Leidos to let go of $8B Antarctica contract
The southern lights over a National Science Foundation facility in Antarctica. Gettyimages.com/JONATHAN BERRY / Stringer
By
Nick Wakeman
Work for the National Science Foundation at the South Pole does not fit in with the growth pillars in Leidos' NorthStar 2030 vision, its chief growth officer tells us.
Leidos will not bid for the potential 20-year, $8 billion recompete of an Antarctica support contract it has held since 2012.
During an interview ahead of next week’s unveiling of our 2025 Top 100, Leidos Chief Growth Officer Jason Albanese said the contract does not fit into the company’s NorthStar 2030 strategy.
Proposals for the next version of the contract were due May 28 and the current iteration expires on Sept. 30.
North Star 2030: focuses on five pillars of growth: digital modernization and cyber, space and maritime, energy infrastructure, highly-customized mission software, and managed health services.
“An example of how we are using the North Star strategy is deciding what we don’t want to do,” he said.
The National Science Foundation contract for work in Antarctica has requirements that include building and maintaining airstrips on ice and snow, managing remote field camps, and maintaining icebreaking vessels.
“Those things are not space and maritime, energy, digital modernization, critical mission software or managed health services,” Albanese said.
Lockheed Martin originally won the contract in 2012, and the work moved to Leidos when it acquired the Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions business in 2016.
“Executing a huge contract like Antarctic support, it takes cycles, and it takes energy and everything else,” Albanese said. “We think that energy, that focus, is better served on the growth pillars and where we're going in the future.”