Systems integration is the way ahead for India’s BMS: General Dynamics

General Dynamics UK’s pedigree in advanced C4I solutions will be important to India’s military and security services who are intending to modernise their command and control systems in order to protect their country and its citizens from attack. The company’s tried and tested approach to C4I fully answers the requirement of the Indian Army’s battlefield management system (BMS). It also meets the aspirations of civil security organisations who see interoperability and centralised control as key to ensuring the best and fastest possible response to an emergency or attack affecting their citizens.

The Indian military’s BMS is a complex and ambitious programme that aims to integrate tactical command and communication for the Indian Army. Such a complex programme requires a systems integrator that has experience of large, sophisticated projects. Having delivered Bowman, the British armed forces C4I programme, plus similar capability to other armed forces around the world including the Netherlands and Romania, and integrated over 15,000 legacy and new armoured fighting vehicle platforms-everything from BMPs and T-72 tanks to light protected vehicles and Land Rovers-General Dynamics UK believes it is the right partner for the job.

BCIP 5.4: The latest version of the British Army’s Bowman programme not only provides secure communications, secure data and secure situational awareness originally envisaged, but now delivers further cutting-edge capabilities that have only come about through its development in the heat of operations. BCIP now allows British forces to set up individual communications networks or “pools” literally anywhere in a theatre of operations; can be a carrier for many other capabilities such as surveillance feeds or vehicle health and usage monitoring (HUMS) data; and most importantly delivers interoperability with allied forces on the ground, ensuring cooperation through a better common operating picture.

The reason why General Dynamics UK is pre-eminent among C4I systems integrators is because it understands that each military force has very specific requirements for their C4I system; that achieving the right effect means integrating equipment from many capability providers, many of whom will be indigenous to the customers country and that knowledge transfer is at the core of the customers’ requirement. For General Dynamics UK, partnership is at the heart of delivering the best solution.

General Dynamics UK is featuring its C2 applications at Defexpo which can be tailored to the users’ need. Its Geosuite programme provides tactical intelligence to patrol commanders in military and civil domains whilst the Commanders Collaborative Decision Aid (CCDA) is a toolset to assist in the circulation of information in decision-making, typically at Brigade, Division and Corps headquarters level.

In addition, it will be discussing some of the capabilities that have grown out of the original Bowman programme that have been developed to meet changing operations needs. Three of these capabilities recently procured by the British Army include:

• Improved connectivity between forward operating bases (FOB) and patrol bases (PB).
• Improved tactical situational awareness (Tac SA)
• Improved shared situational awareness (SSA)

IMPROVED CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN FORWARD
OPERATING BASES AND PATROL BASES

One key challenge that commanders in Afghanistan face is how to provide similar levels of communications capability available in FOBs to troops operating in locations where it is inappropriate to use either command vehicles or larger fixed installations. Responding to calls from end-users the system is called M-DOR - a modular dismounted operations room C4I capability. This system enables the user on the ground to establish a PB with similar levels of VHF, HF and high capacity data radios (HCDR) to a FOB.

M-DOR provides a deployable and flexible C4I capability in support of deployed, fixed bases. It delivers a lightweight, transportable, modular system that allows rapid and simple deployment of a range of C4I capabilities, including the ability to communicate the location of IEDs using secure data. Benefits of M-DOR will include reduced user workload and easing of rapid deployment and establishment of “Greenfield” FOB/PB by trained Bowman personnel.

IMPROVED TACTICAL SITUATIONAL AWARENESS (TACSA)

Commanders at the tactical level benefit from a Tac SA solution. This allows commanders to plan and conduct their patrols more effectively and safely, as well as collect and report on patrol activity so that the information gathered, such as locations of IEDs, can be shared and exploited across the operational environment.

Using the M-DOR platform, the Tac SA solution can access the Bowman BCIP 5.4 HCDR network and share tactical ground reporting information.

IMPROVED SHARED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS (SSA)

SSA provides interoperability between Bowman and other less tactical, intheatre communications and information systems (CIS) such as Overtask. This solution allows SSA to move between Bowman and CIS enabling tactical commanders to see the common operational picture (COP) on a single terminal, giving them access to all appropriate information at once. Authorised users will be able to automatically transfer situational awareness information between systems including tactical graphics and operational staff work information, and allow direct interaction between systems operators via their respective chat services.

The success of these capabilities in the hands of the British Army demonstrates General Dynamics UK’s ability to react rapidly to new requirements, working in partnership with their customer. To know more about General Dynamics UK’s solutions for BMS visit Stand 14-24 at Pragati Maidan.