The Ministry of Defence is expected to award a £4 billion integrated computer systems contract to a consortium headed by EDS later this week, according to reports.

The Atlas consortium, which also includes LogicaCMG, EADS, General Dynamics, IBM and HP, is believed to have won the Defence Information Infrastructure (DII) outsourcing deal, aimed at improving communication between 100,000 civil servants and 200,000 personnel in the Army, Navy and Air Force.

As part of the deal, the winning consortium will be responsible for overhauling MOD IT infrastructure across 2,000 locations worldwide, including permanent military sites, airfields, battlefields, submarines and field operations.

The DII plans to create an infrastructure that links and shares information across department agencies, ranging from 'foxhole to stores depot and from sensor to shooter,' said the MOD. It will also connect more than 150,000 desktop computers and laptops.

The Sunday Times reports that Atlas has beaten rival consortium Radii, which includes CSC, BT and Thales.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman told Computing that it was in the final stages of approving the deal but declined to 'confirm or deny' the appointment.

'We are not in the position to comment but we will be making the announcement imminently,' he said.

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