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GovCIO wins $865M Air Force communications contract after protracted protest battle
The CTSS V contract, first awarded in 2024, will support 90,000 personnel across the Southern Command.
GovCIO, through its Salient CRGT business, has again won an Air Force contract for communications support worth $865 million.
The company first won the Air Force Communications Technical Support Services V contract in March 2024, but then a series of protests followed. The Air Force eventually issued a new solicitation earlier this year.
General Dynamics IT is the incumbent contractor for this work and filed protests when GovCIO won CTSS V. GDIT challenged how proposals and pricing were evaluated.
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But troubles with CTSS V date back to at least 2021 when the Defense Information Systems Agency tried to field the contract for the Air Force. After several protests, DISA turned the contract back to the Air Force.
The Air Force restarted the competition in March 2023 with a new solicitation.
The contract supports the communications needs of the Air Force Central Command, which oversees operations in the Southwest Asia region.
CTSS manages the communications infrastructure used by 90,000 Air Force and civilian personnel. The contract covers integration, installation, operations and maintenance and sustainment work.
GDIT did not respond to a request for comment on whether the company will again protest the award to GovCIO.