Army talks logistics system needs

   The U.S. Army has added requirements to its project to modernize logistics at its installations, according to a release from Northrop Grumman Information Systems.
   In response, Northrop Grumman and the Defense Department have adjusted their contract around the Global Combat Support System (GCSS-Army).
   Northrop Grumman is working with the Army to develop a single Web-based system to manage its supply and maintenance activities. The GCSS-Army system will give personnel and those in the field near-real-time information on supplies, as well as automatically performing many input and records-related tasks that soldiers currently do.
   The GCSS-Army will also replace about 65,000 standalone data repositories, which are basically desktop systems that do not directly interact with each other.
   Northrop Grumman was given $299 million in contract modifications around the new upgrades and must complete the logistics management project by 2017.
   The new system will replace the Army’s 12 current systems, with an emphasis on retail supply, maintenance, property, unit-level logistics, and aviation.
   In 2007, Northrop Grumman Information Systems received a multi-year contract to develop the Army’s future tactical logistics system. In August 2011, the program received its Milestone C approval that allows it to shift from the engineering phase to the production and deployment phase. – Geoff Whiting