EADS awarded Link 16 support contract

The

has awarded

Defence & Security Systems Division (DS) a contract worth more than €8m for Spanish Interoperability Management Cell technical support.

The technical support is designed to safeguard the interoperability of all the Spanish Armed Forces’ platforms that implement the Link 16 communication system, NATO's secure, real-time data link.

EADS CASA Military Air Systems (MAS), a business unit of DS, will define and analyse the requirements of all current and future platforms.

Among the platforms to be integrated are the Eurofighter and the EF-18 Hornet, the Operational Ground Support Equipment for the verification of electronic warfare elements (OGSE-OVU), the future transport aircraft A400M, and naval vessels such as the Frigate F-100 and the landing craft's LPD command and control system ARS.

The objective of the two-year contract with the potential for extension is to perform the necessary tests to demonstrate the integration of various different platforms through the connection of ground test rigs or through real exercises. For the real exercises, EADS CASA Military Air Systems will also provide three mobile ground control stations. The comprehensive analysis and test tasks will be conducted by experts from the MAS facilities in Getafe and at Torrejon Air Force Base.