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British Army successfully trials GP3 command & control system

17 Sep 2001

The British Army has successfully completed trials of the BAE Systems GP3 command & control (C2) system - a key software application in the UK Ministry of Defence's programme to exploit the power of the digitized battlespace - at the Land Systems Reference Centre (LSRC), Blandford, United Kingdom.

GP3 - developed by the Communications & Defence Infrastructure Division of BAE Systems Avionics - was trialled over the standard ATacCS computer hardware deployed by the British Army using Ptarmigan as the communications bearer.

GP3 in its latest configuration (Release 3.1) successfully achieved all the performance metrics specified by the Ministry of Defence, exceeding a number by a substantial margin.

The trials represent a further milestone in the development and acceptance into service of GP3, BAE Systems having met every target set by the customer over the past six months.

In addition to these successes at the LSRC, the headquarters of the NATO Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) has stated that GP3 is its preferred operations management application, again following extensive evaluation.

Bob Fewings, Head of Information Infrastructure, BAE Systems Avionics, comments: "Having met or exceeded the agreed standards for performance, robustness and stability, GP3 now represents a solution not only for the British Army's Digitization Stage 1 but also a formidable candidate for the C2 system of the Digitization Stage 2 initiative. GP3 provides the opportunity to give the Army not only the world's most advanced and comprehensive C2 capability, but also represents a clear, evolutionary route to Digitization Stage 2 and beyond. From the Army's perspective, this would save on training, investment and roll-out of additional capability."

Note to Editors
The DS1 programme of projects support the digitized battlefield using existing projects within the MoD Command Information System (CIS) programme, comprising CIS Assistance at Headquarters (CASH), ATacCS and Electronics Messaging Service (EMS). DS2 will extend the concept to encompass BOWMAN and Battlefield Information Systems Applications (BISAs) now being developed.

The Communications & Defence Infrastructure (CDI) division of BAE Systems Avionics supplies tactical and strategic communications systems for all three domains, together with innovative information infrastructure and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems, to support battlespace digitization. The division develops defence applications based on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) sub-systems and accepts development risk from customer organisations. CDI's approach features the creation of Integrated Project Teams (IPTs) with procurement specialists and user representatives, and the development of industrial alliances with other major industry centres of specialist expertise in associated fields.