Italy’s Forza NEC Battlefield Command System
June 9/10: Finmeccanica subsidiary SELEX Sistemi Integrati announces [PDF] a 5-year, EUR 238 million contract from the Italian Ministry of Defence’s Land Armaments General Directorate, for a digitized system known as Forza NEC (Network Enabled Capability). The contract covers the manufacture and integration of command posts in shelters and vehicles; communication, command and control devices for soldiers under the Soldato Futuro program; unmanned vehicles equipped with sensors; and systems offering full interoperability between the Italian armed forces and the forces of other countries. A test laboratory consisting of numerous military centers connected in a network will also be delivered.
SELEX Sistemi Integrati is the main supplier and system integrator, but they will work with a very broad alliance of Italian firms. Other Finmeccanica companies such as SELEX Communications, SELEX Galileo, Elsag Datamat, Oto Melara, AgustaWestland, and MBDA Italia are included. So are independent firms like Elettronica, Iveco, Engineering Ingegneria Informatica, the Iveco-Oto Melara consortium, and the Soldato Futuro consortium.
Battlefield command systems are becoming the backbone of any modern land force…
They create a communications backbone that can carry voice or data, including relative unit positions. The net effect is to change the way commanders lead, and the kinds of maneuvers and operations that are possible. They’re almost never as cleanly integrated as the brochures suggest, but they do make it much easier for different kinds of units to work together, talk to each other, and remain in contact with the chain of command in their fixed or mobile command posts. Most are also being extended down to advanced “future soldier” kits, which include some kind of hand-held computer.
Italy’s system is hardly unusual, joining recent efforts in Australia (LAND 75/ 125), Canada (LCSS), Germany (FuInfoSys Heer), and Israel (Tsayad). America has its Force XXI Battle Command, Brigade and Below system, which is being expanded and improved.
