Boeing, US Army Transmit Sensor Data from JTRS Radios to FCS Vehicles for 1st Time

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and the U.S. Army have demonstrated for the first time that the software-defined Joint Tactical Radio System Ground Mobile Radios (JTRS GMR) can receive data from unattended ground sensors and pass the data to nearby vehicles equipped with the Future Combat Systems (FCS) network integration system.

During an FCS training exercise conducted in January at Fort Bliss, Texas, the Army demonstrated that information from Tactical-Unmanned Ground Sensors (T-UGS) can be channeled through a gateway and then received by the JTRS GMR radios installed in FCS vehicles.

The JTRS radios are integrated in the FCS vehicles as part of the “B-kits” that include various network integration components. The kits comprise the Integrated Computer System, the Battle Command System software, the System of Systems Common Operating Environment (SOSCOE) software and the JTRS GMR. The B-kits are being installed on Bradley fighting vehicles, Abrams battle tanks and High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles as part of the first “spin out” of FCS capabilities to the current force.

“Increased situational awareness through information from unattended ground sensors will immediately help soldiers in the field by improving target detection and perimeter defense missions,” said Ralph Moslener, Boeing JTRS GMR program director. “JTRS GMR is delivering important transformational networked communications capability at the tactical edge to support information sharing and combat readiness.”

During the training exercise at the Army Evaluation Task Force complex, data was transferred 200 yards from the T-UGS to the gateway and vehicles. It also was passed to vehicles that were not equipped with the B-kits, but were able to display the situational awareness data on the Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below system.

“It’s a great first step in our training and testing plan. By utilizing JTRS GMR, we were able to share information quickly with FCS vehicles and other current-force vehicles,” said Charlie Williams, FCS Spin Out 1 program manager for Boeing. “Spin Out 1 is now demonstrating critical capabilities the FCS program is developing for the current force.”

The sensors provide soldiers with unprecedented situational awareness on the battlefield through improved target detection, location, classification and transmission, among other capabilities. Equipped with acoustic, seismic and infrared sensors, the T-UGS are currently among the FCS technologies slated for early spin out to the current force, starting this year.