Army gets high tech with new Battlelab
Kablenet.com
Published: 29 Oct 2004 15:49 BST
The UK Army's Land Warfare Centre has been equipped with a new Battlelab.
The Ministry of Defence announced the establishment of the laboratory, which will give the Army access to cutting edge technology, on 27 October, 2004.
It is part of the £300m Joint Effects Tactical Targeting System (JETTS) software project, which aims to provide commanders with swifter and more efficient control of their assets in the battlefield. The facility will have 11 full time staff, including officers from all three services and staff from Raytheon Systems, which won the two and a half year assessment phase contract in June 2004.
Lord Bach, minister for defence procurement, said: "JETTS is a hugely complex project which will automatically synchronise everything from artillery to fast jets, so that they can work together quickly and safely, ensuring land commanders get the most from all the assets at their disposal on the battlefield.
"The new facility here at Warminster will be used to test the software as it develops and allow the Army to experiment with new tactics and doctrines in a synthetic environment. The Battlelab will be vital to the development of JETTS -- a project which could have dramatic implications for the way a battle is planned and fought."
According to a statement from the MoD, JETTS will be used principally by staff at division, brigade and battlegroup HQs for the management, co-ordination, integration and synchronisation of assets. It is anticipated to achieve initial capability in 2007 with full operational capability in 2015.
The software will be developed in increments on an open architecture basis. Elements of it will be available for re-use in other MoD projects.
The outcome of the assessment phase will be carefully examined before any commitment is made to the manufacture phase of the JETTS programme, which will come under a separate contract.
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