The Army has awarded General Atomics an extended contract for operation and sustainment of Highlighter, an imagery system for aircraft and UAVs that alerts analysts to changes in terrain–changes that might indicate the planting of an IED. From the DOD release:

General Atomics Technologies Corp., San Diego, Calif., was awarded on Feb. 13, 2009, a $30,156,316 cost plus fixed fee contract for 25 months of operation and sustainment support of the Highlighter change detection system in Operation Iraqi Freedom locations. Work is to be performed in Iraq, (97 percent), at San Diego, Calif., (2 percent), and at Arlington, Va., (1 percent), with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2011. Bids were solicited by sole source and one bid was received. CECOM Acquisition Center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-09-D-T202).

If you thought, what, with all this asymmetric warfare stuff going on, there wasn’t a lot of action in the old strategic deterrence world, you haven’t been watching where defense dollars are going. Today, the DOD announced:

The Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Space and Strategic Missiles, Cambridge, Mass., is being awarded a $20,517,264 modification (P00002) under previously awarded contract (N00030-08-C-0100) for the Alternate Release Assembly. This modification increases the total contract value to $760,800,560. Work will be performed in Sunnyvale, Calif., (87.85 percent); Cocoa Beach, Fla., (7.30 percent); St. Mary’s, Ga., (2.51 percent); Bremerton, Wash., (2.09 percent); other locations (.25 percent), and work is expected to be completed Aug. 30, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs, Arlington, Va., is the contracting agency.

The Alternate Release Assembly is part of the Fleet Ballistic Missile program. While there’s not a great deal of public detail out there (of course), the ARA is part of an improved missile launcher system for the Navy’s ballistic missile sub fleet. And yes, the value of the contract for just that one element of FBM is over three quarters of a billion dollars.