Leidos contracted for counter-WMD support

Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Leidos received a contract from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency to support countermeasure training against weapons of mass destruction.

Under the agreement, the company will support the agency's Cooperative Biological Engagement Program, or CBEP, as well as the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, also known as CTR. The contract includes four one-year options, and has a potential value of $170 million if all options are exercised.

The contract tasks Leidos with partnering with researchers, non-governmental organizations, and other industry members to provide research and training services with a focus on countering the threat of biological weapons.

"The international assistance provided under this contract will strengthen US Government international outreach in countering threats posed by weapons of mass destruction, particularly biological weapons," Leidos Defense and Intelligence president Tim Reardon said in a press release. "This outreach, research, and training will help the US and our international partners prevent or mitigate CBRNE events throughout the world."

Training will include laboratory research, containment facilities engineering, public health preparedness, emergency response and disease outbreak surveillance.

"Leidos is proud of the decades of support we have provided to DTRA's critical mission and we are honored to have been selected to support DTRA's key international partner engagement," Reardon added.