LynuxWorks Drafted For Future Combat Systems Project

AUSTIN, Texas — LynuxWorks Inc. announced that its safety-critical, real-time operating system will be used in a key part of the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program.

Inder Singh, CEO of the San Jose, Calif.-based company, said the LynxOS-178 operating system will be used on the integrated computer system (ICS) portion of the FCS program, to connect commanders in the field and at headquarters with the tanks, ships, planes, helicopters and other combat units of the networked army.

Singh said all of the major operating system vendors, in both the real-time OS and Linux markets, participated in the competitive bidding process conducted by General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (Herndon, Va.). He estimated the value of the contract in "the tens of millions" of dollars, a relatively small part of the estimated $140 billion to $180 billion cost of the total FCS program.

"This extends the Linux platform to the largest Army program ever, and into mission critical applications," said Singh. The goal, he added, is reduce the information gaps and delays known as "the fog of war," and create a "situational awareness where our forces know where both friends and foes are on a single picture of the battlefield."