Data is at the heart of the modern battlefield, with land vehicles bristling with sensors, tactical communications, video and more. Upgrading computing power to meet these demands can be difficult, time-consuming and costly. That’s where the new GRiDCASE 3560 processor comes in.
Vehicles today face a range of digital demands. They are mobile data hubs, processing communications and handling video distribution, sensor interfaces and more.
Legacy platforms, for instance, must incorporate technology like software-defined radios and other digital technologies. They must grapple with tactical communications and information systems or Battlefield Information System Application (BISA) challenges, along with a wide range of C4ISR demands. All of this means that vehicles are increasingly ingesting large amounts of data, due to the digital elements of their new sensors and other systems.
Even if the vehicle itself is decades old, it needs a computing system that can handle this data stream. This core, central processing unit is the key to ensuring the vehicle’s sensors and C4ISR equipment function as they should, with personnel empowered to exploit the data resource at their fingertips.
Upgrade Challenge
With technology advancing so rapidly, the processing capabilities available now are far superior to the technology that platforms used when they first entered service. That presents integrators with a challenge – how can they upgrade legacy vehicles to meet the digital demands of the modern battlefield, in a time-efficient and cost-effective way?
The GRiDCASE 3560 meets this challenge head on, offering a box-on, box-off approach that can be easily adapted to any vehicle. The new processor has flexibility at its core, with D38999 connectors that can be adapted to any vehicle, installation points and electronic architecture. GRiD can tailor the processor for legacy platforms and modern vehicles, with the ability to change the connectors as needed, as well as the interfaces on the connectors.
This means the GRiDCASE 3560 can meet the needs of any land vehicle, as well as aircraft and naval platforms, without the need for a separate junction box or console.
The system builds on GRiD’s rich history in developing rugged computers tailored specifically for the military market. Originally developed for a major land vehicle project for a NATO country, the GRiDCASE 3560 features an Intel® Core processor (i3, i5 or i7), up to 64GB of RAM, and can support two external displays.
Designed for extremely demanding environments, it meets DEF STAN 00-35 and MIL-STD-810 environmental standards, along with EMC profiles of DEF STAN 59-411 and MIL-STD-461. As with all of GRiD’s products, it is designed from the ground up with these standards in mind, along with TEMPEST SDIP-27.
An adaptable approach
Pictured during the winter camp phase of OP CABRIT 9, The Warrior infantry fighting vehicle has the speed and performance to keep up with Challenger 2 main battle tanks over the most difficult terrain, and the firepower and armour to support infantry in the assault.
Essentially, the box-on, box-off approach allows operators to replace the existing processor – which may have existed from the earliest stages of the vehicle build – with an all-new and highly capable computer system. The concept, which is deployed across the GRiD range, means operators can simply remove their old system and replace it with cutting-edge processing power, as represented by the GRiDCASE 3560.
Read more: Box-on box-off: GRiD’s cost effective solution to vehicle computer upgrades.
Other approaches could involve changing the connectors. This brings significant headaches for the systems integrator, from altering cabling and mounting locations to requalifying the vehicle to meet the right environmental standards. This not only costs money – it takes up valuable time.
With box-on, box-off, there’s no need to change the existing cabling or alter the interior of the vehicle, including the space in which the computer sits. Only the computer is replaced, with all previous cabling remaining as it was, thanks to GRiD’s adaptable connectors. The solution not only allows users to upgrade their computing power for the digital demands of the 21st-century battlefield – it’s also cheaper than reconfiguring the vehicle to suit the new computing power.
This is not just a concept, but has now been proven with a NATO nation during extensive trials and will likely see further roll out in the future.
Military Specialists
How does GRiD ensure products like the GRiDCASE 3560 adhere to the box-on, box-off approach?
Because the company is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), it can adapt the processor to suit the precise dimensions, mounting racks, and cooling requirements of the vehicle in question. It has a dynamic, flexible, UK-based team that engineers its own products, allowing it to quickly tailor its processors and other products to suit the customer’s need. This makes it the ideal option for powering up an older, legacy fleet of vehicles, keeping things simple for systems integrators and end user customers.
Unlike many other rugged computer producers, GRiD is solely focused on the military market. The manufacturer is an engineering specialist, with its own design team and its own products. It understands the needs of armed forces. Its specialist engineers know the impact a processor has on a vehicle, from connectors, heating properties and the critical need for security.
This focus means that systems like the GRiDCASE 3560 can be tailored to suit the needs of the individual user – no matter the vehicle in question or the digital demands it faces.
The GRiDCASE 3560 is now available and if you would like to discuss the product with a member of the team, please get in touch on +44 (0)1628 810 230 or drop an email to sales@griduk.com.
