New Zealand digitises its Army

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has acquired the Command & Control and Battle Management System SitaWare from Systematic. Until now, the New Zealand Army relies mostly on manual processes to receive and disseminate information, but with the purchase of SitaWare the army will soon have access to cutting-edge communication systems.

“The purchase is a part of a programme to digitise the Army to provide modern command, communication, battle management, and surveillance capabilities,” the Defence Minister, Gerry Brownlee, says in a press release from the New Zealand Government. 

“The new system will enable NZDF to gain a complete picture of the situation on the ground and share information quickly,” Gerry Brownlee says.

Furthermore, SitaWare eases the process of collaborating with partners. “It will also enable the Defence Force to operate seamlessly with partners when deployed in a coalition,” Gerry Brownlee continues.

“The SitaWare system will link headquarters, units, vehicles and individuals, allowing Army to get a full picture of the battlefield and share information quickly."

Despite an extensive technological transformation, the acquisition of SitaWare does not change what the Army does. “This system won’t change what the Army does, but it will provide advanced tools and techniques to support our soldiers, such as ‘blue force tracking’ and a common operating picture of troop movements," Gerry Brownlee explains.

The New Zealand Army has used the SitaWare system for several years for training, experimentation, and field exercises supported by Systematic’s local business partner, Eagle Technology Group Ltd. 

SitaWare is developed by Systematic, but the responsibility goes far beyond that. “We will also assist the NZDF team in providing architecture and system design services, along with implementation and integration support,” Mike Magill, President Systematic Asia-Pacific explains.

“A key feature of the support services is that they will take account of evolving and maturing requirements through the set-up of an ‘Agile’ project environment managed by Systematic,” Mike Magill continues.