For today's military good communication is vital and the reason why BAE Systems C4ISR has completed an urgent requirement from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to refurbish communications containers previously used by British Forces in theatres such as the Balkans and Sierra Leone.
The facilities include PABX telephone equipment, communications multiplexers, line-of-sight microwave equipment, aerials and towers. The containers are fitted with climate control, uninterruptible power supplies and shock-mounted equipment racks to accommodate the communications equipment.
Featuring a wide range of commercially sourced communications equipment hosted in standard shipping containers, the installations were originally supplied within the MoD's - Commercialisation of Balkans Communications - project to provide voice and data facilities. This was successfully completed in the late 1990s.
Managing director of the Christchurch-based division, Paul Laity, commented "These container based systems support network enabled capability by providing reliable voice and data communications, featuring links back to the UK, with minimal manning, maintenance and repair requirements."