MorphoTrust, a Morpho company part of the Safran group and a provider of identity solutions to federal, state and local governments, signed a contract to maintain the central biometrics platform of the DoD.

As indicated, the maintenance contract for ABIS is worth $17.8 million -- $3.6 million a year with four one-year options.

MorphoTrust owns ABIS and licenses it to customers, including DoD, which uses ABIS as its authoritative technology platform for multi-modal biometrics. DoD purchased an enterprise-wide license for the platform in 2010.

As per the terms of this contract, DoD can use ABIS to quickly and accurately match fingerprints and facial and iris images, along with other biometric functions, to support the DoD’s mission of identifying and providing intelligence on persons of interest who could potentially pose a threat to national security or those engaged in military missions.

 “The Department of Defense has chosen MorphoTrust to implement and maintain a biometric system that supports critical missions in homeland security and defense,” said Bob Eckel, chief executive officer of MorphoTrust in a statement. “MorphoTrust takes that responsibility seriously and is committed to providing outstanding service as a trusted partner to DoD and other government agencies.”

In addition to DoD’s core application, Next Generation ABIS, the MorphoTrust ABIS license serves as the foundation for eight other biometrics systems. The current contract calls for MorphoTrust to provide ongoing software maintenance and support for all DoD systems based on ABIS.

Headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts, MorphoTrust USA delivers solutions for secure ID issuance such as U.S. driver licenses and passports, as well as for border management, law enforcement, retail, travel and applicant vetting through document authentication, data verification and biometrics (iris, fingerprints and face).

In another release, for drivers in Tennessee, MorphoTrust USA said it will now work together with the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security to create self-service kiosks for renewal of driver’s licenses and ID cards.