GD Awarded $228 M to Modernize FAA Communications System

(Fairfax, Va., March 9, 2010) -- General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has been awarded a contract to support and modernize the Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrative Voice Enterprise Services (FAVES) program. The single-award contract is valued at $228 million over ten years.

General Dynamics will provide managed services support that includes operations and maintenance, technology refresh and upgrades to existing administrative telephony systems and provide new administrative telephony systems and services. The company will sustain FAA legacy systems until replaced, plan and design for future needs and implement operations and maintenance of an enterprise solution to meet the FAA's administrative telephony services requirements.

Through FAVES, the FAA will migrate from their current Public Branch Exchange (PBX)-based environment to a modern infrastructure based on a Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) and IP telephony technologies. The program will service the National Airspace System operational facilities and administrative offices, such as legacy regional offices, in addition to approximately 1,000 facilities and administrative offices, such as FAA headquarters, the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center and the William H. Hughes Technical Center. In all, the program will support more that 64,000 users throughout the United States, U.S. territories and facilities in Germany, Belgium and Singapore.

"General Dynamics is pleased to have this opportunity to apply its knowledge and expertise in upgrading telecommunications systems to the FAVES program," said Charlie Plummer, vice president and general manager of General Dynamics Information Technology's sector responsible for this contract.

Source : General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) - click here for more information