BAE SYSTEMS TO SUPPLY NEW MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM TO SLOVAK ARMED FORCES
06 Feb 06. BATTLESPACE Editor Julian Nettlefold interviewed Larry Stone and his team at BAE cnir IN Wayne, New Jersey, USA, with regard to its selection by Slovakia.
On December 8th, BAE Systems, was selected by the Slovak Ministry of Defence to deliver a fully U.S., EU and NATO interoperable mobile military communications system (MOKYS) to the Slovak armed forces. More than 200 Mobile Command Post systems in 9 configurations will be supplied. These systems will be mounted on Slovak trucks and APCs. The C2 Network System being supplied based on a system developed for the U.S. Armed Forces. Parts of the syStem are deployed in other countries including a basic equivalent system for the Bulgarian Armed Forces. It is a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract.
The contract will be delivered through an international partnership led by BAE Systems and involving U.S., German, Swedish and Slovak companies. These include:
Logicon, a Northrop Grumman subsidiary: C2 Software as used by U.S. Army and in South East Asia
Rhode & Schwarz: H.F. and V.H.F. handheld and manpack radios
Ericsson: NATO Band 3 LO Radios and EUROCOMM Switches
BAE: NATO WPNR Band 3 networking radio, export version of the VRC-99A in service with the U.S. Armed Forces
In-country Offset
Delta Bay Systems: Installation, test and management
Cornex: System Installation design, I.T. sub-system. Security sub-system, Shelter design.
There is also a Direct Offset Requirement.
The BAE Systems solution is based on internet protocol architecture with fully integrated security and automated command and control throughout. This advanced system architecture reduces cost and complexity and provides software defined waveform capability for future growth.
Prime contractor BAE Systems and team members, Ericsson of Sweden, Rhode and Schwarz of Germany and Northrop Grumman of the United States have played a leading role in building major communications networks in the United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Bulgaria and Taiwan. In delivering MOKYS, this team will be further enhanced by leading Slovak companies including, Corinex, VOP Presov, Delta B, Vyvoj Martin and Lynx.
“Partnership is central to BAE Systems business philosophy worldwide,” said John Barter, BAE Systems Director for the Slovak Republic. “By establishing a team of leading companies in the field of communications, command and control systems and systems integration, we were able to offer the best technology, low-risk solution to the Slovak military.”
In support of MOKYS and its other business activities in the Slovak Republic, BAE Systems will continue its work to identify and launch industrial partnership programs in the defense, manufacturing and IT sectors, with a particular focus on areas of high unemployment.
The company, a world leader in the delivery of industrial partnership benefits in support of defense equipment sales, is currently delivering a national identification friend or foe (IFF) solution to the Slovak Army and Air Force, in partnership with LOT of Trenchin and other Slovak companies.
“The next step for the contract will be working on the design and test of the system which will be fielded in late 2007,” Larry Stone told BATTLESPACE.
Thousands of radios will be required throughout the whole Programme which will spread throughout the Armed Forces. It will also extend into sub-tier logistics, Air Defence Command Post with Air Force and Naval interfaces also being developed. Link 16 is not being provided for image distribution. (See: BATTLESPACE UPDATE Vol.7 ISSUE 48, 08 December 2005, BAE Systems selected by the Slovakia)