$11.8 Million to Enhance Integrated Fires Capabilities

The US Office of Naval Research has awarded Raytheon an $11.8 million contract to develop next generation, cross domain communication and engagement networking technologies leading to greater sensor interconnectivity and enhancing integrated fires capabilities for naval operations.

Communications and Interoperability for Integrated Fires (CIIF) will advance situational awareness for force-wide integrated air and missile defence. Naval vessels, aircraft, UAVs and expeditionary forces will communicate and share critical information across data links. The system will leverage existing and planned sensor networking systems deployed onboard naval ships and aircraft, and in US Marine Corps expeditionary systems and land-based test sites. CIIF provides a greater information flow of integrated fires data supporting higher fidelity situational awareness and data dissemination capability across the battle force.

“CIIF brings the Navy closer to full spectrum awareness and supports distributed lethality,” said Colin Whelan, vice president of Advanced Technology at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. “Battlefield commanders need instant access to as much information as possible to protect critical assets and save lives. CIIF ties together that information – from land, sea and air-based sensors, across the services – in ways never before possible.”