[Satellite TODAY 07-28-10] The U.S. Army awarded ViaSat with the Blue Force Tracking 2 (BFT-2) contract July 22 to upgrade 100,000 Army vehicles with a next-generation tracking system intended to prevent friendly fire incidents.
    ViaSat said it unseated incumbent Comtech by offering new technology at a lower cost. ViaSat Vice President of Global Satcom Systems Phil Berry spoke with Satellite News about the company’s reaction to the award and how ViaSat plans to implement its ArcLight-based BFT-2 offering while meeting deadlines.
    “It is very rare to unseat an incumbent in an existing military program. While it is a difficult task, the Army strongly supports open competition. We offered the best price for BFT-2 that we could, which we believe is both fair and legal,” Berry said.

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