Advertise with us
Where the defense community gets down to business.
Show Coverage
Looking for more? Check out this year's full list of upcoming show coverage.
Conferences
View exclusive coverage of the best minds in Defense - military, government and industry.
PARIS - The U.S. Army and Marines are rapidly installing thousands of upgraded rugged computers with touch-screen displays designed to carry Force Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) and Blue Force Tracking software in Humvees, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles and other combat vehicles.
At a pace of 1,000 a week, DRS Technologies is delivering the hardware, called Rugged Vehicle System (JV-5), from its facility in Melbourne, Fla. The JV-5 system replaces the last version of FBCB2 hardware, which was referred to as the EV4.
"The JV-5 is a joint version of the hardware used by both the Marine Corps and the Army. It features a dual-core processor, a 160-gigabyte hard drive with the availability of a 128-gigabyte solid state hard drive option, and it has an expansion capability," said Bill Guyan, DRS vice president of business development. "It remains an upgradeable computer for future Army requirements."
So far, DRS has delivered more than 20,000 of the computer hardware systems, which have a 12-inch readable touch-screen display.
"We have larger map loads, and we are making provisions for a GPS device to go inside the box so that the FBCB2 system can serve as the platform GPS," Guyan said. "This allows the Army to avoid the cost of having to field more than one system in a vehicle. We're trying to get our box capable of serving as a GPS hub so that there will be cost savings using the rugged shelter provided by our computer box. Previously, GPS has always been external to the box."
The JV-5 will run Northrop Grumman's FBCB2 and Blue Force Tracking software, which place blue icons on a computer-map display inside vehicles letting troops know the locations of the other members moving in their unit.
An agreement between the Army and Marine Corps reached in December established procedures for making Blue Force Tracking technologies common between the services.
"Fortunately, the FBCB2 software and C2PC software Marine Corps use were both developed by Northrop Grumman, so there was some starting point for them to adapt to one another," Guyan said.
The JV-5 is built to accommodate improved software programs as they become technology available.
"We can run the more demanding software," Guyan said.
"The FBCB2 has been continuously upgrading the software," he said. "With the requirements [that] the FBCB2 be a compatible requirement with the Marine Corps, the FBCB2 office directed Northrop to issue a Joint Capability Release (JCR), which allows more than one person or company to add software modules. The FBCB2 software has gone though a transition - it was modified by Northrop and it is Linux-based. Now, with the JCR you have more than one company adding to the code."
These developments are seen as crucial steps in Army and Marine Corps efforts to force a new, joint Blue Force Tracking-type technology called Joint Battle Command Platform slated to be ready in 2010.
"Documented software allows another company to add modules and integrate the JBCP system without having to throw away the money that has been spent investing in the system," Guyan said. "The program office has been leaning forward to make sure the systems they buy in the near term have long-term applicability,"
In its 2009 budget request, the Army has added more money for FBCB2 and Blue Force Tracking. Budget requests include more money for Blue Force Tracking on helicopters, hardware for the overall system and technical upgrades.
Help
