SUNNYVALE, CA -- The U.S. National Guard has selected Savi Technology, a Lockheed Martin company, to provide highly mobile radio frequency identification (RFID) systems that will improve real-time tracking of supplies at National Guard armories and for deployed operations. Savi Technology's compact "solution in a case" Portable Deployment Kits (PDKs) will enable Guard units throughout the U.St. and its territories to better locate, track, and manage RFID-tagged supplies and equipment in real time. Under the initial contracts, valued at $4.6 million, Savi Technology will provide each state's Joint Force Headquarters, as well as National Guard units in the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, with PDK units and related equipment. The initial contracts include orders for 54 PDKs, 5400 active RFID tags, and 120 mobile handheld readers, in addition to associated training for National Guard logisticians nationwide. Mission applications include disaster relief, homeland security, and other emergency efforts.
"The contracts with the National Guard demonstrate the growing need to rapidly and efficiently track critical materiel throughout their own facilities and into austere environments, where there is little or no available communications or power infrastructure," said David Stephens, general manager of Savi's Public Sector. "There's a force multiplier effect here since the National Guard—and potentially other civilian agencies—can leverage an off-the-shelf solution that links with the DoD's existing communications network."
The PDKs will communicate with the Department of Defense's (DoD) global In-Transit Visibility (ITV) cargo tracking network to provide the National Guard unprecedented mobile capability to assign and track assets throughout the U.S. and its territories, particularly as it assists local, regional, and national relief efforts.
The suitcase-sized PDK is an advanced "mobile chokepoint solution" that integrates several automatic identification and data collection technologies, including bar codes, 2D bar codes, active RFID, and GPS location with satellite communications—all in a single carrying case. The PDK is fully configurable and quickly operational, with no additional software configuration required. As envisioned, National Guard logisticians will be able to access the ITV and feed all relevant tracking information in their own decision-support software to know what's where and what's coming.
About Savi Technology
With over 16 years of experience, Savi is a leading provider of active-RFID solutions for the management and security of supply chain assets, shipments, and consignments. Savi Technology is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, with headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA, and offices in Washington, DC; London; Singapore; Johannesburg; and Melbourne. For more information, visit the company's Web site.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services. The corporation reported 2005 sales of $37.2 billion. For additional information, visit the company's Web site.