The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has disclosed its intention to award an exclusive contract to Data Link Solutions LLC, based in New Jersey.
This contract, worth an estimated £4.5 million, is related to the “Provision of MIDS BU2 In-Service Support and I-Level Repair for Typhoon.”
The formal announcement was made on 23rd August 2023.
In the notice, the Situational Awareness Command and Control (SACC) Team, part of the MOD, confirmed that the contract’s span would be three years, centred on the MIDS BU2 Terminals within the UK. Further specifying, the notice reads, “The estimated value is £4.5m ex VAT.”
Data Link Solutions LLC, the chosen contractor, has a unique position in this scenario. They are the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of the MIDS BU2 Tactical Data Link Terminals and the associated equipment. These terminals are described as “complex electronic units, containing both programmable (software) and cryptographic devices.”
Highlighting the exclusive qualifications of Data Link Solutions LLC, the notice states: “The service required by the Authority (repair, maintenance, and modification) can only be performed by the Contractor because they own and hold the technical information, tools and technical expertise necessary to perform the service and meet the Authority’s requirement.”
Further underscoring this exclusivity, the notice clarifies: “The contract cannot be performed without access to that technical information and, no licences have been granted to any party, including the Authority, to obtain the drawings, specifications, etc. for the Link 16 Tactical Data Link Terminals.”
As a result, “Data Link Solutions, LLC is the only Contractor capable of providing the required support and repairs to the MIDS BU2 Tactical Data Link Terminals in order to meet the Authority’s requirement.”
Data Link Solutions is a joint venture of Collins Aerospace and BAE Systems.
Which is rather vital given the synthetic use of sensors and control of missiles by other platforms. The growth beyond infancy of which was demonstrated in the last SINKEX.
The one area where, I suspect, we are suffering is integration of ASTER with F35B.
Given F35B is maritime and ASTER is niche I don’t see this being high on the priority list.
Surely F-35/Aster would start as a two step process, with the F-35 data streaming to the ship, which could target a sea-skimmer below the horizon and launch the Aster via the ship’s CMS. Would it be necessary in practise to hand back for mid-course corrections to the F-35, for example if the Aster dipped below the ship’s horizon? The Aster has active RF for the final part of the flight.
I agree.
What you outline is how I would approach it too. Feed data into the ships CMS where having another server to translate data is easily arranged.
Given how fast LM have been dealing with NIH products I’m not holding my breath.
I think we already have the tech to do it that way and Lockheed won’t need to be involved. The RCO’s Babelfish experiments gave us the ability to link F-35s and Typhoons to each other and ground stations. IIRC Babelfish 7 also routed data via a Voyager and a satelite. The Nexus data cloud was declared operational a couple of years ago and I doubt it would be too difficult to link in a Type 45. It’s the obvious next step. Babelfish was originally supposed to be a ten-step project, but I’ve heard nothing about steps 8 to 10. Maybe… Read more »