The US Army has awarded the first full rate production order to General Dynamics (GD) to build additional Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 2 systems.
Under the $219m contract, the company will produce and deliver more than 300 vehicle-based network communication nodes, along with related equipment and materials.
The contract enables the army to continue fielding WIN-T Increment 2 to units currently scheduled to receive the system.
General Dynamics Mission Systems president Chris Marzilli said: "WIN-T Increment 2 puts the power of the soldier’s network into soldiers hands down to the company level, which is vitally important as the Army evolves into a more expeditionary force.
"As full-rate production begins, our engineering teams will continue working closely with the Army to upgrade technology and human-factors design, giving soldiers a decisive information advantage wherever they are called to serve."
The WIN-T Increment 2 provides soldiers with an unprecedented ability to communicate while on patrol, using connectivity competing with that found in a stationary command post.
To date, GD has equipped four army division headquarters and 12 brigade combat teams with the WIN-T Inc 2 system, which is integrated into mine-resistant, ambush-protected, high-mobility, multi-purpose wheeled vehicles, and Stryker vehicles.
The system successfully served army units supporting the Security Force Assistance Brigades in Afghanistan by replacing the fixed communications infrastructure dismantled when the US military closed its operating bases in the country.
In 2014, the system also provided the ‘communications grid’ for humanitarian operations responding to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
Production of the WIN-T system is scheduled to take place primarily at GD’s facility in Taunton, Massachusetts, US, and will support hundreds of jobs at the company and supplier locations nationwide.
