Rockwell Collins says Army committed to networking the warfighter despite smaller DOD budget request

Posted by John McHale
During an interview with Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on their new MicroGRAM GPS product this week at the AUSA Winter Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., we strayed briefly onto the Department of Defense 2012 budget request. They had a positive outlook on it.

What Rockwell Collins looked for in the budget was continued support for networking technology, says Sam Hubbard, senior director, Army and Defense Programs at Rockwell Collins. Networking for the warfighter is an area that the company is heavily invested in with technology such as their GPS products and their cross domain solution for the CERDEC Tactical Army Cross Domain Information Solution (TACDIS) program -- MicroTurnstile device.

Despite the overall budget cuts "we like the fact" that the Army remains steadfast in its efforts to bring the network down to the individual soldier and that funding for those efforts appears to be in tack, Hubbard says.

For more on the budget watch "Video: Military & Aerospace Electronics editor gives his take on the 2012 DOD budget request."

The MicroTurnstile is being used in the Army's Nett Warrior program. It can be worn by the warfighter and operates with Nett Warrior soldier equipment, providing bi-directional transfer of data and voice.