GSTAMIDS FCS

Landmines have bedeviled mobile forces for more than 100 years, and even the U.S. Army's highly capable Future Force can be stymied by the presence of mines. A clear lesson coming back from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan is the need for reliable counters to a wide range of mines and mine-like devices in all terrains, weather, and operational and logistical settings. Sensors with high probability of detection must mate with high-confidence neutralization, while interfacing and reporting over the FCS C4ISR system. These capabilities must fit seamlessly with Force operations in complex urban and exurban terrain, facing enemies either sophisticated or asymmetrical.

BAE Systems' GSTAMIDS FCS offers best-of-industry technologies for mine detection and neutralization in a partnership among the industry leaders in their respective fields. The BAE Systems design includes ground-penetrating radar developed by NIITEK and neutralization based on countermine shaped charges pioneered by BAE Systems and DE Technologies. U.S. Army program and technical management and oversight come from the Program Manager-Close Combat Systems, and includes the expertise of the RDECOM CERDEC Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate Countermine Division, as well as the U.S. Army TACOM Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center.

For well over a decade, BAE Systems has been a U.S. Army partner of choice for assured mobility countermine solutions. With a heritage dating back into the early 1960s, BAE Systems has developed the core technologies and integrated systems that will protect the Future Force. Mine Hunter/Killer, an advanced technology demonstration, completed in December 2000, combined state-of-the-art sensors with an innovative neutralization scheme aboard a remotely operated mine overpass surrogate vehicle. GSTAMIDS Block 1, completed in August 2003, defined the hardware, system requirements, and preliminary system design through a comprehensive design model and correlated mission simulation.

Other BAE Systems work in support of U.S. Army Assured Mobility includes the Explosive Standoff Minefield Breacher (ESMB), which led to development of Mongoose. Mongoose is a rocket-deployed array of countermine shaped charges providing a high-confidence, in-stride, assault breaching capability.

Detection and neutralization of land mines continue to be a major threat to U.S. forces in operations, and BAE Systems has a solid partnership with the Army countermine community. GSTAMIDS FCS will provide warfighters with assured tactical mobility in the presence of mines through an integrated system-of-systems operating within the larger framework of Future Combat Systems.

 

For further information please contact:

Business Development
Tel: +1-512-929-4371
idsmarketing@baesystems.com