Bowman (communications system)
This process culminated in the failure in 2000 of the preferred bidder, Archer, to deliver the requirement within budget and on time, and the resultant cessation of the contract by the UK MoD.
[3] The entire Royal Navy fleet is fitted with Bowman equipment as are all the major helicopter types supporting land operations, such as Apache, Chinook, Merlin and Lynx.
It also provides tactical situational awareness for commanders through GPS links, helping to reduce the probability of friendly fire.
The Bowman system is a fundamental part of the British Military, achieving a Network Enabled Capability, providing the carriers for the passage of data between the various software applications involved.
PRR is only partially connected with the Bowman programme, as it was hived off from the acquisition process in October 1999 for more rapid implementation, and the first of 45,000 units formally entered service in early 2002.
Operating in the 2.4 GHz band, PRR had no integrated encryption devices and does not intercommunicate with the rest of the Bowman network, but is widely acclaimed as having revolutionised intra-squad communications and small-unit tactics.
The manpack version of the ADR+ has an Automatic Situational Awareness Module inserted in BCIP 5.2 which enables Own Station Position Reports to be broadcast without the presence of an associated computer.
The Bowman HF frequency-hopping radios, of which 10,800 examples were supplied is designated UK/PRC325 in its basic 20 W manpack form and UK/VRC328/9 in its 100 W high-power and co-sited vehicular configurations.
The contractor for supply of Portable User Data Terminal (PUDTs), based on a 266 MHz Intel StrongARM processor, was L-3 Communications.
In addition to processing limitations, the larger UDTs have significant ergonomic issues and were supplemented with a buy of General Dynamics Itronix computers modified in the UK by Blazepoint to support systems managers and communication planners.
ComBAT, produced by GDC4S in the US, the main Command and Control (C2) tool for Bowman has faced early criticism relating to performance, ease of use and interface design.
[7] The report itself was split into four sections entitled: "programme governance arrangements were not fit for purpose", "initial decisions were not well informed", "through life costs were not rigorously assessed", and "operational benefits are limited".
As Bowman was being phased into service, senior officers in the British Army had serious reservations about the system, especially as many of their initial design specifications and feedback had not been adequately incorporated by the Defence Procurement Agency in the re-tendering process that was won by General Dynamics United Kingdom.
Now you guys will have to go out and find a way of making it work.Other complaints were brought up by the 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, who tested the UK/PRC354 radio system in July 2005.
