General Dynamics [GD] is designing a tactical information gateway for the Netherlands Ministry of Defence to allow better exchanges of information for the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps, the company said Wednesday.
Part of the Netherlands Improved Operational Soldier System (VOSS) program, the gateway is based on the NATO STANAG 4677 standard and will allow information to be exchanged amongthe New Integrated Marines Communications and Information System (NIMCIS), the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps tactical C4I system, and the Smart Vest soldier system that is also in development as part of VOSS.
The initial contract was awarded earlier in 2016 and is for a short study phase during which the detailed requirements and design for the gateway will be developed. This contract will also develop a proof-of-concept gateway to use in technical testing and user validation trials in March 2017.
The gateway is being designed to field with NIMCIS, a system based on the ComBAT Infrasutructure and BCIP 5.5 system, which the British Armed Forces use. The NIMCIS program was originally awarded to GD’s United Kingdom subsidiary in 2005. It has received a series of enhancements over the past decade, GD said.
The Smart Vest is a cooperative program intended for implementation by the armed forces of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg – collectively known as the Benelux countries. The Netherlands is the single contracting country for the Smart Vest and it is at the center of the VOSS program.
Smart Vest systems are set to be deployed to soldiers and marines, primarily at the infantry platoon level and lower. The systems aim to provide improved situational awareness and “superior protection for the individual soldier,” GD said.
Gateway software is derived from GD-UK’s NetLink product, a datalink translation technology that is also used at the core of the Interoperable Gateway for Universal Access Networking Applications (IGUANA).
The proof-of-concept gateway is being demonstrated during the International Data Links Symposium (IDLS) in the Netherlands on Nov. 1 -4 as part of a collaborative demonstration with the Netherlands Ministry of Defense.