The Air Force Electronics Systems Center plans to increase the value of its existing network hardware contract by $1.45 billion to a total of $10.45 billion and extend it through September 2013 as it works to resolve protests over a follow-on contract awarded this spring.

ESC said the extension of its original Network-Centric Solutions contract will protect against disruptions in the supply of standard hardware for Air Force global networks and cyber defense. The original NETCENTS was awarded in 2004 to Booz Allen Hamilton, Centech Group, General Dynamics Corp., Harris Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Telos.

The NETCENTS contracts include switches, hubs, gateways, routers, firewalls, servers, tape drives, satellite terminals, microwave and Wi-Fi hardware, and land mobile radios.

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