Source · Select Committees · Defence Committee
Recommendation 25
25
Paragraph: 98
The Department must ensure that Project Morpheus is adequately resourced with technically qualified staff to...
Conclusion
The Department must ensure that Project Morpheus is adequately resourced with technically qualified staff to facilitate coordination and integration with its current and planned armoured vehicle programmes. Based on the Department’s track record in the Land sector we are concerned that the programmes necessary to deliver the capability described above will not be delivered in a timely manner and, given the pace of technology development in this field, may be obsolete before it is delivered. In order to retain a shred of credibility the Army must set out the programmes that comprise the capability described above along with a statement on whether each will be delivered in time to provide the capability described and how obsolescence will be avoided. Based on the Department’s track record in the Land sector we are concerned that the programmes necessary to deliver the capability described above will not be delivered in a timely manner and, given the pace of technology development in this field, may be obsolete before it is delivered
Paragraph Reference:
98
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The LETacCIS programme provides the digital backbone for the deployed force from individual soldier, through the vehicle platforms, right the way to Divisional and Corps HQs. This digital backbone consists of the radio/bearers, user devices, associated infrastructure and applications required by soldiers, armoured vehicles or headquarters to plug into, in order to gain information advantage over our adversaries. The LETacCIS programme consists of multiple sub-programmes and projects. In the last six months the BCIP 5.6 has reached full operational capability and a logistics support contract was awarded to Babcock to provide support to the entire LETacCIS portfolio, breaking away from the previous prime contractor and opening up the supply chain. In the next six months the programme will launch competitions for the design and integration partners for the Army’s DSA project and TRINITY the Army’s next generation wide area network capability. Other projects within the programme, are at differing states of maturity, as expected in an enduring programme of this nature and scale. platforms. In this context, platforms are nodes on the network, so the network enhances the effectiveness of each platform by making information available to it. To ensure we accomplish this, the Army has instigated the MSI project and defined an open vehicle digital architecture (LOSA). The MSI will try to best align existing platform architectures to the LOSA and will enforce the LOSA standard for new platforms. In essence the platform will be certified to operate on the network and this will become a key requirement. With regards to ensuring delivered capability is technically relevant and effective, one of the four LETacCIS principles is Evolutionary Capability Delivery. This aims to rapidly field capability that exploits new technology, is responsive to changing threats and not just pushed by obsolescence. It also focuses on delivering quicker modular upgrades rather than monolithic system capability drops. Work is ongoing to ensure Defence’s approvals processes are better optimised for digital capability delivery.