ARTICLE

October 2004

Air Force to Deploy Lightweight Communications Suite

Robert H. Williams

The U.S. Air Force has put together a modular communications system that, when deployed, will replace an entire shelter of equipment.

A single module will provide telephone lines, Internet connections and other communication infrastructure that typically is behind a cube wall in an office environment, said Joan Wandrei, system program manager at the Air Force’s Electronic Systems Center.

Specifically, the module configurations offer voice, data, multiplexing, on-base transmission and network controls. Operators in the field have the option of communicating by radio or telephone. They also can connect to a local network or access a satellite.

Participating in the five-year project, with an estimated worth of nearly half a billion dollars, are Dell Marketing, Round Rock, Tex.; Northrop Grumman Defense Mission Systems, Reston, Va.; General Dynamics Decision Systems, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Northrop Grumman Electronics Systems, Gaithersburg, Md.; and, Redcom Laboratories, Victor, N.Y.

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