Army network modernization seeks to buy affordable tactical radios, while maintaining secure communications

June 2, 2020
Secure and safe communications will be unclassified-yet-encrypted, and enhance the Army's ability to share data with allies in a secure way.

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – U.S. Army communications experts have conducted a critical design review for technologies they plan to deploy for Capability Set ’21 -- one of the first pieces of Army battlefield network modernization. Defense News reports. Continue reading original article

The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:

2 June 2020 -- In the review, the Army tested various elements of Capability Set ’21 communications, such as tactical radios and satellite terminals. Now, the service is making capability trade-offs to assess affordability, technical maturity and density across formation.

For example, the Army experts are weighing trade-offs between how many of their two-channel Leader radios and more-affordable single-channel radios ultimately will end up in infantry brigades.

Col. Garth Winterle, project manager for tactical radios at the Army’s Program Executive Officer for Command Control Communication - Tactical, and Lt. Col. Brandon Baer, program manager for helicopter and multi-mission radios (HAMMR), talked about the decisions made during the critical design review and what these choices mean for the next batch of equipment known as Capability Set ’23.

Related: Navy awards nearly a billion-dollar contract to ViaSat to provide MIDS JTRS tactical networking radios

Related: Army orders tactical network manpack radios from L3Harris and Collins Aerospace worth $203.2 million

Related: Navy chooses L-3 Communications Systems-East to integrate COTS-based HF-radio military networking system

John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics

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