L3Harris to Develop US Air Force Common Tactical Edge Network

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L3Harris Technologies received a U.S. Air Force contract award to develop a Common Tactical Edge Network (CTEN) providing an aerial military Internet of Things to support the Advanced Battle Management System and Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) initiatives.

The system will include a meshed network of defense and commercial resources, enhancing aerial interoperability for U.S. and allied forces by incorporating commercial-like, high-speed data processing and sharing at the tactical edge. CTEN will initially connect Air Force aerial platforms that currently operate with incongruent network architectures with the potential to improve connectivity across the entire joint force. CTEN’s data fusion will enable warfighters controlling multiple platforms to think and operate as one, greatly shortening the decision cycle.

“This is a significant step in solving for the broader JADC2 challenge, and we are committed to maximizing interoperability and processing speed,” said Ron Fehlen, Vice President, Air Force and UAS programs, L3Harris. “CTEN will ultimately deliver commercial-like capabilities that will break down the barriers between open and closed systems.”

The Air Force also named L3Harris as a member of the CTEN Consortium in an option under the overarching indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity award. As a CTEN Consortium member, L3Harris will collaboratively design the architecture, develop software and conduct systems integration and software maintenance for the CTEN system. 

The CTEN IDIQ award underscores L3Harris’ “Trusted Disruptor” support to the U.S. military’s JADC2 efforts and its more than 40 years of experience developing, delivering and managing secure multi-domain networking solutions for the U.S. military and programs including the U-2 Dragon Lady, MQ-4 Global Hawk, MQ-9 Reaper and E-4 Advanced Airborne Command Post.