Located at stand #3C8 at Land Forces 2016, Cubic is showcasing a number of different innovations for defence support systems. In terms of software, Cubic is demonstrating their Combat Training Centre – Live Instrumentation System (CTC-LIS), which is a network tracking system used for controlling combat training exercises with a full diagnostics capability. Described as ‘laser-tag on steroids’, CTC-LIS allows tracking of up to 15,000 entities, who are each equipped with lasers and tracking tools to determine their location, movements, type of munitions and to register whether they have hit enemy targets or have been hit themselves. The result is a system that provides simplified debriefings which can depict all aspects and issues of every training exercise.
Cubic is also hosting representatives of partnered companies, such as DTECH Labs, GATR Technologies and TeraLogics. One of the most innovative products is GATR’s SATCOM Inflatable Satellite Terminal, which claims to have revolutionised the portable SATCOM industry. To enhance stability and durability, GATR’s system consists of an inflatable pressure vessel, which houses flexible reflective fabric that when subjected to the correct pressure, forms a parabolic ‘dish’. The result is a highly portable and relatively lightweight deployable satellite.
The Inflatable Terminals now comes in four different sizes: 1.2m, 1.8m, 2.4m and 4m. The reduction in portability through increased size and weight with the 4m Class Inflatable Terminal – which at 180kg weighs nearly 150kg more than the 34kg 1.2m Class – makes the larger sizes less suitable for small units, but makes up for its size with increased reliability and bandwidth in poorer conditions. The 1.2m Class packs into a single airline checkable case with between 50% less volume and weight than portable rigid antennas, while the 4 Meter Class achieves in excess of an 80% reduction.
The United States military currently possesses over 500 GATR terminals, after GATR won the T2C2 WGS Satellite contract in December last year, worth $USD 550 million. In Australia, special forces based in Perth and Holsworthy acquired the 2.4m Class terminal in 2013.
Cubic acquired GATR in January this year, a part of what they described as a wider Cubic push into the C4ISR sector as one of “multiple pillars”, and a growing international presence.
Timothy Dempsey
