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Team vigilant brings global capability to the uk watchkeeper programme

11 Jun 2002

Following the recent submission of its proposal for the UK Ministry of Defence WATCHKEEPER requirement, BAE Systems has today announced details of Team Vigilant, an international team created for the next phase of the WATCHKEEPER programme.

Team Vigilant combines the capabilities of the global BAE Systems Group and its world-class industrial partners to offer a flexible, low-risk, high-performance WATCHKEEPER solution, and an integrated approach to through-life capability management.

The Team Vigilant solution to the WATCHKEEPER requirement will provide an architecture which is highly flexible and easily reconfigurable for a wide range of operational missions and user requirements. The open architecture has been designed from the outset to be capable of accepting new sub-systems and payloads to ensure that new mission requirements can be quickly addressed, and that advances in technology, such as next-generation sensors and innovations in communications can be rapidly and cost-effectively incorporated.

The Team Vigilant partners, and the systems they will be supplying, reflect a united commitment and a joint approach to risk reduction and systems integration during the forthcoming Systems Integration Assurance Phase (SIAP). Further team members and strategic suppliers will be selected during SIAP as the Vigilant solution is finalised.

Team Vigilant brings together outstanding UAV and ISTAR domain expertise, led by BAE Systems C4ISR, the company's focus for providing integrated solutions and the project management of new capabilities within the digitized battlespace. Individual team members are making the following contributions, drawing upon proven capabilities:

* BAE Systems C4ISR Group (UK) - programme leadership, prime contracting, C4I/systems integration, mission management, operational analysis, concept of operations and synthetic environments.
* AAI Corporation - Shadow 200 tactical UAV platform and TUAV expertise
* AMS (50/50 joint venture between BAE Systems and Finmeccanica) - command & control and ground communications integration
* BAE Systems Australia - air vehicle systems integration
* BAE Systems Avionics Group (UK) - sensor payload integration, software development and synthetic environments
* BAE Systems Mission Solutions (USA) - imagery exploitation, mission planning and asset management
* BAE Systems Customer Solutions and Support (UK) - support, training and innovative support solutions
* BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centres (UK) - human factors and human-computer interface design
* CDL Systems - air vehicle control and payload control software applications
* General Atomics - Aeronautical Systems Inc - Predator long endurance UAV and ISTAR UAV expertise

About Watchkeeper:

WATCHKEEPER is the UK Ministry of Defence requirement for an airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) system, which uses unmanned aerial vehicles, equipped with advanced sensors, to deliver imagery intelligence to the Land Component Commander. BAE Systems submitted its bid to the UK Defence Procurement Agency for the next phase of the WATCHKEEPER programme in mid May 2002