The Ministry of Defence has signed a £200m deal for the Falcon portable battlefield communications network.

Falcon will be provided by BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies. It will have 50 times the capacity of the system it replaces and will be used by senior commanders to control combat operations at corps, divisional and brigade level. It will also reduce the number of staff and vehicles needed to support a major headquarters, says the army.

The network will go live in 2010 and replace a range of current systems including Ptarmigan, Euromux and the RAF Transportable Telecommunications System.

Defence procurement minister Lord Drayson said: 'Falcon will be a vital part of the network-enabled operations that will help our front line commanders cut through the fog of war and ensure that they have the ability to communicate quickly and effectively across the battlefield.

'Studies have shown that better and faster use of combat information gives our Armed Forces a major advantage over any likely opponents and Falcon, integrated with the Bowman tactical communications system and the Cormorant command system, will give them that crucial advantage.'