BAE Systems, Inc will challenge Northrop Grumman for a major contract to develop one of the central nodes in the US military's evolving airborne communications network.
BAE's assured exchange of communications and information services system (Axciss) will be publicly unveiled for the first time at the Air Force Association's annual convention in Washington DC next week, says director of business development John Byrnes. The system is BAE's rival to Northrop's proposed Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN).
Both systems are vying for the US Air Force's so-called "objective gateway" [OG] contract, which is currently on indefinite hold. However, a request for proposals is expected to be issued by the end of the year.
The OG is being proposed to serve a key function in the airborne network. Since different combat aircraft currently use incompatible radios, a line-of-sight link to the OG is needed to bridge the various signals.
For example, for stealth purposes, the Lockheed Martin F-22's intraflight data link (IFDL) only communicates with other F-22s. The OG could receive the IFDL signal and translate the message into the more common Link 16 waveform, enabling the Raptor to become part of the wider, internet protocol-based airborne network.
Northrop has already demonstrated the BACN payload on two different aircraft: NASA's WB-57 testbed and a Bombardier Global Express XRS business jet.
BAE also plans to demonstrate Axciss on a "fast-jet, fixed wing" aircraft in 2009, Byrnes says. The company has also proposed participating in the Joint Expeditionary Forces Experiment 2009, a popular proving ground for new networking technologies.
Source: Flight International
