Three companies win contracts to upgrade MIDS-LVT situational awareness terminals

SAN DIEGO, 5 Nov. 2013. U.S. Navy communications experts are asking three U.S. defense contractors to upgrade the software in military situational awareness communications terminals that enable U.S. and allied aircraft, ships, and ground forces to exchange their tactical pictures in near-real time.

Officials of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) in San Diego is awarding three contractors collectively worth $120.1 million for the block upgrade 2 software for the Multifunctional Information Distribution System Low Volume Terminals (MIDS-LVTs).

The MIDS-LVT is the data communications terminal for the U.S. and allied Link 16 that enables military forces to exchange tactical information securely in near-real time. Link 16 also exchanges text messages, imagery, digital voice.

The BAE Systems Electronic Systems segment in Wayne, N.J., is receiving a $48 million contract; ViaSat in Carlsbad, Calif., is receiving a $39.2 million contract; and Data Link Solutions LLC in Cedar Rapids, Iowa -- a joint venture of BAE Systems and Rockwell Collins -- is receiving a $32.9 million contract.

The three companies are providing MIDS-LVT Block Upgrade 2 software and test equipment. BAE Systems is doing the work for the militaries of the U.S., France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. ViaSat and Data Link Solutions are doing the work for the U.S. military only. The contracts were announced Monday.

The MIDS-LVT upgrades are to provide greater flexibility, enhanced technological capabilities, decreased cost, and improved reliability. Embedded modules provide COMSEC and TACAN.

For more information contact BAE Systems Electronic Systems online at www.baesystems.com, ViaSat at www.viasat.com, Data Link Solutions at www.datalinksolutions.net, or SPAWAR at www.spawar.navy.mil.