The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a contract potentially worth $490 million to continue providing network and integration services under the Distributed Mission Operations Network (DMON) 2.0 service contract.

The DMON enables dissimilar aircraft platforms located across the globe to seamlessly interoperate and train together in a realistic virtual environment.

The single-award, firm-fixed-price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract was awarded by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The five-year contract could be extended through June 30, 2023, if all options are exercised.

Northrop Grumman has been the prime contractor on the Combat Air Force Distributed Mission Training Operations and Integration program since its inception in 1999.

"Northrop Grumman and our teammates partnered with the Air Force to build the Distributed Mission Operations Network from the ground up. For more than a decade, we have been proud to support critical warfighter training on events ranging from small-scale daily composite team training to large force engagements involving multiple sites and complex missions," said Mike Twyman, sector vice president and general manager of the Defense Systems division for Northrop Grumman Information Systems.

"The innovations we've instituted over the years have made the DMON more powerful, more efficient and more affordable," said Lisa Harris, Northrop Grumman's DMON 2.0 program manager in Orlando, where the majority of the work will be performed.

"In the years ahead, we stand ready to support the Air Force in extending the reach of DMON to additional sites and platforms, and exploring added capabilities to realize the full potential of this realistic, cost-effective training."