FBI Awards Contract to Lockheed Martin

WASHINGTON -- The FBI announced today it has awarded Lockheed Martin Transportation and Security Solutions the contract for the design, development, documentation, integration, testing, and deployment of the Next Generation Identification (NGI) System. The contract will consist of a base year and the potential for up to nine option years. The NGI System will expand on the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division’s current Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), which is primarily a fingerprint-based identification system operated and maintained in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The NGI System will provide improvements to current services and new functionality for the criminal justice, national security, and civil communities.

The industry of identification systems is moving beyond dependency on a unimodal (e.g., fingerprint) biometric identifier and is beginning to incorporate multimodal biometrics such as iris and facial imaging. Due to the many issues associated with identity theft, lost and stolen documents, and the ability to spoof standard name-based identity management systems, coupled with the rapid advances in technology and the nation’s focus on combating terrorism, there are increasing needs for new and improved identification services. In line with this trend, the NGI System will advance the integration strategies and indexing of additional, lawfully authorized, biometric data, providing the framework for a future multimodal system which will facilitate biometric fusion identification techniques. This framework will be expandable, scalable, and flexible to accommodate new technologies and emerging biometrics standards, and will be interoperable with existing biometric systems.

It is important to note that the NGI system will not expand the categories of individuals from whom the fingerprints and biometric data may be collected; however it will allow for the collection of additional biometric data from criminals and terrorists. Although fingerprint data will remain the primary means of identification, the collection of additional biometric data will be used for investigative purposes and to assist in the identification process.

“IAFIS has been a fantastic tool in support of criminal justice and the war on terror. Our partners on the Advisory Policy Board (APB) and National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council have defined a need for more modern technology that supports their current mission requirements. NGI will give us bigger, better, faster capabilities and lead us into the future. We have added additional capabilities to our current system, and are working with the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, and State and the international law enforcement community in making our communities and nation safer. NGI will leverage the biometrics expertise in the north-central West Virginia area,” said Thomas E. Bush, III, Assistant Director of the FBI’s CJIS Division.

Lockheed Martin Corp.