Officials at the U.S. Army Contracting Command have awarded a $100 million five-year contract to Mastodon Design for its Terrestrial Layer System Brigade Combat Team (TLS-BCT) Manpack.
The TLS BCT Manpack is a tailorable, modular, land-based system that integrates signals intelligence (SIGINT) and electronic warfare (EW) signals collection, on-board signal processing and electronic jammers.
According to its developers, the technology provides the brigade combat team (BCT) commander with mobile EW capability, and can conduct radio frequency (RF) surveying, signals collection, direction-finding and electronic attack, and will potentially improve intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting, the U.S. Army officials explained.
The TLS BCT Manpack reportedly complements the TLS BCT and TLS Echelons Above Brigade (TLS EAB) family of systems with a shared and open-systems approach against an adaptive threat.
Further, the TLS BCT is housed on the Army Striker armored combat vehicle, and has similar EW, SIGINT and cyber capabilities as the infantry TLS BCT Manpack. However, the vehicle-based TLS BCT delivers a mobile integrated suite of SIGINT, EW and cyber capabilities for command situational awareness.
The TLS BCT uses the open-architecture C5ISR/EW Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS) standards. The vehicle can operate on the move or at the halt, offering real-time data and situation updates while staying with army battlefield formations. The TLS-EAB provides extended-range SIGINT, EW and cyber warfare.
