The U.S. Army awarded Datapath Inc. a $72.9 million contract to provide specialized satellite Earth terminals and support services for the Joint Network Node program, Datapath announced June 6.

Under the contract, Datapath will provide 92 of its ET 3000 Portable terminals and a pair of DKET 4530Ku Mobiles or trucks that serve as network hubs. The program, which supplies reliable and portable communications to U.S. military forces in Iraq, will use the terminals and support systems for quick access to high-bandwidth communications.

As part of the contract, Datapath also will provide 29 personnel for training, operations and maintenance support for the program. The personnel will work with U.S. forces to help in managing the communications networks. Datapath’s Integrated Logistics Support team has more than 50 employees deployed in Iraq for the program, and the company has provided 140 ET 3000 units to Iraq since 2004.