10 Oct 11. Navistar Defense, LLC unveiled its International® Saratoga™ light tactical vehicle at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Symposium. The company designed the vehicle for superior survivability, mobility and transportability to target the gap between the current High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) Modernized Expanded Capacity Vehicle (MECV) and Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) programs. The vehicle is ready for production to meet today’s mission needs.
“Defense budgets are shifting and the circumstances demand that industry anticipate what our warfighters need rather than wait for a written requirement,” said Archie Massicotte, president, Navistar Defense. “Finding a gap in the market is what we do in the commercial world and we are at it again for the sake of our warfighters. The government needs options and the Saratoga is an affordable solution – available now.”
The Saratoga light tactical vehicle has a high degree of commonality with fielded vehicles and incorporates Navistar’s automotive and manufacturing expertise. The company has also designed and tested its own proprietary geometry survivability solution for the vehicle. Considering material mix, vehicle structure and hull shape, the Saratoga offers a more survivable solution for the light tactical vehicle class while also meeting 76” transportability height. The vehicle meets the most demanding performance needs and has undergone more than 25,000 miles of automotive testing. The Saratoga incorporates the MaxxForce® D6.0L V8 engine, automatic engaging limited slip differentials, Allison 2100 SP 6-SP Automatic Transmission and air independent suspension for added control.
“We believe the Saratoga is a turning point for tactical wheeled vehicles just as the Battle of Saratoga is considered the turning point of the American Revolutionary War,” said Massicotte. “The warfighter needs it today and we are ready.”
11 Oct 11. Active Army units have been testing a Lockheed Martin web-based system that combines the power of Google Earth, Command and Control web applications and existing tactical communications systems to deliver a common operating picture of the battlefield to any network user with a laptop. Command Web provides users with a web-based view of the mission command picture to both the commander in the tactical operating center as well as warfighters in the battlespace.
“Command Web extends the collaborative capabilities of mission command systems for those who don’t have the real deal,” said Lt. Col. Thomas Bentzel, the Army’s product manager for Tactical Mission Command. “It’s got great potential for expansion and convergence with other systems.”
The Command Web system is being tested by soldiers in theater to validate the system’s architecture, requirements and user interface design. Both the Army and Lockheed Martin are using feedback from the testing to refine requirements and prioritize ongoing development for future system rollouts that will continue to expand, ultimately providing as much as 80 percent of current mission command functionality via the web environment.
“Command Web brings the big picture down to the company level,” said Jim Quinn, vice president with C4ISR Systems for Lockheed Martin IS&GS-Defense. “It also provides any user with access to the Army’s tactical network with actionable data to support their missions”
Designed with a standard Army Battle Command Systems interface, Command Web mimics the functionality, naming conventions and other attributes of the Army’s primary common operational picture viewer that is used in all theaters. With its web-base capability, Command Web significantly reduces the logistical support footprint for the operational user. The system’s software developer’s kit enables rapid third-party development of new warfighting capabilities. Basing the system on the National Security Agency’s Ozone framework offers a non-proprietary, government-owne