UK MOD Bowman CIP Programme Update

Publication date: Oct 2007

The shift in communication capability from Clansman to Bowman has, in recent years, been nothing short of revolutionary. Providing an equal number of benefits and challenges, the ongoing implementation of the system has been both testing and rewarding. Here, Commodore Jay Hart, Bowman and Tactical Communications and Information Systems IPT Leader, looks at the story so far – and the challenges facing Bowman in the near future.

The Bowman and Tactical Communications and Information Systems Integrated Project Team (BATCIS IPT), is responsible for the through-life management of a range of tactical CIS equipments and systems used in the Land environment, including the associated amphibious and air manoeuvre components. The main systems managed include Bowman, Common Battlefield Applications Toolset (ComBAT), Infrastructure and Platform Battlefield Information Systems Applications (P-BISA) (collectively known as CIP), the Personal Role Radio (PRR), MAKEFAST, Allied Rapid Reaction Corp Command Control and Information System (ARRC C2IS) and Clansman.

The Bowman and CIP programmes – known as BCIP – deliver Command and Battlespace Management in support of high-intensity manoeuvre warfare focused at Brigade and Battle Group level.

The revolution in capability from Clansman to Bowman, coupled with CIP, has provided a tactical internet which allows data to be generated, communicated and manipulated. BCIP acts a springboard to introduce the greater capability improvements through the Command and Battlespace Management (Land) (CBM(L)) initiative and the wider Network Enabled Capability (NEC).

The £1.9 billion Bowman Supply and Support contract was awarded to General Dynamics United Kingdom Ltd (GD UK) on 13 September 2001. The procurement strategy for CIP involved contracting with GD UK and leveraging the existing contract to act as the Prime Contractor, with subcontract competitions run in order to maximise opportunities for competitive procurement. A £343 million extension to the Bowman contract was placed in December 2002. The BCIP contract completes on 31 March 2009.

Procurement of the PRR was separated from the main Bowman requirement in October 1999 as a ‘smart’ initiative, which ensured delivery of this new capability to the front line earlier than would otherwise have been the case, had it been procured with the larger and more complex Bowman requirement. It saw its first major deployment in Exercise Saif Sareea II during September/October 2001 and was formally accepted into service two months ahead of schedule in January 2002. Since then, it has been successfully used in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iraq, Bosnia and Northern Ireland, as well as providing communications for Op Fresco. It has to work with Clansman and Bowman man-portable radios, enabling section commanders to pass information from the platoon radio ‘net’ to the section and vice versa.

From 2008, Bowman replaces the Clansman combat radio system with a secure digital voice and data communications service, including situational awareness capability.

Bowman is a fully secure digital system that takes advantage of the latest developments in commercial communications technology to provide a resilient communications capability for voice and data. In its current form, Bowman will meet the tactical communications needs of those elements of the three Armed Services that take part in, or provide direct support to, UK land, amphibious and air manoeuvre operations until at least 2026. However, throughout its lifespan, there will be a process of continuous evolutionary improvement, ensuring that the British Armed Forces remain well equipped over the whole period.

Bowman is an integrated communications and information system that includes High Frequency (HF), Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) radios. Unlike Clansman, it provides secure voice and data communications all the way from Section level to Divisional Headquarters level, and every Bowman-equipped platform has Global Positioning System (GPS). Bowman will provide a range of user data terminals with ComBAT software and specialist functionality for Fire Control (FC) and Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD), delivering a battle management system with greatly enhanced situational awareness and functionality to support planning, as well as addressing wider interoperability issues with the UK’s allies. Bowman, which provides a network of its own, also connects to other in-service communications systems, thereby enhancing the deployed information infrastructure. There is in-built redundancy as the radios are also backward compatible with Clansman when used in the insecure, fixed frequency mode.

As well as being man-portable, Bowman equipment is being fitted to: most military vehicles from Land Rover Wolf to the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank; fixed HQ buildings; collective training facilities in the UK and overseas; naval vessels, including the frigate and destroyer fleet; and aircraft, including the major helicopter types supporting land operations.

Deliverables include approximately 10,000 Local Area Sub-Systems installations; 3400 High-Capacity Data Radios; 11,000 HF and 30,000 VHF combat radios; 26,000 computers; and 75,000 trained service personnel.

The CIP battle management system is closely linked to Bowman and the two are being delivered as one overall capability.

CIP is made up of three components:

• ComBAT will provide the core of the battle management system, from fighting platform up to Divisional Headquarters level. Integrated into Bowman, it will provide common command and control and situational awareness functionality to improve the tempo, survivability and precision of the land Forces;
• Infrastructure will provide the software applications to enable the concurrent operation of ComBAT and other battlefield information systems on Bowman. It will also deliver computer terminals, ancillary devices and office automation into field Headquarters; optimise the use of geographic and encyclopaedic information; and enable collaborative working and interoperability with allies;
• P-BISA will integrate ComBAT and the infrastructure software applications, together with existing and planned systems and sensors, into armoured fighting vehicles, such as the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank, to optimise their fighting capability and providing on-the-move capability.

With a programme of this magnitude and complexity, issues do arise, and these are resolved on a day-to-day basis through proactive management of risk. The challenges to the programme have been both technical and physical and, obviously, safety is of prime importance.

Conversion to Bowman has proved testing, and lessons learned have been fed into the conversion of later units. Some conversions are inherently more complex than others, with consequent knock-on effects. Specific problems encountered when converting vehicles were: issues with the delivery of installation design data from the design authorities; the complexity of the installations with Bowman, P-BISA and integration of Battlegroup Thermal Imager; a worldwide shortage of specialist cabling; the age of some of the vehicles (over 40 years); and significant vehicle-to-vehicle variations, for example, Scimitar and FV430 series; and the space constraints of working around equipment currently in service.

Bowman supersedes Clansman and delivers a greater capability through improved security, reliability, data capability and resilience to electronic disruption. When installed in any vehicle type, depending on the configuration, the system can be heavier than that which it replaces. British Army vehicles may be operating close to their design weights, and although installing Bowman has contributed to this problem, other issues, such as additional armour, have to be taken into consideration.

Reports were received of intermittent drop-outs, from one to several seconds, in the Bowman intercom system on several Challenger 2 tanks and Armoured Fighting Vehicles. However, a solution to the intercom problem was trialled extensively in the UK and Germany and, on the evidence obtained, the safety restrictions were lifted, culminating in 7 Armoured Brigade deploying to Iraq with their Bowmanised armoured vehicles in October 2005. This issue has now been characterised across armoured platforms for which the cause of failure was platform power and not communication systems.

Other challenges include requirements stability, which can be affected by operational requirements, and users’ likes and dislikes emerging from field trials and operations.

Bowman achieved its In-Service Date (ISD), with provisos, on 26 March 2004 and, since initial deployment of 12 Mechanised Brigade to Iraq in April 2005, Bowman (BCIP4.f) has been employed on Operations TELIC and HERRICK. Other Brigades have been converted, and continued operational experience indicates that Bowman is part of a battle-winning capability and is a vastly more capable communications system than Clansman. BCIP4.f provides secure digital voice down to the infantry section with secure digital data providing limited situational awareness and small messages, such as tracking logistic convoys; limited core battle management system – ComBAT; and limited interoperability with insecure and secure voice.

It is planned that BCIP5 will deliver a much more stable, coherent capability, and an increase in functionality will also enable the BCIP5 system to host the three early BISAs: FC BISA (coordination of artillery); GBAD Bridging Capability (coordination of air defence) and MAKEFAST (Engineer BISA). It will also provide multilateral interoperability for the passage of messages with attachments and interoperability with other networks using the Tactical Network-Layer Gateway which is vitally important for connecting to FALCON, Cormorant, Skynet 5 and DII (FD).

It is envisaged that the majority of the remaining Bowman provisos will be cleared by the end of 2007, pending a successful Operational Field Trial in October/November 2007 and discussions with key stakeholders. In September 2007, the 10,000th vehicle was converted to Bowman, and it is anticipated that conversion of all vehicles will completed by the first quarter of 2008.

Work on identifying the requirements for future capability releases is well under way. Since 2006, the MOD and GD UK have been undertaking a £10 million Validation Phase which takes into account changes, since the contract was let, in thinking about Battlespace Management and in the international context, particularly interoperability with allies. The assessment will identify the technical risks of further development of the system, taking into account all the systems that will have to interface with Bowman CIP. This will inform the Department’s decision on how to take forward a spiral development programme. Although there is no departmental commitment yet, implicit or explicit, to pursue a further capability release after the Validation Phase concludes, work is in hand with key stakeholders and sponsors to progress this.

Experience has taught us that the initial support solution was not the best way to support operations, and the so-called Bridging Strands were created to fulfil the difference between the initial support solution and the level of support required in practice. The Bridging Strands provide for Design Services activities such as field support and Post-Design Services (PDS), together with an enhanced repair capability and improvements to the way in which the Bowman spares inventory is managed. These enhancements ensure that an effective support solution is in place to sustain BCIP, while a longer-term solution is developed for beyond 1 April 2009. It is currently envisaged that the long-term support solution will encompass through-life support plus continuous spiral development/technical refresh of BCIP in line with the Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) and Defence Technology Strategy (DTS).

Experience in the BCIP programme so far has demonstrated that an individual increment’s development, integration and trials, associated training and rollout cannot be achieved in less than two-and-a-half year slices. The technology base for NEC projects is fast moving, with rapid leaps in technology, and consequently doctrine, and users' needs meaning that the traditional, linear approach to this type of equipment acquisition does not work. The Department is currently developing a capability release strategy for BCIP that will be evolutionary in nature and which will provide successive technically mature capability releases to enhance the current BCIP capability. In common with many of the MOD’s major projects, Bowman is in a period of transition – moving from a traditional ‘big bang’ procure and support into a ‘through-life incremental acquisition’ programme.

Source: Commodore J. Hart, BATCIS IPT Leader - UK MOD DCB
Publication date: Oct 2007

Related Defence Supplier Guidance

• UK MOD Bowman CIP Programme Overview

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