U.S. Army officers required a secure, tactical wireless local area network (LAN) for warfighters in training and on the battlefield. They found their solution at Telos Corp. of Ashburn, Va., contracting the company to manufacture wireless LAN modules to connect soldiers in the training and operational environment to their logistics networks.

The Combat Service Support Automated Information System Interface (CAISI), a communications system in transportable cases, will be fielded to logistics organizations worldwide. CAISI delivers IEEE 802.11a/b/g-based wireless connectivity across the spectrum of conflict and, when linked to satellite communications, provides “reach back” capability to sustainment organizations for supplies and support.

Telos will manufacture the CAISI Bridge Modules (CBM) for the project manager, defense wide transmission systems (PM DWTS), under the Army’s Program executive office for enterprise information systems (PEO EIS). Using wireless bridging, each module can deliver logistics support to an area as large as four miles in diameter alone or be used with other modules to create a mesh network. The 3-year contract, which has the potential for more than 13,000 modules, has two option years.

“Telos’s next-generation CAISI solution provides ‘last-mile’ connectivity between combat service support information systems and their logistics base networks in their deployed location,” says Winston Payne, the Telos CAISI program manager. “The modules incorporate in wireless technology and are compliant with new security directives.”

Telos partnered with Fortress Technologies for its multifunction wireless radio, which is employed in the CAISI Bridge Module. The CAISI Bridge Module is designed to enhance wireless connectivity in support of warfighters.

For more information, visit Telos Corp. online at www.telos.com.