BAE SYSTEMS TO DEVELOP THE NEXT GENERATION IN WIRELESS TACTICAL NETWORKS
17 Jul 2006 | Ref. 190/2006
BURLINGTON, Mass. -- BAE Systems has received a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop the next generation in wireless tactical network protocols for the U.S. military.
The objective of DARPA’s Control-Based Mobile Ad-hoc Network (CBMANET) contract is to research, design, develop, and evaluate a new protocol stack for networks of autonomous mobile communication devices referred to as mobile ad-hoc networks, or MANETs. Within a MANET, each node operates not only as an end-system but as a router capable for forwarding traffic and forming a network free of any fixed infrastructure.
While this flexibility makes MANETs an attractive networking option for tactical operations, classic networking approaches adapt poorly to these rapid network changes and achieve only a fraction of the potential performance. CBMANET will improve tactical network performance such as throughput and latency by an order of magnitude relative to current state-of-the-art practices.
The contract includes a base award worth $7.78 million over 18 months, with the potential of growing to $13.3 million over 30 months, if the option is fully exercised.
BAE Systems is leading a multi-disciplinary research team to develop a successful CBMANET system based on network coding and the principles of control theory. BAE Systems’ subcontractors are the California Institute of Technology, Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University, University of Illinois, University of Massachusetts, and Stow Research.
“Our team combines some of the leading university researchers in networking with BAE Systems’ proven capability to deploy technology into tactical networks such as those used by Future Combat Systems,” said Dr. Nils R. Sandell Jr., BAE Systems vice president for Advanced Information Technologies. “CBMANET will allow forward deployed mobile units to stay networked to each other and command posts despite connectivity variations due to terrain and other factors.”
The CBMANET program will culminate in field demonstrations at the Fort Dix / Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command San Diego is the contracting agent.
About BAE Systems
BAE Systems is the premier trans-Atlantic defense and aerospace company, delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. BAE Systems, with more than 100,000 employees worldwide, had 2005 sales that exceeded $28 billion.
For further information, please contact
Keith Lewis, BAE Systems
Tel: (858) 675-5965
keith.p.lewis@baesystems.com
Susan Lenover, BAE Systems
Tel: 703-907-8259
susan.lenover@baesystems.com
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