General Dynamics unveiled Vion on Thursday, introducing an artificial intelligence enabled, portable communications system designed to help ground troops exchange information. The Mission Partner Environment solution is built as a suitcase sized platform capable of handling messages and files.

The company says Vion’s larger value rests in its ability to connect allied systems that might otherwise remain separated. That focus directly addresses the network silos complicating communication among command centers, deployed troops, and coalition forces.

Jason Myers, vice president of defense agencies at General Dynamics Information Technology, told Military Times that Vion can help troops establish secure connections from remote environments. Those connections can extend to both a command center and coalition forces.

Vion uses open architecture and artificial intelligence to connect with outside networks, according to Myers. The system can adapt to connections or patch them while translating written messages, voice memos, videos, and other material under zero trust cybersecurity protections.

“We wanted to provide an all-encompassing offering, but we didn’t want to lock somebody into an offering or not be able to use where they’ve already invested,” Myers said.

Organizations often seek customized communications kits, Myers explained, while companies frequently offer platforms limited to proprietary equipment and software. Those restrictions can make systems more challenging and expensive to update or upgrade as requirements and technology change.

“What we wanted to do is say, ‘Yes, we’re going to use proven technologies,’ but as new things come out, we are absolutely ripping and replacing those, and how to do that securely, in that modular architecture, is really, really different than how things are being done today,” he said.

The modular approach is intended to let Vion incorporate newer technology without trapping users inside a closed communications ecosystem. General Dynamics is presenting that flexibility as a key distinction between Vion and platforms tied to proprietary components.

General Dynamics Information Technology also participated in Olympus Fires, a demonstration led by the Joint Staff J6. During the event, the Defense Information Systems Agency explored methods for improving the Coalition Information Environment, also known as CIE.

The company described CIE as “a modernized architecture built on the principles of Zero Trust and data centricity.” The demonstration centered on connecting environments without repeatedly creating separate systems for each new requirement.

During a panel discussion in June, U.S. Army Lt. Col. David Courter explained the objective behind the event. Courter, the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Combatant Command Integration and Plans chief, said the goal was to “broker and federate our environments together without replicating a new environment every time.”

Jason Martin, the agency’s Component Acquisition Executive, pointed to a friendly fire incident in March while explaining the need for CIE solutions. In that incident, Kuwaiti air defenses mistakenly shot down three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets.

“We’ve spent the past 50 years building siloed networks, siloed applications and siloed environments to collaborate internally with our own data. We can no longer do that,” Martin said.

Martin called for military networks and systems to communicate instead of remaining trapped behind organizational barriers. “We have to converge networks. We have to plug and play. We have to talk to one another … We have to operate and maintain command and control with a single voice.”

Myers said General Dynamics Information Technology is working through the acquisitions process for Vion, although he declined to identify with whom the company is working. He said he believes Vion, as a service, will “have a very long life in where it can add value to the mission.”

The system’s combination of portability, modular architecture, artificial intelligence, and zero trust protections forms the core of the company’s pitch. For troops operating remotely with coalition partners, Vion is intended to replace isolated communications with a platform capable of connecting previously divided environments.