The U.S. Army announced on Wednesday that it has awarded the $249 million Automated Installation Entry (AIE) Next Generation contract to Leidos to enhance security at 92 additional Army and select joint-service installation physical access control points around the world.
Military installations, such as a base or camp, are controlled areas that are not generally open to the public. This contract – which has a six-year period of performance – aims to improve the security at military access control points through the use of biometrics and cloud technology.
“We are proud to be the Army’s solution of choice for access control and security for all Army installations worldwide,” said Mike Diggins, senior vice president of homeland and force protection solutions at Leidos. “Our use of cloud technology and biometrics applications is intended to enable secure, frictionless pedestrian and vehicle throughput at military access control points.”
The Army Contract Command for the Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors awarded the single indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity award.
As the AIE prime contractor, Leidos said it has transformed the Army’s Physical Access Control System to a “fully extensible cloud-based solution with advanced biometrics modalities.” The company uses biometrics to validate identities and incorporate cybersecurity protections.
The AIE system is currently employed at numerous Army installations. According to the release, it aims to expedite access control for authorized personnel and vehicles, validating identification credentials against authoritative and law enforcement databases.
Leidos said it will perform work on-site at Army and joint-service installations, with systems engineering and test activities primarily executed at its facility in Edgewood, Md.
“In collaboration with the Army customer, we’ve been able to demonstrate cloud-scale and persistent innovation to advance force protection solutions,” Diggins said. “We’re excited to apply this success to the next generation of the program.”
Leidos received another contract award worth $303 million this week from the Air Force to oversee the department’s Advanced Battle Management System – Digital Infrastructure (ABMS-DI) network.
