Rockwell awarded DACAS agreement
Rockwell Collins has received a Digitally Aided Close Air Support (DACAS) agreement from the US Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, the company announced on 14 March.
The agreement will see Rockwell Collins provide the Department of Defense (DoD) with an open source aggregation framework to enable cross-platform data link communications on mobile devices for Windows and Android, giving software engineers the ability to quickly develop and integrate modules that can communicate with close air support platforms and call for fire artillery platforms.
The framework will enhance the military's ability to coordinate and execute air support, call for fire and enhance situational awareness for troops on the ground. In addition to Link 16, phase one of the work will focus on the Variable Message Format and Cursor On Target message formats.
The new solution will be used by all US government agencies.
Brad Haselhorst, vice president of business development, government systems for Rockwell Collins, said: 'By using a commercial open source model, the entire DoD will gain synergies in quality, customisability and elimination of 'from scratch' development - thus reducing costs and increasing interoperability.
'Moving in this direction will allow warfighters to communicate more efficiently and quickly, thereby enhancing safety.'
More from Digital Battlespace
-
Australia looks towards space with force restructure, investment and training
Australia is looking to improve its presence in space with a focus on communications and creating a dedicated segment of its defence forces committed to the domain.
-
EID to unveil new vehicle communication system at DSEI
The Portuguese company’s naval communications system is in service across more than a dozen countries. It has turned to its home nation for support in developing a new vehicle based C2 system.
-
Chess Dynamics successfully demonstrates Vision4ce AI-driven tracker
The Vision4ce Deep Embedded Feature Tracking (DEFT) technology software is designed to process video and images by blending traditional computer vision with artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to present actionable information from complex environments.
-
Wave Relay devices cleared for security use on commercial systems in industry trend
Persistent Systems has been cleared by National Security Agency (NSA) to transmit sensitive data on commercial networks. The devices are added to the NSA’s Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) component list which also includes other companies’ products providing the same security.
-
UK teases cyber spending boost in Strategic Defence Review ahead of “imminent” release
The release of the UK’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) has been long promised as mid-year. It is possible it could be as early as 2 June although the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) continues to play its cards close to its chest.
-
Intelsat emphasises SATCOM resilience for SOF in contested domains (video)
Intelsat outlines how its multi-orbit SATCOM architecture is enhancing connectivity and resilience for special operations forces operating in degraded and contested environments.