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Danish firm picked to provide communications for New Zealand army

Xinhua, November 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is to buy a cutting-edge communications system for battlefield information sharing from Danish firm Systematic, Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee said Tuesday.

The government had approved the purchase of the SitaWare Battle Management System as well as integration consultancy at a cost of 11 million NZ dollars (8.07 million U.S. dollars) over three years, Brownlee said in a statement.

The SitaWare system would link headquarters, units, vehicles and individuals, allowing the army to get a full picture of the battlefield and share information quickly.

"The purchase is part of a program to digitize the army to provide modern command, communication, battle management and surveillance capabilities," Brownlee said.

"It will also enable the defense force to operate seamlessly with partners when deployed in a coalition."

Currently, the army relied mostly on manual processes to receive and disseminate information.

"This system won't change what the army does, but it will provide advanced tools and techniques to support our soldiers, such as 'blue force tracking' and a common operating picture of troop movements," Brownlee said.

The SitaWare system had been trialled extensively by the army for several years.

The purchase was one of a number of projects worth more than 100 million NZ dollars (73.37 million U.S. dollars), which would deliver modern communications to the army units most often deployed by the government. Endit