Airbus to run UK land C4ISR test centre

Airbus has agreed a five-year contract with the Ministry of Defence to manage test and reference services to support the delivery and assured release of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capability for deployed operations around the globe.

The contract is valued at approximately £22 million.

Airbus say it offers the MoD a seamless transition and delivery of a comprehensive, consistent and coherent service model for the Land Systems Reference Centre (LSRC), delivering test and reference capability to support development, integration, approval and de-risking of C4ISR systems and services.

“Airbus aims to make the LSRC the UK MOD’s centre of excellence for advice and test, ensuring that MOD networks can accommodate new applications, hardware and services. Major programmes such as Morpheus, which is the next generation tactical communications system for the British Armed Forces, will be tested in the LSRC.”

Located at Blandford Camp in Dorset, the Royal Corps of Signals’ headquarters, the LSRC provides the MOD with a through life ‘Systems of Systems’ Test and Reference service. It provides an appropriate test, integration and transition capability that assures release packages for introduction onto the Defence Network and in support of operations and exercises.

“The LSRC can provide support and specialist advice for deployed and base ICT capabilities throughout their lifecycle. The LSRC has the capability to test applications and application upgrades on reference systems to assess their impact on other applications and the network as well as the network’s impact on the application.”

Airbus has decades of experience delivering communications solutions to the MoD, as well as many governments around the world, both with ground infrastructure networks and satellite communications.