USA army calls for hardware

The US army Small Computer Program has put out a call for tenders for its IT Enterprise Solutions-2 Hardware (ITES-2H) contracts. FCW says the contracts will run for five years and are worth $5 billion.

The ITES-2H will provide a range of hardware options throughout the army ranging from desktops to servers. It complements the ITES-2 Services contract, which is stalled pending the resolution of protests filed by five losing vendors.

ITES-2H is to provide the hardware to enable ITES-2 Services solutions, and vendors will be required to use ITES-2H products.

Security and defence initiatives are stimulating strong IT spending in the Asian public sector, according to a study conducted by IT research firm Springboard Research. The public sector segment in the Asian market, excluding Japan, saw a remarkable increase on IT spending to $3.8 billion in 2005, according to SDA India Magazine.

The constant threat of terrorism is one of the main reasons why military and defence require software services the most.

The study revealed that China has the largest IT expenditure in the security and defence segment in Asia, just slightly higher than Australia, with the market in 2005 being close to $1.3 billion.

The Indian Army is considering the use of simulators to train its soldiers for combat.

According to Financial Express, Virtual Combat Convoy Trainers and Close Combat Tactical Trainers (developed and built by Lockheed Martin) are already being used in the USA to imitate real combats situations and help soldiers` reactions.

Soldiers are able to handle equipment that has a "look and feel" of the real setting. Even the sounds of the weapons are almost real. Perhaps the only difference between virtual reality and real life is the lack of recoil, which is simulated visually.