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2021-04-01

Airbus, Fujitsu &Thales UK Join Forces

Airbus, Fujitsu and Thales UK recently announced that the companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to work collaboratively on the upcoming Systems Integrator (SI) opportunity for the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD), Land Environment Tactical Communications and Information Systems programme – known as LE TacCIS.

Following the MOU, the partners have formed team ICELUS led by Airbus that will bring together a trusted collective of MOD strategic partners who have a unique breadth of expertise of defence communications networks. ICELUS will offer pioneering change through a coherent systems integration approach to deliver operational effectiveness and information advantage to the end user, whilst sustaining a UK centric, defence industrial base. The three partners will be able to jointly explore how their respective unique expertise and solutions can be combined in order to put forward the best-possible proposals with regard to capabilities and competitiveness for this major programme.

ICELUS will focus on the upcoming LE TacCIS System Integrator (SI) opportunity to lead on the design and integration of the products and services for applications, infrastructures and networks. It is expected to be contracted by 2023/2024.

Making Informed Decisions

The LE TacCIS programme consists of multiple sub-programmes and projects with the aim to deliver the next generation of tactical military communications in the land environment, providing the means to make informed and timely decisions enabled by agile Communication Information Systems (CIS).

The LE TacCIS consists of Bowman ComBAT Infrastructure and Platform (BCIP) 5.6, the MORPHEUS sub-programme, the TRINITY sub-programme, Joint Common Remote Viewing Terminal (JCRVT), Dismounted Soldier Awareness (DSA), Falcon, NIOBE and multiple delivery and support projects.

The following are the principles of LE TacCIS:

Agile Methodology: LE TacCIS will implement a fully Agile Enabled Governance Framework within an Agile Management Office ensuring the programme is ready to accommodate the increased tempo of changing requirements and agile delivery methodologies.

Evolutionary Capability Delivery (ECD): The continuous need to address obsolescence and exploit rapidly developing technology in the CIS arena requires the adoption of an Evolutionary Capability Delivery (ECD) approach. This will provide a progressive evolution of the system, where each change results in a deliberate capability enhancement and/or other benefits realisation and is a transitional step on a trajectory towards a goal state.

Partnership: LE TacCIS consists of Army Headquarters, BATCIS and key industry partners working as one team to deliver the next generation of tactical CIS. LE TacCIS is a collaborative, multi-vendor programme working to a joint shared objective, actively sharing information across organisations using efficient and coherent information management.

User Centred Design (UCD): UCD is an iterative design process in which designers focus on the users and their needs in each phase of the design process. LE TacCIS will utilise UCD as a framework that ensures the needs of the users are at the core of the design process.

Sub-Programmes: Designed to be Resilient MORPHEUS

It is the first installation of Defence as a Platform (DaaP) in the tactical environment. By evolving the current Bowman system into the next generation of tactical communications, MORPHEUS enables evolutionary capability development.

BCIP 5.6: This represents the capability upgrade of the Bowman system, and the launch-pad for MORPHEUS. With major updates to software and hardware, BCIP 5.6 provides better data transmission, improved situational awareness and enhanced usability and staff planning tools.

JCRVT: It is a modular, remote viewing transceiver which receives and transmits Real Time Motion Imagery (RTMI) from future and legacy Full Motion Video (FMV) platforms in the joint environment. JCRVT increases situational awareness in maritime, littoral and land environments, with significant impacts operationally and strategically.

DSA: This aims to provide Dismounted Close Combat users with enhanced voice and data services that will enable more effective situational awareness at company group level.

TRINITY

It will provide a deployable Wide Area Network (WAN) with significantly increased bandwidth and information mobility compared to current systems. It will be defence as a platform compliant assuring the integrity and availability of the data. Finally, it will be part of the Protected Core Network.

Falcon Sustain: Falcon is a hardened, deployable secure network communication capability. It is fielded with the Army and the RAF and primarily supports large, deployed headquarters through to deployed air bases. It is a new support contract to maintain this capability until the capability is replaced by TRINITY and NSoIT(D).

NIOBE: The user requires platforms, to host a wide variety of deployable CIS capabilities including interchange. It will deliver these services in a coherent, secure and consumable manner at the point and time of need of the Land Domain User (Warfighter and Systems).

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