Sorting fact from fiction regarding the exact status and future of Elbit’s Battle Management System being supplied under LAND 200 is not proving to be straightforward. During Senate Estimates hearings, Army has explained much more of the background, but significant gaps remain. For their part, Elbit Systems Australia continues to be quite circumspect, while maintaining a business-as-usual approach.
The situation seems to be this: the BMS was using a version of software known as release 7.1 for the past two years. This is simply the latest in a long line of software releases since the system first entered service in late 2010. This approach is common to all complex software intensive programs that progressively add to the functionality of the system, address earlier problems, contain new security features and so on with regular updates.
This is similar to how mobile phones and laptops are continuously improved, where the hardware remains the same for a while, but the software is updated. Without these changes eventually the system will not work at all. Try using a 3G phone in South Korea – it can’t even pick up a signal let alone get a connection because all networks switched to 4G and 5G years ago.
However, version 7.1 had only ever received interim certification from the Department of Defence – and in any case was due to be replaced by version 9.1. This is where it gets a bit tricky. At least two things appear to have been happening in parallel: Elbit were running late with version 9.1 and – for reasons that remain opaque, at least for the writer – they were struggling to make all the changes required to achieve full accreditation for 7.1. Army told the Senate that they have been mindful of the problem for more than a year.
This is an excerpt from APDR. To read the full story, click here.
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