Lockheed Martin to provide high-tech IDs at ports
Transportation Security Administration contract has an initial value of $70 million.
The Transportation Security Administration has awarded a contract to supply high-tech identification cards at ports to Lockheed Martin headquarters in Bethesda, Md., according to sources familiar with the choice.
The Washington Post reports that the initial value of the contract, which involves issuing ID cards to 850,000 maritime workers, currently sits at $70 million. But the contract could prove to be more valuable if it leads to related deals because ID technology is a fast-growing sector for government contractors.
The ID program was initially supposed to provide transportation workers with cards embedded with microchips by the end of 2003, but it has been bogged down with technology glitches and privacy concerns.
Lockheed has 18 months to finish deploying the cards.