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Alion to support DISA spectrum R&D

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A Paratrooper uses his radio to communicate with his company during a noncombatant evacuation operation as part of Swift Response 16 training exercise at the Hohenfels, Germany, June 17, 2016. Capt. Thomas Lorenson, commander of Chaos Company, is assigned to 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. Exercise Swift Response is one of the premier military crisis response training events for multi-national airborne forces in the world. The exercise is designed to enhance the readiness of the combat core of the U.S. Global Response Force – currently the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team – to conduct rapid-response, joint-forcible entry and follow-on operations alongside Allied high-readiness forces in Europe. Swift Response 16 includes more than 5,000 Soldiers and Airmen from Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the United States and takes place in Poland and Germany, May 27-June 26, 2016. (U.S Army photos by Sgt. Juan F. Jimenez/Released)

Alion has been awarded a slot on a Defense Information Systems Agency contract, with a maximum value of $137 million, for tackle radio interference.

Under the five-year contract, with DISA’s Defense Spectrum Organization, Alion will “work in tandem with DISA DSO to drive spectrum research and development initiatives, in addition to providing operational spectrum management support,” said a company news release.

“Alion will also offer its EMS [electromagnetic spectrum] technical services, strategic spectrum planning and analysis, joint spectrum enterprise capabilities and spectrum advocacy in support of federal regulatory bodies,” the news release said.

Alion Senior Vice President Sean Pender said possible solutions may be new technologies being developed by federal research centers to improve spectrum efficiency, as well as increased sharing between commercial and government users.

About 

Michael Peck is a correspondent for Defense News and a columnist for the Center for European Policy Analysis. He holds an M.A. in political science from Rutgers University. Find him at theuncommondefense.com. His email is mikedefense1@gmail.com.