SAN DIEGO, April 3 (UPI) -- The United States is developing a new software package that will allow military planners to deploy Marine amphibious units more effectively.
A team lead by BAE Systems received a Pentagon contract for a distributed Expeditionary Operations Planning (EOP) architecture that will automate much of the Marine Corps' rapid-response planning process.
"The EOP capability will give Marine Corps and Navy planners the ability to coordinate all assets of an operation, from ship to shore, and rapidly re-plan in response to changing needs," said BAE Systems Acting Vice President Jim Rower.
BAE's Defense Systems unit in San Diego will lead the project, which also includes Moebius Solutions and L-3 Communications, BAE said in a news release Tuesday.
Marine amphibious forces are expected to continue playing a major role in U.S. force projection in the coming decades. Military planners foresee a focus on "littoral" operations in coastal areas of world trouble spots.
While a basic mission of the Corps is amphibious warfare, its Expeditionary Strike Groups are complex organizations requiring a great deal of planning and logistical support for its personnel, equipment and vehicles not to mention the Navy ships that transport them to the scene.
The new EOP software will be designed to work within the Joint Mission Planning System, a cooperative venture to centralize mission planning for all military branches.
