Mac Networking Firm Snares DoD FundingMac Networking Firm Snares DoD Funding

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Small Tree Communications Inc., a specialist in Macintosh networking, will receive $3.4 million in Pentagon funding following a budget markup.

A funding request by Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., is aimed at battlefield networking solutions for the U.S. Army, which has been trying to cobble together a variety of disparate systems in preparation for the Future Combat Systems unified IP effort.

Small Tree President Corky Seeber said the work will span 18 months, involving studies of secure networking protocols.

In a statement, Seeber cited Small Tree’s work with Los Alamos National Labs and the Naval Research Laboratory as factors in increasing the company's profile. Small Tree (Oakdale, Minn.) has workws to bring Mac platforms into Gigabit and 10-Gbit Ethernet networks.

The prevalence of Mac OS systems in tactical battlefield networks are potential areas where Small Tree could work as an Army vendor.