General Dynamics tunes into $411M British comms deal

[Ethan]

LONDON — Development of the first phase of the British military’s next-generation tactical communications and information system has been awarded to General Dynamics UK in a £330 million (U.S. $411 million) deal announced here by the Ministry of Defence.

The 45-month program for the British Army is the initial phase of a project, known as Morpheus, aimed at modernizing communications, command and control systems across the three armed services by the 2020s. General Dynamics will act as the MoD’s transition partner evolving the Army’s current Bowman tactical communications network into a more open, agile architecture called Evolve to Open.

It's hoped the new open architecture will enable emerging technologies to be rapidly exploited to tackle emerging threats as well as enhance interoperability with allies, the company said in a statement.

The General Dynamics-developed Bowman system was declared in service in 2004, and since then the Oakdale, south Wales-based arm of the company has supported and updated the Bowman system in a series of contracts, culminating in a £135 million deal with the MoD last year for a number of enhancements known as BCIP 5.6.
http://www.defensenews.com/articles/general-dynamics-tunes-into-411m-british-comms-deal