Thales Australia, Microsoft and Australian SMEs; Myriad Technologies, archTIS and Fortifyedge have partnered to launch Nexium Defence Cloud Edge (NDC Edge), a secure Tactical cloud computing capability at the edge of the battlespace.
Developed in Australia for the Australian Defence Force, NDC Edge aims to deliver a sovereign capability, built on Microsoft Azure Stack technology, designed to be compatible with Five Eyes nations as well as humanitarian aid and civilian applications.
The platform enables the analysis and distribution of data in real time, aiming to accelerate the decision-making process to gain and maintain operational tempo.
NDC Edge transfers this capability from the strategic headquarters to the dismounted warfighters in the battlespace, giving deployed forces access to information at the right time to enable rapid and informed decisions.
NDC Edge’s civil and commercial technologies provide a complete, modular, sovereign solution that enable forces to operate autonomously in the theatre of operations, offering an array of possible configurations, from very high-capacity and easily scalable infrastructure to all-in-one containerised systems.
“NDC Edge delivers capability advantage across all domains from the headquarters to the tactical level. The targeted capabilities are more agile in their deployment, more interoperable in their use and deliver a more decisive impact on the battlefield,” said Chris Jenkins, Chief Executive, Thales Australia.
This capability enables deployed forces to securely share critical information across domains, multinational coalitions and other agencies to allow a shared common operating picture. NDC Edge also has the ability to rapidly re-role in theatre, introduce new capabilities, and integrate with legacy platforms.
NDC Edge includes all the components of military command posts and meets performance requirements in terms of size, weight and power (SWaP) to simplify deployment and minimise the logistical footprint.
“NDC Edge builds on Microsoft Azure Edge technology to deliver transformational effect to the service member, optimizing operations and enhancing data driven decisions,” said Mark Leigh, General Manager, Public Sector, Microsoft Australia.
“We are delighted to partner with Thales Australia on this initiative to deliver trusted and secure, cloud native, solutions from headquarters to the tactical edge.”
