“We’re in the process of fielding MTS Plus now,” says Ralston Mims, the Army’s MTS deputy product manager. “In addition to the original MTS capabilities, it integrates the ability to read radio- frequency ID tags’ basic headers and consignee information. This goes via satellite through a special board in the vehicle’s antenna to a regional server, which matches up the tags and updates the consignment record with location and time.”

The original MTS, which has been installed in about 10,000 vehicles, uses three technologies:

• Two-way text messaging
• Global Positioning System
• Color navigational mapping.

“Icons on the map show the position of the vehicle and other nearby vehicles that have MTS,” Mims says. “There’s free text entry on the keyboard plus a 911 panic message for emergencies. We plan to add other preformatted text messages for situational reporting, logistics and medivac messages — you’ll just hit a button and fill in a couple of fields.”

The Army requires that the vehicle devices be sturdy enough to withstand the same rough environments as the vehicles themselves. That places stringent requirements on the vendors to build devices that can resist considerable shock, vibration and temperature. “MTS is fielded now in Iraq,” Mims says, “and we found it was such a harsh environment that we selected more rugged computers” for MTS Plus.

To ensure the necessary ruggedness, the Army tests proposed MTS devices at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., using shock tables, temperature chambers and other environments that simulate blowing sand.

The current prime contractor for the eight-year MTS program, first awarded in 1999, is Comtech Mobile Datacom Corp. of Germantown, Md., which is also responsible for the Blue Force Tracking system for personnel. Comtech chooses the computer makers and arranges for encrypted message transmission via commercial geostationary satellites in near-real time.

“The contract has a technology insertion clause, which we used for GPS,” Mims said. “The overall ceiling for the current contract is $418 million.”

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