General Dynamics Acquires Ascend Intelligence

According to a press release forwarded to me by a friend, General Dynamics has recently acquired Ascend Intelligence, the developers of the very successful Tactical Ground Reporting (TIGR) system for battlefield information collection and reporting. Between this and their early acquisition of the similarly successful Command Post of the Future (CPOF), General Dynamics seems to have a lock on the evolution of Army battle command.

This is especially true considering that, with the cancellation of the Net-Enabled Command Capability (NECC) program in mid-2009 and the uncertain future of FCS Battle Command, there don't appear to be any revolutionary changes in Army battle command on the immediate horizon.

Unfortunately, I can't find the actual press release anywhere on the Web, so I've quoted it in its entirety below.

P.S.: For those of you who might be wondering, yes, I actually am part of the military-industrial complex. I don't just sit around in my Multi-Cam smoking jacket and fondle my AR-15s all day. I save that for the weekends :).

General Dynamics Acquires Ascend Intelligence, LLC

General Dynamics has acquired substantially all of the assets of Ascend Intelligence, LLC, an Arlington, Va.-based provider of software for military mission planning, execution, and continuity of knowledge.

Acquired Jan. 8, Ascend Intelligence, which has approximately 40 employees located throughout the United States, and deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, will become part of General Dynamics C4 Systems, reporting into its Battle Management Systems Division.

Ascend Intelligence produces the Tactical Ground Reporting (TIGR) application which is sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Well-embraced by the Army for its ability to facilitate tactical information collection and dissemination, TIGR provides soldiers and commanders an effective platform for sharing information about adversaries. The application enables users to share a computer database of maps, text and multimedia files gathered while on patrol and to pass along knowledge about places, events, people and objects for increased combat effectiveness. For more information see www.gdc4s.com/TIGR

Ascend was recently awarded $14 million for the initial phase of a DARPA contract for the Advanced Tactical Information System (ATIS), a tactical ground reporting
system. The total contract value, with all options exercised, is approximately $114 million.

The acquisition of Ascend Intelligence will allow C4 Systems to increase the relevance of our command and control portfolio by providing valuable information to the front-line soldier. This new addition to our business will expand our customer relationships and allow us to support and sustain the growth of TIGR by building on our success with Command Post of the Future to create two solid cornerstones for Battle Command: one at the patrol level, and the other for company and higher command.

Ascend Intelligence now reports into Manny Mora, Vice-President and General Manager of BMSD through direct reporting into Richard Coupland, Director of Science, Technology and Products.

By: Guardian