- Five companies have been awarded spots on a Navy tactical network modernization contract
- The award will support the production and sustainment of ADNS communications systems
- The program builds on Navy efforts to modernize fleet-wide tactical networking
Five companies have secured spots on a potential $452.9 million Navy contract to provide production units, software, spares and upgrade support for the service branch’s Automated Digital Network System, or ADNS.
The awardees are Management Services Group, doing business as Global Technical Systems; Leidos; Serco; Systems Engineering Support Co.; and VT Milcom, a wholly owned subsidiary of VT Group Holdings, the Department of War said Thursday. The multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract carries an eight-year ordering period running through May 2034. Work will be performed in California and Virginia.
Naval Information Warfare Systems Command is the contracting activity.
Digital modernization, advanced naval capabilities and the integration of emerging technologies across fleet operations will be discussed at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Navy Summit on Aug. 27. Register now!
What Is the Navy’s ADNS Program?
ADNS provides tactical wide area network capabilities across Navy communications systems, supporting surface ships, submarines, aircraft, tactical shore sites and shore-based gateway services. It includes communications-as-a-service capabilities designed to support software-defined networking and traffic-engineered tactical data delivery.
The Navy’s July 2025 statement of work for the contract said ADNS supports the acquisition, integration, delivery and sustainment of tactical network infrastructure for force-wide combat support systems under Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence and Program Management Warfare Tactical Networks, or PMW 160.
What Work Will Contractors Perform?
Under the contract, awardees will produce and deploy build-to-print ADNS systems and associated components using government-provided technical data packages.
The scope also includes integrated logistics support, configuration management, quality assurance, installation support, supply chain risk management, factory acceptance testing and cybersecurity compliance activities.
The Navy also requires routing capability that could support hardware-agnostic software containers and virtual machines while reducing space, weight and power requirements to speed future upgrades and installations.
ADNS Modernization Efforts
The new awards build on the Navy’s ongoing ADNS modernization initiative. According to the statement of work, the program began developing a new hardware design in 2021 and expected to complete developmental and operational testing by the end of 2025.
The contract follows a prior $492 million ADNS Increment III support IDIQ awarded in 2017 to Leidos, Leonardo DRS, SAIC and Serco.
