NATO has awarded EADS Defence & Security (DS) the contract for the supply of the new NATO Deployable Communication and Information System (DCIS) in accordance with the operational requirements of the NATO Response Force (NRF). The contract is worth around £40 M with an optional Customer Logistic Support contract valued at around £14 M. Under the terms of the contract DS will deliver to NRF Commanders the communications facilities to support their headquarters in the field anywhere that the NRF is required to operate.
The project represents a major upgrade in the capability of NATO forces. It will become the standard for NATO deployable communications and will be the cornerstone for the NATO Signals Battalion capability to support deployment in operational theatres. The system will allow NATO forces to deploy small (up to 20 users) or large (up to 150 users) communications headquarters on the field with both voice and data connections to other NATO forces.
Voice interoperability will be provided by the DS developed Tactical Voice Gateway (TVG), a product based on commercial off the shelf products that has been made bespoke for military purposes. All features of the solution have been designed with future proofing in mind to align with NATO’s short and long term requirements and objectives. The common components used will facilitate a seamless transition between existing services.
The project is managed and delivered from Newport, South Wales, UK, by the DS integrated team which is a joint group of French, German and British employees. Other members of the team include US-based partners such as Booz Allen Hamilton, HP, Cisco, OSPL and SELEX SI.