Future Force Warrior Program Achieves Important Milestone

Released on Friday, September 08, 2006

The U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center and General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, announced today the successful demonstration of the initial capability of the Future Force Warrior (FFW) Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD), three months ahead of schedule. FFW is managed by the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center of Natick, Massachusetts. It is the Army's premier science and technology program for advancing the combat effectiveness of the soldier and Small Combat Unit (SCU) for transition to the next-generation, Ground Soldier System program.

The FFW ATD participated in the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) Command, Control, Communications and Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) On-The-Move (OTM) test activities at Ft. Dix, N.J. held from May through August this year. The initial FFW capabilities demonstrated there, called Increment 1, include new soldier communications capabilities, integrated soldier headgear systems, enhanced lethality and integrated body systems in a new combat ensemble.

"Our participation in the C4ISR OTM test-bed activities allowed General Dynamics to deliver on its commitments to the Army by confirming the FFW technology and capabilities and by demonstrating FFW's interoperability with current Army Battle Command Systems," said Manny Mora, vice president of Battle Management for General Dynamics C4 Systems. "We were also able to measure and collect valuable data to allow continued enhancements."

Carol Fitzgerald, the Natick Technology Program Manager for FFW, said, "The primary objective for FFW in this year's C4ISR OTM event was to demonstrate and confirm Soldier/SCU interoperability with the Army's Future Force communication network and the integration of the Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW)

into our FFW system. We were able to accomplish this goal, while also running our system alongside the Future Force prototype and surrogate systems, fully integrated into the battle network of the exercise. This network interoperability allows soldiers to transmit voice and data, both with each other and with other units, greatly enhancing the situational awareness and combat effectiveness of our soldiers at a time when it is most needed."

In addition to network interoperability, other FFW technology features that were demonstrated at C4ISR OTM at Ft. Dix included:

The FFW lethality system, which is a modified XM-104 fire control system that allows the SCU to conduct a "cooperative engagement" by sending target information from other soldiers to the grenadiers in near-real time and by using this information to ensure accurate aiming of the weapon;

The FFW integrated combat ensemble, integrating the LW computer, navigation, power and soldier controls along with multiple software applications critical to advancing combat effectiveness;

The FFW integrated headgear system, which provides ballistic protection, integrated communications, sensor fusion and an advanced drop down eyepiece display providing the soldiers with maps, soldier and enemy positions, targets, mission plans and memory joggers.

The FFW program contains two design cycles, or "increments" of technology innovation, with Increment 1 concluding in August with the successful demonstration at Fort Dix. This successful demonstration, combined with an early delivery of a prototype Increment 2 system, will enable the program to transition to Increment 2 earlier than originally scheduled.

Increment 2 is now underway with continued integration of advanced Soldier/SCU capabilities and will be demonstrated via combat exercises at the Air Assault Expeditionary Force (AAEF) Spiral C venue at Ft. Benning, Georgia, this fall.

General Dynamics also is the prime systems integrator for Land Warrior, an integrated, modular fighting system for close-combat tactical awareness; Mounted Warrior, an advanced system for combat vehicle crewmen; and Air Warrior which consists of electronics and advanced clothing for Army helicopter aircrew members. FFW will provide technologies to spiral Land Warrior to the future Ground Soldier System in 2008, as well as early component insertions into Land Warrior.