AUSTRALIA AWARDS BAE SYSTEMS AUSTRALIA TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATOR CONTRACT
16 Apr 04. Australian Defence Force’s future battlefield information systems are set to become more robust and less vulnerable to attack as the result of a study to be carried out by BAE Systems Australia.
A contract awarded by the Commonwealth of Australia means that the company will continue its work in Decentralised Data Fusion in what is seen as a strategically important Capability Technology Demonstrator program.
“Decentralised Data Fusion capability plays an important role in the future networked battlefield and may benefit new Australian Defence Force programs like Land 125 (Soldier Combat System) and Joint Project 129 (Airborne Surveillance for Land Operations),” said David Prowse, BAE Systems Australia’s Autonomous Navigation and Sensing Experimental Research (ANSER) Project Manager.
“The decentralised framework avoids many of the problems conventional networks face, in which all data is communicated to a central processor. With decentralised networks, the fused tactical picture can be received by each user within the network in a more timely fashion. This promotes shared awareness across the battlefield,” he said.
The Capability Technology Demonstrator builds upon BAE Systems Australia’s $4+ million investment over the past 4 years in Decentralised Data Fusion via the ANSER project. The ANSER project was undertaken in conjunction with the University of Sydney’s Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) and builds on 10 years research involving the BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centre in the UK and the ACFR.
The ANSER program achieved a world first during July 2002, when multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles communicated directly with each other to achieve real-time decentralised tactical picture compilation.