Ed Wheeler, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Defense and Space Electronic Systems, said Honeywell design teams will participate in the new programs, though IBM will handle most of the development work. IBM will play a key role in legacy programs as well, Wheeler said, helping Honeywell design follow-on systems to existing military electronics systems. Those system may be upgraded with faster processors or open protocols.
Wheeler said Honeywell sees opportunities for multiple projects in the Army's Future Combat Systems network, including navigation systems and possible graphic displays for vehicles. Space design-ins for satellites such as the Transformational Satellite and Space-Based Radar also will be a key area of IBM-Honeywell collaboration. Wheeler said retrofit electronics for existing military aircraft such as F-18 and F-16 fighters could be an important area for the two companies to explore, but the unmanned air vehicle market may be "too fragmented and fledgling" for the team to play a role for now.
Honeywell has licensed a range of patented IBM technologies, from microprocessor architectures to networking protocols.
Net-centric warfare contracts include Pentagon-wide initiatives such as the Global Information Grid, service-specific programs such as the Army's Future Combat Systems, and intelligence-agency-led programs such as the National Reconnaissance Office's Transformational Satellite System. The programs all seek to provide broadband, Internet Protocol-based communications to U.S. military and intelligence bases worldwide, as well as to extend communications capability through wireless and optical links to individual planes, ships, vehicles and even soldiers in the field.
Blackburn said Honeywell systems that tap IBM engineering could move into testing within two to three years.
