BAE Systems Delivers First FCS Communications Payloads
Category: Defence Industry
BAE Systems has delivered the first communications payloads composed of Joint Tactical Radio System Ground Mobile Radio Systems under the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. Delivery of the system to Boeing, FCS lead system integrator, is a major step in the Army's plans to deploy the software-programmable radios on current-force Abrams tanks, Bradley Combat Systems, and High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV).
As FCS communications systems integrator, BAE Systems provides electronic and mounting hardware, the radio's antenna, and integration services to deliver a complete Ground Mobile Radio system. The system is now undergoing integration testing at a Boeing lab in preparation for vehicle testing in spring 2007.
With this milestone achievement, Future Combat Systems has moved from delivering design to delivering hardware. It's an important step toward realizing the promise of FCS by delivering systems that will provide real benefits to the fighting forces.
Ground Mobile Radio is a joint services initiative to provide a family of software-programmable radios that provide reliable, multi-channel voice, data, imagery, and video communications for mobile military users. The system is designed for compatibility with future communications waveforms and links, and also for backward compatibility with existing systems.
Deployment on the Abrams, Bradley, and HMMWV platforms is among the Army's initial "spin-outs" of incremental FCS technologies to the current force.
For the war fighter, this system will provide significantly improved situational awareness and understanding. It will provide the network capability that is the backbone of FCS for both current-force platforms and also for future-force manned and unmanned ground vehicle and unmanned air vehicles.
