L-3 Communications announced today that its Communication Systems-East (L-3 CS-East) division, a leading supplier of secure government communication products and systems, has been awarded a five-year, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract by the National Security Agency (NSA) to supply the Talon KOV-26 in-line network encryptor to the federal government, U.S. Military, and other approved customers. The not-to-exceed contract value is $35 million.
Certified by the NSA for Type 1 communications, Talon is a PCMCIA card that provides secure remote access at broadband data rates in a small package requiring no external power source. Talon is a high-speed alternative to the Remote Access Security Program (RASP), which is facing obsolescence.
Talon protects user data up to Top Secret /Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) and is compatible with the High Assurance IP Encryptor Interoperability Specification (HAIPEâ„¢ IS) protocol. Talon enables high-speed access to classified networks, or to other remote Talon users via the Internet through use of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) USB communication adapters. Talon includes a user-friendly graphical user interface that makes the security operation transparent to the end user.
The initial release of Talon supports 10/100 Ethernet, but will be software upgradeable to support 802.11 b/g wireless, V.90 dial-up modem, and RS-232 serial interfaces. This upgrade, planned for 1st quarter 2007, will add support for the Future Narrowband Digital Terminal/Secure Communications Interoperability Protocol (FNBDT/SCIP) voice and data protocol.
"As a portable crypto modern solution, Talon provides our customers a means to access and share sensitive information no matter where their travels take them,"Â said Greg Roberts, President and Chief Operating Officer of L-3 CS-East. "This award is a testimony to our world class performance and reputation in secure communications."Â
By L-3 Communications
Posted December 24th, 2006 by Nymphadora
