Bowman ( communications system ) Bowman is the name of the tactical communications system used by the British Armed Forces . The Bowman C4I system consists of a range of HF radio , VHF radio and UHF radio sets designed to provide secure integrated voice , data services to dismounted soldiers , individual vehicles and command HQs up to Division level . Bowman has a number of specific applications installed on the base radio infrastructure known as BISAs . Bowman has been released incrementally as a number of phased capability releases known as BCIP releases , with BCIP 5 . 5 being released in the field in 2013 . Bowman replaced the Clansman series of radios . Procurement history . The concept of Bowman dates from a 1989 UK MoD General Staff Requirement ( GSR ) for a system to replace the ageing Clansman radio system . The GSR was subsequently modified to accommodate post Cold War scenarios . The procurement had a long and chequered history , with a number of consortia involved in the development and bidding process . This process culminated in the failure in 2000 of the preferred bidder , Archer , to deliver the requirement within budget and on time , and the resultant cessation of the contract by the UK MoD . The subsequent rebidding process for the contract was won by CDC Systems UK Ltd , now General Dynamics United Kingdom Ltd as prime contractor . Elements of design and manufacturing were sub - contracted to Cogent Defence Systems ( UK ) ( now Cassidian , part of the EADS group ) , SELEX Communications ( Military Specialist Communications ) , ITT Corporation , Harris Corporation , L - 3 Communications , Blazepoint , DRS Tactical Systems , BAE Systems , GDC4S and Thales Group . AgustaWestland was responsible for training installations and classrooms for the conversion training . The procurement cost of the supply and ( initial ) support phase for Bowman is approximately £1 . 9 billion and the current acquisition cost of the whole project is £2 . 4 billion . Bowman ’ s initial operating capability was delivered into service in March 2004 , it was fully rolled out across the Armed Forces by the end of 2008 and is expected to continue in service until approximately 2026 . System overview . Bowman provides a tactical voice and data communications system for joint operations across the British Armed Forces in support of land and amphibious operations . It is fitted to over 15 , 000 military vehicles , from Land Rover Wolf to the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank . The entire Royal Navy fleet is fitted with Bowman equipment and all the major helicopter types supporting land operations , such as Apache , Chinook , Merlin and Lynx are fitted . Bowman features enhanced communications security ( COMSEC ) through integrated voice and data encryption devices and enhanced Electronic Protective Measures through features such as frequency - hopping spread spectrum . It also provides tactical situational awareness for commanders through GPS links , helping to reduce the probability of friendly fire . The complete contract involves more than 48 , 000 radios ( excluding the 45 , 000 Personal Role Radios ) and more than 30 , 000 computer terminals being installed in more than 30 , 000 platforms , together with the necessary training of around 75 , 000 Service personnel . The Bowman system is a fundamental part of the British Military achieving a Network Enabled Capability , providing the carriers for the passage of data between the various software applications involved . It is related to the Future Integrated Soldier Technology concept . Bowman is managed from within the MoD DE & S by the BATCIS Integrated Project Team . Equipment . Nominally the lowest deployed part of the Bowman series of radios is that provided by Marconi - Selenia Communications ( then Selenia Communications , now SELEX ELSAG UK ( Military Specialist Communications ) , in the form of the UHF H4855 Personal Role Radio ( PRR ) , which is primarily used by infantry fireteam ( section level and below ) . PRR is only partially connected with the Bowman programme , as it was hived off from the acquisition process in October 1999 for more rapid implementation , and the first of 45 , 000 units formally entered service in early 2002 . Operating in the 2 . 4 GHz band , PRR had no integrated encryption devices and does not intercommunicate with the rest of the Bowman network , but is widely acclaimed as having revolutionised intra - squad communications and small - unit tactics . Models are designated " UK / PRC " , which stands for " United Kingdom / Portable Radio Communications " , or " UK / VRC " , which is " United Kingdom / Vehicle Radio Communications " . Following this logic " UK / ARC " stands for " United Kingdom / Airborne Radio Communications " . VHF radios . The manpack version of the ADR + has an Automatic Situational Awareness Module inserted in BCIP 5 . 2 which enables Own Station Position Reports to be broadcast without the presence of an associated computer . Under the terms of the baseline contract ITT Defence delivered some 26 , 000 ADR + radios and 8 , 000 VPTs , complemented by 580 examples of the UK / ARC341 VHF aircraft role radio ( a derivative of the company ' s SINCGARS AN / ARC - 201D airborne transceiver ) for helicopter platforms . HF radios . The Bowman HF frequency - hopping radios , of which 10 , 800 examples were supplied is designated UK / PRC325 in its basic 20 W manpack form and UK / VRC328 / 9 in its 100 W high - power and co - sited vehicular configurations . The UK version of the AN / PRC - 150 has had the proprietary Harris Citadel encryption removed , having instead the UK Type 1 ( Pritchel ) encryption and frequency hopping waveform , also the Falcon II ' s original 3G - ALE dual - band HF / VHF frequency range ( 1 . 6 - 60 MHz ) has been narrowed to the 1 . 6 - 30 MHz ( HF ) band . HCDR . The top tier in the Bowman series of radios is provided by the UHF , Mobile ad hoc network ITT UK / VRC340 HCDR ( High Capacity Data Radio ) , a ' Bowmanised ' version of ITT ' s Mercury NTDR ( Near - Term Data Radio ) wide - band networking transceiver . HCDR has a 225 - 450 MHz operating frequency range . It has wideband ( 4 MHz ) and narrow band ( 500 kHz ) modem configurations , with a user rate of 288 kbit / s on a 375 kbit / s channel and 576 kbit / s on a 750 kbit / s channel . Some 3 , 600 HCDRs were purchased . HCDR provides a self - managing mobile Internet Backbone using standard RFC interfaces and routing protocols . Ancillary equipment . Provision of the associated User Data Terminal ( UDT ) for vehicular and static use was contracted to DRS Tactical Systems Inc , which also produces the Bowman Management Data Terminal ( BMDT ) for network management , the Vehicle User Data Terminal ( VUDT ) with keyboard and touchscreen for use on the move , the Staff User Data Terminal ( SUDT ) for command centres , and the PBISA Processing Unit ( PBPU ) for Challenger 2 tanks . Since the start of the programme the capabilities of the UDTs ( based on 700 MHz Pentium processors ) have evolved , their original 256 MB RAMs and 20 GB drives having been superseded by 512 MB RAMs and 40 GB drives . The contractor for supply of Portable User Data Terminal ( PUDTs ) , based on a 266 MHz Intel StrongARM processor , was L - 3 Communications . The PUDT is now obsolete and is not used . Extensive problems with the software running on low powered computers led to the procurement of a number of enhanced computers , the Lightweight Tablet ( LTDT ) manufactured by Blazepoint and Lightweight Manpack ( LMDT ) produced by L - 3 . In addition to processing limitations the larger UDTs have significant ergonomic issues and were supplemented with a buy of General Dynamics Itronix computers modified in the UK by Blazepoint to support systems managers and communication planners . Responsibility for supply of Bowman audio ancillaries , including the stereo staff - user headset , noise - cancelling general - purpose handset , and loudspeaker unit , was vested in SELEX ELSAG UK ( Military Specialist Communications ) , which also provided the lightweight headset , respirator adapter , and remote pressel switch associated with the PRR . Racal ( now Thales Group ) provided antennas for the Bowman contract . These include HF Wire / Vehicle , VHF Vehicle / Elevated , VHF Ground Spike , 5 . 4 metre GRP Mast and UHF Vehicle / Elevated Antennas . Additional antennas supplied as part of the Bowman contract are the man - pack antennas which are supplied together with the matching unit by MG Sanders , a SME based in Stone Staffordshire . BISAs . Bowman also consists of a number of specifically designed Battlefield Information System Applications running over the Bowman infrastructure . The UDTs ( User Data Terminals ) are currently limited to supporting a maximum of two BISAs simultaneously , due to the performance limitations of the UDTs . ComBAT , produced by GD C4S in the US , the main Command and Control ( C2 ) tool for Bowman has faced early criticism relating to performance , ease of use and interface design . A significant portion of these problems have been addressed in later version of ComBAT . BISAs include - ComBAT ( C2 & SA ) , GBAD ( Ground Based Air Defence ) Command & Control , Makefast ( Engineering ) and FC ( Fire Control ) . Controversy . When Bowman was first introduced into service , the system was said to contain many faults to the extent that troops dubbed Bowman " Better Off With Map And Nokia " . The programme came under scrutiny following a National Audit Office accountability hearing for the government ' s procurement policy and was generally considered to be a success considering the complexity and changing needs of the UK Armed Forces . However , a more recent report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee was overwhelmingly critical of the entire system and its procurement . The report itself is split into four sections entitled : " programme governance arrangements were not fit for purpose " , " initial decisions were not well informed " , " through life costs were not rigorously assessed " , and " operational benefits are limited " . As Bowman was being phased into service , senior officers in the British Army had serious reservations about the system , especially as many of their initial design specifications and feedback had not been adequately incorporated by the Defence Procurement Agency in the re - tendering process that was won by General Dynamics United Kingdom Ltd . Such were the misgivings , the Director of Infantry initially refused to accept the portable " manpack " radio into service , saying : " All the rumours you ' ve heard . It is as bad as you ' ve heard . But we have been told that , politically , we have got to make it work . Now you guys will have to go out and find a way of making it work . " Other complaints were brought up by the 1st Bn Royal Anglians who tested the UK / PRC354 radio system in July 2005 . A number of problems have been reported , including RF burns received while transmitting data on some settings , comparatively heavy compared to equivalent Clansman radio sets , unergonomic wiring and user interfaces on the manpack radio , short - lived batteries , inadequate " ruggedisation " and inflexibility with assigning unique call sign indicators to individuals which are now instead permanently programmed into the radios themselves instead of the Clansman BATCO assigned system , which would change every 12 hours and could be used on any number of different radio sets by the operator as required . This has led to seven modifications to the radio since the operational field trial in December 2004 . However there have been further more recent reports of the radios continuing to suffer from the already mentioned design flaws as well as operational failures and faults , including whilst in the midst of combat engagements , consequently hampering the combat effectiveness with soldiers deployed on both Operation Herrick in Afghanistan and Operation TELIC in Iraq , leading to accusations that the system was not ready for operational use and in some cases the releases were unsuitable for their intended purpose , including the role as part of the Future Integrated Soldier Technology concept . In December 2008 and January 2009 Bowman was withdrawn from the Territorial Army ( apart from the Honourable Artillery Company , 43 ( Wessex ) Signal Squadron ( V ) - a TA squadron forming part of 21 Signal Regiment , 2 ( NC ) Signal Brigade and the Yeomanry ) as the manufacturers struggled to meet the demand created by operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan .