DRS Technologies, Inc. announced today that it has received an order valued at approximately $19 million to provide rugged Applique Computer Systems and peripheral equipment for the U.S. Army's Force XXI Battle Command, Brigade and Below (FBCB2) program.

Installed on over 40 U.S. Army and Marine Corps vehicle platform types, including wheeled and tracked vehicles, as well as Tactical Operations Centers and other command post platforms, DRS's Applique Computer Systems support the Army's Blue Force Tracking requirements, which include beyond line-of-sight reporting and tracking and significant improvements in vertical and horizontal information integration for incorporation into the military's overall battlefield visualization efforts.

The order was received by DRS from the U.S. Army's Communication-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command (CELCMC) in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. For this order, the company's DRS Tactical Systems unit in Melbourne, Florida, will provide more than 1,700 rugged Applique Computer Systems, including processors, displays and keyboard units, as well as more than 300 rugged solid-state hard disk drives and over 4,200 rotating media hard disk drives.

"This additional order on the FBCB2 program reflects DRS's strong track record for innovative design, highly reliable performance, product quality and timely delivery," said Steven T. Schorer, president of DRS's C4I Group. "More than 25,000 DRS-built Applique Computer Systems have been fielded successfully under the FBCB2 program. This new order ensures they will continue to serve as crucial assets for our forces in the Army's network-centric communications infrastructure."

The FBCB2 program is focused on developing a digital battle command information system designed to provide commanders, leaders and soldiers, from brigade to individual soldier and across all the battlefield functional areas, with improved information for command and control and enhanced situational awareness. Supporting the Army's overall battlefield visualization efforts, the Applique Computer Systems provide a seamless flow of battle command information and interoperability with external command and control and sensor systems.

Incorporating the latest developments in digital information processing and networking, DRS-built FBCB2 systems provide improved combat support for lower-echelon battle command tactical mission requirements, including near real-time command and control capabilities, enhanced interoperability, situational awareness, and graphical combat area displays, throughout the force structure at the soldier, weapons and platform levels. These systems assure that U.S. armed forces keep pace with advanced technology developments of the 21st century. The situational awareness component collectively displays the geographical location of all weapons, platforms, soldiers, command posts and other facilities and is being used in conjunction with the Army's Tactical Internet (TI) and satellite-based communications, a seamless Internet connection, for ease in communication. The TI interfaces with the Army Battle Command Systems (ABCS), collects information from both the operation center and the individual units, and disseminates the data through the FBCB2 computers for improved situational awareness.

Sergyi Way
24.11.2006

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