General Dynamics Mission Systems

General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS) is a manufacturer of military and homeland security devices. This includes the development of mission critical command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) devices and solutions for land, sea, air, space, and cyber domains.

General Dynamics Mission Systems also works to develop and integrate technology in other combat and security systems. This includes products and technology platforms for combat vehicles, submarines, aircraft, satellites, and advanced systems capable of sensing danger, acting on threats, and sharing critical information. GDMS is a subsidiary of General Dynamics and is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.

GDMS works to develop products and solutions for land combat and soldiers for mission-critical situational awareness, real-time information, intelligence gathering, and reconnaissance. This includes command and control, communications, intelligence systems, and related services for land combat.

GDMS command and control systems work to enable commanders and warfighters to securely collaborate on a common operating picture, including real-time visualization of the battlefield, to help commanders make effective decisions.

Common Aviation Command & Control System (CAC2S) works to visualize command and control from integrated systems, soldiers, and sensors in order to provide aerial and ground-based information for a common and real-time situational picture. Often used by the Marine Air-Ground Task Force, CAC2S combines visual data from ground and aviation command. It can be configured for different functions at different levels of the battlefield to help the information flow between forward units and division headquarters. CAC2S also offers SWaP (Size, Weight, and Power) improvements over previous versions, which aim to make a more maneuverable system and reduce its logistical footprint while reducing the overall power consumption.

GeoSuite software is a web-based, multimedia toolkit that works to provide advanced situational awareness and information sharing for military and public safety personnel, which can include law enforcement, search and rescue workers, and first responders. GeoSuite's focus is on dissemination and sharing of critical information to provide real-time actionable intelligence and situational data in disconnected, intermittent, and limited (DIL) environments.

Tactical Airspace Integration System (TAIS) is a mobile, airspace management solution that works to provide combined air-ground operational environment management based on joint service information input. TAIS provides automated airspace control planning, airspace control execution, and improved air traffic services support across military operations and conflicts to synchronize and integrate operations.

The Guidance Electronics Unit (GEU) is built to provide integrated hardware and software solutions for smart-guided munitions. The GEU modules are built to withstand harsh operating environments and without causing damage in the case of extreme force and risk of electrical shorts. The GEU module can also be used to prevent accidental firing.

The General Dynamics Mission Systems communications solutions work to provide soldiers and first responders the ability to make calls or receive data in harsh and remote environments, such as distress signals sent from the ocean or messages sent between orbit and ground. Part of the communication is also to provide security in voice and data communications to reduce the chance of communications being intercepted or data degrading over distance.

Developed for long-range and secure communications, radios and transceivers are provided for aircraft communications, for finding personnel, and for first responders and soldiers to be able to communicate in various environments. These radio devices are designed to offer customizable enhancements based on specific environmental or mission-based needs, while providing improved radio frequency performance with 25KHz and 8.33 KHz ETSI compliance for clearer communications in congested and international environments.

The intelligence systems provided by GDMS include undersea sensors, border surveillance systems, and space electronics; these are designed and developed to gather data from the sea, land, air, space, and cyber domains. These also include advanced analysis and exploitation tools to draw intelligence from large streams of data and deliver it to the user.

GDMS has a full line of products for geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) for the needs of global defense, civilian, and commercial users. This includes automation of the GEOINT environment and integrated intelligence operations.

For signals intelligence (SIGINT), GDMS provides the intelligence community with a range of systems engineering, development, and lifecycle support services and solutions. These include long-life sensors and payloads designed to perform in extreme and harsh environments. This includes Prophet, which is a ground-based signals intelligence and electronic warfare system intended to provide actionable intelligence, situational understanding, and protection for battlefield surveillance. It also includes the Undersea Distributed Network (UDN), which is intended to deliver power and data required for undersea operations, including oil and gas operations, military missions, and scientific applications.

GDMS offers a variety of maritime solutions for above and below the sea for combat and rescue challenges. This includes solutions for secure communications, weapon systems, underwater vehicles, and electronic warfare. These technologies include shipboard integration and combat systems, communications devices, electronic warfare systems, and open sea and undersea intelligence systems.

The shipboard integration and combat systems are mission critical technologies that are specialized in electronic systems integration and the design, development and support of command, control, communications, and computing solutions for the Navy. This includes solutions for expeditionary fast transport (EPF), littoral combat ships (LCS), submarine launch platforms, surface electronic warfare programs (SEWIP), and tactical control systems (TCS). These systems can range from maneuvering capabilities for steering through shallow waters to firing guns, all controlled through an integrated network.

GDMS offers tactical control systems that offer visualization capabilities for undersea navigation through integrated sensors from sonar, radar, navigation, periscopes, and communication sources to relay the information as an interactive visual to the sailor. As well, when a threat is identified, GDMS offers combat technologies capable of controlling and launching submarine weapons for increased reaction times to threats and increased accuracy.

GDMS offers strategic weapon deterrence systems designed, produced, installed, and sustained for every version of weapon control systems or fire control systems, for the Polaris, Poseidon, Trident I and Trident II submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM). As well, the company has worked to develop, produce, and deploy the guidance systems for these missions.

Common Network Interface (CNI) works to improve situation awareness for the Navy's Expeditionary Strike Group Commanders by integrating a battle management system into a tactical picture to allow officers to view and manipulate tactical data through tools and software applications from a single source rather than through multiple sources.

Similar to, and in many cases using the same modules as GDMS's land operation communications systems, the company develops communication capabilities for those at sea—offering shipboard communications for long-range sea-to-land communications and sea-to-space communications. These technologies are developed with the intention to work in harsh and remote environments and provide secure voice and data communications under those conditions.

The development and achievement of air superiority in any given situation requires technology that can give pilots a competitive advantage in combat. For this purpose, GDMS develops solutions for these pilots and ground stations for onboard weapon systems, mission computers, sensor processing, and secured communications.

Airborne systems can include computers capable of processing and displaying mission data in the cockpit, cryptology products for identifying friendly aircraft, and weapon control systems for the launch and control of precision guided weapons, for the development and maintenance of air superiority. This includes the advanced mission computer developed by GDMS and is included in the US Navy's F/A-18 Super Hornet and the US Marine Corps' AV-8B Harrier. As well, GDMS develops radomes and aircraft structures for current and for the development of military and commercial aircraft.

Digital Stores Management System (DSMS) is a weapons control system for the launch and control of precision guided weapons. The system is intended to provide an improvement to the P-3 Orion and other maritime patrol aircraft and to replace legacy analog stores management systems with a digital management solution. Similar DSMS, which is in production for the US Navy's P-3C aircraft and capable of weapon control for the AGM-65 Maverick and AGM-84 SLAM ER missile launch and control, GDMS is in production of the "PASER" SMS for the P-3C. The DSMS is a standards-based MIL-STD-1760 weapon control system capable of providing selection, arming, releasing, and post launch control of precision guided weapons.

GDMS is a supplier of cryptography for avionics systems, ranging from boxes to boards to chips, and includes hardware, software, and a mechanical design capable of being integrated with various other systems, as well as offering lightweight, low-power, ruggedized components. The KIV-78 Crypto Applique is a Type 1 NSA-certified COMSEC for identification of friend or foe, developed for avionics encryption to the DoD standards. This module includes provision for time-of-day services and individual interrogator, individual transponder, or IFF system deployed to identify cooperative or friendly systems.

GDMS works to support the projects of the US military and NASA in space with telecommunication technologies. This includes spaceborne communications and satellite ground systems for continuous communication links.

GDMS develops ground-based and spacecraft-to-spacecraft communications systems for manned and unmanned space exploration missions, including near-Earth and deep space projects. This technology has been provided to NASA and has included communications, telemetry, tracking, and control for different space programs. These programs have included the Apollo, Voyager, the Mars Rover, the Cassini Space Probe, the Hubble Telescope, and the International Space Station.

GDMS has been a provider of satellite ground system solutions, including ground-based communications and mission management systems responsible for receiving and routing communications and flight instructions from Earth to satellites and spacecraft. These solutions include the integrated ground segments for the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), which is a satellite communications system for the United States Navy for providing voice and data communications for US forces anywhere. Similar systems include NASA's Space Network Ground Segment Sustainment (SGSS), which is developed in part by GDMS and works to modernize the ground infrastructure for NASA's Space Network. And the company has developed tracking and data relay satellite systems (TDRSS) programs to help NASA operate, upgrade, and maintain the ground system terminals.

GDMS develops various systems to combat and secure the cyber domain of other operation domains, which include land, sea, air, and space. These technologies are designed and built with the intention to provide data protection and web-based SaaS to strengthen mission critical protection and help users navigate the cyber domain. These include encryption products, multilevel security products, cross-domain information sharing products, and space and avionics communications products.

GDMS offers a family of high assurance encryption products that are deployed to help protect national security systems, information, and networks against persistent threats and to protect assets in cyberspace for land, air, sea, and space environments. These include modules such as the TACLANE-Nano, a HAIPE encryption device for mobile application with up to 200 Mb/s throughput and with end-to-end secure voice and data protection capabilities; and the TACLANE-Flex, a NSA certified module offering increased security features and with scalable deployment.

GDMS offers a family of advanced core cryptographic technologies (FAC2T), which provides encryption for avionics and space-based communications. These are intended to be embedded and flexible products in a variety of forms to be adapted to fit any platform, application, or environment. These encryption devices are also Type 1-certified encryptors, which are intended to be used for large bandwidth data transmission.

GDMS multilevel and cross-domain technologies offer computer users access to sensitive information at various levels of security with greater efficiency and at a reduction of cost and an increase of system-wide mobility throughout networks. This includes the truMLS, an open platform solution intended to eliminate the need for multiple networks, applications, and endpoints and offers varying security and access levels. As well, GDMS offers a trusted network environment (TNE) for the DoD and other federal agencies to provide a cyber edge solution to help multiple coalitions of interest to share sensitive information across security boundaries. And GDMS offers the Pitbull Trusted Operating System, which provides protection at the foundational layer, the operating system, to offer security for system developers, applications, and solutions with included access controls.

GDMS' cross-domain technologies are intended to provide users with access to sensitive information at various levels of security. This includes TACDS, Tactical Cross Domain Solution, which offers users different security domains for tactical vehicles, aircraft, and dismounted soldier system. The module is intended to be tamper proof and is capable of being included in most vehicles, mobile shelters, ground sensor systems, aircrafts, or UAVs. It includes GDMS' CrossingGuard XD, a software-only transfer solution designed for mission environments requiring cross domain processing at the tactical edge and which can be employed on any virtual platform, including General Dynamics Trusted Embedded Environment or Trusted Virtual Environment.