“UK Collaboration: Airbus, Fujitsu, and Thales Join Forces for the Army’s Next-Gen Tactical Communication Strategy”

Airbus, Fujitsu, and Thales UK have entered a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the forthcoming Systems Integrator (SI) opportunity for the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD), Land Environment Tactical Communications and Information Systems programme – referred to as LE TacCIS.

Following the signing of the MOU, the partners established team ICELUS, led by Airbus. This consortium will unite a dependable group of MOD strategic allies, boasting an exceptional range of proficiency in defence communications networks. ICELUS aims to introduce avant-garde changes through a cohesive systems integration strategy, ultimately delivering operational efficiency and informational advantages to the end user, while maintaining a UK-centric defence industrial base. The three collaborators will jointly investigate how their distinctive expertise and solutions can be amalgamated to present the most favorable proposals concerning capabilities and competitiveness for this significant programme.

ICELUS will concentrate on the imminent LE TacCIS System Integrator (SI) opportunity to spearhead the design and amalgamation of the products & services for applications, infrastructures, and networks. The LE TacCIS System Integrator is anticipated to be contracted by 2023/2024.

The LE TacCIS programme encompasses several sub-programmes and projects aimed at delivering the next generation of tactical military communications in land environments, providing the capabilities for making informed and timely decisions through agile Communication Information Systems (CIS).

LE TacCIS is constructed to be robust, functioning securely in a dense and contested cyber battleground. It will gracefully degrade and recover when assaulted, continually offering vital Command and Control (C2) services and functionalities. It will synchronize with other systems, enabling swift and seamless information sharing between platforms and weapon systems, delivering comprehensive, multi-domain effects.

Unlike the existing system’s sole source prime supplier approach, components of the LE TacCIS programme will be competitively sourced from industry, incentivizing them to enhance system agility, capability, and cost-effectiveness.