TRW Pursues U.K. Contract for Battlefield Communications

By Patience Wait, Staff Writer


NOV. 29 ? TRW Inc. of Cleveland has formed its team to compete for a $2.4 billion battlefield communications contract for the British Armed Forces.


Known as the Bowman contract, it will replace the aging field radios now in use with new tactical combat radios, featuring secure voice and data communications and including a tactical Internet capability that can act as the backbone for future digitization programs.


In addition, TRW recently was awarded a $12 million, 10-month contract with the U.K. Defence Procurement Agency to reduce risks associated with the start up and performance of the Bowman supply and services contract, scheduled for award in September 2001.


TRW has worked on similar projects for the U.S. military, including its role as prime contractor on the Army Force XXI Battle Command Brigade-and-Below program to build a "tactical internet."


"TRW has proven that we can manage the complexity of Bowman through our successful management of similar systems, while delivering additional operational capability and meeting tight delivery schedules," said Neil Siegel, the TRW vice president leading the company's bid. "TRW is the only company in the world that has fielded a Bowman-like system on a scale comparable to that needed by the [Ministry of Defence]."


TRW's team on the U.K. project includes Brown & Root (a subsidiary of Halliburton Co.), Logica UK Ltd., LSC Group, Raytheon Systems Ltd., Vickers Defence Systems and Vosper Thornycroft UK Ltd.