DRS to enhance Canadian Army vehicle’s networking capability

DRS Technologies Canada has been awarded a contract to modernise communication systems of its national army's tactical vehicles as part of the Canadian Land Command Support System (LCSS) Life Extension (LE) project.

Valued at C$38.7m ($38.95m), the deal covers production and delivery of 13,624 communication selector boxes (CSB) and 4,937 power distribution units-small form factor, as well as spare parts to the army.

The contract also includes two one-year options for production of additional units, and is expected to enhance LCSS capabilities for critical information transmission between commanders, soldiers and vehicles in the battlefield.

DRS Technologies Canada vice president and general manager Steve Zuber said: "These line replaceable units further enhance the networking and communications capability for Canadian soldiers and vehicle crews in the mobile land warfare environment."

CSB is a portable, advanced system designed to evolve and enhance voice and data accessing, sharing and management among dismounted military personnel and commanders in headquarters even in harsh environments.

The system is anticipated to offer primary user interface for all LCSS voice and data services, enhancing the ability of troops to select and change radio frequency bands in real-time.

The distribution unit-small form factor is a tactical power management solution, capable of feeding electrical currents simultaneously to all armoured vehicle onboard systems, ranging from radios to workstation displays.

Manufacturing work under the contract is scheduled to be carried out jointly with Varitron Technologies at DRS Canada's facility in Carleton Place, Ontario, while the systems are expected to be delivered over a three year period starting in late-2013.

LCSS LE project aims to boost critical information exchanges within specific Canadian Forces (CF) vehicle fighting platforms during combat operations.