Vanguard Magazine

W ith 2000 employees and more than 500 suppliers, Thales Canada drives the development of new, made-in- Canada solutions that connect and equip soldiers on the battlefield, delivering infor- mation superiority and giving joint forces mas- tery of action whenever they face their decisive moments. THE CHALLEngE? Is there a secure mobile software application that can be developed to enable soldiers to quickly, easily and accurately communicate and coordi- nate their tactical efforts while manoeuvring in an armoured vehicle? To date, soldiers could rely only upon their voice radios to communicate with other vehicles on their mission and coordi- nate routes and activities in the field by relying on markers and analog maps. THE SoLUTIon? THALES' TACTICAL BATTLEFIELd MAnAgEMEnT SySTEM Part of the Canadian Army's Land Command Support System (LCSS) program in collabora- tion with multiple defence industry partners, Thales' Tactical Battlefield Management System (TBMS) is the next generation of battlefield management software. A combat multiplier, TBMS offers soldiers an intuitive touch interface mobile application that can be securely deployed on a wide range of mobile devices integrating digital battle maps, situational awareness, com- munications and sensor systems, allowing sol- diers to make mission critical decisions quickly and effectively. Based on the latest gaming tech- nology, TBMS is optimized for usability in a dy- namic, mobile environment. TBMS will be deployed on more than 1000 tablets and computers to provide the Canadian Army with a faster, easier and more accurate way to create and share tactical information between fighting vehicles; critical to the success of today's missions and the ability for soldiers to quickly share information in hostile environments. The intuitive software application solution works similar to a common smartphone applica- tion providing soldiers in the field with digital maps, friendly positional awareness, quick sketch and share functionality to highlight routes, threats or hazards, as well as simple text-chat ca- pabilities to coordinate their actions. FRonT LInE VALIdATIon This fall, the Capability Validation Exercise was conducted by the First Battalion, The Royal Ca- nadian Regiment (RCR) at its base in Petawawa, Ontario. The Exercise, led by the RCR along with the ADM (Mat)/ DLCSPM Integrated Project Team, coordinated the participation of respective C4ISR industry support. The Exercise provided soon-to-be-deployed soldiers and army leaders with the ability to use TBMS as part of the larger System of Systems in the field. TBMS received a high degree of acceptance by the soldiers, validating Thales' long-standing user- focused and iterative development approach to this solution. Thales Canada Engineer John Schreuders par- ticipated in the exercise and commented that "it was interesting to watch the soldiers use TBMS in ways we had not anticipated. Digital chat for TRusTed aT The highesT levels To help aRmed foRces pRepaRe, achieve and mainTain TacTical supeRioRiTy and sTRaTegic independence oveR any foRm of ThReaT, Thales undeRsTands The global landscape. Thales Canada Provides new Technology to Canadian army PerSPeCtIve Sponsored Content

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