FBI Announces Award of Sentinel Contract

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a move which will further development of an advanced information management and sharing system, the FBI today announced that Lockheed Martin was awarded the contract for development of the Sentinel system.

Director Robert S. Mueller, III, said, “Sentinel will strengthen the FBI’s capabilities by replacing its primarily paper-based reporting system with an electronic system designed for information sharing. Sentinel will support our current priorities, including our number one priority: preventing terrorist attacks. At the same time, the system will be flexible and adaptable, to address future technological advances and changes in our mission and threat environment.”

Sentinel will deliver an electronic information management system, automate workflow processes for the first time, and provide a user-friendly web-based interface to access and search across multiple databases. Sentinel will help the FBI manage information beyond the case-focus of the existing Automated Case Support (ACS), and will provide enhanced information sharing, search, and analysis capabilities. Sentinel will also facilitate information sharing with members of the law enforcement and intelligence communities.

The Sentinel program will be developed and deployed over time—in four phases—with each phase introducing new capabilities. Existing information will be migrated to the new system throughout the phases so that selected systems can be retired by the end of the fourth phase.

The solicitation for the Sentinel contract used the National Institutes of Health (NIH) government-wide contracting vehicle. A thorough evaluation process was conducted based on factors including prior experience with successful development of similar projects, technical and management approaches, security, and cost. The FBI determined that Lockheed Martin is most qualified to develop Sentinel. The total value of the contract with Lockheed Martin is $305 million over 6 years, including development and O&M (operations and maintenance). We estimate the total cost for Sentinel program, including program management, systems development, O&M, and IVV (Independent Validation and Verification) will be $425 million over 6 years.

Lockheed Martin is a Bethesda, Maryland-based corporation principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. Lockheed Martin Services Incorporated, an incorporated entity within Lockheed Martin, focuses on enterprise and application solutions, professional services and business process management. It has previously done work for the FBI, and has an excellent track record of successful deployment of large scale information systems for government agencies.