QinetiQ has reaped the rewards of its efforts by being selected, as part of a team led by EDS, to provide the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) with its ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) Testbed. The testbed will allow the MoD to experiment with a variety of ISTAR systems and will ensure these systems play an integral part in the UK’s Network Enabled Capability (NEC).
The £3.65 million programme, which also includes partners Raytheon and Mars Omega, will build and deliver the testbed, and aims to provide strategic direction to the MoD in its efforts to integrate the various disparate ISTAR systems either currently in existence or expected to be in service in coming years. The testbed is expected to play a vital role in the joining up of these systems into a coherent ‘system of systems.’
Matthew Cole, QinetiQ’s NEC director, welcomed the contract award, saying, “All future UK military systems will have to have a very strong NEC focus. This contract represents an exciting opportunity to accelerate the delivery of the essential ISTAR components within that broader NEC context.”