Tactical Communications Group Announces Award for Royal Saudi Arabian Air Force Ground Support System Maintenance

TEWKSBURY, MA--(Marketwired - Nov 12, 2013) -  Tactical Communications Group (TCG), the leading independent supplier of tactical data link (TDL) software solutions for military test, training, simulation and operational users worldwide, announced a contract award date of October 8, 2013, for service and maintenance of TCG's Multi-TDL Ground Support System (GSS) throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the end of 2017. TCG will provide technical support and training to personnel from the Royal Saudi Arabian Air Force (RSAF) and their contractors and deliver hardware, software, and documentation supplements, spare parts, and warranty for the Multi-TDL GSSs in the Kingdom. The award is through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) office of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) at Hanscom Air Force Base and allows TCG to improve its support of the RSAF while providing the RSAF with the next step in quality of service and performance for the GSSs that are a critical element of the Kingdom's TDL infrastructure. The support and spares will allow the GSS equipment to remain in operation in support of the development of tactics and training for Link 16 and other TDLs as well as to provide a TDL training and simulation environment for Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) training of the RSAF's aircraft fleet. The GSSs in the Kingdom provide support for Link 16 and Link 11, as well as Joint Range Extension Application Protocol (JREAP) for distributed Situational Awareness and reach-back/forward capability.

"With systems located in 18 countries worldwide to include Hungary, Greece, Finland, Japan, South Korea, and Pakistan, supporting the GSS is a part of daily operations for TCG," said Michael Hiney, TCG's President and CEO. "TCG's stable and productive relationship with the RSAF and AFLCMC will continue to be of significant benefit in limiting risk in all facets of this program."

"The RSAF will be able to capitalize on the depth and breadth of TCG's expertise gained in developing and supporting our training systems since 2005 and, more specifically, within the KSA since the initial contract in 2008," said Frank Newark, TCG's Vice President of Engineering and Program Manager for the RSAF GSS. "TCG has the experienced personnel available to deliver training, operational support, program management, technical and warranty support, and spares procurement. All the tasks required by this effort have been performed previously for the RSAF and are currently being performed for numerous other TCG customers. TCG has reliable, repeatable product development and management processes and procedures that ensure high quality products are developed and delivered in a timely, efficient manner."

TCG's Ground Support System (GSS)
TCG's Ground Support System (GSS) is intended to support the operational and training needs of end users who integrate Link 16 and other Tactical Data Links (TDLs) into their ground infrastructure to support C2 and non-C2 activities. The Multi-TDL GSS is an extension of the Link 16 GSS and for the RSAF application provides Link 11 and JREAP capability, including routing and forwarding support between the interfaces. The Multi-TDL GSS includes features that are found in large scale Command and Control (C2) environments. There is a sophisticated tactical display and MIL-STD-compliant message generator to support TDL operations, and a powerful and intuitive simulation capability to support training and interoperability testing. Data recording and playback functions allows for the analysis and debrief of test, training, and operations activities. The playback functions also allow the platform operators to evaluate tactics and procedures. The GSS can be configured to support a Multi-MIDS environment that provides Link 16 ground coverage across a large geographic or country-wide area.

About TCG - Advancing Secure Communications for the Battlefield
Founded in 2001, Tactical Communications Group (TCG) is the leading independent supplier of tactical data link (TDL) software solutions for military communications systems. TCG's comprehensive portfolio of TDL testing, training, simulation and battlefield operations software solutions provides the warfighter proven multi-link communication capabilities to optimize performance and increase mission effectiveness. TCG customers include leading military organizations, systems integrators and test agencies worldwide. For more information on TCG, please visit www.g2tcg.com or call us at 978-654-4800.