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BAE SYSTEMS upgrading mission planning systems for Italian Air Force

24 Aug 2001

BAE Systems has received a $4.2 million contract from Datamat of Italy to upgrade mission planning systems for the Italian Air Force's Tornado, AM-X, and C-130 aircraft. The company's Information & Electronic Warfare Systems (IEWS) business unit, Nashua, New Hampshire, will deliver new hardware and enhanced software originally delivered under a contract it received from Datamat in 1996. The equipment is similar to the Air Force Mission Support System (AFMSS) developed by IEWS for the U.S. Air Force. A second phase option could bring the total value of the contract to $5.4 million.

AFMSS provides advanced automation tools to assist aircrews in both pre-mission planning and post-mission debriefings. The system's capabilities include flight planning, route planning, weapons delivery planning and target area tactics, radar predictions, mapping and imagery, and post-flight analysis and debriefing.

Under the initial phase of the contract, BAE Systems will provide the latest version of the core software and deliver 12 portable workstations. The company will also integrate all source code modifications and assist Datamat with development of Aircraft/Weapons/Electronics (A/W/E) modules for the three aircraft types. These software modules include aircraft-specific characteristics that tailor the core mission planner for various platforms.

Joel Daniels, IEWS' program manager, said the AFMSS system "continues to meet the requirements of the Italian Air Force. With this advance, our NATO ally will be able to provide this key mission planning capability on other platforms including both the H and J versions of the C-130."

In December 1992, the U.S. Air Force selected IEWS to develop and produce AFMSS -- the next-generation automated mission planning system. Since that time, the company has delivered more than 1,000 systems in a variety of configurations for more than two dozen U.S. Air Force platforms. Additional units have been delivered to Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Israel.

IEWS, part of BAE Systems North America, employs more than 4,400 people at eight major facilities in five states. The business unit is a major producer of aircraft self-protection systems and tactical surveillance and intelligence systems for all branches of the armed forces. Other major business areas include microwave, mission and space electronics, and infrared imaging.