- New communications systems will give commanders
faster battlefield information and speed
up decision-making.
- MOD awards contract worth up to £86 million to
British-based SME for advanced tactical communication
systems, such as radios and tablets.
- Contract creates 12 UK defence industry jobs and
builds on successful deployment in Estonia.
The contract, worth up to £86 million, has been awarded to
UK-based company BlackTree Technologies with the systems rapidly
reducing the time it takes for soldiers to receive reconnaissance
and intelligence data, boosting lethality and reducing friendly
fire incidents.
Known as the Dismounted Data System (DDS), the AI capable
equipment includes radios, headsets, display tablets, cables,
batteries, pouches and antennas.
They will provide precise information on surroundings and
intelligence, meaning increased clarity on who are enemies and
who are comrades.
With all soldiers linked to the same network through this
equipment, DDS will also be tailored to different
scenarios, allowing troops to receive either,
or a combination of, voice or visual data, maximising
effectiveness across all battlefield situations.
The new systems have already been tested by soldiers on
deployment in Estonia. The testing, on NATO's eastern flank, saw
the visual information element allowing soldiers to be less
distracted by loud noises on the battlefield.
This follows the government committing to the largest sustained
increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War –
hitting 2.6% of GDP from 2027 – supporting good jobs and growth
in every corner of the nation.
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke
Pollard MP said:
The ability to receive, share and
deploy accurate information is crucial to battlefield
advantage, and this state-of-the-art technology will
make our soldiers more integrated and more lethal.
It will begin rolling out to the British Army this year and
with the work delivered by a British-based SME, shows that
our move to warfighting readiness is being seized as an
opportunity to make defence an engine for growth in the UK.
One of the benefits of the new systems are that they have already
been tested by soldiers on deployment in Estonia. The testing, on
NATO's eastern flank, saw the visual
information element allowing soldiers to be less distracted from
loud noises on the battlefield.
The contract supports this government's commitment to spend more
with UK small and medium sized enterprises
(SMEs), with the work creating 12 new jobs in
locations in Tewkesbury, Hereford and Birmingham.
The DDS will be delivered to the Army in multiple tranches
from September, with the full roll out of equipment set to be
complete in 2027. An initial £46 million contact
has been made by the Army with BlackTree Technologies, with
options for a further £40 million.
The contract supports the Chief of the General Staff's ambition
to double the British Army's lethality by 2027, and it backs
delivery of the Strategic Defence Review to move to warfighting
readiness.
Head of Tactical Systems, National Armaments Director
Group, Brigadier Jeremy Sharpe, said:
We are delighted to be building on the successful deployment in
Estonia last year and looking forward to working
with BlackTree Technologies to bring this game changing
capability to more of the British Army.
BlackTree founder and Managing Director, Neil
Clements-Hill said:
BlackTree are excited to be working with the TacSys team to field
this cutting-edge technology to the British
Army. Waveforms ensure that the Army can operate in the
most demanding environments, when nothing else works.
From initial experimentation under the DSA programme, through the
delivery of Project ASGARD in 2025, and now
delivering Dismounted Data System capacity, we have
been working closely with the Army for many years and are very
happy to continue this close relationship and help ensure that
they can achieve their vision of modernising their tactical
networks.
The MOD is ramping up support for UK SMEs, with the establishment
in January of the Defence Office for Small Business Growth, and
the spending target of an additional £2.5 billion with UK
SMEs through to May 2028, taking total annual MOD spending with
SMEs to £7.5 billion.
