Raytheon Wins $ 7 4 Million Navy/Air Force Contract For Combat Ik-aining System
Division (RESD) has been awarded a $73.9 million contract with options up to $221 million for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) of the Joint Tactical Combat Training System (JTCTS) The JTCTS program is a joint U.S. Navy and Air Force effort to develop and procure tactical training range systems configured for mobile, fixed, and transportable applications for both shore-based and deployed tactical training. JTCTS will provide proficiency training, tactics development, and readiness assessment for Navy fleet and Air Force operational units. The system supports aircraft, ships, and submarines — either separately or in combination — executing planned tactical scenarios in a dynamic operational environment while aircraft and ships are deployed as they would be under actual battle conditions. RESD's Portsmouth Facility in Rhode Island will be the JTCTS system integrator with overall design responsibility. Other Raytheon defense facilities in Massachusetts and California will also support the program. Raytheon's team members — Applied Data Technology Inc. (ADTI) will provide Fixed-Air Combat Range interface design support and DynCorp will provide Fleet Training Range installation and Test and Evaluation support services. The initial contract will require the development of two Engineering Development Models (EDMs): one for the mobile and another for the fixed and transportable applications. The mobile application will provide full Battle Force training across all warfare areas for air, ship, and submarine crews. It will be comprised of a core unit, participant instrumentation packages (PIPs) for the air/surface/subsurface platforms, and display/debriefing units.
System features include the Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking; a separate training data link to connect up to 130 participants within a 400 nautical mile radius; a distributed software architecture for onboard processing as the scenario is played out; weapons and combat systems monitoring; and simulation fb&turG s The JTCTS fixed application is similar to the mobile application except that it will be permanently installed at shore-based ranges such as Fallon, Nev.; Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.; Yuma, Ariz., Goldwater, Ariz.; Yukon, Alaska; Beaufort, S.C., and the emerging Littoral Warfare Training Complex (LWTC) centered at Cherry Point, N.C.
The transportable application can be packed up for transportation to various worldwide ranges as required. The contract has options valued at approximately $150 million for eight additional EMD systems for mobile, fixed, and transportable applications. The option also includes procurement of aircraft pods and internal units with April, 1995 23 required interface kits for aircraft and ships. In addition to these options, there is a potential for 22 additional systems worth approximately $250 million.
John Dale, JTCTS program manager, said, "The men and women at the Portsmouth facility are excited about winning this contract which helps us to maintain solid engineering and production jobs here. As the next-generation realistic combat training system — JTCTS allows us to further develop our technology to enhance realistic combat training for our smaller defense force. We are proud to be a part of this effort for the 21st Century." Raytheon has extensive experience in trainer and combat systems; ADTI is an experienced developer of air combat ranges; and DynCorp is experienced in Air Test and Evaluation Range support. Raytheon, headquartered in Lexington, Mass., is a $10 billion international, high technology company.