KANE'OHE BAY — On the march to Baghdad in 2003, Marine commanders had to stop convoys periodically and set up satellite communications antennas to get the information they needed.

Same thing for beach landings. Marines can storm the beach in a hurry, but it can take hours of wiring up electronics to establish a command satellite uplink.

In coming years, the service hopes to be able to do so on the fly.

The Marine Corps Forces Pacific experimentation center at Kane'ohe Bay yesterday demonstrated its Mobile Modular Command and Control prototype.

Mounted in a Humvee, the system lets troops in the field communicate with one other, their commanders and headquarters hundreds of miles away while driving at highway speeds.

Bristling with antennas, the two prototype Humvees at Kane'ohe Bay are loaded with satellite and wireless technology.

"Ten years ago, everything in here É (would need to be carried by) two 7-ton trucks and take over 24 hours in set-up time," said 1st Lt. Jim Parson, communications officer for the 3rd Marine Regiment.

The equipment continues to shrink.

In an early version of the system, a domed satellite antenna was so big it was nicknamed "R2-D2" after the "Star Wars" robot, officials said. In a second-generation vehicle, on display yesterday, the dome was smaller, and in a third-generation vehicle, it barely juts past the roofline.

"This is not something that they are saying, 'OK, next year, we're going to make 20 of them,' " Parson said. "This is proving that certain technologies do work together."

The capability is expected to be fielded around 2012, according to officials.

Funded by a congressional earmark, the system is a collaborative effort between the Marines and the Office of Naval Research, and involves some Hawai'i technology firms.

John Moniz, with the Office of Naval Research, said equipment, integration and testing for the two vehicles amounts to about $6 million in contracts.

Prime contractor General Dynamics is teamed on the project with Pelatron Inc., a Native Hawaiian corporation, Moniz said.

Hawai'i firms Oceanit, Referentia and Trex are working on low-profile satellite antennas, network management, and interference mitigation, each with a contract of about $500,000, Moniz said.

Between 50 and 60 contractors, military members and government representatives were on hand for yesterday's demonstration.