French military upgrading command info systems

PARIS, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- France is replacing the separate command information systems of its Army and Navy with a single harmonized system for force interoperability.

The work commissioned by the French Defense Procurement Agency, or DGA, is for a program called SIA information system transformation and is to be undertaken by Thales.

"Today, interoperability within joint and coalition forces has become a key requirement," Thales said. "The chain of command is critically important and serves as the central nervous system for force operations. The complementary role played by land, air and naval forces in combined operations calls for closer integration of command structures and the information and communication networks that support them."

The length of the contract is two years, Thales said, and will involve facilitating the services' command information exchange at all levels by delivering a set of common tools for joint forces operations, while meeting all the specific requirements of land forces command.

Legacy systems will continue to be maintained and supported until the SIA command and control system is rolled out across the two forces.