General Dynamics [GD] Canada yesterday said it has been awarded a potential $682 million Long Term Support Contract (LTSC) for the Canadian Army’s Land Command Support System (LCSS), ensuring troops will continue to have access to advanced communications services critical to the flow of vital information in rapidly changing combat environments.
Initially valued at $341 million, the competitively tendered five-year contract includes options to extend the support annually for up to five additional years, raising the total potential contract value to $682 million.
Canadian Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway the Hon. Peter Gordon MacKay said in a statement, “This contract with General Dynamics Canada will partner the leading-edge knowledge of Canada’s industrial sector with the needs of the Canadian Forces.”
In the mid-1990s, with the support of General Dynamics Canada, the Canadian Army became one of the first military organizations in the world to transition to a fully digital communications system. Since 2003, General Dynamics Canada has provided in-service support for this system, which is currently being used by Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. Through the LTSC, General Dynamics Canada and its partners will support the operation and maintenance of the currently deployed system at home and abroad and provide engineering services in support of periodic enhanced operational capability upgrades through the integration of new software and hardware elements. Committed to providing world-class support and technology, General Dynamics Canada has assembled a team of experts from across the country. These partners, from small, medium and large defense companies, represent the expertise that has made Canada a global leader in defense technologies.
John Watts of General Dynamics Canada, said, “We stand ready with all of the resources needed to provide the Canadian Army with the reliable communications technologies and support critical to enabling our soldiers to face any situation they encounter, wherever and whenever they need to.”
Work related to LCSS LTSC will be conducted at General Dynamics Canada’s high-tech facility in Calgary, a global center of excellence in providing command, control, communications and integrated sensor systems.