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SCOTTSDALE: General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, announced today an unprecedented collaboration initiative called the EDGE(TM) which has been designed to enhance the delivery cycle of warfighter technology and capabilities. Based in Scottsdale, Ariz., the EDGE is sponsored by General Dynamics, which is providing the laboratory for developing and testing new and emerging technologies.
The EDGE has attracted early interest from industry, government and academia and has already delivered innovations to the U.S. Army for its Land Warrior program and Future Force Warrior (FFW) Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD). Specifically, the EDGE facilitated development of a capability for the FFW initiative designed to enable future soldiers in small combat units to use critical sensor data from unmanned air and ground vehicles.
“The EDGE complements the activities at the Natick Soldier Center and we are encouraged by the early achievements demonstrated on FFW this year,” said Phil Brandler, director of the U.S. Army Soldier System Center at Natick, Mass. “While we are able to explore and expand government-to-government relationships to leverage innovations for the Soldier, we look forward to the EDGE collaboration across industry and academia to contribute to that objective.”
Richard Coupland, EDGE program manager for General Dynamics C4 Systems, said, “The EDGE provides an operating process that will bring cutting-edge technology to the tactical edge of the battlespace faster. By aligning the innovations of EDGE members with requests and feedback from warfighters and warfighting programs, we can deliver capabilities quickly that are relevant, interoperable and responsive.”
The EDGE has also achieved early deliveries of capability prototypes to the Army's Land Warrior program. Using the EDGE process, General Dynamics collaborated with Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) to deliver consolidated body-worn components to make significant size, weight and power improvements.
“PEO Soldier supports the innovations we've seen from the EDGE to date and looks forward to continuous innovations in the future based on Soldiers' feedback from the field. Providing that feedback to the EDGE will enable industry to rapidly develop solutions that provide our Soldiers with the best capabilities available,” said Col. Richard Hansen, director of Project Manager Soldier Warrior.
Located in Scottsdale, Ariz., the EDGE has supported 10 technology initiatives to date and organizers are finalizing agreements with seven member candidates. Government program management participants include PEO Soldier at Ft. Belvoir, Va.; the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center at Natick, Mass.; and the Training and Doctrine (TRADOC) Capabilities Manager-Soldier at Ft. Benning, Ga. EDGE member candidates include Arizona State University of Tempe, Ariz., including its Flexible Display Center; Armor Holdings, Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla.; Computer Sciences Corporation of El Segundo, Calif.; DRS Technologies of Parsippany, NJ; EFW Inc. of Ft. Worth, Texas; PEMSTAR, Inc. of Rochester, Minn.; and Rockwell Collins of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
“The EDGE concept provides the most appropriate venue for Computer Sciences Corporation to bring our experiences to bear in order to accelerate warfighter technology maturity and innovation,” said Joe Reed, director of C4ISR Solutions at CSC. “We owe the American warfighter the best industry has to offer.”
The EDGE will officially open in early November with a ribbon cutting event attracting government warrior program officials, industry representatives, elected officials and academic institutions.
General Dynamics is prime systems integrator on many Army programs aimed at advancing technology and capabilities for the warfighter. In addition to the Land Warrior program and Future Force Warrior ATD, General Dynamics leads the integration effort for the U.S. Army's Mounted Warrior and Air Warrior programs. The company also executes programs that are enhancing capabilities of mounted and dismounted warfighters in the United Kingdom for the BOWMAN C4I system, for Australia's Battlefield Command System (Land) known as JP 2072 and to the Royal Netherlands Navy to supply the Integrated Marine Command Information Systems (NIMCIS).
General Dynamics C4 Systems is a leading integrator of secure communication and information systems and technology. With more than 11,000 employees worldwide, the company specializes in command and control, communications networking, space systems, computing and information assurance for defense, government and select commercial customers in the United States and abroad.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 81,900 people worldwide and had 2005 revenue of $21.2 billion. The company is a market leader in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation.
