) Information Analysis Centers (IAC).
The IACs house libraries of information that are focused on specific technology areas, in addition to providing technical expertise in these areas. DTIC is headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., and serves the Defense Department (DoD) by providing access to scientific and technical information for DoD personnel and contractors, including researchers, designers and engineers.