ITT selected for $300m Bowman programme

ITT Industries has been selected to provide $300 million worth of VHF tactical radios for the British Army's Bowman radio programme in a tight competition with Racal Defence Electronics.

Archer Communications Systems (ACSL), the prime contractor and systems integrator for the Bowman programme and a joint venture company made up of BAE Systems, ITT Industries and Racal Defence Electronics, made the keenly-awaited decision last week.

ITT Industries will also have a leading role in developing its "Tactical Internet" for Bowman, drawing on its extensive experience of the similar US Force XXI programme.

ITT will transfer the technology for the radios and the Tactical Internet to their team in Basingstoke, UK.

Decision

John Gutteridge, managing director of ACSL says: "This decision is a further step in the radical re-invigoration of Archer Communications Systems announced by ministers in December last year.

"We are pleased that, working together with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and ITT, we have been able to produce a plan for the VHF subsystem which offers a faster, better and cheaper solution than the earlier proposals.

"We will continue to work closely together to make Bowman an exemplary Smart Procurement programme.

"Racal continues to be a valued partner in the program, contributing to its High Frequency radio and the Local Area System."

Source: Flight Daily News