SAIC Awarded $1.4B COBRA Task Order to Support CJADC2 Systems Modernization

Bob Ritchie / LinkedIn

SAIC has secured a $1.4 billion COBRA task order to accelerate the modernization of systems that feed into the Department of Defense’s Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control ecosystem. The five-year award tasks SAIC with rapidly developing, integrating and fielding technologies that strengthen decision superiority and operational readiness across the joint force, according to a press release published Thursday.

What Will COBRA Enable for Combatant Commands?

COBRA, short for Collaborative Operations for Battlespace Resilient Architecture, gives combatant commands a flexible mechanism to upgrade existing systems or introduce new capabilities directly into CJADC2 workflows. Commands such as Indo-Pacific Command will be able to use the vehicle to prototype solutions, push them into exercises for early assessment and refine them based on mission needs.

How Will SAIC Support System Modernization?

SAIC will draw on its command-and-control integration experience to support digital engineering, modeling and simulation, rapid prototyping, new system development and quick-reaction capabilities. Additional work includes data analytics, unmanned systems modernization and cybersecurity enhancements. The company emphasized that the effort will rely on open architectures designed to prevent vendor lock and allow seamless integration of sea, land, air, space and cyber data.

“COBRA highlights the urgent need to deliver integrated, all-domain capabilities to our warfighters,” said Vincent DiFronzo, SAIC’s executive vice president for Air Force and combatant commands business group and a two-time Wash100 Award recipient. “SAIC will use our proven experience, speed, and flexibility to fast-track warfighting technologies from concept to combat.”

The COBRA contract, according to SAIC Chief Technology Officer Bob Ritchie, underscores the importance of technology-enabled decision superiority. “SAIC is proud to be a trusted mission integration partner of America’s warfighters innovating at the speed of mission need, now and in the future.”