General Dynamics‘ [GD] C4 Systems last week announced it was awarded a $70 million contract to equip the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Stryker Brigade Combat Team (5/2 SBCT) with a new, lighter-weight version of the Land Warrior integrated fighting system.
The order funds a Brigade-set of Land Warrior ensembles and vehicle integration kits.
The Land Warrior system provides command-and-control, computing, communication and position-location technologies that will digitally link the Stryker brigade’s infantry soldiers to the battlefield network while they are on missions, improving their situational awareness, survivability, mission speed and effectiveness.
The slimmer Land Warrior system now weighs 7.2 pounds, down from approximately 17 pounds in 2006. “Battlefield-proven, Land Warrior has become a battle command-and-control tool that enables leaders outside of their vehicles to more effectively and efficiently command. It’s the cornerstone for future ground warfighter systems,” Mark Showah, director of integrated systems for General Dynamics C4 Systems, said.
System improvements, including size, weight and power reductions, resulted from feedback received directly from soldiers equipped with a previous generation of Land Warrior in Iraq. Their suggestions helped guide a team working at the General Dynamics-sponsored EDGE Innovation Network to improve the ‘fightability’ of the Land Warrior system.
Fort Lewis, Wash.-based soldiers of the 5/2 SBCT will be equipped with advanced warfighting technologies that include built-in text messaging capabilities; maps and imagery that can be changed by leaders while on-the-move; virtual ‘chem-lights’ that identify known enemy locations; and acoustic sniper detection.
Land Warrior was first deployed to Iraq with the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, based in Fort Lewis, Wash., in 2007.