News

May 12th 2009 - Another tick in the box for Bowman as British Army endorses upgrade

The British Army has endorsed a timetable to field the latest increment of the flagship ‘Bowman’ tactical communications and data system to its troops.

Bowman’s secure radio communications, declared in service on time in 2004, have been used on operations since 2005, together with a basic data capability.  The Bowman system has been developed and integrated by General Dynamics UK into over 13,000 British Army vehicles, together with headquarters, ships, and helicopters and the Ministry of Defence is purchasing an additional 3400 radios in order to meet the demands of current operations and their associated training needs.

The latest planned upgrade, known as BCIP5, is simpler for troops to use, and provides enhanced battle planning tools, a more stable and robust tactical internet, and improved situational awareness.  BCIP5 will be fielded as a software and hardware upgrade across the Army’s vehicle and man-portable radio fleets. BCIP5 is already rolling out to Royal Navy ships, the Royal Marines, the RAF Regiment and specialist Army signals units. 

Quentin Davies MP, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, said:

“Bowman is a step change from the old days of analogue radios and manual code-books.  It has been used successfully in Iraq and Afghanistan, where secure, faster communications and simple data exchange is saving lives on the front line.”

“Working together with industry through the Bowman prime contractor, General Dynamics UK, means that we are at the vanguard of military communications capability. It allows us to adapt constantly to technological advances and the evolving demands of life on operations.”

Dr Sandy Wilson, President and Managing Director of General Dynamics UK, said:

"The Army's fielding decision is another endorsement of the vital capability that Bowman provides to our Armed Forces on operations.  BCIP 5 provides increased capability to our forces and is the latest example of the benefits that come from the close partnership between MoD and General Dynamics UK, working together on the future of Bowman."

To read the MoD news article, please click here.

For further information, please contact Tom Griffin on Tom.Griffin@generaldynamics.uk.com.

Notes to editors

• Bowman CIP [Bowman, ComBAT, Infrastructure and Platform Battlefield Information Systems Application (BISA)], which has achieved its formal full system acceptance, is a spiral programme of incremental development expected over 25-30 years.
• The fielding decision is the Army’s formal endorsement of the timetable for deploying the latest enhanced capabilities as part of the Army’s training cycle.