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White House supports US Army battlefield network in looming NDAA fight

C4ISRnet: WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has announced it is challenging Senate plans to gut a key U.S. Army networking program — General Dynamics’ Warfighter Information Network-Tactical — as part of the annual defense policy bill.

The White House, in a list of objections to the Senate’s proposed National Defense Authorization Act for 2018, defended the beleaguered program known as WIN-T, long touted as the backbone of the U.S. Army’s tactical network. The bill’s “severe funding restrictions” would “cripple” the U.S. Army’s plans to let soldiers communicate while on the move, the White House said Thursday.

The message comes as the Senate is set to debate the NDAA next week, led by Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz. The bill would provide none of the $420 million the president’s budget requested to develop and field the General Dynamics program. McCain has accused the U.S. Army of squandering $6 billion on WIN-T.

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