American and Japanese flags fly together during joint training on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, in October 2023. (Jennifer Andrade/U.S. Marine Corps)
TOKYO — A U.S.-based IT defense contractor recently extended by five years its contract to maintain and improve Japan’s Central Command System, the digital network for information sharing within the country’s Self-Defense Forces.
Leidos Inc., of Reston, Va., obtained $16.5 million to continue providing system engineering, hardware, software, operation, maintenance and other services, according to a Department of Defense announcement July 22.
The contract continues a long relationship between Leidos and the Japanese military, said Rory Tibbals, director of Japan Programs for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Aerial Networks Division, at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., which administers the contract.
When America’s two globetrotting Cabinet secretaries — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken — met with their counterparts in Tokyo on July 28, they pledged to strengthen their military connections, including enhanced communication, to offset challenges from China’s growing presence in the region, according to a readout of their meeting.
The two allied militaries communicate with each other through high-level networks, including Japan’s Global Command and Control System, which links its Self-Defense Forces, a U.S.-Japan Network and the U.S. Joint Global Command and Control System.
This most recent contract award is no major upgrade, Tibbals said in responses provided July 29 by Hanscom spokeswoman Nicole Collins. But it gives an example of the ongoing ties that the U.S. and Japan agreed to draw even tighter.
“Leidos has supported this important Japanese program for over 10 years. The services are focused on maintaining, securing, and upgrading the existing systems in accordance with Japan’s Defense Buildup Plan,” Tibbals said in the July 29 email.
According to that plan, Japan intends to strengthen its defense capabilities by 2027 to take primary responsibility for dealing with invasions and threats “with the support of its ally and others,” according to a December 2022 copy of the 55-page document.
The Leidos contract provides a broad range of services that support U.S.-Japan coordination on “crisis planning, bilateral operations and exercises,” according to the contract announcement.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense declined comment on the contract renewal. A representative for Leidos did not respond to a July 23 email seeking further information.
The Foreign Military Sales program within the State Department pays $3.9 million of the contract cost, according to the DOD announcement. Work takes place at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, at the Japan Air Self-Defense Base in Tokyo and in Reston.
Leidos works in cybersecurity, digital modernization and artificial intelligence, according to its website, although AI is not part of this contract, Tibbals said. Leidos merged with the information systems subsidiary of Lockheed Martin in 2016 to create a separate company still affiliated with Lockheed.
Stars and Stripes reporter Hana Kusumoto contributed to this report.
