Bowman is the name of the

tactical communications Tactical communications are military communications in which information of any kind, especially orders and military intelligence, are conveyed from one command, person, or place to another upon a battlefield, particularly during the conduct of co ...

system used by the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

. The Bowman C4I system consists of a range of HF radio, VHF radio and UHF radio sets designed to provide secure integrated voice, data services to dismounted soldiers, individual vehicles and command HQs up to Division level. Bowman has a number of specific applications installed on the base radio infrastructure known as BISAs. Bowman has been released incrementally as a number of phased capability releases, known as BCIP releases, with BCIP 5.5 being released in the field in 2013. Bowman replaced the Clansman series of radios. As of 2016, the MoD publicised plans to replace Bowman with a system named Morpheus.

Procurement history

The concept of Bowman dates from a 1989 UK MoD General Staff Requirement (GSR) for a system to replace the ageing Clansman radio system. The GSR was subsequently modified to accommodate post

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

scenarios. The procurement had a long and chequered history, with a number of consortia involved in the development and bidding process. This process culminated in the failure in 2000 of the preferred bidder, Archer, to deliver the requirement within budget and on time, and the resultant cessation of the contract by the UK MoD. The subsequent rebidding process for the contract was won by CDC Systems UK Ltd, once a subsidiary of Computing Devices Canada (CDC), now General Dynamics United Kingdom Ltd as prime contractor. The resultant system was based on some aspects of CDC's Iris Digital Communications System, created for the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

, with elements of design and manufacturing sub-contracted to: Cogent Defence Systems (now

Airbus Defence and Space Airbus Defence and Space is a division of Airbus SE. Formed in 2014 in the restructuring of European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS), Airbus SE comprises the former Airbus Military, Astrium, and divisions. Contributing 21% of Airbus reven ...

); SELEX Communications (then Selex ES, in turn merged in Leonardo S.p.A., previously Finmeccanica since 2016); ITT Exelis (now

Harris Corporation Harris Corporation was an American technology company, defense contractor, and information technology service (economics), services provider that produced wireless equipment, tactical radios, electronic systems, night vision device, night visi ...

);

;

L-3 Communications L3 Technologies, formerly L-3 Communications Holdings, was an American company that supplied command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ( C3ISR) systems and products, avionics, ocean products, training ...

; Blazepoint; DRS Tactical Systems;

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

; GDC4S; and

Thales Group Thales S.A., Trade name, trading as Thales Group (), is a French multinational corporation, multinational aerospace and defence industry, defence corporation specializing in electronics. It designs, develops and manufactures a wide variety of aer ...

AgustaWestland AgustaWestland was an Anglo-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica (now known as Leonardo). It was formed in July 2000 as an Anglo-Italian multinational company, when Finmeccani ...

was responsible for training installations and classrooms for the conversion training. The procurement cost of the supply and (initial) support phase for Bowman was approximately £1.9 billion and the current acquisition cost of the whole project is £2.4 billion. Bowman’s initial operating capability was delivered into service in March 2004, it was fully rolled out across the Armed Forces by the end of 2008 and is expected to continue in service until approximately 2026.

System overview

Bowman provides a tactical voice and data communications system for joint operations across the

in support of land and amphibious operations. It is fitted to over 15,000 military vehicles, from Land Rover Wolf to the

Challenger 2 The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MoD designation "CR2") is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom, Oman, and Ukraine. It was designed by Vickers Defence Systems (now Rheinmetall BAE Systems ...

Main Battle Tank. The entire

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

fleet is fitted with Bowman equipment as are all the major helicopter types supporting land operations, such as

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

, Chinook,

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

and

Lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

. Bowman features enhanced

communications security Communications security is the discipline of preventing unauthorized interceptors from accessing telecommunications in an intelligible form, while still delivering content to the intended recipients. In the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ...

(COMSEC) through integrated voice and data encryption devices and enhanced electronic protective measures through features such as

frequency-hopping spread spectrum Frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) is a method of transmitting radio signals by rapidly changing the carrier frequency among many frequencies occupying a large spectral band. The changes are controlled by a code known to both transmitter ...

. It also provides tactical

situational awareness Situational awareness or situation awareness, often abbreviated as SA is the understanding of an environment, its elements, and how it changes with respect to time or other factors. It is also defined as the perception of the elements in the envi ...

for commanders through GPS links, helping to reduce the probability of

friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy or hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while ...

. The cryptographic core is based on a Pritchel II High Grade algorithm designed by CESG. The complete contract involves more than 48,000 radios (excluding the 45,000 Personal Role Radios) and more than 30,000 computer terminals being installed in more than 30,000 platforms, together with the necessary training of around 75,000 Service personnel. The Bowman system is a fundamental part of the British Military, achieving a Network Enabled Capability, providing the carriers for the passage of data between the various software applications involved. It is related to the

Future Integrated Soldier Technology The Future Integrated Soldier Technology (or FIST), sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Future Infantry System Technology or Future Infantry Soldier Technology, is a project by the British Army which aims to enhance the infantry's combat effect ...

concept. The procurement and support of Bowman is led by the Tactical Systems (TacSys) delivery team, for many years within

Defence Equipment and Support Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) is a trading entity and joint-defence organisation within the UK Ministry of Defence. It began operating on 2 April 2007, following the merger of the MoD's Defence Procurement Agency and the Defence Logisti ...

, now part of

Information Systems & Services Information Systems & Services (ISS) was a cluster within Strategic Command Top Level Budget of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence. ISS was replaced by Defence Digital in 2019. History ISS was created from the former Defence Communica ...

at MoD Abbey Wood.

Equipment

Nominally the lowest deployed part of the Bowman series of radios is that provided by Leonardo-Finmeccanica (previously Selex ES), in the form of the

UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ...

H4855 Personal Role Radio (PRR), which is primarily used by infantry

fireteam A fireteam or fire team is a small modern warfare, modern military sub-subunit, subordinated element of infantry designed to optimize "Non-commissioned officer, NCO initiative", "combined arms", "bounding overwatch" and "fire and movement" mi ...

(section level and below). PRR is only partially connected with the Bowman programme, as it was hived off from the acquisition process in October 1999 for more rapid implementation, and the first of 45,000 units formally entered service in early 2002. Operating in the 2.4 GHz band, PRR had no integrated encryption devices and does not intercommunicate with the rest of the Bowman network, but is widely acclaimed as having revolutionised intra-squad communications and small-unit tactics. Models are designated "UK/PRC", which stands for "United Kingdom / Portable Radio Communications", or "UK/VRC", which is "United Kingdom / Vehicle Radio Communications". Following this logic "UK/ARC" stands for "United Kingdom / Airborne Radio Communications".

VHF radios

*VPT - a UK Type 1 (Pritchel) encrypted

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

-level UK/PRC354 5W VHF Portable Transceiver (VPT) *ADR+ - an enhanced and improved 'Bowmanised' version of

ITT Corporation ITT Inc., formerly ITT Corporation, is an American worldwide manufacturing company based in Stamford, Connecticut. The company produces specialty components for the aerospace, transportation, energy and industrial markets. ITT's three businesses ...

's company/squadron-level Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System ( SINCGARS)

frequency-hopping Frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) is a method of transmitting radio signals by rapidly changing the carrier frequency among many frequencies occupying a large spectral band. The changes are controlled by a code known to both transmitter ...

radio with a 30-87.975 MHz frequency range. Depending on its configuration, the ADR+ is variously designated UK/PRC355 (5 W manpack), UK/PRC356 (16 W ground-role manpack), UK/VRC357 (16 W vehicle clip-in radio), UK/VRC358 (16 W low-power vehicle radio), or UK/VRC359 (50 W vehicle-mounted high-power radio). The manpack version of the ADR+ has an Automatic Situational Awareness Module inserted in BCIP 5.2 which enables Own Station Position Reports to be broadcast without the presence of an associated computer. Under the terms of the baseline contract, ITT Defence delivered some 26,000 ADR+ radios and 8,000 VPTs, complemented by 580 examples of the UK/ARC341 VHF aircraft role radio (a derivative of the company's SINCGARS AN/ARC-201D airborne transceiver) for helicopter platforms.

HF radios

The Bowman HF

radios, of which 10,800 examples were supplied is designated UK/PRC325 in its basic 20 W manpack form and UK/VRC328/9 in its 100 W high-power and co-sited vehicular configurations. Essentially a UK equivalent of the US AN/PRC-150, it has had the proprietary Harris Citadel encryption from the original RF-5800H replaced with UK Type 1 (Pritchel) encryption and frequency hopping waveform. The Falcon II's original dual-band HF/VHF frequency range (1.6-60 MHz) has been narrowed to the 1.6-30 MHz (HF) band.

HCDR

The top tier in the Bowman series of radios is provided by the

Mobile ad hoc network A wireless ad hoc network (WANET) or mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a decentralized type of wireless network. The network is ad hoc because it does not rely on a pre-existing infrastructure, such as router (computing), routers or wireless acces ...

ITT UK/VRC340 HCDR ( High Capacity Data Radio), a 'Bowmanised' version of ITT's Mercury Near-Term Data Radio (NTDR) wide-band networking transceiver. HCDR has a 225-450 MHz operating frequency range. It has wideband (4 MHz) and narrow band (500 kHz) modem configurations, with a user rate of 288 kbit/s on a 375 kbit/s channel and 576 kbit/s on a 750 kbit/s channel. Some 3,600 HCDRs were purchased. HCDR provides a self-managing mobile Internet Backbone using standard RFC interfaces and routing protocols.

Ancillary equipment

Provision of the associated User Data Terminal (UDT) for vehicular and static use was contracted to DRS Tactical Systems Inc, which also produces the Bowman Management Data Terminal (BMDT) for network management, the Vehicle User Data Terminal (VUDT) with keyboard and touchscreen for use on the move, the Staff User Data Terminal (SUDT) for command centres, and the PBISA Processing Unit (PBPU) for

tanks. Since the start of the programme, the capabilities of the UDTs (based on 700 MHz

Pentium Pentium is a series of x86 architecture-compatible microprocessors produced by Intel from 1993 to 2023. The Pentium (original), original Pentium was Intel's fifth generation processor, succeeding the i486; Pentium was Intel's flagship proce ...

processors) have evolved, their original 256 MB RAMs and 20 GB drives having been superseded by 512 MB RAMs and 40 GB drives. The contractor for supply of Portable User Data Terminal (PUDTs), based on a 266 MHz Intel

StrongARM The StrongARM is a family of computer microprocessors developed by Digital Equipment Corporation and manufactured in the late 1990s which implemented the ARM v4 instruction set architecture. It was later acquired by Intel in 1997 from DEC's o ...

processor, was

. The PUDT is now obsolete and is not used. Extensive problems with the software running on low powered computers led to the procurement of a number of enhanced computers, the Lightweight Tablet (LTDT) manufactured by Blazepoint and Lightweight Manpack (LMDT) produced by L-3. In addition to processing limitations, the larger UDTs have significant ergonomic issues and were supplemented with a buy of General Dynamics Itronix computers modified in the UK by Blazepoint to support systems managers and communication planners. Responsibility for the supply of Bowman audio ancillaries, including the stereo staff-user headset, noise-cancelling general-purpose handset, and loudspeaker unit, was vested in Selex ES, which also provided the lightweight headset, respirator adapter, and remote pressel switch associated with the PRR.

Racal Racal Electronics plc was a British electronics company that was founded in 1950. Listed on the London Stock Exchange and once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, Racal was a diversified company, offering products including voice recorders and ...

(now

) provided antennas for the Bowman contract. These include HF Wire/Vehicle, VHF Vehicle/Elevated, VHF Ground Spike, 5.4 metre GRP Mast and UHF Vehicle/Elevated Antennas. Additional antennas supplied as part of the Bowman contract are the man-pack antennas, which are supplied together with the matching unit by MGS Precision, based in Stone, Staffordshire.

BISAs

Bowman also consists of a number of specifically designed Battlefield Information System Applications running over the Bowman infrastructure. The UDTs (User Data Terminals) are currently limited to supporting a maximum of two BISAs simultaneously, due to the performance limitations of the UDTs. ComBAT, produced by GDC4S in the US, the main Command and Control (C2) tool for Bowman has faced early criticism relating to performance, ease of use and interface design. A significant portion of these problems have been addressed in later version of ComBAT. BISAs include - ComBAT (C2 &

(SA), GBAD (Ground Based Air Defence) Command & Control, Makefast (

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

) and FC ( Fire Control).

Controversy

When Bowman was first introduced into service, the system was said to contain many faults to the extent that troops dubbed Bowman "Better Off With Map And

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

". The programme came under scrutiny following a National Audit Office accountability hearing for the government's procurement policy and was generally considered to be a success considering the complexity and changing needs of the UK Armed Forces. A 2007 report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee was overwhelmingly critical of the entire system and its procurement. The report itself was split into four sections entitled: "programme governance arrangements were not fit for purpose", "initial decisions were not well informed", "through life costs were not rigorously assessed", and "operational benefits are limited". As Bowman was being phased into service, senior officers in the British Army had serious reservations about the system, especially as many of their initial design specifications and feedback had not been adequately incorporated by the Defence Procurement Agency in the re-tendering process that was won by General Dynamics United Kingdom. Such were the misgivings, that the Director of Infantry initially refused to accept the portable "manpack" radio into service, saying: Other complaints were brought up by the 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, who tested the UK/PRC354 radio system in July 2005. A number of problems have been reported, including RF burns received while transmitting data on some settings, comparatively heavy compared to equivalent Clansman radio sets, unergonomic wiring and user interfaces on the manpack radio, short-lived batteries, inadequate " ruggedisation" and inflexibility with assigning unique

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

indicators to individuals which are now instead permanently programmed into the radios themselves instead of the Clansman BATCO assigned system, which would change every 12 hours and could be used on any number of different radio sets by the operator as required. This has led to seven modifications to the radio since the operational field trial in December 2004. However, there have been other, more recent reports of the radios continuing to suffer from the already mentioned design flaws, as well as operational failures and faults, including whilst in the midst of combat engagements, consequently hampering the combat effectiveness with soldiers deployed on both

Operation Herrick Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assi ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Operation Telic Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, leading to accusations that the system was not ready for operational use and in some cases the releases were unsuitable for their intended purpose, including the role as part of the

concept. In December 2008 and January 2009, Bowman was withdrawn from the Territorial Army (apart from the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

, 43 (Wessex) Signal Squadron (V) - a TA squadron forming part of 21 Signal Regiment, 2 (National Communications) Signal Brigade and the

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units and sub-units in the British Army Reserve which are descended from volunteer cavalry regiments that now serve in a variety of different roles. History Origins In the 1790s, following the ...

) as the manufacturers struggled to meet the demand created by operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Future replacement

In 2016, the MoD publicised plans to replace Bowman with a system named '' Morpheus''. Morpheus "will deliver the next generation of Tactical Communication and Information Systems (TacCIS) capability. It will address critical system obsolescence and introduce a more agile TacCIS solution (both technical and business)."

References

External links

* * * * {{cite web , url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/EquipmentAndLogistics/BowmanRadioToBeUpgraded.htm , title=Bowman radio to be upgraded to BCIP5 , date=13 May 2009 , website=Ministry of Defence , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091224003431/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/EquipmentAndLogistics/BowmanRadioToBeUpgraded.htm , archive-date=2009-12-24 British military radio United Kingdom defence procurement General Dynamics