News

August 25th 2009 - General Dynamics UK-Rockwell Collins-QinetiQ team completes Foundation Review on situational awareness contract

UK solution to connect and correlate multiple blue-force data sources in the same battlespace to improve the combat effectiveness of UK forces reaches first milestone.

LONDON, United Kingdom - General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited-led team, comprising Rockwell Collins and QinetiQ, has successfully completed the Foundation Review phase of the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Combat Identification Server Technical Demonstrator Programme (CIDS TDP).

General Dynamics UK and its two partners were awarded a £3 million contract from the MoD in February 2009 to develop the Joint Data Network Combat Identification Server Technical Demonstrator (CIDS), a UK solution to connect and correlate multiple blue-force data sources in the same battlespace to improve the combat effectiveness of UK forces.

The CIDS requirement will contribute to improving tactical situational awareness (SA) for UK forces involved in the delivery and control of indirect and direct fires to land operations, and for forces working together on other joint fires operations.  The CIDS will provide military commanders and pilots with rapid and timely access to accurate near real-time force tracking and location information, improving mission effectiveness through increased accuracy and tempo of operations and assisting in reducing incidences of fratricide.

The CIDS will correlate blue-force tracking information from 15 different network sources, including Link-16, Bowman and UK asset tracking systems as well as coalition network sources. On receipt of requests, the CIDS will make that information available to joint fires assets and Close Air Support (CAS)/Close Combat Attack (CCA) aircraft over Link-16, Variable Message Format (VMF) and AFAPD networks.

The solution will use both General Dynamics UK’s NetLink multi-link tactical gateway and Rockwell Collins’ Rosetta Technology® multi-link gateway to provide connectivity to the various tactical networks, with QinetiQ’s CMISE correlation engine a key element in the data correlation. All development and integration work will be conducted within the UK.

The CIDS TDP is being managed using an agile project management technique known as Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), and the Foundation Review is akin to the Critical Design Review in more traditionally managed projects.

Under DSDM, the testing and evaluation of the TDP capability is a constant and regular activity, allowing the industry team and customer to gain confidence in the solution as it develops. The Foundation Phase has seen the development of realistic CAS and Forward Air Controller engagement scenarios, which have been developed in conjunction with military operators, against which the TDP capabilities will be tested.

The programme is due to complete in July 2010, and the next significant milestone is the Laboratory Integration Tests planned for the end of summer 2009.