NEW YORK-L-3 Communications announced it will build BlackBerry-style devices for the U.S. Department of Defense and other U.S. government users under a new $18 million multi-year contract with the National Security Agency. The gadgets, dubbed Secure Mobile Environment-Portable Electronic Device (SME-PED)-will support voice calls and wireless access to e-mail.
“We are thrilled to have been selected by the NSA to develop the SME-PED,” said Greg Roberts, president of L-3 CS-East, the division managing the contract. “SME-PED continues L-3’s legacy of developing leading-edge, high-assurance communications products for use by the U.S. Government. L-3 CS-East will leverage recent investments in cryptographic technology, as well as our experience and expertise in applying the U.S. government’s Future Narrow Band Digital Terminal (FNBDT) and High Assurance Internet Protocol Interoperability Specification (HAIPIS) protocols while executing this critical program.”
L-3 primarily sells to government agencies, and offers intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, secure communications systems, aircraft modernization, training and government services.
Interestingly, various areas of government already use high-end wireless devices. For example, most members of Congress carry BlackBerrys.
