200+ Modular Stations to Support Collaborative Combat
With the prospect of near-peer conflict taking more concrete shape, the French MoD has awarded Thales the ASTRIDE 3 contract, under which the company and partners will deliver a high-speed, mobile, secure command infrastructure for deployment in diverse tactical situations, consisting of over 200 modular, mobile stations.
The emerging high-intensity conflict threat underscores the importance of resilience, discretion and mobility of theatre networks and command posts. Forces engaged in disputed areas are also increasingly reliant on the capacity to share data between multiple sensors and effectors, for collaborative combat operations, and to support multi-site, multi-domain collaboration for joint command of allied units.
ASTRIDE 3 will meet all these requirements by integrating new connectivity systems, such as the latest-generation satellite terminals (SYRACUSE IV), high-capacity line-of-sight (HCLOS) communications, tactical software-defined radios (CONTACT) and digital wireless services (LTE technology). These assets will interconnect the battlespace and provide a resilient network of connected command posts from theatre level down to tactical units. ASTRIDE 3 could also offer defence cloud hosting capabilities, to meet the needs of collaborative command structures and support a broader computer network defence initiative to deal with cyber threats.
The integrated, automated ASTRIDE 3 stations will accelerate and simplify manoeuvres in the theatre of operations, enabling forces to deploy different versions of the station – in hardened containers, shelters or pre-integrated into armoured vehicles in the SCORPION ecosystem – to adapt to an extremely wide range of tactical situations. Wireless connections will shorten command post deployment times, by significantly reducing the number of manual operations required. In addition, the MOSART network planning, command and supervision tool will give land forces unprecedented agility in adapting to mission tempo. ASTRIDE 3 stations will meet the latest Federated Mission Network (FMN) interoperability standards, and will enable France to act as a framework nation for forces command at theatre or divisional level. “Phase 3 of the ASTRIDE programme is a further step towards collaborative combat, positioning connectivity and the land forces combat cloud at the heart of high-intensity warfare,” stated Marc Darmon, EVP, Secure Communications and Information Systems.
