Supports US Army Joint Battle Command – Platform
The US Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has awarded a contract to Leonardo DRS, on behalf of US Army Program Manager, Mission Command and US Army Program Executive Office – Command, Control and Communications – Tactical (PEO C3T), for production of the next generation of mission command computing systems. The estimated value of the five-year contract (which has options for five additional years) is quoted as $841.3 million.
Designated the Mounted Family of Computing Systems II (MFoCS), the system will support current US Army modernisation plans for tactical platforms, including vehicles and command posts. Specifically, it will support continued fielding and upgrading of the Joint Battle Command – Platform (JBC-P) system, featuring critical system capability upgrades, cybersecurity improvements and multi-touch displays. In addition, there are significant performance enhancements of the platform computing server as the army continues to improve the JBC-P systems used for tactical situational awareness, global ‘blue force tracking’ and ‘in-transit visibility’ logistics tracking.
The DRS MFoCS system retains key components and features of the first generation MFoCS platform, including a dismountable tablet, an expandable rugged platform computer and 12, 15 and 17in rugged sunlight-readable displays. Enhanced processing capabilities will enable Mounted Common Operating Environment capability convergence as the vehicle network integrates multiple sensor inputs, internal and external communications and multiple current and future software applications.
MFoCS II provides a common family of interoperable network computing and touch-screen display products, designed to provide cost-effective commercial off-the-shelf technology with the mission-critical reliability needed to enable platform-centric tactical mission command. Under this MFoCS II contract, Leonardo DRS will provide the army with dismountable tablets, processor units, docking stations, keyboard units, interconnecting cables and display units.
“As the service embarks on accelerated modernisation efforts, we know that our proven platform-based capabilities serve as a critical enabler of Army Mission Command and the Army Network. […] “MFoCS II was designed to meet the demanding requirements of mission-critical reliability in the most demanding environments, combined with robust security enhancements to ensure trusted performance today and into the future,” commented DRS Land Electronics Vice President and General Manager DRS’ Land Electronics business, Jerry Hathaway.
