General Dynamics digital modular radios selected by U.S. Navy for new ships and submarines

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. 13 Nov. 2012. General Dynamics has received an order from the U.S. Navy for 53 additional AN/USC-61(C) four-channel Digital Modular Radios (DMR) for use aboard new Navy ships, submarines and inshore sites. In addition to the new radios, existing DMR hardware will be modified to accommodate networking waveforms owned by the government. This order exercises an option on a contract awarded to General Dynamics in 2010. The option has a total potential value of $35 million.

Digital Modular Radios currently operate aboard U.S. Navy surface and subsurface vessels, fixed-sites and other Department of Defense communication platforms using frequencies ranging from 2 MHz to 2 GHz. Certified to pass secure voice and data at multiple independent levels of security (MILS) over HF, VHF, UHF, and SATCOM channels, the DMR system was developed to the U.S. Navy's specifications and meets all the environmental, EMI and performance requirements for use in the U.S. Fleet. DMR is also certified by the Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) to be compliant with the U.S. government’s MIL-STD-188-181B/182A/183A requirements for UHF SATCOM.

The multi-channel DMR, adopted by the Navy in 1998, provides multiple waveforms and multi-level information security for voice and data communications from the core of the network to the tactical edge. Built using open architecture standards, General Dynamics’ DMR is designed to incorporate next-generation communications, including forthcoming waveforms and advanced network connectivity.

General Dynamics has delivered more than 500 DMR radios to the Navy. The radio is capable of simultaneous, secure short-range and global communications on any of its four channels. The radio is interoperable with a wide variety of legacy military radios and was the first software defined radio certified by the National Security Agency to protect information classified at the Top Secret level and below. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command for the Department of the Navy Research, Development and Acquisition is the contracting authority.