Rockwell Collins is currently pursuing a number of programs outlined in the Defence Capability Plan and demonstrated products designed for these programs at a Technology Symposium and equipment expo in Canberra earlier this week.
The symposium included battlespace communications systems, military satellite communications and soldier modernisation equipment.
Relevant to Land 17 Phase 1B – Digital Terminal Control System – the symposium included a briefing on the Firestorm Integrated Targeting System comprising lightweight, fully integrated configurable suite of hardware and software including tablet PC, Laser Range Finder (LRF), Laser Target Designator, real-time video receiver and radio as well as the DAGR GPS receiver and azimuth augmentation system.
Our understanding is that the Firestorm system, of which 1500 are in use by the USAF with 400 acquired by the UK MOD, is competing with the Stauder Technologies Strikelink in USMC service and possibly the Elbit Systems UIDM.
We were advised at the Symposium that the US planned Joint Effects Targeting Systems (JETS) would likely provide interfaces to the extant systems in US service to ensure joint interoperability.
For the WGS certified wideband SAT COM terrestrial terminals to be acquired under Phases 3H and 5B of JP 2008, Rockwell Collins displayed its transportable SAT COM Solutions for WGS Networks.
The company boosted its satcom capabilities with the acquisition of DataPath and its subsidiary, Swe-Dish, giving them capabilities across Ka-, Ku-, X-, and C-band satcom in the areas of satcom on-the move, briefcase and suitcase-size terminals, Flyaway and drive-away systems and towable SAT COM trailers.
In the Flyaway arena, the CCT-120 and -90 terminals represent the current state of the art for the company.
Rockwell Collins has recently received Intelsat and Eutelsat type approval for use with the CCT-120 terminal and we understand that the company is also in the final stages of X-Band certification for use with WGS with Ka-band certification close behind.
For Land 125 Phase 4, which aims to provide enhancements to dismounted close combat capabilities that are suitable for employment across a range of operational environments Rockwell Collins will be proposing some or all of the elements of its integrated Soldier Sentinel system which were displayed this week.
These lightweight soldier-mounted technologies include helmet mounted displays, GPS , interface to Firestorm targeting system for situational awareness and its own computer.
If the ADF moves to acquiring the RF-7800S Secure Personal Radio (SPR ) for the individual soldier, with its built-in GPS , dual push-to-talk, rebroadcast capability, and open standard interfaces like USB, one would assume this could be readily integrated with the Rockwell soldier system.
There have been major challenges in bringing near real-time data down to the dismounted soldier—in this case probably the platoon or section leader.
It was anticipated that Land 125 would see the individual soldier in contact with his section leader through the Personal Role Radio (PRR) which has become a specialised niche in military communications.
The PRR’s defining characteristic is that it connects the individual horizontally within the section, a role some have dubbed the ‘section loudhailer’.
Presumably the Dismounted BMS may need some broadcast capability to aid the dissemination of information hence the move to the SPR.