BOWMAN Combat Radio System
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the ability of Bowman 5.7 to provide sufficient resilience, bandwidth and capacity to support the Digital Targeting Web.
Answered by Luke Pollard
The Programme team does not recognise the term “Bowman 5.7”. Bowman refers to the radio element of the wider Bowman Common Battlefield Infrastructure and Platform (BCIP), which is often used as shorthand for the overall system.
BCIP 5.7 is a proposed upgrade to the computing and infrastructure elements of BCIP, intended to address obsolescence and enhance security. The project remains subject to final approvals and investment decisions.
The current BCIP 5.6 baseline supports digitised command and control and the exchange of operational data. The proposed BCIP 5.7 upgrade would help ensure this support remains secure and sustainable. Wider enhancements to tactical communications, taken forward through separate programmes, will improve the resilience, bandwidth and capacity required to support capabilities such as the Digital Targeting Web.
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