BAE Systems awarded US Navy NTCDL contract

Image courtesy BAE Systems

NTCDL will enable a real-time exchange of voice, data, imagery, and full-motion video from a variety of air, surface, subsurface, and man-portable sources. Systems under the company’s current contract are presently being installed on US Navy aircraft carriers and will be installed on new Constellation-class frigates.

Amber Dolan, director of Adaptive Communications and Sensing at BAE Systems, said: “We have designed and produced a faster next-generation system to meet the demands of our customers’ evolving connectivity mission requirements.

“BAE Systems is committed to providing the US Navy with a trusted and secure solution to transmit and receive the critical information needed to successfully accomplish its missions across the fleet.”

NTCDL is a multiplatform solution for all US Navy Common Data Link (CDL) requirements. It is a modular, scalable system designed to increase link capacity and embrace waveform evolution.

NTCDL supports multiple, simultaneous, networked operations using currently fielded CDL equipment, as well as next-generation manned and unmanned platforms. It enables operators to simultaneously transmit and receive real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data from multiple sources and exchange command and control information across separate or independent networks. This allows for effective communication among forces to maintain an advantage.

This award modifies an existing BAE Systems contract to extend the programme’s total period of performance by three years. As the original developer and manufacturer of the NTCDL system, BAE Systems has the engineering and production capabilities to meet the programme’s urgent fielding timeline requirements, with the work ork on this contract taking place at BAE Systems’ facilities in Maryland, Colorado, New Jersey and New York.