Electro Optic Systems (EOS) announced on Monday (14 December) that it has been awarded a A$34.4 million contract award by the Australian government for the Command Control Communications and Computers – Evolutionary Digital Ground Environment (C4 EDGE) program, with EOS Defence Systems (EOS DS) as the Prime Contractor for an all-Australian industry consortium to demonstrate a sovereign Battlegroup and Below Battlefield Command system (BG-BCS).
The deal will support the development of innovative local businesses capable of providing our armed forces with the critical, world-leading communications solutions they will require into the future. EOS will lead 18 Australian businesses in the C4 EDGE program to demonstrate local industry’s ability to provide battle critical communications solutions for the land domain. The program will leverage the expertise and cutting-edge technologies of the all-Australian industry team that includes small and medium enterprises from across the nation. As the prime contractor, EOS DS will integrate these components to demonstrate a sovereign BG-BCS for the Army in November 2021.
The C4 EDGE solution will see EOS DS incorporate locally-sourced combat radios, satellite terminals, cryptography, networking middleware, command applications, user interfaces, batteries and power management into a coherent system. The program will utilise Australian design, production, workforce, intellectual property and supply chain in the development and demonstration of this capability.
A successful C4 EDGE capability will help address the Army’s significant future requirements for sovereign communications systems. The Government’s 2020 Defence Strategic Update lays out an investment pipeline for battlefield communications and command systems of between A$5 billion and A$7.5 billion over the next 20 years.
The contract will create approximately 53 new fulltime jobs across the country over the next 12 months. EOS will begin executing subcontracts before the end of 2020 to enable payments to flow to these businesses quickly, supporting their ability to invest, scale and access export opportunities.
Announcing the contract, Grant Sanderson, CEO of EOS Defence Systems, said: “The C4 EDGE team represents the collaborative effort of world-class Australian companies for the benefit of the Australian Defence Force. The design, development and demonstration of the C4 EDGE solution over the next year will showcase the ability of Australian companies to produce high-tech materiel which EOS will integrate with its own technologies into world-class military systems. The program provides a model to continue growing a capable, connected and resilient sovereign defence industry that employs more Australians.”
Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said the C4 EDGE program had enabled small businesses from almost every state and territory to deliver a proof-of-concept for mobile tactical communications systems. Price said software and hardware builds and testing activities would follow. “Up to 53 jobs are expected to be generated across the project’s entire 18-month lifespan, which will include local design and manufacturing of critical defence capabilities, such as mobile tactical communications systems,” Price said. “The remaining phase of the project includes the development of the tactical communications prototype, which includes waveform, cryptography, satellite-enabled friendly-force tracking, radio and hardware manufacture.”
Defence has invested A$3.85 million in the first phase of the C4 EDGE project, which concluded in early October, with all deliverables completed on schedule and within budget.
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