10:31 GMT, March 15, 2010 Greg Combet, Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, today announced that a contract has been signed with Elbit Systems Limited (Elbit) to provide the next generation of command, control and communications capability to elements of the Army, Special Operations Command and the Air Force’s Combat Support Group.

“The introduction of this new capability which will increase the ADF’s battle space awareness, automate combat messaging and assist in the successful conduct of operations,” Mr Combet said.

“Importantly, this capability will significantly reduce the possible risk of casualties resulting from friendly fire.

“The contract is valued at $349 million with significant components of work to be undertaken in Australia.

“Systems integration testing will be performed in Melbourne, while vehicle integration into over 1000 Army vehicles will occur in Brisbane.

“The contract will also provide electronic battle management technology to over 1500 soldiers.

“The Battle Group And Below Command, Control And Communications System (BGC3) will assist Army in achieving the Defence network centric warfare milestone of a networked brigade in 2012, with state-of-the-art battle management and terrestrial communications systems.

“It will also support the Royal Australian Air Force to reach longer-term milestones of a networked combat support force by 2016.

“These high-priority acquisitions will assure improved protection and coordination for Australian Defence Force personnel, allowing missions to be carried out more efficiently, safely and effectively,” Mr Combet said.

Elbit is a leading supplier of tactical Battle Management Systems and was selected by the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) as the result of a world-wide open tender.