With the award of this contract, Innovative Concepts will produce and deliver a minimum of 1,051 additional IDM V304 units over the next five years for delivery to both domestic and foreign military and commercial customers.
With this award, Innovative Concepts has solidified its hard-earned position as the international defense community's premier supplier of air-to-ground data- links. IDM Technology will now reside on more than 5,000 aviation platforms worldwide and equip a similar number of ground stations.
The IDM V304 delivers network centric operations (NCO) capabilities directly to the cockpit. NCO, as implemented via IDM Technology, permits rapid, accurate target engagement, efficient fire support synchronization, and a significant reduction in the potential for friendly fire incidents.
By adopting digital data transfer, situational awareness is enhanced because friendly unit location information can be automatically updated and displayed to all units.
The U.S. Army was quick to recognize the advantages of eliminating the need of voice commands in tactical missions and has designated IDM Technology for installation on every helicopter in the Army inventory, including the Apache Longbow, Kiowa Warrior, Chinook, and Blackhawk.
IDM Technology was successfully employed in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The IDM V304 is a lightweight, six-channel tactical modem/router in SEM-E-form providing digital connectivity between and among airborne and ground platforms using existing radios and crypto equipment.
The IDM V304 provides the critical data-link required between ground and Army Aviation units. It also provides the vital air-to-air transmission of target data between IDM V304-equipped attack aircraft.
This air-to-air data communications allows the flight leader to assign individual targets to members of the flight as well as to collect and assess battle damage reports.
The IDM V304 is fully compatible with the Army's Tactical Internet. It can transmit and receive the full spectrum of Variable Message Format (MIL- STD-6017) messages and interconnects the Army's major networks. The IDM V304 provides critical linkage to legacy data communications systems including AFAPD and TACFIRE.