AUGUSTA, Ga. — The U.S. Military lately awarded Common Dynamics a contract to prototype an digital warfare system on the brand new Infantry Squad Automobile.
The system, which Common Dynamics calls the Multi-Area Operations Weapon System and the Military calls the Tactical Digital Warfare System-Infantry Brigade Fight Workforce, or TEWS-IBCT, is the following evolution of a functionality Common Dynamics has offered the Military prior to now.
The Stryker-mounted TEWS and its smaller Flyer-72 variant Tactical Digital Warfare Gentle had been deployed to troopers in Europe as a quick-reaction functionality and served as a prototype that helped inform the Military’s forthcoming Terrestrial Layer System-Brigade Fight Workforce. That system is the primary brigade-organic, built-in indicators intelligence, digital warfare and cyber functionality that’s mounted on Strykers. Lockheed Martin and Boeing DRS had been awarded preliminary demonstration contracts, and the Military is anticipated to choose a sole winner within the coming months.
TEWS-I is being examined for smaller autos and infantry brigades to offer them wanted digital warfare capabilities which might be extra cell than these on bigger autos. Particularly, it offers digital sensing and digital assault.
Beforehand, models didn’t possess the digital assault functionality because of energy constraints, David Morrison, director of Military initiatives for tactical ISR at Common Dynamics, advised C4ISRNET at TechNet Augusta.
Forces would have needed to generate energy externally, both a generator or a trailer. Common Dynamics, by way of inside analysis and growth efforts, was ready to determine a means utilizing present energy on Flyer-72s to generate sufficient energy for the digital assault portion. This was one of many causes lighter models didn’t have an digital assault functionality.
Now, the important thing distinction between TEWS and the Multi-Area Operations Weapon System is the digital assault portion utilizing energy from the car. Below the brand new contract, Common Dynamics will check these energy measures with the brand new Infantry Squad Automobile to outfit the system.
“We simply had the autos dropped off. We’re going to need to see: What’s it going to price the federal government? … Are we going to need to put an APU [auxiliary power unit] or a trailer or a generator to have the ability to ship the results that we get on car right here by up gunning, upgrading the alternator?” Morrison stated.
Common Dynamics is constructing six prototypes that the Military and its digital warfare personnel can check and supply suggestions on. Morrison famous the corporate wished troopers to have the ability to see the system in the course of the TechNet present to offer insights on what may must be tweaked or modified to enhance the usability.
The system is platform agnostic, that means it might transition to Strykers, for instance, if the Military needs it for different autos.
Common Dynamics believes the system has applicability for the Marine Corps and can pitch it to that service.
Mark Pomerleau is a reporter for C4ISRNET, overlaying info warfare and our on-line world.