Military intelligence to get £190m link up

The MoD is to link up its intelligence operatives worldwide in the latest phase of a project to replace hundreds of legacy computer systems.

The £191m stage of the £7.1bn Defence Information Infrastructure (DII) programme, will build and link networks capable of handling material classified as "Above Secret".

The Atlas Consortium, led by HP-owned outsourcing giant EDS, won the contract to deliver the DII over 10 years from March 2005 and was yesterday awarded this latest contract extension.

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The work will allow intelligence agents and operations staff across the MoD to share information more easily.

The DII is intended to provide a single information infrastructure serving the army, navy, airforce and central MoD command but has faced criticism from MPs for suffering delays and overspend.

If fully implemented the DII will support 150,000 terminals and 300,000 users at more than 2,000 sites, as well as troops on operations and Royal Navy ships.

The DII implementation is part of the MoD's drive to improve intelligence gathering and exploitation known as the Defence Intelligence Modernisation Programme.