ROME, N.Y., 25 June 2010.U.S. Air Force researchers are announcing a $49 million contract award to Rockwell Collins Inc. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to investigate tactical targeting network technology (TTNT) and related technologies such as quint network technology (QNT) for communications to and among forward-deployed fighting forces. Under terms of this contract, which was awarded in late May, Rockwell Collins will develop TTNT and Quint network technology to support information exchange between the Tactical Edge platforms and users within the Department of Defense.
The Quint Networking Technology (QNT) program, supervised by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., is developing a modular network data link program to establish multiband communications among manned aircraft, unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs), weapons, tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and infantry ground forces.
The intent of QNT technology is to use data links to integrate tactical UAVs, infantrymen, and weapons into the future digital battlefield for effective network centric warfare operations that use distributed sensor platforms to find, fix, track, and engage important static and moving targets in real time.
QNT systems users are weapons, air control forces on the ground, and tactical UAVs. These three are the focal points of the QNT effort with the other two elements using hardware and waveforms from established programs.
This TTNT research contract will ask military communications experts at Rockwell Collins to develop a Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) version of the TTNT waveform that complies with the Software Communications Architecture (SCA), and National Security Agency (NSA) Unified Infosec Criteria (UIC). Rockwell Collins also will develop and demonstrate advanced TTNT and QNT terminals and TTNT directional networking technologies within the next eight months to a year. Awarding the contract are officials of the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate in Rome, N.Y.
For more information contact Rockwell Collins online at www.rockwellcollins.com, or the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate at ww.wpafb.af.mil/afrl/ri.
