OTTAWA, Ont., 16 Dec. 2005. The Commonwealth of Australia's (CoA) Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) and General Dynamics Canada have signed a AUS$26 million contract for the core aspects of Phase 1 of the Battlefield Command System (Land) known as JP 2072.
General Dynamics Canada, along with its Australian partners ADI Limited and Tenix Defence, was selected on Sept. 28 by the Commonwealth of Australia as the Prime System Integrator for the first phase of the JP 2072 project. The project has a total potential value of AUS$800 million if all identified options are exercised.
JP 2072 will provide the Australian Land Force with a deployable, scalable, secure and integrated battlespace communications system that allows ground forces to exchange information across all combat elements, improving soldiers' safety and their ability to accomplish their missions. The system will meet the existing and emerging information exchange requirements of command support, intelligence, offensive fire, logistics, ground-based air defence and sensor-linked weapon systems.
The General Dynamics' JP2072 Project Management Office will be located at the General Dynamics Systems Australia (GDSA) facilities in Canberra, an entity that was established to include the engineering capabilities and integration facilities necessary to progressively update and support JP 2072 and associated projects.
"The General Dynamics Canada-led JP 2072 team delivers the best of two worlds for the Australian Defence Forces: it capitalizes on the extensive experience of General Dynamics in deploying systems of similar scale and complexity, and takes full advantage of the capabilities of Australia's largest defence companies, ADI and Tenix Defence," said John Watts, president of General Dynamics Canada.
General Dynamics will fully integrate team members from both ADI and Tenix Defence into their operations and expects to have both companies under formal subcontract arrangements before the JP 2072 effective contract date of February 2, 2006.
David Dean, the vice president of General Dynamics responsible for implementation of the JP 2072 project said, "Through close collaboration with the DMO's JP 2072 Project Management Office, we have been able to complete negotiations and reach agreement on all deliverable requirements before the effective contract date."
General Dynamics Canada has a long history of integrating tactical battlefield communications systems for major defence customers around the world. As prime system integrator for the Canadian Army's Iris tactical communications system, the company deployed the world's first digital voice and data secure communications system. General Dynamics Canada went on to successfully capture the UK's Bowman battlefield communications programme. In addition, the company is an operating unit of General Dynamics C4 Systems, which is leading several key U.S. battlefield communication system programs, including the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) and the Joint Tactical Radio System Cluster 5 effort. For more information, see www.gdcanada.com.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 71,900 people worldwide and had 2004 revenue of $19.2 billion. The company is a market leader in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation. For more information, see www.generaldynamics.com.
