Officials of the air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., announced a $100 million contract to AQYR Technologies last week for AN/PRS-12 Global Broadcast Service (GBS) rucksack portable receive suites for U.S. military forces.
The Global Broadcast Service is a U.s. military system that provides a one-way fast wideband information link to forces garrisoned, deployed, or on the move.
GBS provides high-rate data communications to many users at once, as well as high-rate data communications to very small, low-cost user receive-only terminals. the GBS consists of transmit sites, broadcast satellite payloads, and receive suites.
AQYR Technologies officials say the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity production contract includes not only the company's AN/PRS-12 GPS rucksack receivers, but also the company's AN/PRS-11 suitcase portable receivers.
Both systems are rugged portable Ka-band SATCOM receivers that one person can deploy and operate. The AN/PRS-12 weighs less than 20 pounds, and the AN/PRS-11 weighs less than 32 pounds. Satellite acquisition time is three minutes due to AQYR's patented auto-acquisition capability.
The systems provide access to video and imagery from unmanned aircraft; weather, terrain, geospatial and mapping information; forward looking infrared (FLIR) imagery; as well as streaming video, Web content, and other large files.
The AN/PRS-12 rucksack receiver and AN/PRS-11 suitcase receiver have GBS broadcast reception capability as fast as 45 megabits per second UHF Follow-On (UFO) and Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) transponders. It integrates with all High-Assurance IP Encryption (HAIPE) devices to support single- and dual-security enclaves from secret up to top secret/sensitive compartmented information (TS/SCI) classification. The system operates continuously for more than eight hours on one BA-2590 battery.
Earlier configurations have been in service with Special Operations Forces deployed overseas. The units bring command center information and data to the in-field warfighter, and can withstand the effects of high humidity, blowing sand, rain, and extreme heat and cold, company officials say.
This sole-source award is the result of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) initially granted by the Air Force Research Laboratory.
For more information contact AQYR Technologies online at http://aqyrtech.com, or the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at www.wpafb.af.mil/aflcmc.
