HENSOLDT Avionics provides Proof of Interoperability with Partners during NATO “Bold Quest” Exercise
Digital data exchange tested during US Army exercise
Taufkirchen/Germany, 9 November 2017 – HENSOLDT, the leading independent sensor house, provided proof of the performance and interoperability of its avionics computer with data-link functionality during the NATO “Bold Quest” exercise in Ft. Stewart close to Savannah/Georgia. The exercise was aimed at testing and improving the communications equipment of the allied troops as the most important requirement for the interaction of multinational forces.
“In multinational missions, the success of a mission and the survival of soldiers from NATO and allied countries depend to a decisive extent on everybody having the same situation picture at the same time,” explained HENSOLDT’s CEO Thomas Müller. “Bold Quest proved that our avionics computer is the right equipment for giving helicopters and combat aircraft the advantages of digital data exchange.”
During Bold Quest, HENSOLDT supported German units taking part in the exercise by providing equipment not dependent on any platform to enable the exchange of data between planes and helicopters in the air as well as between flying platforms and ground stations. This involved the HENSOLDT avionics computer being installed in a Learjet belonging to the aerial target company GFD (Gesellschaft für Flugzieldarstellung) on a test basis and being successfully synchronised with the reference system of the US Army – the DVMT (DACAS VMF Messaging Tool).
GFD takes part in Bold Quest, in which their planes with the necessary equipment simulate Tornado combat aircraft, on behalf of the German Armed Forces. Currently, many types of planes and helicopters are not yet equipped with interoperable data links. This means that tactical maps have to be updated by hand and tactical information has to be exchanged via radio telephony, which takes a lot of time and mistakes can sometimes occur.
The US troops have been holding the Bold Quest exercise twice a year for 15 years (https://www.defensenews.com/it-networks/2017/10/31/bold-quest-assures-coalition-systems-dont-battle-in-case-partner-nations-must/). The purpose of this exercise is to test and improve the interaction between the US Armed Forces and their allies in realistic scenarios.
