The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has awarded $1 billion in engineering contracts to several large consulting firms -- including Accenture, Lockheed Martin and Boeing -- to deliver new technology for gathering intelligence information via satellite, among other services.

Boeing, Raytheon, Computer Sciences Corp., Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics One Source, Northrop Grumman, OG Systems, QVine Corporation and Science Application International also will share the agency's Total Application Services for Enterprise Requirements contract, also known as "TASER." The contracts are for five years with no option to renew.

This particular TASER award is to provide services in the areas of engineering and trade studies, pilots and prototypes, and application sustainment, according to the NGA.

The NGA expects to award TASER contracts for integration and deployment in mid March.

The NGA is a combat-support agency for the Department of Defense and a member of the national intelligence community that provides intelligence based on satellite images, mapping, charting, and other geospatial information.

Specifically, the firms will evaluate newly developed technology for the National System for Geospatial Intelligence, which coordinates technology, policies, data, and other factors to provide geospatial intelligence.

The companies also will integrate new technology into the NSG and work to maintain existing NSG applications alongside new applications.

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