between 130 and 150 SideHats will participate in 13.2, in which they will also support SIPRNet. Also operating at speed in the New Mexico desert for NIE 13.1 was the company’s Global Network On-The-Move Active Distribution (GNOMAD), a SATCOM-on-the-move solution integrated on a number of vehicles, including an M1068 command and control vehicle. Exelis currently has a new version of the GNOMAD with a more compact antenna for use on armored vehicles under test at Good News for WIN-T the Army Battle lab at Fort Gordon, Ga., ready for inclusion in 13.1. “In terms of SRW Appliqué and SideHat, the techThe latest evaluation brought good news for nology has matured,” said Ken Flowers, director of WIN-T, both for the program of record itself and for business development for network communications. wider industry. “WIN-T is really at the heart of every“We have successfully completed all security tests and thing we’re doing there, and it is the backbone for expect certification in first quarter 2013. We feel very our Capability Set; it is the big pipe. It went through confident about where we are with GNOMAD in fillinitial operational testing and evaluation during 13.1, ing capability gaps, particularly in WIN-T. and we are going to bring it back in 13.2 for its follow“The Army has acquired a number of our systems, on testing and evaluation [FOT&E].” and we plan to introduce a smaller antenna during Carpenter sees the FOT&E as an opportunity both 13.2. That’s why we are going through the testing at for the Army and industry. With the baseline in place, Fort Gordon in the Army Battle lab,” he continued. additional capabilities can be added to the mix with a Ken Flowers “Also, we will test with Project Manager Heavy Briclear metric against which the benefit of the capabilgade Combat Team, which will test our GNOMAD on ity can be assessed. Then a decision can be made on a Bradley at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., and shoot the gun. We inclusion within the next Capability Set. will get some real shock and vibe feedback for the antenna. “When industry comes in with a new faster, lighter aperture or “NIE is not just about the new. Exelis’ ubiquitous SINCGARS antenna, we can test that against the [baseline] and know what its has also been a key participant in NIE events by providing posibenefits are. Then we can turn to that program of record and say you tion location information to the Joint Battle Command-Platform,” need to adopt this either as an engineering change proposal or as a Flowers said. “SINCGARS is certainly an integral component to the pre-planned product improvement. That is what we are going to see in modernization process.” our future NIEs. Once through the FOT&E, WIN-T will possibly adopt Generals Dynamics C4 Systems is also providing key enablers some of these industry improvements that will benefit the network,” for CS 13, notably WIN-T, the heart of the network. Other elehe said. ments for CS 13 include the two-channel Manpack PRC-155, In NIE 13.1, industry brought a number of systems under evaluwhich runs on the new Mobile User Objective System cellular UHF ation that relate to WIN-T. They include an engineering change proSATCOM waveform. posal that embedded a communications vehicle within an Abrams “Game-changing networking capabilities comprise Capability unit that would receive the WIN-T information and then share that Set 13 equipment, including WIN-T Increment 2, the wirelessly to other vehicles, thus eliminating the need HMS AN/PRC-154 Rifleman and PRC-155 Manpack for equipment on individual tanks. Another looked at radios, as well as Nett Warrior radios and additional integrating an on-the-move capability on the Bradley, essential software components such as Command also with the goal of reducing size, weight and power Post of the Future,” said Chris Marzilli, president requirements. of General Dynamics C4 Systems. “These General “We are always challenged with space, including Dynamics-built technologies work together to ensure when you get to the top of the vehicle. We have had every soldier has real-time two-way battlefield inforsome vendors come in with that as well as the program mation as part of the first integrated group of netof record WIN-T, and some of the other COTS prowork technologies for Army Brigade Combat teams grams are looking at how they can better work some that begin fielding this quarter.” antennas and apertures in order to integrate on these Chris Marzilli For Raytheon, the focus at the NIEs has been on vehicles,” Carpenter said. the MAINGATE radio it developed for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, said Scott Whatmough, vice Industry Plans president and general manager, integrated communication systems. The company has supplied 200 units, which are currently deployed Exelis has been a constant attendee at the NIE series since its in theater running the Next Generation Mobile Ad Hoc Networking inception. Capabilities shown by the company early on in the proWaveform, a wideband design that is being offered royalty-free and cess have now been baselined for CS 13, notably the SRW Appliqué, has been added the Joint Tactical Radio System library. O industry proposals for which were delivered to the Army in November. A number of companies are competing for the program. At NIE 13.1, the company’s SideHat solution, related to its SRW appliqué bid, demonstrated ranges up to 30 kilometers. The Army For more information, contact MIT Editor Harrison Donnelly at harrisond@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives has been field testing Sidehat in NIE events since 2011 and has for related stories at www.mit-kmi.com. bought more than 150 to date. Company officials are expecting that to have the potential to fill a gap. We will put an RFP on the street asking for these capabilities, do an assessment in a lab, bring that hardware to an NIE, and then be able to make a decision out of that. “What we are looking at from a procurement standpoint is what capabilities industry brings, and how that shapes our requirements for future procurement,” he added.
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