At the MILCOM 2011, being held at Baltimore, Maryland, GE Intelligent Platforms and Juniper Networks announced that they will be working closely to develop a family of rugged, highly secure routing and network security appliances designed for military/aerospace deployment in harsh environments where security of data is paramount.  GE Intelligent Platforms will be the one selling the end product.

The new GE products respond to the adoption by military forces around the world of a network-centric approach to battlefield operations and systems design. Data, voice, and video are carried over an IP network, and routers form the core of such a network. Cybersecurity is of great concern, as well as the coexistence of allied forces through mixed-nation battlefield engagements. This results in a requirement for purpose-built rugged routers with advanced security capabilities since commercially-available routers are not designed for the harsh environment encountered in combat situations. The products will use Juniper Networks® Junos® operating system which offers a comprehensive list of dynamic, robust features that provide intrusion prevention and detection, firewalls, packet inspection, authentication and access control.

“Net-centricity is not only changing the way warfare is conducted, but how weapons systems and military platforms such as vehicles are designed,” said Al DiLibero, President, Military & Aerospace Embedded Computing, GE Intelligent Platforms. “Initiatives such as the U.S. Army’s ‘VICTORY’ Vehicular Integration for C4ISR/electronic warfare interoperability specification are indicative of a trend that pushes networks to the battlefield edge, driving the need for mobile, secure network devices. Our relationship with Juniper Networks allows us to take advantage of the Junos operating system and Juniper Networks’ industry leading secure networking technologies in the development of purpose-built, rugged battlefield networking solutions.”

The RTR8GE is the first product to be announced.  A battle-ready, rugged and security-focused network router, it features the comprehensive field-tested Junos operating system from Juniper Networks.  Its firewall, intrusion prevention and detection, and extensive quality of service capabilities enable secure IPv4/IPv6 connectivity for military vehicles, aircraft and forward operating bases supporting net-centric operations.   The RTR8GE has eight Gigabit Ethernet ports integrated in a SWaP-optimized enclosure that meets the demanding environmental requirements of military/aerospace applications.

The RTR8GE router supports radio-aware router protocols that monitor network efficiency, available bandwidth and regulate traffic flow, choosing the most efficient network route in mobile, ad-hoc battlefield network environments.   It also includes anti-tamper protection and information-assurance technologies in recognition of the sensitive nature of the data it is designed to transport.

“The collective power of the infrastructure, security expertise and technology portfolio of our two global brands will provide the military with a unique and compelling offering,” said George F. Holland, Vice President of federal strategy and business development at Juniper Networks. “Today many of the world’s largest and most demanding networks run on Juniper products and platforms. This agreement with GE enables us to extend our rich heritage in the defense space and bring those same capabilities and benefits to customers–such as military prime contractors–who require advanced networks in highly dynamic environments and need the superior security capabilities for which Juniper Networks is renowned.”

To learn more about other military and aerospace endeavors of GE Intelligence Platforms, click here.