Defense Technology International - May 2008 - (Page 16)

DISPATCHES GLOBAL DIGITAL WATCH Countdown begins for digital conversion of French forces NICHOLAS FIORENZA•CANJUERS, FRANCE fforts by the French army to ﬁeld a fully digital force will reach a milestone in September, with a certification exercise of the first two digital brigades. The army wants all of its forces to have digital capabilities by 2015. The units scheduled for certiﬁcation are the 2nd armored brigade, equipped with Leclerc main battle tanks built by Nexter Systems (formerly Giat Indus- E an information system known as SIT (Systeme d’Information Terminal). There are versions supplied by Nexter based on its Finders (Fast Information, Navigation, Decision and Reporting System) product family, and by Sagem. SIT will be used in the French army’s new VBCI armored infantry ﬁghting vehicle, which is being built by Nexter Systems and Renault Trucks, and is expected to NEXTER French noncom in a Panhard VBL light armored vehicle checks data on the SIT battleﬁeld information system from Nexter. tries), and the 6th light armored brigade, with AMX 10RC armored reconnaissance vehicles, also from Nexter. The army is introducing command and control information and battleﬁeld management systems from the divisional and brigade level down to individual vehicles. Command posts at the task force and division level use the SIC-F command information system from Thales. Regimental and battalion command teams use the SIR regimental information system from EADS. At lower tactical levels, France uses 16 arrive with the ﬁrst frontline battalion, the 35th Infantry Regt. in Belfort, in October (DTI May 2007, p. 28). Two battalions of the 6th light armored brigade already have SIT V1 (version one) installed in AMX 10RC and VBL vehicles. The initial application was with the 1st Foreign Legion cavalry regiment, which started conducting company-level trials with a prototype in 2000. The unit’s noncom officers reportedly found the prototype complicated—a point confirmed by Sylvain Fesland, sales manager at Nexter Systems. Nevertheless, the regiment wanted the system on its ﬁrst deployment to Ivory Coast in 2006. The deployment included 24 AMX 10RC vehicles upgraded with SIT V1 and Thales PR4G combat net radios, among other improvements. The brigade’s other battalion, the 1st Spahi Regt., was outﬁtted with SIT V1 in 2007. It is now installed in the unit’s 34 AMX 10RCs and about a dozen of the Panhard VBL light armored vehicles. The regiment, which is scheduled to deploy to Kosovo between May and September with a number of SIT-equipped VBL armored vehicles, was observed by DTI on a field-training exercise in southern France in March. Lt. Col. Damien Wallaert, the regimental director of operations, describes the system as “useful for situational awareness.” He indicates, however, that there are restrictions on the communications range between maneuvering vehicles in urban areas. A lack of interoperability with the battleﬁeld management systems of allied forces is also an issue. Fesland says the French army doesn’t require multinational compatibility below the battalion level, unlike some armed forces. But he adds that Nexter is offering an export version of the Finders SIT that complies with NATO interoperability standards. According to Wallaert, digitization shortens the observation, decision and action loop, providing information “at the right time, at the right address. Previously, we had to wait for everyone to get on the radio network,” he recalls. “Now everyone receives their orders with one click.” Digitization will reduce the risk of friendly fire incidents, Wallaert says. With SIT V1, “everything is on the map”— friendly, unknown and enemy forces. He adds that things are calmer and more discreet without radios. Moreover, the use of a female voice on SIT V1 to convey alerts to the crew is less stressful than the male voice used by the older Icone battlefield management system (also a Nexter product) of the 1980s-era Leclerc main battle tank. A derivative of Icone is in use in the United Arab Emirates’ Leclerc tanks (436 were sold to the UAE in 1993). That in turn has led to the current SIT, with all three versions part of the Finders battleﬁeld management systems. ■ To read posts about Nexter, go to DTI's home page, AviationWeek.com/dti and click on “Extras for this issue” under “DTI Interactive.” AviationWeek.com/dti DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL MAY 2008 http://AviationWeek.com/dti http://AviationWeek.com/dti

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Defense Technology International - May 2008 Contents Around the World Science Watch Tech Watch Learn and Live Think Again Vive la Difference En Route Out of the Box Package Deal On Watch Inside Job Programs Update The Net Back to the Future Busy Signal Mighty Mites Hull of an Idea Tough Enough Cutting Edge First Person In Review Insight

Defense Technology International - May 2008

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