C³ISR
Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance

“With ROVER III, soldiers now have the ability to visualize the battlefield in real time and communicate with command centers and forces in close combat. It reduces the element of surprise.”

—Susan D. Opp, President, L-3 Communication Systems-West

“What’s on the other side of the hill?” L-3’s Remote Operated Video Enhanced Receiver (ROVER III) answers that age-old question, revolutionizing combat—and saving lives.

The ROVER III instantly transmits and receives live video and other critical data from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), gunships and fighter aircraft. ROVER III enables soldiers to see what confronts them, cutting down to seconds the time it takes to detect enemies or explosive devices and to coordinate air strikes that hit only their intended targets. L-3 packed all of this technology into a 4.5-pound laptop, modified with an antenna and transponder, making it easy to use in the most challenging environments.

ROVER III has proven its value for humanitarian missions as well. After Hurricane Katrina, ROVER III gathered video images from a New Orleans rooftop to help rescuers locate survivors and assess damage. During the recent California wildfires, it provided firefighters with aerial views of the affected areas, aiding search and rescue operations.

Impressive as ROVER III itself is the speed with which L-3 met an urgent U.S. Air Force request to develop and deploy it in a matter of months. Now ROVER III’s success poses the new challenge of upgrading the system based on inputs from the field. The next version of ROVER III, with added data encryption, will be even smaller.

Whether in Iraq, Afghanistan or at home, ROVER III literally brings a new vision to warfare and to homeland safety and security.