L-3 GCS Awarded $170 Million Contract from U.S. Special Operations Command

26 August 2010

L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) announced today that its GCS subsidiary (L-3 GCS) has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) for its Panther™ Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) manpack satellite communications systems and associated equipment. The systems will be used in support of USSOCOM’s Special Operations Forces Deployable Node-Lite (SDN-Lite) program, which will provide worldwide satellite communications connectivity to Special Operations Forces field personnel. The contract is valued at up to $170 million over the next five years.  

“L-3 GCS is particularly honored to have been selected by USSOCOM for this important program to augment warfighter communications,” said Bob Jacobson, president of L-3 GCS. “For the past two years, our goal has been to bring the size of a VSAT terminal down to a rucksack-sized package. We have achieved that goal, and USSOCOM has validated our vision with this award. Now, a single warfighter can have a megabit-per-second, beyond line-of-sight radio in his or her rucksack.”

L-3 GCS will begin shipping MIL-tested and certified Ku-, Ka-, and X-band manpacks, data kits and power systems to USSOCOM this calendar year, with additional units scheduled for production and delivery over the life of the contract.