How Leonardo DRS is advancing Indo-Pacific command systems

Probably the one key standard for improving things in the Indo-Pacific region from a battle

management and or counter UAS or integrating sensors together is having an open architecture

that whoever you're working with has an open architecture and we can come in and upgrade

rapidly, do rapid demonstrations for new capabilities, take lessons learned that again come out of

testing training or combat lessons learned and upgrading them on site with stuff you already have

without having to buy a whole new piece of equipment without going through a whole bunch of new integration and then we can do it rapidly and in as the customer needs it

as they learn those lessons

We're seeing a great demand all the way across the North Pacific region for a number of capabilities

one being resilient communications and the ability to do integration of voice, data, video, and sensors on platforms and in mobile command posts

So many of the countries that are leading the way in this, of course, are Australia, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, a lot going on in the Philippines

and we see a lot of growth in these areas and a demand for industry to take those capabilities

of voice, data, video and sensor integration and rapidly take what the countries already have

on board their systems, upgrade them rapidly, either in the field or rapidly send it for a demonstration

and then produce what they requiring from those demonstrations and give it to the field force immediately Leonardo DiLash recently supported the Thailand Army in Handed Man Guardian 26

and we also supported them in Cobra Gold 26 right before that. What we found was the ability to take

a battle management and integrate voice data, video, and sensor integration into the existing

battle management and give them more capability. So specifically at Handed Man Guardian on the

the strikers there for Thailand, we provided radars and integrated those as part of the

battle management. So instead of finding out you have a counter or UAS enemy problem, one

is buzzing outside your vehicle, you can find out kilometers ahead of time and take an offensive

or defensive protective posture and give the whole organization warning on what they're

going to do with respect to a counter UAS threat. That was one of the things. The other

things was then taking, once you've identified that threat, how to respond to it, and we layered

it in terms of how to respond to that. So first being able to pick it up possibly by reconnaissance

video from friendly UASs or friendly drones. The next thing was being able to pick it up by RF

detection. Third way we needed to pick it up by radar, which the ERS provided radar for. So we had

multiple layers of ways to detect and then multiple layers to engage. So we can engage starting with

indirect fire possibly, and then with missiles, and then with guns, and then with lasers, and then

finally with jamming. So the ability to have a layered protective defense in terms of, in offense

in terms of detection and in engagement, and putting those all together and using the battle

management the C4I capability resident now and incorporating that in current four formations and using the exercise of CALFEX Combined Arms Live or Exercise to bring all this together and get some lessons learned on how to address that problem

In Nino-PACARM region, in places like Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and even

in Australia, one of the challenges that they're seeing on integrating current C4I

capability is taking what they're doing in the land domain and making that interoperable

in the maritime or littoral domain. So, for example, HIMARS, of which DRS provides a lot of the rugged computing floor

and other capabilities, specifically in Taiwan, we do the vehicle intercom system

and we're providing a data distribution unit to help with the fire control. HIMARS is being used as a land component and being moved around the region

to both be used in land and in a maritime environment and engage targets in all different domains, basically a multi-domain capability

and then tying that all together with the battle management that exists currently in the land force

and then welding that together with a maritime capability. So that's, I think, a constant demand we're starting to see and a constant requirement

that we're well-positioned to help our ongoing customers address. Counter UAS is becoming an increasing requirement across the region in many different countries

including Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia and others. One of the things that we're doing is again taking existing

capability and starting on tying those counter UAS capabilities with the battle management that exists already

We already have space claim on a lot of platforms both for mobile mounted and dismounted and also for mobile command posts and we can help countries bring what they already have for our capability and upgrade what they have And as they learn lessons either through training through testing through actual combat

we can rapidly upgrade those capabilities resident in what they have already

So, for example, we've built into our equipment a capability upgrade feature

which allows us to upgrade things in the field, add Wi-Fi, add communications that may be useful to them

We're prepared to do it by delivering a new product if we can, but if they can't, they can take their resident product and upgrade it right there

and upgrade it as they learn lessons, again, whether it's in testing or in training or in combat

So the question is, what's the main challenge from our perspective in the Indo-Pacific region

And I think it's providing resilient comms and being able to rapidly integrate voice data, video, and sensor integration as part of a battle management picture

But from the dismounted to mounted platform level to mobile command post and then even to higher command post level operations

And then taking things like we've done in the United States with Ivy Sting in the 4th Victory Division

we're rapidly prototyping a capability on platforms. Soldiers are using it in exercises or in a test and in taking those lessons learned and delivering a capability that's going to be used going forward in their training and their combat operations

And I think replicating that here in the Pacific is something that DRS is doing very well on the domestic side and can do it internationally with the partners we have in the region