General Dynamics UK has received a contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to deliver maintenance and support for the Bowman tactical command, control, communications, computers and intelligence system.
Valued at £45m, the contract is expected to create around 300 jobs, including 150 jobs at GD’s facility in Oakdale, south Wales, and an additional 150 positions across the supply chain, which will include large, small and medium-sized enterprises.
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Companies to be benefited by the contract include Wincanton, Exelis, DRS, Cablescan and AWE Electronics.
Cablescan will be responsible for repairing any electrical wiring in radios damaged on operations in Afghanistan and on their subsequent return to the front line.
UK Defence Equipment, Support and Technology minister Philip Dunne said Bowman has been providing greater situational awareness and a secure system for information-sharing and communications to the three UK armed services across the globe.
”This £45 million contract is a good example of how one of our prime contractors is working closely with UK-based small and medium-sized enterprises, helping to rebalance the economy and laying the foundations for lasting growth and shared prosperity in the defence industry,” Dunne said.
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By GlobalDataCablescan managing director Richard Willis said the contract will provide the company with sustainable work over the next five years, eventually enhancing its growth and creating new jobs.
Equipped with an array of high frequency (HF), very high frequency (VHF) and ultra high frequency (UHF) radio sets, Bowman is a digital voice and data system designed to provide secure integrated voice, data services to dismounted soldiers, individual vehicles and command head quarters up to the division level in the battlefield.
The radio plays a significant role in Afghanistan by providing troops with better awareness of any operational situation.
Expected to remain in service until approximately 2026, the system is currently installed on over 15,000 military vehicles, the entire Royal Navy fleet and all of its major helicopters supporting land operations, such as Apache, Chinook, Merlin and Lynx.
Image: UK soldiers using the PRC-152 UHF ground-to-air radio in Afghanistan. Photo: copyright of Sergeant Barry Pope.
