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General Dynamics-Led Team Achieves Radio Interoperability Milestone

First responders and federal agents stand to benefit from new land mobile radio communication standard demonstrated in company's System Development Lab

January 9, 2007
Contact: Fran Jacques
Tel: (480) 441-2885
Email:Fran.jacques@gdc4s.com

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), announced today it has reached a major milestone in achieving voice and data communications interoperability by being the first company to demonstrate the new standard that will allow radio users, such as first responders and federal agents, to communicate between different manufacturer’s radio systems operating on different networks.

The communication between separate networks using radios and radio systems made by different companies was successfully demonstrated in early December at the General Dynamics Homeland Security System Development Laboratory in Scottsdale, Ariz. Radio system manufacturers M/A-COM and EADS Secure Networks worked with General Dynamics to achieve the milestone.

The demonstration used the Association of Public Safety Communications Project 25 (P25) inter-RF sub-system interface (ISSI) standard to enable the two systems to connect “behind the scene” within the network infrastructure rather than over-the-air between the radios. The standard was developed to achieve better communication among public safety users. In this first known demonstration of its kind, General Dynamics, EADS Secure Networks and M/A-COM collaborated for several months to meet the interoperability standard.

“For nationwide law enforcement and homeland security applications such as the U.S. Government’s Integrated Wireless Network (IWN), meeting the standards for interoperability is a priority,” said Lee Wright, director of National Communications and Homeland Security for General Dynamics C4 Systems. “Recognizing the growing importance and potential of enabling agency responders to communicate securely anywhere, General Dynamics made a significant investment in the laboratory to advance standards-compliant radio interoperability.”

In order to meet user operational requirements, an increasing number of federal, state and local public safety agencies use radios that meet the P25 suite of standards for interoperable digital radio communication. The over-the-air standards permit analog and digital radios to communicate with each other, but present-day disaster experiences have highlighted the need for P25-compliant radio users to interoperate across disparate systems at the network level as well.

Interoperability testing will continue at the General Dynamics Scottsdale lab as more features become standardized and more radio manufacturers become ISSI-compliant.

General Dynamics C4 Systems is a leading integrator of secure communication and information systems and technology. With more than 11,000 employees worldwide, the company specializes in command and control, communications networking, space systems, computing and information assurance for defense, government and select commercial customers in the United States and abroad.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 81,100 people worldwide, and expects 2006 revenues of approximately $24 billion. The company is a market leader in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation. More information can be found online at www.generaldynamics.com.